Vladimir groaned as he rolled on his bed.
Wait. . .
Why was his bed so hard?
Opening his eyes he blinked rapidly to get rid of his blurry sight and adjusted his eyes to the dim moonlight.
Vladimir's ears twitched at the chirping sound of crickets that disturbed the silence of his surroundings.
It took a few minutes to register in his mind that he wasn't in his bed and definitely not in his royal chamber.
When Vladimir tried to lift his hands he was surprised to find them bound with a rope. The blue light emitting from the rope indicated that it was enchanted and won't break no matter how much force he used against it.
When he tried to trace, he couldn't. Somehow the rope was restraining him from tracing back to his castle. The one who had bound him had cleverly planned this. He was successful to trap Vladimir by restraining his tracing ability. A burning urge of violence bloomed in Vladimir's chest. The nincompoop was going to die from his hands.
Vladimir groaned in annoyance. . .
Where was he had how had he gotten here? The last thing he remembered was dancing with a witch. . .
Wait!! The Witch!!
All of a sudden all the events that happened in the ballroom started playing in his mind.
FUCK!
Not again....
Now, this was embarrassing! This was the second time Vladimir got abducted by a woman but this time it was much more humiliating because this one had knocked him out by a single blow in front of every fucking important person in his Kingdom. He tentatively touched his face only to find that his face was healed from the blow.
Had everyone started taking him as a joke?
Don't they fear his wrath anymore?
The Ruthless Cunning King got abducted from his own Royal Ball. . . The irony!
Dear Moon!
Vladimir had wanted to see where this night arranged by the Vampire Council was going to lead him but never in his wildest imaginations, he had thought that the tiny woman he was planning to spank some manners in will end up kidnapping him.
Vladimir groaned again.
"Quit whining like a pregnant kitten. It's fucking annoying!" The wicked witch snapped at him making her presence known.
Managing to pull himself in a sitting position Vladimir leaned against a tree before he snapped back with disdain. "What do you want witch?" His tone reflected every ounce of annoyance that he currently felt.
Deep down Vladimir was scared. He was scared that this witch might be sent by Queen Amber. After all, Amber was the only woman who had the guts to pull this type of stunt on him.
Vladimir regretted burning Queen Amber's royal letter. He wished he had read the letter and written a response to her and then ghosted on her for another decade. At least that way he would have avoided this kidnapping. Vladimir wasn't ready to face her yet, not after what he had done. If this witch was taking him to Queen Amber then he was doomed.
"What do you think I want?" The witch inquired in a bored tone instead of answering him. Vladimir narrowed his eyes at the witch. So she wanted to toy with him.
The witch wasn't looking at him, her back was turned to him.
Vladimir gritted his teeth because the witch was showing him a little exhibition of power. She had turned her back on him because she didn't found him to be a worthy threat or an opponent. She was showing him that he couldn't harm her, a trick Vladimir often pulled on his opponents.
This trick was a mind game Vladimir played with his prey. You can call it breaking your opponent's spirit before breaking their bones.
Vladimir was a player and one thing about him that you should know was that he didn't like to be played.
"You aren't the first witch who had dared to kidnapped me. So let's make it easy for both of us. Tell me what you want and let's get done with this petty little game of yours." Vladimir let out in a bored tone as taking his eyes off the witch he assessed his surroundings, trying to find a way out of there.
He was in a forest and for some reason, the place felt familiar as if he had been here before. Something shinning in the bushes caught his eyes.
A couple of dimly shining portals~
Hidden ones. . .
Portals were gateways to foreign places and dimensions that witches used for transportation and a portal usually closed or evaporated when no longer needed. There was only one forest that was a home of hidden portals.
The Forest of Wonders~
It was believed that only legends could navigate their way through these woods or a person the Forest of Wonders found worthy enough to be in it.
'Why would this witch bring him here?' Vladimir thought. This wasn't the way to Queen Amber's Queendom. Maybe this witch wasn't sent by Queen Amber. . . In an instance, a sense of relief washed over Vladimir. One less thing for him to worry about.
The only thing Vladimir feared was the wrath of the friends he had betrayed...
Betrayed for his bride. . .
"You seem to be very popular among witches." The witch remarked dryly pulling Vladimir out of his thoughts.
"What can I say? I'm irresistible. The last witch who abducted me claimed that I was her soulmate. She was so smitten by his godly charms that she begged me to have sex with her. She even offered me the position of the King of her Queendom." Vladimir gloated as he stared at his bound hands with a frown, realizing that this was the first time someone had put him in bounds and he vowed to himself that it was going to be the last time.
Just one little mistake. . . That was all Vladimir wanted from the witch. One mistake and she will know that why little girls like her were supposed to stay away from monsters like him. His lips curved in a twisted grin. He might never raise a hand on a woman but that doesn't mean he can't put his fangs on them.
His fangs ached at the thought of tasting this witch's sweet blood.
"I'm the least interested person who wants to hear how you fucked her so shut up."
"I turned her down. I didn't have sex with her but later I did offer her to be my Queen." Vladimir didn't know why he shared that piece of information with her. Deep down it just felt wrong to share his sexual conquests with this witch. There was something about this female that was off. Something he wasn't able to put his finger on. Something that was unsettling him.
His conscious could sense it but his instinct couldn't recognize it. . .
"You must be mad to offer a witch who abducted you the position of your Queen." Esmeray remarked silently.
The sudden ache in his chest took him by surprise. With a grim smile, he rubbed his hand over his heart to get rid of the pain. The pain that had become a constant in his life. . .
"She was more than just a witch. She was special. She was a woman who wasn't afraid of me. She was my only friend." There was longing and yearning in his tone. For some odd reason, Esmeray could feel that the King was just as lonely as she was.
Turning around she faced him. He wasn't looking at her. He had a distant look on his face as if he was reliving his memories. Under the moonlight, with his tousled hair and bound hands, the Vampire King looked like a fallen angel.
Flawless yet a deadly predator. . .
The way he was telling her things randomly made her believe that it wasn't every day he found someone he could talk to. He seemed pretty close to losing the lid of the bottle he had bottled up his shit in.
Earlier in the ballroom and now right here, on the surface, he seemed unbothered, sarcastic and playful yet there was an undercurrent of something in his gaze, maybe a vulnerability he was trying everything in his power to hide from the world.
'Was the witch from the past was the reason behind his sorrow?' She wondered.
Esmeray noticed that he was talking about the woman in the past tense which made her curious. "What happened to the witch? Is she dead?" She found herself asking him as she took a bite of the energy bar that she had taken out of her mystical bag. Traveling through portals often leads her to starvation.
His lips curved in a sadistic smile. "She is as alive as the wind but I no longer deserve her. I betrayed her in the worse way possible." After a moment he met Esmeray's gaze and raised his bound hands to her. "Now as we are getting along fine do you mind removing these restrictions?" He mumbled with a toothy grin, showing off his elongated fangs while blinking his striking green eyes innocently at her.
Esmeray was taken aback by how easily he could switch emotions. The longing she had witnessed in his eyes was gone and in a blink, he appeared like a completely different person which made Esmeray suspect that was the Vampire intentionally messing with her by pulling a sad front?
"Nice try but I'll let them stay for a while." At her answer, the Vampire King got a malignant glint in his eyes.
"What do you want witch? Do you want to have sex with me or do you want me to make you my Queen? And believe me, both of them aren't on the table. I don't like to be forced to sleep with a woman and the position of my Queen is reserved for my fated bride, not a random chick who has a fetish of kidnapping kind gentlemen." He hissed at her making Esmeray release a very unladylike snort at his statement.
Kind gentleman? Was that what he thought about himself? The Vampire King was full of shit piled up on the mountain of his ego, ignorance and maybe manipulation.
Maybe he had somehow offended Maeve that was why she wanted him. To teach him a lesson. But then again it was none of Esmeray's business for what Maeve wanted him. Esmeray's job was to hand him over to Maeve and then she will be going back home.
There was no need for her to indulge herself in unnecessary drama.
"Believe me even if you were the last man on this planet I would have fucked my own fingers rather than sleeping with you. And when it comes to becoming your Queen I think I will pass. I don't want to rule over a bunch of dumb fucks." Esmeray shot him a heated glare.
"Your loss! The last witch begged me to fuck her." He purred.
For a man whose life was at Esmeray's mercy, the Vampire King was oddly relaxed and that irked Esmeray. She barely resisted the urge to throttle the smug bastard.
"She must have been a fool to have a crush on a clueless loser like you." Esmeray sneered, seething in irritation.
"Just to enlighten you she was bloody in love with me. It wasn't just a mere affection." Instead of getting offended at her insult the Vampire King arrogantly rasped in a smoky tone as he leaned his head back against the tree and closed his eyes. "Woman longed to have a spot in my bed. I would have generously granted you one but you ruined your chance when you dared to kidnap me."
Esmeray shook her head in amazement. She had never met such an arrogant man in her whole life.
Ruined her chances?
Really?
As if Esmeray was dying to sleep with him. Maybe it was time that someone should give a reality check to this all Almighty Vampire King who was suffering from a God Complex.
"You know it is said that a man who likes to boast about his sexual capabilities usually lacks in that department. And to me, you do seem like a dude with a weak dick and lots of muscles." Esmeray barely resisted the urge to laugh when the Vampire King's eyes shot open, his cheeks and the tips of his ears turned pink in embarrassment.
"I challenge you to release me and I bet I'll make your knees weak." His nostrils flared as he leaned forward from the tree.
"Nice try but I don't indulge myself in unnecessary catfights."
"Catfights? I don't raise my hands on women but I assure you that my tongue will be enough to bound you to submit to me. Wanna wrestle wench?" Esmeray laughed at his cutting tone.
It seemed like the King had taken her insult to his petty little heart.
"Are you capable of focusing on anything other than sex?" She sighed in a tired tone as she shoved her remaining half energy bar in her pocket.
"I can focus on your tits. Will you be kind enough to show them to me, my lady?" The Vampire said in an utterly sweet and innocent tone as if he hadn't called her a wench mere moments ago.
"You really are a smooth fucker when it comes to women, jerk.” She scoffed at his words and he shamelessly continued.
"I might be a jerk but at least my dick is a gentleman. It stands up so you can sit down."
"Really? Are you truly the Vampire King? Where did you even learn such inappropriate pickup lines?” Esmeray shook her head in disbelief. She still was having a hard time wrapping her mind around the fact she had been cozy with her target in the Ballroom.
Shit! She had even drooled at his charming appearance.
"Born with the talent. And besides that flirting makes a romantic relationship sweet.” Vladimir winked making her swallow hard as her heart skip a beat.
'How many women had fallen for this beautiful predator?' She wondered.
"We aren't in any type of relationship Vampire." Esmeray mumbled as she eyed his firm kissable lips. For the first time in her life, the idea of a romantic relationship seemed appealing to her.
Esmeray swallowed hard.
No! Bad Esmeray!!
'He is just a job for you! You can't kiss him!!' Esmeray shook herself, forcing herself to remember that how wrong it was to have hots for the Vampire.
God! What was wrong with her?! Was she finally losing her sanity?
Vladimir could see the desire swirling in the witch's gaze as she stared at his lips which oddly satisfied him. The urge to touch the witch was impossibly strong but Vladimir held back, reminding himself that she was just his prey and nothing more. He just has to charm or infuriate her to a point that her neck will be at a reaching distance of his fangs without her throwing another glowing punch at his face. There was no need to get attached to his nutrition. The witch was just a warm living package of blood for him.
"Silly girl if we weren't in a relationship then why did you put bondages on me?" Her eyes widened slightly at his question.
"So you like it kinky. Huh?" He wiggled his brows suggestively and her mouth almost parted in shock before she quickly gathered herself.
"You know with all your talk of that dick now I'm tempted to see that little gentleman of yours." She wiggled her eyebrow as she took a step in his direction.
"It is not little!" Vladimir snapped losing his mischievous composure, making her smile in triumph.
The player was getting played yet again. . .
"I'm sure I can thumb wrestle that little mother fucker. Now come on! Bring it out." Holding her hand she wiggled her thumb in the direction of his dick as if challenging it for a thumb wrestling match. If she was trying to mortify Vladimir she had succeeded.
Change of plan: Forget the rule about not raising his hand on women. Vladimir was going to throttle the little minx at the first chance he got.
How dare she make fun of his... his... Dear Moon! He can't even think about it.
Esmeray could see smoke coming out of Vladimir's ears at her statement as he pressed his lips in a firm line. His eyes were throwing daggers at her.
God! If looks could kill Esmeray would have been six feet under the ground this very moment.
For a little while, she had been successful to make him speechless.
God! It was so much fun to clean that arrogant look from his face. But her victory was short because after some moments the King decided to open his mouth again.
And at that moment Esmeray knew that the journey to the middle of the Forest of Wonders was going to be a long one. She just prayed that she won't kill the narcissistic punk before reaching her destination.