The Prince's Gift

Chapter 9.

She was right. This would only last a couple of months and I needed to make the most of it, regardless of how foreign it was to me. I may never have this chance again. Even though I'd always belong to him, once he was mated to another, who's to say he'd want to do anything more for me. My heart ached at the thought of him with another and I cursed the traitorous feeling of jealousy as it crept in and stabbed my heart. For now, he was mine and that's what I needed to focus on.

I decided to make my way out to the gardens and lazily wove through the maze of large blooming garden roses as their scent filled the air around me. It really was incredible out here. The sun moved slowly across the sky and the breeze began to blow cool against my exposed skin. Autumn would be here soon, but until then, I wanted to soak up every moment left of this beautiful garden beneath the warmth of the sun.

The sun set behind the grey stone walls of the castle and I decided it was time to finally get back inside. My stomach rumbled and I realized it felt empty. I completely forgot to eat lunch. I picked up the pace to head toward the kitchen. There was no need to bother Anthony when I was perfectly capable of fixing something for myself. I turned the corner leading to the back entrance of the kitchen when my bare foot caught an exposed brick in the floor, sending me tumbling to the floor.

"Ow! What the...oh, great!" I saw a steady stream of blood trailing from my palm in the spot that had collided with the hard uneven floor in a failed attempt to catch myself.

I shakily pulled myself to my feet and turned as I heard the sound of air blowing behind me. My eyes widened at the sight of a lean figured young male standing in the opening of the hallway, his jet black eyes fixed on mine. His lip curled back over his fangs and a hiss escaped his mouth as his eyes dropped to my injured hand hanging down at my side. I jumped and gasped when he was instantly standing in front of me, his hands gripping into my arms as he pushed me hard against the wall behind me. I groaned as my head bumped hard against the brick and and his hand gripped my wrist, yanking my bloodied palm up in front of his face as he sniffed my wound.

"Are you one of them? Are you what I think you are?" His voice was vicious and strained as he licked a drop of blood dripping down my wrist.

I whimpered as I felt a sharp pain as his fangs sunk into the wound and he began to take long sips, a satisfied growl erupting from his chest. He continued to take long drawn sips and my knees slowly began to buckle. He let me fall and my knees crashed to the ground as my body slumped back against the wall. The already dim hallway had begun to darken in the edge of my vision and my body felt numb. He was draining me.

I knew I had to be close to death as my vision spotted and blurred. A cold sweat broke across my temples and I slumped further before falling to my side on the ground. I began to fade, my vision blurring in and out of a thick black haze. This was it. I was dying. I knew it as my heart began to beat slower and slower.

I tried to focus when I suddenly heard a booming feral growl. The male latched down harder as his fangs sank deeper into my skin and I cried out hoarsely in pain. A distant agonizing scream echoed in my mind and I realized it was coming from me. The male had been yanked off of me and his fangs had torn through my flesh as he fought to hold on to me.

I clutched my mangled hand to my chest and tears poured from my eyes as I gasped, trying desperately to suck as much air into my lungs as possible. My vision had completely faded and I could only see a black haze as I felt my body shutting down. I felt myself scooped up off the floor and held against something rock hard before air whipped across my skin. A muffled voice sounded above me but all I could focus on was my heart beating at a frighteningly slow pace. I was dying. At least my life hadn't been wasted. I'd known some form of joy, even if it was fleeting.