“No.” Tracker hiccupped. “You’ll be fine. I know who that short one is. You have to fight him tomorrow, so I’ve been spying on him. Checking out his weakness. It’s women, so this time in the ring, we’re going to use your seductive powers that all fae have.”
“I have seductive powers?”
“You sure as hell do,” Tracker hiccupped. “Now, when he comes up, I want you to practice. Stick out your chest and lick your lips. Really sell it, girl. Maybe tomorrow in the ring, he will still be flustered by what happens here tonight.”
Dani was trying hard not to laugh. Whether it was because she was trying to imagine me being seductive or because of something else, I didn’t know.
The three male vamps walking toward us were all average in the looks department. They wore tight leather pants and equally tight mesh shirts. The leader of the group appeared to be of Asian descent, and had spiky, jet black hair with enough mousse in it that if it started raining, he wouldn’t be able to see for a week. His comrades were both pale skinned and looked almost bored.
When they were directly in front of us, the leader said, “Hello, Tandi.”
I looked at Dani for direction, and she intervened for me. “What do you want?”
He gave her a small smile. “I’m actually the one who will be fighting Tandi tomorrow, and I just wanted to introduce myself. I’m Zen.”
“Um. Okay?” I said. My deep Southern roots had me quickly adding, “It’s very nice to meet you.”
He gave me a small smile. “Even under the circumstances?”
I was hoping I wasn’t blushing as Tracker tickled my shoulder to let me know he wanted to see my performance.
I batted my eyelashes rapidly, sticking out my chest. With my hands clasped behind my back to draw attention to the girls, I started twisting my torso. When his mouth dropped open, I decided to gnaw on my bottom lip in hopes that it was attractive and seemingly naughty. One of his friends openly glared at me while the other one stifled a laugh.
Zen took a step away from me. “Okay, yeah. I just wanted to introduce myself before our battle. See you tomorrow.”
I gave him a little finger wave and stood there rocking until all three had disappeared from our view.
Dani fell onto the bench laughing. “Oh, that was… that was. I don’t know what that was, but it was nothing short of great. Thank the stars I’m not human because I would have wet my pants.” She wiped tears from her face. “Oh, Tracker, you silly bug, come here and let me high five you.”
A swirl of wind hit my shoulder before I felt the weight of Tracker jumping from me to the bench in his cat form. “Admit it, love of my life, that was brilliant, impressive, magnificent. I have a slew of words to describe how awesome that just was.”
Dani guffawed all over again. “Yes. Wait until I tell Stephan.” Then they both started snickering.
“Um, guys. I’m starting to feel like the butt of the joke. Somebody want to share?”
Dani pointed in the direction the vampires just went. “Zen is gay.”
“Come again?”
Tracker was rolling on his back, chuckling. “She said he’s gay, doll face. As in he is into people that have a different package than you do. He bats for the other team. His door don’t swing that way. Did you see the way Zen’s boyfriend was glaring at her?”
“Why the hell did you tell me to use my seductive powers?” I screeched, which only made them laugh more.
“First of all, seeing you try to be sexy was like watching a slow-motion train wreck. You don’t know if you should jump up and try to help or video it, for insurance purposes only of course. Secondly, I lied. The fae don’t have seductive powers. I just needed a good laugh. And I was hoping our laughter over your epic fail would create a bond between me and Dani. You know, like a drop-her-panties kind of bond.” His whiskers twitched as he asked Dani, “Did it work?
“Afraid not,” Dani said. “But I did appreciate the laugh.”
“Y’all are jerks. Just in case anyone was wondering.”
The sun would set soon, so we all made our way back inside. They were still making jokes.
Tracker had turned into a fly and said he was off to check the status quo between the gardener and the accountant. Dani bid me goodnight. I ignored her because I was still pissy over their joke. As soon as I had shut my door behind me, I heard Stephan in my mind. He must’ve sensed me in that way he does.
“You’re back. Can we talk?”
I didn’t reply because I wasn’t in the mood. Honestly, I was glad about Stephan’s plan because that meant I wouldn’t have to face Zen in the ring. How embarrassing. I quickly changed into pajamas that completely covered me with cute zebras whose eyes seemed to follow you everywhere you went. I could be seductive if I wanted to. Just maybe not in these pajamas.
Two minutes later, Stephan stood in front of my bed with his hands on his hips.
“You know that I can tell you’re awake.”
I threw back the covers. “Okay, fine, you want to talk. Let’s talk.”
He covered his eyes with a hand. “Tandi, I think the image of you in those hideous zebra pajamas has damaged my retinas.” He dropped his hand and grinned.
“I’m so confused right now. Are you trying to make a joke? Where is the real Stephan?”
He sat on my bed. “This thing called humor. I thought I would try it out.”
“Well, maybe not tonight. I’m a little sensitive about my seductive powers.”
One brow rose. “Care to elaborate?”
“Nope. I just want to go to bed in my zebra pajamas and pretend that this night never happened.”
“There is something that I wanted to tell you.” He rubbed a hand on the back of his neck, and I got a sick feeling. “I’ve been doing some research on marriage contracts, and it seems that after vampires marry, they can find each other by one another’s scent but not before. Also, a marriage contract doesn’t make the male vampire overprotective of the female, and Tandi since I’ve met you, I have wanted to do nothing but protect you. I had a feeling, but I ignored it because the chances are so rare and—”
“Stephan, what are you trying to tell me?”
“I think that…no I know that you’re my mate.”
I was stunned. So many emotions ran through me, and I was positive Stephan was reading them all.
Stephan put a hand on my leg. “I have wanted you from the moment that I first saw you, and maybe you don’t feel the same way, or maybe you need more time. I didn’t know how else to tell you, but I just knew that I needed to.”
“I’m a little pissed that you would tell me something so humongous while I’m in zebra pajamas, but other than that, I might need a little time to digest what you’ve said. Being someone’s mate is a big deal?”
“Definitely a big deal.”
“What exactly does being someone’s mate mean?”
“It’s when two souls have aligned perfectly. Most dream of finding their mate but never do. It’s the reason you can read my emotions and vice versa. You’re not just a part of me—you’re in me. Now that I know you exist, I have this need, this desire to protect you with everything that I have. For me, it’s only you.”
I put my hand in his and watched him study how little my hand was in comparison. I sat there quietly digesting his words. What he said made sense. This bond that I felt towards him grew stronger every day. I couldn’t imagine not being a part of his life. In fact the thought of not being around him made me feel sick to my stomach. So I answered him from the heart. “I can’t think of anyone else that I would rather be mated to.”
His smile was infectious. “Come here and kiss me. I’ll close my eyes so I don’t see the zebras.”
I was smiling as his lips met mine. Another thing I wasn’t sure that I could live without was his kisses. I was becoming very needy when it came to Stephan’s lips. He gave me one last soft kiss before he gently ran the pad of his thumb across my bottom lip. “Get some sleep. We have a big da
y tomorrow.”
I held onto his hand. “Do you have to go?”
“I can lie with you for a while.” He climbed on top of the bed behind me. The sun was coming up, and I was trying so hard to fight a losing battle, but sleep was claiming me.
Stephan’s chest rumbled behind me. “This is just the beginning for us. Go to sleep, little one.”
For the first time in a long time, I fell asleep optimistic of the future.
Chapter Twenty-Six
The next night everything happened so fast it was hard to keep up. As agreed, Stephan went out hunting the princess as soon as dawn broke. When he brought her back, every single vampire in the house was busy getting ready for the big day. The most excited was Akeldama, of course. She just knew her precious Stephan would come back into her fold and deliver.
No one, including the queen herself, spoke to the princess. Why would they? She was just a tool to get what she wanted. Stephan told Akeldama that he’d contacted the princess’s fiancé, and he was currently on his way with the key. The wedding would take place in a couple of hours, and then all of us would be dismissed. But of course, there was hope that Stephan would stay. Multiple guards escorted the princess to her tower where they put her in magical steel to ensure there was no chance of escape. Or at least everyone thought the princess was trapped in magical steel cuffs.
I tugged on the cuffs and sat down on the cold ground just as Tracker squeezed under the door in rat form. I got the giggles as I thought of the movie, “Charlotte’s Web.”
“What’s up Templeton? Talked to Charlotte recently?”
“What is up with you and movies? In your former life, you were either a homebody or the biggest loser ever. I’m thinking it was a little bit of both. And just a little trivia for you, I hate spiders. Homie don’t play that,” Tracker said. “So, everyone is abuzz with the princess’s return, but I’ve got some bad news.”
“No. Not today. I’m not coping well, and I don’t think I want to hear whatever negative energy is about to spew from that tiny mouth you have. Just take your beady eyes somewhere else.”
“Cute. But seriously, we have a problem.
“No, Houston, we don’t.”
“Jeez, there it is again. Pathetic. Here is to hoping after this, you actually get a life and stop watching so much television.”
“Then that wouldn’t be a life worth living. Just sayin’.” I gave another tug on the chains. “Well, since you have a captivated audience, you might as well go ahead and tell me the dilemma.”
“So apparently, the fiancé—Cecil something another—was livid that the queen lost the princess. According to the grapevine, he has been looking nonstop for her. It seems that Akeldama is a little confused about how quickly Stephan found him and the princess. But Cecil is doing a great job of convincing her that he was basically in the same spot as the princess, considering he had almost tracked her down before Stephan found her.”
“Cecil better do a good job.” I was casting a glamour over him, and it was draining me. It was one thing to make half a key look like a hairbrush, but another thing entirely to make Stephan look like Cecil. Thank goodness for technology. Dani had several pictures on her phone for me to study before I’d finally felt confident that I could glamour Stephan to look like Cecil.
“You did a remarkable job, by the way. The likeliness is outstanding. To be honest when you said that you were going to glamour yourself to look like the Princess, and at the same time glamour Stephan to look like Cecil, I thought there was no way you were powerful enough to hold that much magic into place. But it’s working, and you’re not even sweating.”
“You thought I couldn’t do it, and yet I believe it was you who said, ‘This is going to be awesome.’”
“Yeah, if you notice, I never said it was a great plan, though. I just meant it would be awesome to retell.”
“Tracker, I really dislike you sometimes.” I didn’t mention that I was feeling a little tired. “Has anyone missed Stephan yet?”
“No, everyone is so busy running around to prepare for the wedding.”
Well, that was good news. Hopefully, no one would notice that he, along with myself, wouldn’t be in attendance for the wedding either. I couldn’t glamour us to be two different people and still show up to the wedding. Fae magic, yes? A magician, no.
“Are we on for the wedding or not?”
“Oh, I forgot to mention that some vamps are on their way right now to get you all dolled up for the ceremony.”
As soon as the words left his mouth, I heard the locks on the door turning. Tracker scurried off, and I was escorted into a dressing room. I did what duty called and acted resentful as I tugged on my chains the entire time. Some female vampires took over and bathed me, which was extremely embarrassing. Then they clothed me. They draped my body with an almost see-through white lace material that I assumed was supposed to be my wedding dress. I could feel the strain of the magic bearing down on me, causing me to care less about modesty.
Finally, I asked one of the vampires, “How much longer will I wait here?”
She snickered. “Eager to begin?” They both laughed over that. “There was some minor issue with making sure that there were enough blood bags for the ceremony, but now that they have that worked out, the wedding should take place soon.”
Sweat beaded down my spine when the guards showed up to escort me to the throne room, where they then shoved me towards the man who was supposed to be Cecil. I was trembling from using all of my strength to glamour myself, along with Stephan, and the new key Cecil was supposed to bring with him.
My legs knocked together as Stephan’s voice sounded in my head. “Are you okay, little one?”
“Yeah, just tired. She is so busy lusting over the key that she is about to receive she hasn’t noticed we’re missing. The sooner we can skedaddle, the better. Hurry it up.”
I heard him laughing in my head before he turned to the throne and addressed Akeldama.
“I see that you have indeed found her, and she will be mine.” Cecil’s image pulled a key from his pocket, which was really an apple that I used glamour on, and handed it to the nearest guard. “In exchange, you have the key.”
Akeldama’s eyes narrowed in on the key being carried her way. I was using so much glamour I was surprised I wasn’t having a brain aneurysm. Stephan better hurry the hell up.
“Yes, you have stood by your word, and now I will stand by mine. Go ahead and make my daughter your bride.”
My fingers were crossed in hopes that our plan worked.
“Your majesty, my people would like to witness the blood exchange. Now that you have your key, we will be on our way.”
Her hand slapped the throne. “Nonsense. You will begin the exchange here and now. I want to see that the contract takes place. Who knows how powerful this child will grow to be? I need to make sure you will have complete control over her, and if she escapes again, with her being your wife, you will be able to track her down no matter where she goes.”
“Your majesty, my people expect me back tonight. Surely, you can allow us to leave?”
Akeldama tilted her head to the side as she studied Cecil. I started second guessing my abilities when she said, “You will exchange blood now, and then you can leave. I will know that this marriage is completed before you leave.”
I looked through the crowd and found Dani, whose eyes were big as saucers. Tracker, now a fly, was hiding somewhere on her person, but I could only imagine the language coming out of his mouth right now. Game over. I would kill Stephan if he ingested my blood.
Stephan, who was doing a great job of acting like how he thought Cecil would, started arguing with the Queen. Tracker buzzed around my head once before landing on my earlobe. “Here’s a fun fact, just like the one you get off of a Snapple lid but significantly more important. Your blood won’t kill anyone who you don’t want dead. When your body feels threatened, you release the poison into your bloodstream. But if you goof up and
kill him, I never really liked the dead lard anyway.”
Hope swelled inside of me. “Stephan, I don’t think my blood will kill you.”
His head swiveled to mine. “What?”
“Tracker just said I can control the toxins.”
“Tandi, let’s say that your blood doesn’t kill me. If we exchange blood, one more time we will be officially mated. We don’t have to do this—”
“Yes, we do. I don’t see another way. Would it be so bad being officially mated to me?”
“I can’t think of anything that would make me happier.”
I had to force myself not to smile. “The Princess wouldn’t just bite you. You will have to be forceful and make her bite you.”
His eyes that were no longer brown but blue met mine. He told two guards standing behind me, “Hold her arms.” He looked at someone else and said, “Come, pry her mouth open.”
I tried to act like I was putting up a good fight the way I know the princess would have, but I wasn’t Tamara. I was Tandi, and I felt drained of energy. I watched as Stephan cut into his own wrist, and once the blood started flowing, he let it drip in my mouth.
He said loud enough to make me flinch, “Spit it out, and I promise you that our honeymoon will be very painful.”
Akeldama laughed, and I got pissed all over again at the thought of what the real princess must have endured her whole life.
After I swallowed his blood, he gave Akeldama a questioning look, which she responded with a nod.
The guards still held me when the man I loved gave me one last chance to back out as he stalled. Once he took my blood we will be mated. My answer was to tilt my chin up. With enough gentleness to make only the nearest vampires question his motives, he lightly turned my head and made a cut mark right above my collarbone. The thought crossed my mind that Tracker could be wrong, and panic swelled inside of me just briefly. Then I felt his emotions like never before. Lust, love, and pure joy washed over me in waves. I couldn’t separate his thoughts—they were coming at me so fast. He thought I was the most precious thing in the world, and if he died in the next few seconds, at least he would die a happy man.
The Vampire Queen Page 20
