Vampire King's Hidden Bride

CHAPTER 8 Make Him Bleed

Vladimir didn't know why he was following the witch like a slave.

After their verbal encounter a few moments ago the witch had started acting as if he wasn't even there which had started to bother Vladimir more than it should.

"You are one strange woman." Vladimir remarked loudly but still got no response from her. He felt like a noisy child who was trying hard to get noticed in a gathering full of adults.

What an utter disgrace! How far had the Vampire King fallen?

Vladimir was a man of a few words and he preferred people who kept their mouth shut around him yet as Vladimir walked behind the witch he realized that he liked her sassy attitude more than her being silent as a monk.

Her silence bothered him. . .

'Get up and follow me. We are already running low on time.' Was the last command the witch had uttered before she had started walking towards the south.

Vladimir was very much aware that if the witch continued to brush him off like this then there was no chance in hell that he could drink her dry without her using her magic on him and probably knocking him out again or worse.

The witch's death equaled his freedom. And freedom came with patience. He had to tolerate this little creature that barely reached his chin until he got the right moment to deliver his blow.

Patience was the key to Freedom.

Vladimir had a charismatic persona. His preys were attracted to him like moths were attracted to a flame. Even if ignoring the fools around him was what Vladimir did most of the time that fact didn't stop the fools to flock around him to kiss his arse.

The Vampire King was a loner. He had always felt irritated by anyone's company yet right here he was trying to catch the attention of this witch who was acting as if he was a noisy bastard bothering her not the King she had abducted without his consent. The last time he checked men's consent mattered as much as women's consent. 'This ancient witch might need to upgrade her moral values.' He thought with a snort.

Vladimir hated the way the witch made him feel inferior to her.

There had to be a reason behind this witch ignoring his charms. The last time he checked his grin was enough for ladies to throw their panties at him. Maybe there was something on his teeth. Vladimir rubbed his tongue at his front teeth only to realize that he hadn't got any blood on his teeth that this witch might find repulsive.

He was starting to feel restless.

Why didn't this female give in to his charms?

Was he losing his charisma too along with his fearsome reputation that had taken him so much bloodshed and slaughtering his enemies in his signature style to accomplish?

A sudden random thought occurred to him. . .

That was it! That had to be the only reason why the witch had been so cold to him.

Why hadn't he thought about this before. .?

'Vladimir you are an irresistible genius.' He praised himself in his mind.

After keeping the thought in for almost three awfully long minutes Vladimir couldn't hold it in anymore. "Are you into women?" He blurted and watched as the witch's shoulders stiffened and her steps slowed at his statement.

Maybe she wasn't comfortable with her sexuality so he tried to assure her a little. "You don't have to be shy to admit it. I may be old but I'm not one of the conservative or judgemental types. There are many fractions in the supernatural world where a relationship between the same gender is frowned upon but not under my rule. So don't be wary to admit it." At this point, she had stopped walking.

He waited a few beats giving her time to compile her thoughts before he continued. "You have to be a lesbian because that can be the only reason you don't seem to fear my devilish charms." The witch looked back, her eyes were widened in disbelief making Vladimir think that maybe she didn't expect him to find her secret.

The Vampire King grinned, seeming a little too proud of his logic as the witch turned around and faced him fully.

He licked his fangs in anticipation and giddy. Surprisingly, her being a lesbian didn't bother him and it wasn't going to stop him from having a taste of her. He might not be conservative or judgemental but he was indeed a shameless bastard.

Esmeray breathed through her nose, trying to calm herself. The nerve of this bastard! She reminded herself that kicking the Vampire's balls will be an immature move and wasn't going to be beneficial for her in any way besides the momentary satisfaction. But Dear God! She was too tempted.

What type of narcissist bastard he was?

Esmeray wasn't going to lie she was attracted to him maybe a little but his narcissistic attitude was a complete turn-off for her. Esmeray didn't like smug and narcissistic men and Vladimir seemed to be their commander.

The witch was standing there staring at Vladimir, making him feel as if he was an insect under her microscope. She still hadn't given him any response which made him frown. It was the first time someone was ignoring him and her judging stare had kind of started to bother him at this point.

Usually, it was Vladimir who ignored others not the other way around. This was the first time he was getting a cold shoulder from someone and he wasn't ashamed to admit that it was bruising his ego.

The witch was no longer dressed in that forbidden red dress she had worn at the Ball. Her short hair was tied in a high ponytail. She was wearing a loose neon-colored fine linen shirt that shined a little bit under the moonlight and over it, she was wearing a black tiny corset around her narrow waist paired with blue denim jeans shorts. Her pale long legs were bare.

She completely looked like a different person from the elegant female Vladimir had danced with at the Ballroom.

Vladimir's gaze flickered to her ankle boots. The woman indeed had an aura of a badass wicked female that could even spark flames in his cold heart.

Vladimir was a predator who worshiped strength.

The witch was a worthy opponent and the fact thrilled Vladimir. It had been such a long time since the last time he found pleasure in something.

Her face was still covered with a veil made of gold chains. This time Vladimir made a mental note to remove that little mask at the first chance he got.

His consciousness was dying to know the woman behind the mask.

'Maybe he should uncover her face before embedding his fangs in her neck.' Vladimir stiffened a groan at his thought.

Something inside Vladimir stirred. He wanted to know what was concealed behind those gold chains.

When the witch turned and started walking towards the south again dismissing him completely Vladimir's fists clenched. Even his patience had a limit and the witch was close to making him snap.

Instead of following her, Vladimir leaned against a tree. He wasn't her slave if she wanted him to follow her then she better start giving him the respect he deserved. He was a King, not any random guy.

"You must be feeling really smug after being the first person in over a millennium who landed a successful blow on me. You must--" Vladimir didn't get to complete his sentence, his breath hitched in his throat when the witch turned around and threw a dagger at him at a lightning speed, catching him completely off guard. The dagger nicked his ear as it got embedded in the bark of the tree he was leaning against.

There was a good distance of ten feet between them. . .

A tremor ran through his whole body as he touched his bleeding ear with his hands. He gazed from the blood on his hands towards the witch in amazement.

The witch was skilled in the art of throwing knives.

What a feisty little thing she was. . .

She was as fast as a Fey. Witches weren't that fast at least not the witches Vladimir had encountered over the past two decades. This witch had to be older or maybe ancient to be this strong and fast.

It was rumored that witches wielded power with age. . . How old was this one?

She gazed at him and suddenly his heart rate skyrocketed. The witch made his cold heart flutter by her scornful glare.

Who would have thought that the Vampire King's cold heart desired the scornful glares of a particular witch. . .

"Open your mouth and the next one will pierce your heart. And this is the first and last time I'm warning you. Stop being an annoying attention-seeking bitch." Vladimir groaned at her threat.

Over the centuries he had heard countless threats but he never had a hard-on as the aftermath. Vladimir tried to adjust his hard member with his bound hands. This wasn't an ideal situation to have a boner.

Any sane man in his position would have planned to get away from the witch instead of desiring her but Vladimir never claimed to be a sane man.

The curiosity of knowing the woman behind the mask had started killing him. He was more focused and determined on getting close to the witch than getting away from her. There was something about this female that excited the animal living in his soul. Her feisty attitude made him feel alive not just a shell of a person he had been from the past two decades.

“I knew you like me." Vladimir grinned, showing off his sharp fangs as if Esmeray had thrown a red rose at him, not a dagger.

Esmeray took a deep breath to calm her nerves. She felt like screaming in frustration or worse cry in annoyance. Esmeray had used every little trick to make this annoying King fear for his life but it seemed like her threats were falling on deaf ears. It seemed like the Vampire didn't care for his life.

'Maeve what had you gotten me into?' Esmeray resisted the urge to groan.

“In which part of me throwing a dagger at you, gave you an impression that I like you?” Esmeray asked trying her best to keep the annoyance out of her voice.

“I knew from the moment you abducted me from the ball that you had hots for me.” When she gave him a confused look he continued. ”It is known that when a witch wants a man she offers him a blade as a gift just like you did but in a little sassy way.” Esmeray smiled grimly. The Vampire knew more about witches than Esmeray. Maybe she won't have been this clueless if she wasn't banished by her own kind at the age of twelve.

The Vampire King was close to scraping old wounds that still hadn't healed completely. . .

“I have a collection of jars filled with little d***s and you are about to make an unwilling donation if you didn’t shut that royal mouth of yours.” Esmeray released a low growl from her throat that would have anyone another man in his position shaking in fear but to Vladimir, she seemed like an adorable angry kitten.

Wait! Did he just regard her as adorable? Vladimir frowned in confusion. This was new.

For some odd reason, Vladimir couldn't keep his customary soulless persona in front of this witch. She pulled out a side of him that he didn't even know existed.

A youthful and bashful side of him.

Every time he looked at her he felt a stirring in his chest. . .

The King of Vampires followed the weird witch. He had no idea why he was following her commands again. It was just that his conscience told him to go with the flow or maybe he was just bored and wanted to see where this weird witch was going to take him.

Vladimir's lips curved in a smile as he rubbed his tongue over his left fang when the tricky witch tugged at the mystical rope she had tied his hands with while holding the other end in her hand. She was treating him like a cattle on a leash.

He suppressed a shudder as a sudden image of the witch tied to his bed withering in pleasure flashed in his mind. The urge to embed his fangs in the witch’s neck overwhelmed him.

‘Was he going to taste the spice in her blood that she got in her attitude?’ Vladimir wondered as his mouth watered.

"At least tell me your name." He asked in a throaty tone as he tried to distract himself from the ache in his fangs and private parts.

"Do you think you are worthy enough to know a witch's name?" Turing her head back she asked him sarcastically with an arched brow.

“If you don't want to tell me your name then don't but at least feed your prisoner or are you planning to starve me?” Vladimir teased eyeing her neck yet again.

”I’m sure your next captivators will be more than happy to babysit you.” Vladimir's lips thinned at her words. In a blink, his playfulness evaporated in thin air. Was she going to hand him to someone else?

Suddenly he remembered her words from the Ballroom. 'I want to hand a bastard over to someone.' And then he recalled how he had called himself a bastard.

Vladimir winced in embarrassment.

The witch had some guts~

Vladimir's allies will laugh if they knew that the strongest Vampire was tricked and threatened by a witch.

Fuck! She had bested him.

Suddenly Vladimir bumped into the witch which earned him a nasty glare from her. He was so engrossed in his thoughts that he didn’t realize when she had stopped walking.

Before he could question her his gaze caught a ring with a little crystal ball on her finger. The crystal had started to turn green. It might be a way to navigate through the forest for her. So she wasn't good with navigation. A tick in her armor.

An advantage Vladimir might have over her.

One minute he was watching her ring and the next minute he saw a black hole opening up beneath her feet and the witch got swallowed by the ground.

Wait not the ground!

It was a portal. The witch hand mistakenly stepped on a hidden portal. Vladimir just stood there like a fool not knowing what to do.

Fan-f*****g-tastic!

He was free yet still bound. The witch was gone and now Vladimir was left behind with his hands bound and luck f****d.

He was free of the witch yet he was vulnerable to the next threat he was going to encounter in the forest. The last time he was in this forest to search for the damn Oracle who had taken his bride from him Vladimir had barely got out alive.

He shuddered at the horrors he had witnessed in the dimensions he had mistakenly entered through a couple of hidden portals.

Fuck! He was doomed!

Looking at the Moon Vladimir screamed in rage as he wished that he hadn't attended the stupid ball. He wasn't sure if he could make it alive out of here but he was sure that the Vampire Council was going to bleed once he got back to his castle. The idiots were supposed to lighten his burdens not add more weight to them.

Guess it was finally time to get rid of them. . .