Claimed by the Vampire King

Chapter 4: The Vampire Council

The council chamber was underground — hidden beneath an old theater in Brooklyn.

Damian led me down stone stairs that smelled of damp earth and age.

"Vampire council?" I whispered.

"The oldest ones," he said. "They rule our kind. And they don't like surprises."

The room was circular, lit by torches — real fire, no electricity.

Twelve vampires sat on stone thrones, all ancient-looking, all powerful.

They turned as we entered.

A woman with white hair and red eyes stood.

"King Damian. You bring a human."

"She's under my protection," he said calmly.

The woman smiled — not kindly. "The girl with the special blood."

I felt every eye on me.

Damian stepped forward. "She's my claimed. Bonded."

Gasps.

A man with golden hair laughed. "A human? Bonded to the King?"

Damian didn't flinch. "Her blood is rare. It can restore daylight walking."

Silence.

The white-haired woman — Elena, Damian called her — leaned forward.

"Then she is a threat. Or a weapon."

"She's mine," Damian growled.

Elena smiled. "For now."

They debated — in an old language I didn't understand, but the tone was clear.

Some wanted me dead.

Some wanted me studied.

Some wanted me used.

Damian argued for my protection.

Finally, Elena raised her hand.

"The council votes. The girl lives — under the King's guard. But she must prove her blood's value."

"How?" Damian asked.

"A test. One drop. If it restores even one of us to daylight, she stays."

I stepped forward before Damian could stop me.

"I'll do it."

He looked at me, worried.

I nodded.

One of the younger vampires — pale, handsome, but clearly suffering from centuries without sun — volunteered.

I pricked my finger.

One drop on his tongue.

We waited.

Nothing at first.

Then his skin warmed.

Color returned to his cheeks.

He stumbled to a window, pulled back the curtain.

Sunlight hit his face.

He didn't burn.

Tears — actual tears — in his eyes.

The council erupted.

Elena stood.

"The girl stays. Protected. Bonded to the King."

But her eyes were calculating.

As we left, Damian pulled me close.

"You shouldn't have done that."

"I had to."

He kissed my forehead. "You're changing everything."

In the car, he was quiet.

"What aren't you telling me?" I asked.

He sighed. "The test worked too well. Some on the council will want more than one drop."

"How much more?"

"All of it."

My blood ran cold.

"They want to drain me?"

"Not all. But enough to make an army that can walk in daylight."

I looked out the window.

"So I'm still a target."

"Always," he said. "But now you're my target too — in a different way."

He pulled me into his lap.

"I won't let them have you."

But as he kissed me, I felt the hunger in him.

The bond was changing him.

Making him want more than protection.

And I was starting to want it too.