The Alpha’s Mate And The Vampire King (The Alpha Series Book 3)

The chicken walks into the kitchen and pecks at random crumbs on the floor.

‘This place is incredible. Do you think I could get a tour?’ I ask Yiselda.

‘Of course, as a Midnight Coven member, this is also your home now,’ she says proudly. She leads us down a lengthy corridor. I’m perplexed because even though the Covenstead appeared to be quite significant from the outside, this hall seems to be at least still twice the outside length. As we proceed down the corridor, I notice that there are no doors, only old picture paintings of witches who were members of the midnight coven until they died or were killed. I come to a halt in front of one to observe its beauty more thoroughly. I take a step back. As the artwork moves, I leap back and scream. The witch in the portrait briefly bends her head and smiles before returning to her previous stance.

‘Luna, what is it?’ Lilac asks, concerned, as she places a hand on my shoulder. I point to the portrait.

‘She moved,’ I said.

‘Oh, yeah, they all do that,’ She shrugs.

‘You could have given me a heads up?’ I grumble.

‘Luna, we’re in Pandora’s Box, silly. You should expect anything here, from your brightest dreams to your worst nightmares,’ she giggles.

I roll my eyes and proceed to follow the others. When we reach the end of the corridor, there is no door, only a mirror. I glance at the reflection of all of us, confused.

‘Are there no doors? This is simply a mirror,’ I say.

Yiselda and the other smile and walk through the mirror. It ripples like water as they walk through it. I reach my hand out and quickly poke it with my finger—the mirror ripples. In astonishment, I then put my entire hand through. Someone on the other side takes my hand and pulls me through.

‘Hurry up, slowpoke,’ Ria laughs.

Yiselda leads us along an irregularly shaped corridor with three doors, one in front of me, one on the left, and one on the right.

‘The sleeping quarters are via this door on the left.’

I follow her through the door and into a corridor with ten doors.

‘These are all bedrooms,’ she says as she opens the closest door.

The bed is a big mattress that floats above the floor, with silk bedding dangling from the sides. Furniture moves around the room as though it has its own mind. Candles float above the bed, softly lighting the space.

‘All right, then,’ I answer, knowing this is out of the ordinary but not knowing what to say. A mahogany French wardrobe comes to a halt and faces me. I’m not sure if I should say hello. Magnus will think I’m insane if I start talking to furniture. Instead, I walked out of the room cautiously.

The others join me, and we make our way back to the corridor with the three doors.

‘This middle door leads to the library, and another door in the library leads to the enchanted garden,’ adds Yiselda.

We walk into the library. There’s a beautiful globe of the world. I spin it carefully and appreciate it. There are a few little tables where we can read. As I approach certain books, I notice that they are quite old. ‘Book of spells, Book of potions, Book of magic, Book of wards,’ I read various titles.

At the back of the library, there are two double doors. Fern opens them, and my mouth drops open in awe at the beauty. Like fairies, there are small balls of light floating around. I chuckle as I see the cutest garden gnome statues, some with their bellies hanging out. I’ve never seen such lush trees and a colourful abundance of flowers. Toadstools, some of which were taller than me. I come to a halt as I notice something beyond the bushes. It’s quite big and white.

‘Is that a horse?’ I ask.

Everyone laughs as Fern responds, ‘No, Luna, it’s a unicorn.’

I laugh this time until the horse steps forwards, a horn illuminating a white light on its head.

‘Wait! ‘It’s a unicorn!’ I say this while pointing at it. ‘I thought you were joking?’

‘No, I was serious,’ Fern says, laughing.

‘This place is incredible. I can’t believe you’ve got a unicorn here!’

I stroke and pat the unicorn softly. ‘She is lovely,’ I say.

Yiselda remarks. ‘Her name is Star.’

‘Hello, my name is Nina,’ I smile. Star gently rubs her head on my face.

I look over at the garden gnomes and kneel in front of the one with the red cap and green shirt with its belly hanging out. My face is millimetres away from his.

‘I swear he had his hands on his hips, and now he’s waving his hand?’

The gnome suddenly leans forwards, snatches a kiss off my lips, and smiles. My cheeks flush.

‘You, you tiny gnome! You can’t simply steal a kiss like that! ‘I’m mates with Alpha Magnus,’ I growl. Snickering, the chubby gnome turns and rushes into the bushes.

The witches are trying hard not to laugh.

‘It’s time to see the rest of Pandora’s Box,’ says Yiselda.

We walk out of the library and into the hallway with the three doors.

‘Now, the door on your right is one you should never enter on your own. The Vampire King and his minions are held under spell and ward in the dungeon.’

When the door opens, there is nothing but darkness. There doesn’t appear to be a floor.

Yiselda says, ‘Materialise,’ and a book emerges in her hand. She sets it at the foot of the door on the ground. ‘Sprouto Spawniate,’ she says, casting.

The book expands five times in size, then multiplies and stacks up, forming a staircase made from books.

‘Wow, that was cool,’ I say. Yiselda beams.

Everyone takes their wands and flicks the tip, sparking a heatless flame that illuminates the dark stairs. They make their way up the steps. I grab my wand, flick it for light, and proceed up the stairs. Inside is a black wooden door with a white circle containing sigils.

‘These sigils you see are wards designed to prevent the Vampire King from fleeing. You never, ever, ever wipe them away.’ Yiselda states sternly. I nod.

We enter the dungeon once she opens the entrance. It’s gloomy and dark. I can hear a variety of threatening noises. Shrills, moans, growls, and hisses. Many cell doors have little green and grey hands reaching out to me. I’m struck by how long their claws are. When I get closer and see countless little goblin creatures with razor-sharp fangs snapping and gnarling, I gasp and cover my mouth. They try to reach deeper through the bars with their long dirty claws to grab me. They’re various shades of green and grey, with black eyes, and I know I’m looking at some of the most frightening creatures I’ve ever seen.

‘Grimghouls,’ Ela says. ‘They’re horrible little things. They have razor-sharp teeth and can rip anyone to shreds in seconds. They have a hunger for flesh,’ she explains.

The concept makes me shudder. We proceed deeper into the dungeon. When I gaze into the cells, I notice that the darkness moves.

‘How come it appears that something is in there, yet no one is in there?’ I ask.

‘Shadow Reapers,’ Ela calls them. ‘They are shadow entities; they hide in the shadows, so you don’t notice them. They merge with you and take control of your thoughts and body. They make you see things that aren’t there. They are hallucinogens that cause you to perform crazy things, typically leading to your death or the killing of others,’

I back up a few steps.

‘Yeah, no thanks.’ I say, frowning.