Royal shuffle: Vampire’s mate

ANDREA

I opened my eyes and immediately shut them, the bright light in the room blinded my vision. I opened them again, slowly this time and allowed my eyes to adjust to my surroundings. There was a constant beeping sound coming from the machine beside me. I tried getting up and immediately collapsed back on the bed from the pain. I heard a whisper, and craned my head to look around my room, not seeing anyone. I couldn’t make out what the voice was saying.

“Andrea…”

The whisper came again, louder this time and I heard my name clearly. I looked around my room again, wondering where the voice was coming from. If there was a device in my room playing. But there wasn’t. My room was all white wall and devices. But that voice…it felt very familiar.

“Who are you?” I asked.

“You’ll know soon enough…” the voice replied, and laughed.

“Was it you in my room last night?”

“Yes…”© 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.

“What do you want from me?”

The voice was silent for a while as though thinking of what to reply, “What I want?? I want to take everything from you the way you took everything from me-”

“What do you mean? When did I do that?”

“I will take everything from you,” the voice continued, “beginning with your son.”

“No,” I shook my head violently, tears falling down my cheeks.

“The brat dies tonight.”

“No!!!” I began kicking and screaming, crying uncontrollably. “Just take me instead. Please!!!”

“Oh, I will. Be patient. I want you to be alive to watch me take everything from you, then I will give you the most painful death known to all man, wolf and vampire in existence.” The voice said, venom dripping from their voice.

“What did I do to you? What did I do to deserve this?!”

“You will know soon enough…” the voice said, her voice fading away.

“I’m so sorry! Whatever it is I did to you, I’m so sorry!!!”

I tried to sit up on my bed again and failed, the pain was overbearing. I took several deep breaths and looked at my hands. I began to unhook the machines and the tubes, including the one giving me blood. I struggled to sit up, and then slowly got out of the bed, ignoring the pain in every part of my being. My vision blurred and my steps faltered, but I managed to make it to the door. I opened it, and makes it down the hallway to the reception, and was surprised to not see anybody there.

I made it to the front door without intervention, something I was grateful and worried for. Where was everybody? I made into the palace, and up the stairs to my floor where my kid’s chambers were located. I passed by our room, and heard Leo snoring away lightly. I took a deep breathe and crept across, using the wall for support and praying that Leo doesn’t wake up.

I took a deep breathe when I got to Leovanni’s door and turned the handle, carefully opening the door, and closing it behind me. I turned around and gasped. Leovanni was standing next to his bed with his eyes bright red. The moonlight coming in and illuminating him only making the red of his eyes appear even brighter.

“Leovanni?”

“Mommy. It’s okay, mommy,” he replies, climbing on the window sill of the rather large window.

I took slow steps towards him, forcing my body to move against the pain, “Come down, baby…”

Tears flowed down my eyes endlessly. He shook his head and smiled at me. My baby. I was so close to him now. Maybe I would be able to save him after all. I smiled at him and stretched my hands out to him.

“Come to me, my darling…” I whispered to him, not wanting my voice to scare him off the window sill.

“It’s okay, mommy…”

My fingers brushed his pajamas and he jumped off the sill. My mouth opened in a shrill, high scream. My voice broke from the effort it took to let out a scream that loud. I held on to the window sill, and watched as Leovanni fell into the concrete floors headfirst. I watched as he made impact and his skull shattered with a dull crack.

I closed my eyes and memories of him and me. Memories from the moment he was born, to his first injury, to his first step, his first injury. Everything about him. I held on to my chest, trying to physically force my heart to stop beating too fast. I squeezed even harder, hoping to stun myself awake with the pain. I was hoping that I was dreaming. That this was a joke. That I would pinch myself so hard that I would wake up and see my boy sleeping peacefully on his bed, covered with his favorite Avengers blanket.

My pain turned to shock and then to panic when I heard a little voice sob in the corner of the room. I turned my head slowly to find Adela looking at me with wide eyes of confusion and tears flowing down her cheeks. I realized that she might have just watched her brother whom she loves so much jump off to his death.

“My goodness, sweetheart…”

“Where’s Vanni, mommy?” Adela asked, her sweet voice making my heart break further.

“How long have you been standing there, love?”

“Why did you push him, mommy? Didn’t you love him?”

A lot of emotions were moving through me, topping the list at that moment would be confusion. What did she mean? And then it clicked. I had been so focused on Leo, I forgot that a thin door separated both of them. She must have come in when she heard voices, and seen Leovanni jump when my fingers brushed him. She thinks I pushed him. I gasped and began to struggle to my feet.

“Honey, it’s not what you think, I promise…”

I managed to make it to my feet and began to slowly move towards her, using Leovanni’s nightstand, bed, and whatever I could touch to support myself. I take a few steps closer to her and my heart breaks when she takes a few steps back. Fresh tears rolled down my cheeks. I refuse to believe that this was happening.

“Don’t come close to me,” Adela said, fear dripping from every word.

I just wanted to comfort her, and explain things to her. I take a few steps more, and she lets out an ear piercing scream. She screamed so loud that I just knew the whole palace would wake up. If I didn’t already wake them up with mine.

“No, baby, don’t do that…”

She moved even further away from me until her back hit the wall. She went from sobbing to fully crying, her eyes wide and red with fear and sadness, and tears rolling down her cheeks.

What the hell was happening?!

Just like clockwork, the door was kicked open, I partly expected to see the guards, but it was even worse. Leo stepped in, eyes red, fangs and claws out, ready for war. Ready to draw blood. His eyes settled on me, and ten on Adela, and then on Leo’s bed. He looked around the room and then his eyes fell on me. I could see the questions. I could hear his questions, and he didn’t have to say a word. His fangs retract, his eyes clear and he sheathed his claws seeing as there wasn’t a threat in the rooms.

“What’s going on? What are you doing here, love? Where is Vanni?” Leo asked.

At the mention of her brother’s name, she began crying loudly, and ran to her father. Leo picked her up without hassle, and she wrapped her hands and legs around him and buried her face in his neck. My heart broke even more. What have I done?

“What is happening, Andrea?!”

I winced when he called me by my name, more tears rolled down my cheeks. At this point, I should be able to make a salt lake of my own soon. Leopold stepped into the room, breathing heavily. He did a survey of the room. First he looked at me seated on the floor in confusion, then to Adela who was still crying in her father’s arms, to Leovanni’s bed and his eyes widened in panic.

“Where’s Leovanni?” Leopold asked.

Adela raised her head and pointed to the window and then at me, “Mommy pushed him!!!”

We heard several gasps from right outside the door, and it was then I knew that my husband and his brother were not the only people the screams woke up. The domestic staff was awake as well and had come to investigate. Leopold was stunned for a moment, and then he sent them all back to their quarters. Both he and Leo walked over to the window, and then slowly put their head through it. I lowered my head to the ground and cried even harder. This couldn’t be happening to me.

Leo screamed hard and handed Adela over to Leopold, and jumped out of the window. I crawled over to the window, and looked out, supporting myself on the same window sill my son had jumped out of. I watched as Leo gathered his son in his hands and hugged him to his chest; blood, brain matter and all. I heard his scream of anger and pain all the way from down there. I watched as he lifted his body, and brought it in with him.

“Andrea, please tell me what’s going on?” Leopold asked.

I shook my head. “Please take Adela to her room. Stay with her. Don’t bring her out no matter what you hear.”

“But…”

“Please, Leopold. Now is not the time.”

Leopold regarded me for a while and then nodded. He went through the adjoining door into Adela’s room. I heard the key turn in the lock, and my heart broke a bit more. Leo opened the door with Leovanni’s body in his arms, he barely spared me a look as he deposited my son’s body on the bed, and wrapped him up with his blanket and duvet. There was silence in the room. In the palace even. So silent that if a pin dropped, it would echo through out the whole palace.

“Andrea…”

“Yes…”

“Why aren’t you at the hospital? How did you get past the doctors and nurses?”

“They…they weren’t there. There was no one there.”

“What are you doing here?”

“I can’t come to see my children?”

“You know very well what the fuck I mean, Andrea. Do not play games with me!” Leo replied, tears rolling down his cheeks. His eyes blazing with red hot anger.

“You wouldn’t believe me…” I replied, lowering my head to the ground again.

Leo took a deep breathe and swore under his breath. He came over the me, and I had the urge to move backwards but I held still. I wrapped my hands around my legs and rested my forehead on my knees.

“Try me.”