Happily Ever Bitten

A Halfling. My designation. A plague. An essential death sentence in the Underworld. Until I met him. A Noxia Prince. He's arrogant, a playboy, and the male who saved my life. Except he never gave me… Lue lisää A Halfling. My designation. A plague. An essential death sentence in the Underworld. Until I met him. A Noxia Prince. He's arrogant, a playboy, and the male who saved my life. Except he never gave me a choice, his blood tying me to him for an eternity of servitude. And I'm not sure I want to pay that price. An unspeakable past. Monsters haunt my nightmares. Most of them dead. But a few are still alive, and so I'll hunt them. Torture them. Slay them all. Even if it brings about an early demise. A courtship signed in blood. One bite sealed my fate. But someone is playing a dangerous game, and she'll stop at nothing to see me destroyed. Life is a journey to death. Sometimes the only way to truly live is to die. But I'm not going down without a fight. Note: This is a standalone paranormal tale featuring darker themes, and ends in a happily ever after. * * * I circled her throat with my palm. "You attacked a guest of my court," I said slowly. "I have to punish you, Zay. " "I thought. .. I thought he. .. " She swallowed. "I recognized his scent. " I sighed. "Zay, that's not a reason to attack a man in front of everyone. I've taught you better than that. " Her eyes took on a faraway gleam. "I wasn't thinking. " "No, you weren't," I agreed, my thumb circling her pulse. "Look, I'll talk to Yakariah and see if I can work something out between all of us. But I need you to stay here, okay? If my mother catches you before I can solve this, she's going to flog you in front of the court. " It wasn't an empty threat. My mother still ruled the kingdom, and she wouldn't care about my blood bond to Zaya. A guest had been wrongfully threatened. The Queen of Noxia would punish accordingly unless I somehow convinced her I'd already handled it. "Okay," Zaya whispered, her spirit seeming to shatter with that single word. "I won't go anywhere. " "Promise? " I asked, needing to be sure. She nodded. "Yes. " I brushed a kiss against the corner of her mouth. "Thank you. " My lips hovered near hers for a fraction longer than they should have. I wanted to really taste her. To know her intimately. To tighten my grip around her neck and f*cking devour her. No. My spine went rigid with restraint as I forced myself to release her throat and take a step back. Save it for her dreams, I told myself, my heart skipping a beat in my chest. Not trusting myself to utter another word to her, I left my suite.