Black Heart

Chapter Four

"King Richard, your guests are waiting outside." Thomas tells me, slowly I move my head from resting on my hand to look at him. He looks slightly afraid, in fact, he has been giving me that look since I let that girl go.
"Send them in, Thomas, might as well not leave them waiting any longer." I sigh, unfortunately for me, so many of my guests will most likely attempt to have me marry. It's not that I do not like the idea, it is just the fact there are far too many women that just aren't for me... or at least emotionally that is.
"Of course sire."

As soon as he opens the doors, several women and a few men coming rushing in. The unmarried women all crowd around rich bachelors, talking, dancing and laughing. And I'm the most popular of them all.

I end up switching in between having polite conversations and complementing the many girls that come over, batting their eyes at me in an attempt to seem attracted.

"Richard!" It's a voice I haven't heard in over a century, immediately I look over to meet her gaze, a shame she had to bring some of her friends with her.
"Katherine, what a lovely surprise." I make my way through the crowd of scowling women and men, they have never like hybrids of our kind, especially with wolves.
"Yes, well, I believe you know why I am here, Richard."
"Because I'm your adorable brother?"
"Half brother and no. I'm here for that vampire you captured."
"I have-"
"Richard, don't try that on me, I have highly creditable sources saying so, plus why did you call off that ransom of yours if hadn't got her?"

She has me caught, although she is more than a century younger than me, she is still smart enough to catch me out on things. It is a great disadvantage at the best of times.

"So, tell me where she is or will I have to start a war with you?" Katherine smiles, I cannot tell if she's joking or not.
"Follow me." I return a grin, more out of fear than anything. A lot of the wolves in her pack are hybrids of both vampire and shadow descent, the shadows are the worse, at least the vampire ones you can kill without them shifting into shadows.