Chapter 74 - Forced Marriage*

Cederic didn't waste time.

He jumped and landed gracefully like a cat behind the Vampire King.

Bending one knee to the ground, Cederic bowed his head respectfully. 

He paused, crouching on the ground for long seconds, and then straightened when the Vampire King told him to rise.

Cederic stood up straight without giving Luna as much as a glance.

She was grateful for the reprieve, alright, because she was trying to pull her torn dress upwards, fixing it to cover her upper body, but her efforts were in vain.

The thin scraps of her clothing barely covered her breasts as she tried to raise them to her shoulders.

It just couldn't be done.

The Vampire King saw her struggle and moved closer, wrapped his arms around her back, and lifted her to him so easily.

He blocked Luna from Cederic's view to keep her modesty. 

Now that the Vampire King's torso had enveloped her into his embrace, the only thing Cederic could see was her head leaning on his naked shoulder.

Luna didn't know where to put her hands as they flailed at the sides awkwardly.

Having no choice, Luna's arms settled around his neck while her legs locked around his hips. Her knees under clinging unto his forearms, and her heels dug into the muscles of his ass. 

The skin-to-skin contact with her mate sent shivers down her spine, especially when the cold breeze touched her naked skin. 

Luna's breasts brushed the smooth expanse of the Vampire King's chest, and her nipples hardened every time he moved, subtly caressing her back and pulling her closer towards his hard body, turning her on.

"High Priestess, now you made me hungry." Drool dripped from the Vampire King's open jaw, razor-sharp teeth revealed, and his claws lifted as he inched closer to her.

He didn't bite, but his eyes had darkened, and his voice had thickened into growls.

Luna panted in anticipation, sweat trickling down her body.

Cederic grumbled a bit from their physical display, but he didn't complain, "I await your orders, my King."

His tone wasn't less than a command, a blade that whispered warning. "First things first, I want you to tell everyone in the Castle to prepare for our wedding with the High Priestess."

"I didn't want to get married, my King," Luna whispered in his ear as she stared at Cederic hard.

Their eyes met, and Cederic snickered as his eyes drifting back to the Vampire King.

The way he smirked felt like he was mocking her.

Luna narrowed her eyes at Cederic. 'Was that a challenge then?'

A deep growl made her turn around to look at the Vampire King. "Apollyon." 

Luna's heart and mind might have protested it, but she pulled back from him to lift her gaze to his handsome face. "What?"

The Vampire King demanded. "Apollyon for you, High Priestess."

When Cederic heard that the Vampire King desired Luna to address him by his real name, it made him gawk into a frown.

This was the first time he saw the Vampire King renounced his royalty nonchalantly and no other than a mere Amazon High Priestess whose roots were unknown.

Luna's brows knotted in confusion at that, too. "Apollyon?"

The Vampire King paused before clearing his throat. "Apollyon is my real name."

"My King." Luna hesitated. "I refuse to call you by your real name."

Apollyon placed his hands on her waist as he lowered his voice and purred, "Why?"

His deep baritone called to the deepest, most primitive part of her.

Apollyon's voice seemed to hit different, reaching into the depths of her soul.

He gently gripped her waist and wrapped his large hands around soft hips before moving lower to cup her ass better.

She bit her lip, not wanting to become aroused again in front of Cederic.

The Vampire King was determined to seduce her to ruination.

Time seemed to freeze before she spoke. "It's uncomfortable to call you that."

"You called me something before. What was that? Amare?" Luna just noticed that he had sneakily used his vampire hypnotic voice on her, and it was proven effective. "You consented to be my Beloved then."

Luna shrugged, and the way her nipples abraded his chest sent another wave of pleasure in her core. She draped her lithe form around him, holding onto his body with all her might.

Legs squeezed around his waist while her face was buried at the crook of his neck. "The Blood Beast called me that."

"I don't want you to mention him ever again." The Vampire King roared, his deep voice booming.

An eerie, disconcerting silence settled through the crater.

Even the birds flying overhead grew quiet.

Cederic looked amused, content on being a spectator to this tableau.

"Yes, my—"

He rumbled, his full lips curved downward. "Apollyon.'

Luna sputtered to appease him. "Yes. Apollyon."

"I want to marry you as soon as possible." Apollyon jerked up, and Luna stopped breathing when his handsome face peered at her.

He had strong, masculine features, and his blue eyes darkened when his gaze met hers. They were framed with thick, long eyelashes that matched his jet-black hair. He didn't look at her in a way that justified her fear, but it remained in full force. "The moment we arrive at the castle, I will let the High Priest wed us."

Luna was incapable of speech.

The shock and horror of her situation still had her reeling.

"But, my King." Luna licked her lips, forcing her brain to work. "I didn't know about the condition of the Vampire Castle."

"I don't care about that. I will think about that later after we wed tonight."

Luna trembled as her terror returned fiercely, almost losing her tight grip on Apollyon's shoulders.

She wasn't ready for this marriage.

Luna didn't have the time to heal and regain her composure yet, and now this bastard talked about marriage? 

"My King, we should wait for the dust to settle from the wreckage you did at the Castle."

A spark of surprise in those blue eyes. "How did you know about this?"

Luna blinked as she felt her face colour but still, she ignored the question.

The plan was not to reveal all of her powers to the Vampire King to gain some leverage over him just in case.

"Are the fortress and the bailey repaired to its prior state?"

"I don't know. I am the King, my beloved. I am not usually the one that handles seeing at the moment. Jon and the rest will see to that." Apollyon's said huskily, and his smile bore a hint of male satisfaction.

"I can't wait to have you." Apollyon licked his lips as he stared deep into her mismatched eyes. "I need to have you."

Luna shook her head, her silver hair snaking around her body to her waist.

A sick feeling knotted into her stomach. "I—I'm not ready."

"You didn't have much of choice, my mate."

She cleared his throat, not sure what to say, but she told him the truth. "I am ready to marry you, but I can't be your wife yet." 

Apollyon raised a perfectly arched eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

She took a slow breath and blew it out.

It didn't help her case that she was half-naked.

Luna hesitated, wishing it could be that simple. "I want to remain as a virgin for a while as the High Priestess."

Apollyon's mouth curved as if she'd said something funny. "There is no need. You already have broken the curse of the Blood Beast. Why can't you let it go?"

She couldn't get out of this situation by talking.

Apollyon didn't care what she had to say regarding this matter.

Luna didn't elaborate and just pursed her lips instead.

"Oh, so you wanted power for yourself." Something dark and exquisitely dangerous moved in the crystalline depths of Apollyon's eyes as his chill fingers trailed over her spine. "You will have power as my Empress. All you have to do is sit and look pretty beside me at the Banquet, be each other's food, give each other pleasure, and creating heirs every night. That is the most important thing."

Something snapped inside her. "How about love?"

Apollyon laughed darkly, probably thinking she wasn't serious. "Love?"

The wind stopped and even the clouds in the night sky seemed to freeze.

"Will you love me?"