His Lost Queen by Annie Whipple

BELLE

My eyes flew open, blinking under the bright light on the ceiling above me. Memories of what had happened last night came crashing to the front of my consciousness like a freight train.

I was disoriented and drowsy from passing out and had no idea where I was or how I got there. And, even though exhaustion was pushing me to go back to sleep, panic gripped me like a vice, forcing my eyes open wide.

Adalee had tried to kill me.

Grayson didn’t care if I was dead.

Liam was a vampire.

My hand went to my throat, touching the spot where Adalee’s hand had been wrapped around my

neck.

I whimpered when my fingers connected with the tender bruise there, my throat constricting with

horrified tears.

I scrambled to sit up, pushing through the pain coursing through my body. My fight or flight instinct was telling me to get the hell out of dodge.

I looked around me, realizing for the first time I was in Liam’s apartment, back in the room he used to let me stay in. I felt the tiniest bit of relief. I knew this place. I could get out of here quickly.

“F uck,” Liam’s voice said from outside my door. “I think she’s awake.”

I moved faster, practically leaping out of bed-although my body was screaming at me-and looked for anything I could use as a weapon.

I reached for the closest object, a lamp, but was stopped right before I could grab it.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” Liam was suddenly next to me, gently pushing me back down by my

shoulders onto the bed.

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I blinked up at him. How had he gotten here so fast? He moved like a blur. I had jus

talking in the living room,

heard him

“Slow down there,” he continued. “You’re not fully healed yet. You need to take it easy

I flinched away from his touch as if he had burned me. Visions of him covered in Adalee’s blood assaulted my consciousness.

Vampire Vampire Vampire Vampire.

Liam was clean now-no more blood on his face-and he was wearing fresh clothes. He looked like his normal self again.

That didn’t make me any less terrified of him.

Liam’s eyes softened when I jerked away from him and retracted his hand from me slowly.

Laila appeared beside me as well, looking down at me with concern. “You’re not supposed to be awake yet. We thought you would be asleep for hours after everything you’ve been through.”

She tried offering me a gentle smile that I’m sure was meant to be comforting. “But you’ve always been one hell of a fighter, haven’t you?”

I barely comprehended what Laila was saying, unable to stop from glancing at Liam, feeling betrayed by the man I had once trusted. He’d lied to me.

What had I expected, though? Everyone I cared about turned their backs on me at some point or another. They all had secrets that they were preparing to use against me.

“Don’t look at me like that, Belle,” Liam begged, his tone pained. “You know I would never hurt you.”

“You hurt Adalee,” I croaked. My voice was h oa rse and gravelly, but not as bad as I had been expecting, given all that had happened to me. “You killed her. How do I know you won’t do the

same to me?”

“I saved you. That werewolf was trying to kill you, Belle. I wasn’t about to stand back and let you die. I had to do something.”

So he knew Adalee was a werewolf.

And he was a vampire.

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What the f uck had my life become?

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I recalled hearing Grayson tell me about a war between werewolves and vampires that had been going on for centuries. He said vampires were horrible, backstabbing creatures who only thought of themselves.

That couldn’t be Liam, could it?

My eyes filled with unwanted tears. “Are you a-a-” I asked Liam.

He interrupted me before I could say the word. “I’m a vampire.” He looked to Laila, who was worrying her bottom lip between her teeth

She nodded her head once. “We both are. All… All of Evergreen is sort of full of vampires.”

And that was all I needed to hear.

I practically flew out of bed, planning to sprint to the door. I should have known that

would be futile.

my

efforts

Liam grabbed me and forced me back onto the bed yet again. My exhausted, sore limbs protested, making me clench my jaw.

“Stop that,” Liam commanded. “You’re going to hurt yourself. You’re not fully healed.”

I struggled against him, trying to push his hands off me. I wanted to scream in frustration. I was so sick of people using their supernatural strength to detain me.

After a few more seconds of fighting, I begrudgingly relented and lay back down in defeat. I glared at Liam, feeling tears running down my cheeks. Embarrassment reddened my face. I hated that I was crying in front of them.

“So, what?” I demanded, angrily wiping my tears. “I just walked into a crazy vampire cult or something?”

Liam frowned. “We prefer the term clun. Not cult.”

As if that made it any better.

Laila touched my hand. My head snapped up to look at her, and I jerked away from her touch.

“You have nothing to be afraid of,” she told me. “You lived with werewolves before, didn’t you?”

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Liam frowned. “We prefer the term clan. Not cult.”

As if that made it any better.

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Laila touched my hand. My head snapped up to look at her, and I jerked away from her touch.

“You have nothing to be afraid of,” she told me. “You lived with werewolves before, didn’t you?”

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My jaw dropped. “H-How did you-”

“We all knew you had come from a werewolf pack as soon as you got to Evergreen. You reeked of them.

“Plus, you have a werewolf mating mark the size of Canada on your neck,” Laila told me. “You really thought we wouldn’t notice that?”

I didn’t know how to respond. I touched my mark gently, wincing when it flared with heat. I wished I could just scrub the thing away so no one, including me, could ever see it again.

Laila sighed. “Look, I know this is a lot to take in, but I promise you, if you can handle werewolves, then you can handle vampires.”

“At least we don’t turn into monsters whenever we’re in a bad mood,” Liam grumbled. “We’re not nearly as scary or dangerous.”

Was that supposed to make me feel better? Nothing they said would make this situation any less messed up.

I had escaped a pack of werewolves who hated me just to walk straight into a vampire clan who probably wanted to have me for breakfast. Talk about out of the frying pan and into the fire.

“Werewolves don’t kill people,” I retorted.

Liam scoffed. “I wouldn’t be too sure about that, hun.”

We held each other’s gaze for several long moments. A silent challenge. I was the first to look away. Although I hated him at the moment, some part of me knew he was right.

Liam definitely wasn’t the biggest monster I had ever faced.

“I’m so sorry, Belle,” Laila said. “I wish we could have told you. We wanted to, I promise.”

“So why didn’t you?” I whispered.

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“Our father wouldn’t let us. He didn’t want us to associate with the mate of a werewolf. Especially one with a mark the size of yours,” Liam said.

“Your mate is dangerous, isn’t he?” Laila questioned. “Isn’t it true that the bigger the mark, the more powerful the werewolf?”

I nodded stiffly. “He wasn’t the friendliest person.” That was the understatement of the century. “So that’s why I couldn’t get a job in Evergreen? Your father wouldn’t let me?”

“Yes,” Liam grumbled, actually looking upset about it. “He was being an asshole.”

I tried to keep my breathing calm, although my chest was tightening more and more by the minute.

“So when you told me your father was the leader of the town…what you really meant was that he’s the leader of…of a vampire clun?”

Liam sat down on the edge of the bed next to me. “Yes,” he said slowly. “Our father may or may not be one of the most powerful vampires in the world.”

“Because why wouldn’t he be? It makes perfect sense.” Of course I left one of the most powerful werewolves in the world just to move in with the son of one of the most powerful vampires in the world.

“And let me guess he hates me because I was mated to a werewolf, right? That’s why he wouldn’t let me get a job?”

Liam and Laila hesitated for only a second before they both nodded.

I couldn’t help the bubbling laughter that left my lips at the irony of the entire situation. “Well, isn’t that just peachy?” I laughed.

“We tried to convince him you wouldn’t be a problem, but he didn’t want your mate, whoever he is, coming to our town,” Laila said.

I shifted. “Would you do something to him if he did? Would you…hurt him?”

“We don’t kill anyone,” Liam cut in, sitting on the edge of my bed. “Yesterday was the first time I had ever taken anyone’s life.”

“But then how…” I swallowed. “How do you

“If you’re trying to ask about our diets,” Liam provided, “we drink blood. They got that much right

in the movies.”

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I shifted. “Would you do something to him if he did? Would you…hurt him?”

“We don’t kill anyone,” Liam cut in, sitting on the edge of my bed. “Yesterday was the first time I had ever taken anyone’s life.”

“But then how…” I swallowed. “How do you

“If you’re trying to ask about our diets,” Liam provided, “we drink blood. They got that much right in the movies.”

“Human blood?” I asked quietly.

He nodded slowly. “Yes. Human blood.”

“But we don’t kill them,” Laila cut in. “They don’t even remember anything after we take their

blood.

“They may feel a little disoriented for a couple of days-they might even think they have the flu or a bad hangover or something-but they are otherwise unharmed.

“Vampires have evolved to be able to inject our victims with a toxin in our fangs that can make them forget everything if we want them to. Not all vampires care to do this, but we do.”

All the nights I had spent here came racing to mind. I had no idea that I had been living under the same roof as a bloodthirsty vampire.

I didn’t remember Liam touching me but… Was it possible that he drank my blood without me knowing about it?

“No one has touched you,” Liam suddenly said, as if he had been reading my thoughts. “No one in this town, including us, has fed from you. I’ve made sure of it.”

“He’s not kidding,” Laila said. “He almost killed a couple of people, so you wouldn’t become

someone’s next meal.”

I winced at her choice of phrasing.

Suddenly, it all made sense. “So when you kept insisting on driving me to and from work, saying you didn’t want me to get murdered while I was walking home alone-”

“I was literally making sure you wouldn’t get murdered,” Liam explained, sounding more than a little defensive.

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“I can tell people not to feed from you when you’re in Evergreen, and they have to listen to me because of who my father is.

“But the moment you moved to Woodhurst and started working at that stu pid diner, I lost any

authority over you.

“Anybody could have wandered over there and done whatever they wanted with you, and I wouldn’t have been able to do anything to stop it.

“And when I didn’t invite you to that party, it was because I knew someone would try something on you if you were there. Your blood is especially appealing for some reason.

“It’s most likely because you’re a werewolf’s mate, and vampires are hardwired to kill and harm

werewolves.

“So even though I warned people to stay away from you, I never wanted to risk leaving you by yourself for too long.” His fists clenched at his sides.

“But you were always so da mn persistent about being independent and not needing anyone’s help; it was as if you wanted someone to kill you—”

“Liam is strangely protective of you,” Laila interrupted, giving her brother a look.”I don’t really get it. No one does. Ever since you came to town, you’re all he thinks or talks about.

“He gets really upset if you’re ever alone.”

I shifted uncomfortably at this revelation. “Is that true?” I asked Liam.

Liam ran a frustrated hand through his curly hair. “I don’t know how to explain it. It’s not a romantic thing, so don’t get the wrong idea.” His jaw clenched, looking frustrated as he eyed me up and

down.

“Well, fine, maybe it was when I first saw you sitting on that park bench alone. I mean, look at you.” He gestured to my body.

I blushed.

“But then I saw the mark on your neck and…well, I knew you had a mate and were off-limits. The last thing I wanted was an angry monster werewolf thing trying to kill me because they thought I touched you.

“So I don’t want you to think I did all of this because I have hopes of you ever wanting to be with me in a romantic way because that’s not the case.”

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I didn’t miss the way his eyes dropped to the bruising around my damaged neck.

“I should have left you alone after I found out you had a mate. But one look at your bruised face and tear-stained checks and…I don’t know.

“Something in me switched the day I met you; some instinct took over. I that. I needed to protect you. I needed to know you were okay at all times.”

I studied him for a few seconds, trying to process all the crazy things he

‘t leave y

you after

g me, but I

couldn’t seem to wrap my head around it all. None of it made any se usterk

It explained his strange behavior and his need to control my life, but I still didn’t Why did Liam feel like he had to protect me? Why did he care at all?

erstand why.

I wasn’t his responsibility. And, seriously, the last thing I needed was another possessive, overprotective supernatural creature claiming they had some magical bond to me, connecting himself to me.

“Well, thanks for looking out for me, I guess, but you don’t have to anymore. I’m leaving town. I can’t stay here anymore.”

“What?” Laila practically screeched. “You’re leaving? Why?”

I snorted. “Besides the fact that I have unknowingly been living right next door to a vampire clan for the last few months? I can’t let anyone get hurt because of me.

“If Adalee was able to find me, then I’m sure other people will be able to too. I need to get out of

here before it’s too late.”

“This has something to do with whoever the hell put that on your neck, doesn’t it?” Liam glared down at Grayson’s mark. “Your mate.”

My mark burned as if it knew who we were talking about. I nodded once.

A hissing noise left Liam’s chest. My eyes widened. I had heard that sound before, back when I had been living with Grayson.

Grayson had made that noise the first night we slept apart from each other, right after pushing me out of his bed for refusing to have sex with him.

Then he’d done it again when he’d hit me for talking to Kyle about our relationship, and once more right before I’d refused him for the last time, and he’d mated with someone else.

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Liam’s hand touched my shoulder, dragging me out of my thoughts.

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“He’s the one you are running from, isn’t he?” he asked. “Now that you finally know everything, we can be honest with each other. Was he the one who hurt you?”

My throat was suddenly dry. I didn’t want to answer, I didn’t want to talk about Grayson or all the horrible things he had done to me,

Laila handed me a glass of water that I hadn’t even noticed had been sitting on my bedside table. I chugged it down, grateful for the feel of the cool water on my sore throat.

Setting the glass back down, I realized with a start that my injuries didn’t hurt nearly as much as they had when I had woken up,

There was absolutely no pain in my head-not from Grayson trying to force himself into my mind, nor from Adalee slamming my skull into a wall multiple times.

I tentatively reached up and touched the back of my head. I wasn’t sure what I had been expecting, but all I found was a mild bruise and dried blood.

It was a similar case with my neck. Bruises that I was sure were in the shape of hands wrapped themselves around my throat, but the pain wasn’t anything I couldn’t handle.

I had definitely been through worse.

I distinctly remembered Adalee’s hand crushing my airway last night. This should have left me dead or, at the very least, in the hospital.

And I wouldn’t have been surprised if the wound on the back of my head caused internal bleeding or brain damage.

When Adalee had slammed me against that wall, I could have sworn I felt my brain rattle in my skull.

I should be dead right now-it was the only thing that made sense after the trauma I had through.

gone

How was it possible that I was sitting here, experiencing barely any pain after the beatdown I had received last night?

My gaze went back to Liam and Laila, giving them a questioning, flabbergasted look. They glanced at each other, neither of them seeming like they wanted to give me an answer.

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After another moment of hesitancy, Laila was the first to speak. “We gave you Amelia Mortar’s blood. It has healing properties. It’s the only reason you’re alive right now.”

I stared at her. “Yeah, I’m gonna need you to back up there for a second. You gave me whose what?”

Laila shifted uncasily. “Amelia Mortar’s blood. She’s the royal clan’s healer and the daughter of the king of vampires, Zagan Mortar. Her blood can heal someone on their deathbed with just a few drops.

“Thankfully, she packages it and gives it to clans all over the world. We had some stashed away for moments like this. Perks of being related to our father.”

“One of the only perks,” Liam grumbled.

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “You injected me with some vampire princess’s blood?”

Liam shook his head. “It’s not in your bloodstream. You took it orally.”

I moved around slowly, testing out my limbs. Everything felt completely normal. “And that’s why I feel okay now? That’s how I healed so quickly?”

Healing wasn’t the only difference I noticed. I felt better than I had in months.

“You’re not fully healed yet. You still have a nasty bruise around your throat, and the ga sh on your head will take a bit longer to close up,” Laila said.

I brushed my hair out of my face in frustration, needing to take a moment to try to process all of this. I squeezed my eyes shut. There was a lot of information being thrown at me way too fast.

“You okay?” Liam asked in a calm, even tone. “How’s your head?”

My eyes opened. I touched the wound. “Fine. Well, better than fine, actually. I don’t remember the last time I was able to think this clearly.”

Liam still looked concerned. “So that migraine you’ve been dealing with the last few months has finally gone away?”

I sighed. “That wasn’t a migraine,” I told him dryly. “My former mate was trying to break into my consciousness so he could keep tabs on me.

“He was finally able to last night when Adalee almost killed me. Even though I’ve blocked him out again, I don’t know what information he got from me while I was blacked out.

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“He might know where I am. He might come for me.”

I thought about how I had unintentionally let him into my mind last night while I had been unconscious and felt embarrassment rise up my throat.

I had clung to the comfort he provided me during what I thought were my last moments, even though I knew he was the one who had ordered me to be killed.

Embarrassment made my heart rate pick up and my palms sweat. I could only imagine what Grayson had thought of me.

“But he marked you,” Laila stated, confused.

“I don’t know a whole lot about werewolves or their fated mates, but I thought once they marked their other half, wolves were bonded for life. Don’t you want him to come for you? Don’t you miss

him?”

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“I found him in bed with another woman,” I explained, the words tasting like vinegar in my mouth.

“It doesn’t matter whether or not I miss him. I can’t be with him. He rejected me. He mated with someone else. He doesn’t want me.”

There was a long pause. Nobody knew what to say.

“I’m so sorry, Belle. I can’t even imagine what that must be like,” Liam said.

He hesitated before continuing. “But if that’s the case, you have nothing to worry about, right? He’s not going to come for you if he doesn’t…want to be mated with you anymore.”

I looked up at him. I could feel tears starting to pool in the corner of my eyes again, threatening to fall the longer we talked about Grayson.

Liam was right, though. What the hell was I afraid of? Grayson wasn’t going to come for me. He

hated me. He didn’t even care if Adalee killed me.

I nodded, wiping under my eyes. “Yeah, you’re probably right.”

“Besides, there’s nowhere safer for you,” Liam continued. “If he does come here, you have a bunch of vampires willing to back you up.”

Laila grabbed my hand in hers. “So you’ll stay?”

I gave her a small smile, “I’ll think about it. I mean, what’s the worst that could happen?”