Chapter 19
The sound of loud music and faint laughter filled the night air, growing fainter the further my steps took me. I turned around to glance back at the grand school hall, nestled high up behind the rows of tall pine trees.
Hopefully, no one had noticed my absence.
After all, the party, currently in progress, was created in my honor.
It was an event I'd been looking forward to for some time—my eighteenth birthday.
As was tradition, our governess was throwing me an extravagant party to celebrate this anticipated milestone.
There was so much to look forward to now.
I was finally getting out from under the watchful eye of my dorm mothers.
I could move out if I wished, live on my own or with friends who had also reached age.
I could apprentice in the city, making dresses or creating bespoke pieces, as was my chosen talent.
I could even petition to move to another Territory if my heart so fancied.
I reached up and rubbed at the beating organ in my chest. I could even locate my mate now if I wished.
As one of the rare Vampires to be born with a beating heart, I already knew my mate was out there.
They wouldn't be too hard to track down now that I was eighteen. The question was, did I even want to?
The night before, I laid out my birthday dress—a lush midnight-blue gown—and I stayed up with a few girlfriends, gossiping and laughing.
We even planned on attending an exclusive nightclub whose portal was hidden in the human world—an after-party for a select few.
It was going to be a wild night; one for the ages.
So why was I out here, soaking the hem of my beautiful gown in the wet grass, instead of soaking up the attention at my party?
It started this morning. I woke up and was instantly hit by a crashing wave of continuous longing.
It was a deep and powerful emotion; a knowledge that something beautiful and amazing was waiting for me.
All day I'd been rubbing at my chest, the need inside me growing stronger as the hours ticked by.
An anticipatory hunger started to build, and I found myself curling my toes as the longing started to increase.
During the party, I found myself constantly drifting outside to the balcony, staring up at the full moon.
The wolves would be out tonight. I'd never seen one up close; we tended not to mix with them.
There was a lot of bad blood there. But I'd always envisioned them running free and carelessly through the forest, bathing and worshipping the Moon Goddess.
Perhaps participating in more carnal activities with their mates, or whoever they chose to fornicate with tonight.
Something was calling me. I could feel their voice in my mind, as clear as if they were standing beside me.
I was in a trance as I slipped past my friends and out the front door.
The warm night air greeted me, and I felt the blood I drank earlier singing through my veins.
Perhaps there was something to be said about the moon affecting you because right now, I could feel a pulsing energy running through me.
I felt powerful, free…and a little horny.
I'd never had sex before; the dorm mothers kept us under lock and key until we were eighteen. Once we reached our optimal age, we were free to find our mate or fuck whoever we wanted. I had zero desire for romantic entanglements, except for a brief flirtation with Hosea from the boys' dorm.
But now, as I glided through the dewy grass and the silk of my dress swished between my legs, I could feel the unmistakable slap of arousal deep in my core.
I paused in the middle of the field, my head tilted up to the moon. It was then that I sensed it.
Sensed him.
I glanced behind me and spied a figure striding toward me. His body was illuminated by the glow of the moon. My breath hitched before picking up speed, and I turned fully to face him.
He wore a long overcoat that fluttered behind him in the gentle breeze as he prowled my way. A plain white shirt and black trousers finished his simple wear.
As he drew closer, I felt no fear. Only peace. The loudness in my mind quietened, and the twist that had been sitting in my gut since I woke started to unfurl. I knew instantly who he was to me.
But when he was near, and I finally had my first glimpse of his face, a startled gasp escaped my lips. I dropped to my knees, my head bowed and my heart pounding.
"Alice." His voice was gentle; a balm to soothe my damned soul. "Stand."
I shook my head, keeping my face away as a mark of respect. "You're the King of Eiriau," I whispered reverently.
"No."
I felt him bend until he was almost level with me.
I could hear his command, willing me to look.
But I kept my head down, my mind unable to believe that this powerful being was mine.
He touched my chin, and I felt his power run through me.
There was absolutely no denying what he was to me.
His touch had sealed the deal. I was his, and he was mine.
With a gentleness that didn't match the violence I knew him capable of, he lifted my face until our eyes met.
My breath sucked in when I was struck by the full force of his beauty.
He had the most beautiful blue eyes I'd ever seen.
His gaze searched my features; their depths steeped in awe and hunger.
"I am your mate. And you are my Alice. My Queen."
He bent his head, and our lips met. His taste burrowed inside my bones, sinking deep through my veins until it was impossible to think of a time when he hadn't been mine. His flavor was heady, seductive, sweet, and intoxicating. I wanted to bottle it and sip from it for eternity.
"You do not need to," Acheron Angelou murmured. He leaned his forehead against mine. "You can have my taste whenever you feel like it."
And just like that, his mind opened to me, and I almost fell back on my ass with the wave of emotion that empowered me. Love. Joy. Peace. Tenderness. Possessiveness.
He swiftly lifted me up in his arms, my hands immediately clutching his neck. With one last lingering kiss, I held on tight before we disappeared into the night.
***
Alice, 25 years old.
"Oh god, Acheron, I'm going to come!"
I was on my hands and knees, ass in the air. It wasn't the most dignified position for a Queen to be, but it was one that I often found myself in.
Acheron was behind me, his large hands spreading my ass cheeks wide while his mouth ate at me. His tongue licked around my back hole before darting in and out. I would've been scandalized if this were the first time he'd eaten my ass. But it was probably the hundredth.
Not that I minded, given the fact that it made my eyes roll to the back of my head.
The cause for this particular form of pleasurable punishment was due to my swooning over a Werewolf in a movie he'd put on. We sometimes liked to watch them just to laugh at the inaccuracies. But when a shirtless actor came on screen, and I’d fanned myself in jest, Acheron had taken personal offense.
"You want a dog? Then I'll fuck you like one."
Okay, maybe I had done it to provoke him. He always treated me like spun gold, with the exception of when he was drinking from me. Then he became absolutely feral.
I gasped when his hand slapped my ass before he lined his cock up to my center and pushed forward. I moaned as he filled me.
"Fuck me, my King. Fuck me hard."
He grabbed my hair and yanked me up as his hips pistoned into me.
"My Queen. My everything."
I screamed as I felt his fangs sink into me. I held on as he fucked me through my orgasm, my head lolling back onto his damp shoulder as ripples of ecstasy coursed through me.
Once he was sated, he flipped me around, not giving me a moment's peace.
Not that I needed a breather. My hungry eyes met his, dark and piercing in their need.
Blood dribbled down his chin, and I leaned up to lick the trail away before tangling my tongue with his.
I shoved him hard and kissed my way down his torso before sinking my teeth into his upper thigh.
His roar echoed through the walls of our palace.
The staff outside paused for a brief second before resuming their work. They'd heard it all before.
A long time later, I was lounging on his stomach while his fingers traced around my puckered nipple.
"I have to leave again," he murmured against my hair.
I pouted. "So soon? Why can't I go with you?"
"It is not our time yet. One day, I will come find you."
I glanced up at him, a frown forming. "What do you mean, silly? I'm right here."
Instead of answering, he simply kissed me.
***
Alice, 30 years old.
"I wish you didn't have to leave."
"I will be back before you know it."
My bottom lip jutted out, but he simply rolled his eyes and kissed me. I clutched the lapels of his jacket and deepened the kiss.
"Why can't I go with you?" I murmured against his mouth.
“It is not safe,” he soothed, patiently. He'd answered this question many times. “So many people wish to harm you.”
"Why? I'm no one."
He gripped my chin, his eyes flashing. "You are everything. And they know it."
I frowned as I tried to figure out who they were.
I admit, I was pretty well insulated inside his castle.
My every whim was catered to, including my sexual needs.
Yet I knew nothing of what Acheron did or how his Kingdom was run.
It was as if I ceased to exist unless he was near.
My brow drew down as I tried to recall the last time he left me.
I could barely remember what I'd done yesterday.
"Why do I not—"
"Time is running out." I glanced at Acheron, alarmed. His face was grave as his body moved farther and farther away from me.
"Acheron? What's happening?"
"Wait for me, Alice," he pleaded, his face twisted in agony. "Remember me."
***
Alice, 30 years old.
It was the bells that I heard first. Loud bells. Church bells. But there was no church in Acheron's Kingdom. Not the religious kind anyway.
It was also daytime. It was rare for me to be awake during the day, let alone to be outside. My tolerance for daylight hadn't been built up yet, and it would take at least another fifty years for me to be outside without burns. But I wasn't feeling any effects. My skin stayed smooth and pale.
I turned around slowly in a circle, feeling disoriented. The castle that loomed over the horizon was no longer there, and the stony brook that ran through the field was also missing. I knew I was definitely in the right spot, yet nothing looked familiar. What was going on?
My gaze caught and held a lonely figure in the far distance, and my breath puffed out in relief.
Acheron.
He was facing away from me, his shoulders hunched and his head bowed. He looked so forlorn and so unlike his usual sure self. With a frightened sob, I ran to him.
"Acheron," I cried. "What the hell is going on? Where is everybody? And where are those bells coming from?'
Acheron didn't respond; his gaze remained averted, his shoulders slumped.
"Acheron?"
Finally, he turned. Slowly, almost reluctantly. His mouth was turned down, and his normally golden pallor was pale. His beautiful eyes were red. Not his pupils, just the whites. As if he'd been…
"Why are you sad?"
Loud thunder echoed around me, eliciting a startled gasp.
My eyes widened, and I stumbled back as the scenery surrounding us folded.
The towering mountains in the distance started to collapse, giant rocks rolling down in loud rumbles.
The branches of the towering pine trees started to crack as they rattled and fell.
Buildings shattered and exploded around me, and I covered my ears in horror at the deafening sound.
"Wha-what's going on? Acheron?" I screamed.
All the while, Acheron remained still. His sad, blue, and red eyes remained fixed on me. I grabbed his arm, ready to shake some sense into him.
"Acheron? Wha—"
“I will always love you," he murmured, although his voice carried over the noise. "I will always be looking for you."
My hands fell as he turned and walked away. I called out to him, screaming for him to come back. I tried to follow, but my body felt trapped—my feet like glue—unable to move. All I could do was scream his name until my voice grew hoarse.