The King's Bite

Prologue

The air was rife with excitement. Her parents had held back no expense for the 'informal’ gathering to celebrate their youngest daughter's engagement. Said daughter was currently seated at a small table by herself. The castle’s back gardens were littered with everyone from airheaded socialites to foreign dignitaries. Not a single one of them actually cared about Allegra and the feeling was mutual. She had grown tired of trying to maintain a veneer of happiness in front of the masses, which is why she was seeking solitude by nursing an overflowing glass of wine in a silent area. She knew it would not last. Sooner or later her mother would grow bored of the attention she always sought and hunt her down to berate her for hiding away from the 'modest’ garden party meant to be in her honour. The sound of shuffling grass told her that time had come, so she plastered another one of her patented bright, fake smiles before turning to greet the intruder.

“Where have you been? I've been looking everywhere for you!”

Allegra’s smile relaxed into something much more real when she saw her best friend, Cilla approaching cautiously. She never had to pretend with her.

“What do you think I'm doing? Laying low before the hounds of hell are set after me,” Allegra joked with a genuine laugh. That was their nickname for her mother's aides. There was never any use remembering their names with how often they were replaced.

Cilla huffed unappreciatively as she slumped down on the table in front of her. “Well, could you give me a heads up next time? Venera’s been on my ass for an hour now! What are you thinking leaving your fiancé with your mother for longer than the blink of an eye? He’ll take off running for the hills any minute now.”

“Oh, do me a favour. That would solve all my problems right now. Besides, I have it on good authority that she's known him for a lot longer than I have. Then again that probably isn't saying much, considering I’ve only known the man for two hours and one of those hours has been spent hiding from him.”

“So you’re really going through with it then, huh?” Cilla asked in the same tone she had been using to try to get her to leave the country for the past fortnight.

“I'm afraid so,” Allegra said wearily.

She knew very well where her best friend stood on the matter, but it was pointless. She could not explain it to Cilla because she was deliberately keeping her blissfully unaware of the entire truth. Not every human knew of the existence of vampires, werewolves or witches. When she was younger, Allegra was honoured to be one of the privileged few who knew about them. Now that she knew just how much they had to do with her family's position, however, that awe had quickly grown into resentment. Her family were essentially mere pawns of the Vampiric Royal Family and had been for centuries. One snap of the Vampire King’s fingers and her family’s entire legacy would come crumbling down. They kept the front going so the rest of the human population stayed in the dark about who was truly in control. It was a mutually beneficial exchange and it was all she had ever known. The part about them having to produce a bride was news to her, however. There had never been any love lost between Allegra and her family, but she could not see herself being the reason they were all wiped out of existence. Still, the temptation remained. Especially the more her best friend reminded her of all the plans they had that she would have to put a stop to.

“It doesn't have to mean anything,” Cilla said optimistically. “You can still go to grad school even after you’re married. You wouldn't be the first.”

It was times like these that she wished she could tell the other woman the truth. Then maybe she could stop torturing her with visions of a life that was never meant to be.

“Are you really still going on about that? Stop feeding her these delusions, Cilla.”

The voice was very familiar and Allegra felt her mood dip even further. Her older sister Elanora stepped out of the shadows dramatically and it was enough to make her wonder how long she had been standing there. The tension that surrounded them could be cut with a knife. Even the normally rambunctious Cilla had tensed in silence. Elanora was the perfect copy of their parents. She held herself apart from everyone else around her with an air that said she was better than you. Maddening as it was, no one had ever told the Duchess that it was not true. No one would dare. Allegra shuddered to think how much worse she would be in middle age. Their mother would not even be able to compete.

“Can I help you, Nora?” she asked sweetly, knowing how much she hated informality of any kind.

Elanora scowled, but ignored the purposeful dig as she reached her younger sister and started straightening non-existent wrinkles from her dress and fluffing up already perfectly coiled hair. “I'm looking out for you because your little friend here seems determined to lead to astray,” she said condescendingly as she pushed away protesting fingers.

“I'm not leading her astray!” Cilla protested. “I’m just empathetic enough to listen to her when she tells me what she wants. Can you say the same?”

Elanora simply blinked slowly before dismissing her wordlessly to turn back to her younger sister. “We all have royal duties to perform. This one just happens to be yours. Your little friend here would not understand.”

Allegra saw Cilla’s green eyes flash in indignation and tried to stop the redhead before she could say anything with a sharp glance, which was promptly ignored.

“Oh, yes. That's fair. While the rest of you get to sit on your asses all day for the rest of your lives, the only decent one out of you gets pimped out to the highest bidder. Beyond fair.”

Elanora sniffed haughtily. “I told you you shouldn’t have invited her,” she muttered to her younger sister who settled for a wry twist of her lips.

“She needed at least one face around that doesn’t drive her to the brink of committing m*********r,” Cilla returned smartly.

“Will you please just go?” Allegra finally spoke up when she sensed their heated exchange was over. “I'll be back in a moment. I just need to get my bearings back together before I return.”

A chiding look replaced Elanora’s signature glare. “I wasn’t born yesterday. This is not the first time you've tried to pull this. I'm staying right here, thank you very much.”

“Fine,” Allegra snapped. “Just sit down. That hat you’re wearing is like a homing beacon and if mother sees it she’ll – oh speak of the devil.”

Their mother had indeed caught sight of Elanora’s figure and was currently making her way towards them with a cool smile on her face. She greeted everyone in her wake with a dignity befitting one of her title. Only those who had known her that their entire lives could tell how angry she really was. Fortunately, all three of them were among that number and had a chance to prepare themselves for her familiar private-in-public verbal lashings.

“What are you still doing here?” Princess Venera hissed sharply as soon as she was in hearing distance. She cut her eyes to glare at Cilla, who remained unbothered after a lifetime of being on its receiving end along with her daughter. “The only reason I agreed to having you here tonight is because you agreed you would keep her in check.”

“There's only so much I can do,” Cilla said without any real feeling. “She snuck away when I was in the ladies’ room.”

Allegra stared at her mother with an innocent expression on her face. She had always responded far more to positive emotional reinforcement, and the Princess had never been a very warm person. Naturally, this meant mother and daughter never got along. She wordlessly pulled the younger woman up and unknowingly began to mimic the same actions Elanora did shortly before. This time Allegra suffered the attempt to perfect her already tidy appearance in silence while her best friend tried and failed to muffle her laughter behind her palm.

“I told you, mother.” came Elanora’s voice. “They were in cahoots the whole time.”

“Yes I suppose you’re right. I'm just more of an optimist than you are,” conceded the Princess as she moved on to Allegra’s hair. “I shall endeavour to take your words into consideration more from now on.”

Cilla was still trying to control her laughter at the thought of Princess Venera seeing herself as an optimist. Only her best friend’s narrowed eyes cut it short just in time to see her mother turn an accusatory eye on her. “And you, Cilla Duval! Don't think I won't be informing your mother of your atrocious behaviour tonight.”

Neither of the two young women were worried. Mrs Duval already knew how prone to dramatics the Princess was, so her complaints usually fell on deaf ears. Still, if she knew that her worst punishment had no effect at all, she would probably become more creative. Cilla made sure to sell her performance so she looked both contrite and worried. Allegra rolled her eyes when she saw how pleased her mother and sister looked at the thought of pulling one over on her redheaded friend. She had no time to do any more before her arm was gripped on both sides and she was led back towards the throng of people.

“We must hurry,” her mother said urgently as they drew closer. “The King is expected to make an appearance.”

“What? Oh, Mother. You know he's not going to show up. Why do you continue to get your hopes up?” Allegra tutted. The King in question was her father's eldest brother. He was notoriously reclusive and very rarely left the palace at all. Even she, his niece, could probably count the number of times she had ever seen him.

“He'll be here,” the Princess insisted. “There is no way he would ever miss this.”

“He didn't even show up to Elanora’s wedding!” Allegra reasoned. “What makes you think a pre-engagement party would cause even a blip on his radar?”

Elanora scowled at that, but was prevented from saying any more by Cilla catching up with them. Their mother made a swift gesture and suddenly her sister moved to take her best friend's arm in order to lead her away from them. This conversation was not for her ears.

“That was different. You’re about to become bonded to Prince Niklaus Archaki. Your first born son will be King Vladislav’s heir and will eventually surpass even King Emir in status. This is an honour he cannot overlook and his absence would be a slap in the vampires' faces,” her mother said. She had a look of manic greed about her that took over her face every time she thought of the possibility of gaining more power.

“That's just it. No one truly important is here,” she argued. “You’re lucky Prince Niklaus showed up at all. This whole thing is just an excuse to show off to your other snobby friends, even though half of them have no idea what they're truly facing. The official engagement is yet to come and we both know they'd rather take a walk in the bright sun than allow our side to host it. For us it's just another member of the royal family getting married, but for them it’s the continuation of a bloodline. It means far more to them. King Emir knows this, too. That's why he won't be coming.”

Allegra made sure to paste her artificial smile on her face before she stalked away from her mother. She made enough headway into the crowded garden before she was accosted by the first well-wisher. She stifled a sigh and began to settle into the first in a long line of meaningless conversations.

***

The last place Prince Niklaus Archaki wanted to be on a Friday night was in some human residential area. Granted, this was much nicer than most homes and it was not a random human being, but his future bond mate; the fact still remained he did not want to be there. On the spectrum of vampire and human relations, he lay smack dab in the middle: Niklaus was a friendly guy. The same could be said about witches, fae, werewolves and virtually every living entity. He was beginning to regret that side of himself. It was because of his own open and accepting nature that his brother had decided to place him in charge of begetting an heir for the family. His youth flashed before his eyes. He was not ready to have a wife or a child. He was only five hundred years old, damn it! There was plenty of time.

He carefully snuck away from the elegant garden setting, flashing a charismatic smile as he went, seeking a private room to call his brother. Vladislav abhorred modern technology, but even he knew better than to shun it completely. Niklaus dialled his number as soon as he found an empty office and shut the door behind him. It seemed to be ringing forever before –

“Aren't you supposed to be busy getting to know your future family?” asked the King. He could never just say hello.

“I am. Or I was. I don't know. There's a f*****g party here!” Niklaus exclaimed.

“A party?” Vladislav repeated, obviously unconcerned.

“I was told I’d be here to have dinner with the Piras family only to be flung head first into some kind of tightly laced, formal garden party with a hundred humans all clamouring for my attention. What the hell is going on?”

Vladislav hummed in amusement. “Should I not be asking you that question? You’re the one who spends almost every waking hour with those ... people.” He could barely keep the disdain he felt for humans hidden. “You should know them better than I do, but it seems like you have been successfully tricked.”

“Firstly, not every human is manipulative as Venera Piras. Secondly, this is not normally the kind of place I spend time in when I do find myself among them.”

“Oh, of course. You're not at home unless you're in a strip club, a biker bar or a damned music festival, is that right? Need I remind you that this is not supposed to be fun?” Vladislav snarled before audibly taking a breath to calm himself. “Are you at least getting along with the girl?”

“Who?” asked Niklaus, having completely phased away from the conversation.

“The girl that is to be your bond mate.”

“Oh. Her name's Allegra. She's alright, I suppose. Pretty.”

And she was. Very pretty, but then again so were Tia, Casey, Lori, Elsie, Kendra and a whole slew of women he was currently rotating. In fact they were even more appealing because they did not come attached to a clause demanding for a suckling brat. They also had personality! The little he had seen of his future wife pretty much guaranteed that the girl was dead inside.

“Who cares if she's pretty?” the King snapped. “Are you compatible?”

“Honestly? No. We are the furthest thing from compatible, but why even pretend to care? If you gave a damn, you wouldn't be saddling me with a level of responsibility that not even you're willing to take on,” Niklaus spat bitterly.

“Oh, not this s**t again. Your life does not have to change. Besides, it's not the same. You actually enjoy having dalliances with humans. What could one more hurt?

“If you want a kid so badly, then why don’t I just knock her up and you can take it? Problem solved.”

“You know very well how dark the magic used in the binding between our families was. A bond must be formed.” There was a note of finality in his words.

Niklaus sighed in defeat. I just wish it didn't have to be them.”

The laugh Vladislav gave was cold enough to freeze lava. “Believe me, I say that every time I have to deal with that fool Emir. If that's all?”

“Yes, that’s –” He had already cut the line. No goodbye as usual. “– all.”

The vampire Prince stared forlornly at his dark screen for a moment before he heard it. The sound of heavy breathing. He had been so focussed on his brother that his extremely sensitive hearing had tuned out. His grey eyes flashed red in anger at the thought of someone having eavesdropped on such a private moment. He located its source in the blink of an eye and swung the door open with extreme, unnecessary force. The small body that had been leaning on the heavy wood stumbled when it suddenly disappeared from in front of her. He scrunched up his face when he saw none other than his future bond mate blinking up at him owlishly. They silently stared at each other. Only when he felt the red of his eyes bleed into their calmer grey did she rush into the room and close the door behind her. Niklaus was unsure of how to proceed until he saw her set the glass tumbler she had been using to listen closely on one of the tables.

“What are you crazy?” he hissed. “You can't go around eavesdropping on vampires. Do you have a death wish?”

He saw her own eyes flash in anger and felt his annoyance morph into curiosity. The young woman he had met earlier only had one mood: calm acceptance. Now he saw the front she put up in front of everyone.

“That isn't important right now. I had no idea that you – well, that you were also being coerced into this.” Allegra said nervously.

Niklaus snorted. “It isn't like I was overcome with the need to be with you, I assure you.”

“I know that!” she said a tad testily. “I just assumed you were more in tune with your duty than I was. Now that I know the truth, though ...”

The vampire raised his eyebrows questioningly.

“Now that I know the truth, we can help each other out. We can get out of this thing,” she whispered desperately.

“There's no way to get out of this,” he told her simply.

“But you just –”

“I tried to talk my brother out of it, but he won't budge. The responsibility lies on either one of us. Female vampires cannot conceive, so my sister is not an option. He's the king and the King has spoken.”

“You can't just –”

“I can and I have. There's nothing you can do about this. Greater minds than you have tried and failed,” Niklaus said with a derisive little smile. “Let's go. Your mother went to all this trouble to show us off, so we better go give them a show.”

Allegra stared at his receding back for a moment before following him stonily. It was her fault, she knew. For one small moment she had actually allowed herself to hope.