Royal shuffle: Vampire's mate

ANDREA

I looked up to see the lady pouring wine into a glass for Leo. Our eyes met, and she smiled slyly at me. I swallowed the food in my mouth, my throat feeling dry all of a sudden. "Your Majesty?" She said. "There's a random person seated at our table."

All eyes fell on me, and I took a deep breath. This bitch might be beautiful, but I was sure that I didn't like her.

"You're right," The king cleared his throat, and spared a glance at me. "That is Andrea."

"Why is she here? She doesn't look like she's royal."

"I will be soon. I see no one told you I'm his mate," I said.

Her face told me that she knew, the way her fingers held her fork told me that she didn't like that. That she already hated me before she met me. "I see..."

"Who are you?" I asked, deciding that the suspense wasn't doing me any good.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Leo shift uncomfortably in his chair. Leopold giggled lightly. He was enjoying this. I sent a death glare his way.

"I'm Princess Leah. I see Leo didn't tell you about me. I am his mate."

"He did tell me about you. About his contract mate..."

"Andrea..." Leo called out my name, drawing it out.

I looked over at him, and he shook his head slowly. I didn't do anything. If there was anyone to be cautioned, it should be this Leah. I scoffed, and continued eating. If anyone assumed that I would be the quiet little mouse, they were gravely mistaken.

"Ladies. There's no need for the drama. That's not why we're here," The king said, trying to ensue peace. As though he wasn't the one that invited us all here together.

"Then why are we here, your majesty?" Leah asked.

"To discuss the um...situation," He said, and waved his hand toward me.

I gulped down the wine in my glass, and set the glass down noisily. All eyes settled on my, but my eyes were set on Leo. Leah scoffed, and Leopold shuffled his seat until he was very close to me. "It's okay. Pull yourself together. It might get nasty..." He shuffled his seat back, leaving me puzzled.

"Leo...my son. All of us seated at this table know one thing for certain, this union..." He pointed at the both of us. "...won't work."

"And why won't it?" Leo asked.

The king and the bitch sighed together.

"First of all, she's poor. She's a nobody. Second, she's a werewolf." The king eyed me with scorn. "If we can even call her that. I mean, a weak wolf that can't shift. An Omega?! She can't be Queen." "That doesn't mean anything..." Leonidas continued.

"It means everything!!!" The king slammed his fist on the table. "We cannot seat a werewolf on the throne."

"She's my mate."

"That's not enough basis to make her queen," the king continued, determined to drive his point across.

I sat there, playing with my food, while I was being discussed like I wasn't there.

"So, what exactly is it that you want from me?" Leo asked.

The king leaned back, seeming somewhat relaxed.

"You send her back to her territory, and mate Leah as soon as possible..."

"What?!" Leo erupted.

The king simply shrugged. "It would prevent a war, and make us the most powerful of the two species. Your child would unite the crowns of both kingdoms, and we'll be unstoppable."

"Is that all this is to you? You want me to throw away the one thing that had brought me some ounce of joy and peace..."

"What peace has she brought? Since she stepped into the scene, it's been chaos. We have managed peace until her," the king said.

"I was the one who fought William," Leo said, gritting his teeth.

"For who?" Leah asked. She had been quiet since the exchange but now decided to throw in her two cent. "If you weren't with her to begin with, we won't be in this situation." "We?" Leo asked, arching his brow.

"Yes. We. Or did you forget that our mating ceremony should have been announced last week?!!"

"I already told you that won't work. We can't go through with this!!!"

"Why?! Because of a stupid, lame, weak dog that you rescued?!"

Leo bared his fangs at her, and growled. "Watch your tone."

"Else what?" Leah bared her fangs as well, and leaned closer to Leo.

"You'll be sent back to Australia in a body bag."

Leah scoffed, and spared a glance at me. "You will risk war with two kingdoms for her. Some leader you would make. Your mother will be very disappointed." "That's enough!!!"

Leah flinched as the king's hand landed heavily on the table, and his voice echoed through the whole room.

"Watch your tongue, Leah. I and your father may be good friends, but you will not disrespect my late wife!!" Leah bowed her head in what I would call mock submission, because her eyes said that she didn't regret anything she said. "I'm sorry, your majesty. My temper got the better of me," Leah meekly apologized.

Leo looked ashen. Like blood had drained from his face. And that was saying something for a vampire. There was silence around the table after that outburst. Leo had gone back to tearing into his rare steak, with a death grip on his fork. I could feel the anxiety coming off Leopold in waves. I signed, and took a sip of wine. We remained silent for a while, until the king broke the silence again.

"We're here to find a befitting solution to this mess. Not fight more," the king said calmly.

"The only befitting solution would be for her to be returned to the werewolves..." Leah said.

I stared daggers into her soul.

"No!!!" Leonidas' voice rang loud and clear through the room.

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I wiped the corners of my mouth with my napkin, and threw it down on the table. I noisily pushed my chair back, and stood up.

"Excuse me," I said, and without waiting to be excused, I headed for the door.

"Andrea..." I ignored Leonidas, and left.

I didn't know where I was going, but anywhere was better than that toxic environment. The hallways of the palace was brightly lit, and I could see the occasional guard on duty as I walked. I looked at the paintings on the walls, and admired the artistry in the strokes of the brush. I could tell that they were ancient works. I wandered until I found myself on the terrace of the house. I took a deep breathe, and looked at the stars in the sky. Enjoying the tranquility that the atmosphere awarded me. I sat in one of the chairs, and sighed, smiling to myself. I didn't know how long I was there for, or how many thoughts went through my head in that duration, but one thing I was sure of was that I wasn't happy to be interrupted. I heard the terrace door open, and close, and I groaned when I caught the scent of who had interrupted me. She took several steps out, and then began to walk round the perimeter of the terrace. I ignored her, and continued star gazing. Hoping that after she was done with her inspection, she would leave.

"Beautiful night, isn't it?" Leah asked, deciding to not read the room.

I guess she wasn't leaving anytime soon. I spared a glance at Leah, and went back to looking at the stars. I heard her laugh lowly, and take the seat opposite me. Now, I couldn't help not look at her. She was directly in my line of vision. She crossed her legs, and regarded me with poorly concealed hate in her eyes.

"What exactly do you want?" She asked.

"For you to leave me the fuck alone, your highness." I said, with a sickly sweet smile on my face.

The smile dropped from her face momentarily, and was replaced with rage. But only for a few seconds, she soon regained her composure.

"That's not what I mean, and you know it," she continued.

"Then what do you mean?"

"What do you want with Leo? Why are you here?"

"Because he's my mate. And mates are meant to stick together...it's rather self explanatory if you ask me."

"Well, I didn't ask you!!!" She snapped.

I raised my hands in mock surrender. Her outburst seeming like a small victory to me. "Okay..."

She took a deep breath, and muttered something unintelligible under her breath.

"How much?"

I looked at her confused. "How much for what?"

"For you to leave. For you and your sisters to leave."

"Excuse me!!!"

I sat up straight, my eyes seeing red.

"Oh, please. Don't act all modest on me now. Name your price, I will provide it, and you can go rebuild your life somewhere else."

I looked at her in shock. Surprised at the temerity of the woman seated across from me. What did she think this was?

"Is that how much you want him? That you're willing to pay his mate off to have him? Have you no self-respect?" I asked.

She arched her brow at me, and squared her shoulders. "How does 15 million United States dollars sound?" She continued. "What?!!!"

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That amount was outrageous, seeing as she just wanted me to disappear. I held back the urge to laugh.

"Not enough. Let's do 20 Million then," she continued, smiling to herself.

I couldn't help myself. I threw my head back and laughed. I laughed so hard that tears began to fall from my eyes, and my stomach began to hurt, my guts wrenched, and I began wheezing. From the look on her face, I could tell that she was taken aback.

"What is wrong with you?" I asked, barely managed to get the words out.

"Nothing. I don't like people trespassing on what's mine. This is my peaceful way of resolving this conflict."

"But he's not yours."

"He is. He was very fine with our arrangement until you came into the picture, and he has since been looking for ways to call off the marriage."

I could hear the pain in her voice, and upon further inspection, I could see her lips quiver lightly.

"You love him." I stated.

She went mute, but the way she wouldn't hold eye contact with me anymore told me what I needed to know.

"You're in love with my mate."

She shuffled in her seat, and I could see the lone tear that rolled down her porcelain cheeks. I felt bad for her. Unrequited love. To see her outside of anything other than the high and mighty princess was shocking. "Whether I'm in love or not is beside the point. What is your price?"

"There is no price. This is a once in a lifetime gift. Vampires hardly ever have their own fated mate. I'm an Omega, we don't get those too. And yet somehow, some higher power somewhere decided to bind us two together. I'm not letting go of that," I said, hoping to be able to reach through to her.

She nodded her head slowly. "He is mine..."

"Why are you laying claim to someone who doesn't want you? Aren't you afraid of being miserable? Don't you want to be happy in the union? Don't you want him to be happy?" I asked, genuinely perplexed by the situation.

"I will make him a good wife, and an great queen. A strong queen."

I shook my head slowly.

"No."

A sinister smile appeared on her lips, and she got up to her feet.

"I don't think you understand, Andrea..." She spat my name out with disgust. "I will have Leo. You're just a tiny obstacle in my way. An obstacle that I will remove."

Chills ran down my spine. I already knew where this was going.

"You will leave Leo. You and your sisters will disappear," she said. "You will either do so willingly, or it will be done with a little assistance from me. It would be a pity to lose your sisters so soon after you lost your mother."

My breath caught in my throat, and fear began to build up inside me. I could feel the hairs at the back of my neck stand on edge, and my body suddenly went cold. Leah looked down at me, and could no doubt see the fear radiating my entire being. Leah shrugged. "The choice is yours..."

"Andrea..."

I jerkily turned my head, and saw Leo standing at the open doors of the Terrace. I had been so absorbed that I didn't hear it open. I gave Leah one last look, and more or less ran to Leo, and took his hand.

"Are you ready to leave?" Leo asked

I nodded frantically.