The King Of All Vampire Kings (Book 1) ✔️

|73|~Pledge Of Allegiance ~

Claire my most powerful prized possession. I'm amazed.

She has managed to capture the short-temper King loyalty. Her regal bearing is astonishing. I'm captivated. Blessed and certainly favored to be paired with a woman as such. This once human girl, who wasn't raised for royalty, continues to demonstrate how fit she is for our Vampire Monarch. This woman was born to rule.

How could I ever have doubted her? Since, day one she has demonstrated distinctive traits of a True Queen.

I sit back and watch Claire continues to analyze the short-tempered king. Then, her smokey green eyes search for me. I burn her with my stare, tucking and hiding away all emotions. This one is up to her.

I will not direct her to accept his loyalty. I will not hold anything against her if she refuses him. I may be the King, but she is my Queen and she needs to make her own decision. She was born a natural leader.

Now she needs to learn how to carry the crown. Claire must be able to think for herself. Furthermore, I refuse to force a bond. Once she realizes that the decision is for her to make.

She shifts her gaze back onto the kneeling King. She studies him for a long drawn out moment. I know how she feels about him. Will her personally opinion sway her away from him? I can't help, but to wonder what going on in that pretty little head of hers.

I miss reading her thought. She used to be an open book, and the story was entertaining as hell. Thanks to that pendant of hers I don't have the luxury of exploring her beautiful mind, unless she wants me to. Not to mention, she has learned how to conceal, and when to reveal her emotions.

This is another reason why I'm crazy about her. The upward growth of that woman is heroic. Beauty and brains how the fuck did I get so lucky?

Without instructions, she places her hand onto his left shoulder. After that, she places her finger underneath his chin, staring him directly in the eye.

"I accept your loyalty, King Rufus," She declares, once again making my stillborn heart skip a beat. Xander body instantly relaxes, and the thick tension inside of the room dissolves.

Seneca is next to follow suit making his way over to pledge his loyalty to his new Queen.

I shared a little information about the Kings to Claire before this bloody dinner began. I wanted to make sure she was aware of whom and what she was dealing with, but I intentionally left important details out.

For instance, I didn't tell Claire that Rufus and Seneca are cousins. I knew very well if Rufus showed loyalty Seneca would follow suit, or vice versa. They are closer than they appear to be and only the inner circle knows that.

I purposely left out that Rufus was enslaved by humans, many centuries ago and that's why Seneca willingly lived amongst humans, learning their strengths, and weakness to ensure that we vampires would be victorious during the Awakening War.

He played a part in enslaving a race to avenge his cousin. I'm not saying that makes it right. But it is what it is. We are monsters. The world knows that. We don't hide our true nature and we never did.

However, Claire will soon learn the true meaning behind the phrase, "Don't judge a book by its cover." Nothing in our world is what it appears to be. She will learn that fairly soon. Now, that five out of eight Kings accepted her. We are one step closer towards becoming unstoppable. The council is not ready.

Seneca stops directly in front of Claire. He bows his head low, and then kneels down onto his right knee. "I pledge my loyalty to King Nicklaus and Queen Claire, The Queen of All Vampire Kings."