"What are you doing?" I ask as I look down at my King who is fetching something from under the bed.
"I hid a surprise for you and I am about to get it out to give to you." He answers with a giddy sound to his voice.
When he pokes his head up, I see a smirk on his face and then he hands me a box. It is a small box, but very pretty. Wrapped with a blue silk bow, the red velvet box is only big enough to fit either a ring, a broach, a necklace or a bracelet. That is assuming that it is folded up.
I glance at him before opening it as he leans forward to watch my reaction. Smiling, I wipe a strand of hair out of my eyes and open it slowly. When I do, I am deeply touched. Inside is a absolutely exquisite diamond ring that looks like it could belong to a princess, which I suppose I am or rather a queen. It's still hard for me to deal with the fact that one day I was a plain girl and the next when I turned 18, I became the queen of all the wolf territories.
Almost dropping it, I squeal in delight and I give him a huge hug. It feels strange because he treats me so much like a daughter that I have conflicting feelings for him. On one hand, I want him to treat me like his mate and do the things he would with me normally. On the other hand, I am scared that when he goes to mate with me, I won't be adequate.
"Well put it on." He says excitedly as he watches me practically jump up and down while holding it.
I take it carefully out of the box and slip it on my ring finger. Somehow, he guessed right and the ring fits perfectly on my finger. Staring at it, I hold it up to the light and when the sun catches one of the sides, the reflection dances on the walls. It reminds me of when the light catches the water back home by the stream.
Spending hours at a time there, I would often dream of princes and princesses. Knights and everything else that goes with that kind of fantasy world. The only difference now, is that there is a political side that I never realized existed. Afterall, romance novels and the like don't usually get into politics and things that aren't fantasy.
Still excited, I give him another hug but this time I feel his lips brush across my ear and he whispers something so faint that I can't hear it. Lingering in his arms, I turn to face him and see that same old hunger in his eyes. I ask, "What did you just say, I didn't catch that?"
He gets a sparkle in his eyes and starts to open his mouth to say something, but then he hesitates and closes it again. Daring to stay staring into his eyes, I feel the tension between us becoming thicker by the minute and when he finally kisses me I am not surprised at all. It is once again a sweet kiss, nothing passionate at all but a kiss that two people on a first date would give.
When he is done, he holds me for a minute longer and then releases me. The disappointment I feel to say the least, makes me want to curl up in a corner and die. My romance novels were always filled with scenes like this and I hated them. One minute the man acts like he wants her, the next he walks away calm and collected.
Being one of those girls who loved romance and reading the seedy scenes because I never have done them, I can't help but wonder what it is really like and if I am ever going to experience it. At this point, I highly doubt it or if I do it might be years down the road. So, feeling disheartened, I lay down on the bed and read a book to try and cheer up or at least vanish into my own fantasy world where the princess does get her prince.
A couple hours later there is a knock at the door and when I get up to answer it, I see Monique standing there looking very upset. "Come in." I take her by the hand and lead her to the bed. Once sitting, I ask, "What is the matter?"
She stares at me with red eyes clearly from crying and states, "One of the elders just took advantage of me and unfortunately now I am not a virgin." Crying, she puts her head in her hands and I immediately wrap my arms around her.
"There,there. I am so sorry that this has happened. You are my one and only friend here. I will get to the bottom of this and make sure that Dominic never finds out that he hurt you like this. I don't want to lose you just because of his rules. Afterall, it's not your fault that the elder did that. Now dear, who did it?"
She hesitates for a few seconds and then tells me, "It was Elder Boris. As soon as I went into his room to replace his bedding, he walked out of the bathroom naked and accosted me. Now I am so ashamed. What do I do?"
First of all, I want you to go see the doctor. I will make sure that he never says a single thing to anyone. Next, I will go to Dominic and say there have been reports that Elder Boris is misusing his influence with the young women in the area and that he needs to go back to his home now. Last but not least, go home after seeing the doctor and take the day off."
While still staring at me, she finally stops crying and gives me a big hug. "Thank you so much!" She exclaims before standing. "Better go, before anyone wonders what is happening."
I stand up and walk her to the door, "Yes, remember go to the doctor. I will call him right now and tell him what happened. I promise you he will never say anything."
Hugging me one last time, she then wipes her tears away and straightens her clothing before opening the door and leaving. Turning around, I quickly grab the phone and make a phone call to the doctor. "Hello Viktor, it appears we have a situation. I am sending over Monique, she is one of my servants. I trust that you tell no one including our king about this. She has been raped by one of the elders and I need you to check her over and do whatever you can to make sure she is not with baby."
"Yes my queen, I will wait for her to arrive and do anything I can to help her. Is there anything else?" I hear his voice trail off.
"No, all else is well. Thank you for doing this." Hanging up, I realize what time it is and make my way down to the dining room for lunch.
On the way down there, I walk by the meeting room and see Dominic and another man who I remember as Alpha Vladimir sitting and talking in a heated discussion. Before I am past, he glances over at me and then stands up. "Ana, I am so glad to see you." His voice sounds strained as if he is under enormous stress and is fighting to say it pleasantly.
Walking over to me, he smiles and then takes me in his arms. What surprises me though, is the fact that he leans down and kisses me with so much passion that it takes my breath away. That is what I have been waiting for and in that instant I fall head over heels in love with him, just like in all my novels.
When the connection between our lips ceases to exist, I feel like my soul has been ripped from me. The warmth that was there a minute ago is now but a mere memory and when I look up into his eyes, I see that it wasn't a purely innocent kiss because his eyes are cold and calculating. What have I missed? I find myself wondering as he walks back to the table and I watch the other man give me a quick heated glance.
Dismissing me as quickly as he greeted me, I take my leave and find a seat at the dining room table for lunch in the next room. Glancing around, I take note of everyone there. The elder Boris is there with a handfull of others and two seats are still unoccupied by my king and Vladimir.
Once Dominic and Vladimir enter the room, everyone stands and greets them. After they have been seated, we all are served. The whole time we are eating, I watch everyone converse with each other and find myself wondering what Dominic and Vladimir were so upset about earlier. Why did he choose then of all times to kiss me with so much passion?
After lunch, we all take our leave from the table and I go back to my room where I read my favorite novel for a while. Eventually falling asleep, I dream about that kiss and how he acts so strange afterwards. The only difference is, in the dream he takes me to bed that night and makes passionate love to me.
I wake up the next morning and to my surprise, he never came to bed. The bed sheets are still made, and everything is as I left it. Confused by the situation, I decide to confront him today and find out exactly what is going on. After all, I do deserve to know what he is thinking if it is going to directly affect our relationship or shall I say the lack thereof.Making sure the bookmark is still intact, I place the book back on the desk before running a bath. Hearing a noise while waiting, I cautiously glance around the corner of the door and spy on Dominic as he changes his clothes. Clearly, he must think I am somewhere else because the next thing he does before he pulls on his pants, is to relieve his tension.Watching him, my desire for his touch is amplified when he throws back his head and howls while he touches himself. The minute he climaxes, his whole-body freezes, and he must sense me staring at him because then he rel
I lay awake at two in the morning tossing and turning. Dominic still hasn’t come to bed with me for the last several nights. In the meantime, I have spent my days and nights laying around and reading my romance novels. At one point in time this evening, I thought he was going to come to bed with me. Instead, he rushes in to change and then disappears again before I ever get to say a single thing to him. The whole time, I felt like he was trying to ignore me so he wouldn’t have to deal with the whole situation. Feeling lonely, I have spent the remainder of my hours talking with Monique and chatting with my mother and father on the phone. Not only has their contract benefited them, but now they are traveling abroad when the moon is not full. My mother shares with me wonderful stories of traveling to Ireland, Scotland, Switzerland, and the America’s. I am happy for them, but admittedly I am a little dismayed at the fact
After a long boring day, I lay on the couch reading a particularly steamy story, when Dominic opens the door violently. He swings it with such force that when it collides with the wall, the painting of his father falls to the ground. When he turns to glare at me, I know that I must have done something wrong, but I have no idea what or how because I have been cooped up in this room all day long. Not feeling well, after lunch I came back to my room and decided on taking it easy for the day. Matter of fact, when he came in just now it is the first time today, I have seen Dominic at all. Earlier, Monique came by to make sure I was doing alright and then she said, “I have heard rumors of him spending time with another older woman in the banquet hall. No one knows who she is, but from what I gather she is not from this territory.” Worried beyond belief, I glance away and move to the love seat by the window before hearing him start to yel
“Look out!” Dominic’s voice rips through the night thunderously. Opening my eyes, I barely see something coming at me before Dominic barrels into it and slams it against the wall. Struggling to fully open my eyes, I stare at a bloody spot on the wall and then look lower to something slumped down on the floor, still where it landed. Glancing at Dominic, I shiver when I see the gold shimmering in his eyes as he goes in for the kill. I hear teeth gnashing and bones breaking before I realize that Dominic has bitten right through the things neck and severed the main artery. Blood gushes everywhere and sprays on up the white wall, just barely missing his mother’s picture. Before this, I had never seen so much gore in person, because my parents always locked me in the cage when others came near. If someone had come close enough to attack, they always kept it outside away from my young prying eyes. Now even in the dark, I can
“Monique, who is that gentleman?” I point to a man in the corner of the dining room who seems to not know anyone here. “I believe that is Alpha Erickson. I overheard the men talking earlier while I was coming to get you. They said that he is the Alpha for one of the southern territories and next in succession to Dominic if something were to ever happen to our King. That is, if he does not have a suitable heir in the meantime.” She says discreetly as she whispers in my ear. “What do you mean by suitable heir? Is there such a thing as an unsuitable heir?” I frown, because at this rate he won’t have either of them if anything were to happen to him. “Well, a suitable heir would be one between the union of the two of you. An unsuitable one, would be him and another mate besides yourself. You know, someone not agreed upon by the elders or yourself usually. If he were to lie with someone else and have
Panicked, I quickly change out of my bloody clothes and rush downstairs. I hear a loud commotion in the general area of the dining room and run in with my fangs and claws out. Thinking that perhaps another vampire has attacked, I scan the room to find that there are only two people standing there. One is Alpha Erickson, the other is elder Grey. When they see me approach them at a fast pace, they immediately become alerted and Grey turns to me before asking, “What has happened? We heard that Dominic has been hurt, possibly a fatal wound.” Taking a few deep breaths, I hesitate and then say cautiously, “We were attacked by a vampire, but I do not believe he will die. Besides a minor wound on his neck, he looked fine to me. He has just lost blood and I believe that he will be absolutely fine.” They look at me in disbelief before dismissing me and continuing their conversation between the two of them. When I am still
“I think he is here.” Viktor stands up and seems to sense something odd before going to the door and opening it. He walks back in with a man who is wearing a hooded cape or something like it. The man walks with a staggered limp and has his head lowered so I cannot see him easily. From what I can see, it makes a shiver run down my spine and causes me to feel like I want to run very far away. I could swear that I saw a worm crawling through one of his eye sockets before he turned his head from my sight. Sitting down, I wait for whatever is going to happen. Watching him cautiously, I listen to the doctor’s conversation with him. “Oleckneth, you have to be kidding me. There is no way she is going to agree to that.” Viktor turns to me and says, “He requests your first-born pup, but also something else.” He hesitates before continuing. Saying quieter this time with a frown on his face, “Upon your death, he takes posse
“No!” I cry out when the pain shoots throughout my abdomen like someone is stabbing me with a sharp steak knife. Standing next to me, Viktor tries to press down on my stomach, but it only makes it worse. The sharp pain and the pressure is so extreme, that I feel like my belly is going to burst. Crying out again, “Ouch”, Dominic grabs my hand and rubs it gently to try and calm me. Watching Viktor glance over at me briefly, he runs around trying to assess the situation frantically. He looks at me directly and asks, “Are they kicking at all?” Before grabbing a gown and putting on gloves. Nodding, I cry out again yelling, “No, I am not pregnant! How can I be giving birth? Did the lich do something to me?” With Dominic still standing next to me, he releases my hand so he can help the good doctor with anything that he possibly can. “What is happening?” He asks seemingly clueless. Viktor looks between t