She closed her eyes, the rough fabric of her tunic suddenly suffocating against her skin. Just as the first blow was about to fall, the crack of the whip was drowned out by approaching footsteps, and a voice that cut through the air like a blade.
“Slave master, I am afraid that I must interrupt,” a cool female voice interjected.
Hope, fragile as a sparrow’s wing, flickered within Aekeira. But as she turned, that hope withered. The woman was undeniably a wealthy lady, with her extravagant gown and jewels. She was also heavily pregnant.
A mistress, perhaps? Aekeira’s stomach twisted.
Aekeira recalled her encounter with Mistress Sinai and knew well that appearances could be deceiving. Even the seemingly gentlest Urekai mistress could be far crueler than the slave masters.
Was this retribution? Had she come to make her pay for being the cause of Mistress Sinai’s punishment?
“I hope you don’t mind if I borrow your slave?” the mistress added, her voice as smooth and polished as the gems at her throat.
The slave master, previously puffed with rage, deflated. The whip fell from his numb fingers. “Of course, Mistress,” he stammered, bowing so low his greasy hair nearly brushed the dirt.
The mistress’s gaze landed on Aekeira, heavy and appraising. “Come with me,” she commanded, her tone brokering no argument. She turned, her swollen belly shifting beneath the elaborate fabric of her dress.
Aekeira straightened her tunic, the harsh material rough against her fear-slicked skin. She fell into step behind the mistress, her every sense strained. The mistress’s maidservants trailed behind, their gazes sharp as needles. The silence stretched thick between them.
The silence between her and the mistress stretched, each unasked question tightening the knot in Aekeira’s gut. Who was this woman? What did she want from her?
AEKEIRA
The unknown mistress led Aekeira through the courtyard of the southern wings, then deeper into the western wings. With every step, Aekeira’s dread deepened. Slaves and soldiers alike bowed low as they passed, whispers rustling in their wake. This woman held a palpable force that thrummed in the air around her. Finally, they stopped by the river, its gentle murmur a stark contrast to the tension crackling between them.
“I am Lady Merilyn,” the woman declared, her voice clear and cool. “Bondmate to High Lord Henry, overseer of domestic affairs. And-” she paused, her lips curving into the barest hint of a smile. “I am the bloodhost to the third ruler of Urai.”
Aekeira’s eyes widened. “You are Grand Lord Vladya’s bloodhost?” Now it all made sense-the deference this woman received. Not only was she the closest to a grand lord, but also the wife of a high lord of the court.
The mistress nodded. “And you are the human princess, Aekeira, am I correct?”
“Yes, Mistress,” Aekeira confirmed, her voice small.
“I have been eager to meet you. My…condition has made navigating this vast fortress quite difficult.” Her gaze swept over Aekeira, lingering in a way that sent a shiver down her spine. “You are remarkably beautiful for a human. Now I understand why Vlad is so… captivated.” The last word hung in the air, heavy and strange. Aekeira blinked, utterly baffled. “Huh?” What did the mistress mean? Captivated?
“I have heard that Grand Lord Vladya has taken a particular interest in you. Is it true that he has claimed you?” The question, while not unexpected, felt like a hand closing around Aekeira’s throat.
“Uhm… I don’t under-“
“He mounts you, does he not?” The mistress’s bluntness sliced through Aekeira’s hesitation.
Her cheeks burned, but the truth was unavoidable. She nodded, a single, jerky movement.
“And how was it?” the mistress pressed, her eyes glinting with an unreadable curiosity.
“Painful. He is not… gentle.” Understatement of the century. The fact that Lord Vladya hadn’t killed her yet was honestly surprising. “He despises me.”
“I know he does. Vlad has his reasons for harboring a deep-seated hatred of humankind. That’s why I find his desire for you… intriguing. You see, although Vlad may detest humans, he generally refrains from sexually engaging with them. Despite having countless human slaves over the centuries, he has never taken any of them to his bed.” Lady Merilyn tilted her head, studying Aekeira like a specimen.
That revelation was unexpected. Confusing. At least now Aekeira understood why Vladya had accused her of witchcraft.
“So, you can understand my fascination,” Merilyn’s words hovered in the air like smoke. “How does a small human female like you manage to elicit such a loss of control in the mighty Vladya? If you were a syren, I would assume you were his Soulbond.” She stepped closer, her presence stifling. Her nostrils flared as she bent towards Aekeira’s neck, a predator scenting its prey. “Not a syren, just a human. So what exactly is happening here?”
“I honestly have no idea, Mistress,” Aekeira replied sincerely.
Silence stretched between them, the river’s murmur suddenly too loud.
“Do you know why he hates your kind so ardently?” Lady Merilyn’s question was softer, almost hesitant.
That was an easy one to answer. “It is because of the tragic fate that befell the grand king and his family. And his own people.”
“Oh, if only it were that simple.” A sigh escaped the mistress, and for a moment, the weight of power seemed to slip from her shoulders. “You see, Vlad has always had bad luck when it comes to forming bonds. Among all the rulers, he desired a family the most. He desperately longed for a bondmate. And out of all of them, fate was most unkind to him.” She sighed.
“First, he searched for his Soulbond. Even when everyone laughed at him and dismissed it as a pipedream, as Soulbonds were rare or even extinct, he didn’t give up. Vlad traveled through kingdoms, crossed lands and oceans, searching for her. From the Urekai land to other species across the world.” A faint smile graced Merilyn’s face. “He used to be quite the hopeless romantic, always spinning tales of love.”
Aekeira would bet gold coins that her mouth hung open. Dumbfounded.
The image of Lord Vladya painted by Merilyn seemed entirely incongruous. She simply couldn’t envision Lord Vladya in that light.
“Unbelievable, I know. But true.” Merilyn’s eyes glittered with an unnerving intensity. “However, when he eventually gave up on his quest, admitting defeat, he mourned a Soulbond he never had. Centuries later, he experienced his first love. He was deeply in love with her, but after undergoing the bonding ritual, the bond failed to form within the customary seven days. Do you understand what it means for an Urekai bonding ritual to fail?”
Aekeira got the idea but shook her head nonetheless.
“Very cruel. It is nature’s, the moon’s, Ukrae’s, and fate’s way of declaring, ‘Your souls do not align, and thus, you two cannot be together.’” Merilyn had a sorrowful expression on her face. “It is an exceedingly cruel fate. We are not granted our Soulbond, yet we cannot be with the ones we love because our souls do not connect. And once a bonding ritual fails, it is impossible to become bondmates. Consequently, one must let go of the person they love.”
“Truly heartbreaking,” Aekeira murmured, the words barely a whisper.
“It’s far more than that,” Merilyn replied, her voice tight, her focus on the river a shield against Aekeira’s own emotion. “It is soul-shattering. With each failed bonding ritual, Vladya’s heart grew colder and more callous. His soul fractured. It seemed as though both heaven and hell conspired against his happiness. He witnessed other lords and grand lords go through the bonding ritual successfully and have a bondmate. He watched as they struggled to bear offspring, a struggle all Urekai knew, yet in the end, they built families. And all the while, his own bonding rituals consistently failed.”
“When I became his bloodhost a thousand years ago, love and family were no longer dreams for him.” Merilyn’s voice cracked, just slightly. “They were the ghosts that haunted him. He’d closed those doors, hardened, and simply brushed off any female advances by giving them the cold shoulder. Our females adored him; they all wanted him, but Vladya had shut himself off. He was done.” A shadow fell over Merilyn’s eyes. “Then, I fell in love with him.”
Aekeira’s eyes widened. She hadn’t expected that.
Merilyn offered a small, sad smile. “I did. It was incredibly difficult to break through those walls he built around himself. He pushed me away more often than he drew me close. However, as his bloodhost, we already shared a unique bond. Each bloodfeeding intensified my feelings for him and gradually eroded his defenses. It took two hundred years, but I succeeded. He fell for me, and he fell hard.”
Oh, Aekeira didn’t like where this was going at all. She felt a growing sense of unease. “The bond… it didn’t form?” she whispered fearfully.
Merilyn nodded, her eyes welling with tears. “No, it did not. We knew that bonds between a master and his bloodhost rarely formed, but we were so in love. So hopeful… As his bloodhost, our souls were already connected, so it shouldn’t have been difficult, right?”
At that moment, Aekeira felt pity for this woman and for Grand Lord Vladya. Especially for him. Aekeira had imagined she would feel compassion for that male.
Merilyn let out a shuddering breath, wiping her tears. “After that, Vladya withdrew from the world. He secluded himself. He became unreachable. Impenetrable. You can’t imagine what it’s like… to want something so deeply and have it forever out of reach. He longed for it so desperately, for over three thousand years, and yet, fate seemed determined to cast him aside. As if the stars themselves were mocking him.”
Aekeira couldn’t believe she was tearing up. Quickly, she dried her eyes with the back of her hand. “What happened afterward?”
“No one could help him. Not even I, his bloodhost and lover, could help him. But someone managed to reach him. Grand King Daemonikai. Only King Daemonikai kept him sane, anchored, preserving his sanity during those dark, dark times. Urekai Alphas are incredibly possessive of their belongings, fiercely guarding what they consider theirs. They are reluctant to allow another alpha too close, regardless of the strength of their friendship. However, the grand king integrated Vladya into his own family, making Vladya feel a deep sense of belonging. He was Vladya’s best friend.”
Merilyn’s eyes, still glistening with unshed tears, locked onto Aekeira’s. “Do you know why I’m telling you all this? Why this connects to his hatred of humans?”
Aekeira could only think of one reason. “Because of what happened to King Daemonikai and his family?”
Merilyn shook her head, her eyes brimming with emotion. “While that answer is not entirely wrong, it is only partially true. Six hundred years ago, after centuries of self-imposed exile, Vladya finally dared to open his heart to another woman. Her name was Tiara. She possessed incredible beauty and kindness, and she was adored by everyone. She was a child-barely eighty years old-but such a bright soul. It wasn’t surprising she breached those walls and captured his heart. Initially, he fought it. Hurt her, badly, to try and push her away. The things he did, the words he used…” She trailed off, then added softly, “You must have noticed that Vladya knows how to wield words like a knife.”
Slut. You whore. Oh, Aekeira knew that much. She nodded.
Merilyn sighed. “Tiara, stubborn, beautiful Tiara… Vladya would tear her down with words, leave her sobbing for days, screaming how much she hated him. And yet, she always came back. She couldn’t help herself. She never gave up. Her light… it was too bright to be extinguished, even by someone as dark, as hardened as him.”
The way Merilyn talked about Tiara sent a sharp pang through Aekeira’s heart. For some reason, she envied this incredibly strong female she had never met.
“It took fifty years, but he fell in love with her. And one thing about Vladya is that once his heart opens up, he loves with his entire being. Tiara became his entire world.” Merilyn paused, a sniffle escaping her. “And you know what happened?”
Aekeira’s heart was already aching. “The bonding ritual… it failed again?”
More Kickass Werewolf Reads
Dive into our collection of free werewolf romance novels—where fierce Alphas, daring heroines, and heart-stopping twists await. Every story burns with forbidden desire, loyalty, and destiny. Don’t wait—here’s a world where love bites hard and nothing is stronger than the call of the mate.
Leave a Reply