Blind Love( Completed, Kings Series, Book 4)

Hurting

(Diana's POV)

"What is going on?" I whispered to Samuel. Queen Anabelle? Who was she? Did that mean we were already divorced? I couldn't help but feel the fury boiling inside me. It just didn't seem right. Not when he'd said we were mated. It didn't matter whether I wanted to be mated to him, wanted to remain mated to him. These were irrelevant questions. This was cheating!

Then it occurred to, me. What did I really know about him? Had he been married before? Was I the third wheel? In any case, I hadn't done anything but take blood from him. We hadn't done any of the naughty stuff, not really. There was no reason for me to feel bad. I hadn't done anything wrong.

Still....this disturbed me at a different level. Did that mean we would never...I mean never? That didn't settle well with me. I remembered the flush in my body while I was drinking from him. The rapid beat of my heart. The heat. The desire. The obsession. I hated him for putting all these concerns in my head. Now, I wanted to experience the next step with him, I just couldn't. There was a Queen.

"Nothing. This is all wrong!" he said.

We walked into one of the spacious rooms. It reminded me of the gathering room where I'd been attacked. But, the walls were no longer red reflecting the color of blood, they were beige. Suddenly, a red-haired beauty came running from inside the Mansion. Her long hair was held by a golden tiara, her silken dress of the same color flowed gracefully over her figure. With her reddened cheeks and eyes that reminded me of the clear blue sky, she was a sight to behold. She hugged Samuel. "Are you okay?" she asked. "Why did you leave like that? You had me worried so!"

Great! Nothing, huh? It wasn't hard to guess who she was. So, this was the Queen.

Samuel's arms came around her in a clumsy way. I had to think it would be hard not to show any reaction to her. She was claiming her rightful place in his life. And, she was so very beautiful. I was happy he couldn't see her.

After patting her back a few times like he was consoling a child, he loosened his arms and cleared his throat.

"Well, I'm fine. Belle? Uhm...what happened to Keith?" he asked.

Belle, huh? That reminded me of his ramblings under the influence of the venom. He'd said her name. Belle. That meant beauty. She surely was one. I didn't like the nickname at all.

There was a brief shock on Belle's face. Of course, Samuel couldn't see it, but I did.

"Why are you bringing this now? I haven't seen him, not since I've chosen you that day and I've never regretted it. You know that, right? " She gave him a quick kiss as a reminder. He wasn't expecting it. His lips didn't move. Still, I turned my head. That was just so disturbing.

She paused sadly. "I heard all the werewolves were gone. I didn't know The Werewolf King very well. But, it's still sad, you know? To think that he's gone. The ShadowVampirs....have possessed them. And, you know what that means. "

Thankfully, she didn't wait to hear our answer but continued, unaware that we didn't know a thing. I felt like a student entering an exam without even studying a single page.

"Based on what I heard, it's already been a few months. The bodies might have disintegrated already."

"Disintegrated?" I said. Were bodies disintegrating after the possession?

"Oh, hi," Belle said, noticing my presence. "Are you one of the escapees? Welcome!" I wanted to hate her, but it was rather hard to dislike her. She turned towards Samuel. "Was this what you were doing? Saving her?" She smiled, arriving at her own conclusion, finally understanding why he'd been absent. She'd deduced that it was for a noble cause. "He is always the savior. Still, you should not have acted alone," she lightly reprimanded him. But, she also wore an expression of pride on her face.

"Yes." What else could I have said?

"What happened to you? To your people?" she asked.

Cian shifted his feet and averted his eyes. He thought I was the tucked away mistress. Great!

"Possessed," I said. "They came one night. So many of them. They emerged out of a broken cane. The dust spread around us. Then the dark shadows...All the vampires were taken."

I had summarized the version of the events as I had experienced them.

"Wow," Belle said. "You are a vampire....I'm sorry. Once they are in, it is over."

"Enough!" Samuel said, impatient. "Do we keep records of what we know about them?...The ShadowVampirs."

"Yes, of course, we do. We are adding everything we heard, everything we know. But, you know very well that it's not much. And, we haven't added anything to it since the last time," Alessandro said as he joined us. "I see that you have all met," he winked.

"I want it. Now!" Samuel emphasized when nobody moved.

"Of course. I'll read it to you, Samuel," Belle said.

"No. You go and do whatever," he said, waving his hand. "I'll be fine.

"But how will you..." Alessandro started.

"Damn it! I will be fine. Just bring it to me. And then I want to be left alone."

There was an awkward silence in the room. The silence hung in the air like the suspended moment, it was eerie, like a forest awakening to a dawn devoid of animal sounds. It was heavy, repressive. Nobody knew what to do. Belle held Samuel's elbow to get him seated. He shook her off. He took a step, and then he took another. Then he crashed straight into the table, the things went toppling down. He cursed and kicked down the table in anger. "Who put this here?" he bellowed.

"Let me," Belle said, as she rushed to his aid. He pushed her away. "Just bring me the notes!" he shouted as he leaned on the wall. He was panting, his fists were punched, he was having a hard time in calming his inner demons.

I knew what he was going through. That once had been my life. My heart went out to him.

He was proud. He didn't want pity. He refused any help.

Hurried footsteps and the squeak of the door alerted me to the fact that Alessandro had gone to fetch what he wanted.

"I need blood," he said out of habit. "No...shit! I need wine!" he corrected it when Alessandro came back and handed him a heavy notebook with pictures.

"I'll be waiting for you in bed," Belle whispered in his ear. Damn the vampire hearing, I had heard it all. Samuel became flushed. Was he embarrassed? Was it desire? How I wish I could see the colors now. Was he into her?

Samuel held the glass of wine Cian had brought him and drank it in one gulp. "You stay!" he told me. "I need to hear what you know."

Belle hadn't suspected anything, but before he left Alessandro said teasingly, "I'll make sure you're not disturbed, not unless the ShadowVampirs are in." And he closed the door.

"Finally," he sighed. "They are all gone. Come and help me sit down."

That was the best thing he had said to me. He wanted my help. He was revealing his bleeding soul, his vulnerability. I didn't make him wait, I held his hand and we sank down the sofa next to one another like two exhausted kids.

"Who is she?" I asked. My voice was harsh, I couldn't help it even if I had no rights over him.

"It doesn't matter."

"It matters to me," I whispered.

"She was once mated to me but chose another. I got over it. Look, she is not real. This is not real. Do you understand, we are just guests here. I will reverse this. But, I need to know more."

She was there before me. Did he mean it when he said, it was over? It was very hard to believe him. She was so pretty and he'd be stupid not to take up on her offer.

If this wasn't real, how come it hurt so?

"Read Diana. C'mon, just read what it says in here." He opened the thick book. "We need to learn everything about them."

I started reading. "The Shadowvampirs...."

As always, thanks for reading

Alena