The Vampire’s Human / Book One ✔️
Chapter Thirty-Two: Ryan, Daisy and Her Mate

Seeing familiar faces should have been a relief as both Daisy and Ryan grabbed her and wrapped her in their arms. The bunker was a hidden crypt that lay under the castle and away from common eyes as she took in the sight and tried to think about anything other than the number of dead bodies she had seen on the way here.

After being saved thanks to Siman, her brain suddenly caught up with what she had seen during her bold rescue mission. bodies littered the streets and so did their blood as she couldn’t help but look down at her hands and see the evidence on her palms. She wanted it gone and seeing her panic, Daisy took care of it as Mack sat down and quickly cleaned it all off.

“What... What is going on?” She asked as Daisy scrubbed her palms with a cloth and a bucket of water.

“They came out of nowhere,” Ryan said as he sat next to her and eyed all of the crying villagers. “All I heard was the leader demanding to a... what was the name she called out?”

“I don’t know,” Daisy responded to Ryan’s confusion. “But I think this has something to do with Sir, August’s mate. Her feline companions took charge and fought with most of them first but they were overpowered and war is the end result.”

Mack frowned as she remembered the dark markings of the curse Ziggy was inflicted with. If these witches were here, it was because of Ziggy and that curse and Mack couldn’t help but hope that maybe; just maybe, August had broken that curse and saved her from her fate. “Is Figus and Pipèe okay?”

“Who are...” Daisy started in confusion until her eyes widened. “Oh, yes... I think so. Everything happened so quickly that I barely got the chance to see what was going on and before I knew it, I was down here.”

“What about you?”

Ryan softly smiled. “I was putting your dress in your room as a welcome-back surprise but I got the surprise instead.”

Mack nodded to both of their answers and sat back. The people down here with them were all softly whispering to each other and somehow were very calm considering the situation. She found it odd but wasn’t going to question it as they waited together, her fingers locked with Daisy and Ryan’s while they silently hoped for a miracle.

An hour passed by, then another as Mack’s patience was slowly running thin. Her mark tingled every now and then indicating that Zack was touching it and she had to smile to herself for that. He was making sure that she knew that he was okay and she couldn’t be more grateful.

“I found my mate.” Daisy silently whispered while she lay her head on Mack’s shoulder. “Her name is Aife, she is one of the warriors that August trains.”

Mack smiled as she tightened her grip on Daisy’s hand. “How did you two meet?”

“Figus wouldn’t leave me alone.” She giggled as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I was trying to escape him when this sudden smell hit me. All I could smell was freshly baked bread and at first, I thought I was following my nose to some bakery.”

“But it was Aife?”

Daisy nodded. “I freaked out at first... I... I didn’t know my mate would be a girl but once she noticed me it was like a piece of myself was finally found. I didn’t know that she would complete me and become someone in my life that I never knew I needed.”

Mack leaned her head on top of Daisy’s as she felt happy for the girl. “I am so happy for you, Daisy. You deserve to finally know what having a mate feels like.”

“And this kingdom finally knows what it feels like to have a queen.” Ryan chuckled as he bowed his head down. “We could sense that you were fully mated the moment you entered the crypts. That is why everyone is so calm, their queen had finally arrived to keep the peace.”

She turned her head and raised an eyebrow. “There is no peace right now.”

“There is, your majesty.” A little girl said as Mack finally took notice of all the eyes that were currently looking at her. “Without you, we would be scared.”

She didn’t know what to say as they all bowed their heads down as a sign of respect and stayed there until she gave the command. “Thank you.” She choked out as she eyed Daisy and Ryan who were both bowing their heads as well. “But neither of you needs to do that. You are more than just my people, you are my family and right now we need to keep ourselves positive for our mates so please, tell me our stories.”

With her words, an elderly woman spoke up and started her story about her now-deceased husband. Story after story was told as told slowly slipped by, the sun feeling like it was going down as nobody wanted to eat despite food being passed around. Everyone was in their own little worlds until the sudden sound of the doors being opened snapped them all out of their thoughts.

Mack’s eyes snapped towards the sound as she got ready to fight whoever was down there with them but instead she came face to face with her mother-in-law. “It is over.”

Her heart jumped into her throat as she pushed passed the late queen and ran up the stairs to exit the crypts. The villagers followed suit as her eyes tossed and turned, trying to replace Zack until they finally landed on him.

His body was covered in blood but held no visual wounds as she ran up towards him and kissed him as if it were her last breath. Her arms wrapped around his head and neck and his arms wrapped around her waist as support. “I was so scared!”

“You were scared?” He laughed as she covered his face with kisses. “If it wasn’t for Simon, we would probably be dead.”

“Don’t tell me that!” She gasped, her heart jumping again as she pulled back and noticed that August was injured but just as she was about to move towards him, Ziggy appeared and placed her forehead on his before whispering foreign words under her breath, his wounds seeming to heal in seconds before they kissed each other. “I missed something.”

“We both did.” Zack chuckled as he held Mack against his chest. “Looks like we aren’t the only ones to finally give into the mate bond and allow each other to know what love is.”

Mack nodded. “Looks like it.”