Chapter One – Aaron
Bright blue eyes glowed in the dark as the vampire king slipped into the sleeping woman's bedroom. He crept up to the canopy bed and brushed aside the filmy curtains. As always when he saw her, his heart swelled. It was times like this that he almost expected it to start beating again, and for the love warming his chest to spread throughout his body with a rush of blood flow.
But of course, that didn't happen. His witch-physician could help diminish some of the traits his kind were cursed with, such as letting him walk outside in the sunlight, but she couldn't give him back a heartbeat. There were certain strains of magic that could allow a vampire to become human again, but if that happened to him, the whole kingdom would destabilize.
Aaron slipped under the blankets, curling his body against his sleeping bride's. Well, fiancée for right now, but soon Sofia Velásquez would be his wife. She was beautiful, all curves. Her Colombian heritage showed through in her beige skin with its warm, earthy undertones. Her thick, shiny hair fell in a mess around her face, a few strands fluttering in the breeze created by her breathing.
The vampire pulled her tightly against him, loving how soft and warm she was in his arms. A fierce grin lit his face as he nibbled at the back of her neck. His actions were rewarded with a moan. As usual, his woman turned her face to him, smiling sleepily as she welcomed his kiss.
"Good morning, my love," Aaron whispered, moving his hands down her curvy body to grasp her hips. "How did you sleep?"
"Good." Sofia smiled at him, her eyes still half-shut. "Now get out."
Aaron chuckled and kissed her neck. "Why?"
"You know darn well why. I'm not sleeping with you until after the wedding."
"I think I might die if I have to wait that long to taste your blood. Just one a little sip?"
Sofia pulled away from him, shaking her head. Though she tried to look stern, the corners of her mouth twitched. "I know what drinking my blood will lead to. I promised my mother when we started seeing each other that I wasn't going to let your vampire wiles convince me to surrender my virginity to you before we were properly married, and I am going to keep that promise. So get out, Aaron. You've lasted a year, you can wait a few more days."
Aaron sighed, exaggerating his disappointment. He didn't expect her to change her mind… and honestly, after getting to know her like he did, if she did change her mind, he'd be suspicious that there was some sort of magic at play and she wasn't in control of her actions.
"Okay, I can be patient," the king conceded. "But I need help to decide what charity I'm donating to today."
Sofia pulled her blankets over her chest, even though literally nothing showed. She'd taken to wearing old flannels rather than any of the copious nighties that he had bought for her. It was her rebellion, she said. She also insisted that he donate as much to charity every day for a month before the wedding as he was spending on the wedding.
By the time they were wed, he was going to be almost three billion dollars poorer. Even for him, it was a significant amount of money. But he wasn't just a king. He owned nearly fifty businesses, in everything from the development of renewable energy to electronic technologies. Depending on how stocks did, he would get the money back within a year. It wasn't like he really needed that much money, anyway.
Sofia tilted her head as she studied him. "Have you given to the Food Bank Association yet?"
"Just the normal monthly donation."
"Well, give them something extra, then," his human fiancée said, nodding as though it was decided. "The food banks kept my brothers and sisters from starving when Papa broke his back and Mama went through chemotherapy. They deserve our support."
Aaron nodded in agreement. "Food bank it is, then. Now, you were planning on visiting your family today, yes?"
Sofia nodded. "And I can feel your hand on my thigh, don't even think about moving it higher."
With a grin, the king spidered his fingers a little higher. Sofia shrieked and slapped his hand before jumping out of bed. She shook her head, wagging a finger at him with narrowed eyes.
"Uh-uh. Not happening, vampire-boy. Don't you have a caterer to terrorize?"
Aaron scowled. "I wouldn't have to if they didn't keep making terrible suggestions. Just because I'm a vampire doesn't mean I want blood sausages and blood oranges at my wedding feast."
Sofia laughed and threw a pillow at him. "I'm serious. You need to get out of here. I'm going to have a dress fitting in an hour, and I don't want you to see it before the wedding. And I have to get ready, and I don't want you to see me until our wedding night."
The king bowed at his future queen and jumped across the bed, crushing her to his lips one more time before he left. The longing sigh that escaped from Sofia as the door closed nearly made him change his mind, but he ignored his instincts and headed down to the kitchens. He'd hired the best chefs worldwide for this meal, and none of them were living up to their reputations at the moment…
He was almost at the kitchens when a soft, strange scent made him stop. It was highly aromatic, but a little bitter. Like the smell of vanilla extract masked by the taste. Aaron whirled on his heel, striking out. His fist connected with a soft, warm human body. He was met with a grunt, and a woman flickered into view. She screamed as she thrust a knife towards him.
Aaron winced as the knife bit through his ribs. He grasped the woman's wrist and drew the knife out. His frown turned into a glower as he saw the blackish stain on his shirt. "Well, that's ruined. Honestly. You're part of that radical witch group determined to drive out vampires, aren't you?"
The woman stared at him with wide eyes. He could hear her heart pounding.
"Let me guess," he continued, plucking the knife from her hand. He sniffed at the blade. "Wormwood? Said to be useful against demons. I'm not a demon, and there is no poison known to work against vampires. Your superiors would have known this."
"Let go of me," the woman rasped, twisting her hands this way and that, trying to free herself.
"This must have just been a trial run."
Aaron's glare increased. These radicalized witches were becoming overly troublesome. He had been a king among the vampires since the American Revolution, and it was only through his actions that the horrendous events at Salem hadn't reoccurred in their community. But apparently, the fact that he required their magic usage to be regulated meant he was a tyrant to this small group. How long until the radicals ruined it for everybody?
"So you sneak into my palace invisible with a useless poison… No, it doesn't make sense for your superiors to send you with wormwood, not when there was a chance that you might actually be successful. Were you working alone, girl?" Aaron tightened her grip on her wrist. She punched at his ribs, but he hardly felt it. Vampires were much, much stronger than the humans they used to be. "Well, we'll find out your story soon enough."
"Let me go, you monster! You won't drink my blood, I have been drinking arsenic and cobra's venom for months, any taste of my blood will kill you!"
Aaron resisted the urge to roll his eyes as he dragged her to that floor's security office. The two guards inside had their arms wrapped around one another, kissing passionately. They jumped apart when he dragged the little witch in, hastily trying to straighten their clothes.
"Take this would-be assassin to the dungeons and send a physician to look at her. She's been poisoning herself for months. And when you are done that, report yourselves to your superiors for punishment and reassignment. I don't care what you do on your off time, but when you are on duty you are on duty."
One of the guards ducked his head and nodded. "Yes, sir. At once, sir."
"You can't keep me here!" the witch shrieked.
"I can until your trial," Aaron replied coldly. "Take her away."
After the two guards were gone, Aaron fished his cellphone from his pocket, ordering the head of his security to send new guards for the level. He sat down to wait for the replacements, frowning at the images being sent in from the security cameras. The radicalized witches were getting bolder, and not only was it putting his life in danger, as proven by this incident, but it was also causing political troubles for him.
There had been several incidents of magic being used against the human population in the city. The call for more stringent regulations of magic was getting louder and more aggressive. Some people were demanding it be banned outright.
What they didn't seem to realize that for every one of the radical witches, there were thousands of other witches living as their friends and neighbors, using their magic for the good of others. Even Sofia had a little magic to her. Her grandmother had been a powerful healer and taught Sofia a few things before her death. Not much, but it was passable.
The guards arrived and Aaron put the magic problems from his mind. He had delegated a special force, populated by vampires and witches alike, to deal with the problem, both in rooting out the radicals as well as presenting a better magic image to the public. There was nothing else he could do about it right now.
And he had a wedding to prepare for.