I am Twelve - Captive of the Vampire Prince

Chapter 18 - Monsters

#musicvibe - Only human, Joakim Lundell, Sophie Elise

*

Valeria POV

I sat down on a boulder in the middle of the forest, tears falling freely while I stared blankly into nothing. My feelings were working up a storm inside of me until I felt overwhelmed.

When I accepted Tyson’s mark I knew that it wasn’t going to be easy taking up the ruling of a kingdom I knew nothing about.

I never thought that it would be this hard.

Lizette’s actions brought out the worst in me somehow, and all the feelings of loneliness, self-hate and shame just welled up inside me.

I looked up when I heard footsteps coming closer and I smelled Evelyn walking up to me.

“You must think that I’m a monster.” I mumbled and drew my fingers through my hair. “I’m sorry that I scared you.”

Evelyn shook her head as she stepped closer.

“I don’t think you are a monster.” She said. “I haven’t known you for too long, but I’ve noticed that you usually have a really good reason for the things you do.”

I sighed.

“To answer your question you asked me earlier: No, I didn’t choose you as my assistant so that you could carry my baby. I would never force someone to become pregnant.” I said softly. “If you feel like you can’t trust me and you want an out, I understand.”

Evelyn got on her knees in front of me and took my hands. I saw that she was crying and frowned.

“I’m sorry that I doubted you.” She sniffled. “It all sounds so stupid. I know you’d never do that, and I can’t believe that I listened to her.”

“I’m sorry I caused a scene like that.” I replied and gestured in the direction of the castle. “It just struck a nerve with me, and it’s not the first thing Lizette’s tried to pull. I just lost my temper.”

Evelyn shrugged.

“She had it coming.” She replied. “Talking like that about her queen was really out of line. But maybe you should go talk to your mate. I think he’s worried about you. He thinks that you’re angry with him.”

The feeling of Tyson’s arms around me actually sounded really nice, and I needed to apologize to him for my outburst. I wasn’t very queen-like, and I was painfully aware of that.

“I’m not angry with him.” I smiled and got to my feet before helping her up too. “Let’s go back to the castle.”

Something moved in the corner of my eye and I turned my head just in time to see dark figures appear among the trees. An unfamiliar scent reached my nose and I instinctively pulled Evelyn behind me when four men stopped a few feet away. Their eyes were red and their canines were longer and sharper than humans’.

“Dear Goddess.” Evelyn whispered. “They’re vampires.”

I racked my brain for a moment, trying to remember what Fiona had told me about Lycan’s relationship with vampires, but from what I could gather, their presence here wasn’t a good thing.

“Go back to the castle.” I ordered her.

“What about you?” She asked.

“I’ll hold them off.” I replied. “Now go!”

Evelyn turned on her heel and started running back to the castle while I activated the quantum field, making my combat suit appear on my body.

“What do you want?” I asked.

“You.” One of them replied.

I flinched when he was suddenly behind me and grabbed a harsh hold of my hair while another grabbed my arm. I was caught off guard by how fast they were and I activated a force field that pushed them both away from me. They landed on the ground and got up easily.

I tried to open the mindlink just as they charged at me again, and I pushed three of them away again just as the fourth one knocked me to the ground. My head spun and I felt someone grab my hair again. They were so fast, I barely registered their movements, and it made it harder for me to use my powers against them.

I pressed harder on the mindlink while I tried to twist around and kick the vampire that was standing over me, but I cried out in pain when a sharp pain pierced my leg and I realized that one of the vampires had bitten down on my calf.

“Are you okay, Darling?” I heard Tyson’s voice in my head.

“We’re under attack!” I yelled. “Four vampires in the forest.”

I built up some pressure and made another force field blast all the vampires off of me. I growled angrily when the vampire holding my hair refused to let go, almost tearing the hair from my scalp. Fortunately he did, but I still wasn’t sure if the harsh treatment had left a bald spot.

Instead I hurriedly got to my feet and shifted into my wolf, hoping that I could hold them off better in my wolf form. My leg still stung from the bite, and even though I had shifted, I couldn’t feel the wound closing up as fast as it was supposed to. Lycans had fast healing, and it was only a small bite.

But I didn’t have time to think about it. The vampires attacked again, and I pounced on one of them, hoping that I could take him out.

Willow bit down on his arm, shaking her head furiously while the vampire screamed out in pain. She was just about to rip it off when someone landed on my back and I felt a vampire wrap his arms around my neck.

They were really coordinated, and knew exactly what my weak spots were. They struck me very methodically, and I realized they had practiced this for quite some time.

Willow stumbled when hands grabbed her hind legs, making her lose her balance and we landed on the ground. I tried to push up more force fields to get them off, but they were so fast that there wasn’t enough time for me to get one up before they were all over me again.

Suddenly, I heard the thunder of paws approaching, and I looked up to see Dax tear into one of the vampires, followed by Kayden’s wolf and five other warriors. With the strengthened numbers, I shifted back and easily managed to telepathically tie their hands and feet together before stringing them up in the air so that they soared above the ground in invisible ropes.

Tyson shifted back and rushed up to me where I was laying on the ground. Thanks to his own quantum field, his clothes melted back on him the second he turned human again.

“Valeria!” He called out and fell to his knees next to me. “Are you okay?”

I nodded.

“I think so.” I said.

Tyson pulled me to his chest and I relaxed when his scent filled my nostrils.

I hissed in pain and deactivated the quantum field, making the maxi skirt and shirt I was wearing come back and I lifted the skirt to see a fresh bite mark on my calf.

“Is that poisonous or something?” I asked.

Tyson shook his head.

“The venom makes the healing rate slow down.” He explained. “You’ll be fine, but it takes some time for it to heal.”

“Okay.” I said and he helped me to my feet. “Let’s get them back to the castle.”

I directed the powers holding the vampires suspended towards the castle just as a chocolate brown wolf came running with Evelyn on its back. When they reached us. Evelyn slid off the wolf’s back while it shifted back to reveal a worried Garrett.

“What happened?” He asked. “Evelyn said that you were attacked by vampires in the forest.”

“That’s what I want to know.” I replied and frowned at the vampires that attacked me.

Evelyn rushed over to me and hugged me tightly.

“Are you okay?” She asked.

“I’m fine.” I replied. “Just a little bite mark.”

“Set up some cells for them.” Tyson ordered the warriors. “Let’s get some answers.”