Chapter 4
Azaria
I watched outside standing with my arms crossed, tensed and prepared for them to strike at any moment. I knew they’d found me, but they were toying with me.
I hated that crap.
We needed to leave before they broke the door down, but I couldn’t bring myself to wake him. He needed to heal and I needed to keep him safe. Every instinct I knew I’d one day had fought to the surface. Vampires were protective, but the females…No one messed with the ones we loved. We were possessive and protective. He’d never have to worry about anyone coming after him. Anyone who tried would have to contend with me. And they would learn quickly not to fuck with a Royal.
I sighed. There was only one thing to do—
Go with them without a fight.
I didn’t want to, but even though I’d just met Dulex I didn’t want to be the reason he died. I would be okay, after punishment of course. That I wasn’t looking forward to. Father could be a real bastard and he was especially hard on me. He had such high expectations, and I always seemed to fail him. Now things would be even more tense between us. I wanted him to accept me as I was, not mold me into what he thought I should be. I’d never be the kind of daughter he wanted. I wouldn’t be my mother. I wanted more than that in life, and no matter how much I loved her, I knew she needed a backbone. She needed independence and to use the strength I knew she had hidden inside.
Taking one last look at my mate I ignored the tears that threatened to fall. I shouldn’t be so upset. At least I’d gotten to meet him, heal him, touch him, and best of all kiss him. That was more than I could have asked for. At the rate, I’d been going I wouldn’t have ever even gotten to see him.
I opened the door to the cabin and didn’t look over my shoulder to see him again. It would hurt too much. Instead I rushed out shutting it quietly. I started my descent down the rickety stairs when I was grabbed from behind. I should have known there would be someone in waiting for me to decide what to do. They had to know how fast I was. They didn’t want to give me a chance to run. My guard was too far down after nursing Dulex back to health from the fatal wound, and I didn’t realize until too late that the men who grabbed me, couldn’t be from the council. In fact, they weren’t even vampires. I wrinkled my nose when the scent of Fae surrounded me, and I was appalled that my family would even considering using that sort of magic against me. Mother was the one who helped me run, and now I feared she was in trouble. They drug me through the grassy field and back into the woods where I’d found Dulex. When they stopped in front of the very place he laid I realized that maybe these men weren’t after me—they were after my mate. My fangs extended and I nicked my lip letting out a feral growl.
“Where is he?”
“Gone.” There was no way I was telling them anything and I prayed he wasn’t in the cabin. I prayed he could run before the other Fae searched.
“You have his scent.”
“Well, he is my mate.” There was no sense in lying. The bond between them was growing more each second, and the longer they were apart the worse it would become. Fate didn’t like her plans failing. Even though we hadn’t bonded there was still intimate contact.
The kiss. That’s all it took to start it.
The Fae stared at me. “Mate with that abomination?”
I glared at him even though They couldn’t see my rage, I knew they could feel it building. The Fae were magic. Plain and simple, and they knew better than to take me. “Do you know who I am?”
Silence.
“Oh, come on, one little guess?” It was going to be fun toying with them.
The stupid asses.
They shouldn’t have taken the Princess of the Vampires. Not only would my father be pissed—no matter how angry he was with me—but now I had a mate. Mates were fierce.
The obvious leader curled his lip into a snarl. “It doesn’t matter who you are, little one.”
It would have been endearing without the growl. “Oh, I think it does.” I held up one finger. “Just one little guess?” I let my eyes glow lavender; it was unique to my family line. Each of the four royal families had a different color and different gifts, but my father ruled them all. It was how others knew who we were by sight alone. It would show them and I wasn’t surprised when his eyes widened in surprise.
“Princess of the Lucians?”
“Yeah, dumb ass you just kidnapped King Quinton’s only child.”
“Scheisse,” he muttered.
I laughed. The German Fae were the type that jumped without thinking. “Yes, shit.” I smiled showing fang. “He’s not going to be happy.”
It was then the other male smirked but kept his glare as if he were contemplating. “We could use this to our advantage.”
Damn, he was the dominate one. I should have known that when the first male cowered. “Not a good idea.”
He looked at me. “I don’t care. It’s too late now, might as well go out with a bang. Once our queen finds out we failed in getting our target we’re as good as dead anyways.”
Great nothing to live for. I sighed. “Fine if you insist.” I held out my wrists allowing the beta to wrap the cuffs around my wrists. They didn’t bother me, but they did block my magic. I wasn’t really concerned. I should have been. The other Fae with the long black curly hair and deep green eyes, well he was pure evil. I felt it to my bones and shuddered as he watched his partner lock up my magic. He really didn’t care if he died. I wondered what turned him so cold.
***
Dulex
I woke to silence. It didn’t take me long to realize the cabin was empty and had been for quite a while. Azaria wasn’t there. I sat up too fast and groaned when pain shot through my chest. The stitches tried to pull but luckily, she’d done a great job sewing me up. I slid from the bed and gripped the headboard until my balance was stable. I needed to find her. Certainly, she wouldn’t have left me alone. As a mate, she wouldn’t go far, unless there’d been no choice. The beast growled and my hand lit up with a bright white light. The Fae in me wanted to go on the defense. It was the first time my duel nature was on the same page. It only took finding our mate.
‘Must find her,’ the bear said growling low.
‘She is ours,’ the Fae said just as possessive as the beast.
I agreed with both assessments. The problem. I was in shit for shape. Right now, I wouldn’t do her any good. In fact, if I were to be honest, which I wasn’t prepared for, I would probably end up getting us both killed. That couldn’t happen. Now for the first time in my life I had something—someone to live for. A smile tugged at my lips. It was such a foreign feeling. I wasn’t sure how to deal with it. Part of it scared the hell out of me. What if I fucked this up?
Having the Fae on my tail constantly and being kicked out of every den; there wasn’t much I could do with my own kind. I might as well join the guard staff for Ria’s family. It would tie us even closer together. The idea struck me so easily. But first I needed to get the damn Fae off my ass and the price off my head. That would be easier said than done—if even possible. There was a chance I would leave my mate before I even had a chance to love her the way she deserved—the way I deserved. My shoulders fell thinking of not getting to be with her for the rest of my life. Fate wouldn’t be so cruel, would she?