Page 9 of Forced Vampire Mate

Chapter 5

We would need to move quickly if we were going to escape on the very night of my wedding. After Luken left me in the gardens, I went to my room, where I changed into clothes more suitable for travel. I was tempted to stuff that damn wedding dress into the fireplace, but I didn’t want to risk the smoke alerting Luken to the fact I wasn’t in my room. I sent a message to Marissa, telling her to inform Luken that if he tried to come to my room, I would pretend like he didn’t exist. I didn’t think he’d come, but it was best to make sure.

After that, I sent a coded message to Thessa to let her know our timeframe had moved up. After that, I climbed out my window and kept to the shadows as I slipped back through the gardens, avoiding where I knew cameras were. By the time I made it to our stash, Thessa was already there.

She handed me my staff, and I took it, sighing in relief. I’d like to see any vampires come after us now!

“What happened?” Thessa asked me, her voice low.

“I’ll tell you once we’re on the road.”

All the vehicles on the palace grounds were carefully guarded, but last week, I convinced Luken to let Thessa and me have a couple of dirt bikes that we could use to ride around at our leisure. We rolled them silently off the grounds. The guards were so busy with the obvious—keeping people out and protecting the guests within the palace—that they weren’t looking for their new queen to run away.

All in all, getting out of the palace was simple. We made it through the gates, then jumped on our dirt bikes and sped through the quiet streets of the capital city, Holakas, otherwise known as Honeyblood. I remained tense, expecting to suddenly have vampires on our tail at any moment.

Nothing broke the stillness of the night as we whipped past the large stone structures, through the tall glass skyscrapers, and then between the houses that slowly grew smaller and more isolated, until, finally, we had nothing but trees on either side of us.

Thessa let out a shaky breath as she pulled her bike up next to me. “That’s the first break we’ve gotten, isn’t it?”

“Yeah,” I murmured, knowing she would hear me despite the wind whipping by my face.

It was too easy. Suspiciously easy. Even though there were a lot of guests to guard, it seemed almost deliberately sloppy for the guards to let us go. Maybe they saw me leaving and figured it was some sort of honeymoon thing? That I was sneaking off to a cozy cabin, and Luken would catch up later?

I could only hope my suspicions were unfounded, that it really was that easy. And that it would continue to be easy. Once I had Darcie away from the temples and we were running with the gods on our asses, Luken would have to step in. He would have to defend Darcie if he wanted to defend me.

We traveled until the sun started to lighten the eastern horizon. By then, we were well and truly away from the capital. I took us off the highway, heading up a logging road that made my teeth rattle. The dirt bikes were almost empty; we’d ditch them and have to continue on foot until we made it across the border and could get on the train again.

In the meantime, we went as far as the road would take us and carried the bikes into the woods, letting the forest envelop us. As we were heading south, the spruces and pines were being replaced by more and more deciduous trees. There was still the occasional cedar and tamarack, but for the most part, we were surrounded by aspens, birches, and oaks.

We found a place under a fallen tree where we could put our backs and stashed the bikes in the roots. We slumped to the ground, exhausted.

“I’ll take first watch,” I said. “But first, let’s take another look at that map.”

Thessa nodded as she pulled it from her pack. We bent over the map, tracing the route that it showed us. We were about twenty miles from the border of Luken’s kingdom. We’d have to pass into shifter territory if we were going to get to the temples. It was risky, but then everything was risky.

“I’m not a full vampire, so they shouldn’t have too much of a problem with me,” I said, stretching my arms over my head. “You’ll have to keep to your panther form. If anyone asks, I’ll say you lost your clothes, and you’re shy. Hopefully, if you stay a panther, they won’t notice your eyes glowing.”

Thessa nodded, her gaze darkening. The sky continued to lighten, tugging at my wary mind. We had decided to travel at night, when there would be less chance of running into humans in the woods. Moving through the night was as easy as daytime for vampires. For me, it was almost as easy.

“You should get some sleep,” I told Thessa when she yawned. “I’ll keep watch.”

It was a testament to how tired our flight had made her that she promptly lay down. It didn’t take long for her breathing to slow. As her body relaxed, she curled inward, resting her head on her hands. Even though she was eighteen years old, when she slept like that, she seemed much younger.

Even though I was only twenty-two, I knew how young she was. I’d been a completely different person at eighteen when I first met Luken. My heart ached, but a sudden sweep of gratitude filled me all the same.

Luken wanted me to come with him the moment he laid eyes on me. But when I said no, he respected that no. He was going to wait. He recognized that I was young and he wanted to give me more time to come into myself before he came back into my life. How would our courtship have gone if Greyson and his elves hadn’t attacked my family?

I shook my head slightly, trying to dislodge the thought. It would only lead to grief and more anger. I needed to concentrate on my mission. Leave the emotions for later. Don’t question whether I could forgive Luken, if we could have a happy ending in all this bullshit.

The tattoos covering my torso seemed to warm. An echo of worry rippled through the bond I shared with Luken. He must have just discovered I was missing. Took him long enough. I felt him reaching out, searching for me, and shoved the doors shut. I hadn’t asked for this bond, and I wasn’t going to let him use it to stop me from saving my sister.

***

Two Weeks Ago

Luken came to my door early in the morning, two days after he’d told me I was going to marry him. I’d kept to my chambers since then, plotting my escape with Thessa. Fury flowed through me when I answered the knock and found him standing there. His black hair was in loose waves halfway down his back, his chiseled features extra hot in contrast to the soft tunic and pants combo he wore.

“What do you want?” I snapped at him.

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