by T. S. Ryder
Rosa shuddered.
"You'll have the desire to drink it, and you'll need to drink it. Yet, the trouble of being a new Vampire is getting used to having to drink fresh blood. You're the same person you were before you were changed, Rosa. Your personality, your morals, they're all the same. Would you hurt a baby before the change?"
"No." Rosa was horrified at the idea. "Never."
"Then you won't have the desire to hurt our baby now."
Angelus kissed her again and led her from the room. Nerves still churned in Rosa's stomach, but she trusted her Vampire King. Everything seemed brighter and more beautiful as they walked through the corridors. She saw details that she had never noticed before. Soon she heard a gentle thrum, and before Angelus told her it was a heartbeat, she knew it was their daughter.
She was perfect, just like Angelus had said. Helena had paler features than Rosa, but the shape and color of her eyes were all like her mother’s. Those eyes blinked sleepily when Lucilia passed the baby to Rosa. The instant the baby was in her arms, a well of love overwhelmed her. She was perfect. She had beautiful, delicate features and felt so very fragile.
"You're crying," Angelus whispered.
"She's just so beautiful. Take her, please." Rosa sniffed. "I don't know my own strength, I don't want to hurt her."
"You won't hurt her."
"I just don't want to have an accident."
Angelus nodded and took the baby. He settled in the chair that Lucilia had abandoned, and Rosa pulled a second chair close, marveling at how easy the heavy thing was to move. She settled down, gazing lovingly at her daughter and the love of her life, so happy and content that she began crying again. Embarrassed by her tears, she wiped them away.
"I didn't know Vampires could cry," she laughed.
"Vampire can do anything humans can do. Except… a Vampire man and woman can't have children together." A look of sorrow came over Angelus' face. "Rosa, I'm sorry… we can't have more children."
Rosa shook her head. "It doesn't matter. I never wanted more than one child, anyway. When Helena is a little older, we may decide we want another one and adopt. It's what we would have done anyway," she added, trying to lighten the mood. "No way in hell was I going to go through another nine months feeling like my stomach was turning inside out."
"You are such an amazing woman." Angelus leaned forward to kiss her, but Rosa stopped him.
"If I attack you like I did the last time, Helena could be hurt."
Angelus nodded and withdrew. A moment of peaceful silence descended until Rosa felt calm enough to ask for her daughter back. She held the baby on her lap, gazing in amazement at the tiny person. She was so wrapped up in her baby that Angelus' sigh actually startled her.
"Rosa, I'm sorry."
"I already said I didn't want to die."
"Not about turning you. About before." Angelus dragged a hand through his hair. "About dismissing your reaction to the violence of Freya's punishment. I drove you away by not seeing what you were afraid of. I didn’t take it seriously even after you told me about your stepfather. Everything that happened was my fault."
Rosa shook her head. "I shouldn't have expected you to have my morals, but I appreciate your apology."
"I'm going to do better, I promise. I have reviewed our laws and changed them. Now, instead of just punishment, there will be rehabilitation programs and imprisonment rather than just a harsh corporal punishment–even release. I've hired a group of psychologists, too, to help create the best, most effective law system possible. I'm starting with Freya. She had no idea that her Vampire worshipers had attacked you, but she still has committed numerous crimes against humanity that cannot go unpunished. Yet, I am looking for better punishments."
Talking about this made her think of her stepfather and Rosa shuddered. "The Vampire that handed me over to Michael said he was working for Freya."
"I interrogated them both. I very much doubt that Freya was actually involved in any of this. It was just a man blindly in love with her."
"What happened to Michael? Did you kill him?"
"No." Angelus sounded proud of himself. "I didn't kill a single human while rescuing you. There were deaths, but that was them killing each other. I damaged some pretty bad… but not so bad that they would die–not even the gorilla when I crushed his windpipe. I thought he was going to die for certain, but… You don't want to hear about that."
He really had changed. He listened to her worries and changed his way of thinking. If she wasn't still holding Helena, Rosa would have thrown him to the ground and made the most passionate love to him that she could. She settled for a kiss, long and deep, her heart full to overflowing.
"Thank you," she whispered. "I love you so much. Thank you. Thank you."
"I love you, too." Angelus kissed her again. "Regina cor meum. I love you."
"Regina what?"
"It means Queen of my heart. Which you are."
Rosa closed her eyes, leaning against him, her baby in her arms and she, herself, in her lover's arms. Finally, for the first time in her life, she knew she was safe and loved. The homeless girl had finally found her home.
*****
THE END
Night of the New Moon
Description
What do you do if you’re forced into the King’s harem?
Matheus Lindgern is the new Vampire King and interested in only two things: repairing the badly damaged relationships with neighboring kingdoms and finding a mate to become his queen.
The moment Alice walks into his manor, his blood is on fire. He knows her wants her, but what he doesn’t know is that she is a powerful witch who could easily destroy him if she wanted to.
Curvy and beautiful Alice is a warrior who has served in the war against the Vampires. When the war finally comes to an end, she retires to a small village far away from the politics of the courts. But her plans to become a healer are cut short when she is abducted and forced into the King’s harem.
Alice is determined to hate the King and escape as soon as possible. But she knows she’s in trouble when she discovers just how sexy he is. Even though every instinct is warning her, she is slowly falling for the king, who might not be the monster she thought him to be. Her determination to get home begins to waver, especially once she discovers something is growing in her belly...
But she soon finds out that not everyone in the Vampires’ courts has good intentions. Someone is planning a deadly attack and Alice must do what she can to stay alive and protect the ones she loves.
Chapter One
The sunset painted the sky in rich, golden tones above towering evergreens. The world seemed to be ready to settle in for a long night. A basket full of spring’s first flowers and herbs resting against her hip, Alice made her way down the foggy path towards her cottage, determined to reach home before day slipped completely into night. Pulling open the door to her small shop and home, she went inside and pulled her damp cloak from around her shoulders, allowing a cascade of curly chestnut hair to fall down around her shoulders.
“You were out an awfully long time,” a velvety voice drawled from the corner of the room. Sprawled out across a stack of books on Alice’s disorganized desk was a slender black and white cat, who stared back at her with a pair of bright yellow eyes. “I figured you would hurry home, what with the new moon tonight,” he continued, licking his paw with a nonchalant look on his face.
“If I was concerned with the townsfolk taking advantage of my temporary weakness I would have hurried, but since I no longer serve as a mercenary I am not worried. Thank you for your concern, Talon,” she said, setting her basket full of goodies on a table and starting to sort them out to let them dry.
Talon had been her companion for almost a hundred years. She had adopted him after finding him in the crumbled ruins of a town destroyed by one of the many warlords she had been hired to fight against. He had been just a kitten, and after so many years of exposure to magic he had not only gained imm
ortality but a place at her side as a familiar. He was her dearest companion and, for the longest time, had been her only friend.
“I found a fantastic little flower patch just past that stream we came across the other day, and I was finally able to locate that feverfew that I need for the shield spell I wanted to enchant my talismans with,” she continued, separating out the flowers before moving over to the stove to start warming up water for her tea.
“I remember it. You let me fall into the stream when I went after that mouse, wicked woman,” Talon huffed, glancing up at her with a glare when she snorted and sat beside him at her desk with her cup of tea.
“You wouldn’t have fallen in if you had listened to me and left the poor thing alone,” she hummed, flipping open one of her journals and starting to scribble down the directions to the feverfew. She tended to be a bit forgetful with so much information in her head. She wasn’t 140 any longer. “Anything interesting happen in town while I was out? I assume you were spying on the locals.” She smiled when the cat glared at her.
“I was not spying, I was merely observing, but, yes, I did notice something strange,” he said, stretching with a yawn before continuing. “I saw a group of newcomers, a rather suspicious group. They were lurking around the inn. Pale, red eyes, I’m sure you understand my intrigue at their arrival.” Alice’s silver eyes flashed with interest.
“Oh? Vampires this far north? Now, that is strange.” She frowned, spinning around in her chair to snag a book off the shelf. “I didn’t think they ever left their territory in the west, not since they lost territory to the shifters twenty years ago,” she mumbled, opening her book and examining the map in front of her. “Ostende mihi,” she ordered, swearing when the page slowly started to light up before it went dark once again.
“New moon, dearest. You won’t be able to use divination until at least tomorrow,” Talon reminded her with a knowing little hum.
Glaring up at the cat with an irritated look on her face, Alice closed the book and leaned back in her chair. The last thing that she wanted to hear about was vampires lurking anywhere near her town. The sweet townspeople had been under her protection since the end of the last Great War that had pitted humanity, the shifters, and the Fairy creatures of the forest against the creatures who ruled the night.
“Do you suppose I have enough juice to put up some warding spells around town?” she grumbled, rubbing at her round, sun-kissed cheeks with a slender hand.
“I suppose that depends on whether you took my advice and actually stored away some of those spells or not,” Talon grumbled, glancing over at his mistress and letting out what she could only assume to be a mocking laugh when she groaned and shook her head.
“Guess we’re doing this the hard way then,” she huffed, moving to her feet and changing quickly into the uniform she had not worn in years: a pair of magic-infused breeches and a matching tunic that hugged her full form a bit too snugly. “I’ve put on a bit of weight since my fighting days. I need to let these out,” she complained.
“I wasn’t going to say anything,” Talon hummed, sliding down onto the floor beside her as she strapped a nasty looking knife to her hip. “Are you really going to fight these things? That seems ill-advised.”
“Fight them? I hope not. I just want to gently remind them that this a protected territory, and they aren’t allowed to be here without proper documentation,” she insisted, pulling back her unruly hair into a tail before pulling on her cloak once again and moving out of the door into the misty night.
Glancing up at the sound of a soft little grunt of exertion, she sighed when a sudden weight formed on her shoulder and Talon wrapped himself around the back of her neck lazily.
“You don’t have to come with me, you know,” she pointed out. “And if you are, I think you can walk.” Yet, he just shook his head and rubbed his nose against her cheek.
“Can’t let you face a bunch of vampires alone. You’re out of shape and out of practice.” His voice was teasing, but also held a hint of seriousness. Vampires were dangerous alone, let alone in a group. He knew as well as she did what they were capable of. “And I could walk, but the ground is muddy. I don’t want to get my feet dirty.”
“You’re such a spoiled brat.” She rolled her eyes, feeling a surge of comfort at the knowledge that her best friend would be beside her. Facing a group of vampires when her powers were at their weakest could mean that she might not make it home tonight. Still, she had a duty to the townsfolk who had taken her in and made her part of their family. She wasn’t going to let them down.
Chapter Two
Vampires were one of the most lethal species on the planet. Stronger and faster than any man, they thought themselves to be gods in the face of mortals. She had dealt with them in the past—in fact, one of the worst scars on her body was a bite from a vampire that had managed to hook its fangs into her side. She’d managed to get it off, but not without losing a good chunk of her hip.
“There,” Talon rumbled, his white-tipped tail flicking anxiously as they approached the inn and a small group came into focus. Nodding, Alice rested her hand on the hilt of her weapon.
Forged of pure silver and engraved with sigils of protection, the blade had been blessed during the summer equinox with the blood of a high priest and set into a hilt made from the fang of a dragon. It was one of the few things that could truly kill a vampire, and she had trained for years in how to use it.
Moving up to the group with a frown on her full lips, she glared when they turned towards her and started to immediately eye her like a piece of meat hanging from a butcher’s window.
“Evening. Sorry to bother you, but I need to ask what a group of vampires like yourselves is doing hanging around my little village.” She frowned at them, immediately taking in the group as she did so.
There were three men in the group, each of them standing a head taller than her and wearing ornate dressings under their cloaks. They were as beautiful as the marble statues she had seen adorning the palaces of the warlords. The only thing that made them look the slightest bit dangerous were their crimson irises. The blood red color bored into her soul. They didn’t seem impressed with her little show of assertion, instead seeming more inclined to eye her full bosom.
“Pigs,” Talon growled in her ear, making sure his voice didn’t rise high enough for the vampires to detect.
“I apologize for intruding,” a soft voice sounded from between the men, and a woman who had previously gone unnoticed slid into view. She was beautiful, with golden hair and skin as pale as alabaster, and she carried herself with grace and importance as she slowly moved to stand in front of her men. “And I apologize for my men, they have learned bad manners away from court. My name is Lady Jennifer Lindgern, the mate of the dearly departed Lord Alexander Lindgern and the mother of the current clan leader Matheus Lindgern.” She glared up at the men, her ruby-stained lips curling into a smile when they lowered their gazes.
“You haven’t answered my question. What are you doing here?” Alice asked, her eyes stern as she regarded the woman in front of her. She recognized the woman, but she didn’t know from where.
“I’m on a little mission, actually. Looking for a gift for my darling little boy,” Jennifer explained, lifting up a locket and holding it up for Alice to examine. “Children are so picky, but you know us mothers, always attempting to make sure our sons have what they need.”
Inside the locket was a worn picture of a little vampire boy, no older than two or three. The picture was ancient, the paper long since faded and worn.
“What is it that your son needs?” Alice asked, her eyes flickering up to meet the other woman’s gaze. When Jennifer let out a breathy laugh, a frown creased Alice’s forehead, the hand on her knife twitching as she readied herself to attack.
“What he needs is a mate, and unfortunately the boy has no idea what he wants, so I just keep throwing women his way hoping he’ll select one that he wants to settle down with,”
Jennifer elaborated, her eyes wandering curiously over the witch in front of her. “The others will just reside in his harem so that he can play with them as he desires.”
Alice’s eyes flashed at this. She had dealt with many vampires in the past and learned early on that coven leaders and other high-ranking nobles of the vampire clans kept harems as a display of wealth and power. She’d never agreed with it, but she had never been given the opportunity to protest the practice. Now that they were poking their noses around her land, though, she wasn’t going to let them take a single one of the young ladies under her protection.
“You’ll have to look elsewhere for your son’s potential mate. This area is under my protection. I will ask you once, and only once, to leave. Otherwise, I am going to have to escort you off the premises myself.” She glared at the vampires, a magical blue glow shimmering in her silver irises. That was about all that she could muster without the strength of the moon, but it would hopefully be enough to frighten the vampires away.
That didn’t seem to be the case.
Instead of backing down as she hoped they would, the vampires laughed. Their eyes were locked onto her as the men fanned out, their female leader standing between them regarding the witch slowly. She didn’t like the hungry look in their eyes.
“There seems to have been some misunderstanding,” Jennifer sighed, her tongue flicking over her lips, a victorious look on her face. “We aren’t after the humans. We’ve tried that plenty of times with no result.” She chuckled, eyeing Alice slowly. “We’re after you, my dear. Why else would we wait until tonight to make our move?”
Alice didn’t have much time to respond as the men suddenly lurched forward. Yelping, she slashed out with her knife and caught one of them on the forearm, sending him reeling back as steam rose out from the wound with a hiss. Feeling strong arms around her waist, she growled, and Talon leaped onto the face of her attacker with a furious hiss, sinking his claws in.
