Princess Fallen, page 19
part #1 of Vampire Princess Diaries One Series
I’m only half vampire, and despite my stepfather, no part of me is demon, thank God.
The demon advances on me once more, throws a punch, which I block, and then takes me down with a sweep I should have seen coming.
But my senses are all over the place. Around me, the battle rages, and I jump to my feet as quickly as I can, brandishing Dominic’s blade.
A vampire comes at me, his fangs elongated. He pushes the demon down and then snarls. “I wonder how royal blood tastes?”
“You’ll never know.”
Vampires don’t feed from each other—not for sustenance anyway. Our blood doesn’t have the minerals we require. But...
I’m only half vampire. And some vamps like to take blood from a sexual partner.
Still, he wouldn’t dare defile the king’s daughter...
Or would he?
The vampires see me as a traitor, after all.
He grabs me by the throat and lifts me off the ground. I gasp, trying to get my breath.
“Such a tender-looking neck...” He licks his lips.
I kick and punch, but he’s got me in a hold I can’t seem to break. Until—
I fall to the ground with a thud.
The vamp is entangled with an animal. Not just any animal.
A wolf.
My wolf.
It’s Rogan, and he’s tearing at the vampire’s flesh.
“No, Rogan!” I yell. “I’m all right!”
Still he tears at the vampire, and the vampire fights back, his teeth bared as he wields a blade not unlike the one I stole from Dominic.
In fact...
I check my boot... My blade is gone. I was holding it when the vampire lifted me. Damn it! I must have dropped it.
I stalk toward the mass of fur and teeth that is Rogan and the vampire, gripping my pistol. If I can get a good shot, I can take out the vamp without harming Rogan.
I take aim—
You will not, Hannah.
My father’s voice.
I look around. He’s not here.
You will not harm your own kind. Not for him.
Not for him? He’s my mate. He’s the man I love. He’s everything. My father is the one who led me to him!
“I only do what I must,” I say under my breath. “I am your daughter, after all.”
I take aim once more.
55
I shoot.
Though my bullet doesn’t harm the vamp—it ricochets off his armor as I knew it would—it does startle him enough so that Rogan is able to clamp his wolf jaw around his neck.
I wait…
I wait to hear the snap of the vampire’s neck…
But it doesn’t come. Rogan has more self-control than I ever gave him credit for. Rather than snapping the other’s neck in two, he simply holds steady, keeping the vamp immobile, his teeth scraping against his flesh.
I stuff the gun back in my waistband and take the chance to steal the vamp’s knife. It’s longer and more lethal than Dominic’s.
Nice.
“Rogan!” I yell.
He’s still, his teeth ever ready to plunge into the vampire’s neck.
“He didn’t hurt me, Rogan. Let him go.”
Only a growl from Rogan.
He didn’t hurt me because Rogan jumped between us.
Would he have harmed me? Hell, yeah. He was chiding me, threatening to take my royal blood.
To him, I’m a traitor.
But I’m still my father’s daughter, and my father…
Was he actually speaking to me? Telling me not to shoot this vampire? Or was it simply my imagination? My own blood telling me not to destroy my own kind?
I’ll never know.
“Please, Rogan…” I say.
Rogan finally loosens his jaw, takes his weight off the injured vamp.
“Go,” I tell the vamp.
“You fucking shot me, bitch.”
“And you lived, like I knew you would. My father wouldn’t send his men into battle without adequate protection. You and I both know that. But Rogan here? He would’ve killed you if I hadn’t intervened. So go tell your fucking king what happened here.”
He doesn’t reply.
And it dawns on me.
“He told you not to harm me, didn’t he?”
Again, no reply.
The battle rages around us, yet the three of us seem to be in some kind of protective bubble. Surely, I’m imagining it.
“You see me as a traitor,” I continue, “so you thought you’d have some fun at my expense, but you can’t harm me. Your king has forbidden it.”
Once more, nothing from the vampire.
So it’s true. And this man is bound to obey his king, just as I am. Our blood demands it.
Except now…
Now I’m bound to Rogan. No longer does my blood define my allegiance. Or perhaps it does, but in a wholly different way.
The vampire stands before me, towering above me, and still he says nothing.
“Go,” I tell him. “Go find my father. Tell him I need to talk to him.”
“He won’t talk to you.”
“He will, and you know it.”
Rogan stands next to me and growls.
The vampire turns and leaves.
Will he bring my father to me? I don’t know, and at the moment? I need to see to Rogan.
“Come,” I say to Rogan.
He can’t change here, in the middle of a battle zone. He’ll be completely naked and defenseless.
He walks with me back to the bunker.
And I understand.
I understand now that neither of us can fight in this war. Dominic was right. The pack needs Rogan, and Rogan needs me.
If I’m in danger, Rogan will stop at nothing to see that I’m protected.
Once safely in the bunker, Rogan changes, and I see him in his most natural state. Human in form, but still very much an animal. I inhale the crisp wolf scent—woods, bark, spice, musk.
And I can’t help myself.
I pull the pistol out of my waistband and set it down. Next the vamp’s knife out of my boot.
I’m unarmed but still clothed, and I stalk toward my wolf. Toward my lover.
I clamp my heeled boot over his neck.
It’s time to get the answers I need.
56
“What the hell are you doing, Hannah?” Rogan chokes out.
Every cell in my body aches to hold him, to kiss his naked chest, suck his hard cock into the back of my throat. Take him into my body and ride him into the escape that only he can provide.
But I will not.
I will not.
Not until he gives me the answers I seek.
We may be fated. Mated. We may love each other, and I may require his blood for my very survival, but none of that negates why I’m here.
Why my father sent me here in the first place.
To find out who killed the two vampires and cut out their hearts.
Rogan has admitted to killing them because they threatened me. He claims they had allied with demons. But he did not cut out their hearts.
I believe him.
But he knows who did, and that’s the information I want. That’s the information I’ll take to my father.
Once I’ve done my duty, my blood bond with the vampire king will be truly broken. I’ll see to it. I’ll do the ceremony in Chicago.
But that’s not all the information I want from this man. From this wolf. I want to know why the lycans are now in league with demons.
And I want to fucking know now.
“Time to talk, Rogan,” I say. “Time for you to level with me.”
“Fine. Take your fucking boot off my neck and I will.”
“Not so fast. You’re going to tell me why you’re working with demons. But first…you’re going to tell me who cut out those vamp hearts. Because you’re protecting that person, Rogan. You’re protecting him or her when you should be protecting me.”
“Who are you to give me orders?” he growls.
I push my boot harder against his neck. “Your mate, Victor. I’m your fucking mate.”
A growl then, and if I couldn’t see his human form with my eyes, I’d be convinced he morphed back into wolf form. Because that growl didn’t come from a man. It came from an animal.
In a flash he’s dislodged my foot from his neck and he’s on top of me, naked, while I’m still fully clothed.
He growls again, and his wild irises swirl into that cognac and emerald mixture that makes me insane.
“You accused me of protecting someone else over you, princess,” he snarls. “For that, you must be punished.”
Punished? Is he serious? Though the thought doesn’t disgust me. In fact…
But I’m not going there. Not now. Not when—
His mouth comes down on mine, and he’s still snarling as he pries my lips apart with his teeth and shoves his tongue inside.
I respond. I have no choice. My body was created to respond to his.
It’s nature.
Fucking nature.
We kiss not of passion but of anger and rage. My fangs descend, and I nick the inside of his mouth and his tongue, taste tiny droplets of his blood.
And a fire ignites within me.
A fire I don’t want right now.
But it’s nature. It’s fucking nature.
You’re controlled by nature. Nature has led you to Rogan. But the laws of nature also tell us that what controls us can also be controlled.
The words mash into my mind. Where have I heard them before, and what do they mean?
But I don’t care.
Only this kiss. Only this kiss matters in this moment.
My rage… My fucking rage…
Already I feel it morphing into unbridled passion. A flare of electricity surges between my legs, and I need to be free of the binding of my clothing. Free of the spiked boots and leather pants. Free from the bulletproof vest and chainmail.
Naked.
Naked like my wolf.
So easy…
So easy to forget the answers I seek.
So easy to lose myself in Rogan’s body… In Rogan’s love and desire for me…
So fucking easy…
Rogan breaks the kiss and inhales briskly.
My canines itch, and my body reacts. I sink my teeth into his neck and let his carotid feed me.
I don’t need blood.
Not for sustenance.
This is for me. Solely for me because I want it.
Rogan’s blood may nourish me and keep me alive, but that’s not its only purpose.
It satiates me. Fills me with strength and honor and…
Fuck it.
It just tastes good. It tastes so fucking good.
And I want it. I want the dark cherry and chocolate elixir that coats my mouth and my throat. I want it simply because I want it.
It’s in my nature.
You’re controlled by nature. Nature has led you to Rogan. But the laws of nature also tell us that what controls us can also be controlled.
Damn it!
Blood. More blood. Concentrate on your desires, your needs…
But I can’t.
I yank my teeth out of Rogan’s neck and soothe the wound closed.
He moves to kiss me once more, but I turn my head and his lips meet my cheek.
I roll over on top of him and straddle him. He’s still naked, and I’m still clothed in battle garments. His cock is hard, and God… How I’d love to sink onto it, ease the ache inside me.
“Princess?”
“It’s time,” I say. “Time to level with me. And I swear to God, Rogan, you won’t kiss me or fuck me into capitulation. I will have answers, and I will have them now.”
57
Rogan snarls. He growls, and his irises swirl. Is he going to change?
I can’t tell, but I don’t move a fucking muscle. This wolf doesn’t scare me. He’d never harm me.
Not ever.
“Stop it,” I say. “Just stop it now. Who the fuck cut out those hearts? Who are you protecting?”
“No one.”
“I don’t believe you, Rogan.” I clench my jaw. “Who the fuck are you protecting?”
He growls again, and quicker than lightning he’s on top of me, clamping my arms above my head. “Fuck you, princess. Fuck you!”
His mouth comes down on mine, and arousal surges through me.
I’m high... high on Rogan’s blood and high on his animal pheromones.
No. No, no, no!
But I’m powerless to resist him.
I swore he wouldn’t fuck me into submission, and he’s not.
I’m not submitting.
I’m a full-blown partner in this seduction.
I want it as much as he does.
Damn it!
I don’t want to want it. But I do. I have no choice.
There was never a choice.
Never a fucking choice.
The kiss is raw and full of primal desire.
And I have way too many clothes on.
Normally I’d disrobe quickly, or Rogan would tear them from my body.
But I’m wearing leather and chainmail. Not easily tear-able...unless he changes and claws at the garments.
He breaks the kiss and gasps in a breath. “Undress,” he says through gritted teeth. “Now.”
I want to. I want my naked body clamped to his, his cock inside my pussy. God, I want it more than I want to breathe.
But—
“No.”
“What did you say?”
“There’s nothing wrong with your wolf hearing, Rogan. I said no.”
“You’re trying my patience, princess.”
“Good, because you’ve been trying mine. Who the fuck cut out those vampire hearts?”
“Get that gear off your body or I swear to God I’ll rip it from you with my teeth.”
I squirm, move my hips in the instinctive raw undulation. I yearn for him. Yearn for the feel of his hard cock inside me.
Yearn for his lips on my nipples, sucking, chewing, biting...
My hands itch. They want to move to the chainmail, remove it from my body. A shudder races through me as I still my fingers.
No. I won’t allow this.
I’m stronger than my desires, my aching, my yearning.
My will is stronger than my body.
Until—
A conversation with my stepfather...
It’s in the edge of my mind...
No!
I will force it out.
It’s nothing.
Not a fucking thing.
But—
The memory... It clouds my mind...and it forces itself into my consciousness.
“Isn’t it interesting that you, firstborn daughter to the reigning vampire king, would find yourself mated to an Alpha wolf?”
“There’s nothing interesting about it. It’s nature. And no one can control nature.”
“Seems nature has done a good job of controlling you, though. Damning you to forsake your sister. Your mother.”
I curl my hands into fists. “I need his fucking blood!”
“Right. The blood lust. Your father’s curse. I wonder... How is it that it led you to Victor Rogan?”
“Nature,” I grit out again.
“Nature for him, maybe. Not for you. But as you say, no one can control nature. It controls you. Consider this. You’re controlled by nature. Nature has led you to Rogan. But the laws of nature also tell us that what controls us can also be controlled.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?”
“You’ll find out soon enough.”
No! I shake my head to clear it.
I can’t allow Richard Tomlinson to fuck with my head. I won’t allow it!
“Tell me,” I gasp out. “Tell me who cut out those damned hearts!”
Rogan advances on me. “Are you sure you want to know?”
“I have to know.”
“Hannah,” he says, his voice gentler than I’ve ever heard it, “you did.”
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Clouds descend on me, and I’m swirling.
Is this a tornado? In a bunker?
What’s happening to me? A kaleidoscope of darkness. Of evil. Of vile malice.
Hannah, you did.
Hannah, you did.
Hannah, you did.
No. No. No.
No!
I would never...
I would never harm another person. Never defile a corpse.
Not ever!
I’m stronger than this. I’m stronger than this. I’m stronger than this.
I draw on the wolf blood flowing through me. I draw on my love for Rogan, my love for my mother and Larissa.
I draw on the vampire strength from my father’s genes.
And I force the invisible tornado away.
Rogan stands before me, still naked, his beautiful eyes forlorn.
“Hannah...”
“No,” I say. “You’re wrong. I would never harm anyone!”
“I know that, and so does everyone else who knows you.”
“Why? Why are you lying to me?”
“I’m not lying to you, Hannah.”
“I have no memories of any of this.”
“I understand that.”
“How do you know?”
“I know only that my mate is responsible.”
“Then you didn’t see me do it?”
“No, I did not.”
Relief sweeps through me. “Then you’re wrong. I didn’t. Someone’s trying to frame me.”
“Hannah...”
“Victor, please. You have to listen to me. We’ll figure this out, you and I. We’ll figure out who’s lying to you.”
“Baby...”
“No!” I clench my fists. “This is wrong, damn it! My father sent me here to find out who killed the vamps and cut out their hearts. He wouldn’t have sent me if he knew I was responsible.”
“He may not know.”
“But... No, it wasn’t me. It was your bite marks on those corpses, not mine.”
“You didn’t bite them, Hannah.”
Hannah. He keeps calling me Hannah.
Oh God, oh God, oh God...
He only calls me Hannah when...
Oh God, oh God, oh God...
My father. I have to speak to my father. Now.
