The Vampire Prince's Hybrid Mate

Welcome to the Escape Room

Kara POV

Before I knew what exactly was happening, we were being ushered out of the room and through the rabbit warren of corridors and back out into the arena.

I could tell from the look on Piper’s face she was more than a little distracted. Having Jo sacrifice herself to whatever horrors the vampires deemed necessary as her punishment had been the last thing, we had both excepted.

Now it had put us both on the back foot.

I worried about what was happening to her instead of focussing on the terrors ahead of us as the huge doors were opened and we were pushed out into the bright sunlight of the arena.

Gone was the huge forest that still gave me nightmares, and it had been replaced with a long, low building that extended along the length of the arena.

Doors lined the side that I could see, and each was numbered from one to ten. I could only assume that the other side hosted doors for the numbers eleven through to twenty. One door for each of us.

The King stood proudly ahead of us, his dark eyes scanning the rows of women that stood before him, a smirk lifting the corners of his lips. 

Prince Daniel stood beside him, sporting his forest green clothing. His eyes strayed among the women, but in a different way that his father, an almost methodical searching to his gaze until his eyes remained frozen. There was something in his gaze that worried me, and my own eyes flicked to follow where he was looking.

Horror flooded my chest. The prince’s gaze was locked in battle with Piper’s, her green eyes wide, a strange look filling her features, one I had never seen before.

They both looked away almost as soon as I noticed, as if they sensed the intrusion on their moment. I swallowed hard. This couldn’t be happening. It couldn’t be possible for Piper’s mate to be the other vampire prince, could it?

Nothing is impossible Annysia whispered, her words rather unhelpful in calming my panic.

I forced my eyes to focus to the front and then I realised someone was missing. My heart almost stopped when I didn’t see Prince Dominik anywhere. Why wasn’t he here?

I wanted to berate my own mind for its thoughts. I hadn’t even met the man, and the mate bond was already playing with my emotions and thoughts. I had to force any thoughts of him to the back of mind and focus on whatever was ahead of us.

“Today, lovely ladies, you will each enter one of the rooms assigned to you. Each room has been specifically chosen for you, with certain tasks and challenges designed to target areas of concern we have for each of you,” the King began, his voice booming loudly around the arena.

The vampires present in the arena cheered loudly and I looked up for the first time, noticing the huge wall of screens that were hung high on the side of the arena.

One of the screens showed a collage of empty rooms, and I knew that within moments, they would be occupied with each of us. The second screen flicked between each room, a close-up view of what would be happening.

My stomach swirled uncomfortably. They would be able to see everything. It meant Piper and I had to be even more cautious now.

I wriggled my fingers slowly, reaching for the magic cloak that pulsed around me, hiding my scent and relief flooded through me when I felt its pull and the feel of the magic pulsing around me. It had been so long since I had checked in on it. I was becoming far too lax, losing my vigilance. 

Every day that Piper and I spent as a part of this competition was putting us in more danger. The King would have our heads if he knew.

“You will now be escorted to your individual room, which is based on what place you finished in the first round,” the King smiled widely, his gaze sweeping across us. 

One by one, the women were collected by a vampire and escorted to a door, when it was my turn, I kept my gaze down as I walked towards the King but I could feel his cold, intense gaze following me as I moved within his reach. I sucked in a quick breath, my skin erupting in goosebumps as a wave of pure cold washed across me. It prickled at my skin, lashing at me, and diving deep into my bones.

As I moved past the King, the world seemed to slow and my eyes slid up to meet his which, our gaze locking onto one another. 

Two things registered in my mind. The first was that this man, this King of vampires, hated me. It was there - plain and visible in the depth of his blood-red irises and swirled dangerously as his pupils narrowed at me. The second thing was that I was very much afraid for my life in that moment. It was more than just the fact that he was a vampire and could quite easily kill me should he wish to, it was more the look in his eyes, the calculation as he stared at me. There was something hidden in the depths of his gaze that had my bones melting and my stomach churning with the kind of fear that made even the strongest willed people, wet themselves and run away like crying babies.

Even Annysia grew very wary, her own thoughts and emotions heightening the almost out-of-body experience I was having.

The Kings thin lips curled up into a mocking smile, his sharp fangs glinting in the sunlight, reminding me again just the type of predator he really was.

And then within an instant, the moment was gone as the world moved faster, life shifting back to normal speed as the vampire King’s gaze averted from my own.

I sucked in a short, gasping breath and wiped my sweaty hands against the dark material of my pants.

What the hell just happened? I asked Annysia, my mind a blur of thoughts.

I have no idea, but I get the feeling that the King does not want to see us make it past this round.

My throat tightened at the thought. If I didn’t survive this, who would keep Piper safe? Who would look out for her?

The large, muscled vampire in front of me stopped at door number six. My eyes roamed over the plain, brown door, the wood the colour of mocha. The large, golden number six that adorned the wood, stood out glaringly against it, the metal sending reflections of sunlight across my face.

The vampire gave me a sinister smile before nodding his head in the general direction of the door.

My gaze gave one last fleeting glance back towards where Piper stood in front of door number three. She stood tall, her shoulders back and her face set in determination as she pushed open the door to her room and disappeared within. Behind her, Raven looked in my direction, her gaze dark and she sent a glare my way before she waltzed into her own room.

I sincerely hope she doesn’t pass this round I thought to Annysia.

You and me both.

I glanced sadly at the empty space beside me that would have been Jo’s room to enter. It sent my heart skittering in my chest in worry. What was happening to her?

A sudden heat along my skin had my head turning to look up at the building behind me and my gaze zeroed in on the dark pair of eyes and chiselled face that I could see staring at me from the window on the second floor.

There he was, his gaze focussed on me, my mate. It sent a flurry of emotions through my stomach, making my body tense. 

“Hurry up and get inside,” the huge vampire growled, his voice like shards of ice and bringing my attention back to reality.

I shot him a glare and then strode as confidently into the room as I could.

The door was slammed shut behind me and the sound of the lock turning met my ears before I could even begin to register my surroundings. 

My heart lurched into my throat as I took in the small room before me. It seemed all too familiar, and I almost started hyperventilating then and there.

I was standing in what looked like a smaller version of my families living room back home before everything changed, before than night.

I sucked in a breath, and then two, my mind spinning, and I grabbed onto the nearest thing to steady myself.

Don’t panic, it’s not the same, they don’t know what we are Annysia hurriedly whispered in my mind. I knew she could feel my panic, feel the overwhelming urge to freak out, but as I gazed around the room, I realised she was right.

This room wasn’t the same, it just had a similar rustic feel. It didn’t have the warmth and comfort that I should feel.

It isn’t the same! It isn’t the same! I chanted to myself as my eyes roamed the room.

A single lightbulb lit up the room, its glow casting my shadow around as there was no other light source available.

A bookshelf filled the entire wall that I was facing. Hundreds of books lined the shelves that filled the wall from floor to ceiling.

To my right, the wall was entirely black apart from a framed photograph of a picturesque countryside. I walked towards it and let my fingers trail along the rolling green hills, dotting with purple flowers. A girl ran through the field, her arms held above her in joy.

To my left, a small, low-lying orange couch was pushed against the wall, a small coffee table with a small tablet lying in it was beside it. Apart from that, the room was rather bare. To be honest I was expecting more. Something more obvious, something in my face, and now I was beginning to feel my own fears rising within me. 

I had no idea where to start.

As this thought ran through my head, the tablet sitting on the coffee table pinged, the screen lighting up.

I glanced at it, realised it was a video message. 

My hands curled around the tablet before it could ping again as the message flashed across the screen and I swiped to open the video.

The King appeared on the screen, his broad face and dark, blood-red eyes filling my screen and sending a shiver down my spine.

“Welcome to the escape room ladies,” his voice echoed around the room as I watched his message play on the tablet. “You will have thirty minutes to locate all of the clues which will lead you to the key to unlock the door to your freedom and entry into the next round.”

I glanced around the room, taking in the limited furnishings and wondering where the hell these clues were.

“If you do not find all the clues within the thirty minutes, the room will be sealed shut and there will be no escape,” the King added, his lips curling up into a small smile.

My heart pounded in my ears, the sound louder than the heaving breaths that were now being sucked into my chest as his next words registered in my brain. “Once the thirty minutes are up, a toxic gas will be released into the room, effectively ending your time in the games, and your life within moments.”

The sly smile continued to lift the King’s lips up as he let his words sink in, until he was smiling so widely, I wondered if he was truly enjoying this - the ending of so many innocent lives.

I could feel my own face drop, and I knew without a doubt my face would be whiter than a bed sheet. Every vampire in the stands would be able to watch the horrified look that I knew would be plastered across my features.

A loud siren sounded through the tablet as the Kings eyes darkened impossibly further. “May the creator show you way.”

His face disappeared from the screen, to be replaced by a timer which started counting down, the numbers disappearing quickly as I stared, utterly frozen.

Goddess help me, I was going to die!