Falloir (verb) necessary, required
This woman had no idea who she was or what she was asking me to do. And neither did Marius. Thankfully.
Death would be the easier option, but my brother was right. It was my responsibility to lead the army and push our lands westward.
Even if I had to overcome the problem that she presented.
A year would go by in a blink, and if I kept her at arms distance, as much as it would pain me, I could get through this and move on with my life.
The pull of a mate bond couldn't be as strong as my free will.
I forced myself not to look at her when I said, "Fine. I'll do it."
"Splendid," Marius replied with a clap of his hands. "Now, take..." he twirled his finger in the air, "what is your name, dear?"
"Claire. Claire Donadieu."
Hearing the sound of her name was like magick. There was no other way to describe it. Forever, my attention would be attuned to the sound of it. My senses sharpened whenever it was spoken.
My desire to protect her absolute until the day she died.
I closed my eyes and drew in a steadying breath. I didn't want this. I didn't want to be fated to anyone. I should be able to choose my mate, not have her selected for me by some mystical force.
Had I known when I saw her across the ballroom that the intense need to speak with her was the pull of a mate bond, I would've run instead of giving the bloodstone time to recognize our connection.
When I opened my eyes, I found Marius dabbing the dried blood from Claire's neck with a damp towel. Cleaning the worst of the mess that choker had made. He tossed the rag on the floor and captured her hand in his, holding it as he escorted her to where I stood.
I had to swallow a growl at the sight of him touching her. Even though I loved my brother well, a vision of tearing his arm from the socket and beating him with it flitted through my mind.
My fingers tensed, and adrenaline coursed through my limbs.
I had to keep this new protective desire in check. If Marius discovered the truth, I'd be forced to give up my campaign in the west and made to live here in the capital. Pandering to courtiers and listening to petty disputes.
Which was the last thing I wanted.
My brother offered me Claire's hand with a grin. I merely glared at him.
Marius sighed in frustration and rolled his eyes. "Bastien, it's time to take Miss Donadieu to the dais, claim her as tradition demands, and put this whole mess behind us."
Claim her. Yes. That's exactly what I wanted to do. To claim her as mine. To make us one body. One breath. The pull was unlike anything I'd ever experienced before. It was as strong as gravity holding my feet to the ground.
Fight, damn you. Fight back. I was stronger than some base desire. I knew nothing about this girl, and what I did know, I was suspicious of.
I could do this. I just needed to remind myself of what was at stake.
Her deep brown eyes met mine, wide and big as a fawn's, and the bond between us opened wider. I could feel her heart beating in my chest, and I could smell her fear of me as keenly as I could smell the apples ripening on the trees in the orchard below.
She was afraid of what came next.
My instinct was to offer words of comfort. To take her in my arms and tell her everything would be okay. An instinct that I had to fight against with all my will power.
Chest tight, I slowly lifted my hand to hers and waited for Marius to place her hand in mine. Not trusting myself.
When he did, and the heat of her skin warmed my cold flesh, a pop of something that felt like magick snapped between us. A little jolt of heat that made my stomach jump.
I tried to look unaffected, because I knew Marius was watching me. Studying my reaction. He was suspicious of my intense opposition to the woman. I could tell.
But Marius wasn't the one I was worried about at the moment.
Claire was grimacing at the place our bare skin touched like my flesh had just burned her, and I wondered if she had felt it too. The snap of magick between us.
If the stories were true, she should be able to feel the pull of our bond. And I hoped in this case, the stories were wrong. Or that because her blood was tainted with magick, she was temporarily immune to it.
My attention shifted down to her throat, and the black lace choker coated in drying blood.
I used the sight to fuel my anger. I was in this situation because she so unwisely dabbled in magick.
As casually as I could, I placed my free hand behind my back, falling back on the courtesies Marius expected of me. "Shall we give the people what they want, Miss Donadieu?"
"Oh, we're going now?" she asked, her voice wobbling. "You're going to claim me r-right away?"
I narrowed my eyes. "That's how this works. I drink from you and they all clap. That's what you want, isn't it? For me to drink your blood?"
Say no. Say you want to run away.
The scent of her fear intensified. My need to comfort her became almost unbearable.
Instead, I instructed myself to focus on how angry I was.
I needed to remember how this woman had disrupted the trajectory of my life. She complicated everything. All the promises I made to help liberate people west of my land. She had thrown the fate of so many others into jeopardy just by breathing.
If I let my guard down for one minute, for one second, everything I'd worked to build could come crashing down.
I hated her for who she was and for ruining what little peace I'd found.
To my surprise, focusing on anger seemed to work. It cleared my mind. If I could only stay angry, I could survive this.
"Yes, that's what I want," Claire finally said, even though the scent of her fear was omnipresent. The fragrance clinging to my clothes and sticking to my tongue. "Okay, I'm ready."
Of course, she couldn't have made things easy.
"Follow my lead."
The attendants opened both balcony doors for us, revealing a massive crowd. Drinks in hand. Glasses raised. Marius strode forward, making his announcement of the imminent joining between Claire and I.
"Oh wow," Claire muttered under her breath when everyone cheered. "Are they all waiting for us?"
"Yes. We are the entertainment."
I shifted my gaze to her face, hoping to watch her squirm under the pressure, but instead was captivated by the way moonlight illuminated her lavender hair with an iridescent glow.
It was breathtaking. And I momentarily lost the ability to speak. The world could've been burning and I wouldn't of noticed.
"That's really intimidating," she said, still staring at the crowd.
Meanwhile, I was staring at her. At the way the light caught her hair.
"Yes," I said, the words dripping from my lips, "it's all very intimidating."
Somehow, I forced myself to tear my focus from her and carry out my duties despite everything in me screaming to claim her mouth as mine. To seal the bond between us with a kiss.
Step by step, I led us to the raised dais at the front of the ballroom where the rest of my brothers and their sanguine partners stood waiting. Tibitha, the woman I'd been feeding from for the last year stood off to the side next to my assistant, Natalia. Unsurprisingly, she looked miffed that I hadn't told her I selected someone.
Claire's hand trembled as I guided her up the stone steps, and my anger wavered.
"Are you alright?" I whispered.
She nodded once. "Perfectly fine."
She wasn't, but I couldn't let that thought consume me. By all accounts, it was impossible for my kind to cause their mate physical pain. Which was why it was against vampire law to take a mate as a sanguine partner.
But I didn't have a choice. I'd have to force myself to drink from Claire in front of an audience because my only other options were death or admitting the truth to Marius.
The violins played while my brother joined us on the dais. I bowed to him, and Claire, following my lead, curtsied. I tried not to take notice when the swell of her breasts strained against the black lace bodice of her gown as she did. But I did.
"As all good matches begin, so does the one between my brother, Prince Bastien of House Allard, Steward of Chateau Rose, and Miss Claire Donadieu, with a first bite." He canted his head to the side and grinned coyly. "Or rather, a second, in this case."
Soft chuckles sounded from the crowd. Claire's cheeks flushed, and I felt the thrum of her heart beating faster against my chest. Pulsing from the bloodstone I wore on a thin chain around my neck.
Ignoring the pull of our bond, I did what tradition demanded, and spun Claire in a slow circle before pulling her into my arms and easing her back into a dip so low that her silver lilac hair brushed the red carpet.
I lowered my lips to the soft flesh just below her earlobe, waiting for the change to happen. For my demonic bloodlust to be triggered. For my incisors to drop and my eyes to blacken. But...nothing was happening.
We finally get to hear from Bastien and Ooh! He's got a lot of tea to spill! 💕
Will he be able to bite her? 👀
Question: What's your favorite romance trope and why is it enemies to lovers? 🤣🤣
I do love enemies to lovers very much, but forbidden love is probably my favorite. I also like rivals to lovers.