The Vampire King’s Captive

MARIA

“Don’t go,” The object of her suffering called out, his voice low and broken, filled with longing, want and all the things Maria couldn’t bear to hear right now but wanted to hear still. “Please.”

Maria stopped, hyper aware that they were in the middle of a crowd and that everyone was looking at them. She wanted to run away from the onslaught of emotions that she was feeling, but a greater part of her wanted to stay, to go to the one man who could make her feel whole again.

“Please,” Iris added, weakening Maria’s already tenacious grip on resolve.

She felt betrayed that Iris had pulled such a move on her but deep down, Maria knew why she had done it and that was the only thing stopping her from feeling real anger towards Iris.

Maria stopped but she didn’t turn back around for fear of what she would do if she faced Bran again. She couldn’t bear seeing him hurt and not go to him.

Even with her back to him, she knew that he had walked closer to her. She was just that in tune to him, feeling him from the deepest parts of her soul that she never thought possible for a person to reach.

“It wasn’t Iris’ idea to trick you into coming here,” Bran began in his familiar deep voice, except it was rough with emotion now. “It was mine. She just agreed to help me, so please don’t be angry at her.”

His words were registering in her head. She was hearing him, yes, but was he actually saying those words in front of these people?

His people?

The people he so valued?

There was a deep inhale, as if for courage, then, “I remember when Corey and his mate used to have little disagreements and Corey would say that he would give his left arm to get her to speak to him. I always thought he was being a bit dramatic.” A pause. “Until you left.” There were collective gasps from the crowd. “I would have given away everything I owned if it would get you to come back.”

Maria squeezed her eyes shut against the tears that wanted to make an appearance at the longing that laced the words. The sadness. And, oh gods, what was he doing?© 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.

Had he forgotten that they were in the midst of people? That everything he was saying, the people could hear?

Perhaps he had.

“I would keep saying I’m sorry for what I put you through, but those words will never be enough to tell you how truly terrible I feel.” His voice told Maria that he had come closer. “People think they know our story when they actually don’t, and I hope you don’t mind me putting our business out in the open for everyone because, Princess, I’m about to correct them.”

Maria’s chest rose and fell in tandem to her racing heart, her body begging her to allow it turn around and look at Bran, but she fought the urge with all her power. She could see Iris in her periphery but she wouldn’t turn and face her too. She couldn’t. She would rather these people saw the raw emotions on her face than Bran and Iris.

“A few months ago, I came back from war only to find out that my parents had been killed and my sister, captured.” There was a hitch in Bran’s voice and it made Maria’s chest tighten painfully, the familiar arms of regret wrapping around her. “Now, I have always heard about the powerful sorceress, Maria Hatzi, but I never thought that a situation would arise where our paths would cross. I took her, locked her in my cells like a common thief. I starved her, tortured her-” His voice broke and he stopped suddenly, seeming to get a hold of himself. “Almost everyday, we would fight and I didn’t realize that I was falling in love with her until it was too late.”

Maria’s heart stopped beating. He was in love with her?

She couldn’t bear to not look at him anymore. She turned around slowly and saw that he was now standing not-so-far from her, his eyes sad and filled with yearning and the emotion she had been seeing in his eyes but had not been able to name.

Love.

“I treated her wrongly because I believed her to be the cause of all my problems. I treated her like a monster when in truth, I was the real monster.” The people were listening with rapt attention, hanging onto his every word-just like Maria. “I found out that Maria here was being blackmailed by Ariti to do his dirty work. I could go into details to talk about the horrors she went through at his hands but I do not want to open healed wounds.” He had been addressing the crowd this entire time, but now, he turned to Maria and his voice broke low. “I found out that you were my mate when you healed me-“-astonished gasps rang out-“-and I was terrified out of my fucking mind. I thought only about our past and the history we shared, and not about the beauty of having found my mate.” He took a half step towards her and Maria fought the urge to take one towards him. “I failed to think about the future, about the life that lies ahead of us and that was where I went wrong. I got the collar, I withheld information from you and I didn’t ask you for help when I should have.” Another step. “We were supposed to be a team but I contradicted that when I sought to fight Ariti myself. I should have known that I couldn’t do it myself.”

He shook his head and took another step towards her. He was so close now and Maria’s body began to thrum with his nearness. “Everyone wanted me to let you go. It was the only way, they said, but fuck, I couldn’t and maybe Ariti was right. Maybe I held on to you selfishly but now I know why. I couldn’t let you go because I love you and I couldn’t imagine my life without you.” Maria’s legs turned to rubber and she couldn’t stifle her gasp. “Yes, I planned on letting you go but it was only because everyone said so and I thought it was the only way, but I was going to come after you. I swear it.” His eyes grew suspiciously bright as he took yet another step closer to her. “I could never let you go, princess. I never wanted to live without you. But I did these past few days, and it was the worst form of torture. I considered taking my life just to end my suffering, but I was also hoping that I was your mate as much as you were mine and I didn’t want you to have to bear the pain of living without a mate.”

Maria shook her head, unable to stop the tears that were silently falling down her cheeks. Her heart was aching, every cell in her entire being wanting to go to him and hold him.

“I don’t want to go back to living without you, Maria,” His tone was so soft, so at odds with what she was used to, it amazed her. “I’ve done it and it’s not something I want to do anymore. I don’t think I can and I’m determined to grovel if it means I’ll get you back.” He took another step towards her that brought him so close, his scent drifted across her nostrils.

After the activities of the past few days, Maria had not thought it possible for anything to shock her anymore. Yet her heart stopped beating in her chest completely when Bran took another step towards her and lowered onto both knees, his expression wretched as he looked up at her, pleading with everything in him. His eyes, his words, his whole body.

It was amazing. It was unbelievable. It was beautiful.

“I’m not sure if it’s good sport for a king to kneel in front of his people, but today, I am not a king. Today, I come to you as a man who is desperately in love with you. A man begging for your forgiveness.”

He was accepting her in front of these people. He was making a statement to his people that she was his mate. He was professing his love for her in front of them.

Maria had asked herself before if anyone would ever love her so deeply that they would not be able to imagine living without her and, gods help her, Bran might be that person for her.

An ugly sob escaped through Maria’s lips as she slapped a hand to her mouth, unable to believe what her eyes were seeing.

“I’m sorry, Princess, for everything.” Bran’s throat worked on a swallow and a single tear welled in his eye, clung precariously to his lashes, and finally fell down his cheeks, breaking Maria’s heart all over again. “Can you forgive me?”

Maria’s legs finally gave out and she fell to the ground, wrapping her shaking hands around Bran’s neck and burying her face into the space as she sobbed uncontrollably, the dam on her tears breaking.

Claps, sobs and distinctive words could be heard all around them until she couldn’t take it anymore and she brought her lips to his ears.

“Take us out of here.”

As always, Bran complied and in the next second, they were in their room inside the castle.