The Vampire's Chosen Bride

Chapter 7

Prince Joshua always visited his company when it was not too bright anymore outside. He always changed himself into a bat first, flew to a tree in the garden, right behind the company, and then transformed himself into a human form without anyone seeing him. 

When Prince Joshua changed himself to a bat, he could stand the sunshine. As the royal prince, even when he didn’t shape-shift into a bat either, the sunlight didn’t hurt him a lot. But it required him to get a lot of rest afterward. 

It was Monday at 4 p.m. in Vulcan Company when Prince Joshua, aka Josh Jefferson, read the financial report provided by Mike Hamilton, his assistant and right-hand man. Mike had followed Josh for twenty years, more than half of his age. How they met for the first time was like a story-tale for children. Mike was fifteen years old at that time, a skinny boy who roamed the street, who did anything he could to survive, including pick-pocketing. 

When Mike was walking at Vulcan Street, he saw Josh from afar. Anyone who saw Josh would agree that he oozed wealth. From Josh’s appearance—sharp and strong jaw, fancy clothes, and elegant movement—he was exactly a billionaire everyone would approve of. So Mike approached Josh and picked his wallet. But unfortunately, Josh caught Mike’s hand and dragged him inside his office. 

At that time, Mike thought he would go to jail. But Josh stared at him for a few seconds and asked if he wanted to work with him. Afterward, all was history. The moment Mike worked for Josh, he knew that he would give his life to serve Josh.  

After five years working for Josh, Mike asked why Josh offered him a job instead of throwing him to jail. Josh’s lips twitched, then smiled. He said that Mike could be a good use for him. Maybe it was an excellent personal assessment, intuition, gut feeling, or anything, but it was proved accurate. For twenty years working for Josh, Mike proved himself every day and paid for the life-changing chance Josh gave him. 

Five years ago, Mike saw Josh change himself into a human from a bat. He didn’t expect it at all, but Mike knew that it changed nothing. He respected Josh as his boss and his mentor; regardless, he was not a human. From five years ago, the dynamic relationship between Josh and Mike changed to more like a friendship. 

Josh closed the ledger and stared at Mike. “Good work, as usual, Mike.” 

Mike grinned. “Thanks, boss.” He stared at Josh for a while, then asked, “Uhm, I know it’s not my business, but you seem different, Josh.”

Josh sighed. “Well, I have trouble I must handle in my place. For months, I still have not solved it yet.”

“Is there anything I can help you with?”

Josh stared at Mike for a while but then shook his head. “I don’t think so.”

“Okay, boss. If you need my help, just let me know. I’ll do anything.” 

Josh nodded. “I know.”

Then Mike stood. “Josh, I’m starving. I’ll order food first.” He sighed. “I need some air. I’ll go to a restaurant by myself now. Do you want to order anything?”

Josh shook his head. “Just go, but don’t eat at the restaurant.”

“Yeah, I’ll be back soon.” Then Mike left. 

After driving to Upper Street and then straight to Green Road Ave, Mike parked his car in front of Delicious Meals. The restaurant was nearby Vulcan Company, and the meals were delicious. He walked inside and sat while a server came to his table. 

Mike ordered a combo barbeque. Since it was a combo, he could choose two meals. So Mike decided on ribs served with baked potato, and salad, also mac and cheese. He was waiting for fifteen minutes, and then the server came with two packages of meals. After paying, Mike drove back to his office. 

Mike placed the two packages on his table. Afterward, he opened the packages and grabbed a plate and cutlery. It was when Josh suddenly raised his head and walked towards him. 

Mike grinned. “The smells are making you droll, aren’t they?”

Josh wrinkled his forehead, then just a blink of an eye, he was beside Mike. Josh sniffed the food, then stared at Mike. After that, Josh started to trace Mike’s body and kept sniffing. Until finally, he turned Mike’s body. 

“Mike, where did you order the food?”

“It’s Delicious Meals at Green Road Ave. Why?”

Josh didn’t answer and directly changed himself into a bat in front of Mike. After that, he flew to Green Road Ave. The fragrance of the chosen bride’s blood was strong in Mike’s trousers. So Josh suspected that his future bride was at Delicious Meals. After arriving there, Josh flew to a giant tree across the street and changed himself to human form again. 

Josh then crossed the street and walked into Delicious Meals. The blood smell was more pungent than before. So Josh strolled from table to table until finally, he stopped at the table where Valerie, Jackie, and David ate two days ago. 

Josh sat there too and started sniffing. Finally, he found a speck of blood on the black couch, right on his side. Mike sat there before, so the blood aroma stuck on his trousers. 

A server then came and offered Josh a menu book. However, before Josh could choose anything, a woman came to his table. She signed the server to leave then smiled at Josh. 

“Hi there, I think I haven’t seen you before. What do you want to order, handsome?” Then Victoria winked at Josh. “Oh, I’m Victoria Brown, the restaurant’s owner. Nice to meet you.” 

“It is my first time here. So what can you suggest to me, Ms. Brown?” 

“Chef’s Specialty, you’ll love it to the fullest. If you love barbeque, you should order it.” Then she licked her lips with her tongue. “By the way, just call me Victoria.”

Victoria sat on the couch next to Josh, then winked her eyelashes at Josh. Victoria wore a low-neck V-neck blouse. When she leaned forward, anyone could see her cleavage and the top side of her chest, especially Josh. Yet Josh didn’t react at all. 

“Okay, I will order it.” Then Josh stared at Victoria. “So, how many servers are working here? Is there any waitress here?”

Victoria snapped her finger. Then the server who served Josh before walked to the table. 

“Chef’s Specialty,” Victoria said. “Dine in or take away?” she asked Josh.

“Take away, please,” Josh said.

The server wrote in the note, then nodded and walked away. 

Victoria folded her arms in front of her chest. “Why do you ask about the servers here?”

“Nothing. Just a polite conversation,” Josh said, but his glance was elsewhere. He wished his bride was working here, so he could find her soon. 

“If you want to poach our servers, you can forget it. They love working here.” But then Victoria grinned. “But if you want to find a date, I can go with you.” After that, Victoria placed her hand on Josh’s arm. Then she moved her fingers slowly across Josh’s arm. “Your arm’s strong. I like strong men.”

Josh threw a lazy smile toward Victoria. He held Victoria’s hand to make sure it didn’t roam elsewhere. “You haven’t answered my question yet. Is there any waitress here, Victoria?”

“Nope. I love men more than women. So no waitress to serve you.” 

The server approached. He carried Josh’s order. “Your Chef’s Specialty, sir.” Then he placed a bill on the table.

Josh picked his wallet, grabbed 30 dollars, then gave it to the server. “Take the change.”

The server nodded and smiled. Afterward, Josh picked his meal, nodded at Victoria, and stood. 

Victoria gave him a wry smile. “Please come again.” Then Victoria wrote something on the back of the bill on the table. She stood and then placed the bill into Josh’s pocket shirt and deliberately touched his chest. “If you need a date tonight, call me.” 

Josh didn’t say anything and walked toward the door. After being outside, he sighed. “Where are you, my bride?”

Somehow the wind blew, and then Josh sniffed her bride’s aroma. His heartbeat was racing now. He walked to the pavement and sat at the wooden bench there. Then Valerie, Jackie, and David walked out of the Book Lovers’ door. 

When Jackie saw Josh, she immediately threw her best smile, but Josh didn’t react. Instead, he concentrated on detecting which one between Jackie and Valerie is his bride. Valerie then saw Josh too, and she suddenly blushed when noticing how manly Josh was. 

David, who noticed how red Valerie’s cheeks, cleared his throat. “So, where will we go to eat now?” 

“How about the Sandwich and Coffee Cafe across the street?” Jackie asked. “You said their sandwich and coffee were good.”

Valerie kept staring at Josh while Josh also glanced at her. When Josh finally stood and walked toward her, David suddenly moved in front of Valerie and blocked Josh’s way. 

“Sorry,” David said, but he didn’t move away. 

David stared at Josh for a few seconds, but Josh ignored him. Instead, he kept staring at Valerie. At the same time, Valerie was now bending her head and staring at the pavement to avoid Josh’s sharp glance at her. 

Jackie, who finally noticed Josh’s fixed attention toward Valerie, poked Valerie’s waist and whispered, “The hunk seems like you. Why don’t you chat with him?”

Valerie raised her head to see Josh still stared at her, and then her cheeks were even redder now. She shook her head. “Let’s go to the cafe.”