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21

MILLIE

“That was very stupid of you, Millie. To run away when you’re safer here than anywhere in the world. People know about you now. Bad people that want to kill you for your blood. I’m the only one in this world that can protect you!”

My fever disappeared after a week, and Hayden has been spending all his time with me, watching movies or even lying together in silence when he isn’t busy with work or taking care of his bloodlust. His presence is enough for me to feel okay.

I hate being alone .

But tonight, we’re having our routine back-and-forth moment where we argue about me wanting my freedom back. Hayden Drago is gone, and The Depraved Prince is back.

I’ve never been so confused in my life. There’s a dark chemistry between us, and I’m unsure what to do about it. He hasn’t touched me like the night of the festival when he ‘punished’ me even though I want him to.

He’s beautiful in the way he talks, walks, and moves. He craves me and brings my darkest fantasies to life. It’s like he knows what buttons to push, and I’m letting him.

I’m drawn to this game, and there’s no more denying it.

“And you’re telling me that you aren’t bad? You want to kill me too! What makes you different from everyone else?” I drawl, pointing my finger at him. His shoulders fall in a guilty fashion.

Silence. He doesn’t reply. How can he? He knows I’m right.

I decided to pour out all my inquiries, desperate for answers. Maybe there’s still a way to go back home, and maybe we can both pretend this never happened. He killed southern vampires like it’s a sport he’s good at. Perhaps they took the message and will steer clear of me.

I walk up to him when he doesn’t answer, only stopping when we’re practically chest-to-chest.

“Why did the entire Cathedral look like a tornado went through it?” I bristle. He goes rigid, his face turns to stone, and he looks down, meeting my inquisitive gaze.

I woke up that night of the festival when he had me in his arms after he slammed the front door shut. The entire place was torn to shreds, and glass was everywhere. Furniture destroyed and ripped open. A headless body on the ground…

I couldn’t move or speak, so I stayed still and tried to go back to sleep. Sleep has been my only place of solace here lately, but that’s changed. Now I feel a haven when I’m only around Hayden after witnessing so many attempted assassinations on my life.

“What are you talking about?” he groans out, frustrated, furrowing his brows and waving his hand before me like I asked him something wild. Maybe he doesn’t remember.

“The Cathedral was trashed that night of the Halloween festival,” I point out, not backing down.

He sighs and shifts on his feet. He palms his hips after running a hand through his dark hair. He looks away from me, ashamed.

“I…I don’t know. Sometimes, when I’m enraged, I black out and can’t remember. Kallum told me I destroyed everything and killed one of our guards when you left me.” He gets closer to me. “And I would do it again.”

Shivers run up and down my spine. I swallow the nerves that possess me when he tells me this with a dark, cruel tone.

“What is so special about me, Hayden? Why does everyone call me a Valkyrie?”

“Because Millie!” He roars, flashing his teeth, his eyes igniting into red flames. His true self emerges and explodes with fury. His beauty is still there…but it’s also terrifying. He starts walking forward, forcing me to walk back until my legs hit the bed, and I scramble away from him. He’s pissed.

I flinch at his rusty outburst and sit up until my back hits the wooden demon-carved headboard. He stands from the bed in a split second and paces in front of me by my vanity with a large window full of luxurious cosmetics that fit my tone. I haven’t touched it to spite him.

“You’re just going to have to trust me on this. Your blood is the rarest in the universe. If a vampire is lucky enough to find one, they kill them, and there hasn’t been a Valkyrie in a really long fucking time. It’s illegal in our world, but that still doesn’t stop anyone. You hold a vampire’s treasure beyond just blood that runs through your veins.”

“Explain! Please. I deserve answers,” I declare, trying to reach for his face to cup his sharpened jaw, but he pulls back before our flesh can connect.

He sighs. His entire body shakes with madness. He turns around, his suit straining against his stiffened muscles. His face darts to the door, and when I think he’s going to flash out of here, he changes his mind.

“All vampires have powers, more that go beyond our natural abilities. It lives within us like a virus that stays dormant unless we suck the blood from a Valkyrie.” His loud voice depletes into a soft murmur, and he palms my chest. I shiver as he presses his cold, calloused hand into me. “And if their heart stops beating while our fangs are inside them, the virus becomes active, and we find out what kind of powers hide within us.”

“What type of powers?” I elevate my curiosity. There’s a moment of vulnerability in Hayden. He’s letting his armor down, and I need to take advantage of it.

He looks at me with pinched brows and a wall drawn up so high. Seconds pass by, and he tries to withdraw himself.

“Don’t you dare pull away now. I want to know.”

“Millie…” he murmurs with disdain.

“More p-powers?”

God, what other powers could they have ?

“More than your speed and strength? You already have immortality. Please tell me, Hayden. What kind of powers and why me?”

He shrugs with unease. “It could be anything. From flying like a bat out of hell, healing, lasers for eyes, controlling the weather, becoming invisible, reading minds.”

I tear my eyes from his tall stature.

“The rule is we cannot interfere in a Valkyrie’s life. These laws were put in place centuries ago to save the human population so that the world will remain balanced. Humans outnumbering vampires. These rules were put in place because innocents were being slaughtered left and right—even children. Immortals became desperate when they learned King Killian had killed a Valkyrie and became the most powerful of all. Thousands of humans were being killed searching for Valkyrie blood, and all the kings of Immortal Country agreed to peace…to stop us from killing each other. For greed. For power .”

He hovers over me in a blip, brushing my bangs from my face, looking at me with glints of desire in his ice-blue eyes.

“But the Southern King has declared war on everything and the law the minute he started slaughtering innocent humans searching for you. There’s a war. And the only thing that will put an end to this is if someone kills you. Taking the initiative in activating their powers. Because once they do, they’ll be the most powerful immortal that anyone has seen since…since…”

My brows raise at a sight I’m extremely unfamiliar with. Hayden is clearly tormented by inner turmoil and is not composed. There’s a break in his concrete shield, with a hint of remorse.

“Since when?” I pry harder. I scoot closer to the bed until my feet dangle at the edge.

Instead of answering me, he reaches into his pockets and pulls out a cigarette. He sticks one in his mouth, lighting it with the hand that carries the ring with the bat and snake.

I want to scold him for smoking around me, but I don’t want to kill this moment of raw vulnerability.

“My uncle Amos…” He takes a hit, and smoke lingers in the air, his voice painted with grief. “If we’re hard to kill now, it’s tripled once the powers are active. He didn’t go out with a fight. His only crime? Falling for a Valkyrie,” he scoffs, amused like he told a funny joke. His eyes reach mine, and I swear there’s emotion attached to it. “I don’t know why it’s you, Millie. I don’t know why you carry Valkyrie blood, but there’s no use dwelling on something that I cannot change. You’re a target, and you’re a target with a rare, delicious prize that’s caught the attention of all the Immortal Kings. Especially Davenport. Don’t you get it, little Bambi? The only reason why you’re still alive is because of me .”

He walks closer to me with a pained, beautiful smile, closing the distance until his cold, sultry breath hits my lips like a wind of mint. My own breathing comes to a dangerous halt, blood rushing to my face. Just the ministry of his presence does this to me. It catches me off guard every time, sending me into a mess.

“Now that I know you, I despise you’re a Valkyrie. But you are.”

He closes his eyes and leans in. His gaze is intense, full of a trillion emotions with a hint of pain. He cups my cheek, leaning in for a kiss, but I don’t let him touch my lips. I pull back, and he groans.

“You scare me.”

“I would be a little worried if I didn’t.”

“Please…maybe you’re right, Hayden. Maybe you’re right about everything. But let me go.”

Let me go home. Please. You know that’s what I want .

“No.”

“Hayden.”

He smiles. His red eyes flash, and my pulse quickens. His teeth slowly graze his bottom lip, and he hovers over my neck. He pulls me to him, and I’m bracing myself for him to bite me again. Our hips are pressed together, and I feel the hardened mass of his cock straining his pants.

“Don’t we intrigue you, Millie?” he coos.

He pulls away. He cups my face in his hands, holding me firmly like he’s eager for my answer. He walks me to the vanity until we’re in front of it. My heart thumps like wildfire, and I love the thrill he gives me. He forces me to face the mirror while his hands are all over me.

I gasp when his reflection isn’t behind me like it should be.

“We don’t grow old. We don’t get sick. We don’t die. We live our lives fearlessly, traveling the world, partying all night, sleeping all day.” I’m palming the vanity. He presses his body against me, and in a second, his massive, hard erect bulge is on my ass, and he thrusts into me. I whimper as the front of my thighs hit the wood rough, and he grips the back of my hair as I stare at myself. It looks like a ghost is moving me around, my hair getting pulled back by nothing.

“We fuck whenever and whoever we want without ever getting tired. Don’t you want to be an immortal? Don’t you want to live life to the fullest with no regrets? Don’t you want to fall in love with life a little more?”

My neck is exposed, and he pulls my head to the side so that I feel his cold breath on my neck.

“Don’t you want to live forever?”

That’s an easy question with a simple answer.

“I would rather die than become a monster. You kill people, Hayden. You’re selfish. Cruel. Depraved. You take, and you take. You’re trying to take pieces away from me, but I will never let you devour me completely. Don’t you think it’s rather boring? The mask you put on to play pretend doesn’t fool me, Prince Drago. You’re bored.” I push my ass back against his cock. It wants to come out and destroy me. I’m playing with fire, but maybe I want to get burned. “Hundreds of years you’ve walked this Earth, and you’re still unhappy. And maybe…just maybe, I make you feel alive, and that’s why you don’t want to let me go.” I grit out my truth as I rub against him, and he quivers beneath my touch. His nose trails my jawline, and then his head falls forward like he’s in pain and wants to let me go but can’t.

Am I scared to die? What I do know is I’m scared of leaving my loved ones. I’m scared of being alone in the afterlife. I’m scared of dying before I get to experience what being in love feels like. I’m scared of becoming like Hayden and his family.

He stops caressing my cheek with his knuckles. My words don’t get through to him; instead, they fly over his head. He turns me around fast, picking me up and sitting my ass down hard on the vanity. My breasts bounce up and down while bottles of makeup fall off, and he has me by the throat, choking me.

“Tell me what it’s like to fear death, baby,” he breathes out cruelly with sinister promises. “I don’t want to kill you, but the way you make me feel…you’re a threat to the life I once knew and want to keep. A Valkyrie got my uncle killed. I hate your blood. I hate you ! I refuse to let the past repeat itself with me. I won’t get myself into more trouble keeping you alive than I already have…” Hayden is gone. The sweet, protective side of Hayden is replaced by the Depraved Prince.

His decision-making is giving me whiplash, but it doesn’t compare to the way he stares into my eyes like he wants to erase me from this world. Hatred, pain, and lust intertwine together on his handsome features.

He chokes me harder with his large hand, as he smiles beautifully, and I take it. His other is gripped on my hip. Pure charm and masculinity wrapped into one monster. He sinks his fingers into my neck, the circulation slowly cutting off. Yet, he’s precise not to damage my throat. He can’t kill me, even when the demons tell him to…

I squint at him as I sneak in breaths through my nose. He smirks, the anticipation he seeks evident in his red eyes that glimmer with hardened lust and control.

I don’t struggle or fight him because I know that’s what he desires. He gets off on making me cry for him. Making me bleed and weep. A part of me craves to submit, but I want him to know that he’s capable of showing me a side of him that he has locked away…probably forever. He’s capable of forgiveness, compassion, love, faith, and peace.

I welcome his pain. I want to feel it.

“Give me your pain. Give me your hurt. I can take it,” I dare him with nothing holding me back.

I grab a hold of his hips, pulling him more into me with my legs. He watches me in a stunned manner.

“Because I know what it’s like to scream in a room full of people as they watch you drown. I know what it’s like for people to think you’re a bad person when they refuse to understand the origin story of how you became a villain. I know what it’s like to hurt and never to trust again.” He tightens his grip on my throat like he’s begging me to stop talking. My words are gutting him profoundly. The vein in his neck bulges with frustration.

“I know what all those things are like. But do you know what it’s like to hold someone or something without destroying it?” I choke out, stars dancing in the distance, and he loosens his grip around my throat. He tilts his body back like he wants to retreat. “Without hurting it?”

But I keep my hold on him with my legs, even though I know he can break away if he wants to. He wants to push me away, hurt me, and break me. I don’t know why I want to show him that he’s capable of more, as he’s literally trying to kill me.

He doesn’t deserve it. I don’t know what his childhood was like but I’m still trying.

I stand, closing the distance between us. I tiptoe to meet his mouth and kiss his jaw. He closes his eyes and stiffens. I blink slowly, and he loosens his muscles around my neck. I kiss his chin over and over again, trailing soft touches with my lips up his jaw until I hover over his ear.

“Stop it! Fight me! Treat me like the monster that I am!” He punches the mirror behind me with a destructive strength. I shudder and shift on the vanity as the blow shatters all of the glass. Hundreds of glass pieces fall to the floor, but I’m not cowering away.

He’s scaring me. He’s a monster that wants me to feed into his mindset.

I won’t do it.

I kiss his lips, and he groans like he hates the way I touch him, but the lust wraps up into frustration. He can’t find the strength to let me go. To kill me like he’s been promising to do. All of his emotions are turning into demons, making the darkness feel like quicksand, consuming the Hayden I’ve grown to know. I can feel the battles he endures with his morals.

He finally kisses me back, pressing his cold, full lips to mine like it’s the last kiss he’ll ever have, and lifts his hand like he’s going to hurt me. I break the kiss and contort my face, preparing for his wrath.

He connects with the wood, which results in a significant dent.

“Why can’t I be normal?! Why do I want to kill anyone that tries to take you from me?!” his roar crescendos loudly.

“Hayden. Stop. You’re okay.” I try to comfort him and wake him up from his spiral.

“Don’t try and fix me. You cannot fix the dead!” he scolds me, but it’s not me who he’s trying to convince.

It’s himself .

“Prince Drago. Let me help you. Maybe I can open your eyes to realize that revenge and blood aren’t the only things that can drive a person. There’s more to you, Hayden. I feel it when you kiss me.”

He pushes my neck to the side, and I whimper from his forceful gesture.

His pupils expand, grabbing a fistful of my hair, and he snarls like he’s ready to eat me alive. He resents me for trying to have a conversation with him. He mashes our bodies together, taking my breath away, and I can feel the tips of his teeth about to prick my throat out, but he doesn’t get to follow through.

Two loud knocks on the door interrupt him.

“Prince Drago. They’ve breached the Cathedral. Davenport vampires are here to take the Valkyrie!”