Vampire King Chapter 60

C A Faustian Bargain
25 BONUS
A Faustian Bargain
Kane
Emory has been in a better mood since I brought her mother to the castle. Helena has agreed to stay and support Emory through her pregnancy. Her experience as a midwife for wolf shifters makes her invaluable. The older woman is wary of the vampires in the castle, but she has been polite.
I usually find Helena with Emory in her room which gives me less alone time with Emory, but I don’t mind it. I know that the mother and daughter need time to repair their relationship, so I give them space. I miss Emory. I’ve gotten used to having her sleep beside me, but I don’t want to be selfish. Helena has to go home eventually, and I’ll have Emory to myself again someday.
I am writing letters at my office when Emory comes in. “Hi,” she says. “My mom’s finally given me a break. She’s on the phone with Coit.”
I turn away from my desk to face her. “You two have been inseparable these past few days.”
She comes closer and takes a seat on my lap. I place a hand on her back to support
her.
“I know, and I’m grateful and happy she’s here, but she’s beginning to smother me a little. We didn’t even. spend this much time together when I was living under her roof. And besides…” She runs her fingers through my hair. “I’ve missed you. And I’ve actually been meaning to talk to you about something.”
“What do you want to talk about?”
“Lola asked me if we’ve chosen a name for the baby I wanted to wait until I was with you so we could
discuss it.”
I smile in delight at the topic. This is a lot better than having to figure out how to replenish my diminishing funds. “What names are you gravitating toward?”
“I’m not sure. Do you have any family names that you want?”
“My father’s name was Michael. If it’s a boy I’d like that to be at least a middle name.”
She looks guilty and confesses, “I might have promised Lola she can pick the baby’s middle name.”
“That’s fine. He could be Michael something.”
“I like Michael,” she concedes. “I also have other names in mind like Colton after my grandfather. I also like Connor, Lowell, and Alaric…”
I nod. All of those seem good to me. “What about girl names?”
“I was thinking Arianell, Tala, Zella,” she continues. “Or maybe we can name her after our moms – Agatha Helena or Helena Agatha. What do you think?”
“I think our mothers would fight about which name goes first, so we should probably avoid doing that.” My mother has met Helena, and the two women don’t care for each other. They aren’t hostile, but they avoid each other like the plague. Giving the two women something to fight about would not be the best Idea. We have to keep the peace at all costs.
“Good point.” Emory asks, “What girl names do you like?”
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“Selene.”
“As in the Moon Goddess?”
“My kind used to worship her a long time ago. It’s something our two species have in common. It feels right to give our daughter a name that belongs to both of our worlds.”
“I didn’t know vampires used to worship the Moon Goddess.”
“As you know, we never cared for sunlight. We feel the safest at night, so we would pray to Selena for protection. I’m not sure why
we stopped worshipping her. There’s the ruin of an old church on the castle grounds that was built for her.”
Emory smiles. “1 like the name Selene. It’ll remind us that we have more in common than what differentiates us.”
I kiss her softly, my lips coaxing her into deeping in the kiss. She sighs dreamily, and we temporarily halt all talk of baby names. That can wait. We have more important things to focus on. I cup her breast and am about to pull down her bodice when there’s a knock at the door.
We both sigh. Why are we always getting interrupted?
Lex
“What do you want?” I ask the skinny nobleman. He’s young and not even a century old. “Give me a number.”
The young vampire scratches the bridge of his nose. “My family’s wealthy.”
“And I’m sure you could always use more spending money. I’m bet there are some expenses your parents, refuse to pay for. A nice car? A beach house?”
He shrugs.
“How about a girl?” I try again. “Is there a girl in court you’re interested in? I can get her to like you.”
“It’s not that…”
“Girls? More than one? A guy? A variety of people you want to f**k?”
If the young vampire could blush, he might have. “You could make that happen?”
“I’ve made it happen. Many times, and my life kind of imploded because of it. Word of advice, condoms are not a one hundred percent effective form of contraception.”
“What?” He sounds bewildered. “What does that have to do with me?”
sigh and put my hands on his shoulder. “Look, Willard.”
“That’s not my name. It’s-”
“It doesn’t matter,” I cut him off. “I need to go to that masquerade ball. You have an invitation, and if you take me as your plus one, I will get you whatever you want.”
autover I want?”
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A Faustian Bargain
I hesitate before nodding. “Within reason, Willard. Don’t get too greedy.”
“My name’s not Willard.”
“Give me your price, and I’ll see what I can do.”
He looks contemplative “Could I have time to think about it?”
“The ball is in three days. I need an answer quickly.”
He shrugs. “It’s not my fault you weren’t invited. And you’re desperate, so it’s not like you have a lot of options.
I sigh, wishing I was doing anything but this. “I’ll give you a day to think about it. I want your answer by tomorrow after breakfast.”
“I’ll give my answer when I feel like it,” he counters. “You have no choice but to wait.”
The little s**t walks away, and I glare at the back of his head. This has been the response I’ve from the majority of the nobles I’ve asked.
been getting
It turns out that the nobles in Castle Blackmoor are more scared of King Peter than anything else. Flattery, bribery, and even outright blackmail has not worked on any of the people I’m trying to persuade All my roads seem to lead to one person, and I’m not pleased. There is only one vampire in this entire castle that can blatantly disobey King Peter and survive-his daughter.
Opal isn’t in her room, and the se***nts won’t tell me where she is. It’s after dinner, and I’m searching through the castle for her. She’s not going to be on the castle grounds at this time as it’s raining, and Opal is vain enough to avoid ruining her hair. I can’t find her in the usual places she likes to hang out with her gaggle of s**ty nobles. It’s pure accident as I’m walking back to my room that I hear the moaning.
Regrettably, I know what Opal sounds like when she moans. I close my eyes and tilt my head back as if I can escape what I’m walking into by praying to a merciful deity. No such luck. I walk over to where the moans are coming from and stare at the heavy wooden door before grasping the doorknob and opening it. It’s a parlor room I haven’t been into before and there are people in all degrees of dress-from fully clothed to completely nude. They are everywhere: pressed against the walls, on the furniture, on the floor. Opal is on the couch in between two men who are in the process of unlaceing her gown. No one has noticed me yet.
One of the men with Opal pulls up the skirts of her gown to touch her between her legs. The other one is simultaneously loosening her gown and getting it off her while trying to kiss her.
I clear my throat.
Nobody reacts.
Oh, for the love of everything good.
“Opal!” I call out. “Should you be having sex with other people while you’re pregnant with my son?”
The princess freezes and turns to me wide-eyed. Her shock turns into fury. She grabs a throw pillow off the floor and aims it at my head. I dodge and it hits one of the couples who are busy against the wall. They stop temporarily before continuing unhindered.
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A Faustian Bargain
“What are you doing?” Opal shrieks. “No one invited you!”
“I can see that.” One of the men with her on the couch has unzipped his pants and his genitalia is hanging out. “Please put that away.”
“Leave, Lex! No one wants you here!”
“I need to talk to you about something.”
Opal’s glare is so toxic it could kill a man. “Do I look like I care?”
“Fair point, but I digress. What did the doctor say about sex during your pregnancy?”
“That’s none of your business!”
“It really is though.” I grimace at the absurdity of my life. “I don’t want it to be, but it is.”
One of the men says, “This isn’t really the time for talking. Unless you’re going to join us, you can leave.”
I let out a sad sigh. “See, Simon, a few months ago, I would have happily joined you, but I’m trying change for the better, and that means no more or**s.
“My name’s not Simon-”
“I want my older brother to be proud, and o***s make him very disappointed in me. I used to have o***s all the time. Ask Opal.”
The princess has her face in her hands. I wonder if she’s about to cry from frustration. I come over and pull her from the couch. She slaps my hands away, but I don’t relent and lead her toward the door.
I apologize as we have to move around all the people who are on the ground. They ignore me. I almost step on someone’s hair, Opal tries to escape my grasp, but I’m still stronger than her, and we’re out of the room before I let her go.
I block the door of the parlor with my body, preventing her from going bck to rejoin the o**y. “No, Opal.
Bad.”
“Don’t talk to me like I’m your pet!” she hisses, furiously. “I’m a princess!”
“I know. And you should be in bed.”
“I need to have sex!” She smacks my shoulder. “I’ve never been hornier because of all the hormones running through my body. All I want is to get f**ed all the time, and it’s your fault?
“So we’re acknowledging it’s my baby now?”
She smacks my chest. “I f***king hate you!”
I
ab her wrists so she’ll stop hitting me. “What if I can help?”
Opal’s blue eyes narrow in suspicion. “What do you mean?”
“Well…” I look to the heavens as if that merciful deity will finally free me from what I’m about to suggest.
got you pregnant, so it only makes sense I help you with the symptoms.”
“We’re going to have sex?”
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I look down at her pretty face and tell myself it won’t be that bad. We had sex before. I survived. Her evil vagina isn’t going to melt my penis off.
“I’m still not sure if it’s safe for you to have sex. I’ll have to check with the doctor, but for now, we can do other things.”
“Like what?” she scoffs. “Read poetry?”
“I’ll eat you out as much as you want,” I answer. “I’ll keep going until you pass out from the or*ms.” He**r blue eyes blink as she thinks this over. Then she nods and repeats, “As much as I want.”
I remember that Opal is insatiable, but I’m resigned to my fate. She has a stamina that could kill a weak man. I don’t trust any fool in this castle to be gentle with her while she’s pregnant. And Opal is always nicer after she’s satisfied in bed.
“Come on, Princess.” I place a hand on the small of her back to guide her to her room. “Let’s get you to bed.”
A Faustian Bargain
A Faustian Bargain
Kane
+25 BONUS
Emory has been in a better mood since I brought her mother to the castle. Helena has agreed to stay and support Emory through her pregnancy. Her experience as a midwife for wolf shifters makes her invaluable. The older woman is wary of the vampires in the castle, but she has been polite.
I usually find Helena with Emory in her room which gives me less alone time with Emory, but I don’t mind it. I know that the mother and daughter need time to repair their relationship, so I give them space. I miss Emory. I’ve gotten used to having her sleep beside me, but I don’t want to be selfish. Helena has to go home eventually, and I’ll have Emory to myself again someday.
I am writing letters at my office when Emory comes in. “Hi,” she says. “My mom’s finally given me a break. She’s on the phone with Coit.”
I turn away from my desk to face her. “You two have been inseparable these past few days.”
She comes closer and takes a seat on my lap. I place a hand on her back to support her.
“I know, and I’m grateful and happy she’s here, but she’s beginning to smother me a little. We didn’t even spend this much time together when I was living under her roof. And besides….” She runs her fingers through my hair. “I’ve missed you. And I’ve actually been meaning to talk to you about something.”
“What do you want to talk about?”
“Lola asked me if we’ve chosen a name for the baby. I wanted to wait until I was with you so we could discuss it.”
I smile in delight at the topic. This is a lot better than having to figure out how to replenish my diminishing funds. “What names are you gravitating toward?”
“I’m not sure. Do you have any family names that you want?”
“My father’s name was Michael. If it’s a boy I’d like that to be at least a middle name.”
She looks guilty and confesses, “I might have promised Lola she can pick the baby’s middle name.”
“That’s fine. He could be Michael something.”
“I like Michael,” she concedes. “I also have other names in mind like Colton after my grandfather. I also like Connor, Lowell, and Alaric…”
I nod. All of those seem good to me. “What about girl names?”
“Lwas thinking Arianell, Tala, Zella,” she continues. “Or maybe we can name her after our moms – Agatha Helena-or Helena Agatha. What do you think?”
I think our mothers would fight about which name goes first, so we should probably avoid doing that.”
My mother has met Helena, and the two women don’t care for each other. They aren’t hostile, but they avoid each other like the plague. Giving the two women something to fight about would not be the best idea. We have to keep the peace at all costs.
“Good point.” Emory asks, “What girl names do you like?”
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“Selene.”
“As in the Moon Goddess?”
“My kind used to worship her a long time ago. It’s something our two species have in common. It feels right to give our daughter a name that belongs to both of our worlds.”
“I didn’t know vampires used to worship the Moon Goddess.
“As you know, we never cared for sunlight. We feel the safest of night, so we would pray to Selena for protection. I’m not sure why we stopped worshipping her. There’s the ruin of an old church on the castle grounds that was built for her.”
Emory smiles. “I like the name Selene. It’ll remind us that we have more in common than what differentiates us.”
I kiss her softly, my lips coaxing her into deeping in the kiss. She sighs dreamily, and we temporarily halt all talk of baby names. That can wait. We have more important things to focus on. I cup her breast and am about to pull down her bodice when there’s a knock at the door.
We both sigh. Why are we always getting interrupted?
Lex
“What do you want?” I ask the skinny nobleman. He’s young and not even a century old. “Give me a number.”
The young vampire scratches the bridge of his nose. “My family’s wealthy.”
“And I’m sure you could always use more spending money. I’m bet there are some expenses your parents, refuse to pay for. A nice car? A beach house?”
He shrugs.
“How about a girl?” I try again. “Is there a girl in court you’re interested in? I can get her to like you.”
“It’s not that…”
“Girls? More than one? A guy? A variety of people you want to f**k?”
If the young vampire could blush, he might have. “You could make that happen?”
“I’ve made it happen. Many times, and my life kind of imploded because of it. Word of advice, condoms are not a one hundred percent effective form of contraception.”
“What?” He sounds bewildered. “What does that have to do with me?”
I sigh and put my hands on his shoulder. “Look, Willard”
“That’s not my name. It’s-”
“It doesn’t matter,” I cut him off. “I need to go to that masquerade ball. You have an invitation, and if you take me as your plus one, I will get you whatever you want.”
“Whatever I want?”
A Faustian Bargain
I hesitate before nodding. “Within reason, Willard. Don’t get too greedy.”
“My name’s not Willard.”
“Give me your price, and I’ll see what I can do.”
He looks contemplative “Could I have time to think about it?”
“The ball is in three days. I need an answer quickly.”
+25 BONUS
He shrugs. “It’s not my fault you weren’t invited. And you’re desperate, so it’s not like you have a lot of options.”
I sigh, wishing I was doing anything but this. “I’ll give you a day to think about it. I want your answer by tomorrow after breakfast.”
“I’ll give my answer when I feel like it,” he counters. “You have no choice but to wait.”
The little shit walks away, and I glare at the back of his head. This has been the response I’ve been getting from the majority of the nobles I’ve asked.
It turns out that the nobles in Castle Blackmoor are more scared of King Peter than anything else. Flattery, bribery, and even outright blackmail has not worked on any of the people I’m trying to persuade. All my roads seem to lead to one person, and I’m not pleased. There is only one vampire in this entire castle that can blatantly disobey King Peter and survive-his daughter.
Opal isn’t in her room, and the se**nts won’t tell me where she is. It’s after dinner, and I’m searching through the castle for her. She’s not going to be on the castle grounds at this time as it’s raining, and Opal, is vain enough to avoid ruining her hair. I can’t find her in the usual places she likes to hang out with her gaggle of s**ty nobles. It’s pure accident as I’m walking back to my room that I hear the moaning.
Regrettably, I know what Opal sounds like when she moans. I close my eyes and tilt my head back as if I can escape what I’m walking into by praying to a merciful deity. No such luck. I walk over to where the moans are coming from and stare at the heavy wooden door before grasping the doorknob and opening it.
It’s a parlor room I haven’t been into before and there are people in all degrees of dress-from fully clothed to completely nude. They are everywhere: pressed against the walls, on the furniture, on the floor. Opal is on the couch in between two men who are in the process of unlaceing her gown. No one has
noticed me yet.
One of the men with Opal pulls up the skirts of her gown to touch her between her legs. The other one is simultaneously loosening her gown and getting it off her while trying to kiss her.
I clear my throat.
Nobody reacts.
Oh, for the love of everything good.
“Opal!” I call out. “Should you be having sex with other people while you’re pregnant with my son?”
The princess freezes and turns to me wide-eyed. Her shock turns into fury. She grabs a throw pillow off the floor and aims it at my head. I dodge and it hits one of the couples who are busy against the wall. They stop temporarily before continuing unhindered.
A Faustian Bargain
“What are you doing?” Opal shrieks. “No one invited you!”
+25 BONUS
“I can see that.” One of the men with her on the couch has unzipped his pants and his genitalia is hanging out. “Please put that away.”
“Leave, Lex! No one wants you here!”
“I need to talk to you about something.”
Opal’s glare is so toxic it could kill a man. “Do I look like I care?”
“Fair point, but I digress. What did the doctor say about sex during your pregnancy?”
“That’s none of your business!”
“It really is though.” I grimace at the absurdity of my life. “I don’t want it to be, but it is.”
One of the men says, “This isn’t really the time for talking. Unless you’re going to join us, you can leave.”
I let out a sad sigh. “See, Simon, a few months ago, I would have happily joined you, but I’m trying change for the better, and that means no more o**s.”
“My name’s not Simon-”
“I want my older brother to be proud, and **s make him very disappointed in me. I used to have o*es al*l the time. Ask Opal.”
The princess has her face in her hands. I wonder if she’s about to cry from frustration. I come over and pull her from the couch. She slaps my hands away, but I don’t relent and lead her toward the door.
I apologize as we have to move around all the people who are on the ground. They ignore me. I almost step on someone’s hair. Opal tries to escape my grasp, but I’m still stronger than her, and we’re out of the room before I let her go.
I block the door of the parlor with my body, preventing her from going bck to rejoin the o**y. “No, Opal.
Bad.”
“Don’t talk to me like I’m your pet!” she hisses, furiously, “I’m a princess!”
“I know. And you should be in bed.”
“I need to have sex!” She smacks my shoulder. “I’ve never been hornler because of all the hormones running through my body. All I want is to get **ed all the time, and it’s your fault!”
“So we’re acknowledging it’s my baby now?”
She smacks my chest. “I **ing hate you!”
I grab her wrists so she’ll stop hitting me. “What if I can help?”
Opal’s blue eyes narrow in suspicion, w
do you mean?”
“Well…”I look to the heavens as if that merciful deity will finally free me from what I’m about to suggest. got you pregnant, so it only makes sense I help you with the symptoms.”
“We’re going to have sex?”
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A Faustian Bargan
I look down at her pretty face and tell myself it won’t be that bad. We had sex before. I survived. Her evil vagina isn’t going to melt my penis off.
“I’m still not sure if it’s safe for you to have sex. I’ll have to check with the doctor, but for now, we can do
other things.”
“Like what?” she scoffs. “Read poetry?”
“I’ll eat you out as much as you want,” I answer. “I’ll keep going until you pass out from the o***ms.” Her blue eyes blink as she thinks this over. Then she nods and repeats, “As much as I want.”
I remember that Opal is insatiable, but I’m resigned to my fate. She has a stamina that could kill a weak man. I don’t trust any fool in this castle to be gentle with her while she’s pregnant. And Opal is always nicer after she’s satisfied in bed.
“Come on, Princess.” I place a hand on the small of her back to guide her to her room. “Let’s get you to bed.”