The King Of All Vampire Kings (Book 1) ✔️

|45|~Stake Your Claim~

Claire POV.
Unedited.

How can a person look into your soul through your eyes and snatch it away from you? I will never know, but he does it every time. My eyes are like open doors, inviting him in. I stare into his soul‑snatching eyes. How did I miss what was right in front of me? It's obvious I long for him. Right now, it's just me and him. Nicklaus plus Claire equals us. He's so goddamn gorgeous. I hate it. No, I love it. Ew, I'm confused.

His face is expressionless—masked—but his eyes tell an entirely different story. He is in pain; he's hurting. I can see it. I can also see his soul. His eyes are like an open book to a never-ending story. I could stare into them for the rest of eternity.

Eternity? I'm human. We don't live that long, but he will. He will live forever.

How can I give him my heart freely knowing that he will remain this beautiful while I will eventually become old and wrinkled? That's if I live that long.  A dogs' lifespan is longer than that of humans these days. That must be it. And is that why he hasn't claimed me as his true beloved? It makes perfect sense, but I still deserve to hear it from him.

"Put me down now," I demand.

His body goes stiff. "Claire, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to," says Nicklaus.

He looks adorable, like a panicking human boy instead of the bloodthirsty monster that he really is. A strong urge to run my fingers through his silky hair and place my lips back onto his sweet and tasty ones rushes through me.

Gosh, he's so distracting. No, no, no. He's not getting away with this one. The least he can do is tell me the truth.

"Who am I to you?" I ask, refusing to waste another second.

His jaw drops. I'm sure his heart has stopped beating as his eyes lock with my own. He definitely wasn't expecting that one.

"What do you mean?" he responds. "You're already aware that I selected you to be my chosen.

My, chosen his ass! If he really thinks I'm going to believe that bullshit, then he is crazier than I thought. How long was he going to keep this away from me in the first place?

A pulling sensation invades my mind. It tickles but nothing more. Nicklaus's piercing eyes widen.

Yup, mother fucker, you're caught. I got you.

"Brave one," says another voice.

My eyes travel in the direction where the voice comes from. I quickly jump out of Nicklaus's arms and smash into Xander. He holds out his arms and catches me.

Gosh, I miss him. I miss them.

Nicklaus is watching us, wary. "I can't read her mind. They did something to her," he says. He's talking to Xander, acting like I'm not even here.

"Who are they?" I ask, pulling myself away from Xander. I'm not dumb. I know he's talking about the werewolves, but still . . . "They did nothing. You on the other hand tried to kill my best friend, and you have been lying to me."

Both their eyes flash crimson.

"That dog isn't your friend," says Nicklaus.

"Oh yes, she is," I tell him, making my way back over to him. "Just like I am your—"

"I can't read her mind either," Xander tells him, cutting me off. "What happened?" His eyes switch from me to Nicklaus. They are doing some creepy vampire thing, most likely reading each other's minds.

Nicklaus's eyes grow bright red by the second and Xander's . . .Good gosh, his eyes are bleeding, burning, and blazing crimson. They look pissed. Nothing good can come from two big, broad, and pissed vampires.