Page 76 of Little Mate
But why? Why have me fall in love, only to leave him behind in absolute agony?
The pain spreads through me quickly, my blood saturating the fabric of my dress as yells rend the air. Something was on that blade; the sudden weakness in my limbs doesn’t give me a second to catch my breath or heal myself—it’s all too fast. I stumble and hands grab me. They’re on my face and others on my upper body, but I can’t make anything out.
It hurts. My heart breaks for the man I’ll never get to truly enjoy loving.
To have a family with.
“Gabby, please!” Louder, a shout. A woman. Several. Then men, but soon all noises become muffled while a comforting presence wraps its cold skin around my leg. Marcia. I try to reach out to her mind, but nothing.
My connection with her is full of static—as is the one I hold with Theo.
I’m slipping away without a chance to ask for help. To tell him I’ll be okay.
I’ll always love you, my King.
23
THEODORE ASTOR
VAMPIRE KING
“Bring him to me.” The guards stand and drag a kicking, screaming Veltross to me. They toss him at my feet and step back.
“My king, I—”
“Stand up, General.”
“Please, listen to me.” When I don’t reply, he shifts a bit, looking for an out. To his bad luck, he’s being blocked by the same men he’s trained and led into battle. They are an impenetrable wall. “I did what I did for you. Our people deserve—”
He’s cut off by my hand on this throat, lifting him off the ground. He thrashes, tries to remove my fingers, but I walk us to where Gabriella lies, her back supported by Tero. And my wife, she’s pale and her chest is red, a large gash crossing from side to side. It’s deep. She’s lost too much blood for me to seal the wound. He bled her. “I will never marry your daughter.”
“She’s better—”
“You and your offspring will die by my blade, no matter how long it takes.” My hand squeezes, and for each staggered breath my wife takes, I tighten my hold. With my other, though, I puncture his abdomen with the use of my nails, tearing out chunks at a time. His side. His dead organs. His bones.
I don’t stop until the bottom half of his body is on the floor, and his chest with the head attached is all that’s left.
“Dad!” Elise screams suddenly, rushing to where we are, but Meera flings her back and across the yard. She lands awkwardly and is knocked unconscious, yet no one checks on her. I also didn’t realize Meera’s set up to work. She has herbs and crystals surrounding Gabriella.
Did Tero call her?
Or Gabriella?
“We need to bind her soul, Theo,” Meera says from beside me, her hand on my shoulder.“We don’t have a lot of time. End him now, and I’ll do everything in my power to bring her back.”
Her pleading gives me breath, but the pain I’m experiencing intensifies when her eyes close. My wife’s chest still rises and falls, but those gems I love no longer have the energy to meet mine.
“You will never be a part of the royal family,” I snarl, holding him at eye level.
“Please stop. You will be so much—”
“Your children will never amount to anything, Veltross. Will be nothing but outcasts in my kingdom.” With that, I rip his head off and toss it aside, leaving it for the guards to clean while I rush to my wife. Her body’s shaking as I pull her gently against my chest, tears running down from closed lids, and I’ve never felt more useless in my life.
I’m the king, and yet I can’t save the one person in this world I breathe for.
Meera whispers something in her ear, and the only sign of life is the small squeeze of my hand that’s barely perceptible. And I hold on to that moment, close my eyes, and control my body as a sob rocks me, my body covering hers as the last breath leaves her small frame.
Those around me weep. The sorrowful cries of every vampire can be heard for miles as they feel her connection wane, and then nothing. She’s gone. My love is not here.