The Gold Queen (Prequel)

***Mateo***

The pain started slowly, a burning sensation spreading from the pit of my stomach traveling down to my groin. Luis growls, furiously, fighting his way to the edge.

Faster! He snaps. She needs us.

I sprint back to the house, colliding with the walls as I race up the stairs and turn the corner to my bedroom. I slam the door open, pure rage bubbling within me at the sight that unfolds before me.

Sofia lay naked in bed, crying and whimpering to herself while Julian climbed on top of her, lining himself up with her entrance. The exquisite smell of her heat fills my nostrils and I know this was not Sofia’s fault. She would never betray me like this willingly.

Fueled with an inconsolable wrath, I send Julian flying across the room, slamming his body against the far wall with my telekinetic power. My mind and body fight for control as Sofia’s arousal fills the room. Luis wanted to take his mate and make her scream his name but he also wanted to murder the man who almost took her by force.

Sofia screams as another wave of heat ripples through her taut body. She scrambles off the bed, her hands shaking as she slips her bra and panties back on.

My anger wins the battle, blinding me so that all I saw was red. I sprint to the wall, hearing a crack as my fist makes contact with Julian’s jaw. He tries to fight back but I pin his hands to his side telepathically and use him as a punching bag, unloading every ounce of strength I had on him.

The door to my bedroom suddenly slams open and a number of his guards enter the room. All but one stop dead in their tracks, their eyes turning pitch black when they smell Sofia’s heat.

f**k, unmated guards!

I hear Julian snicker as I realize just how terrible the situation has become. I turn back to the guards who look ready to pounce on Sofia and push them back against the wall, giving Sofia enough time to lock herself in the bathroom. Julian takes advantage of my distraction to swing his leg right into my groin.

The air swiftly leaves my lungs as I bend over and cradle my balls, releasing all my prisoners momentarily.

“Emi, get Sofia to your bedroom now!” I mind link my brother before Julian lands a punch on my face and knocks me to the ground.

Julian climbs on top of me, blows raining down on my face. From the corner of my eye, I see a group of guards clawing at the bathroom door, all of them trying to kick it open.

Knowing the door would not hang on for long, I regain my focus and concentrate on the guards, flinging them out the door and slamming it shut.

Before I can block the door with the dresser, Julian slams my head against the floor, little stars filling my vision. I wasn’t going to give up though, not after what he did to Sofia. Just as he’s about to deliver another blow, I catch his fist, swinging my other fist and landing a punch on his nose. He stands back up, allowing me to get on the balls of my feet and gain some momentum. Julian pinches his nose as a trickle of b***d drips from his nostrils and I lunge at him.

Both of us go flying through my bedroom window, shards of glass falling with us. Julian lands on his back, the wind being knocked out of him, while I land on top, continuing my assault on his face.

Luis claws to the surface and takes control, wanting to punish the bastard himself. He lands blow after blow on Julian, until he remains limp on the ground, a pool of b***d forming around him.

He’s not dead, unfortunately. I could still hear the faint sound of his heart beat, but that was all about to end soon.

I focus on the millions of glass shards surrounding us, all of them levitating and aimed at Julian’s throat.

As I send them flying to his neck, however, a group of vines form a shield around him, blocking the glass pieces from puncturing his body. I stare in confusion as more vines wrap around Julian’s body and drag him out from under me, knocking me back on my a*s.

He’s getting away! Luis snarls.

I look up and see the former Queen concentrating on Julian.

I snarl at her, furious that she was interfering with my task. Julian needed to pay for touching my Mate. The Price? His life!!

“Let him go!” I growl, scrambling to my feet and chasing after the vines dragging Julian towards the former Queen.

A cluster of thorny vines spring from the ground, blocking my path.

“You are single handedly the most incompetent King to ever reign over this great Kingdom!” The former Queen snaps back. “Just who the hell do you think you’re attacking? Hmm? This is your ally!”

I glare at her. Ana Lucia has never liked me and no matter what I do, I’ll never be enough in her eyes. She prefers the little King with all the knowledge of leading a kingdom. Just wait until I tell her what her precious King did.

“He raped Sofia,” I pant, the rage building up inside me once again. “And he is no ally of mine!”

Her eyes widen in shock.

“Of all the preposterous things to come out of your mouth!” Ana Lucia screeches, indignation carved into her every word. “This takes the cake,” she scoffs. “How low of you to make up such a hideous lie!”

I smile knowing I had the truth on my side. “I found him on top of Sofia, taking advantage of her heat, attempting to claim her.”

“You men think only with your muscles and not with your brains!” She snaps, creating a cocoon of vines around Julian to protect him. “Say I believe you, then what?” She huffs, crossing her arms across her chest. “Are we to execute a neighboring King?”

“Yes!” I snarl, losing my patience with her.

“Great,” Ana Lucia chirps, clasping her hands together and forcing a smile on her face. “Then we can all watch Sol de Oro burn to the ground!”

She lowers her vines, stepping towards me, every move she makes calculated.

“Sol de Oro has survived these vampire attacks thanks to Estrella del Monte. Without them, we will fall,” she says, her voice dangerously low.

She was no longer Queen, but the power in her voice was something you were simply born with. She was born to be a ruler.

“You have witches in the fight now too,” she adds through gritted teeth. “You don’t have the luxury to like your allies but you do need them!”

I stare at the tiny woman, pushing past her menacing glare. She was no longer Queen and this was my Kingdom.

“From this moment forward, Estrella del Monte is no longer our Ally,” I declare, keeping my voice strong and steady.

I mind-link the guards to come immediately, Ana Lucia screaming her distaste at me.

“You i***t!” She growls . “Do you have any idea what you’re doing? We can’t push away an ally at a time like this… “

“I already did,” I reply coldly, a group of guards arriving. I turn to them, all of them bowing before me. I send a small group to the house to collect the guards that had attempted to attack Sofia. “And take this scum to the airport. He’ll be returning to Veracruz immediately!” I order.

The men stare at the cocoon containing Julian, Ana Lucia refusing to let him go. I march right up to her, invading her space so that I was towering over her.

“Let him go,” I snarl in her ear, using my Royal voice.

I had earned it when I became Sofia’s king, although my voice was nowhere near as strong as hers. Ana Lucia fights against the command, but I was her king now and she had to obey.

Begrudgingly, the vines recede, and the guards lift the unconscious king in their arms to drag him away.

“If he or his people ever set foot in this Kingdom again,” I call out, making them all stop in their tracks, “You are to execute them on sight. Effective immediately. From this moment forward, Estrella del Monte is an enemy.”

Turning back to my mother in law, I grab her arm, making her yelp in pain and bring her ear close to my lips.

“And the next time you defend that worthless piece of s**t,” I hiss, tightening my grip on her arm so that she squirms. “Consider yourself a rogue.”

.

.

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***Sofia***

I manage to crawl into the bathroom, pressing my back against the door to keep the guards from coming in. But they were strong and I fear the door may not hold up against their strength.

I was completely mortified when Mateo entered the room, a look of pure rage on his face.

Would he be angry with me for being so weak?

The thought makes me whimper as the guards keep banging on the door. A new wave of heat ripples through me, my body shivering with desire. I fight through my tears and stick my hand in my panties to relieve the pain, rubbing my clit furiously to make it all stop.

Suddenly, I hear a series of loud crashes and the banging stops. Too afraid to investigate, I finish myself off and remain pressed up against the door.

Minutes seem to crawl by as I wait for something, anything to happen.

The sound of someone banging on the door nearly frightens me to death and I burst into fresh tears.

When would this nightmare end?

“Sofia! Sofia, open up! It’s me!” A gentle but desperate voice calls out.

“Emi?” I whimper, still too afraid to open the door.

“Sofia, let me in!” Emiliano cries. “I’ll get you somewhere safe, I promise.”

I hesitate, my hands shaking on the door knob. Emi must feel my fear because his next words soothe.

“It’s okay, Sof. You’re safe with me, I promise,” he whispers. “No one will hurt you anymore.”

He didn’t know how much I needed those words.

I scramble to my feet and unlock the door, Emi barging in and wrapping me in his arms. He had a towel wrapped around his waist, his body covered in b***d and claw marks. As I look past his shoulder, I see a pile of lifeless guards laying on the floor outside my bedroom door.

He lifts me into his arms bridal style and grabs a blanket from my dresser, draping it over my body.

I hide my face in his chest, my tears staining his skin as he carries me to the safety of his bedroom, locking the door behind him.

He gently sets me down on the bed, rushing to the bathroom to put some clothes on. From his crib, Chavita coos, chewing on a clean diaper and giggling to himself. He was naked and haphazardly covered in baby powder. I crawl out of bed and stand over the crib, Chava smiling at me.

I let him chew on his diaper and wipe the baby powder from his cheeks, arms and stomach before reaching for a fresh diaper.

I wrap him up in his clean diaper and cradle him into my arms for a moment, sniffing his head to calm me down. To my dismay, the heat returns, burning from my groin to my chest. Afraid I might hurt the baby, I set Chava down in his crib before finally collapsing on the ground, completely exhausted from the pain.

Emi runs out of the bathroom half dressed to help, when suddenly there’s a knock at the door.

Frightened, I curl into a ball as Emi rushes to the door.

“Who is it?” He calls out, placing a hand on the handle.

His eyes fog over and after a few seconds he lets out a sigh of relief and opens the door.

Mateo stands in the hall, one of his eyes nearly swollen shut and several cuts on his face and body. He rushes to my side, picking me up in his arms. My body cools at his touch and I bury my face in his neck, too ashamed to meet his eyes.

“It’s okay, chaparrita,” he murmurs, caressing my cheeks as he walks out of the room with me. “He’s gone now. He can’t hurt you anymore.”

I whimper as the heat starts up again. He sprints down the hall and takes me to a guest room, slamming the door shut behind us as he throws me on the bed. His eyes are jet black with l**t.

“I’m so sorry, Sofia,” he whispers, climbing into bed with me and pulling me to his chest. “I’m so sorry I didn’t come sooner. T-this is all my fault.”

I hate that he feels this was his doing, when he was innocent…unlike me.

I shake my head, my back arching as the desire builds in my honey pot.

“It’s not your fault,” I pant, my body aching for him.

“It’ll pass,” he whispers, kissing away my tears. “Just hang on a little longer.”

“M-make it stop!” I sob, taking his hand and sliding it into my panties. “P-please,” I beg through my tears. “Please help me.”

Solana howls in agony, needing him to relieve us with his touch. War wages on in his silver eyes as he struggles with himself to hold back.

“Please…”

Seeing me in pain, he nods, moving his fingers between my slick folds and drawing a m**n from my lips as he presses down on my clit. I grip the sheets and cry out as the pain morphs into pleasure. Stars burst in my vision as pure euphoria crashes through my being and I c*m on his hand.

He gets on his knees, gently tugging on my panties and looking up every so often to ensure I was okay as he spread my legs apart.

There are tears in his eyes as he moves his fingers into my tiny hole, pumping them in and out at a slow pace. He was afraid of hurting me and it saddened me to see such fear in his eyes when there had once just been love.

I prop myself up on my elbows and lean into him, crashing my lips onto his.

“I love you, Teo,” I whimper as his fingers thrust inside me. “W-we’ll be okay. We won’t let him win.”

He pulls back from the k**s and takes one of my legs, showering it with k****s and setting my body on fire with need.

“I love you, Sofia,” he murmurs between k****s. “I love you so much baby.”

I c*m over and over again as he worships my body, removing Julian’s scent and replacing it with his own. When the need becomes too great, Teo allows me to take control. I climb onto him, riding him until my legs were numb with exhaustion.

Mateo rolls over onto his side and pulls me to his chest, playing with my hair as I doze off to sleep in his arms. Throughout the night, I relive my moment of weakness with Julian. But each time, Mateo wakes me up, reminding me of who I truly belonged to. He k****s the pain away, making me feel nothing but his love for me. He was and always will be, my most precious gift from the Moon. And I would never give him up.