Chapter Twenty Four ▪︎ The King's Queen

Thanatos' aesthetic I guess. I'm not sure why I made this but I felt that I had to since I have a face claim for Dahlia and Alexander and they are the two main characters, but so is Thanatos. So, since I can't give him a face claim, an aesthetic would be my plan b. And yes, the ring is the one I mentioned in the story. This hasn't been proof read, if you find a mistake, please do tell me.

Thank you, enjoy!

ahlia was confused.

Did she give the wrong man a chance? Maybe her father was right, maybe The King truly was heartless.

But he was so nice to her, that Dahlia thought he maybe changed.

But she wouldn't put it past him to make a whole cover to play with her emotions and use her as he pleased.

She knew the story of Rome and many others. He willingly killed whole cities of humans.

He killed hundreds. Every human leader was killed publicly and he made damn sure they knew of it. The human children had photos of the beheaded corpses in their history books.

They were children when they were taught that. He killed the last bit of innocence in her and many other kids.

But she still gave him a chance.

She was blinded by his facade, or so she thought.

The facade had never been there. He not only broke down his walls for her, but he stripped off his skin to her. She saw him bare and wounded, but she rejected him.

He was hurting. Thanatos was as well, he presumed. He hadn't shown up ever since that day. He couldn't even feel his presence.

Maybe the bastard died of heartache, he snickered.

The faint glow of his ring snickered back at him.

He was probably somewhere around Dahlia.

Nonetheless, he wasn't too worried about him. He figured out his intentions with Dahlia were surprisingly sincere and pure the day he saved her from tumbling down to the ground face first.

He still had no idea how he did that.

He spent the past couple of days in his bedroom, sulking. The mate bond weakened him. He wished Dahlia would sneak into his bedroom at night and willingly lay in his arms.

But it was just a dream. He was lucky that she did that once, which he still couldn't believe was real.

She had such a pure heart, laying in a monster's bed just to heal him. She had no worries as she slept soundly in his arms.

He laid his head against the pillow soaked in his cold sweat and closed his eyes.

***

Dahlia was worried.

Alexander hadn't come out of his room in two full days. He ordered Arnold to take care of Dahlia and to bring her whatever she needed.

She couldn't help it. Something was pulling at her heart uncomfortably and she couldn't sleep because of it.

She remembered the doctor's words and ever since then, her foolish heart has been keeping her awake.

She couldn't fight the bond- it was the reason why hunters killed any of their own who were mated, instead of using them to kill the vampire.

You cannot kill your mate. You can try, but you can't do it.

She sat up in her bed and huffed.

The damn king kept her awake in fear, not because of her wellbeing, but his own!

She couldn't believe what she was about to do.

She stood up and put on her slippers. She looked down at her silky pajamas and deemed them decent enough. They were long and covered her figure nicely, which she was thankful for.

She opened her door and peeked her head out of the crack she created. The coast was clear. She stepped into the hallway and turned to the right after she quietly closed her door.

After a few quiet steps, she was facing Alexander's bedroom door. Knocking quietly, she listened for his voice.

The deathly silence worried her. She hesitantly opened the doors to find him sleeping. He was covered in sweat and his face was scrunched up.

This was her fault. He was so selfless that he rather chose to suffer than to simply ask her to hug him.

She wasn't sure if she would listen, but seeing him like this hurt her to no extent.

She rushed to his side and held his cheeks in her hands.

"Alexander, can your hear me?" She asked but received no reply.

Looking at his bedside table, she found a cloth napkin and wiped the sweat off his forehead. He was burning up.

He was past cuddling to help him. She knew she needed him to feed on her.

But she also knew what sharing blood meant to his kind.

Nervously, she picked up the phone on his bedside table and after less than two rings, Arnold answered.

"Yes, sir?" He questioned.

"Uh, it's Dahlia. Alexander seems to be sick, he hasn't come out of his room in at least two days and I came to check on him and I found him in bed covered by sweat... Arnold, he isn't responding to me." Dahlia added worriedly.

"Oh dear, it must be the mate bond." He spoke worriedly.

"Yes, I think so too. I'm afraid of letting him drink straight from me so I thought about taking one of those bags and filling it with my blood. Would you bring me one and a needle-" Arnold cut her off.

"Miss, I don't know if that is such a smart idea. We still don't know if your body has healed fully, he would kill me and everyone else if something happened to you." Arnold refused.

"It's either that or who knows what happens to him. I'm sure I will be fine, I have healed quite nicely. Besides, you answer to me. I hate ti do this, but I am commanding you to do as I say."

"Alright, miss, I understand." He hung up.

Soon after, he came in with a long tube attached to a needle on one end and a clear bag at the other.

"I still don't think this is a smart idea, miss Dahlia." Arnold reprimanded her.

"Do you know how to do it or do I have to?" She ignored him.

"I'm afraid not. Are you sure you know how to?" He questioned. He knew about her heritage and the training she most likely endured, but he had to put up an act.

"Yes, I have donated my blood to many of the girls who have almost been sucked dry at the tavern. We all donate to each other if necessary." She spoke a semi-truth. She did in fact do that, but she was the one that taught the others how to do it.

It saved many lives.

Arnold remained silent as he handed her a strip of fabric with a clasp on it. She asked him to help her clasp it above her elbow and she sanitised the area before she pumped her fist a couple of times and a bright blue veing buldged against her forearm. She stuck the needle in it and vinced slightly at the pain. Arnold taped it to her arm to hold it in place and she unclasped the tight thing on her arm.

Blood started to fill up the bag and Dahlia rested her head against the headboard. She was seated next to Alexander on his bed and she laid his head in her lap as she wiped the sweat off his face.

She looked at his dry chapped lips, but they still made her own tingle like they did when they were plump and pink, ready to be kissed.

She didn't even realise how much time she spent thinking about him until Arnold called out to her that the bag was almost full.

Dahlia was slightly light-headed so she laid down next to him after they removed the needle from her arm.

She should have given a bit less, but it was too late now. She would be okay, as long as he is alive.

Arnold removed the needle from the tube and gave it to Dahlia. She wondered briefly if her blood would be good and what it tasted like before she brought it up to Alexander's lips.

He didn't respond.

"I did not go through all of this trouble to have you ignore me." Dahlia muttered stubbornly.

She squeezed the tiniest drop on his dry tounge and it trailed down it untilhe swallowed.

His eyes opened bright red as he grasped the bag and drank greedily.

The tube must have annoyed him because he ripped it off and sucked the blood from it before tossing it to the floor and drinking from the bag itself.

Dahlia loved his greediness- she didn't why, but it aroused her to oblivion. To think he was so pleased by something she gave him made her feel fuzzy around her heart.

He looked at her as he drank the blood, effectively increasing her brething.

"Miss, maybe we should leave. This is not master Alexander." Arnold spoke with disdain and a bit of fear on his tounge.

Thanatos glared at the man and growled deep in his chest, effectively swooning a dizzy Dahlia.

"I will be alright, you may attend to your duties, Arnold. Thank you for your help." Dahlia assured him.

She trusted Thanatos, because she knew he couldn't harm her if he wanted to.

The perks of being a mate.

Arnold bowed, trusting her words, and quietly left.

Dahlia's hands turned sweaty. She was a bit anxious.

She hadn't spoken to Thanatos, other than the day he told her he would be stripping her of everything she ever knew of.

"I see you came here after all." He muttered wickedly.

His voice was deeper than she remembered it to be.

"I didn't have much of a choice." She answered him.

"Thank you for that. I was growing impatient." He told her as he licked his fangs clean and smiled like a devil.

"It was for Alexander." She answered him with a glare.

His gaze seemed to darken. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her to his chest, her back facing him.

Dahlia was sure he was hungry for some more and she prepared for the sting of a bite.

She was surprised when he muttered the next words in her ear, "I have a favour to return."

He bit into his wrist and brought it up to her lips. Without thinking, Dahlia's lips parted in shock and he put his wrist to her mouth.

She couldn't resist her curiosity as she licked a bit of the blood from his wrist.

It tasted metallic and strong, but her whole body seemed to ignite at the single drop.

Was this what woke Alexander?

She opened her jaws wider and surprised both Thanatos and Alexander that was in the corner of his own mind when she bit down at the healing wound he created.

She didn't have fangs, but it widened the wound, allowing more blood to spill into her mouth.

With the first gulp, her body tempeture rose by about 10°C.

The second had her moaning and Thanatos staring at her in awe and lust. He never expected his little human mate to have so much bloodlust.

He supposed they were mated for a reason.

"Careful, little one." He spoke to her ear.

The third gulp was enough to have her seeing stars and her mate's eyes.

He didn't want to harm her so he pulled his wrist away, but Dahlia stopped him. He whispered in her ear, "Let go, little one.", and she listened to him as she allowed him to let go, but not before swallowing her fourth gulp.

She was out like a bulb, laying against her mate's chest, high on something stronger than what the lycan gave her.