Chapter 5
Alice
"Babe?"
I jerked at the sound of David's voice, mortified that he was here. Despite the heat, I was curled up in a ball with the hotel bedding pulled up to my shoulders. When I turned and lifted my head, he winced when he spied my red-rimmed, swollen eyes.
"I told Bonnie not to contact you," I croaked.
He shook his head as he leaned over me. "She was worried about you. Said you were sobbing and rambling incoherently. What's wrong, baby?" He pushed my hair back; concern etched in his features.
"It was nothing," I denied. "Just a nightmare." A nightmare that felt so real that I immediately crumbled in devastation when I woke.
David's face blanched. "You haven't had one of those in a while."
I sat up, lifting my knees and pulling my legs close to my body as I searched through my jumbled thoughts. "I know. But this one felt different. It-it seemed so real."
David frowned as he sat next to me, reaching out to give my knee a comforting rub. "What was it about?"
I shook my head, feeling silly. "I don't know. I just felt…like a deep sadness when I woke up." I swallowed hard. "Fear."
His movements stopped, and I felt his hand squeeze my knee. "You're not…getting cold feet, are you?" He slowly asked.
My head popped up. There was a look of worry on my fiancé's face, and I cursed Bonnie for waking him. The last thing I wanted was to worry him.
"No! No, I want to marry you."
And I did. He was my home; I'd be lost without him. He was the one who finally gave me a purpose. We were great together, we cheered each other's dreams, we supported each other, and he'd been so lovingly patient with me. I couldn't lose him.
He blew his breath out, his smile relieved as he reached out to stroke my cheek affectionately. "Good. Take a sleeping pill, baby. It might help."
I gave him a small smile. "Okay."
He pressed a gentle kiss to my mouth. "Love you, can't wait until you're officially Mrs. Harper."
Mrs. Alice Harper. Truthfully, I couldn't wait, either. I'd have my best friend, who I genuinely loved, and I'd be part of a family.
I returned his kiss enthusiastically. "I'll see you at the altar."
***
Acheron
The sound of my roar could be heard throughout the Kingdom. It was deep, guttural, and full of rage. Birds scattered, and Vampires took cover, afraid of what or who had set their King off.
I stormed into my forecourt and flew to my throne.
"My King?" Von was immediately by my side. "What is it?"
Black hair floated around her shoulders, with tendrils pulled and clipped back with a floral white hairpiece.
In a fit of pain, I mind-linked, and within minutes, Tatiana and Esme floated in, hurriedly shredding their clothing. Their eyes roamed over my bare chest, licking their lips in hunger.
"My King -"
"Where is Mikhail?"
Tatiana blinked. "He mated with Fàagon and Deena. Ten years ago."
My nose flared at her words, jealousy seething.
A veil was placed on her head and smoothed out behind her by an unknown female. She turned to the side; her head bowed, still obscured by her veil. She held her hand out and fiddled with a ring on her left hand.
I shook the vision out of my head as a red wave came down on me. Tatiana and Esme waited patiently, their hands clasped to their sides. I could see them clenching in restrained need and could smell their desire, their joy at fucking their King again after thirty-one years.
Disgust churned in my gut at what I was about to do, knowing it was reactionary. A purposeful vengeance at the betrayal dealt to me by my fated mate.
How could she give her body, her soul, her love to another when she was bound to me? Did she not feel the same overwhelming need and bond that I did?
I surveyed the nude women, needing the image of my bond-mate in a white dress out of my mind.
Unable to heed their lust, they touched themselves, attempting to entice my call to approach.
White dress. Wedding ring. Wedding veil. Wife. Husband.
My hand gripped my throne, the iron rippling under my hands.
"Get on your knees and crawl to me."