Chapter 5
CHAPTER 5
VALARIC
I ’m shocked that she says this as if it is something she has already accepted as a given. That she is not afraid of me like the others before her.
My marriage to them was in name only—a contract to seal a bargain made in exchange for saving their lives. They wanted little to do with me, avoiding my company as much as possible before the curse took them.
I’m still so surprised by her words that it takes me a moment to consider the rest of her statement. “What do you mean it would not be binding if we do not consummate our marriage?”
She gives me a curious look. “I’m not sure how it’s done among Vampires, but as for my people, a marriage is not legally binding until it has been consummated. And even then, without evidence of the first blood, the union can still be dissolved.”
“First… blood?”
A crimson flush spreads across her cheeks. “The blood from a woman’s maidenhead.”
I’d heard this evidence is required among some of the royalty, but I did not know it was standard among other humans. It is rather barbaric, in my opinion. Even if Juliet had been with another before me, it would change nothing between us.
“It’s the reason I broke off my engagement with Jonathan.” She swallows hard. “He wanted to have me before we were wed, but I refused. I told him I would only give myself to my husband on our wedding night. He became angry, and we fought.”
“Did he harm you?” I curl my hands into fists at my sides. If he did, he will not live to see another sunrise. I will find him this night and end him.
“No, but I was surprised he was at my house while I was unconscious, given how things were left between us before my… accident.”
Her accident . Now I find myself wondering if Jonathan may still be to blame despite the healer’s reassurances. I think back to his bruised knuckles and his wounded pride when Juliet refused to leave with him that night.
“Your family referred to him as your betrothed when I arrived, and he did nothing to correct them.”
“I broke off our betrothal, but I had not quite found the courage to tell my parents yet. I knew they would be upset because he is nephew to the king of Aralon.” She sighs heavily. “Jonathan has never been one to give up easily and he hates the word ‘no.’”
When I was first turned, I had to reconcile the man I had been with the new darkness buried deep within—the monster that would overtake me entirely if I ever faltered in my control.
Even now, it fights me for dominance as I remember the cunning look in Jonathan’s eye, and the way he tried to force Juliet to run away. He tried to take my mate from me. I nearly killed him then, and I am still uncertain that I made the right decision in allowing him to live.
“Do you believe he will be a problem?”
“In truth, I do not know.” She shrugs. “It is not unheard of for a man to steal another’s wife if their marriage is not fully consummated, and therefore not binding.”
Possessive anger floods my veins and my fangs extend as the darkness within me takes hold. I will end anyone who dares try to take Juliet from me. “Consummation or not, you are mine.” I growl. “No one will take you from me. I have protective wards around the entire estate that will alert me if anyone tries to cross.”
Her eyes widen slightly. “Am I a prisoner then?”
“You are not my captive; you are my mate.”
She gives me a wary look. “Then I may come and go as I please?”
“You may go anywhere that you wish. If you have somewhere you desire to go beyond the castle, tell me and I will arrange it. If you want to keep daylight hours, I ask that you allow Eben to escort you for any travel outside of the estate.” She opens her mouth as if to protest, but I continue. “I am a Vampire. And as such, I have many enemies who would seek to harm what is mine, including my wife.”
“I understand,” she replies. “But I’ve decided I will keep the same hours as you.”
I frown. “You do not wish to be awake during the day?”
“It’s not that,” she hedges. “It’s just… we are new to each other and I’d like to get to know you better.”
She is the first of my wives to want this. The others preferred to keep to themselves, only meeting with me every three days to fulfill the blood requirement of our bargain. And even then, they would bleed themselves, leaving a goblet of blood outside their door, wanting to see me as little as possible.
I always made sure they had a vial of my own blood to heal the cuts they made when they gave me their blood offerings.
Juliet continues. “The only time I anticipate that I’ll need to be up during the daytime will be when I must go to the village for supplies or to the apothecary for more moon tea leaves.”
I’m still shocked she would take me to her bed. And as much as this thought appeals to me, I do not want her to feel forced into doing so. I desire her, but I want her to come to my bed willingly. “Eben usually retrieves our supplies. As for the tea, it will not be necessary.”
“I… do not understand,” she replies a bit hesitantly. “You don’t want me to take the tea for contraception?”
“You are mine, Juliet.” I meet her gaze evenly. “Regardless of whether or not we consummate our marriage, you are still my bride, and I will allow no one to take you from me.” I take a small step closer and curl my fingers under her chin, tipping her face up to my own. “You do not need to take the tea unless you wish to, because I vow that I will not touch you in that way, unless you ask.”
“Truly?”
“Yes.”
Her gaze holds mine a moment as if trying to gauge the truth of my words. “Why did you marry me? Why take a wife?”
I could tell her that she is my ashaya, but I’m not sure how it would be received. Humans do not have fated mates.
Then, there is the problem of the witch. If Talindra ever discovers that Juliet is my fated one, I have no doubt she will find a way to use this truth to her advantage. She might hurt my bride simply to punish me.
“It was necessary.” It’s not entirely a lie, but it isn’t quite the truth either.
Her small brow furrows before dawned understanding spreads across her face. “You needed someone for a steady supply of human blood.”
My gaze drops to her neck as dark hunger rises within. In truth, my kind can exist without human blood, but I do not tell her this because the witch crafted her spell so that my curse makes me crave it regularly.
Every time I am bound to a human, I must have her blood every three days.
Partaking of human blood, directly from the source, can be a very intimate thing. It’s the reason Talindra made this intense craving a part of my curse. She wanted to encourage my attachment to the women she chose, so I would suffer heartache at their inevitable loss, and also to inspire fear in them at the same time.
After all, who could ever love a monster that must feed upon them every three days?
I’m tempted to tell Juliet of the dark enchantment that controls my life, but I worry that if I do, it will only make her afraid. “It was more than that,” I reply, trying to speak around my curse even as my intense thirst threatens to drive me mad.
She studies me, her emerald eyes searching mine. “I have heard terrible stories of people indebted to Vampires. You could have taken me as your bloodsworn, but you made me your true wife, instead. Whatever your reason, I thank you.”
Juliet continues. “You said you need my blood every three days. I’ve been unconscious that long, so your thirst must be great.” She tilts her head to one side, exposing the elegant column of her neck. The scent of her fear permeates the air, but she hides it beneath a brave mask. “You are my husband. Take what you need.”
Guilt wars with desire as the darkness within me awakens fully. I am ravenous, but it is not just her blood that I want. Need burns through me like fire as my gaze rakes over her form. I want everything: her mind, body, heart, and soul.
Fierce possessiveness surges through me, and I struggle to maintain my control.
She is right. I do hunger for her, but I cannot take from her in my current state for I have not even slaked my thirst on the blood of lesser creatures these past three days. If I taste her now, I will be unable to hold back, and she could be hurt.
Juliet gazes up at me, her eyes wide and full of trust.
Unable to resist, I reach out and lightly caress her cheek, watching in wonder as a pink flush spreads across her petal-soft skin. “I cannot. You are not fully healed,” I rasp, barely hanging onto the part of me that remembers what it was to be human. “I will hunt this night to sate my thirst.”
It will weaken me to ignore the demands of my curse, but I cannot trust myself not to harm her in my current state.
Curling my hands into fists at my side, I turn my gaze to the window. Moonlight covers the snowy landscape, casting a silver glow across the gardens and the mountains beyond. I must leave while I can, before it’s too late.
I start for the door, but she grips my forearm. “It’s all right.” She tilts her head, offering herself again to me so trustingly. My fangs extend and the sharp taste of venom fills my mouth as intense need threatens to overwhelm my senses. She has no idea the danger she is in. “You may take from me, if you need to, Valaric.”
Her words erode the last of my control, and I pull her into my arms. The dark and primal thing deep within claws its way to the surface. A deep rumbling growl vibrates in my chest as I run my fingers through her hair. Gripping the silken strands firmly, I tip her head to one side, exposing the elegant column of her throat.
My gaze drops to the pulsing artery along her neck as her heart quickens its pace. Raw desire and hunger consume me as I skim the tip of my nose along the length of it, inhaling deeply. My nostrils flare and I growl as a hint of arousal threads through her delicious scent.
“Valaric,” she whispers in my ear, and I go completely still.
Swallowing hard, I lift my head.
Juliet blinks up at me. “Did I do something wrong?”
“No,” I barely manage.
“It’s all right.” She reaches for me again. “Take what you need.”
Desire roars through my veins as I fight the dark impulse to sink my fangs deep into her flesh. To join my body with hers and take everything she would willingly give to me and so much more.
“Seven hells, Juliet!” My fangs are bared and primed with venom as the monster within me howls in rage, demanding that I claim her. “Do you not realize how dangerous it is to offer yourself to me while I’m in this state?”
Her eyes widen in terror as the acrid scent of her fear thickens the air.
The dark creature within thrashes beneath the surface as I struggle to maintain my control. This is madness. My need is too intense. If I don’t leave now, I will lose myself entirely.