It was a week from then that the date was set, Evelyn had a small ceremony for herself and her mate which meant Aerilyn would get a taste of what was to come.

Only their ceremony would involve the kingdom, it was not just any ceremony.

Preparations were under way to welcome those from the council and those who were noble and had travelled far to see it happen. The talk of the town was how a vampire Queen was mated to a human, some were disgusted some were over the moon. You can't please them all.

After the Queen had abolished the previous rules she saw no reason to address anyone to tell them her mate was human. Many saw it as an alliance with the humans, a safer future for sure.

"Morning love" Solenne hovered over the Aerilyn as they had become accustomed to their routine, they did not even bother with her room anymore, she had all but moved into Solenne's room. It was too hard to stay away, that pull had become even stronger.

Aerilyn leant up and kissed the Queen, craving her touch. "I could get use to this" she was smiling from ear to ear.

Solenne knew she would have to approach the subject, it wouldn't be safe for Aerilyn as long as she was human, she would always be a target. "We could have this forever" she acknowledged, treading carefully.

It's not that Aerilyn didn't want to have forever, it was the principles of what she would become. She had fought so hard against the vampires to then become the very thing she had hated.

Aerilyn pushed Queen Solenne off and got up, not responding. "The longer you stay human, the more of a target you become, I can't lose you" Solenne was now channeling her Alpha authority but it not longer worked on her.

The girl stopped and turned around, she had thought about it every way possible. "It is my choice, no one else's, you expect me to become the very thing I hated" Solenne was stood in front of her within a second which caught Aerilyn off guard, her eyes were red with hurt.

Solenne brushed a finger against the girls cheek, a stray tear fell down the vampires face. Her emotions were so clear now the cold Queen had opened up, but there was nothing more to say, Aerilyn had made her decision. Solenne disappeared in an instant, she was out the door, running away because it scared her.

Aerilyn knew she would see her later, they just needed some space to clear their heads.

Solenne had gone to speak to Richard, he was her most closest confidante after Luanna, he had told her to be patient with Aerilyn, after all the human was taking on all of the vampires customs, but Solenne did not take on any of the human customs.

This made her think as she knew deep down it was true, it was a vampires world.

Later that evening they met back in Solenne's room, she hadn't been sure Aerilyn would come back but here she was. "Hey" Aerilyn was being the bigger person, which was surprising seeing as Solenne had like a hundred plus years on the girl.

Solenne captured her in her arms, in almost like a vampire cocoon, the humans smell all around her, calming her down. "I'm sorry about this morning, I'm just scared of losing you. It would be so easy for a vampire to kill you when I am not around" she admitted.

They sat down on the bed facing each other, holding one another. "I understand that" Aerilyn told her, almost trying to tell her to drop the subject.

They both sighed, feeling like they were not getting anywhere. "I won't push you on it, you know my feelings. I love you and I can't wait to spend however long we have together, as long as it's with you" Solenne kissed her cheek.

Falling asleep in each other's arm, they were content.

In the distance, a shadow from the past lurked, plotting to over throw and kill the Queen and her mate, rallying others around him, he was disgusted that she would have a human mate.

He hid in a nearby village, getting closer to the castle, he was still far outnumbered, mostly he had rogues or vampires who were against the Queen.

But that was fine, he knew the layout of the castle, how to get in and out without being seen.

The next few days went by and it was the morning of the ceremony.

Aerilyn woke up excited for the day, she couldn't wait for it to be official. Solenne all but wanted to claim and mark Aerilyn, she wasn't sure how she had withstood it up till now, but that just showed how much she loved Aerilyn and was willing to do anything for her.

Aerilyn peeked her head around to look at Queen Solenne, as usual the Queen was lay watching her, so regal as ever. She smirked at the girl and licked her lips, if Solenne was a dog she would certainly be wagging her tail.

After lunch, Solenne laid a dress out for Aerilyn, a gift for her. It was a white laced dress, that accentuated her curves in just the right places. It came down to her ankles being the perfect height for her, with two straps and matching shoes.

Aerilyn looked at the dress in awe, not believing it was all hers. "Thank you thank you, it's beautiful" Aerilyn was giddy and jumping for joy.

Solenne led her out onto her balcony where she kissed her. She stepped back from her, smiling with her toothy grin, how soft she had become around the girl. "I know tonight is the mating ceremony and you have embraced our culture and way of life, giving up everything you believe in for me, but I also want to do the same, if that is possible" Solenne stood back and Aerilyn wasn't sure what was about to happen.

Solenne had gone to see Saryn that day before to ask him something. "Never in my years has anyone every captured my attention the way you do, and never will they again" for the second time in her life, Queen Solenne got down onto one knee.

Aerilyn was gobsmacked. "You are my life, my happiness and my everything, there is no one else I would rather spend my years with, to be with through the chaos but also euphoria. Being on this balcony with you, just reminds me of how things changed between us, where you willingly kissed me, had come looking for me and now it holds a memory deep within me"

Solenne held Aerilyn's hand as she looked at her with eyes full of love and admiration.

"Omnia vincit amor, et nos cedamus amori" Solenne spoke.

Love conquers all things, so we too shall yield to love.

Solenne pulled a box out of her pocket and opened it up. "Will you do me the honor, Aerilyn...marry me?"

The ring was Solenne's grandmothers, it matched the necklace that hung around Aerilyn's neck and it just made sense for her to have it.

"Yes, of course" her smile was as wide as anything. Solenne put the ring on Aerilyn's wedding finger where it fit perfectly and they embraced in a deep hug. "Wow, how did I get so lucky" Aerilyn mumbled as they kissed over and over, arms wrapped around each other and ready to rip each other's clothes off.

"I didn't know you knew of marriage?" Aerilyn questioned.

"I did not know much, but Saryn filled me in when I asked him for your hand in marriage, I think that is what you call it. The ring is my grandmothers it matches the necklace" Solenne still hadn't told her how it had come to be in her possession.

"You should keep it if it's your grandmothers" Aerilyn didn't want to take something that meant so much to her.

Solenne kissed her forehead, "no, I have never worn it, but now it feels as though I have you both together in some way. I found out how your family got a hold of the necklace. My grandmother was protected by your parents when she was being hunted, they took her in for a few days when you were very young. She too had visions, different to mine, but she touched you by accident and saw our connection long before it would have ever happened. She knew we would cross paths, she gave you the necklace as it was the only thing she had on her to thank your family for. But she also knew that I would recognise it in the future" Aerilyn listened intently as Solenne retold the story.

They were still out on the balcony as the sun was setting. "Wow, that sounds like a fairy tale, I met your grandmother and didn't even know it and now I'm to marry her granddaughter" she giggled.

They both stared at each other a moment longer. "I would have found you any how" those words rung in Aerilyn's ears like music. She was going to be married as well as mated, it was like she was on cloud 9 but she didn't believe it would ever last.

They stayed in each other's brace a little while longer, kissing here and there, trying to not get carried away as they touched each other wherever possible. But they were waiting until they were mated to go that step further again. They were lucky Solenne could stop herself from marking the girl the first time they did anything.

Making their way back inside, they both parted ways to go and get ready for the ceremony. Aerilyn showered and put her white lacy dress on, she tied her hair into a low bun, with just some strands of hair falling at her face. She felt nervous for this, but it was the good kind of nerves.

Solenne arrived at Aerilyn's door, they would walk down to the ceremony together, it wasn't like a normal human marriage. Nilsa and Lunna had been running around like mad women making sure everything was perfect before turning back to find the two mates and helping them with anything.

Nilsa had been with Aerilyn as well as Evelyn. "If you have cold feet now is the time" Nilsa joked. But her and Evelyn knew the weight of what it meant to be mated.

Aerilyn sat up straight from her mirror. "There's no cold feet over here" she laughed.

She stood up and walked over to her two best friends. "Thank you for your help, you two are the best" she hugged them both.

They both stood back to look at her dress, admiring her. "You look gorgeous" Evelyn commented.

Nilsa also agreed "yes, I bet Solenne will have a hard time controlling herself" Aerilyn loved but hated that she did not have the same intuition as the vampires. Not knowing what they were feeling or the urges they had.

Solenne stepped into the room, her eyes snapped to Aerilyn straight away, turning red and gold. "Calm down your majesty" Nilsa stepped back, she could tell how hard this was, Solenne was also protective, this was heightened before they are marked as well.

Solenne moved closer, cautiously, it pained her to feel this way but she was would not give in. "It's okay" Aerilyn tried to calm her down as she threw her arms around the vampire and kissed her.

It was like something had snapped in Solenne as Nilsa spoke "we better go down now" Solenne bared her fangs at her most trusted guard almost hissing at her. Nilsa took another step back to show she was not a threat.

This is what happened when a vampire felt threatened. "She doesn't mean it Nilsa" Aerilyn felt bad.

Luanna had also stepped into the room, feeling the tension. "You need to calm down Solenne, she's still human remember which means fragile and Nilsa has her own mate, there is no threat here" she tried to reason with her.

Nilsa nodded her head and Evelyn jumped into save the day. "Come on horndogs, you can go at it all you like after the ceremony" she joked trying to lighten the mood.

Aerilyn blushed whilst all Solenne could do was focus on her mate. "You look breathtaking, I'm sorry I'm having a hard time controlling myself" Solenne could barely get the words out as she breathed.

Aerilyn closed the gap between them, she felt safe in her arms but she knew it would help too. "It's okay, I'm here, I'm yours, your not so bad yourself, your majesty" Aerilyn flirted. She noticed Solenne's outfit, she had opted for all white too, except she wore she white trousers and a girly jacket to match with a white lace bra underneath.

They both wanted to rip each other's clothes off.

They both entered the room together, the Queen kept an arm around the girl, keeping her close, it was hard having everyone watching the woman she loved and not wanting to kill them all.