The Alpha's Mate and the Vampire King
The Alpha’s Mate and the Vampire King Chapter 31

Viktor ported to his balcony. Afraid of startling Yuri or Eden, he opened the glass doors slowly giving them time to hear and see it was him.

Eden crashed into his body before he crossed the threshold. His arms automatically encircled her. Gently, he walked her backwards so he could shut the doors.

I’m happy to see you, as well, little mate.

Eden grinned against his shirt. Her hands flattened against his front. The fabric was damp. She pulled back and saw the crimson stains smeared across his abdomen and arms.

What happened?

It’s not mine.

Is it … Dmitri’s?

Unfortunately, no.

Yuri leaned forward in his seat. He lives?

I don’t think so.

Yuri started to rise and Viktor held up a hand. No, stay seated. He guided Eden to the wingback chair, sat, then pulled her onto his lap.

She snuggled under his chin, uncaring she was getting b***d on her own clothing. She just needed to be close to him for a minute.

Stroking his sieva’s hair, he told them what had happened when he returned to the cliff. By the time he finished, Yuri’s mouth hung open, speechless. It was almost comical.

Luka will be alright? Eden asked.

He’ll mend. As for being alright? I’m not sure. He’s about to soul-bond with Bianca, Viktor replied.

Yes, rather unlucky, Yuri added.

I think you’re both wrong. There’s more to her than either of you know, Eden dissented.

Such as? Yuri prompted.

Such as the fact she came across that she-wolf—what was her name? Isla. Yes, Isla, the one involved with the demon Bogdan. He’d beaten her, was doing terrible things to her and Bianca scared him off. She was so upset she erased Isla’s memory of it.

Yuri scratched at his beard as he did so often when thinking. She told you this?

She did. In front of Bran, if you’re wondering why I believed her.

What was she doing across the border? Viktor asked.

She thought she’d picked up her father’s scent, when she was out visiting the villages and towns. She followed it and it took her into Burghard. She didn’t know he was alive, Viktor. You cannot punish her for colluding with him.

I know.

I know my knowledge of her is limited, but I think you should sit and talk with her. Maybe, now that she’s found her sieva, she’ll feel comfortable dropping the persona she’s been displaying for so long.

Viktor kissed her nose. You may be right, my love.

Eden smiled shyly at his endearment. It was the second him he’d done it. She’d never tell him, but she also liked when he called her little witch.

Yuri stood. I best get back to my wife. Do you need anything before I go, Viktor?

“Could you send word to Kellan? Theron will need to be informed, as well.

I’ll drop in on the Wolf King now so he can get home to his mate. I will visit Theron in the morning, if that is acceptable.

Yes, thank you.

Anything for you, my friend. You, too, Eden. I hope you know that.

I do. Thank you.

Yuri bowed and then exited through the door. As he walked, he wondered how long it would be before Viktor heard the sound that would change his life once more. Yuri hadn’t said anything to Eden about it, unsure if she was aware.

Both Eden and Viktor watched him go, staring at the door long after it had shut. The fire crackled and a whisper of something whooshed in the background. It was almost like horses galloping in the distance, but was too faint for him to decipher.

Viktor? Eden’s voice distracted him from his listening.

Yes?

I—I need to tell you something.

He looked down at his sieva, noticing the red on her hands and shirt. He grimaced.

Can you tell me in the bath? I don’t mind the b***d on me, but I detest anything foul touching your beautiful skin.

Oh, she lowered her head, peering down at her now dirtied clothing. Of course.

Viktor rose, keeping Eden in his arms and carried her into the bathing chamber. Together, they prepared the water.

He removed his clothing, throwing anything tainted into the fire under the heating stones. Eden kept her back to him as she undressed. She wasn’t showing in the slightest so she wasn’t sure what she thought she was hiding.

Once she was nude, she lowered herself to the ledge, dipping her legs into the heated water. Eden crossed her arms across her belly, protectively.

Viktor felt uneasiness rush across their bond. He twisted to check on Eden. She was sitting on the side of the bathing pool, her shoulders slumped and head bowed.

He lowered himself into the pool and walked to the side where she was seated. Slowly, spread her knees apart with his hands and stepped into the space. She didn’t lift her face.

Viktor gently hauled her into his arms and pulled her close. Her legs wrapped around his h**s and he backed them away from the edge. Her arms tightened around his neck.

Eden wasn’t the sort to hide from him or shy away from speaking frankly. Something was bothering his mate, something besides his unwise actions.

“Hold your breath, mala vestica.”

Holding her to him, he dropped below the surface and immediately popped back up, as he’d done not that long ago when she’d vexed him for the first time.

What was that for? Eden sputtered and wiped the water from her face.

That was for being afraid to speak to me. I didn’t like it.

One side of Eden’s mouth quirked. I’m not afraid to speak to you.

Then why did you go from clinging to me one moment, then avoiding me the next?

I have to tell you something.

You think I won’t like what you have to say. Is that it?

Yes, she whispered.

If he didn’t react well, she didn’t know what she’d do. This day had been the most difficult of her life. This should be a happy moment for them. She couldn’t help but feel the dark clouds still lingering over them.

I know you have been through much in a short time, Eden. I also know there are things still hanging between us, things up to me to repair, but you need never fear confiding in me. I will be what you need me to be. I swear it.

He spoke softly, but with confidence. Eden felt his love through the bond.

She hugged him, kissing the sensitive skin under his earlobe. His length hardened fully, pulsating between them.

She pressed her lips against his ear and told him, I’m so glad you came back in one piece. I needed you to come back to us, Viktor.

“I—wait, what do you mean, come back to us?”

When she did not respond, he pulled on her hair so he could look upon her face. Eden bit her l*p. Her pulse accelerated, causing his incisors to ache.

Well, she licked her lips, it means there is now more than one person who needs you.

Viktor became still as a statue. He didn’t react at all and Eden worried her lips. Nothing was coming through their bond. In fact, it felt almost numb. With shock?

I think, she said as she grabbed his hand and brought it to her lower belly, if we are very quiet, you can hear him. Though, perhaps, not under the water.

Him, she’d said. A son.

Viktor finally took a breath. His heart took off, racing wildly. He clutched Eden’s h**s and lifted her out of the pool. The heated water sluiced down her body, the rivulets dripping onto the surface of the water, echoing soft plunks.

Tilting his head, Viktor put his ear against Eden’s abdomen. The muffled whoosh of a tiny heart greeted him. Like tiny horses galloping in the distance.

Heat crawled up his neck. His pressed lips quivered. For a second, he lost control of his emotions. Hope, excitement, and love mixed and tangled with a morbid measure of fear. The snarled ball of emotions worked its way through the bond before he could get a handle on it.

Viktor, her hoarse voice croaked under the strain of his varied reactions.

Viktor allowed Eden’s body to slide down his until they were nose to nose. His glassy eyes broke her wide open.

It will be alright. You’ll see, she comforted him.

His lips turned down. An errant tear was close to slipping free from the rim of his eye.

You cannot know that, his hush voiced disputed.

You’re right. I cannot see the future. So, let us look at facts. No sievas had been joined in the past century. Then you found me.

She kissed him sweetly.

I know it’s been some weeks since we bonded, but Luka has since found his mate, as well.

Another k**s.

Now I am with child. Theron said it used to be that the vampires did not produce young until the leader did. This might be the start of things to come.

Logically, Eden’s words made sense. Viktor wanted to give in to her optimism, to trust her reasoning. He feared he was incapable of it, not with what was at stake.

Outside of his experience with Eden, he’d rarely felt much of anything. He didn’t trust the barrage of contradicting sentiments his overactive mind was producing.

This pregnancy should be something in which they rejoiced. It could signify the end of their curse. His people’s lives might change for the better.

In this moment, however, he cared not what others faced. He only cared what happened to his mate and the babe growing inside her body. For all the responsibility and sense of duty he’d always internalized, none of it mattered when it came to Eden.

One truth ate away at his joy. The Prajna had never had difficulty with conception. Carrying young to term and delivering healthy babes was the plague the curse had produced. If something happened to his child, or to his mate, he would not survive it.

“It is not the pregnancy itself that worries me, Eden. Holding onto it—to him—is …” Viktor inhaled.

No, he’d not voice it and give it power. He straightened his spine and cuffed her neck, holding her attention.

We will take every precaution. You will see the healer first thing in the morning. I will bring in midwives and you may choose two to keep here at the castle. You will rest. You will not exert yourself. You will definitely no longer ingest liquor. It can affect your reflexes and I won’t have you vulnerable. You’ll not eat or drink anything else the healer tells you to stay away from. You probably shouldn’t port with anyone. I’ll have to ask about that. We’ll come up with a list and you will follow it. Understood?

Eden’s chest shook.

I’m serious, Eden.

Her lips stretched, showing her teeth. I can tell.

Eden, he growled.

Viktor, I am pregnant, not made of glass. I’ll not be treated as though I’ll break at any moment. Women have been doing this for thousands and thousands of years.

I only care about one woman and one babe. I’ll do what I have to in order to ensure they’re both healthy and happy.

And I love you for it, she sighed, brushing her mouth across his and planting featherlight k****s upon his sinful lips.

Tell me you’re okay with this. Tell me you’ll try to be happy about it, she whispered against his skin.

Viktor’s face softened. “Ah, moj vestica, nothing could make me happier. Do not mistake my concern to mean I do not want this. I want it very much.”

Eden’s arms and legs tightened around his frame. Her tongue invaded his mouth, searching, demanding. She g*****d, rubbing her slick body against his.

Viktor held her head still and took over the k**s. He slowed it, needing more from his sieva than her l**t. He pulled on their connection, his soul coaxing hers. Probing. Cocooning itself in the splendor of her untainted spirit.

He explored further, opening himself up to what Eden held so preciously inside her body. There, deep within the link he felt the tiniest of threads reaching for him.

Eden and the babe were already connected in a way only mothers could be with their children. Fathers had to forge bonds. Nikolai had never bothered, and both Viktor and Luka had suffered for it. Viktor would never be like his father. His child would never wonder if he was loved.

Viktor’s soul linked to the babe’s and he gasped. The absolute sensation of rightness, of unconditional love and acceptance locked into place. The three of them were now bonded, as a family should be.

He wanted to live inside those bonds. Nothing so pure had ever touched his life. Surrounded by Eden’s essence, touched by his babe’s fledgling lifeforce, his soul felt worthy in a way it never had before.

Eden was growing impatient. She wanted Viktor to make love to her, to alleviate her mounting need. She reached down and palmed his shaft, stroking it slowly.

Viktor’s hand landed on hers, tenderly pulling it away.

Why are you stopping me? she complained.

Eden, we cannot.

What are you talking about?

We shouldn’t do anything that could jeopardize this pregnancy.

Eden cocked her head. You’re serious.

Yes.

Intercourse will not harm our child.

Not one live birth in decades, Eden. Not one. I’ll not endanger him. Or her. I’m not sure I should feed from you, either. It’s been so long since I’ve been around an impregnated female, I just don’t know what is safe. If I harmed you or our young, it would destroy me.

The crack in his voice killed her l**t. Viktor was beside himself, to the point he was refusing to bed her or take from her vein.

Okay, she assured him, stroking his face with both palms. It’s okay.

She reached for the soap. Let’s wash today away. Tomorrow will be better. Yes? she asked hopefully.

Yes, he agreed. Then we will sleep and you’ll stay in bed until the healer has seen to you.

Of course.

Eden lathered the soap, massaged his rigid muscles, and washed away the b***d.