The depraved prince, p.10
The Depraved Prince, page 10
There’s a television in the corner of the room. I turned it on and watched reruns of one of my favorite comedy shows until I fell asleep.
That is until now.
I feel cold fingers trail my breast.
“Hayden?” I mutter, coldly mixed with grog and unease. I shift in my sleep, ready to put up another fight.
“Kallum, actually.”
My eyes blow open at the unfamiliar, smooth voice. I jolt forward like I’ve been electrocuted. From the once comfortable side position, I end up falling to the floor with a loud crash, and my hips immediately shift movements. There’s excruciating tenderness pressing my bruised ribs.
“Who the fuck are you?” I grab the same butter knife I threw at Hayden’s back and hold it in front of me like a barrier.
I glance at the clock, and it’s well into the night at three in the morning.
“Who did that to you? It looks fairly fresh.” He points to the long scar across my breast.
I stare back at someone who looks like Hayden but has different features. I glare daggers at a sandy, dark-blonde vampire. He has glasses on, red ruby eyes, and fangs over his lips.
He’s also incredibly handsome, but everything about him is softer. His voice, his body, and even his eyes seem anything but normal.
The complete opposite of Hayden.
“I’m sorry. I guess it was rude of me not to introduce myself properly.” He lies back on the headboard, focusing on the TV in front of him.
“I’m Kallum Drago. Hayden’s little brother. I’m sorry for waking you, but I just had to see the Valkyrie for myself, in the flesh and blood.”
I’m quiet, backing away from him. Each step I take is pressed with distrust. I furrow my brows at the same word everyone calls me.
A Valkyrie.
“Stop calling me that. I am a person. I have a life. I am somebody’s daughter. I have a boyfriend!” I lie, thinking about Cole.
“Boyfriend? Does Hayden know?” he huffs clearly entertained, followed by humorless laughter. “Anywho, it doesn’t matter. Not anymore, Ms. Flores. You belong to the Depraved Prince, now.”
“The what? Who?”
“Hayden.” He says it so easily. “To everyone here in Immortals Country, he’s known as the Depraved Prince.” He places his hands behind his head like it’s normal to have an evil brother.
The Depraved Prince?
“Why do they call him that?” My curiosity gets the best of me. He smiles, but it’s anything but good. It’s a sinful smile that holds secrets.
“Hayden has to serve his duties from time to time. Executing lawbreakers, or assassins, for example. He dismembers the guilty. Taking it upon himself to make statements. He killed an immortal by ripping his throat out for trying to get a hold of one of his human toys. He doesn’t share or play well with others. That’s why Father wants him to take the throne. It is his birthright, after all. I don’t think I’ve ever seen my brother truly smile over anything gentle. He only smiles when he gets to hurt people.”
I gulp.
“You’re…interesting, to say the least. Every human girl who interacts with Hayden kisses his feet. But you…you fight him.”
“Why are you here, Kallum?”
I cut the small talk.
“I feel bad,” he says nonchalantly. “No one should ever be alone for days with no social interaction. It’s unhealthy. I can sense the stir-crazy happening in that pretty little head of yours.”
He softens his tone.
“Or maybe I’m going a little crazy because everyone I meet has promised me death, and I’ve been kidnapped!”
“Yeah…that’ll do it, I suppose,” he retorts with humor present in his flickering smile.
Then it hits me, and I lower the butter knife to my side.
Kallum may be my way out. I can trick him into letting me leave. He’s different than Hayden. He has remorse, while Hayden only bleeds horror.
I clear my throat, placing the butter knife on the nightstand.
I walk closer to him, and Kallum watches my every move like he’s entranced.
“I should go now,” Kallum says as I slip on the bed beside him.
I grab his forearm desperately. His skin is hard and like touching ice. Either way, I tighten my grip, hoping he can feel how desperate I am for his company and sympathy.
“No, please stay just until I fall back asleep. That’s the least you can do for me? Hayden already told me my days are numbered. I would like just a flicker of compassion from someone.” Not a total lie. Tears accumulate in my narrowed eyes as Kallum stares at me. He contemplates my request, his red eyes changing from bright red to brown as he fights with himself.
“Hayden just might kill me for this. I shouldn’t be here, never mind talk to you.”
“I won’t tell him,” I promise.
“You won’t have to. He’ll already know.”
Kallum sits back into the bed and holds a book in his hands.
“Try to get some rest, now. I’m going to finish the last chapters of this book. So get to sleep, Ms. Flores.”
We lay silently for a few awkward moments as I watch a horror movie play across the screen. This might be crazy. This isn’t like me to do this, but if I’m going to have a chance at escaping. I have to do it now.
“Is my family okay?” I’ve got to ease into my plan.
He ignores me and continues to read.
“Are they looking for me?”
Again, ignored.
I try a different approach.
“It was a Southern Vampire that did it. That’s what you call them, right?”
Kallum quirks a brow. “Did what?”
I’ve got his attention now.
“The scar on my chest. The one that you were touching.”
“Ahh. That makes sense. The same one who broke your wrist?” He pushes, and a flash of compassion floods him. He turns a page and eyes my chest.
I nod.
“Hayden ripped him apart for it. He did it brutally, too. That’s why there’s a meeting right now,” Kallum explains like he’s proud.
“Is that where he is?” I pry.
He nods.
I turn over so I’m facing him.
“I think you’re lying to me, Kallum.”
My accusation rocks him harder than I thought.
“What do you mean? I don’t lie. I never lie,” he concedes like I’ve insulted him. His tone and body transit into stone like he’s appalled.
Biting my lip, I mask my unease with a seductive expression.
I loosen the oversized silk shirt so that it falls over my shoulder, exposing more skin. I always sleep without a bra, so my nipples are hard and poking through the fabric. Kallum’s eyes dilate, and he freezes.
“You crawled into my bed at three in the morning.” I let my shirt fall down more until it exposes my scar. Seconds later, a portion of my nipple is exposed.
“You touched my scar, and I felt how hard you were when you did. I felt the shape and neediness on my hip when I woke up.”
His throat rolls as he grinds his teeth. He takes off his glasses and sets them beside him on the bed.
“Do you want to taste me?” I’m poking a vampire. Tempting and taunting him. I need to do this in order to survive. I’m using my rare blood to my advantage. I must.
“I consent to it. I won’t fight you. Grant me a quick death, please. I’m sure whatever Hayden has planned for me isn’t good.”
He shakes his head.
“I don’t want to taste you,” he tells me in an unemotional tone that hardens. His body reveals the real truth, unlike his words. His teeth sharpen across his lip, and his eyes change once again.
He’s not lying, but he’s withholding part of his truth.
“But you want to have sex with me?” I ask with an unrecognized tone of mine, widening my eyes innocently.
God, don’t judge me.
There’s an eerie silence between us, and my heart thunders against my chest. I pray and hope he’ll take the bait. Am I convincing him enough despite my tired eyes and muscles tensing up?
I decide to give it my all and go full send to hell with this newly adopted persona of mine.
My full breast escapes the rich fabric, cold air meeting my raw skin. I have full round breasts that plop out, and Kallum stares blindly from the consequences, and I stare back with pure, naive wide eyes. It’s like he’s on fire with how he starts to shake.
He drops his book, places it on the nightstand, and raises his hand too slowly. His big, veiny hand encases my breast, and I moan.
He’s buying it. My gaze lowers to his very hard erection that’s strained underneath his sweatpants, begging to release. Begging to feel me.
He trails his cold finger in between my breasts, giving me the green light just as his judgment falters, and I take full advantage. I might have just committed a suicide mission, but I’m still going to follow through.
I gouge him in the eye with the same butterknife I placed on the nightstand. It pierces through his organ, and he lets me go. I jump up just as he snarls an inhumane-like sound. A cold sweat breaks out against my forehead. It’s a creaturelike wail that’s so deep and agonizingly loud that my ears sting from the volume. A demonic-like roar of painful fury fills the entire room. It howls and echoes amongst the stained glass and vintage-like walls. I leave Kallum to attend to his injury, clutching at his eye as obsidian black runs down his face. He trembles and shakes from the pain as he collapses into himself, banging his back against the headboard. Immediate guilt simmers in every vein, but I will not apologize to my captors.
I take off from the bed and head toward the door without an apology. I want to, but I shouldn’t. I need to focus on getting out of here.
I sprint like my life depends on it. My feet hit the floor, and I get to the enormous wooden door I’ve been staring at for days in seconds. My breaths are shallow and fast, my lungs burning with anticipation. My freedom awaits—my family…my old life.
I swing open the door and take in the unexplored territory.
13
MILLIE
I don’t know where I’m going, but I run down the halls, trying to hold my breath as tears run down my face. I keep going, turning into hall after hall, taking guesses and hoping that God is on my side today. My bare feet hit the black floors as I try to stop myself from tripping over my own erratic pace.
I go down some stairs that seem to lead closer to an exit. I see massive stained-glass red doors. A small smile of hope slants my face when I see the sun is still out, shining through the Victorian windows.
It’s almost nighttime. Just an hour or so, and the moon will rise.
I still hear Kallum’s snarls in the distance. He’s going to kill me if he gets a hold of me again. More snarls come from behind me, but they differ from Hayden’s little brother. And they’re close. Kallum’s screams of agony must have alerted everyone, and now they’re after me.
I don’t look back. I’m either too scared or too focused on what’s before me to waste one more second in this cathedral. I make it down the stairs just as more footsteps thud right behind me.
Oh no!
From what I can tell, it’s just one pair of feet.
Dammit, Kallum must have caught up. Of course, he did. He’s a vampire with speed. It’s a part of their abilities.
Curse their abilities. It isn’t fucking fair.
It’ll slow me down if I check behind me. One wrong move, and I’ll be snapped in half. I’ve seen what they’re capable of doing. I’m like five feet away from the door. My entire body jolts with each stomp like I’m in a race—a race for my life.
I’m right here. One more step, and I’m at the exit. All my dreams of escaping are finally a reality. I’m so focused on getting out that I forget to blink.
It’s real. I’m going to get out. The sun will give me an advantage to run. I have to try.
I lunge forward, grasp the black metal lever with the same design as Hayden’s ring, and pull on it.
A ray of sunlight shines through the cathedral like a ray of hope, a lighthouse in the middle of the ocean, like a lifejacket. I smile with relief. Seeing the sun again after being in darkness the past few days feels so good. Something so simple never felt so grand.
I step out onto the pavement outside just as my hair gets pulled back, and I scream from an unexpected maneuver. I’m forced back into the Cathedral surrounded by red stained glass.
A large familiar hand slams the door shut, and my back gets pushed up against the doors.
“Ahh!” I bellow.
Red rays from the stained glass shine on him, but it’s not doing any damage to the vampire before me.
How? It’s the sunlight…
Shit. Maybe I got it all wrong…if they can be in the sun, then nature’s hopeful alliance is useless now. I need to think of another plan, but first, I need to survive the man I loathe.
Hayden.
My shamefully handsome captor is dressed in an all-black suit, looking at me like he’s won a prize. I hate him.
A wicked curve of his lips turns, his sharp teeth shine, and I can see my pale reflection against them. He’s in full-blown vampire mode.
“Where the fuck do you think you’re going, Millie?” He questions me like I’m his property. Like he owns me. His prisoner.
He has me caged in with his big arms, and I’m frozen…but that doesn’t last too long as my fight-or-flight senses kick in, and adrenaline is still vividly present with the way my chest is heaving.
“Home!” I slap him across the face hard.
He snickers like he loves it. He pins his hardened gaze back onto me slowly. His fixation doesn’t waver. He tilts his head closer to mine, and a long lock of hair drops across his forehead.
I wince as he presses his hand around my throat, curling his hand all around. He squeezes my neck hard, taking my breath away. My eyes widen with my impending doom, and I quickly thrash against him. I’m slapping, hitting, doing anything and everything to get out of his chokehold.
“This is your home now, Millie…until you die.” He growls, a monstrous sound painting the way he speaks. “You think you’ll make it to Texas like this?” He takes hold of my top, letting it fall off my shoulder like it did for Kallum, exposing my scar. He licks his sharpened teeth as his red eyes flash with anger. “You’re miles away from Texas—a week of traveling at most if you somehow get a car. You’re in Montana. Far away from the South. You won’t make it one mile before another immortal takes you for their own.” He scowls at me like I’m a petulant child, but there’s a change in his tone. It’s almost like a warning rooted in worry.
There’s no way he cares about me like that. He can’t possibly be protective of me in that way. There’s no way a heartless monster like him would feel an emotion like worry.
“I’d rather take my chances out there than spend another night with creatures like you,” I sputter through his grip. Black surrounds the edges of my vision, and I know I’m going to pass out if he keeps holding me like this. I claw at him, scratching off his skin, knowing in the end, it’ll heal back in a few seconds.
“You’re hurting me, Hayden. Please. Let me go. I think—” I choke up as his grip tightens even further, shadows looming more and more, surrounding me like I’m going to fall back into a black cloud of quicksand. “I c-can’t b-breathe!” Pressure fills my skull, and my feet leave the ground.
He smirks villainously. Hayden closes whatever distance there once was between us, and his icy breath is on my neck.
“That’s the point.” Cruel and sinister paints his tone. “But you like it. There’s a pulse in between your thighs, baby girl.”
Darkness paints each syllable, eliciting shivers to run up and down my body, hairs at the back of my neck rising from the unknown. I can barely hear anything anymore. My hearing is muffled as I lose circulation to my brain. My heart is beating so fast that it’s the only thing that’s crystal clear in my ears. My feet touch the ground again as he lowers me.
“Please!” My begging voice is low as tears fall down my cheeks onto his hands.
I want to go back to my room now if that’s the only option I have left. I don’t want to die just yet.
“There’s that word again. Please,” he coos wickedly, a vein protruding from his neck.
Cigarettes, alcohol, and masculinity waft into my nose. His scent is so easy to get lost in. I wonder if it’s part of a vampire thing or just a Hayden thing.
He loosens his grip, and I choke. I’m coughing hard, and my lungs get back to work. I’m desperate for air, and he stands there smiling beautifully and darkly.
I raise my hand to slap him again, but he catches it quickly. He kisses my knuckles, his eyes dilating large with each peck, while I flare my nostrils.
His fingers dip inside my underwear, causing goosebumps and my soft flesh to flush as he trails down until he’s right where he wants to be. I clench my thighs together, trying to stop him even though I’m dripping. He pushes my legs apart as I fight. He invades my space, and a dark part of me grows excited.
It’s the adrenaline. It’s the adrenaline. I repeat in my head, forcing myself to believe it.
What the hell is wrong with me?
He pinches my throbbing clit, sending an electrocution to ripple through me. I flinch from the messed up salacity.
“You’re. Mine.” He dips two fingers inside me, both sliding in with ease into my welcoming pussy.
I hate him! I mentally scold my body like we’re different people because it feels that way right now. It’s wrong to feel two ways about him.
“I almost killed my own brother for climbing into your bed. Do you understand that?” He continues to thrust his fingers in and out of me as I listen to his cruel words.
“If you want to fuck your way out of here, you’re begging the wrong Drago, little Bambi.” He loosens his grip on my neck further, freeing me. I suck in a deep breath of air like I was drowning. Stars twinkle and glisten through my blurred, watery vision.
