Part 1: Mate's Lore

Mate’s Lore

Chosen by the Vampire Kings

Part 1

By

Charlene Hartnady

Copyright and
Disclaimer

Copyright ©September2014, Charlene
Hartnady

Cover Art by Melody Simmons

Copy Edited by Kimberly Reichmann

Produced in South Africa

Published by Charlene Hartnady

PO BOX 456, Melrose Arch,

Johannesburg, South Africa, 2176

[email protected]

Mate’s Lore is a work of fiction and
characters, events and dialogue found within are of the author’s imagination
and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or
persons, either living or deceased, is purely coincidental.

With the exception of quotes used in
reviews no part of this book may be reproduced or shared in any form or by any
means, electronic or mechanical, including but not limited to digital copying,
file sharing, audio recording, email and printing without prior consent in
writing from the author

Part 1

Chapter 1

It
had been many years since he had been in such close proximity of his birth
enemy. Zane looked as arrogant and as full of shit as ever. Barking orders at
his royal guard like they were his servants instead of trusted subjects. In
some cases, those receiving the harsh treatment were probably his best buddies.
Then again, the bastard probably didn’t have any friends. Shaking his head,
Brant turned and surveyed the crowd. He felt sorry for the female that would
soon be chosen to become queen to the likes of that ruthless king.

It
wasn’t his concern though. His own queen was out there. Brant shuddered,
praying that the events of one hundred years ago would not repeat themselves. A
bloody war between their fathers had been the result of the last choosing. It
couldn’t happen again, the vampire species would not survive another war at
this point.

As
his mind returned to thoughts of his own female, he knew that he would not be
able to remain sensible where she was concerned. His focus was on protecting
his coven, and he would dispatch the other male without hesitation if he so
much as looked at what was his. No matter the odds, and the knowledge of Zane’s
ruthlessness, Brant would allow nothing to harm her. She was too valuable, too
precious of a gift to him.

Turning,
he surveyed the crowd again. Feeling the electric pulse of her closeness.
According to the lores, he would be able to sense her and to tell of their
compatibility almost instantly even in a crowd full of females. From the noise
projecting from outside, he could tell there were many females present. He
hoped his chosen would be willing from the start. The last thing he wanted was
to force her, to have to go caveman on her and throw her over his shoulder. The
thought did not appeal to him, but the choosing was not something that could be
ignored. She would feel it as well, whether she wanted to or not.

“Ready?”
his head guard Xavier asked as he moved in next to him. His brother’s eyes
never faltered as they stared straight into his. Brant knew the reason for the
intenseness. Xavier harbored similar feelings of distaste and distrust for
their neighboring king. In order to maintain their strenuous hold on the truce
between them, it had always been necessary to keep interactions between the two
covens to a minimum. This event was no exception.

“Yeah,
as ready as I’ll ever be,” Brant replied while taking a moment to scan the
room.

“Your
eyes are glowing my lord, maybe you should stop looking in that direction.”

Brant
looked into Xavier’s clear grey eyes.
Always the cool one in the situation.
“My eyes have nothing to do with that bastard at the moment, and everything to
do with my female. I can sense her, and the urge to mate is strong. I just hope
that she’ll be agreeable to a speedy union.”

“I
told you to take a female, ease your need. Humans are…easily broken. We don’t
want any accidents.” Xavier spoke softly, ensuring that no one else would be
privy to their conversation.

“I
have a plan.”

“Please,
tell me you at least drank recently,” Xavier’s eyes narrowed. When Brant didn’t
reply, his brother’s eyes narrowed even more. He made a sound of disbelief and
continued, “Brother, should you harm our future—”

“Enough,”
Brant growled.

Xavier
lowered his eyes.

“I
said I have a plan. My future queen will come to no harm.”

Xavier
nodded. “Yes, my lord. It is time.”

Brant
took a deep breath. He had been raised for this moment. His decision and the
events of the next few minutes would determine the future of his coven.

No
pressure.

****

Tanya
had seen tabloid pictures of the vampire kings and they really weren’t all that
attractive, unless you were into the ultra-big, ultra-built and ridiculously
bad non-human types.

She
so wasn’t.

The
whole choosing ceremony was so outdated to the point of being down right sexist.
Yet, every hundred years, all of the eligible women would assemble to be
chosen. A queen for each of the kings. The worst part was that vampires and
humans never mixed so there was very little known about them. Their traditions,
their ways, their expectations, she shuddered.

For
at least the twentieth time, she wished that her best friend Becky was there
with her. The whole thing was a real circus. Tanya hadn’t realized how many
women there were in Sweetwater between the ages of twenty one and thirty. Aside
from age, there had been a long list of requirements. Everything from weight and
height to a clean medical exam.

Tanya
sighed as a group of giggling women squeezed past her trying to find a spot
closer to the podium. Becky was divorced, a complete no-no. It had
automatically disqualified her from being allowed to attend the choosing
ceremony. Attend, hah, not hardly, the right term would be forced. If all
aspects of the criteria were met, it was mandatory to be here. For whatever
reason, the human justice system went along with this whole farce once a
century. Only those wanting a fast track to jail failed to show up. What scared
her the most though was the thought of how many of these women were actually
hoping to be chosen today.

Vampire
queen.

Tanya
cringed at the thought. For once she was thankful for being a little curvy.
Most men were into wafer thin model types, so she would be safe. 

The
whole courtyard vibrated with an excited hum.

The
two kings were royalty but they were also vampires. They drank blood for
heaven’s sake. Had these women lost their freaking minds?

It
was early afternoon yet you wouldn’t guess it by how some of them were dressed.
Little back numbers, low cut tops, sequins and
jewelry
were the order of the day. The amount of skin on display was
obscene. Tanya did a double take as one of the ladies walked by, she was
wearing a sheer dress without underwear. Her lady bits on display for all and
sundry. With all that exposed skin, she hoped that the woman had used sunblock.
The highest possible factor.

Tanya
looked down at her jeans and t-shirt. Maybe she should’ve tried a little harder
but then again, she wasn’t planning on getting noticed. She had a life to get
back to. It wasn’t much but she had her little book store. Some might consider
it to be boring, but she liked it just fine.

She’d
owned The Book Corner for two years now. Reading had always been a major
passion, that and coffee. It had been her ultimate dream to own a little coffee
shop on the side. That way potential customers could browse through purchases
while enjoying a cappuccino and maybe a little pastry. So far she was way
behind on those goals. She was supposed to have had half the money she needed
already saved in order to do the required renovations. As it stood though, she
may not even have a store soon, let alone an additional coffee shop. She
couldn’t afford to hire someone to fill in for her today. Just the thought of the
closed sign on the door, of losing potential customers, had her looking at her
watch. Hopefully this would be over soon. The last thing she needed in her life
was a man…let alone a vampire who would not only uproot her from her goals but
from her friends and family as well. She only had one BFF and her aunt, but she
loved them both a ton.

It
had been a while since she’d dated and her last relationship had ended…badly. Sex
was overrated anyway. She could just imagine how much worse it would be with a
blood sucking vamp. Wishing she was back at the store, she glanced at her watch
a second time.

It
wasn’t like one of the kings would ever think of choosing a plain Jane like her
anyways. What a waste of her precious time.

There
was silence followed by gasps as two of the biggest, meanest looking men she’d
ever seen walked onto the platform. Tanya had expected fanfare. A trumpet call.
An announcement at the very least. What she hadn’t expected was to be shocked
stupid. Pictures she’d seen of the men didn’t do them justice.

Tall,
check
.

Built,
check
.

Mean,
check
.

Ridiculously
hunkalious,
double check
.

Several
women swooned. One woman, closer to the front, fainted. Medics pushed their way
through the thick crowd and placed the young women on stretchers.

The
king on the left was slightly shorter, from tabloid pictures she’d seen, he had
to be Zane. Although short was the wrong description, the big vampire must be
at least around six and a half feet. He was meaner looking, with close cropped
hair. From this distance she could tell that he had dark, hard eyes. A nervous
chill radiated through her body.

King
Brant was taller and even though he had a massive chest and bulging arms, he
wasn’t quite as broad as the scary one. Neither was classically good-looking. Though
both radiated raw energy and sex appeal like nothing she’d ever seen before.

“Pick
me!” One of the women closer to the platform shouted waving her arms.

The
kings ignored her.

A
group to the side hoisted a ‘
Look over here’
sign.
What was it with
these freaking women?
For some reason it bothered her that they were so
desperate to become one of the next vampire queens that they would do anything
to get noticed? And the question of the hour was,
why?

Turning
back to the platform, she noticed that the taller one, Brant, had medium length
dark hair, his eyes were dark and his mouth generous. Tanya was certain he
would be even more attractive if he smiled.

Both
men were tense. They just stood there, hands fisted at their sides. The crowd
grew restless. Some women tried to push to the front while others tried to
catch the attention of one or both of the men on the elevated platform. 

Eventually,
Zane stepped forward, his hard eyes were fixed on her.
What the hell?
Adrenaline surged through her blood, but her mind immediately rejected the idea
that he was actually looking at her. It had to be some sort of mistake. His
eyes seemed to stay on her for a few more seconds. Just as she began to feel
the need to look around her for the true object of his fascination, his gaze
moved to the back of the crowd. She breathed out in a gush.

“You,”
his gruff, smoky voice was a low vibration. He pointed somewhere behind Tanya.

An
equally big, equally mean looking man came onto the platform from the side. King
Zane didn’t take his eyes off the female he had set his sights on the entire
time he spoke to what had to be his head guard. All of the surrounding men were
dressed in full leather. Though, this one wore a silver family crest on his
chest.

Tanya
shivered, thankful she hadn’t been chosen by the likes of him.

Zane
continued to shout orders. The head guard, flanked by two vampires, stepped off
the platform and stalked through the crowd. Tanya shifted to the side as they
approached. They were big bastards. The women surged forward. One dared to
touch. The king’s head guard paused, without turning to face the culprit, he
growled. His top lip curled revealing sharp fangs. The air caught in her lungs.
Her pulse quickened.

They
were so close, Tanya could smell a musky male scent, could almost feel heat
radiate off their huge bodies as they passed.

“You,”
a deep growl sounded through the crowd.

“No,”
a feminine wail responded. “Let go of me!”

Tanya
was too afraid to turn. So close to the action, she was fearful of being
noticed.

Another
wail, louder this time.

“Put
me down!” the woman shrieked. It seemed Tanya was not the only one there that
didn’t want to be chosen.

Tanya
moved with the crowd as the guards passed, the woman was slung over the
shoulder of the head guard. She kicked and screamed. The big vampire didn’t
seem to notice though. Tanya caught the look of sheer terror on the young
woman’s face.

This
wasn’t right.

How
could this be allowed to happen?
Tanya looked
around her at the multitude of willing ladies. Women that were practically
throwing themselves at the vampire kings.
Why did the SOB have to go and
pick one of the few that wasn’t interested?

Tanya
took a few steps in the direction of the platform.
Not happening.
She
stopped.  She didn’t want to get involved. Couldn’t afford to. She didn’t even
know the girl. It wasn’t like she could change the situation even if she tried.
This ritual had been going on for hundreds, possibly thousands, of years.

A
large group of women at the front screamed to Zane that he pick them instead.
One of the young ladies even lifted her top.

The
king didn’t take his eyes off his chosen woman the entire time that his guard
maneuvered
through the crowd. They narrowed though
as they got closer. The girl screamed louder.