Vampire King Chapter 21

he Would Be Dead
S
She Would Be Dead
Kane
I walk back to my room, collecting the shoes I’d left in the hallway, my shirt in my hands, thinking about what a horrible f**g person I am. There’s simply no way to ever explain or justify what has just happened, not to anyone who isn’t a vampire anyway, and I completely deserve it if Emory never, ever wants to speak to me again.
Thankfully, the hallways are mostly empty, except for the occasional s*ate, and I can imagine ser*ts wo*rking this shift have a multitude of information to keep to themselves about the c**ngs and goings in the castle.
All I want to do now is climb into my bed and hide under my blankets for a long while, until I figure out a way to go back in time and change what’s just happened-after I have a large glass of blood, anyway. I can still taste her; I can still feel her on my skin.
I can’t let myself think about how she tastes sweet like morning dew or how I’ve never felt like that before, not once, in all of the encounters I’ve had. She felt like her body belonged wrapped around mine in every way imaginable.
“A f**king virgin,” I mumble as I reach the double doors that lead to my room in a secluded part of the castle. I shake my head, still trying to process everything that has happened. It is a lot to take in.
Before I even open them, I know that someone is in my chambers. I can sense another life force. I have a feeling I know exactly who it is, too, though why the guards let her in, I don’t know. Oddly enough, they are both absent from the outside of my room right now, and all I can do is swear under my breath again.
Now is really not the f**g time.
She Would Be Dead
+26 BONUS
I see her shadow draped over my settee and choose to ignore her, walking to my kitchenette and opening the fridge instead. I poor myself a glass of blood from the stock I always keep on hand and warm it for a few seconds before I turn to face her.
By now, she’s up and has slunk her way over to the island. It appears that she’s wearing the same long yellow gown from dinner, the one with the full skirt that makes her look like she’s as old as she truly is, and when she hops up onto the island, it falls around her thick legs like a lamp shade.
“Why are you here?” I ask gulping the contents of my glass quickly to try and satiate my need for blood. I’d been so close to losing control before, to taking it the wrong way. When the liquid hits my fangs and take it in, the burning within my veins begins to lessen immediately. It’s definitely not the same as taking it from another person, but it’ll do. For
now.
“I thought you could use a companion,” she purrs. “You seemed… troubled… at dinner.”
“I’m surprised you even noticed anyone else was at dinner, what with all of your wedding preparation stories.” I take another drink, relieved that the burning is beginning to fade.
Opal snickers. “I’m always aware of you, my King. Always.”
“Well, then, you should be aware that don’t want you here, Opal.” I try to keep my tone even. I see no reason to launch an argument with her at the moment. All that will do is bring me grief. But I’m still *d at her for what she did earlier in the day, and she has to know that.
A light giggle escapes her lips, and it reminds me of the sound a fairy might make, if there were such things. “You don’t mean that. Especially not in the state you’re in now. What’s the matter? Did the little wh** reject you? I smell her all over you-but I can also sense you’re
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frustrated. I don’t smell your release at all.”
She makes a keen observation that is absolutely none of her business.” I don’t ask you what goes on in your bedroom, and you don’t need to know what goes on in mine-or any I happen to frequent.” I finish off the blood and move to the sink to rinse the glass. “Seriously, Opal. It’s late. Go to your room.”
“It’s clear to everyone that you’re obsessed with her,” she continues to purr as if I haven’t just told her to drop it and get out of my room. “I can’t pretend to understand why.”
“It’s not your business.” I sigh and lean back against the counter, wondering if I’m going to have to physically remove her. “What did you do with my guards anyway?”
Another ripple of laughter leaves her. “Let’s just say they were easily bribed.”
The fact that she can do that makes me think I need to do a thorough investigation of all of my soldiers and not just the ones who work in the feeders’ dungeon.
“You should go,” I say again, but she’s still not moving.
“Oh, come on, Kane,” she says in that sultry voice that works so well on other men but leaves me nauseated. “Don’t be like that. We’re getting married soon. We should go ahead and consummate this relationship, make it real. It’s clear you’re **y as hell, and I am always up for a good time.” She runs one hand down her exposed cleavage and leans back, arching like a cat, as her other hand begins to gather up her skirts.
“Not anymore, I’m not,” I tell her. “We’ve already talked about this, Opal. I’m not interested in f*ng y**ou. We’ll do it when we have to, when it’s time to conceive children, but your attitude completely turns me off, in every way imaginable, and unless and until you become a more attractive person to me, I’m not sleeping with you.”
She Would Be Dend
+25 BONUS
“Kane!” She says my name like it’s a curse. “You’re being ridiculous. You have to know I’m a good f*k. L*ook at me!” She continues to gather up her skirts until they are midthigh. “Your st**id feeder is just a nasty dog. Why do you f**ng want her so badly? She’s not even pretty.”
“I’m not having this conversation with you again.” This isn’t the first time she’s tried to seduce me, though it is the first time she’s brought up Emory or any other woman, and it’s also the first time she’s gone so far as to break into my room.
As I move toward her to try to remove her from my island and send her on her merry way, she finishes gathering her dress up so that it’s at her waist now, and she isn’t wearing any panties. Spreading her legs, she reaches down and fingers herself. “Just f**k me already,” she says, her voice full of lust.
I don’t want to go anywhere near her now for fear she’ll manage to latch onto me, and I’ll have to fight her to get her off of me. “Opal….” While I’m not sexually attracted to her at all, I have just pulled out of a woman I very much want with my d**k hard as a rock, and it’s clear Opal is doing her best to take advantage of this situation.
But Opal is not **ory-not even close-and sex with Opal would be some kinky circus act that would probably leave me with even more regret than I’m feeling now, and that’s saying something.
“Come on,” I say, walking away from her and heading toward the exit.” It’s late. You should go.”
“But-” she whines, dropping her gown down enough to cover herself now that I’m no longer able to see anyway.
“Just go. Don’t bribe my guards again, and stay the hell away from Emory.” I open the door and motion for her to go through it.
Reluctantly, she drops down off of the counter, sighing heavily. “You’re making a huge mistake. You’re going to regret this. Once we finally do
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consummate our relationship, you’ll wish you’d f**ed me a long time
ago.”
I want to tell her I feel like she’s been f**ing me all along, just not in the way that she means, but I say nothing only continue to motion for her to leave.
She walks out the door but pauses in the hallway, turning back to look at me. “That woman is going to be your undoing if you’re not careful.”
I slam the door in her face, knowing she’s probably right, but it’s not her concern. Turning the lock that prevents anyone from coming in, I head to my room and drop down onto my mattress, still smelling Emory, still tasting traces of her even after I’ve drank enough to rinse her away. She will not go quickly in the night…
It’s fitting to me, as I put on a pair of clean boxers and climb into bed, that the woman who has managed to wind her way through my thoughts nearly every moment since she arrived here has now wrapped her way around my body in a way that makes her impossible to release.
As I lay in bed, praying to whoever listens to such thoughts to send sleep to claim me, I can’t help but pray that Emory is already asleep. But I have a feeling I have left her confused, hurt, and feeling more alone than she has since she arrived here.
For that, I am terribly sorry. I owe her an explanation, and I will give her one as soon as I think she’s ready to hear it, but for now, I just have to focus on the fact that I did what I had to do.
As angry as I am with myself for treating her so poorly, I am thankful that I was able to have enough self-control to fight every last ounce of my instincts and leave when I did.
Most wolf shifters think of us as monsters, and for the most part, they are wrong. We are more human than beast. But in moments like this, it’s easy for me to see how we’ve earned such a reputation.
She Would Be Dead
+25 BONUS
I can’t remember the last time I felt more like a monster than I do right
now.
If I hadn’t left that room the second that I had… there’d be no way I could explain anything to Emory because, while I still haven’t tasted her blood, the scent of it was enough to let me know if I had lingered even one moment longer…. she would be dead.
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