The Vampire King’s Captive

MARIA

“Another mate?”

“Hell, I don’t know,” the other man sighed. “I’ve never heard of a person getting two mates. Have you?”

“Just because it’s never happened before doesn’t mean it can’t happen. You told me how you felt and only your mate can make you feel that way.”

“And what would you know about mating?” The other man turned the tables around. “Are you speaking from experience?”

“No, common sense,” the first man barked. “What did the oracle say when you asked her?”Content bel0ngs to Nôvel(D)r/a/ma.Org.

Man two sighed. “Three words; ask the sorceress.”

“Fucking Amelia.” Man one grunted without heat in his words. “What are you going to do now?”

“Damned if I know.”

“The oracle already told you what to do. You therefore have no other option but to do it.”

“I know, but-”

“What’s it like having powers?”

A frown found its way to Maria’s face. Powers?

Where had that come from?

That question had absolutely nothing to do with the conversation they were having and also, the voice had sounded feminine. Small, yet firm and it also sounded a lot clearer than the two other voices.

Like the person was in the same room with her-

Oh shit.

Her eyes jumped up to Olivia, who had stopped cleaning the dresser and was now staring at her oddly, a tiny smile on her face.

Maria had been so lost in what she was doing that she completely forgot that there was someone else in the room.

“Powers?” She asked Olivia because she wasn’t sure she’d heard her clearly.

“Yeah. What’s it like having them?” Olivia flicked her eyes to Maria’s lit up fingers pointedly, her gaze lingering for a while before she pulled them away.

Her palms and fingers lit up with a purple light whenever she wanted to use her powers and they were currently lit up because she was using them. Well, had now because Olivia had successfully distracted her from the conversation she’d been eavesdropping on.

She hadn’t heard from Bran ever since their argument. He hadn’t bothered to see her and she hadn’t bothered to see him either.

She saw him everyday when she sat by the window, anyway. Tall, gorgeous, arrogant and a massive ass. She’d caught him more than three times looking up at her window but she always made sure to look away whenever he was looking.

He didn’t need to know that she was watching him. She was trying to get over the feelings she’d grown for him-however small they might be.

Today, he’d stared particularly longer than he usually did and despite Maria’s decision to get over him, she couldn’t help wondering if maybe he felt something for her but was too much of a coward to admit it. It wouldn’t be the first cowardly behaviour he’d exhibited.

And that was exactly why she decided to eavesdrop on him today.

She cast a spell that would enable her hear everything he said and he’d turned out to be with Corey-she knew from the voice.

She couldn’t describe how shocked she’d been when Corey had mentioned her name. She’d began listening when the conversation had already started so she didn’t have a complete idea of what they were talking about.

Blinking, she faced Olivia. “What’s it like being a demon?”

“Demoness,” Olivia corrected.

“Sorry. Demoness. Right.” Maria covered her palm, extinguishing the light. “It’s just like it is for you. It’s a part of me. I was born with it so I really don’t know what it’s like to be without it, you know? Although these past few months with that cursed collar were really frustrating.”

Olivia sat on the edge of Maria’s bed and Maria tried not to freak out that the woman wasn’t in a hurry to leave today. “How so?” “Well,” she cleared her voice. “I had to do things the manual way. If I wanted some water, I had to go and get it. If I wanted to fight someone off, I had to get a weapon and do it. But with my powers…” Maria lifted the rag from Olivia’s hand and the woman barely stiffled a gasp. “I don’t have to do so much work.”

“Wow,” Olivia breathed as Maria dropped the rag back on her thighs. “That felt like someone pulled it out of my hands.”

Maria simply smiled and with the way Olivia’s eyes fell to her hands, she knew that they were lighting up. They did that when she was happy, excited or angry.

“When did you start learning to use them?”

“Around five or so.”

“Wow. You were so young.”

“Yeah, actually, we learn young.” She paused, thinking. “It’s just like eating. Your parents feed you until you’re old enough to do it by yourself, then you start doing it yourself.” Then she remembered something she’d always wanted to ask her. “You’re a demoness, right Olivia?”

“I am.”

“Then why don’t you have horns?” Shit. That was so insensitive. What if it was a condition that made her not to have horns? Hastily, Maria added, “You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.”

The woman shook her head, stood up and resumed wiping the dresser. “Don’t worry, it’s fine.” Then she proceeded to explain. “There are two types of demons; the horned demons and the hornless demons.”

“Oh,” Maria breathed.

“Yes. I’m part of the hornless demons.”

For a while now, Maria had been wondering what Elizabeth, Bran’s lover, was and then she’d met Olivia and the woman didn’t have horns too. She’d been confused, wondering whether they were actually part of the demons or other creatures of the lore, but now she knew.

A knock on the door disrupted Maria’s thoughts and she didn’t even have it in her to act surprised when the same guard who had taken her to the living room that day-the guard stationed outside her room-poked his head in and told her that Corey was asking for her.

She’d been waiting for them to ask for her. As long as the oracle had told them to, they were going to do it.

She’d known it was only a matter of time and from how hasty they were being, they had to be very desperate.

“I’ll finish and leave soon,” Olivia told Maria as she made her way to the door.

Maria smiled at her. “Of course.” When she walked past the guard, she said, “Pretty sure I’m your favourite person in this entire house. Next time you’re coming for me, you’d better come bearing gifts.”

The man’s eyes widened in shock and he blinked, at a loss for words.

It was when Maria was entering the living room and the man was closing the door for her, that she realized that he was smiling.

The first thing she noticed when she entered the room was the absence of the bed. They’d probably brought it in here because of Bran and now that he was fine, they’d taken it away.

Next thing she noticed was Bran sitting on a sofa, one hand extended along the back of it and the other, resting on the arm of the chair. He had his eyes fixed on her, staring intently with those forest green eyes.

He didn’t look away as she closed the door and his gaze still didn’t shift when she took several steps into the room. It was like he wanted to see into her soul and the more he looked at her, the more she felt like he could.

Like he could see past her bravado and see the loneliness she felt deep inside. Like he could see how much she wanted him, how much she needed him. Like he could see how terribly she missed him…

No.

She was not going to give him that power. She was not going to give him the power to hurt her anymore.

If she had it, then he didn’t and that meant he would not be able to hurt her.