Bitten - Queen Aurora is forced to execute her ex-husband Abel. When he vows revenge, Aurora doesn't take his threat seriously. That is, until she learns of a new turn in her territory, Mario.
After a drunken one night stand, Mario awakens in the morgue as a vampire. He is summoned to the Queen's castle to meet her. Immediately, the new vampire is taken with the Queen. With Mario’s impending death sentence on the horizon, she finds herself falling fast for the new turn. When Mario saves her life, what is Aurora willing to give up in return?
Excerpt : Aurora gripped the arms
of her throne as the guard brought her ex-husband, Abel, into the room. Though
his wrists and ankles were bound by shackles, he was still a dangerous man. The
former vampire king’s handsomeness was also not lost on her. Golden eyes were
set within a face covered by bronze skin as he gazed angrily at her. His mouth,
one that she had once relished kissing, was surrounded by a thin mustache and
beard and turned into a snarl. Drops of sweat sparkled within the strands of
his curly, black hair and clung to his nude body. A bevy of emotions swirled
within Aurora as Abel was forced to kneel in front of her.
Though her legs wobbled,
she stood to address him, as was protocol. For so long, she had loved this man,
and now she had to execute him. His crime was killing thousands of innocent
humans in an attempt to take over the world. Who knew such a madman lurked
within him? With her, Abel was gentle, but his ambition turned him into an
evil, bitter vampire. Aurora pressed her lips together as she gathered her
words. As queen of the vampire race, the crowd expected her to speak, but she
lost her voice as soon as Abel walked into the room. He had that effect on her.
“Abel Abdul Shala,”
Aurora spoke at last. “You’ve been convicted of crimes against human nature and
sentenced to death. Do you have any last words?”
“How could you do this to
me?”
A chorus of gasps rippled
through the onlookers that crowded into the great room to witness his
execution. Aurora flinched. She did nothing to Abel, except love him, and
apparently that was a colossal mistake. Though she took the dual head axe from
the guard, she just held it at her side. His facial expression was stoic, but
his eyes were soft.
“I’ve done nothing to
you,” she said softly.
“I thought you loved me.”
“I did, once.” She
emphasized the past tense. “But, you’ve betrayed me. You’ve betrayed everything
our race has worked towards—to live in concert with humans. I can’t overlook
this.”
Abel spat on her words.
“The humans are good for nothing but fresh blood. I thought you’d stand by me
no matter what.”
“I can overlook a lot of
things, but not this. I am queen.”
“I created you,” he
snarled.
“Yes, you turned me, but
I have orders from the demonic council. I must carry out this execution.”
“I love you, my queen.
Don’t make me beg for my life.”
Aurora opened her mouth
to reply, but closed it. What could she say to that? The expression on Abel’s
face hardened. In a flash, she was reminded what an evil son of a bitch he was.
Not only did he kill those humans, he tried to kill her. Twice. She gripped the
handle of the axe so tight her knuckles ached. But, so did her heart.
“It’s too late,” she
said.
“Then, I curse you,” Abel
spat. “I will come back from the grave and kill you, Aurora.”
“Even you don’t have that
kind of power.”
“Try me.”
A hush fell over the
crowd. As vampire queen, she would not be disrespected by Abel. He had a
history of doing that in public, too. Finally, after being by his side for more
than a thousand years, Aurora was free of his reign of terror. She nodded for
the guard to bend Abel forward so that the former king’s neck was exposed. Her
fangs lengthened in anticipation of the strike.
“So be it,” Aurora said
as she swung the axe and severed Abel’s head.
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