Page 19 of Royal Bite
And she was right.
If she knew Hegna had been matched, it would have taken the queen herself to drag Hegna from the club.
Hegna tugged her boots on and zipped them up. She adorned her body with her knives and daggers under Mira’s watchful gaze. She returned to her bathroom and pulled her hair back into a loose ponytail. Once she was satisfied with herself, she strolled back into the bedroom.
“I’m ready now. Are you going to escort me to the meeting?”
“You are just like your father,” Mira snapped. She marched toward the door, muttering.
“Muttering isn’t queen-like.” Hegna snickered.
Mira hated when she and her sisters spoke under their breath. She’d reprimand them for doing it in her presence. To witness her mother do it, she couldn’t help but point it out.
“Shut it, Hegna Riskel.” She threw open the door and glared at Hegna over her shoulder.
Hegna flashed her fangs and followed her out the door.
“Azura is taking risks now. She’s becoming more dangerous,” Velika hissed. She slammed her fist down on the table.
Hegna Riskel eyed her youngest sister. Velika was more like her than Lethia. She was headstrong, stubborn, and spontaneous. Her blonde hair was held back in intricate braids. Her brow deepened with a scowl.
“Any more than she has been?” Hegna murmured.
She settled in her high-backed chair while her family was spread out around the table. They were all meeting to discuss the impending war with the lycans. Apparently, her family had been waiting for her arrival to hold this meeting and solidify a cast-iron plan against the lycan alpha. They were locked away in Velika’s war strategy room.
Corbin sat her to her left. He looked refreshed and had a spark in his eyes that had been missing as of late. She hadn’t been able to speak with him before the meeting began, but she could see he was well rested and the night at the madam’s did him well.
Both Velika’s and Lethia’s advisors joined them. The room was heavily guarded, as was Velika’s property. They couldn’t be too careful when the entire royal family were together. Security was thick not only around the castle, but the town of Ensfield itself.
They would be going to war. Azura Michaels, the new alpha of the lycans, was a ticking time bomb. She was determined to take over everything the vampires had fought for.
Vampires who were once living in hiding as much as the other non-human races were. The vampire rulers around the world decided that they no longer wanted their people to live underground. They no longer wanted to hide who they were and what they were. It was time to present themselves.
The past few centuries before the war, it was discovered that the amount of vampires born was on the decline. Vampires were only able to procreate with their fated mates. And that was an issue because vampires were having a harder time finding the one person fate had designed for them.
This had been a vital issue that had to be addressed.
Vampire leadership around the world agreed that they had to do something or in the coming centuries, they ran the risk of going extinct.
The vampire kings united and faced the humans. They offered a peaceful opportunity to them, but they were met with a hostile resistance. Humans had been ignorant in assuming they were the only ones inhabiting the earth and thought they were the stronger race.
Thus, the war.
And the humans lost.
Now they lived in a world that was governed by the seven vampire kings. The Riskel family ruled the North American continent.
It was discovered by the royal scientist that humans were compatible and would be another option vampires could seek out for matings. A test was developed that would require a simple blood sample that could match a vampire with their mate. With this new test, a database was created. After the war, the king put it into law that humans would have to submit their blood sample. The human government, or what was left of it, backed this law. They didn’t want to risk the wrath of the vampire kings.
That was how the draft had been founded. It had a one hundred percent success rate, and the vampires who had participated were extremely pleased with their matches. With this proof of success, more vampires donated their own samples in order to be matched with their mates.
The queen, Mira Riskel, had even taken it upon herself to enter her daughters into the draft. She determined that it would be a good look for the royal family to participate. She wanted to show that her family was not above the draft. The moment the public had got word of Velika and Quinn’s mating, everything had gone crazy. More vampires stepped forward to donate their blood in search of their mate.
Then Lethia was matched with her mate, Alima. Their union gained even more popularity, and again there was a rush of vampires signing up. Due to the rush, the number of drafts had to increase to meet the demand.
Now all eyes were on Hegna.
Hegna snorted. She didn’t want a mate. Velika had once been like her, but she’d fallen for her human and was in love. They had even gone through the process of impregnation and now had a son. Hegna’s heart softened at the thought of her nephew. Prince Blayze was the first royal dhampir and had everyone wrapped around his little finger.
