Love Bites (Mated to the King #1)

Chapter 1

one

BLAIR

The ache in my head seemed to pound with the beat of the music, like a nail driving deeper into my brain with every moment. Lights pulsed around us, making me wish I could leave the nightclub.

But, I couldn’t.

I pushed my way through the crowd, heading toward the bar. Though I was physically ill with hunger, the idea of feeding on a stranger was just as revolting as always. I’d pushed it off as long as I could, but eventually, one of my sisters would bring a guy over and force me to have my way with him.

Not sexually.

As a siren, I had to kiss someone to feed on their emotions. It was usually unpleasant for me, but there was no avoiding it if I wanted to stay alive.

My gaze caught on an empty seat straight in front of me. I headed toward it, ignoring a hand that brushed my shoulder and someone who called behind me, “Hey, blondie!”

They could screw off.

It wasn’t my fault I’d been born with golden hair. And while I usually liked that about myself, I was annoyed by the assumptions that came with it.

Then again, my entire family was annoyed by the assumptions that clung to us like last month’s gallon of milk, stinking up everything. Being a siren meant being physically appealing to all people, human or magical, and that was nowhere near as fun as it sounded.

The city we lived in, Mistwood, was the capital and only real city in the magical world. We were completely hidden from humans, outside of the goods they shipped to us.

Everyone in the club was magical like us, though sirens were particularly known for having magic that made us vulnerable in too many ways.

At least vampires had teeth.

We were just their weaker, prettier equivalent.

Not that vampires were ugly. They were known for being supernaturally gorgeous, too. Then again, all magical beings were.

I plopped down on my seat, massaging my temples as my body screamed at me for fighting my hunger too long.

“Are you okay?” The man in the seat beside mine lifted his voice over the music. It was so loud, my ears strained to pick out the words.

“Peachy,” I called back, not bothering to look over at him. He was undoubtedly already feeling the pull of my bitchy magic.

“What can I get you?” the bartender asked.

A sharp pain in my head made me wince. I couldn’t have answered him if I wanted to.

Thankfully, the song that was on ended, and a slightly quieter one began.

“Get her a glass of water with peppermint,” the man beside me said.

Though I knew he was only helping me because of my bitchy magic, I appreciated the gesture anyway.

He was right; I did need water. And peppermint leaves. They were one of the only things that could dull a siren’s hunger, for absolutely no logical reason. It had something to do with the way our magic worked.

The bartender slid the glass to me a moment later, and I grabbed it with one hand, still pressing hard against my temple with my other thumb.

I took a slow, long drink, and my headache subsided just the tiniest bit.

I’d been drowning myself in peppermint for nearly two weeks, so the effect was nowhere near what it should’ve been. That was my fault, though.

“Thanks,” I said, finally looking at the guy who’d helped me.

I sucked in a breath at the sight of him.

Magical beings, in general, were more attractive than humans. We were stronger, our men were taller, and our power kept us physically healthy and toned no matter what we ate or if we exercised.

But this guy was something else altogether.

His eyes were a piercing shade of blue that somehow put me at ease, and his face was perfectly balanced. Not too sharp, and not too soft. He had light skin and dark hair cut precisely, and he’d styled it like it was art. The blue button-down shirt he had on was undone at the top, open just enough to be appealing without screaming, DOUCHEBAG .

Something about him looked kind of familiar, but I couldn’t figure out why.

“No problem. What’s an unmated siren doing at a nightclub?” he asked, looking more curious than anything.

I got the same question every time I left my house, so his curiosity didn’t surprise me in the slightest. There weren’t very many sirens, and most of us were treated more like objects than people much of the time. Usually, we were mated to powerful people very young to prevent us from being used and abused.

The woman on my other side turned toward me and set her hand on my thigh. I pushed it away, turning closer to the guy. He seemed to be able to fight the pull of my magic, at the very least.

I took another long drink of my water before admitting, “It’s been almost a month since I’ve fed. I had no choice but to come here.”

“That’s a long time to fight your nature.”

“My nature can go fuck itself.”

I finished my glass and set it back down on the countertop. The guy next to me waved the bartender down, and I thanked him when he brought me a fresh glass.

The bartender smiled, leaning over the bar toward me.

My magic would be working on him too.

I leaned away, and the guy next to me patted the bartender on the arm. “This one’s mine, Thor. Find someone else.”

Usually, the words would’ve set off an alarm in my head, but I could tell the guy was just trying to protect me. And I appreciated that.

The bartender grumbled, but turned around.

“Thanks.” I picked up my second glass of water, but didn’t drink it right away.

“No problem.” My protector studied me. “What’s your name?”

“Blair. You?”

“Damian.” The name fit. I liked it. “I’ve got a proposition for you, Blair.”

“Wow. And you were doing so well.”

He chuckled. “Not that kind of proposition. You clearly don’t like feeding. Neither do I.” He flashed me a peek of his fangs, revealing himself as a vampire. “I can drink from blood bags to avoid it, but you can’t. If you need a food source tonight, I can be that. No strings attached, and no expectations to follow. My magic will make it less unpleasant for you.”

I studied him suspiciously, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

He was right—vampire magic put their prey at ease while a siren’s riled up their food source. Even if he didn’t drink from me, I could benefit from his power and erase my hunger too.

“What’s in it for you?” I finally asked.

He lifted a shoulder. “I’ve never felt a siren’s magic before.”

I probably should’ve said no… but it seemed like a better option than waiting for one of my sisters to drag someone over to feed me.

So, I sighed. “Alright, deal.”

I set my glass back down and slipped off my stool, throwing a leg over his lap and taking a seat there. Kissing tall guys while standing was uncomfortable, considering I was barely 5’1”.

His erection didn’t surprise me in the slightest. My magic had that effect on people. At least Damian didn’t seem like he expected anything from me because of it.

“I have a room here, if it would make you more comfortable,” he said, sliding a hand slowly up my lower back. The touch sent his magic moving through me, relaxing my body immediately.

Any vampire could get a room in any of Mistwood’s nightclubs if they filled out the paperwork. The nightclubs were made for them, after all. Owned by them, too. Their leader—he was a king, even if he refused to let anyone call him that—was well known for checking in on his clubs and vampires. I’d never met him, but he was supposed to be terrifying.

“It’s fine. Everyone around us already knows what I am anyway,” I said.

His magic continued easing the nerves in my abdomen. And as they eased, my hunger flared.

I grabbed his shirt by the collar. The fabric felt nice in my hands, but I chalked that up to his power too. “A girl could get addicted to the feel of your magic.”

“The right girl, maybe.”

His words didn’t set in, because as soon as he was done speaking, my mouth was on his.

His lips parted for me without hesitation. Our tongues brushed lightly, and I groaned at the taste of him. Not the taste of his mouth—though that was nice—but the taste of his emotions.

Amusement.

Excitement.

Desire.

My magic spurred them higher, devouring the surface-level feelings and digging in deeper until I found what I really craved.

Exhaustion.

Boredom.

Loneliness.

Pain.

Overwhelm.

I could feel one of his hands pressing into my lower back as we made out, pulling me against him harder. The other had made its way to my hair, and felt good gripping the strands tightly.

There was a sudden prick of pain on my lip, and I moaned when his emotions shifted abruptly.

Lust.

Need.

Pleasure.

Hope.

Someone shook my shoulder, but I barely felt it.

“The wolves are here, Blair,” a familiar female voice urged, and my shoulder shook again. “The Alpha showed up for Clem. We have to go, now.”

The wolves.

The Alpha.

Clem…

I ripped my mouth away from Damian’s.

His blue eyes blazed with bloodlust, and I ran my tongue over the cut on my lip. “You bit me.”

“You—” he began, but I turned to my sister. Avery was beside me, her expression dark and worried. She was one of my four sisters, and though we weren’t related by blood, we were family through and through.

“I have to go. Thanks for this.” I gestured between me and Damian as I tried to slide off his lap.

His hand pressed harder against my lower back, holding me in place even though he released my hair. “I can’t?—”

Avery grabbed my glass of peppermint water off the countertop and splashed it at him.

I took his moment of surprise to push his hand away from me, and she helped tug me off his lap.

Adrenaline pumped through me as we threw ourselves into the crowd, letting the heights of the magical men conceal us from my blue-eyed meal. We were just as fast as vampires when we’d been fed, so he wouldn’t catch us if we didn’t let him.

But no one could run through a crowd of magical beings. Too many of them would be triggered by the urge to chase.

The satisfaction of not being hungry anymore was enough to put a smile on my face. And for once, I didn’t regret feeding on someone.

Damian was… well, delicious.

“Everyone else is in the car already,” Avery called to me, as we finally emerged from the crowd.

“How bad was it?”

She grimaced. The flashing lights above us highlighted her olive skin and long, dark brown hair, but all I really noticed was the worry in her eyes. “Bad.”

I didn’t ask anything else.

I’d find out soon enough.

And though I was worried about my sister, Damian’s magic somehow seemed to be lingering in my system. I felt like everything was going to be okay, even though logically I knew that probably wasn’t the case.

That didn’t make sense, so I chalked it up to not feeling hungry for the first time in a month, and moved on.

We had bigger problems than the vampire who had fed me.