The Bride of the Vampire King

All I really want

Aneela

The vampire’s hands were cold, a coldness that spread through their touch all up Aneela’s arm and right into her heart. They stared into each other for the longest time before the music started. A cheerful catchy rhythm with a sassy text, that flew like a river above them. The beat was… gods, too seductive, and with the man next to her for a moment Aneela felt like she was in a completely different world and reality - a place, where no one else existed, but them. She was intoxicated.

As they swayed to the music, executing the dance steps to perfection, she found herself unable to tear her eyes off of him. She could feel herself falling deeper and deeper into the stranger’s violet gaze, and it was like nothing else existed but the movement, the beat and the touch.

They didn’t speak, there was no need for it. Each step was a challenge they gave each other, each swirl – response to the challenge and a new one on its own. Never in her life had Aneela felt the need to touch so deeply and desperately, to surrender to someone else’s will so completely. And somehow, from one beat to the other, the challenge turned into something completely different. The music was in everything Aneela breathed, being closer – the only thing she craved.

A grim expression crept on the vampire’s pale face. At some point, when the dance was half-way on, and everyone else had already forgotten the little scene Darren tried to cause, Aneela couldn’t contain her curiosity anymore. She felt… compelled, and she needed to know more, no matter how wrong or illogical it was.

“Who are you?” She heard herself asking. What? She was supposed to get rid of him and go on her way to achieve her mission before her mother actually arrived, not get familiar with strangers. Especially vampires. The fact that her wolf didn’t growl from inside because of him only made her more annoyed. Since when did she resigned being in the company of vampires? Yet, she found herself unable to walk away..

The vampire smiled lazily. The complete confidence in this smile barely escaping his eyes when he swirled her around and stepped towards her should annoy her, enrage her even. But she found she wasn’t able to fight any of it, while he swayed her again, bringing her closer with the excuse of the dance steps and her own clumsiness, compared to the elegance of his every move.

“Just someone enjoying a good time. Is it so bad?” He asked slowly, intent hidden in his low husky voice.

“I never said it was a bad thing, I just asked for your name,” Aneela protested weakly, but didn’t do anything to put some distance between them. His cold body was now plastered to hers and for some reason it still didn’t bother her. On the contrary, she felt she needed the closeness like the air she breathed. What was wrong with her? Was it some glamor trick he played on her? But vampires couldn’t play such games with the wolves. Then what?

She looked him in the eyes, trying to decipher something there, to distract herself and think straight - it was not her thing to fall for the first pretty face that came her way. She was usually good at reading people, another weapon in a useless arsenal, yet with tihs male it was amost impossible to tell.

The vampire who held her so tight in his embrace looked young, not much older than herself. Well, relevantly young, with these creatures one could never know. He was tall, taller even than Darren, which made his strong built seem leaner that it really was. His expensive clothes fit perfectly to his body, defining every muscle in a way that complimented his frame – dark lines and elegance above any Aneela had ever seen before. He was attractive, alright. No matter what he was, or maybe because of it. A creature of the night, one whose touch was venomous for weaker spieses, who could be lethal even for her when she was not in her wolf form. But danger had always attracted Aneela.

The vampire moved like the night itself, while he swayed her so easily, as if she was nothing but a feather in his cold hands. And all this was not even remotely the reason Aneela still stayed, and stared like a fool. His face, gods, it was his face and these violet dark eyes that compelled her to stay one more second, to the next beat, to the next move.

The breeze coming from the windows slowly ruffled his perfectly composed dark hair, longer in the front and shorter in the back. Handsome was only one way to put it, and it was not only because of the perfect features he possessed – high cheekbones and full rosy lips on pale skin, a slightly pointed chin, raised in arrogance - that gave him some faery, otherworldly aura. There was power in these features. A specific kind of mockery against what seemed the entire world, one that Aneela herself wished she possessed. He seemed like he didn’t care for a thing in the world besides himself and what was in front of him. Humans had a saying for it, an asshole, and it would be too fitting was it not for the way he looked at her - like Aneela was the only thing he cared for. Smooth bastard. And all this strength and arrogance, and intent, was pointed directly at her. How could she not get drunk on it?

“Sweet little thing,” he whispered, pulling Aneela even closer if it was physically possible. He didn’t seem like he spoke to her, but to himself, amused.

Finally annoyed, as if she woke up from a deep slumber, one that brought fire to her chest and distraction beyond any other, Aneela pushed him away and looked him back through her lashes. Suddenly she got angry at herself for allowing a vampire to smother her. For some reason she was even angrier at the fact that she actually had to look up to meet his eyes.

She was better than that. She was here not to dance or flirt with handsome vampires, and even if she felt grateful he spared her the humiliation of her mother finding her out, which obviously was Darren’s agenda, she had work to do.

“And feisty too”, the vampire smiled a sardonic smile, blind for her rage, or despite it. “Alas, you are correct,” a small sigh escaped his mesmerizing full lips as he spoke. “As much as I enjoy our little encounter, little wolf, I have a rebellion to lead after all.”

He looked at her for a long time, not breaking eye contact for even a second. And then he bowed, bringing her painted hand to his lips, the glitter reflecting the light in countless of colors. “Thank you for waking me up. It was a nice dream.”

He kissed her knuckles slowly, intently, holding her gaze as he licked, licked?, her skin while Aneela could just stare back. Finally, he nodded and stepped away, fixing the lapels of his evening coat, and left as abruptly as he had appeared.

Aneela stood alone in the middle of the dancefloor, wondering what just happened. One second he was here, then he was just… gone, like he never existed. Then her wolf finally growled inside her, as if to wake her up, as if the wolf herself finally woke up from a dream. Gods, they both hated vampires. How this one had managed to transfix her so much that she didn’t even notice smell of grave around him, or mind the coldness of his touch, or even find his longer canines attractive, was beyond her.

Aneela blinked a few times, trying to focus again and toss the stupid compelling away. She walked away of the dancefloor, taking deep breaths as she approached the gates to the garden, wondering how it was possible to be so hot inside. Her eyes finally focused on the prize, and she allowed her gaze to linger over the crowd, looking for the king of the dead. A tall, old vampire, smelling of graveyard. Supposedly.

A new song started behind, one made of flowery sounds and bubbly vibes, and she hurried to go outside. In the garden it was not so crowded with people like in the ball room. Couples and groups of people engaging in quieter, more intimate conversations. Nobody noticed her, not really as stepped slowly on her delicate heels like she owned the place.

Small chills, as if eyes were tracing her without her knowledge, made her stop in her tracks. Gods, she was so close.

“May I know what are you doing here?” A confident female voice came to her ears.

Closing her eyes in frustration, Aneela turned to face her mother, the queen herself. Rumiana looked… like a queen was supposed to look. She was a tall woman with dark eyes and affinity to everything in deep dark colors. Tonight she wore a strict, but elegant gown in black satin. It complimented her every curve and her strong build and made her look otherwordly beautiful.. Her hair fell straight and black as the night on her back, dark red lipstick matched her pale skin and helped complete her imperious look. A queen whom nobody would dare to challenge.

Aneela smiled sheepishly and stepped towards her mother, trying to look as calm as possible while she plastered a blissful expression on her face. How didn’t she sense Mother’s presence earlier? She and her wolf had to have quite a serious conversation about overlooking the treath of handsome vampires and scary mothers like they were nothing.

“Well?” Rumiana prompted, tilting her chin with expectation.

Aneela could feel quite a few gazes pointed at her direction.

“I…” the young woman liked her lips and smiled again, feeling quite desperate as always when the wolf queen was concerned. “I… just wanted to see the party.”

“I gave you strict orders not to do this, didn’t I?”

Aneela sighed deeply, hoping she looked as innocent as she tried, even though she felt like escape was the only option. Like she had suddenly become some obedient little pup ready to run away the moment Rumiana stepped on the stage. How pathetic.

“I know, mother, I am sorry,” Aneela lowered her eyes, but instead of waiting for the punishment to come, she licked her lips again suddenly feeling bold. “But… I waited my whole life to be a part of it, and now… now I… I just wanted to see them all bow to you.”

Aneela held her breath in expectation, gambling everything on this last move to salvage her chances at staying at the ball and achieving her goals. Her mother possessed quite a bit vanity after all, one that Aneela once knew how to play, back when Father was still alive and Aneela and Mother still talked to each other, still loved each other.

“Go to your room, Aneela,” Rumiana sighed now, tossing away the hint of a smile that tried to form on her lips. She did raise her head even prouder though. “I will talk to you tomorrow about this, now I have a speech to make.”

Rumiana didn’t even stay to see Aneela gone. She just turned around, the scent of nocturnal flowers spilling delicately around her, and left the gardens, followed by five bulky guards who Aneela hadn’t even noticed a second ago.

Left alone, Aneela looked around her only to realize that the little scene had gathered quite a few spectators. Did they know who she was now? Did it really matter? Maybe not, when a new plan formed in her head. She couldn’t find the vampire king and ask him for help, but she could use her position as the daughter of the wolves’ queen to get answers in some other way. And, she could start with the nearest vampire she could find.

She turned around, ignoring the stares and even smiled to a few of the people she passed by. Her eyes searched for any of the blood suckers, but none of them were present outside. Sniffing the air, she followed the smell down the large terraces and walked the stone path towards the boxwood maze, her cousin Mara’s pride and joy. The night spilled silver moon light above her, the half moon giving her confidence and joy and the calmness she so much needed to accomplish her task. Small breeze played with the curls of her hair and her skirt, but she ignored it.

She managed to remain focused and quiet down the warning growls of her wolf from inside, or the chills running down her spine. For a second she felt as if she actually liked it, the feeling of danger, the chase of vampires in the dead of the night.

The deeper she stepped into the maze, the sounds of the party slowly faded. Soon, all she could hear were the soft sounds of the spring near by, the chirping of the insects and the song on owls. And voices. Distant, secretive voices, which attracted her attention, and she darted towards them.

Someone was arguing further ahead – soft hushes and spat words with barely contained rage. Men. By the way they spoke, one would assume one of them had to be human, as they always tried to hide their affairs from the rest, not being able to conceal their secrets with magic, or compelling, or using any other kind of communication but spoken words. But the human was arguing with a vampire. How interesting. These two species usually weren’t on friend’s terms..

Aneela smiled internally as she approached them, thinking it would be fun to scare the human away, maybe showing some fangs and claws and then make the vampire speak to her once they were alone.

“You don’t understand, sire,” she heard someone saying when she neared them. A female, the voice too familiar to be ignored any longer.. “The queen will kill me if I do it.”

Aneela stopped in her trucks, heart skipping a beat. Not a human her wolf dragged, a feeling in her pit, not actual words. It was one of the werewolves on that loan,, one of her own, using a spell to hide the scent of wolf. A werewolf, calling a vampire “sire”! Her own maid.

Instantly blinded by rage, Aneela stepped further, ready to put the little traitor in her place, and show the stupid vampire their actual place in the food chain. Vampires might believe that they were fast and cunning and everything, but they were nothing without the rest of the species.. They relied on humans to feed, on witches to keep the night constant in their vampire lands, and on wolves to keep order intact instead of making the world filled with chaos and terror.

Aneela finally approached the lane where the conversation was happening. She pulled the rogue boxwood branches in front of her face at the exact moment the vampire finally spoke.

“I want you to bring me the b***h queen’s daughter or I will rip him apart. I will suck dry his blood and toss his body as it is nothing.”

“S-sire, I don’t… please, please don’t harm him, I will do anything. Please.” Twyla answered, her voice trembling with horror. She looked pale and small next to the tall strong vampire, who rose a head over her.

With a frozen heart, Aneela watched them, her maid, one who she considered more than a maid but a friend. And the vampire who danced with her just minutes ago. She sent a silent prayer to the gods. Please, please, don’t let her tell him. Not because she feared him, but because she didn’t want to lose Twyla. If Mother ever heard about it, she would never forgive such treason.

“She is in her room, at the top of the tower. The queen didn’t allow her to attend,” Twyla lied with a low, meek voice, desperation seeping through every fiber in her body.