The Alpha's Mate and the Vampire King
The Alpha’s Mate and the Vampire King Chapter 24

Where is my sieva?! Viktor roared.

Calm yourself, Viktor, Luka placated, dodging a second blow. Your mate is unharmed.

Where is Eden? he demanded again.

He needed her. Needed to see with his own eyes she was alright. The pain he’d felt through the bond had been Eden’s. She must have been in agony to affect him on a physical level.

You’ll not replace out until you’re calm. It’s your fault for the state she is in, so you’ll need to prepare yourself before you speak with her.

My fault?

Your fault. Wedding dress, Luka annunciated slowly, jabbing a charred finger towards Gorlind.

Then he turned to Bianca and pointed. Fiancé.

Then he moved over near the entry to the throne room where Eden had stood and motioned to the blackened ground.

Scorch marks, where your little firestarter had the misfortune of putting it all together.

Viktor’s claws dug into his palms. Breath refused to come for several heartbeats. Eden hadn’t been assaulted, not in the physical sense.

When he’d felt the pain through their bond, he was terrified she’d been attacked. The intensity of it now made sense. He could take physical pain. Her emotional anguish traveling along their link was the one thing strong enough to bring him to his knees.

Luka, I need to see her, he pleaded.

This is what will happen if I port you to her right now. Luka displayed his disfigured arms in front of him.

Mariana’s fist lifted to her lips.

Take a minute, Viktor. Think. If you go to her now, I’m not sure we’ll get you back alive. I promise you she is someplace safe and there is no possible way she can leave. Trust me.

Viktor’s hands went to his h**s. Your arms. Eden did this?

Not purposefully. She was a little, ah, shall we say emotional? Yes, apparently when she is very angry she turns into fire.

She is … she did not harm herself? Viktor asked.

No. It’s her own magic. It didn’t even singe her clothing.

Viktor’s throat cleared. Good. That is … good.

Yes, well, for me, not so much.

Bianca whimpered and the wolf growled. Luka had the crazy impulse to free her from the wolf’s clutches. He must be losing his sanity.

I was gone for less than fifteen minutes. So, I’ll ask again, Brother, what in the bloody hell did I miss?

Would you like one, wolf? Viktor asked Bran.

I could use a drink, he replied.

Viktor poured three shots of whiskey and handed them out. The men clicked glasses and downed the spirits quickly.

He’d had several of the guards escort Bianca to the dungeons. He’d sent Mariana off to the bed with the promise to retrieve her husband as soon as he was able.

I’m going to go out on a limb here and say Bianca is not a member of Sephtis Kenelm, Luka broke the silence. Her dresses are cut so low anyone could see if she was marked.

I would agree with that, Viktor answered.

Then why is she in the dungeon? Not that I’m opposed to your decision to lock her away. It does make your life easier, after all.

Luka’s skin prickled and he cursed the burns upon his flesh. He hadn’t realized Eden was powerful enough to boil the ocean.

Bran? Viktor prompted.

When we arrived at the guardhouse, we were told there was an issue outside the throne room. Viktor ported there and I had to be escorted by a guard. As we moved into the hall, I picked up on a scent, one I’d detected only once before. It was the scent we’d caught in the clearing where one of our wolves had been attacked by a demon. Viktor was a little preoccupied with Mariana and that heavyset fellow, so my wolf and I restrained her until told otherwise.

Viktor rubbed his sideburns. It’s circumstantial, but I can’t let her loose right now.

Did you replace anything during your search?

We did. Yuri, Kellan, and a couple of his wolves are there now, searching where we believe Agatha had been holed up. I need to get back there, but first I need to question Bianca.

She’s not going anywhere. I would suggest prioritizing your sieva.

Viktor’s eyes narrowed at his brother. I thought you said I needed to leave her be for now.

No, I said you needed to calm yourself. You’re calm now.

Luka was correct. Viktor had stuffed his emotions back behind his shields. The future of Prajna now hung in the balance. He wasn’t quite ready to share it with Luka, but, depending on Viktor’s chat with Bianca, his younger brother would be a big part of it.

Last I checked, I was still King. I’m going to pay Bianca a visit while you feed. Afterwards, you can take me to Eden.

Viktor rose and Bran did, as well.

No, stay here, he told the young male. Someone will bring you a hot meal. I’ll come get you before heading back.

You’re sure? Bran asked. I’m good at interrogation.

I’m sure you are, but I prefer to do this alone.

Understood.

Viktor gave a curt nod and ported into Bianca’s cell. She was in a standing position, arms over her head, and chained against wall. Though upright, her legs were spread wide and also secured to the stone.

It was the same position he’d put her in hundreds of times in his feeding room. From the way she pushed her chest out when she saw him, she was thinking the same.

His l*p curled and his stomach turned. He’d thought she’d always been agreeable. Now he could see through the façade. Under her suggestive behaviors was nothing but desperation.

Viktor debated coming right out with the accusation of her involvement with the Sephtis Kenelm, just to see how she reacted. Unfortunately, unless she confessed, he had no real proof.

Luckily, there were other ways to get to her.

Release me from the contract, Bianca.

This again? she g*****d. Is this what you meant by drastic measures? Throwing me in a cell? The law is on my side Viktor. Even you—no, especially you, know that. You’re magically bound to it. You cannot keep me here indefinitely.

I’ll keep you here as long as necessary.

Fine. The ceremony won’t be planned expertly. It’s no bother. At the end of the day, we still end up married.

Viktor approached Bianca, watching her squirm as he moved closer.

Do you remember the wording of the contract? he asked.

Of course I do. It’s how I know you can’t get out of it.

“On my name, I swore, as the King of Prajna, I would wed you and make you Queen, within a century of making the pact.”

He tugged on a lock of her hair. It had lost its luster.

I put the ceremony off until the last possible date. Would you like to know why?

Bianca held her tongue for once. She already knew why he had never been in a rush to get her to the altar. He’d desired her, but never truly wanted her as anything more than a warm body.

She’d accepted his lack of affection, believing it was better to feel safe than loved.

I think, deep down, I knew I’d never follow through. I agreed to Dmitri’s ridiculous terms only because it had been him asking it of me. I could not deny my friend who had already lost his wife and who was willing to risk his own life for my cause. You were never a part of my decision.

Bianca’s face grew pallid. She’d always been so good with her mask, showing Viktor what she thought he wanted to see. Never wanting him to know what she was thinking or feeling, she drove him to distraction with her body. It had always worked, until the witch came into his life.

You know there are severe consequences for breaking an agreement, Viktor.

Her voice was emotionless. She’d never show a male her fear again.

I’m well aware that breaking an oath calls forth a curse, one that matches the severity of the promise broken.

A vision of his father’s head rolling across the ground popped into his mind. As he’d lowered his sword, when no pain or suffering afflicted Viktor, he knew the penalty wouldn’t be physical. It was years before the price had been revealed.

While speaking, he double checked the iron manacles at her wrists, ensuring she could not get loose. Iron was the one thing that could prevent a vampire from porting.

I presumed I would suffer some crippling punishment if we did not marry. I used to think it meant I would die of some horrid disease or be maimed in an accident, disfigured and unable to put right all my father’s wrongs. That was my greatest fear.

Was? she croaked, wetting her dry lips.

Was. As in I no longer think that would be my curse.

Bianca watched him warily. His tone was pleasant—confident, even. Her muscles flexed, bracing for whatever he was about to do to her. A calm Viktor was a dangerous Viktor.

My curse for failing Dmitri would extract a payment I am no longer willing to pay.

Bianca visibly relaxed. Silly female, he thought. A person like Bianca would never understand what he was about to do.

It was imprudent of me to believe I could hold the throne, fulfill my obligation to Dmitri, and keep Eden.

Yes, it was, she breathed, shaking with relief, thinking Viktor was choosing to give up Eden.

Which is why I’ll be abdicating the throne. Luka will be crowned King of Prajna in three days’ time.

Bianca hissed out a breath, her adrenaline surging, fueled by her panic. She shook her head profusely.

You cannot! The contract—

The contract states that I, as King, will marry you. If I am not King, I can no longer be obligated. Dmitri, unknowingly, gave me an out, as well.

Bianca’s body quaked, racked by the sobs tearing from her throat. What would become of her? She could never go back to her village. Never.

Careful, Bianca, or I might actually think you have a heart.

Her eyes flashed, the glow reflecting on the surface of her tear-stained cheeks. Unable to hold his stare, she dropped her head.

In a way, Viktor felt liberated, like he was shedding the weight of the past. Luka could be a handful, but Viktor had a newfound confidence in his brother.

He took one last look around the cell, unsure if Bianca would ever make it out alive. He found it didn’t bother him so much, despite her parentage. Dmitri and the pact were in his past, where they would stay.

All he needed to do now was go and repair the damage to his future.