The Vampire Heir

by Juliana Haygert

  I wished I had never claimed her. I wished I could simply drop her at the blood slaves’ quarters and forget her. But how could I? The moment I did that, Alex would take her. He would flounce her around to spite me.

  There had to be another way.

  Please, let me go.

  Her words twisted in my chest like a knife in my dead heart.

  If only I could …

  But I could do nothing for her now. She was mine, and I had to take care of her, to make sure she was safe, even if she drove me crazy and made me want to squeeze her neck every two seconds.

  I shook my head.

  If anything, this at least made my long days, my long years, more eventful.

  After another stroll around the maze, I headed back to the castle. As instructed, the guards were still in their spots.

  “Anything to report?” I asked as I approached them.

  “No, my prince,” Tank said. “No one came in or out.”

  I nodded, then unlocked the door and stepped in.

  I braced myself, ready for another round of argument, but stopped dead in my tracks when I saw her lying on the couch, sleeping with her long blond hair fanned out over a pillow, and a book on her lap.

  I picked up the book and stared at the cover. Dracula by Bram Stoker. I almost laughed at her reading choice. I turned to put the book back in its place on my shelves, but stopped. If she was reading it, then there was no reason to put it away. I dropped the book on the coffee table in front of the couch, then glanced at her.

  The sofa was comfortable, but sleeping here wouldn’t be good for her back. Careful not to wake her, I picked her up in my arms, alarmed by how small and fragile she was, and carried her to her bedroom. Her head lolled back before she turned her nose to my chest. Something warmed inside me, but I pushed it down. Away. Back.

  I gently laid her on the bed, took off her shoes, and pulled the covers over her.

  Then I stood there, watching her. Watching her fair skin and the freckles on her nose, the long lashes resting over her cheeks, the small nose, and the full, red lips. Her hair was pure gold around her, like the sun’s halo.

  She was beautiful and enchanting.

  The urge to protect her, to keep her safe hit me square in the chest, taking my breath away.

  I didn’t understand why I felt this way about her, why I wanted to make sure she was okay and would be okay. I didn’t understand why I felt so drawn to her, but I couldn’t ignore it anymore.

  11

  Thea

  I didn’t remember moving from the couch to the bed last night. It only could have been Drake, but I wasn’t about to question it.

  After taking a shower, I went to the closet and inspected the clothes in there. I recognized my own clothes—my jeans and blouse and my ballet flats—and the beautiful dress I had used during the ball, but the rest wasn’t mine. Even after three days, I still didn’t know everything in here.

  There were blouses and tees and shirts and skirts and shorts and pants and dresses of all colors and styles. Same for the shoes. And they were all my size.

  Trying to feel normal, I picked a pair of capri jeans, a dark pink blouse, and ballet flats.

  My hands shook as I reached for the knob. After our argument the night before, I wasn’t so eager to face Drake again.

  I groaned.

  He drove me crazy. Why the hell did he have to be so infuriating? So possessive? Why the hell had he claimed me? To annoy the hell out of me? To have someone to scare?

  Tall and wide and strong, with those deep eyes and hard jaw and chin, he did scare me—a lot—but I wasn’t going to let him know that. Well, I was sure he could hear and sense it with the rapid beating of my heart and my erratic breath, but it didn’t matter. I wouldn’t show it to him.

  My stomach growled and I gave in. Holding my head high, I marched into the living and dining room.

  And found it empty.

  I didn’t know why, but I had expected to see Drake there. I glanced at the window outside. I had no idea what time it was since my phone had been taken, and there were no clocks in this house, but it looked like the sun had almost set. It was probably eight or nine at night, the time I thought Drake had breakfast.

  I shuddered, remembering him drinking a tall glass full of blood.

  “You’re up,” Thomas said, coming into the room from the other side. “I’ll bring you breakfast.”

  Before I could answer, he was gone.

  I took my seat at the dining table and stared at the night sky while I waited. Not five minutes later, Thomas placed a tray in front of me.

  “Thank you.” I looked at him. “And … I’m sorry.”

  He shrugged. “I don’t care. Just don’t bother me anymore. Or break things on my head.” His tone was curt, sharp. He was hurt and it was because of me. “You can leave if you want. I don’t care.”

  I swallowed hard, trying to think of something to say and coming up short. He was the only human I had had contact with in three days. In a sense, it was as if he was my only potential friend here, and I had shattered any possibility for a friendship last night.

  Before I could stop, the words were out of my mouth. “Where’s Drake?”

  “Prince Drake,” Thomas corrected me. “Today is Lord Reynard’s funeral, so Prince Drake won’t be back for a few hours.” He glanced at me, his expression deadpan. “Do you need anything else?”

  I glanced down at the tray in front of me. There was enough food to feed four of me here. “No, thank you.”

  Thomas grunted before disappearing behind a door.

  My stomach growled once more, and despite my mood having turned sour, I ate my breakfast.

  When I was done, I stood and glanced around.

  Now what?

  I bit my lip as an idea came to mind. Thomas said Drake would be out for hours, and as far as I could see, Thomas didn’t want to be near me, which meant he wouldn’t be coming this way anytime soon. It was a foolish idea, but the only one I had …

  I started with the living room. I rummaged through the tables, the shelves, behind the books, under the couch … there weren’t many drawers or places to hide anything in here. Everything was open and most of the tables had glass tops and no drawers.

  Another idea hit me.

  The walls. Maybe there were hidden doors or compartments in the walls behind the furniture. I checked behind chairs and tables and wall decorations, but again there weren’t many. There were no paintings on the walls, no picture frames, nothing.

  Sighing, I moved on to the dining room. That took me even less time to check as there was only the long table, the chairs, and a glass buffet table along a wall.

  Apprehensive, I turned toward the hallway.

  The first door revealed a library of sorts. Beige shelves lined the walls, filled from the bottom to the top with more books and scrolls, and a leather long chaise occupied the center. What was it about this vampire and books? With his menacing height and deadly stare, I didn’t take him for a reader.

  No. He looked like an assassin. Or a bodyguard. Or the rebel guitarist of a rock band.

  Or a monster.

  I shuddered, pushing those thoughts away.

  I had to focus. I was here for a purpose. The sooner I—

  Pushing those thoughts out of my mind, I went back to the hallway and checked the next door. A guest bedroom much like mine. The next four doors were suites, again, very much like mine. Then there was a small closet with extra linens and towels—I couldn’t imagine vampires having guests and hosting them like normal human families did.

  I searched through my bedroom too, though like all rooms on this side of the castle, there weren’t many good hiding places in here.

  Then, I halted in front of the double doors at the end of the corridor.

  I stared at them, wondering, thinking. I shouldn’t go in there. Drake would kill me. But he wasn’t here. Even Thomas wasn’t here. If I were quick, he would never know.

  Besides
, Drake’s chambers were the only logical place anything of value could be hidden.

  My hands trembled as I twisted the knob. I fully expected it to be locked, but it wasn’t. The knob turned and the door swung open.

  I held my breath and stepped inside.

  My brows jumped to my hairline as I took in the room in front of me. Off-white ceramic flooring, a couple of thick beige rugs, a king-sized bed with fluffy off-white comforter and pillows along a wall, a long but low lit fireplace on the opposite wall, and floor-to-ceiling windows on the other side of the room. Thick, white curtains bunched at the corner, probably for the daytime, when Drake was sleeping and wanted darkness.

  It was beautiful, elegant, modern. So unlike a vampire.

  Slowly, I walked through the place, stunned by how cold, how precise, how male his suite was. Well, his entire quarters. There were two doors beside the bed, one leading to an open bathroom with a big white marble tub and standing shower for at least ten people to shower simultaneously, and the other led to the most simple but long walk-in closet I had ever seen. A long bar ran from one side to the other and many shirts and jackets and dress pants hung from it. On the floor, a couple of pairs of shoes. And that was it. No drawers, no folded clothes stacking high, no drawers.

  Where did he keep his underwear?

  Did he even wear any underwear?

  An image of Drake in only his underwear popped in my mind. Heat spread through my cheeks, and once again, I pushed unwelcome thoughts from my mind.

  Carefully, I lifted the edge of his bed covers. To my surprise, I found a long silver dagger under a pillow. The blade was polished and sharp, and the hilt had swirly engravings. It was beautiful. I stared at the dagger a moment longer, wondering why a goddamn vampire would sleep with a dagger under his pillow.

  And why did it matter? Shaking my head, I pulled the covers back on.

  Standing beside the bed, I whirled around, letting my eyes scan the place, but there was nothing. No one—

  My gaze snatched on a faint line on the wall. Frowning, I approached it and ran my finger over it. The line went straight down, to the floor. Following it up, the line turned parallel to the floor. I gasped, realizing this was a door!

  I pushed it with all my might, but it didn’t budge. I tried slipping my fingernails into the cracks so I could pull the door, but the crack lines were too narrow.

  I stepped back and looked at it. How was I going to open it?

  Then something caught my eye. In the bottom left corner where the wall met the floor, the line was a tiny bit thicker. I knelt beside it and examined the opening. It was small and somewhat oval, with pointed edges.

  I stared at it for a moment while the wheels in my mind turned. It couldn’t be the black key Drake and Thomas carried around. Another key? But where could it be?

  The dagger!

  The shape was of the dagger’s blade.

  Excitement filled my chest as I pulled the blade from the under Drake’s pillow and slowly slid its blade into the small hole on the wall. The blade went all in and when the hilt touched the wall, a faint click sounded.

  My eyes wide, I pulled out the dagger, and the door popped open with a loud whistle. My heart skipped a beat. Slowly, I pushed the door all the way open and spied inside.

  Unlike the other rooms in this side of the castle, this one was like a big attic. It was a large room with a low ceiling and cluttered with objects. I could barely walk among the stacked things—a rocking chair, boxes with old toys, a rickety shelf filled with old leather bound books, a broken vanity with shiny jewelry and empty perfume flasks … everything forgotten and covered in dust and cobwebs.

  A stack of frames caught my attention and I approached it. Curious, I ran my hand over the dust gathering on top of the first paint, cleaning some of it. It was the painting of a family. A father, a mother, three young boys, and a little girl—no older than two—all of them close together and smiling.

  The bright green eyes of the oldest boy stared back at me.

  I gasped and—

  “What are you doing in here?” his voice shook the room. My heart seized in fright and I dropped the painting. It teetered on top of the others, then flopped to the dusty floor. Drake was by my side in a second, picking up the painting. He turned his dark glare to me. “What are you doing here?”

  “I … I …” I didn’t know what to say. Should I lie? What would I say? There was no reasonable excuse for me to be in here. “I’m sorry,” was all I could think to say.

  He growled at me. “You shouldn’t be in here. You shouldn’t even come near my bedroom!”

  I swallowed my fear and faced him. “I was bored.”

  He bared his teeth. “Bored? That’s your excuse?”

  “There’s nothing to do here!”

  “Then go read a book!”

  “That’s not enough. I need to go out!”

  Drake punched the wall behind me, missing my head by an inch. I flinched. I could lie to him about not being afraid, but I knew he could hear my heart and breathing. He knew I was afraid of him.

  “I’m tired of you. I’m tired of your arrogance and your childishness.” His eyes darkened and his fangs elongated. “If you want to go out, then get out!” he bellowed, snapped his teeth only a couple of inches from my face. “Now!”

  I blanched, my stomach dropped, and my hands shook.

  That was it. I didn’t care if he was protecting me as he said. I didn’t care that I had a purpose, a reason to be here. I couldn’t live among vampires and pretend everything was fine. I couldn’t take this anymore.

  My heart slammed in my ribs as I raced out of the bedroom, across the hallway, to the front door. Without slowing, I threw the door open and rushed out.

  “Hey!” a guard called to me, but I didn’t care. I just kept running.

  In matters of seconds, I was lost, but I kept going. I needed to get away from Drake, to get away from his sharp teeth and his rage.

  I turned a corner and almost ran into someone.

  Prince Alex.

  The blood drained from my face, and I stepped back as his lips spread into a wolfish smile.

  “Aren’t you Drake’s pet?” he asked, teasing, like a cat playing with a mouse. “Where is your master?”

  My hand slapped over my heart and my knees wobbled. I had left the brooch in Drake’s chambers.

  Shit.

  Holding my breath, I took a step back. “H-he’s … I’m … hm …”

  If the fear wasn’t overwhelming all of my senses, I would have thought Alex was handsome, like the other princes. Tall, wide, with long, brown hair and hazel eyes, and a devilish grin. A grin that now wanted way more than I was willing to give.

  He wetted his lips. “Speechless, I see. A fine asset in a beautiful woman.” He prowled over to me, trapping me between a wall and him. The hair on the back of my neck and arm stood on end. “Are you lost, little lamb? I can help you.” He ran a finger down my cheek. “I can take you to my chambers, and I’ll show you what fun is.”

  I winced from his touch. “Never,” I spat, sounding braver than I felt.

  With a growl, Alex grabbed my chin and turned my face to him. “You’ll learn pretty quickly.” He bared his fangs and leaned into my neck.

  Whimpering, I pushed him, but the man was made of steel. He placed an arm over my chest and pushed me harder into the wall.

  “No,” I croaked, slightly out of air.

  “Just relax,” he said, grazing his fangs on my neck. “You’ll like it.”

  12

  Drake

  Hell.

  This woman …

  I exhaled through my nose, trying to regain some control. I almost snapped at her. I almost threw her against a wall and bit her, for hell’s sake. What was wrong with me?

  What was wrong with her?

  I glanced around the storage behind my bedroom, accounting for all my things. My family’s things. The little I had here was all I could save from their lives. Everythin
g in here was over five hundred years old. Everything in here was my treasure, one I had never shared with anyone.

  How did she find it? And why was she snooping around?

  A new wave of rage rolled over my muscles, but I released another long breath. This wasn’t the time to be angry with her. I had scared her, really scared her, and she had fled my chambers in a rush.

  I should go after her before she found trouble.

  After placing the painting of my family on top of all the others, I turned and sped from my room, following her sweet, sweet scent to find her.

  I navigated through the corridors, and as her scent become stronger, his scent hit me too.

  I faltered, then sped some more.

  “Get off her!” I boomed as Alex leaned down, ready to sink his teeth into Thea’s neck. Welcoming the rage back, I pushed him off to the side. Alex grasped Thea’s arm and pulled her with him.

  A laugh rolled out of Alex’s mouth as he turned Thea in his arms, pressing her back to his chest. He stared at me, a challenging glint in his eyes. “Lost your blood slave? Finders keepers.” He leaned down and licked her neck. Thea whimpered. Her heart beat too damn fast.

  “Let her go,” I said with a low growl.

  “But she smells so good,” Alex said. “I don’t remember her smelling this good when you first claimed her.” He sniffed her neck and she flinched. “I bet her blood will be like heaven.”

  “Let. Her. Go,” I repeated, fighting so I wouldn’t lose my patience right here and murder Alex.

  Alex made a show of splaying his fingers on Thea’s stomach, grinding her against him, then showing me his fangs.

  I lost it.

  Fangs bared, I lunged at him. With careful movements, I pried Alex’s hands from around Thea, grabbed her arm and spun her to stand behind me, and went for Alex’s throat. Pressing him against the wall, I lifted him up and pressed my fingers tight, choking him.