The Vampire King’s Captive

MARIA

“Talk to me about what?”

“We should sit.”

Corey ushered her towards the couch with his hand on her lower back like she might drift away if he let her go. Honestly, maybe she might. There was just something about the way she carried herself that made her appear fragile. Very fragile.

When they sat down, Corey braced his elbows on his knees and linked his fingers, staring at her with somber eyes. “Ruth, ever since you… ever since your d-death, there has been a hollowness inside me.” Corey started. “I feel empty, like my heart has been ripped out of my chest and there’s nothing inside any-”

Ruth sighed loudly. “Can you just get on with it already?”

Maria stood up straighter by the wall, feeling a sudden weakness in her legs, but she ignored it, instead focusing on Ruth.Còntens bel0ngs to Nô(v)elDr/a/ma.Org

Did she seriously just cut the man short and tell him to ‘get on with it’?

Maria would swoon if a man ever admitted how terrible he’d been without her-actually, it was a fantasy in itself in her head-and here was a woman who was getting it for free but she was brushing it aside, deeming it unimportant.

Corey sighed in an exasperated manner that told her it wasn’t the first time Ruth was doing something like this, and cleared his throat. “Alright then. Recently, the feeling has… dulled. It’s not there anymore-not like it used to be-and I want to know if you have anything to do with it.”

Ruth frowned. “I don’t. I’m a dead woman, what can I do?”

Corey flinched again at the mention of the word, ‘dead’ and a termor ran down his body. “Can you stop reminding me?”

“My presence alone should serve as reminder enough,” she shrugged dismissively, seeing nothing wrong with the way she was casually mentioning her death.

Did she not see that it affected the man?

No, Maria thought, she probably didn’t.

“So you didn’t do anything?” Corey asked softly and Maria could see how dissapointed he was. He’d really thought that his dead mate had a hand in it. Maria had too. “Then what happened? The oracle also mentioned that it could mean that I have another mate but, Ruth-”

Ruth gasped audibly, her eyes widening.

A wave of dizziness hit Maria and again, she ignored it, focusing instead on the scene before her.

“What?” Corey asked immediately, eyes sharp as they roved over Ruth’s body. “Is something wrong?”

“T-t-the oracle said that you h-have another… mate?”

Corey shook his head sharply, thinking that the words were hurting Ruth, but Maria suspected it was something more than that. “No. It was just a speculatio-”

“Yes.” Maria butted in, her instincts telling her to play a different narrative. She just crossed her fingers and hoped Corey went along with it. “The oracle said that Bran has another mate out there, but I have never heard of a man having two mates. Have you?”

Ruth was too pale to move. All the blood had drained from her face and she looked a hell of a lot more guilty than a person should look-except if they actually were guilty.

Corey stared at her as if she’d grown a second head. “What are you-”

“Care to tell us why Corey has another mate when he already had you, Ruth?” Maria pushed on, levelling Corey with a pointed look that screamed ‘shut the hell up and let me do this’. “Want to tell us why Corey didn’t kill himself when you died? Why he’s still here right now?”

Ruth’s outline flickered along with Maria’s vision and she had to quickly hold onto the wall to keep her balance, else she would have fallen to the floor.

What was going on?

Ruth pressed a hand to her chest as her outline flickered again. She didn’t notice that she was fading away because she was too busy focusing on other things-namely, the fact that they were onto her.

“What’s happening, Ruth?” Corey pressed, his eyes filled with curiosity. “Is there something you’re not telling me?”

Through a somewhat blurry vision, Maria made out the outline of Ruth falling to her knees in front of a very confused Corey.

“It was a spell,” she whispered brokenly. “It was all a spell. You, thinking that I was your mate was a spell. I’m so sorry, Corey, I just wanted you so much.” She sobbed. “You were such a good man and every woman wanted to have you. I had to make you mine before anyone else did.”

What the actual fuck?

What

The

Fuck?

She’d used a spell to make him think that she was his mate? How had she gotten her hands on magic as powerful as that? Why would anyone do such a thing?

Corey shook his head hard. “Ruth…. no. Get up. You don’t know what you’re saying.”

Ruth’s outline flickered again and Maria felt a huge dose of strength evacuate her body.

Oh, gods. Maria knew what was happening.

For every second Ruth spent in the world of the living, Maria paid for it with an equal measure of her powers and now, she was weakening.

Ruth had to leave soon or else…

Maria wasn’t sure what would happen.

It was either she would lose all her powers or she might just get sucked into the world of the dead along with Ruth. And shit, none of those options were appealing.

“I’m so sorry, Corey. I’m so so-”

“How could you do something like this to me?” Corey’s tone was disbelieving, heartbroken. “I was your friend!”

“And that was exactly the point!” Ruth cried. “I was only going to be a friend to you and nothing more. Eventually, you would have found your mate then you would have cast me aside.” Her voice was broken when she said, “I just had to have you.”

The sadness in her voice called to Maria. She understood the woman a little because she knew how desperate she felt at times to have Bran show her anything other than hostility, but she would never go as far as doing something as heartless just to have him.

But the more Maria thought about it, the more it started to make sense. No wonder Corey hadn’t killed himself after her death. No wonder she didn’t feel for him as much as he felt for her!

Because she wasn’t meant for him and neither was he meant for her.

“You robbed me of a life with my mate!” Corey shouted, shooting up from the couch. “My real mate! How could you be so heartless?”

“I’m so-”

“I don’t want to hear those words anymore.” Corey cut her off, voice low and hard. “I’ll never forgive you for this. Never.” Then to Maria, he said, “Send her back.”

Oh, thank fuck.

She felt sorry for Corey and the woman’s presence was obviously upsetting him. She needed to leave. Not to mention, Maria was only a few seconds away from passing out.

Maria lifted her hand and started casting the spell to send Ruth back.

“No!” Ruth screamed and made to reach for Corey who stepped out of the way quickly. She leapt forward and as she was about to touch him, Maria finished the spell and Ruth disappeared.

Terribly exhausted, Maria crumpled to the ground and passed out, but not before hearing her name shouted on a panicked cry.