C H A P T E R 31

Valentina Dove Blackclaw

eyes flutter open as breath flows through her, going through her nose to her lungs and fills her up with life. The heart beating strongly inside her chest like never before and it's fast and steady. The world around her is so warm that it sends warmth throughout her whole body. Valentina's ice blue eyes look around in the darkness yet she cannot see that much but the girl only knows one thing now. She is alive.

Letting out a moan she sits up on a comfortable bed and once again looks around her. Her memory slightly recognizing her surroundings but the confusion is alive and well inside her. Pain doesn't touch her as if it had never been there at all. For a moment it would seem that Valentina has gone to Heaven but the more that she looks around, her eyes scanning the area she starts to notice that is not the case. She is inside Vladimir's castle and in his bedroom. Lying down on his bed and under his covers which she can swear are the warmest ones that she has ever had over her body and doesn't quite want to stand up from the bed at all.

Licking her dry lips she swallows as she stretches her hands and her neck for a moment. For Valentina it has been like a long nap which she has taken but for everyone else she was dead. Taking a deep breath and once again feeling the air of life run through her. Somehow to the girl the world is different and yet she cannot explain nor understand in what way but she does not question it either.

Standing up from the bed despite not wanting to she tries to look around once again in the dark but her eyes have not gotten used to it yet and the bedroom is pitch black or blacker than that. Outlines of objects and furniture are everywhere yet she would not be able to guess nor tell what something were. No one is inside the room with her but now she has only one goal. Finding Vladimir. That was what she set out to do on her mission and she intends to finish that, now that she is already at the castle.

The questions on how she got there are flowing through her mind but all of those get pushed aside when she walks out of the room. She doesn't know where to go but she uses the wall to take her somewhere. It has been so long since she was there last and many things have happened in the meantime, and her memory is not the best in the world but if she can remember correctly she had her own bedroom around there somewhere, though she would not be sure which door it would be nor does she know if the room would still belong to her.

For a Werewolf like her, she is unable to see in the dark unless she uses the eyes of the Wolf which she does not wish to do but through the darkness she is somehow making it in some direction. In hopes that it is leading her to him. Still, the girl has no clue where he is nor does she know how to find him. All she can do is follow her heart and the walls which are, and be careful of things that could be in the way. The golden haired girl has to find him and she would look for him for the rest of her life if need be.

That is if she is alive by then for not only can she die if she is far away from him for a long time and she is around hundreds of Vampires who want her dead and will do whatever it takes to make sure that she dies by their hands and they would take her blood for their own. Her fingertips are holding against the wall as if her life depends on it and in a way it does for she will die if she is not around him.

Valentina can't be sure if he is near her or not as this is a place where he is around, he walks the hallways and he goes around so she would not be able to feel his force for it would only take her in circles and she would not be able to smell him for that would most likely lead her back to the bedroom since it is the place where he possibly spends a lot of his time but she would not know that much about it.

The girl finds it odd how no one has greeted her from behind or in front of her, no one has walked the hallways in some time. The castle is not deserted for the scent of fresh blood is lingering in the air and Vampires should be around every corner, yet there are not. It confuses her greatly but she has not time nor need to worry about that when she is only worried about finding him. The love of her life, she has a mission in her mind and she will find him even if it is the last thing that she does.

Still, she has already died once and she would die again and again for him. She would not think twice about sacrificing her life for that man for her love for him is stronger than one would know. Her love thrives around her and inside her beating heart and as long as there is breath inside her lungs, she will forever save him and forever sacrifice for him. He is more than just her Mate, he's the man that she has fallen in love with and that love is strong and the roots run deep through her heart and intend on staying there.

Then she felt it, his presence behind her. Gasping she turns around but even in the darkness it's rather hard to see but her eyes can catch the outline of a black shadow that can only be him. A smile comes to her lips as he walks over to her. He doesn't say anything as he wraps his arms around her and pulls her in for a hug. Something unusual for him but she only shrugs it off and welcomes the hug with open arms. Finally she feels at peace and her heart agrees with her as the corners of her lips tug into a warm smile.

Her head lies against his chest as he holds her and it is as if he is holding her tighter against him to make sure that she doesn't leave but she doesn't care about how tight he holds her as she only wishes for him to hold her. Neither of them need words to express themselves for somehow they both know how their feelings are and the feelings of each other. She has fallen in love with him and he has fallen in love with her, that is clear as day and she can see it even through the darkness.

Salty tears form in her eyes but she refuse to allow them to fall, not wanting to be weak. Though she wishes to cherish this moment. The moment that she is in the arms of her love for somehow she doesn't know how long this moment will last, and she would like it to last forever. If only she could freeze time, it would mean the world to her to have him with her forever in this moment. Valentina has never been good at letting go and she is not about to let him slip past her fingers, not again that is.

After what feels like a good forever the hug breaks and Valentina's ice blue eyes look up to meet his scarlet red ones and somehow through the darkness his eyes stand out. She smiles at him. He takes her hand into his. Her small hand fits in his like it was meant to be and in truth it was. Valentina knows it and she can feel it inside her and there is nothing and no one that can tell her that she does not belong with Vladimir and he does not belong to her for she would kill that person.

She can feel his smile down at her. He starts to lean down and his lips capture her with hunger and desire only for her and no one else. Her heart skips a beat with happiness as his lips touch his and they blend together in a kiss of love. And for this moment they are just alone and just the two of them. Their love is eternal and none can say otherwise about it. Her heart beats only for him and his heart has begun beating only for her.

Candles have been lit all over the throne room so that Valentina would be able to see anything and many candles gave heat around the room which often got cold. Valentina sits upon her throne with a crown on her head and her head held high. Her crown golden with three large diamonds that are shaped like a water drop that are held with golden spiral patterns which take the shapes of vines yet form a pattern that one can't help but admire. A smile on her face as she sits on the throne and beside her sits the man that she fell in love.

She sits there with her hands in her lap but her back straight and she is made to be there. Her eyes look over at him to see that his eyes are only on her and it does not look like they will leave any time soon. "If you do not stop looking at me, everyone would think you do not pay attention" She whispers to him, knowing that he could hear her. No matter what he always heard her and she knew that he made sure that he would always hear her and be near her.

"It is our wedding ball and I cannot stare at my wife, I do find that odd, do you not?" He asks and she lets out a small giggle as she rolls her eyes. The music plays in harmony as Werewolves and Vampires alike dance and chat as if they were old friends. She cannot help but welcome a smile on her face when she sees how happy everyone is. Aaron hogging the food table like he owns it but no one seems to care as he is the Prince of the kingdom. Her eyes shift to a corner and she laughs.

Brining Vladimir's attention to their too. Killian desperately trying to win Melanie's affection by doing whatever he can. The two of them turned out to be Mates yet Melanie refuses it and wants nothing to do with him or so she says to him, when in secret she told Valentina that she actually likes him and would nothing more than to bring him into bed with her. Though, it is clear to both Valentina and her Vampire husband that it will be a long road to love, just like theirs but they will get there, eventually.

Her focus is broken when she notices Vladimir arm has been stretched out for her to take. "It would not be a ball without us dancing. May I have this dance?" He asks her and winks at her as he stands up. She smiles with warmth as she takes his hand. "I suppose" She says with a smirk. The two of them walk down the steps and her white wedding gown flowing behind her and her stunning features have all eyes on her. The floor gets cleared as the two of them get in position to dance to a new song.

The happiness that shines around the two of them as they start dancing can be seen by all that have attended the ball and even the wedding itself. "Have I told you how beautiful you look?" He asks her as they dance. Both of them unable to keep their hands from each other for long. She lets out a giggle. "About a hundred times just this hour" She reminds him and he smirks at her. Valentina herself is unable to explain in words the joy that she's feeling or the love that is so bright inside her heart.

"Only the truth was spoken" He whispers to her and while doing so flashing her his famous smirk which shows his fangs. She is well aware how much his fangs are eager to dig into her flesh and she is anger to allow it to happen. Her blood is all that satisfies him and all that can make his hunger go down, though he will always be hungry for her and she knows this and often uses it against him. It became clear to her some time ago that the ruthless King is rather easy to control and often teases him about it.

She only gives him a smile as she leans down to his ear, making sure that her neck is close to his mouth and his canines, knowing very well that he can hear her blood run through her veins. The smirk on her lips is one that she hides from him. "You will see just how beautiful before the day ends" She whispers so low into his ear that only he can hear and she can hear how his breath hitches and he nearly freezes at her words, knowing exactly what will happen in only a short few hours.

For months she denied to bed him until they were married for that was the only way to seal their relationship but it was all a cover up that she was afraid of it and did not know if she was ready but now as she is wed she cannot avoid it any time longer. And she doesn't want to. It has been months since they found one another again and she is finally ready. The months have been hard but the two of them have made it through everything and their relationship is stronger than it has ever been now.

Uniting Vampires and Werewolves was the hardest obstacle but they did it, together the two of them were able to do that. And while the Werewolf species is close to going extinct they were able to save lives. Those who did not like the peace would be met with agonizing death delivered by the King himself. He might have a Queen by his side but his murderous thoughts and actions have not changed and Valentina does not judge him for it, she embraces it and she does like it when he's like that and she does like it when he's angry, it makes her fall for him all over again.

The way that his eyes can darken yet never change at all. It brings her pleasure watching him murder and it does make her feel better knowing that these people that he kills are not innocent, they've sinned. The ice blue eyed girl was not wed to him and it took some time it people accepted her as their Queen, even when there were people who wanted her off the throne but shut up when they would feel the wrath of the King and made peace with her rule.

"Your words enchant me" He tells her and she can only smirk at him and look at him in the eyes. They dance, their feet moving with one another and their movements are in sync. They own the floor and dance as if the world is gone and it's just the two of them. "I'm sure that's not the only thing" She speaks and it nearly sends him off the edge. Valentina is the only one that can make the cruel (and heartless) Vladimir Bloodthorn nervous and she enjoys that all too much and will sue every opportunity that she has.

"You will condemn me for all eternity" He says and she giggles. "I would hope so. Since we're married until death rips one of us away but even then the other would follow and we would be reunited. I'm going to be with you until I'm no more and even then I would haunt you. You, Vladimir, will never be rid of me" Valentina tells him and she does speak the purest truth for she will always be with him and her love will always live for him, only for him and no one else but him.

Vladimir stares down at her with a smile on his face and love in his scarlet red eyes that she loves and looks into whenever she has the chance. "I would not have it any other way, my Queen" He tells her and at the end of the dance his lips capture her and standing in the middle of the dance floor, they share a kiss so deep and passionate. Her body calling out to him and he answers her call and pulls her closer in for the kiss, unable to get enough of each other's lips. His soft lips make her come undone in every way possible.

Clapping is the thing that breaks the rough yet sweet and gentle kiss that he had given her and the blush is not slow at reaching up to her lips. People all around them clap before them when she opens her eyes which she had closed without even realizing it. Vladimir makes her forget all around her, even reason and logic seems to disappear from her mind when he's kissing her or around her. As if she can't even think anymore and she does not mind one bit about it and actually enjoys the effect that he has on her.

Hand in hand they dance to the next song and their smiles never leaves their faces. Valentina's heart beating only for him and him alone and this love that she feels for him flows through her with every heartbeat. Wishing that she could hand him her heart but uncomfortable she needs it to survive but she wishes that he knew just how much she loves him, even when she tells him every single day and it is the truth. She does love him. More than she could possible ever explain in words.

Once they are seated on their thrones once again her eyes look around the room for Aaron and when their eyes meet she gestures for him to come to her and he does. That little boy is one that she does love deeply too and no one can tell her that he is not her son because he is hers. She adopted him and he is her son. Aaron loves her like his mother. When he walks up the steps he has some good in his arms and doesn't even care not does he bother with the mess that he makes on his clothes.

She lets out a giggle and rolls her eyes when he nearly drops everything as he's holding on a lot. The kitchen is his favorite place to be and food has become the center of his life and it only makes her laugh. "Sit" She softly speaks to him and gestures for her lap. He laughs as he, with all the food that he has in his arms tries to sit on her lap. While she does try to help him while doing so, he's determined to keep all that food and it's clear he's not sharing it with anyone.

Through the months Aaron was allowed to have a childhood and despite his rough upbringing and the pain in his past, she did not deny him to have at least some time to be as a child and he often acted as if he were a toddler but she only allowed it because deep down he needs this to cope with everything. Once he's seated on her lap he tends to his food. Somehow he doesn't get anything on her dress but Valentina is not going to jinx that or else it might just happen.

It takes everything inside her to not hug the life out of him. He's her son. Even when he's not her biological one, he is still her son and he will remain as her son. The first night that they met he asked her if she would be his new mother and she told him yes and ever since then she is his mother. The young boy turned seven not that long ago and his adorable nature only makes her love him even more. "See, it's so pretty" He says and shows her a macaron in a purple shade and he's hypnotized by the colors of the treats.

"Yeah, it is" She tells him as she kisses his cheek and rubs his head which messes up his hair but he likes it when she does it. Aaron stays by her side a lot and if he isn't then he can be found in the kitchen, often having some sort of snack or food. His eyes look up when he sees something interesting happening and he's not slow at jumping from her lap and running down the steps and somewhere else in the crowd without another word to her, which leaves the golden haired girl smiling at him.

When her eyes meet her husband's she can see that love that flows through his eyes and it's strange how not that long ago she looked at his eyes for the first time and all she felt was fear but now all she feels is love. Things have changed from the moment that they met but it's clear to Valentina that they were always meant to be. He is after all her Mate and she was meant to be with him, no matter what, destiny had chosen them.

The hours begin to pass and as the ball goes on, the King becomes restless and she can sense it. From the moment that she became his wife he has wanted only one thing; her. And he's not going to stop until he has her in his arms and in his bed. Taking her hand they walk down the steps. The people bow before them as they walk towards the doors at the end of the throne room. The doors open before then and the guards bow before them as they walk through and go down the hallways.

Her head turns to look at a hallway that she first entered when she was dragged there but now she walks there with pride and she owns the castle, she is the Queen and this castle is hers. The candle lights have been lit all around the hallways as they walk, she holding his arm. "You certainly know how to keep a man waiting" He speaks to her. "I know. I am well aware of that" She says to him and rolls her eyes, her voice of course dripping heavily with sarcasm but that is not the only thing that is dripping.