Page 3 of The Vampire's Bride

I glance between her family and the healer. “Wait outside, and we will join you shortly so you may say goodbye.”

Jonathan levels a dark glare at me as he follows Juliet’s family out into the hallway. There is a cunning in his eyes that tells me he has not fully accepted she is no longer his. I suspect he will try to fight me, but in the end, the result will be the same. Once the bargain is made, Juliet will be tied to me, regardless of his wishes.

As soon as they shut the door behind them, I raise my hands, drawing runes in the air, weaving an enchantment to create a magical ward. I will have no one interrupting what I am about to do.

Glowing purple light ripples across the door before disappearing into the wood. Satisfied that the room is secure, I kneel beside the bed and take her hand. “Forgive me for what I must do.”

Extending my fangs, I bite the inside of my wrist. I place it over her mouth, allowing a few drops of blood to pass her lips.

A Vampire’s blood can heal almost any wound, but it comes with a cost. Those who drink of it are then bound to us. Once formed, the bond is nearly impossible to break.

I watch as Juliet’s body begins to heal, her face gradually returning to the same likeness as the one in the portrait, without even a hint of any of her previous injuries still visible.

Her long blonde hair is spread out on the pillow beneath her like a golden halo, and her long lashes frame soft, pink cheeks. Her eyelids flutter open and her luminous green eyes meet mine.

“Ashaya.”The ancient word leaves my mouth as I stare at her, completely transfixed. Like a bolt of lightning straight to my chest, my world shifts in an instant.

She is my fate, the one I have searched for all these years.

Frustration burns in my veins. Why would the gods curse me in this way? To find my fated one now, just so I can lose her.

The blood witch is right. Juliet will be the one to break me. If I cannot convince her to love me entirely—both the man and the monster—she will succumb to this wretched curse, just like the ones before her.

She jerks up to sitting. Her jaw drops as she studies my features, no doubt putting together what I am rather quickly.

“You—” She swallows hard. “You’re—you’re a—”

“Lord Valaric Greyvale.” I take her hand gently in mine, kissing the back of her knuckles. “I vow that I am not here to harm you.” My sensitive ears detect the quickening of her heart as the scent of her fear permeates the air. “You were near death. Your family enlisted the aid of a blood witch, who then called upon me to heal you. In exchange for my dark gift, you are now bound to me.”

“As your slave?” She retracts her hand as if burned.

“As my wife.”

All the color drains from her face. No one wants to be bound to a monster. “I—I don’t understand. The last thing I remember I was on my way to Brimley Manor for Lucy’s wedding.” Her small brow furrows deeply. “Did something happen with the carriage? Was I involved in an accident?”

I had hoped she would remember something so her would-be killer could be delivered to justice. But after seeing her terrible state when I arrived, it is no wonder she cannot recall how she sustained such traumatic injuries.

As terrible as it is, I cannot shield her from the truth. I’ve learned over the past several decades that it’s best to get straight to the heart of things instead of dancing around a subject. The sooner my bride accepts what has happened, the sooner we can be on our way back to my castle.

“Someone attacked you and left you for dead three days ago.”

She gasps and puts a trembling hand to her mouth.

My protective instincts surge. I hate how terrified she appears, not only of what happened to her, but also of me. I wish more than anything that I could reassure my mate that I will not harm her.

If she were a Vampire, our fated bond would allow us to communicate directly with each other’s minds—sharing thoughts and emotions. But when I reach out with my thoughts, searching for a mental connection between us, I sense nothing.

Perhaps it is because she is human.

Rather than lament the absence of this part of the fated bond, I resolve to do all that I can to show her through my words and my actions, that she is safe and I will protect her. Always. “You are safe and well now, Juliet. I will allow no one to ever harm you again. My vow.”

“No one but you,” she says, despair and anger reflecting in her green eyes. “Unless the rumors I have heard about Vampires are false, Lord Greyvale.”

The ones before her took far longer to reach this stage of resentment. It seems myashayawill be different. “What is it you have heard?”

I’d expected tears and denial of her fate, but instead she watches me warily as if weighing her choice of words verycarefully before giving them voice. “That Vampires take human women asblood wivesto slake their… appetites.” She blanches. “That they eventually either turn them before they age or kill them when they are done. They usually choose a maiden from among the desperate because the human sacrifice must be given willingly, else they would be hunted for stealing someone against their will.”

I can deny nothing for all she has said is true of my kind. “What else have you heard?”

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