A Vampire in Love

Chapter 17: My Queen

Her eyes were still closed. There was peace on her face. Her chest was heaving in a rhythm that was like a beautiful lullaby for Ajish.

"How is she?" Rai asked while standing at the door of Adya's room.

"She is doing fine. The doctor said she will wake up any time now" Ajish turned back to her mate.

Rai walked towards Ajish and sat beside him on the couch. Both the vampires were staring at the sleeping figure of Adya.

"How are you doing?", Rai asked while he scanned Ajish's face.

Ajish sighed heavily while his eyes went to the floor. He closed his eyes and instantly pain was intensely evident on his face.

"I am doing fine for now. I just want her to be fine." Ajish said while pointing towards Adya.

Rai nodded his head in understanding. He knew that this time only Ajish was in pain... physical and emotional.

"Ajji..she will be fine. You saved her. Although I wish the circumstances were different you saved her life. She will be fine." Rai tried consoling Ajish.

"Yeah...I wish I would have found her in a better situation, I wish I would have just listened to her once, I wish I would have had my faith in Mother Moon...but I did not. But I was so blinded by the pain and sorrow of losing Orya that I just wanted to blame somebody for it. I wanted somebody to bear the burden of my pain. I am a monster, Rai." Ajish buried his head in his hands.

"Ajji, you are not a monster. Yes, what you did was a monstrous act but you saved her. You marked her without mating. No vampire has ever done that. You marked her even though you know the consequences of the act...just to save her. You had a choice and you chose the tougher path." Rai was patting Ajish's back.

"But still...she was not supposed to go through so much in the very first place. She was supposed to live her life happily with me with the world at her feet." Ajish's face was still in his hands.

"You have made a mistake...a huge one. But you chose the path to suffer and make everything right than just run away from it. When she wakes up, it is not going to be easy for her..the bond. We don't know how will she react now that she is marked. She will be torn between hating you for your deeds and loving you because of the bond." Rai was now kneeling in front of Ajish.

"We don't know what will happen. It will be chaos, but you could have escaped this by letting her die. But you did not. You chose to suffer, to make an effort, to mend what is broken. So please pick yourself up, give her the world" Rai had a small sad smile on his face.

Ajish slowly looked up at Rai and nodded. Rai's face relaxed and he again sat beside Ajish. Both of them sat in silence for a while.

"Thanks for Ari" Rai whispered.

"I would have killed her if you wouldn't hold me back" Ajish whispered back, his eyes still on Adya.

"Nobody can hold back the mighty Vampire King if he wants to end a story" chuckled Rai " You are not a monster" he added softly.

Another moment of silence passed. The constant beeping of the machine was all that could be heard.

"The bond...how does it feel?" Asked Rai.

"Feels like, she holds my soul to hers. I can feel her in a different way. It is like all our senses are one. It is a very alien feeling." Ajish smiled after an eternity.

"The council called," Rai said with caution. Ajish's head shot towards Rai. He raised his brows.

"They are not very happy with the way Adya is marked. They consider it a very disrespectful way of marking a mate. Although they understand that it was necessary.." Rai scanned Ajish's face for any reaction. When he found none he continued.

"But they are concerned about how Adya will react. She being a human is not helping the situation as well. She feels everything with much greater intensity. They feel that she is not ready for the bond, she doesn't know how it works. This might affect you. An unstable king is not good for the vampires so..." This time Rai knew Ajish would react.

"So?" Ajish asked grinding his teeth together.

"So the elders think that we should consider eliminating..." Rai could not finish his sentence.

Ajish was no longer seated beside him. He was already out of the door. Rai followed him. He knew this was not a good idea but the whole council had arrived just an hour ago. The entire council together had not gathered like this ever, not at least in the past 200 years.

Ajish fangs were drawn out. His eyes were glowing red. He pushed the door of the waiting lounge but it broke from the hinge. The whole council along with the elders stood up. Ajish walked up to the place where the three elders were standing.

"Rai told me about your plans. Now listen to me loud and clear" Ajish's hands were in a fist. "Anybody who lays a finger on her will not see the next moment of their life again" Ajish finished in a threatening tone.

Clearly, a bolt of chill ran across the room as everybody was looking anywhere but at Ajish. As if one looks at him and they will drop dead. But that was not the case with the three elders. They had soothing smiles on their face. One of the elders stepped forward and patted Ajish's shoulders.

"Sit down son," The elder said as he pointed towards a chair. He turned around and nodded at everybody else. Soon the room was empty. Only the three elders, Ajish, and Rai were sitting around a table facing each other.

"Son, we know this is difficult, but there is a reason why marking is done after mating. This is permanent now that you have marked and sealed the bond between you." The elder joined his hand together.

"What if she does not accept you? What if she refuses to bear your children? Maybe the bond will force her to do so but will it make her happy? The bond can only ensure two souls are forged together but deep inside she will know that she is not happy. This is the reason why in ancient times forced marking never worked and is a taboo." the elder had a hint of deep concern in his voice.

"I will not force her to love me. I know I have done a grave mistake but she is the one I am supposed to be with. I did not mark her because I did not want to lose her. I deserve all the pain. But I saved her because she deserves to live. This will also give me a chance to find my way back to her. She will not be forced or manipulated by the bond. Trust me as you all have for the last 800 years" Ajish said looking into the elder's eyes.

"She is my Queen and her King will fight for her love"

Dear Readers

A long long chapter for you. This chapter is the one where love is defined. Love for me is to make effort to be happy with someone. It has to work both ways. But will Adya reciprocate Ajish's love? Stay tuned to find out.

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Wordtwiner

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