It had been many years since he had been in such close proximity of his birth enemy. Zane looked as arrogant and as full of shit as ever. Barking orders at his royal guard like they were his servants instead of trusted subjects. In some cases, those receiving the harsh treatment were probably his best buddies. Then again, the bastard probably didn’t have any friends. Shaking his head, Brant turned and surveyed the crowd. He felt sorry for the female that would soon be chosen to become queen to the likes of that ruthless king.

It wasn’t his concern though. His own queen was out there. Brant shuddered, praying that the events of one hundred years ago would not repeat themselves. A bloody war between their fathers had been the result of the last choosing. It couldn’t happen again, the vampire species would not survive another war at this point.

As his mind returned to thoughts of his own female, he knew that he would not be able to remain sensible where she was concerned. His focus was on protecting his coven, and he would dispatch the other male without hesitation if he so much as looked at what was his. No matter the odds, and the knowledge of Zane’s ruthlessness, Brant would allow nothing to harm her. She was too valuable, too precious of a gift to him.

Turning, he surveyed the crowd again. Feeling the electric pulse of her closeness. According to the lores, he would be able to sense her and to tell of their compatibility almost instantly even in a crowd full of females. From the noise projecting from outside, he could tell there were many females present. He hoped his chosen would be willing from the start. The last thing he wanted was to force her, to have to go caveman on her and throw her over his shoulder. The thought did not appeal to him, but the choosing was not something that could be ignored. She would feel it as well, whether she wanted to or not.

“Ready?” his head guard Xavier asked as he moved in next to him. His brother’s eyes never faltered as they stared straight into his. Brant knew the reason for the intenseness. Xavier harbored similar feelings of distaste and distrust for their neighboring king. In order to maintain their strenuous hold on the truce between them, it had always been necessary to keep interactions between the two covens to a minimum. This event was no exception.

“Yeah, as ready as I’ll ever be,” Brant replied while taking a moment to scan the room.

“Your eyes are glowing my lord, maybe you should stop looking in that direction.”

Brant looked into Xavier’s clear grey eyes. Always the cool one in a situation. “My eyes have nothing to do with that bastard at the moment, and everything to do with my female. I can sense her, and the urge to mate is strong. I just hope that she’ll be agreeable to a speedy union.”

“I told you to take a female, ease your need. Humans are…easily broken. We don’t want any accidents.” Xavier spoke softly, ensuring that no one else would be privy to their conversation.

“I have a plan.”

“Please, tell me you at least drank recently,” Xavier’s eyes narrowed. When Brant didn’t reply, his brother’s eyes narrowed even more. He made a sound of disbelief and continued, “Brother, should you harm our future—”

“Enough,” Brant growled.

Xavier lowered his eyes.

“I said I have a plan. My future queen will come to no harm.”

Xavier nodded. “Yes, my lord. It is time.”

Brant took a deep breath. He had been raised for this moment. His decision and the events of the next few minutes would determine the future of his coven.

No pressure.

 

****

 

Tanya had seen tabloid pictures of the vampire kings and they really weren’t all that attractive, unless you were into the ultra-big, ultra-built and ridiculously bad non-human types.

She so wasn’t.

The whole choosing ceremony was so outdated to the point of being down right sexist. Yet, every hundred years, all of the eligible women would assemble to be chosen. A queen for each of the kings. The worst part was that vampires and humans never mixed so there was very little known about them. Their traditions, their ways, their expectations, she shuddered.

For at least the twentieth time, she wished that her best friend Becky was there with her. The whole thing was a real circus. Tanya hadn’t realized how many women there were in Sweetwater between the ages of twenty one and thirty. Aside from age, there had been a long list of requirements. Everything from weight and height to a clean medical exam.

Tanya sighed as a group of giggling women squeezed past her trying to find a spot closer to the podium. Becky was divorced, a complete no-no. It had automatically disqualified her from being allowed to attend the choosing ceremony. Attend, hah, not hardly, the right term would be forced. If all aspects of the criteria were met, it was mandatory to be here. For whatever reason, the human justice system went along with this whole farce once a century. Only those wanting a fast track to jail failed to show up. What scared her the most though was the thought of how many of these women were actually hoping to be chosen today.

Vampire queen.

Tanya cringed at the thought. For once she was thankful for being a little curvy. Most men were into wafer thin model types, so she would be safe. 

The whole courtyard vibrated with an excited hum.

The two kings were royalty but they were also vampires. They drank blood for heaven’s sake. Had these women lost their freaking minds?

It was early afternoon yet you wouldn’t guess it by how some of them were dressed. Little back numbers, low cut tops, sequins and jewelry were the order of the day. The amount of skin on display was obscene. Tanya did a double take as one of the ladies walked by, she was wearing a sheer dress without underwear. Her lady bits on display for all and sundry. With all that exposed skin, she hoped that the woman had used sunblock. The highest possible factor.

Tanya looked down at her jeans and t-shirt. Maybe she should’ve tried a little harder but then again, she wasn’t planning on getting noticed. She had a life to get back to. It wasn’t much but she had her little book store. Some might consider it to be boring, but she liked it just fine.

She’d owned The Book Corner for two years now. Reading had always been a major passion, that and coffee. It had been her ultimate dream to own a little coffee shop on the side. That way potential customers could browse through purchases while enjoying a cappuccino and maybe a little pastry. So far she was way behind on those goals. She was supposed to have had half the money she needed already saved in order to do the required renovations. As it stood though, she may not even have a store soon, let alone an additional coffee shop. She couldn’t afford to hire someone to fill in for her today. Just the thought of the closed sign on the door, of losing potential customers, had her looking at her watch. Hopefully this would be over soon. The last thing she needed in her life was a man…let alone a vampire who would not only uproot her from her goals but from her friends and family as well. She only had one BFF and her aunt, but she loved them both a ton.

It had been a while since she’d dated and her last relationship had ended…badly. Sex was overrated anyway. She could just imagine how much worse it would be with a blood sucking vamp. Wishing she was back at the store, she glanced at her watch a second time.

It wasn’t like one of the kings would ever think of choosing a plain Jane like her anyways. What a waste of her precious time.

There was silence followed by gasps as two of the biggest, meanest looking men she’d ever seen walked onto the platform. Tanya had expected fanfare. A trumpet call. An announcement at the very least. What she hadn’t expected was to be shocked stupid. Pictures she’d seen of the men didn’t do them justice.

Tall, check.

Built, check.

Mean, check.

Ridiculously hunkalious, double check.

Several women swooned. One woman, closer to the front, fainted. Medics pushed their way through the thick crowd and placed the young women on stretchers.

The king on the left was slightly shorter, from tabloid pictures she’d seen, he had to be Zane. Although short was the wrong description, the big vampire must be at least around six and a half feet. He was meaner looking, with close cropped hair. From this distance she could tell that he had dark, hard eyes. A nervous chill radiated through her body.

King Brant was taller and even though he had a massive chest and bulging arms, he wasn’t quite as broad as the scary one. Neither was classically good-looking. Though both radiated raw energy and sex appeal like nothing she’d ever seen before.

“Pick me!” One of the women closer to the platform shouted waving her arms.

The kings ignored her.

A group to the side hoisted a ‘Look over here’ sign. What was it with these freaking women? For some reason it bothered her that they were so desperate to become one of the next vampire queens that they would do anything to get noticed? And the question of the hour was, why?

Turning back to the platform, she noticed that the taller one, Brant, had medium length dark hair, his eyes were dark and his mouth generous. Tanya was certain he would be even more attractive if he smiled.

Both men were tense. They just stood there, hands fisted at their sides. The crowd grew restless. Some women tried to push to the front while others tried to catch the attention of one or both of the men on the elevated platform. 

Eventually, Zane stepped forward, his hard eyes were fixed on her. What the hell? Adrenaline surged through her blood, but her mind immediately rejected the idea that he was actually looking at her. It had to be some sort of mistake. His eyes seemed to stay on her for a few more seconds. Just as she began to feel the need to look around her for the true object of his fascination, his gaze moved to the back of the crowd. She breathed out in a gush.

“You,” his gruff, smoky voice was a low vibration. He pointed somewhere behind Tanya.

An equally big, equally mean looking man came onto the platform from the side. King Zane didn’t take his eyes off the female he had set his sights on the entire time he spoke to what had to be his head guard. All of the surrounding men were dressed in full leather. Though, this one wore a silver family crest on his chest.

Tanya shivered, thankful she hadn’t been chosen by the likes of him.

Zane continued to shout orders. The head guard, flanked by two vampires, stepped off the platform and stalked through the crowd. Tanya shifted to the side as they approached. They were big bastards. The women surged forward. One dared to touch. The king’s head guard paused, without turning to face the culprit, he growled. His top lip curled revealing sharp fangs. The air caught in her lungs. Her pulse quickened.

They were so close, Tanya could smell a musky male scent, could almost feel heat radiate off their huge bodies as they passed.

“You,” a deep growl sounded through the crowd.

“No,” a feminine wail responded. “Let go of me!”

Tanya was too afraid to turn. So close to the action, she was fearful of being noticed.

Another wail, louder this time.

“Put me down!” the woman shrieked. It seemed Tanya was not the only one there that didn’t want to be chosen.

Tanya moved with the crowd as the guards passed, the woman was slung over the shoulder of the head guard. She kicked and screamed. The big vampire didn’t seem to notice though. Tanya caught the look of sheer terror on the young woman’s face.

This wasn’t right.

How could this be allowed to happen? Tanya looked around her at the multitude of willing ladies. Women that were practically throwing themselves at the vampire kings. Why did the SOB have to go and pick one of the few that wasn’t interested?

Tanya took a few steps in the direction of the platform. Not happening. She stopped. She didn’t want to get involved. Couldn’t afford to. She didn’t even know the girl. It wasn’t like she could change the situation even if she tried. This ritual had been going on for hundreds, possibly thousands, of years.

A large group of women at the front screamed to Zane that he pick them instead. One of the young ladies even lifted her top.

The king didn’t take his eyes off his chosen woman the entire time that his guard maneuvered through the crowd. They narrowed though as they got closer. The girl screamed louder.

“Please don’t do this. Please, I beg you.” The screams had turned to sobs at this point.

Tanya couldn’t bear to hear them. Each word struck a nerve.

Zane nodded in the direction of the waiting SUVs.

“Oh God, please no,” she was sobbing in earnest.

The nerve quickly rubbed raw until Tanya couldn’t take it anymore. “Stop!” She marched in the direction of the vampire king. “Stop that at once. Let her go.”

Neither king took any notice. Maybe some of the others in the crowd were feeling the same way as she did because the women parted to let her through. “What you are doing is nothing short of barbaric.”

The crowd hushed.

“She doesn’t want to go with you. Let her go right now.” Tanya projected, sounding more confident than she felt.

Zane glanced her way before turning in the direction of the waiting vehicles.

“This is a sexist, disgusting tradition that needs to be put to an end. Why can’t you choose someone that’s actually interested in going with you? Why does it have to be her?”

He turned back, his dark eyes zoning in on her. Her breathing hitched. Her heart rate increased, a whole damn lot. I just had to get involved. Couldn’t leave it alone.

“This woman has been chosen as my mate. What is done cannot be undone.” He turned and made for the waiting vehicles. Like that was a reasonable explanation. So not.

“Bastard! Leave her alone!” She must have completely lost her mind because she walked after him and straight into the massive chest of one of the guards. There was only one thing to do in a situation like this, she beat against the chest in her way while screaming obscenities at the retreating back of the bastard king.

“Easy,” a low rumble that had her insides vibrating.

Tanya looked up into a set of dark, penetrating eyes. She froze. It was Brant. The second vampire king.

“What would you like me to do with her?” asked a voice to the right of the king.

His eyes stayed on hers. His nostrils flared and his body tightened. It was then that she realized that her hands were flattened on his chest. She snatched them away.

“Lord Brant?” the voice enquired.

“She’s coming with me.” He took her hand and strode towards the remaining vehicles. She wanted to pull away, to dig her heels in the ground, but her traitorous feet kept on moving in time with his. It was only when they reached the waiting SUV and Brant opened the door and gestured for her to enter, that she finally snapped out of it. Part of her didn’t want to believe this was happening. As ridiculous as it seemed, King Brant had chosen her.

No. Surely not.

“Wait.”

His eyes snapped to hers. Dark, fathomless, deadly.

“This isn’t happening,” she whispered. Maybe she’d tripped, knocked her head and was stuck in the middle of a really confusing nightmare.

His mouth hitched at the side. Damn, but he was good to look at. His dress shirt clung to him in all the right places. Dark jeans hugged legs of steel. For a second she was tempted to get into the car, to forget about her life. To focus solely on the delicious man in front of her, but who was she kidding? He was a monster. He drank blood for effort’s sake. It wasn’t going to happen.

He lifted his brows.

“I think you may’ve made a mistake,” she somehow managed to croak out.

Compared to the mob of screaming ladies, she was greatly under dressed. She loved cupcakes far too much, especially vanilla ones with strawberry icing. As a result, she had plenty of feminine curves. Her ex had complained on many occasions, he’d even gone so far as to set up an appointment with a dietician for her.

“No mistake,” his deep voice did strange things to her insides. Those dark eyes slid down the length of her body and a furnace switched on at her core.

Tanya climbed into the SUV. How could she not? Once they were somewhere private, they could talk this out and he would soon realize that he’d made a huge mistake and take her back.

Somewhere private.

On second thought, maybe they should discuss this now. Brant slid in next to her, his scent engulfed her. All man. So delicious she bit down on her lip to stop herself from whimpering.

Using every last ounce of resolve she had, she turned to face the big vampire. “So you drink blood?” Damn, that’s not what she meant to say.

His lips twitched in anger?…amusement?

“Sorry. Forget it. I don’t know what I was thinking. Do I call you Lord or Your Majesty?”

“You may call me Brant.” This time he did smile and her heart did a flip flop. The cutest dimples appeared on either side of his sinful lips. When he swept his tongue across the expanse of those generous folds, she had to suppress a sigh.

“As to the blood…” Something flared in his eyes as they dropped to the pulse at her neck. “I only partake from other vampires, so you have nothing to fear.”

She nodded feeling oddly disappointed. It was like she’d actually felt excitement at the prospect of him biting her. No freaking way.

“What is your name?” He stretched out on the soft leather seat, his thigh brushed hers.  Heat seared at the area where their bodies touched.

It took a few seconds for her to register that he had spoken. “Oh, um…Tanya Milan.” What an idiot, she extended her hand out.

His eyes crinkled at the edges, he leaned forward and clasped her hand in his much bigger one. The air must have thinned because she struggled to draw a breath.

“It is good to meet you Tanya Milan.”

Man oh man, she was so screwed. She loved the way he said her name. Loved it far too much for a woman trying to escape.