Vampire King's Pet

Chapter Seventeen: She Is My Beloved

Alexei's POV,

I watched the scene from a short distance away. I kept my eyes glued to the little witch while my mother allowed her to use her magic. I still couldn't believe she interfered with my authority when it came to Avery.

I've been patient with her, and it was about time I gave her what all subjects get when disobedient to my rule.

Next time she won't be so lucky. I'll start with something much harder than my belt. That cane was just to scare her and make her listen. And to make her count. She refused to count and it inspired me to take things up a notch.

Deep down I knew it was wrong but I just hate being disrespected by her.

I c****d my head to the side as I watched the wind blow past and her dark hair blew in the breeze and a smile formed on her lips. I quickly broke my gaze. But something in me was pulling me towards her and I couldn't fight it when my feet began moving.

Avery must've sensed me, she glanced over her shoulder and locked eyes with mine. Her beautiful grey eyes bore into my brown ones. An unsettling feeling formed in the pit of my stomach as I neared her. I wondered why I felt this way all of the sudden.

Avery looked away from me and down at the ground in front of her. "Are we finished here?" I asked my mother, not taking my eyes away from Avery. I glanced at her wrist as I moved around her. My own no longer ached and I knew it was because of what she was doing with her magic. Or whatever she was able to tap into.

Genevieve informed me that she had stripped her magic away, but she seems to still have some residual effects from it. How powerful is she? Or did my witch lie to me about what she did?

I growled when I realized that the unsettling feeling I had was coming from Avery. Her body shook some and she cowered more into herself as she tried to move ever-so-slightly away from me.

"I'm not the one you should be asking." My mother's annoyed tone burned my ears. I had to fight off the urge to throw her a death glare, instead I shot it to Marcus. I demurely inclined my head down and he instantly got to his feet at my unspoken order.

Marcus moved to where Avery inched to and crouched down to her level. "Miss Avery," he cleared his throat. "If we are finished here, I think it would be best to go inside. Perhaps we could find something to soothe...umm.. to soothe your aches that linger?"

I smirked at how he worded the stinging pain I knew that remained on her backside. Avery looked up at me for a moment before nodding her head and slowly taking Marcus' hand.

Marcus pulled her to her feet and my eyes instantly fell to her ass. I raised an eyebrow at the red marks that sat on the backs of her thighs. A reminder of how she would no longer disobey me in the future. She knew it would be worse if she kept this attitude of hers up. Sick or not, I won't be treated any less than what I am. I demand obedience. I cannot help it, it's in my nature as a leader. I am the King of Vampires after all!

I watched Marcus and Avery leave the garden. My eyes lingered on the hand that Marc had resting on Avery's lower back, a low growl ripped from my chest and out of my lips at the sight.

I quickly shook my head, I hated how this newfound bond was making me feel.

"I had an interesting chat with that young lady there." Mom nodded her head towards Avery as she and my guard walked away.

"And..?" I raised a brow.

"Well first off, you lied to me about how you met her. Really Lex? Her entire life was taken in a matter of just an hour. You know how it feels to lose someone you love. She lost everyone she cared about. Her parents, brother, aunts and uncles, many cousins, and the person she loves most. Why are you giving her such a hard time?" Mom scolded me tenderly. Mom always found reasons to make me feel bad for my actions, I loved and hated that trait of hers.

"She had information on Carter, Mom." I turned and looked into her warm eyes. "She refused to tell me what I wanted to know. She then tried to kill Genevieve. What would you have me do?"

"She was upset." Mom snapped. "Even you can understand the emotions she had that night."

"Well I now have no choice since Geni bonded her to me!" I snapped back. Mom didn't show any surprise to what I said. Either Avery told her or she simply noticed the way me and Avery looked at one another. The bond was growing and the looks we gave one another lasted longer each time.

"Perhaps that was for the best. I know she's young, but I'm sure in time you and Avery can accept this new bond and figure out how to work around the fact that you are both of different races." Mom came up to me and patted my shoulder. "She isn't a dark witch son, the fact that she can tap into earth's natural energy the way she did should have told you that she's a white witch. She's good and won't turn on you...unless you force her to."

I narrowed my eyes at my mother. I could never accept a young teenage girl as my mate. It wasn't her age that was stopping me, it's the witch part of her. Cater used witches to take my mate and son from me. I could never accept a witch as my mate. Regardless of the damn bond Genevieve placed on Avery and I.

My mother gave me a pointed look. "I expect the chefs to provide a nice warm meal for Avery." she said and began walking away.

"I already tried to feed her. She refused." I angrily told her.

"No, I saw the food you tried to make her eat. It saddens me to see how cruel you've become since Natalie died. That girl wasn't part of her death so stop treating her as if she was."

"She is my mate, I can treat her any way I wish." I snapped and walked out of the garden, ignoring my mother's protests.

As I entered the castle, I found my legs taking me upstairs. I then soon found myself standing in front of Avery's bedroom door. Marcus wasn't standing outside of it like I ordered him to. Instead he was in the room with her. I could hear him speaking softly, but I didn't hear Avery.

"I'm sure Mistress Vera will get the King to listen. But—"

This time I heard a scoff come from that little brat before she spoke. "I doubt that. He hates me and I don't know why. I just wish he would've let me be with my family...with Danny." her tone softened as she said her late mate's name.

My hand froze as I went to knock harshly on her door. I stood there stunned at how softly she spoke about the boy that died in her arms. "He was such a a beautiful person, and I miss him so much."

"Hey, come here." I heard some shuffling then quietness. Soon after I went to knock once again but stopped when I heard her quiet cries.

My heart ached as her sadness hit me like a freight train. I felt as if I was back in the days after my wife and son had been taken away from me. I wanted to die just to be with her again. Even took Vervain to do the job for me. But my second in command, Yuri found me and rushed my dumb ass to the infirmary.

So I completely understand her reasons for wanting to die. However, as a man who was significantly older than she was, I saw potential in her. I might not show it due to my controlling ways and the need for common respect, but I was trying to teach her how to become stronger than her need to die.

After a couple of years I planned on telling Genevieve to find a way to get Avery her magic back. But she had to listen to me in order for that to happen.

"I'm scared of him. I don't scare easily, but he scares me." Avery whispered. I narrowed my eyes at her door. She wasn't afraid of anyone, especially me.

Marcus chuckled softly. "Are you? Because you sure don't show it. Even with his punishment—"

"That wasn't a punishment!" Avery cut him off. Her words piqued my interest in what she saw as a punishment.

"Then what was it? You can trust me, Aves." I rolled my eyes at how he'd given her a cute nickname. Mine was definitely cuter. I snapped to myself.

"I've not been here long but from what I've seen so far, he enjoys dominance." I frowned. "By putting me down, whether it's embarrassing or downright cruel he enjoys making everyone know he can do whatever he wants and get away with it. So to him, it wasn't a punishment. It was a power play." I was taken back. My late wife Natalie said the same thing all the time when I went off the rails with anger and control.

I didn't want to hear anymore and went off towards my office. My eyes instantly went to my hidden safe. I closed my office door then locked it. I moved the chess table then the rug that covered the floor hatch.

I opened up the floor panel and I quickly typed in the code for it. Once I heard it click it asked for my finger print. I placed my left thumb on the screen and it went from red to green, indicating a match. Only one other person could open this with their fingerprint, but they aren't aware of it. It was a failsafe just in case something happens to me. The final and third piece of opening my safe opened up a small lock. I pulled the key from the chain around my neck that was hidden under my clothing and pushed it into the lock and turned it.

I pulled open the latch revealing several stacks of money in different currencies, some important documents and finally, the last bit of my wife's things. Like her birth and death certificate; both of them.

She was born a human back in Russia, but when she became sick with cancer and was on her death bed she asked me to turn her. I never wanted to turn her, but I also didn't want to lose her. So I agreed and told the hospital that she wanted to die peacefully at home. We faked her death later that week and even had a funeral for her family. She knew she'd never get to see them again so it was hard for her.

But I still ended up losing her. I took our wedding photo from my safe and smiled softly. Her golden hair and deep brown eyes were something I missed terribly.