My Forbidden Mate

Chapter 1

In my Kingdom, it is forbidden to feed on humans unless you have consent. Only the lowest, most impure blooded rogue clans attack humans. It took a really long time for the vampire council to negotiate peace with the humans. According to our agreement; the kingdoms of the council will protect the humans from the rogue vampires, and in exchange, the humans agree to let us feed from them. In the council protected areas, there was a vampire assigned to each human. It is the duty of the vampire clans to protect the humans; as it is the duty of each human to nourish their protector. My parents assigned Alexandria and I to each other when I was 10 . Right away, we got along great. She was a tall, slender ginger; with freckles, and bright green eyes. I remember the day we first met. It was my first time feeding on a human, and I was really nervous. Before then, I just had blood bags, and human food. I was nervously fidgeting with my long brown hair while hoping I wouldn't make this awkward, my amber eyes staring at the floor. That's when she burst in with my mother and ran up to me, taking my hands in hers. "Ohmygosh! A real vampire! What's your name? I'm Alexandria! Call me Alex. Can you make me do anything with your mind like in true blood? Or run really fast like in twilight? Will you burst into flames if you go into the sun? I'm 9. Do you age? How old are you? Can you turn into a bat? Do werewolves exist?!" I was taken aback at first, and just stared at her for a few seconds. Then, I relaxed and gave her a wicked grin before saying; "I'm 5,000 years old, and I can't tell you our secrets." I try hard to suppress a giggle as she stares at me in amazement. My mother laughs and gives us a warm smile. She has long brown hair, and warm hazel eyes. "Nyla, stop teasing her." Alexandria looks from me to my mother and back again, confused. I giggle at the expression on her face. "I'm Nyla. I'm 10, and I can't do anything just yet. My powers are just starting to develop. I will be able to run like in twilight, and control minds like in true blood one day. We're governed by the vampire council, which consists of the kings and queens of the pure blooded vampire kingdoms. We can walk in sunlight, we don't burst into flames or turn into bats, that's just a myth. Werewolves exist, but we stay away from them because they are our enemy. No one has ever survived a werewolf encounter, so we don't know much about them." She was so excited, and she gave me a tight hug. "Let's be best friends!" I was surprised that a human would want to be my friend, because the other humans usually act so afraid of us. "Okay." I say as I hug her back and giggle. Alexandria and I have been best friends ever since.

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Three Years Ago

Alexandria and I were in my room watching Netflix when my mother and father came in smiling warmly. "Hey guys, what's going on?" I ask, as I get up and hug my parents. "We have something we must discuss with you girls." My father says. My father's muscular figure is tall as defined, and his light brown hair is perfectly tousled as usual. I look at my father, his chartreuse colored eyes dancing with excitement. Alexandria stands up, and gives my parents a curtsy before giving them a big hug. My mother smiles warmly at her and wraps her in a warm embrace. My father clearly his throat loudly. "As you know, your sixteenth birthday is this weekend. Your mother and I have planned a ball for your special day." Alexandria jumps up and dances around in excitement. "It's going to be awesome, Ny." Alex exclaims. "This is definitely going to be your best birthday yet!" She says in a sing song voice. I pull her in and give her a big bear hug. "I appreciate you helping to plan the party, Alex. Thank you for being the best friend; and sister; that I could ever ask for." Tears start to sting my eyes as I remember everything Alex and I have been through together. Alexandria's parents were murdered by werewolves when she was eight, so she was an orphan when we met. It took a while for her to trust me enough to tell me what happened. After she opened up to me, I promised her that I would always protect her. I promised that as long as I was alive, she would never have to worry about being hurt. When my parents saw how close we had gotten, she started living with us. She is like a baby sister to me, and I would do anything to protect her. After a few minutes, I pull out of the hug, and stand to face my parents. "I know you guys are throwing me a party, so what are you not telling me?" I ask, a suspicious tone in my voice. "Okay, you caught us." My father says, putting his hands in the air. "Your mother wanted to keep it a secret, but we have been invited to the Kingdom of The Red Dusk clan to celebrate wi..." "DAMON?!?!" I ask cutting him off. I was practically shaking with excitement. "Yes. His mo.." His sentence is interrupted by a deafening shriek of excitement that seemed to escape me of it's own will. "You guys are the best! I love you all so much!!!" I rave as I hugs the three of them. "Anything for our little princess." My mother says, As she places a light kiss on my forehead. Suddenly, I realize that's we're leaving tomorrow. "We have to get packed and ready." I insist as I escort my parents out, and shut the door before they can protest. I can't believe I get to see Damon! It's been so long since I've seen him. He and I were so close growing up, and I hadn't seen him in eighteen months! I miss him. "Can you believe it's been eighteen months?! Do you think Damon will be happy to see me? WHAT AM I GOING TO WEAR???" I rant to Alex. "Okay.. First, I can't believe it's been that long. Damon used to visit you every weekend. Second, I know he will be ecstatic to see you. This was his idea after all. Third, anything you wear will be amazing. Fourth, take a deep breath and relax. You're acting like a comic book nerd who's about to meet Stan Lee for the first time. You have nothing to worry about, so just get ready for a birthday party that you will NEVER forget!" Alex reassures me. "You're right, Alex. I don't know why I freaked out like that. I know Damon will take care of me." I say, feeling the anxiety of seeing Damon again slowly dissipate.

When I woke up on Friday morning, my mind was going a billion miles a second. I hoped Damon would be happy to see me too. Damon is older than me, and I worry that he feels like he's babysitting me when we're together. I shake my head, dismissing the thought. 'No. Damon is one of my best friends, and we've always loved to spend time together. We're engaged to me married, and I've been in love with Damon since I was 12 years old. I trust him with my life. Everything is going to be fine.' I tell myself, as I finish packing my and race down to the throne room. When I arrived, my mom was crying hysterically. "What's wrong?!" I ask I I run to her and wrap my arms around her. She squeezes me so hard that I can barely breathe before saying "I just can't believe you're sixteen! Where did the time go??" My father chuckled as he tried to pry my mom's arms off of me. "Leila, you're going to crush our daughter if you don't let go." My mom gasps and releases her hold on me. "I'm so sorry, sweetie! I just can't believe you're so grown up!" I smile warmly at her. "I'll always be your baby, mom." She smiles at me as tears fall down her face. "I love you Nyla." "I love you too, mom." I say as I kiss her on the cheek. "What about me? You don't need your old man anymore?" My father asks, a dramatic pout on his face. "Of course, daddy!" I exclaim as I hug him tightly and kiss his cheek. "I'll always need you." My mother joins in hugging my father and I. "Ahem!" We all look up to see Alex in the doorway glaring at us and freeze. "What's this?" She asks, already knowing the answer. "It's not what it looks like, sweetheart." My mother says innocently. "Or really? Because to me is looks like a GROOOOOUUUUUUPPPPPP HUUUUUUUGGGGGGG!!!!!" She yells as she tackles us to the ground. We all burst out laughing. Alex always knew how to make anyone laugh. I was so happy and care free back then; but I had no way of knowing that I was about to lose everything...

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The flight to the Kingdom of The Red Dusk Clan went by quickly as we all watched zombie movies together, everyone laughing at how frightened my mother got. When we landed, we were greeted my a tall slender woman with short brown hair with blonde highlights, and sad chocolate brown eyes. "Your majesties." She gave a respectful bow. "I hope your flight was pleasant. I am Lydia, advisor to the queen of The Kingdom of Red Dusk." My father smiled warmly at her and stepped forward. "Thank you for welcoming is, Lydia. I am King Matthew of the Kingdom of The Night Blood Clan." He said as he bowed slightly. "I am Queen Yukionna." My mother says with a graceful curtsy. I curtsy and give her a polite smile. "I'm Nyla. This is my best friend Alexandria." I said, motioning towards Alex. Just for a moment I thought I saw shock, sympathy, and guilt flash in her already sad eyes, but it vanished just as quickly as it appeared. "Hello, Alexandria." She said with a warm smile while motioning towards to limo door. "We should get going, the prince is expecting you." We followed her to the car, and drove in silence until we arrived at the castle. "Your majesties, lady Alexandria, we have arrived." She gets out and opens the door for the us. As she leads us to the throne room my chest feels tight with anxiety, and I'm so nervous that it feels hard to breathe. "After you your majesties, Lady Alexandria." Lydia bows, and motions for us to go inside.

Once we step in, we could see King Apollo and Queen Salamaya sitting on their thrones, but I didn't see Prince Damon anywhere. Alexandria and I gave a curtsy along with my mother, as my father bowed respectfully. "It's great to see you all again! It's been far too long. I've missed you all." My father says cheerfully. "I hope you all remember, Alexandria," My mother says softly. "Thank you for welcoming us into your home." The king gives us a warm smile, and comes over to us. "Of course we remember Alex!" He says giving my father a big hug. They were always so close, I thought that they were brothers. "You two have grown too beautiful for words." King Apollo says, motioning towards Alex and I. King Apollo has short, shaggy blonde hair and dark blue eyes. He walks over to my mother and hugs her before holding her at arms length by her shoulders. "Yukionna, you're looking just stunning, as usual." He said before kissing her hand. Queen Salamaya stood up, baring her fangs and snapped at him. "Apollo! Enough." She hissed before looking us over with a disgusted look on her face. Queen Salamaya has long platinum blonde hair, and sky blue eyes. The queen gives us a look as cold as ice, and I feel a pain in my heart. Alex and I looked to my father for an answer, confused. He shrugged his shoulders, a puzzled look on his face. It felt like a stake was driven through my heart. "The prince isn't here to welcome you. He sends his regrets." Salamaya says with an almost annoyed tone. Apollo cuts in. "He will personally welcome you when he returns in the morning. If you need anything in the the meantime, please come to me personally." He then turned to Salamaya and shot her a fiery glare. She froze and looked down at the ground, not daring to look Apollo in the eye. You look over to see Alex fidgeting with her hair, an uneasy look on her face. Salamaya glared at my mother while addressing the four of us. "Your things should be moved in, and set up. Lydia will show you to your rooms." She says with a dismissive tone. "Salamaya! I suggest you remember your place, and just who it is you are talking to!" King Apollo snapped, making Alex and I jump. "You have my most sincere apology, your Grace." He said to my father, never taking his angry eyes off of Salamaya. "No need for apologies, old friend. I know this is all very sudden, and I'm sure Salamaya is simply exhausted. We are going to turn in for the night." My father tells King Apollo, yawning dramatically. "Of course, my friend." Apollo said before turning to me. "My God daughter's big day is tomorrow, and I wouldn't want her to be tired. Get some rest, sweethearts." He says, pulling Alex and I into a loving embrace. We hugged him back and said our goodnights before my parents, Alex, and I went to our rooms for the night.

"That lady is seriously scary!" Alex exclaimed, plopping down on my bed next to me. "Definitely. I think she's even scarier now then when we were kids." I said, shuddering. Ever since I met her, Queen Salamaya has frightened me. She would always shoot me hateful glares, and was always very dismissive of me. I used to have nightmares about her. She was the complete opposite of King Apollo, who loved and adored me like I was his own. "I was thinking the same thing." Alex said, pulling me out of my thoughts. "Don't let her bother you this time though, Ny. Tomorrow is your big day! Plus you'll get to see Damon." She waggled her eyebrows teasingly, knowing that's all I really cared about. I felt my cheeks heating up at the mere mention of his name. "Yeah, you're right. I'm excited to see him, but I'm so damn nervous!" I admitted, falling backwards onto the bed to stare at the ceiling. "You worry too much, Nyla. Everything will be fine. Damon is gonna be psyched to see you, and we're gonna have an awesome day." Alex assured me as she laid next to me. "I know you're right, but I can't shake the feeling that something horrible is going to happen." I said, yawning. "You're just tired, Ny. It's late, and we had a long flight." Alex said matter of factly before yawning herself. I pulled out my phone, and looked at the time. It was midnight, no wonder I felt so tired. I pulled back the covers and crawled under them, Alex sliding in next to me. She pulled out a jerky beef steak out of her pocket and started to eat it as she offered me her wrist. "Let's have a midnight snack." I giggled and nodded. Baring my fangs, I gently sunk them into her wrist and started to drink. After we finished our snack, we lay silently, starting to drift off. "You're right, Alex. I'm sure it will awesome." I said sleepily before falling asleep.

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