Bound by Blood and Fang

Chapter 15

Alora

My palm itches to wipe the smirk off the Vampire King's face...again. The sting from the first hit still echoes through my hand. The sharp, satisfying, and all-too-real bite of pain is all the proof that I need to remind myself that I am not some delicate pawn that can be shuffled between the two of them.

Dimitri Valecourt looks far too amused right now as he watches me down the length of his nose, his bronze irises shimmering with excitement.

My pulse is no longer thumping in my ears like a drum, not after drinking Jenny’s tea. I finally feel as if I am the one back in control and not my body. The tea’s effects have steadied me, cooling the fever of the heat that had hijacked my senses.

But the way that he is looking at me right now. With a look that says that he has me right where he wants me, and I realize that I just walked right into something. The hairs on my arms rise in a prickle of warning. One that I would be smart to listen to right now. His gaze is heavy, eyes churning with that familiar red tinge just along the edges.

It's the look of a predator who is weighing and measuring their prey before they strike.

The air in the room feels like a static charge is building. The sensation prickles across my skin; every nerve ending in my body is now screaming at me in the same way that it did on the night of the ritual. Screaming at me to move my feet before the monster catches me.

But it's already far too late for that.

Because Dimitri Valecourt, King of Sanguivar, is watching me like prey — deciding when, not if, he’ll sink his teeth into my flesh.

Silence settles across the room as no one dares to say a word. My mind begins racing in a desperate attempt to decipher what he is thinking and what he’s about to do, so I can make sure I am ready. The muscles in my shoulders are coiled tight like springs, already bracing for the attack.

I didn't fight him that night the way I fought against Bane, but something tells me that Dimitri will be even more dangerous when the time comes. And if I am going to win that fight, I am going to need to be ready.

I glare up at him, narrowing my eyes at him in a challenge to go ahead and make his move, but…it never comes.

Well, at least not in the way that I was anticipating.

Dimitri Valecourt lifts his hand and slowly moves it toward my face, brushing at a loose strand of my pale hair back from my face. The tips of his fingers barely grazed across my cheek. His touch is feather soft, and yet the cool touch of his skin on mine sends a shiver racing down my spine in a clear act of betrayal. Even with the dampened Heat effect, my body still responds to him with enthusiasm.

The corner of his mouth twitches as I blink up at him, thrown completely off balance by this reaction coming from him. I expected him to come for me with claws and teeth, for his grip to seize me and demand my submission. But this gentleness from him… from a vampire... was the last thing that I expected. He's gentle in a way that makes my knees weak and makes it even harder to keep the fire of my anger burning.

The threads of the bond pulse around my wrists, the tiny red threads are easy to visualize reaching for his.

For a heartbeat, I can’t breathe.

Not because I’m afraid — but because I don’t know what to do with this feeling.

Confusion coils through my chest, hot and utterly unwelcome. I absolutely hate that he can do this to me, even without the help of magic potions. That he has this ability to twist this feeling inside of me with nothing more than a genital touch to make me lean into him.

And then, just as quickly as he had created this moment, he shattered it. His voice cuts through the quiet, smooth and commanding, like the king that he truly was. “You will be joining me tonight for dinner. Be ready by six,” he orders.

The sudden return to the manipulative and controlling a**hole version that he is snaps me out of whatever trance he managed to put me under.

“You don’t get to—” I start only to be cut off mid-sentence by the sharp look on his face.

“That wasn’t a request, Love,” he adds, inclining his head to where there is only a breath of space between our faces now. “You will meet me in the dining hall...at six.”

“Or what?” I snap back like a child. I am sure we both look a little comical right now in our little stand-off. I can feel warmth rushing to my face even as I fight to appear unfazed. My cheeks are rosy from embarrassment now. I just know that they are.

He smiles at me, like a real smile. One that makes the corner of his eyes crinkle and hides the points of his fangs just enough to make him look as if he is just another human. Fates, he looks devastatingly handsome like this, and for a heartbeat, I forget all about the danger that lurks beneath the surface.

“Or I will make the alternative far less pleasant,” he whispers.

It doesn't take much to come up with my own ideas of what he means by that and the worse part is that there is a part of me that wants it. He smiles once again when I am unresponsive before turning and walking out of the room before I had the chance to pull myself back together and find the appropriate words to yell at him. I stare at the now-empty doorway once he disappears and instantly feel the anger and annoyance return with full force.

“I’ll have Jenny bring you something to wear,” the Beta says, clearing his throat, snapping me out of my thoughts.

More heat floods my cheeks because I’d forgotten that Bane's Beta was still in the room after I had stormed in. I had been so focused on the vampire king that I had barely registered that we weren't alone. The Beat's quiet presence was drowned out by Dimitri’s.

I square my shoulders as I try my absolute hardest to get a hold of myself. "Don’t bother, because I’m not going," I snap quickly, turning on my heels and head for the same door.

But Beta's voice stops me just as I am about to cross the threshold. "Look, I know this is… difficult for you," he says, and I turn and look at him from over my shoulder. “But I would like for you not to take what is happening lightly. Give him a bit of grace...both of them.” He sighs as he runs a hand through his hair. "They are just as confused as you are and are trying to navigate the situation in the way that they think is best."

I hesitated another second before exiting the room without answering him. I could hear him let out a short dry chuckle before I hurried down the hall. I feel only slightly bad about how I just acted in front of the beta. He and Jenny were both so nice. They had stepped in when I couldn't protect myself.

It didn’t matter, though. The Vampire king could bark out all the orders he wanted. He was going to be very disappointed in the end. Unless... my steps falter as I turn the corner that leads back to my room.

Wait.

What if this is exactly what I need? Let them think I’m giving in. If I tried to leave right now, there is no doubt in my mind that the guards would do exactly what Dimitri promised the first time I tried. They would drag me straight back, and if I was lucky or not so lucky, they would probably lock me in my room and barricade the windows.

But if I let them believe they're winning. That I am giving into the bond, maybe just maybe they’ll lower their guard enough, and I’ll be able to slip out of this place. The thought steadies me, and my spine straightens, my chin lifts as I make my decision.

✦

I am not sure if I should be thankful that the Beta didn't take me seriously when I said that I wasn't going to dinner with Dimitri or more annoyed that he assumed that in the end I would change my mind. I returned to my chambers and began to plan. I didn't have anything here that was actually mine. The white dress from he night of the ritual had been thrown away, I assume, because i have yet to see it again.

I found a tan pack tucked into the back of the wardrobe and set about stuffing it full of anything that I could find that would be useful when I made it out of here. I stuffed it back into the back of the same wardrobe, covering it with a few of the furs that had been folded to hide it. I closed the doors just in time for Jenny to arrive with an arm full of expensive fabrics and a mischievous smile tugging at her lips.

She peeked her head in after a few tentative knocks on my new door. The shattered remains had already been swept away, the door replaced with a sturdier frame that still smelled faintly of fresh wood and resin by the time I had returned earlier.

"Salis filled me in," as she entered the chamber. "I wasn’t sure what you would like, so I brought a couple of options for you to choose from," Jenny said, her voice soft but steady as she placed the rather large pile of dresses in the center of the bed.

“That looks like more than a couple of dresses,” I muttered, eyeing the impressive stack of gowns that looked like they cost more than anything I have ever owned.

The fabrics spilled across the pale furs like a cascade of color — silks in jewel tones, cottons in muted greys, velvet that caught the light with a subtle sheen. The room suddenly felt a lot smaller with all that brightness crowding the space, a stark contrast to the stone walls and heavy curtains.

Jenny patted the pile of expansive material before she sat down on the edge of the mattress next to it. “I figured you were going to need something rather distracting for dinner tonight with the bloodsucker.” My brow lifts automatically at her and she smiles. "I think wearing something that will make the undead a little hot under the collar is the right move," she says with a playful grin.

“The last thing that I want is to have another moment like earlier with either of them,” I replied as I stepped closer and began to go through the gowns.

That was only half true. There definitely was a part of me that wants them again, one that is better left ignored right now. I catch Jenny watching me form across the pile like she can see right through me but is choosing not to comment on it until I'm ready. And I didn't plan to be ready for that conversation either, so instead of divulging feelings that I didn't even know how to name yet, I dived into sorting the stack of dresses she had brought.

There are at least fifteen here. Each is in a different color, style, and fabric. Some have sleeves that will flutter softly around your wrist, while others are sleeveless and elegant, making them perfect for wearing a set of silken gloves. I picked up a dress that was cream in color with multiple layers of fabric that made the skirt practically balloon outward.

I shake my head while I toss the monstrosity of fabric to the other side of the bed. That definitely will not do.

I reach for another one. This one is made of velvet, and it feels amazing against my skin. It's probably the softest thing that I have ever felt. The fabric is dyed a deep emerald green, which is beautiful, but it is not a color that will suit me, so it quickly joins the other in the discard pile.

“Where did you get all these so fast in the first place?” I finally asked her.

She shrugs her shoulders as she holds up another gown before tossing it aside to join the others when I crinkle my nose at it. “When you tell the dressmaker that they are for the Alpha Kings bonded ... things magically appear.” She waves her hands in front of her, mimicking magic, I assume.

"Are you sure that it is wise to start telling them that he found his bonded? I mean what if all of this is just some catastrophic misunderstanding?" Okay, I know I am probably just reaching for anything at this moment to make myself feel better about what I'm planning on doing.

She shakes her head. "All of Wolfsden knows at this point. Alpha Bane's little theatrical show earlier, left no room for doubt that he had found his mate." Jenny began fussing with a sleeve of one of the gowns.

Well, that's just great.

If the news is already starting to spread, that means that I am going to have a lot harder time disappearing. A chill starts to creep up the back of my neck like there are eyes boring into me. I turn, looking over my shoulder in the direction of the feeling expecting to see … I don't know… Something at least standing there. But instead of a person standing in the room with Jenny and me, my eyes landed on the wardrobe. The door slightly creaked open like it hadn't shut completely.

That's strange. I could have sworn that I heard it click close right before Jeanny had walked into the chamber.

"Hey, are you okay? You look a little pale?" Jenny asks, forcing my attention back onto her.

Her eyes are darting between me and the wardrobe with concern written all across her face. I do my best to give her a smile, though I don't think I succeeded as I hoped. "Sorry, I just floated off for a bit."

A flash of deep color catches my eye. It's not bright like the jewel-toned fabrics or the muted greys. It's richer. A shade of red that looks like spilled wine in the candlelight. I pull the fabric from beneath the pile and stare at it for several moments as it unfurls across my lap. The fabric's color darkens even more depending on how much light hits it. The neckline swoops in a daring heart-shaped bodice that is stitched with black embroidery and lace across the front.

There is a slit in the skirt that reveals itself when I shift the dress in my hands. High and daring, with a whisper of danger hidden in the elegance of it. It’s beautiful and exactly perfect for what I need. If the Vampire King wants me at his table tonight, I’ll give him something he can’t ignore.