The Alpha King and the Vampire Princess

Chapter 4

After father dismissed me, I headed straight to the royal library. I felt Atrix's pull on me the whole time and it was almost impossible for me to focus.

All I could think about was his scent, his tall frame, his faint stubble, his sad eyes and the way his hair fell in them. But I knew I had to stay away from him, at least until I  know more about our bond so I spent a greater part of the afternoon browsing through books on werewolf history. 

My head was swarming with more questions than before. 

Was I truly Atrix's mate? If I was then we were probably the first vampire/ werewolf pair in the history the supernatural. Suddenly, I felt a twinge of discomfort in my head and I instantly knew it was Atrix. He was in some kind of pain and he was trying to block me but he slipped. And it only happened when the pain was too much for him. 

My irises turned red as I started following the invisible thread that guided me to him. I glided over the floors, my feet barely touching the carpets. As usual, everybody backed off the moment they saw my eyes and before I knew it I was down in the dungeons.

I heard his growls before I saw him, and when I did, I wish I hadn't. He was being held down on his knees by 4 vampires a side of his face, neck and chest were completely burned off as the vampires around him tried to force wolfsbane down his throat. There were several vampires outside the cell holding silver tipped spears at the ready incase Atrix tried to break free.

"Stop!" I barked and all the vampires turned to look at me. Several of them had red eyes like mine but even in their vampire state, they knew not to defy me. So they all halted and bowed to me

 "Princess!" they acknowledged.

"What is going on here? Who ordered this?" I asked the guard standing next to me, a tall vampire with red hair and eyes

" The king orders it princess" he rasped " If the mutt is weakened by the wolfsbane, his bond will weaken as well and it will allow us to kill him"

The next instant, his head was lolling on the other side of the dungeon while his headless body swayed comically for a few seconds before it flopped down.

"Leave us." I spoke to no one in general, but the guards knew what I meant as they all hesitantly filed out of the dungeon. The last guard paused to lock the door before backing away but I blocked him with my body and held my hands out.

"Keys." I said plainly

"A-apologies princess, but it is the king's orders to return the cell keys to him, if you want you can ask him for it" and with that he supersped out of the dungeons.

I had half a mind to chase him but a voice stopped me, Atrix was groaning on the floor. 

He needs me.

I instantly turned around and fell down on my knees. I tried to touch him through the silver bars but he was far away on the other side. Frustrated I tried to bend the silver bars but they did not budge. They were probably reinforced with Aluthium, the only metal strong enough to resist the power of a werewolf or a vampire. I groaned in frustration.

"Atrix!" I called out his name. He turned his face towards me and my heart broke at the numerous bruises and scars littering his body. His lather pants were torn in several places and I could see the skin under bruised and cut.

"Why are you not healing" I asked him as worry gnawed at me.

"Because I was using much of my power to block off the pain from reaching you " he rasped. groaning he scooted his body until he was lying closer to the bars

I instantly reached inside and touched him. Relief like no other filled my body. I felt ecstatic, elated. I took his hand in my own and carefully pulled it out of the cell, making sure it didn't touch the silver. I bought it up to my lips and kissed it as I closed my eyes and let the contentment seep in. When I opened my eyes I saw Atrix, giving me a small smile as he watched me cradle his hand.

"You need to heal," I told him "Don't worry about me, use your strength!"

"No." he replied.

"Don't be stubborn." I scolded him lightly

He chuckled lightly "I suffer so you don't princess."

"I suffer still." I breathed at him as my eyes burned with tears. I laid down next to him, silver bars separating us as we both stared into each others eyes, brown into violet

"I read about werewolf history today." I told him while playing with his fingers.

"Really?" Atrix asked. He seemed surprised.

"I know I'm your mate" I told him.

His face lit up at that. As though he was waiting for me to say those words.

"Yes, and I am  yours" he told me, smiling. He threaded his fingers with mine and we both watched our fingers intertwine.

"My father wants me  to break it" I told him.

"And what do you want?" he asked me lowly.

I turned to look at him "You know, I've never thought about being with someone. I'm still young and I have a duty to my kingdom but..." I trailed off

" But now?" I caught a glimmer of hope in his voice and it warmed my heart.

"I don't know what I want anymore, things that mattered before don't matter anymore."

"Then what matters to you princess?" Atrix asked me quietly.

"You." I told him.

Atrix closed his eyes at my answer and a smile played on his face.

We stayed like that for a while, hands clamped together as the silence spun a comfortable blanket around us.

"Don't you want to feed tonight? Your eyes are still red" he asked me, finally breaking the silence. He turned his wrist sideways as a way to offer me.

I gingerly picked his hand and licked a thin cut on the side of his palm. I waited for the euphoria to fade and was surprised to see his hand healed.

" I can't hurt you more than you already are, so I took a few drops from where you were bleeding, but I seemed to have healed you."

Atrix sat up as he brought his face closer to the bars. I was about to ask him what he was doing when he stopped a millimeter from the silver.

"Kiss me princess." he asked in the most earnest tone I have ever heard.

I felt hypnotized as I watched his lips, his perfect full lips that were inviting me in. I leaned forward closing my eyes. Just as our lips touched, I heard a faint sizzle and a smell of burning flesh. Atrix's face was burning as he touched the silver bars. I felt a mild concern for him but before I could back off, he moved his lips against mine and I forgot everything. It was just us, me and Atrix, Atrix and me, we were burning, running, rolling and laughing, I didn't want to stop but I started feeling a burning on my face and I knew Atrix was slipping. I pushed him back gently. there were thick lines on his face where the silver burned him but his eyes sparkled like the stars.

"Thank you." he breathed as he looked at me in wonder.

"Atrix, your face!" I exclaimed as I touched the burn marks.

"For you princess, just one more time."