by T. S. Ryder
"I am, too, sweetheart."
"Who's hungry?" Grayson asked. "We have soup or hot dogs."
"Hot dog!" Olivia shouted. "Hud and me get hot dog!"
"No," Hudson said. "I want soup."
Grayson smiled, and while Arabella got the children sitting at the table and Henry got out plates and silverware, he made sure the food was, in fact, ready. He hummed while he worked, feeling lighter than he had since before the twins were born.
Senator White was on trial for corporate fraud and every company he was connected to was under investigation. Moreover, the legislation that Grayson had been pushing was now moving forward in leaps and bounds, and it looked pretty certain that what happened to Christine would never happen to anybody else again.
But most importantly, Henry's symptoms were almost all gone and Arabella was home. His children were with him, his mate was safe, and his best friend was well on his way to recover from his poisoning. Everything he had been worried about for the past few months – years, even – was being resolved, and it looked like he might have a happy ending after all.
After lunch, they read stories and played games with the children until it was their nap time. Henry, though recovering, was still wiped out from the day and returned to his camper to rest as well. Arabella tucked the twins into their beds before coming to help Grayson take care of the dirty lunch dishes.
Arabella cleared her throat as she scraped the leftover food into a container to put into the fridge. "I never thanked you for coming after me."
"You don't need to."
"I do. It was a stupid thing to do, for sure, but things would be much different if you hadn't."
Grayson laughed, wrinkling his nose at her. "Are you calling me stupid?"
Arabella pinched her thumb and forefinger together. "Just a little. Maybe crazy is a better word."
"Crazy in love." He came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Because I love you."
She grinned at him, such a happy smile that he hated to take his eyes off of her. "I love you, too."
"Dada, Bella-Bella, I'm not sleepy," Olivia called from the bedroom. "Story! Story!"
"She's a demanding one," Arabella laughed. She stuck the container in the fridge. "What do you say? One more story?"
Grayson smiled and nodded. There would be time to put them back on a strict schedule. Right now he just wanted them all to be together. Arabella held his hand as they walked to the twins' room. Before they got there, though, Olivia started wailing.
Grayson's heart jumped to his throat. He dashed inside, visions of mercenaries and blood flashing through his mind. "Olivia!"
She jumped, falling silent instantly. Her eyes widened. She was on her bed, books spread all around her. Grayson swooped down and picked her up, checking her over.
"What's wrong?" he asked. "Where's Hudson?"
"He's here," Arabella said from behind him.
He turned to find her holding a tiny dragon. Hudson's scales were blue-black like Christine's had been, with her slender snout and wide eyes. Grayson patted Olivia's back as she started crying again.
"What's wrong?" he asked, his voice gentler.
"My wings don't grow like Hud's."
Grayson sighed in relief. There was nothing wrong, it was just Olivia's nature shining through again. His children might not be in any more danger, but that didn't mean that he was going to be less vigilant. He foresaw more of these moments in the future. But that was par for the course.
"You'll grow them in time," he assured his daughter. "Now, Hudson, you need to be a little boy again, okay?"
Hudson put his head on Arabella's shoulder. He looked so much like Christine that Grayson didn't have the heart to insist that he shift back. Instead, he tucked Olivia back into her bed and took Hudson and put him to bed, wings and scales and all. Arabella kissed both of the twins' heads.
"What story should we have?"
"Dis one!" Olivia picked up one of her favorites.
Grayson reached for it, but Olivia pulled it away.
"No," his daughter said. "Bella-Bella read it."
"Why don’t you call me Airy instead?" Arabella suggested as she took the book. "That might be easier for you to say. I don't like being called Bella. It makes me sound like a toad."
Olivia giggled. She shook her head. "Nope! I's gonna call you Mama now."
Arabella froze. Her eyes flickered to Grayson. He tensed slightly. Emotions washed through him, going from happy to sad to back again. Tears burned his eyes. Olivia and Hudson were only toddlers; he knew their memories of their mother would fade. Soon she'd only be the person he told them about.
But if there was anybody Christine would want to take her place, it was Arabella. Someone who liked the children, and would protect them with every fiber of her being. He settled down next to her and stroked Hudson's scaly head while Oliva pushed her book into Arabella's lap.
"I think it's a great idea for you to call her Mama," he said quietly.
"Mama, read the story," Olivia demanded.
Arabella smiled as she opened the book. He smiled back, a feeling of peace sweeping over him. This was something he never thought he'd have: to be with his mate, their children nested between them, full of excitement for the future.
But he did have it, and he wouldn't trade it for anything.
*****
THE END
The Vampire Prince's Mate
Description
A BBW trying to save her coven PLUS a hot vampire prince claiming her PLUS a brewing war between humans and vampires!
It’s not easy being a vampire, and Calissa knows it better than anyone else. She hates having to hide from the world and strategize as a top militant official, locked away in the vampire manor. But she hates even more that Lee, the sexy vampire prince of her coven, has an insatiable appetite for her and her alone. He will stop at nothing to win her heart and claim her as his mate and future wife.
Meanwhile, a storm between human hunters and the vampire coven is brewing, meaning that if she wants her race to survive, Calissa will have to set aside her hatred for Lee and work together with him to destroy the hunters before it is too late.
Can Calissa convince the Lords of the Vampire Council to defend the coven? And can she resist Lee’s attempts to make her his?
Chapter One
The sun had long since risen above the horizon line, and yet Calissa found herself wide awake. Her ruby red lips, redder even than the blood she was drinking from the wine glass to her left, were pursed in frustration, while her long, immaculately manicured fingernails drilled rhythmically against the hard wood of her desk.
Three younglings had been staked the previous night, and it had been due to a serious lack of foresight on her part, something she found highly inexcusable.
As she looked over a hand-drawn map, detailed with all the attacks against vampires in the past month, the door to her study opened. A male vampire dressed in simple blacks entered, without any form of warning or permission.
A sigh escaped her lips and she bared her fangs in an unfriendly fashion as the man invited himself to a chair, flopping into the soft, maroon cushion with a noisy sigh.
“You’re not invited,” Calissa snapped, eyeing the man in clear irritation, at which he merely shrugged, a grin on his face.
“And I didn’t ask for your permission to be here. Last I checked, this manor belongs to me, so I can go anywhere I want. This chair is the most comfortable, so I think I’ll sit here for a while,” he hummed.
“If you enjoy it so much, why don’t you take it somewhere else, hmm?” she asked, rolling her eyes when he merely sank deeper into the chair and made a show of getting more comfortable. “I don’t have time to deal with you today, Lee. Your people are dying. You’d think you’d be a little more interested in how to stop the humans from killing them.”
This highly infuriating creature was none other than Lee Dameron, the prince of the vampire coven she belonged to. The fact irrit
ated her to no end, particularly because he showed absolutely zero desire to rule his coven, which meant that, as the coven warlord (or lordess, in her case), any responsibility not fulfilled by his “royal highness” fell to her.
As if she didn’t have enough problems in her own job description to handle.
“Oh come now, Leesi—”
“Calissa,”
“It can’t be nearly as bad as you say. You’re just simply not sending out the right vampires to put a stop to the humans’ shenanigans,” Lee hummed. Had Calissa had anything but her map and the wine glass of blood, she’d have thrown something at his smugly smiling face. “Besides, one of these days the Council will step in.”
“Careful, Lee. Arrogance is not a trait that attracts women,” Calissa snapped. Her eyes, dark brown and brooding, glared daggers at the crowned prince, yet, as always, he didn’t seem perturbed in the slightest.
In fact, he snatched her glass from her desk and took a deep drink, his eyes fixed on her in amusement.
Disgusted, Calissa slammed her hands down on the table, stood up from her chair and walked threateningly over to Lee, her skin tight jeans and low cut shirt accentuating every curve and angle of her body.
“Listen here, Lee Dameron,” she hissed, a strand of her usually perfectly curled, pinned up hair flopping into her face. “If you have nothing productive to contribute towards destroying the human hunters, then you can march your pretty little ass out of my office so I can try to save your people. Understand?”
To her surprise, a feral light flashed in the vampire prince’s eyes and he moved with inhuman speed and grace, so fast that she could barely track him with her eye. Before she really understood how it had happened, she was pinned against the wooden wall of her office, his hands on either side of her shoulders and his fangs sinfully close to her throat.
“Be careful, Leesi,” he purred. A tongue like ice flicked out from between his lips and licked against her neck, while the very points of his fangs pricked against her skin, leaving beads of dark, red blood welling up to meet his tongue.
Calissa shivered softly and her hands instinctively tangled in Lee’s dark hair as she pulled his mouth closer to her throat. Faint memories swirled in her head; memories of many nights of passion, drunk off lust and with the thirst for blood satiated by the taste of another vampire.
A hum rumbled deep in Lee’s throat as he sank his fangs deep into Calissa’s pale throat, his lips locking around the wound he had made. Blood welled up into his mouth, leaving the searing burn of lust on his long dead heart. As he pulled away, and Calissa whined despite herself, a smirk crossed his bloodied lips.
“That’s what I thought,” he purred smugly. “Now, where can’t I be?”
Calissa just glared as she brought her hand up to cover the bite wound in her neck.
“Satisfied?” she growled, a husky, lustful hint in her tone despite her hostilities.
Lee nodded and licked his lips free of her blood as he moved toward the door. Just before he shut it, he poked his head back in and grinned wolfishly. “Oh. If you happen to finish anytime soon, you know where my bed is,” he winked, cackling as this time Calissa chucked her wine glass at the door.
By the time it shattered against the wood, Lee had already disappeared, leaving a trail of laughter behind him.
Chapter Two
Like every other time Lee had interrupted her planning, Calissa found herself waking up naked in his bed, wrapped up in his arms, the following evening. His chest rose and fell softly as he breathed, and, as if he was mocking her even in sleep, a smirk quirked at his lips.
“I hate you,” she whispered angrily, and yet, despite her words, she remained wrapped in his embrace with her heart-shaped face pressed against his cool chest.
She knew the love-and-hate they shared did not make the healthiest relationship, but it never affected her the way it did as of late.
Because it was no longer just about the two of them.
Sighing, Calissa wondered if she would ever gather the strength to tell Lee that consequences finally caught up with their wild passions.
She had known that she was pregnant for three days now, and kept telling herself that all she was waiting for was the right moment, but in her soul she knew she was simply too afraid of his reaction. The volatile mix of dread and joy that the knowledge that she would soon become a mother filled her with was torment enough even without being reminded that the only thing that worked in the relationship with the baby’s father was sex.
Lee was only ever tolerable when he slept, and if she moved then she’d have to listen to him speak. This was much easier to handle. Besides, if she got up now she’d have to listen to reports on how many vampires had been staked during the day, and demands about why she hadn’t sent in a formal petition to request military support from the Lords of the Vampire Council.
It wasn’t that she didn’t have multiple petitions drafted, it was more that Lee had the attention span of a goldfish, and he was the one who had to actively submit and present the petition as the ruling monarch of their coven. Every time she’d tell him exactly what needed to be said, and every time he’d come back without the Council’s support.
The very thought left her blood boiling in her veins, and she shoved the naked man away from her with a huff. A satisfied smile formed on her lips as the air audibly whooshed out of his lungs.
“W-What was that for?” Lee gasped, after wheezing for a few long moments. Genuine hurt filled his dark eyes, and for a moment a pang of guilt tore at Calissa’s heart.
“Nothing. You deserved it anyway,” she snapped, already on her feet in all her naked glory. As she moved, her neck and shoulders protested in pain. She knew they’d be all marked up and bitten to shreds.
“Calissa?” Lee called out to her, a frown on his face, but she was already storming out of his room. “Calissa!”
Eyes moved all over her form, some openly staring at her plump breasts or taut butt as she walked by, but she couldn’t bring herself to care in her irritation. Why did Lee have to be so incredibly useless?
Speak of the devil... Familiar hands gripped forcefully at her bare hips from behind just as she reached her room. If she turned around now and looked Lee in the eye then she’d end up broken hearted, angry and confused later on.
“Calissa. Turn around and look at me,” Lee demanded. His tone rang with tension and pain, and as he turned her around his eyes glared with anger.
“Don’t you dare walk out on me again,” he snapped, ignoring the stares and glares his naked form received as he towered over Calissa.
Part of her wanted to reach out to him and allow him to pull her into his arms. Her heart ached to be loved and coveted, but her head could not forgive him for his incompetence and his indifference.
“Until you do your job, there is nothing between us!” she said, her hands pressing weakly at his chest. Had she truly wanted to push him away, she would have, but she couldn’t quite bring herself to do it. “Until you act like a ruler… Like a leader, we are nothing!”
With each accusation, Lee’s eyes filled with pain and his hands dropped to his sides. With the way he hunched over, it looked like he’d been punched in the stomach, and when he opened his mouth to speak, she already knew what he was going to say. This happened every time they shared a bed together.
“I love you, Calissa. Can’t you see that?”
Of course she knew he loved her. She knew he wanted her as his mate, but she couldn’t forgive him for getting his people killed. For getting their people killed.
“I have another petition proposal. Stop by later tonight,” she said, as she opened her door and shut it right in his face, before he could say anything more.
For a moment, she stared at nothing, thinking of the pain on his face, and then she sank to the floor with tears streaming down her cheeks. She couldn’t love him… Not when he was on the path of condemning them all to death.
Chapter Three
Lee
stared up at the marble building before him, his teeth clenched together in determination. This time, they’d listen to him. This time, he’d convince them to send help. This time, Calissa would be proud of him and wouldn’t regret having sex with him in the morning. Steeling himself, he pushed open the door and stepped into the gloom of the hallway.
“Back again, Mr. Dameron?” called the soft, almost papery voice of the near-fossilized vampire who ran the front desk. Alucard’s blind eyes followed Lee as easily as if he could still see, and he lifted a wrinkled, withered hand to point in the direction of the Council.
“They are in there, but be warned, Mr. Dameron. They are growing tired of your… less than satisfactory attempts to gain their favor,” Alucard said.
Lee didn’t care to ask what he meant, nor did he allow the words to stop him from throwing open the previously closed, heavy, wooden doors to the Council room. The doors swung forward and banged against the wall with a low, echoing thud that forced all four pairs of eyes to turn and look at him.
“Lee,”
“Viktor, Arjin, Angulic, David,” Lee said, greeting each of the Council members in turn with a deep bow. As he did this, he clutched tightly at the parchment roll in his hands, internally telling himself that he needed to get this right.
“What is it this time, Lee?” snapped Arjin, an old vampire with the worst temperament of the four of them. “Haven’t you disturbed us enough?”
“Quiet, Arjin. We are required to hear him ou—”
“No, Viktor. He’s right. He continuously comes back to plead the same shamble of a case, and for what?” Angulic muttered, her eyes flashing in irritation as she eyed Lee.
“Please... This is important!” Lee stammered, but even the soft-spoken David was shaking his head. Three against one was enough to leave Viktor scratching at his head.
