Page 114 of The Depraved Prince
“Because you will carry another heartbeat inside you, and the only way for that to happen is if you stay human. If I turn you, you won’t be able to become a mother, and I know that’s something you want to do in your human lifetime.”
She nods as I palm her stomach.
“Yes. I do,” she admits and holds my hand.
“Tell me…” I stand from the bed and grab her journal that I packed before we left her father’s house. “Why did you write so much?” She grabs her journal from me and opens it. She flips through the pages and then closes it again.
“Because reading and writing saved my life. I haven’t finished writingeverything. There’s more. There’s more you don’t know about.” She sighs and places her diary on the nightstand. She crawls on my body and pulls the blankets over us.
There’s more?
“Who do I need to make scream and beg for their life? Whose car do I need to blow up next? Who do I need to torture?” I hiss.
“Hayden!” she scolds. “I’m not a victim. I refuse to be. I can handle my own battles.” She giggles.
She knows I’ll do it, and I always follow through with my threats. If anyone tries to hurt her, they’ll be dead faster than they can blink. She stiffens and stops rubbing her hand over my chest.
“Wait, whose car did you blow up?!” She sits straight in the bed with pulled-in brows.
I smile mischievously. “Santiago’s.”
41
MILLIE
ONE MONTH LATER
Hayden has beenadamant and consistent about convincing me we can still do all the normal things I can do with a human boyfriend. It’s been a week at the university near the Cathedral, and so far, I'm living my life like it’s normal to have a vampire fiance who doesn’t give me any other choice but to choose him.
I emailed Hayden from the library computer on campus and wanted to stay longer tonight. I don’t need one of his human bodyguards driving me home tonight as they have been doing since I started my junior year of college. He hasn’t responded, and I don’t expect him to.
I’m keen on perfecting my studying skills. I want to ace my first English literature exam, so I stayed longer on campus. Hayden is asleep during the day, anyway.
There are faint noises of people typing on their computers, light chatter, and books closing. The library is quiet and smells of wood and old books. It’s my favorite scent, and I feel a sense of complacency in my new life. When I registered for college, Hayden insisted he pay for all my classes in full. I fought him on that as best I could, but there’s no winning that battle.
It’s been a breath of fresh air to be able to do things I’ve set out to do before my Valkyrie demise at twenty-three. Haydenwill turn me when I consent on my twenty-second birthday. Out of fear of how powerful, ruthless, unremorseful, and unpredictable Hayden has become, the Council doesn’t want to challenge him to turn me. Everyone fears him—every single King and person who breathes fears Hayden.
He killed King Davenport & his sons, leaving only a woman named Eleanor to take reign. No one has been able to do the things he's done, making Hayden the most powerful, heartless Vampire to walk this Earth. Because of his actions to keep me alive and protected, no one wants to challenge him, granting him peace to alter the laws like he wants.
Everyone fears him.
As I close the doors to the library, I look at the ticking clock above it.
9:37 p.m.
Shit!
I lost track of time. Hayden will be worried. I told him I would take a Taxi home. I hold onto my backpack tighter as I jog out of the library. Darkness and crickets greet me with a gust of fresh wind that runs through my wavy hair. I turn the corner of the building toward the parking lot and bump into something hard.
“Oh, ouch!” I yelp as I drop my college textbooks simultaneously. Blinking rough and fast, I search for my three books that I was holding. They landed by my feet…and someone else’s.
A pair of black converse shifts awkwardly. I reach for my books, and their hand brushes with mine accidentally.
“I’m sorry. That’s my bad. I should’ve watched where I was going.” A man apologizes. He takes one book while I grab the rest. I stand back up, and straighten my back. I reposition my backpack on my shoulders and realize I’m face to face with my English classmate.
“Jared Whitlock. Hi.” I stutter as he hands me back my textbook. I take it and decide the best place to put my textbooks is back in my backpack. I unzip and throw them in quickly as he watches me.
He tucks his long sandy blonde hair behind his ears and readjusts his sports bag over his shoulders. Jared Whitlock is the captain of the baseball team. I don’t know him too well, but I know enough. He’s charming and intelligent, with a dashing smile and the brightest green eyes I’ve ever seen. All the girls in our class giggle and blush if he glances at them for one second.
