People believed that Prince Daemon would one day lead all of the supernatural worlds to freedom once and for all. Mariska doubted that very much, though.
“I know of him,” she said finally, “I also know that he can't be much of a prince if he allows his people to be tortured and killed while he sits on an island safely.”
“Then you don't know anything.” he spat.
His harsh tone caught her off guard. For the first time since she had met him, she had managed to get a rise out of him.
“Oh I’m sorry, did I hit a nerve?” she said sarcastically.
Now he was ignoring her. For whatever reason, his anger upset her. She didn't want to think about the implications of what those feelings meant so instead she slipped on her headphones and began to listen to music. As the sound reverberate through her, she drifted off to sleep. In her dream, she was running to a man on an island. He had to be the prince. She couldn't see his face, but she knew that she had to get to him and tell him that they were coming. Who was coming? The Naqi, they were coming to kill them all.
***
Mariska felt the vibrations rattle through her body as the plane touchdown in her native country. It was two in the afternoon there. Even before the ‘buckle seatbelts’ sign was shut off, she felt jet lagged. The humidity in the air seeped through every opening. Mariska realized now just how much she would miss the freedom and the climate of sunny California. She would need to change before she got a taxi to her parents home. If they saw her dressed in skintight jeans and a low cut blouse, her father may have a heart attack.
Looking to her side, she saw the handsome stranger was once again staring at her as if he was trying to read her thoughts.
“Great, I was hoping you were just part of a bad dream.” she mumbled.
“Well, I’m flattered that you were dreaming about me then.” he said with a smile.
“If you think I’m going to lead you to my parents, you're mistaken,” she said as she gathered her things. The flight was grounded and was starting to disembark.
“Mariska, I have no desire to harm you or your family.” he said following her from the plane.
She didn't have the time to deal with him, if he tried to follow her after she was changed she would dispatch of him. As she stepped down from the plane, she saw her parents standing fifty feet away from her though on the platform. Behind them a large black car and two guards.
“Mom? Dad?” she ran to them, dropping her bags. “What are you doing here?” she said as she embraced them.
“He didn't tell you darling?” said her mother, looking over Mariska's shoulder and to the vampire.
“What?” Mariska responded curtly.
“His majesty sent the guard to protect us, he insisted on recovering you himself, though.” said her mother, dumbfounded that her daughter didn't know who the man was.
Spinning on her heels, Mariska looked to the vampire. “Prince Daemon?” she asked.
With his sultry grin, the stranger replied, “the one and only, at your service.”
Chapter Three
“What the hell?” Mariska all but yelled at the man.
“Mariska!” shouted her parents in unison. She didn't know if they were offended by her tone or language and she didn't care at that moment.
“I am very sorry your majesty, I don't know what's got into her,” said her father, looking to Mariska with the same look that made her blood run cold as a child. No doubt she would be scolded harshly for her words.
“No, please Roje, she has every right to be upset.” said the prince.
“I don't need your permission to be upset, your majesty.” said Mariska, practically spitting out the last words.
From behind her, she could hear father muttering a long line of threats to her under his breath in Arabic. She had been gone for five years but still, she could remember everything that he was saying.
Her hostility didn't phase the prince, he was still smiling at her which only served to infuriate her more. The guards had loaded her few belongings into the back of the car, and now they were holding open the doors for the family and the prince.
“Mariska, if you don't mind, I would feel better if you could hate me from the safety of the car?” he said.
His eyes were full of amusement at her anger. Mariska continued to glare at him but succeeded in getting into the vehicle with her parents and him. It was a large SUV with four seats that spun to face each other in the center. It fit a total of eight people. Four passengers and four guards. Mariska wasn't listening to her father's string of curse words directed at her. Her behavior, her attitude, her appearance, on and on. They were laced with apologies to the Prince for all of her missteps against him. She looked out the window and contemplated if she could make it back to California before the next day.
She turned her head when the prince cleared his throat, “Roje, we have other things we need to discuss. It is no longer safe for you and your family outside of the islands. Now you know why I cannot stay long. I would like for you and your wife to return with the guards no later than tomorrow.”
For the first time since she arrived home, Mariska's father was silent.
“I will stay behind for several days with Mariska and then we will follow you and your wife.” finished Prince Daemon.
Mariska opened her mouth to protest, she would rather die than stay behind with the arrogant man.
“Mariska, the option is not up to you. It is in your best safety to remain with me,” said the Prince, not waiting for her to voice her opinion.
Once more though, she started to protest and for the first time, her mother spoke.
“Mariska.” was all her mother said, in that one word, she had commanded more respect and complacency from Mariska than her father and the prince had in the past twenty-four hours. She would not defy her mother. She was a woman that Mariska held in great regard, and she would trust her intuition.
“Alright Mama,” said Mariska to the shock of both her father and the Prince.
***
The next morning, her parents hugged and kissed her once more. The Prince had insisted on staying with the throughout the night. Him along with his guard made the small house very crowded. Mariska would have liked to spend more time alone with her mother before their departure but the time just wasn't there. As she watched them leave with their guards, she felt an emptiness inside of her and a profound sense of coming danger. Her instincts though didn't matter; it seemed that anything they did that day would lead to risk. Turning from the door, she came face to face with Daemon.
“Alone for the next two days, I wonder what we could do?” He said with a glint in his eyes.
She glared at him and ducked under his arm, “Well, I have work to do. You, however, can go to hell.”
“You know most women would give anything to have me to themselves for two days,” He said
She turned back to him and smiled, “I guess most women are easy to compel, and you've never been told no.”
With lightening speed, he was once again in front of her, pinning her against the wall. She felt her body heat rise. His sturdy frame pressed up against her own. His lips were so close she could kiss them if she only tilted her head a bit. Mariska felt his large hands gripping her hips possessively before he spoke.
In little more than a whisper, he said, “I have no need to compel women. I'd like to know what witchcraft you're using on me now, though.”
He leaned away from her ear to look into her eyes, “you have captivated me somehow empath.”
Mariska quickly steadied her breathing; she couldn't let him suck her in so completely. With a playful smile, she asked, “does that line work on all your woman?”
With the mood lightened, he laughed and said, “I've never used it before, is it working?”
Slipping out of his grip and sauntering away she shot him a smile and replied; “a little.”
With that, he let out an enchanting laugh and left her to her work. As hard as
she tried to ignore his presence in her childhood home while she worked, it was almost impossible. Every noise he made, she wished he was closer. Each moment he walked by, she wanted him to stop and talk to her. When he did approach her to make plans for their trip, she wished he would embrace her and stroke her neck while she kissed him passionately.
“Mariska?” She jumped at the sound of her name.
“Shit!” She said, looking up.
“Sorry. I don't think I realized how deep into your thoughts you were.” Said Daemon
She wasn't sure if it was her imagination playing tricks on her or not, but the prince looked flushed.
“I um, I was just,” she stammered as she rose from the small desk.
The Prince circled to where she was standing now. He was directly in front of her. She would have to climb over the desk backward to get away from him if she wanted to.
“I should mention something,” he said from a safe distance.
She eyed him suspiciously, “what?”
“Well, I have acquired many skills over the years. Some of them are more gifts than skills.” He started.
As he spoke, he closed the space between them, “one such gift, is the ability to sense emotions in others. Much like your own empath abilities.”
Her heart started beating harder; she couldn't tell if it was his emotions or her own. Perhaps both of them blending together. He looked down at the space between them and took a step forward. Cautiously, he put his hand on her hip. She could hear his own breathing was labored. He lifted his other hand to her neck and wrapped his fingers into her dark hair. Their eyes met, and it was like a thousand lights burning bright. She felt his desire blending with her own. The need to feel his lips on her neck and breast was consuming.
Like a knife cutting through butter, though, a new emotion came flooding in. Fear. Something was wrong; he felt it too. It was more powerful than even their desire. He begrudgingly pulled away from her seconds before a loud pounding came from the front door.
“Wait here,” He said to Mariska as he walked away.
She took a deep breath when he had gone. Grabbing the pen from her desk, she slowly started to make her way to the front room. She could hear two male voices coming from around the corner.
“Mariska, there is no need to hide. Please join us,” said Daemon.
Mariska muttered under her breath, having a vampire in the house was very inconvenient. She had always thought of herself as pretty quiet. The prince though could hear almost anything she did. Mariska wondered if he could hear her foot being shoved up his ass if he kept up the overpower man act.
“Whats going on?” she asked as she rounded the corner.
“Mariska, this is Bruno, he is one of my guards.” started the prince.
Mariska nodded her head in a show of welcome.
“He was waiting for your parents envoy at the airport. They never came, though,” said Daemon.
The words rang through Mariska like an electric shock. Daemon saw this and went to her. He saw his guards confused look, never before had Daemon shown affection for a woman in public. Daemon didn't care, though.
“Oh my god, we have to find them,” she said.
“Mariska, listen to me. Bruno is going to stay here with you, only briefly. I am going to go out and contact some friends in the area. It would take too long to get my own guard here. I will only be gone for maybe two hours. You will be safe with Bruno, and we will find your parents okay?” he said as he stroked her cheek.
“Okay.” was all that she could muster. She knew that there was nothing she could do while she was in such a state. She had to trust a man she hardly knew.
She slumped down to sit on the floor and watched as Damon spoke to his guard one more time. He looked back at Mariska but said nothing before turning to the door and disappearing into the busy street.
“Miss, is there anything I can do?” asked the guard.
“No” was all she could say, she put her head in her hands and buried them in her lap.
She wanted to sob. She could feel the guard looking at her but still she didn't care. From nowhere, she heard a loud thump that pulled her from her depression. She jumped up and saw Bruno’s body laying on the floor in a pile. She had no time to react, four men stormed into the small area and grabbed ahold of her. She didn't even think of defending herself. Her only thought was to scream before her world went dark from the cloth placed over her mouth.
Chapter Four
Mariska could feel the room before she was able to see it. As an empath, ‘feeling’ people's auras was the first sense that came to her when she woke and the last one to leave her at night. She had met an empath in college who didn't know she had the gift. Instead, the poor girl just thought she was an extreme bi-polar. When she had met Mariska, she was heavily medicated so that she could get a few hours of sleep at night. When they had parted ways their senior year, her life had been transformed. Meditation had been her savior.
Mariska felt the anger and fear in the room. There was something else, something deep and sinister. She slowly started to regain her other senses. As she opened her eyes and looked around the room, she saw that she was in an ancient castle. Oh god, she thought, she was in the Naqi Castle. She could feel the guards outside her door a little bit better now. They were horrified with their new leader. Even now, Mariska could hear the screams coming from the other rooms. If she had ever doubted the intentions of the family, now she knew the truth. The door to her cell began to open, and she jerked her head up. For the first time, she realized she was restrained to the cot like bed with silken ropes.
“Ah, It's so sweet to see you awake Mariska,” said the vampire.
Mariska was not ready for the man that had opened the door. He matched Daemon in height and build, but that's where the similarities between the two vampires ended. The man in front of her was covered with scars. His long nails were stained red. The sight made her shudder. Her mother had told her of the custom of the Naqi leaders. They did now just feed on humans, they cut them open and fed for days on their blood. Their nails would be dipped in poison to add to the poor souls pain. Mariska could smell the blood and the poison.
“What do you want from me?” she said.
“Let me introduce myself. I am Yelda, leader of the Naqi family.” The vampire smiled as he used his recent title. It was a horrifying smiled. Beneath thin lips, the smile revealed two rows of sharpened teeth. They too were stained with blood. If Mariska was correct, the son of the former leader was over five-hundred years old.
She didn't want to deal with him, he was known for his love of torturing the supernatural, “I know who you are, what do you want?” she said with far more courage than she thought she had.
“I see you don't like to be sublet so neither shall I. I want to destroy you, I want to murder you and your family and all those who you hide. I want to find your lover and drink the blood of my enemy,” he said as he moved closer to her.
Now he was mere feet away from her; she had to fight down vomit. His body and breath smelled of rotting flesh. Like his very person was deteriorating away from how evil he was. The scent gave her more determination than ever. She would never defy her family. Nor would she betray those whom they had worked so hard to protect.
“Kiss my ass you disgusting corpse.” she said before spitting at him.
He was not phased by her show of bravery. He closed the space between them and placed one long, pointed nail on her throat. On the same spot that hours before she had been begging Daemon in her mind to kiss. Glaring at her, Yelda pierced the soft skin. Mariska couldn't help herself as she let out a shriek of pain. The puncture revealed what she already knew; his nails were coated with poison. Please God, don't let him drink from me.
When a vampire drank from a person, he was essentially marking his territory. No other vampire would go near that human. The thought of being claimed by that monster and not Daemon, who she was quickly falling for was horrifying.
�
�You see, I do not want to kill you. Not yet at least,” said Yelda. “If I kill you now, how will your lovely prince be able to watch you die?”
At the thought of Daemon suffering, Yelda began to laugh. “No Mariska, you are only here to help me deliver a message.”
Yelda moved close to Mariska again. She couldn't move away from the stench like she had before. The poison was now crippling her. She prayed to God that her mother's stories had been accurate. The poison was only meant to torture, not to kill. Yelda enjoyed doing that last part himself.
“Tell your beloved Prince Daemon that I am coming for him, I know his secrets now. The keepers cannot protect what they cannot see.”
That was the last thing that Mariska remembered until she woke up on the floor of her parents home once more. She heard a voice coming from outside the door and saw Bruno laying where they had left him before her kidnapping.
Please God, let him be alive! She thought to herself. When his chest moved, she let out an enormous sigh of relief. Mariska groaned as she rose up to a sitting position. Every bone in her body hurt. Whether it was from the poison or being hauled around like a bag of potatoes, she felt worn.
“Bruno,” she said, shoving the large man with her foot.
The subtle movement made her head spin.
“Bruno wake up,” she said a second time. This time, she was rewarded with a massive groan.
Looking at her watch, she realized she’d been gone less than twenty-four hours. Still, Daemon would have already returned, so where was he now?
“Miss Wasi, oh god, my head, are you okay?” Said Bruno, finally coming around.
“I will be, where's Daemon? I was gone an entire day. Why didn't he return?” She asked him.
“Wait, they took you?” Said Bruno, rising to his feet rather unsteadily.
“Yes, it was Yelda. He said he had a message for the prince.” She said, now attempting to stand.
“I have failed you, and I have failed my prince.” Said Bruno, reaching for his phone.
VAMPIRE:Vampire Guardian Series: Paranormal Mystery Vampire Alpha Male Romance (New Adult Contemporary Paranormal Royalty Fantasy Romance Collection)) Page 2
