Chapter 34 - Surprise Mate

Damien slammed his phone down on the desk. He had thought the king would order the death of Nolan and Silas as soon as they stepped foot in the palace. However, one of his spies told him that not only did they not kill them, but Luci and Xavier questioned Silas.

The spy doesn't know what information Silas divulged, but he also said they almost immediately left for Italy after talking to him. The spy also said that he wouldn't have to worry about Nolan too much longer because they were keeping blood from him and leaving him to rot in a cell.

He tapped his fingers on his desk, wondering why his daughter and the prince had gone to Italy. Damien wasn't naive enough to think that it was for a vacation. Did they know about the potions he sold to the Italian creep Sam? He didn't think that was likely; even Silas and Nolan didn't know Sam's name.

There was nothing he could do now, even if they did know. Damien knew he was in too deep, so he would just continue like nothing had happened. He picked his phone up and texted Claude, who ran the warehouse. He wanted to know how much product they had for buyers.

Until he had someone to take Nolan's place, he had to try and get top dollar for what he had. Damien looked at his phone when the text came in. According to Claude, they had ten vampires, twelve werewolves, and two werecats. He smiled; the werecats were hard to catch, and they would give him a considerable profit.

Damien thought about Alessandra and Luci. He missed them but knew things could never return to how they were. It was better that they stayed in the palace. At least there, he knew no one could get to them. He got ready for the next interview. Finding a vampire willing to throw away their entire moral compass was hard work.

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Janie woke up feeling better than she had in a long time. When they arrived at the palace, she had stayed in her room, someone brought her food and blood. She now had energy and was ready to see what was outside her room.

She looked down and realized all she was wearing was a t-shirt. Luci told her Bexley would come and get her fitted into some clothes, so she thought it was better to wait until that happened. Walking around the palace in dirty shorts wouldn't be a good idea.

Janie walked over and opened the balcony doors. She noticed a few guards walking around the property when she looked down into one of the gardens. She saw one of them lift his head and sniff the air as she watched them. The guard's eyes met hers, and she saw his eyes widen in shock. Janie didn't know why he was surprised to see her; she was sure they all knew who and what she was.

She jumped when she heard someone knock on the door. Janie hoped it wasn't someone who shouldn't see her in just a T-shirt. She slowly opened the door, staying half-hidden behind it. She saw Luci and next to her a mountain of clothes with legs, so she opened the door all the way.

"Behind the clothes is Bexley; she's Xavier's sister and clothing designer extraordinaire." Bexley laughed as she made her way to the bed and put the clothes down.

"I don't know about that. It's nice to meet you, Janie. Luci said you need some clothes. I love that you vampires seem to go everywhere with no luggage; it gives me the opportunity to use you as models. Now let me see what will work for you."

Bexley had Janie turn this way and that way. She took in her coloring and body type before pulling something from the clothes pile. Bexley handed Janie a magenta dress.

Janie wasn't sure about the color; she typically wore dark colors but didn't want to hurt Bexley's feelings. She took the dress from her and went into the bathroom to put it on. When she looked in the mirror, she was pleasantly surprised.

The dress hugged her figure and went down to her knees. It had short sleeves and a slightly plunging back. Janie turned around and smiled. The color suited her and made her eyes pop.

"Are you planning on coming out, or do we need to come in and get you?" Luci yelled from the bedroom.

Janie walked out and posed for them. Bexley came over with a smile and adjusted a few things, making sure it fit just right.

"Do you like it?" Bexley asked her nervously.

"Like it? No. I love it. I wasn't sure when you handed it to me, because I always wear dark colors. It looks amazing, like you made it just for me. Thank you." Janie smiled as Bexley beamed at her.

"It does look magnificent on you. I told you Bexley is very talented." The three women went through the rest of the clothes. Bexley gave Janie a few more things she wouldn't have picked for herself, but she talked Janie into it. When they were done, it was time for breakfast.

The three women went to get Alessandra and Xavier so they could all go together. Janie was nervous about eating breakfast with the royals, but after meeting Xavier and Bexley, she figured they couldn't be too bad.

They made their way downstairs to the dining hall, and when they went inside, Janie was blown away. It was massive, with a table that looked like it could seat a hundred people. Only a few were there, and none looked like the king or queen.

Xavier led them over to the table and pulled out chairs for the four women. Janie was surprised to have a prince pulling out a chair for her. He was a true gentleman, and Janie could tell Luci was head over heels in love with him.

After they had taken their seats, someone announced the arrival of the king and queen. Janie wasn't sure she should look directly at them, but when she risked a glance after they sat down, they were smiling at her.

"Hello, Janie. I'm Queen Reina, and this is my mate, King Malik. We're delighted you made it here safely." Janie was speechless at first.

"Thank you, your majesties. I'm grateful for your hospitality." Janie slightly bowed to them from her seat.

The king looked as though he was going to say something, but suddenly, there was a ruckus at the door. Janie turned around and recognized the guard she had seen from her balcony. He was staring at her as he walked toward the table. Janie felt her heart begin to race but didn't know why.

The guard was tall, with dark brown hair and golden brown eyes. He had a body like a bodybuilder, and Janie could see his muscles rippling under his snug guard uniform. When he was next to her, he knelt on one knee beside her chair and suddenly buried his nose in her neck, taking a deep breath.

Janie felt her whole body respond to the feel of him against her neck. She was on fire and felt the sparks flying around them like they were the only ones in the room. When he pulled back from her neck, he looked into her eyes with a smile.

"Mate." Janie felt her heart almost stop beating at that word. She had just escaped a forced mate, and now she was being claimed by her fated mate. She felt a moment of fear, and the guard noticed.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to drag you away and mark you by force. Finish your breakfast, and then we'll talk." He lightly touched her cheek, making Janie feel alive. Sam's touch was nothing like that.

"What's your name?" She asked him quietly. Everyone in the room was watching them, but neither noticed.

"Waylen. What's yours?" He was still rubbing her cheek, but she didn't pull away.

"Janie." She smiled at him shyly, and Waylen, who was the head royal guard, felt like he was going to turn to putty.

"I'll be right outside waiting for you." Janie felt a piece of her was leaving as he left the room. She had never felt like that with Sam. When she turned back toward the table, she saw every pair of eyes on her and blushed.

"Well, I guess we know why Waylen has been a lifelong bachelor. He was waiting for his little vampire to find him." Everyone laughed at the king's words.

"Janie, you don't have to wait to go out there. You're free to leave if you want. I know the last thing on your mind right now is probably food." Reina smiled at the young woman from across the table. She remembered what it was like when she first met Malik. Janie looked relieved as she stood up.

"Thank you, your majesty." Janie tried to keep herself from running out of the dining hall. She shouldn't be this excited to see a man claiming to be her mate after what Sam did, but she was. Janie could already tell that Waylen was different. She was being pulled to him like they were already fully mated.

As soon as she walked out the door, she saw Waylen standing across from her. Janie let the door close behind her so they wouldn't have an audience.

"You finished eating already? I didn't think they had served yet." Waylen felt a thrill go through his body at seeing his mate come out the door. He had been waiting for her for a long time. It was taking everything he had not to run over to her and sink his canines in her beautiful neck.

"The queen said I could be excused. After seeing you, I wasn't hungry. Waylen, are you sure we're mates? I'm here at the palace because a man used a potion on me to make me think he was my mate. Luci and Prince Xavier came to my rescue and got me away from him. I don't want to be wrong. I can't go through that again." Janie felt tears in her eyes as she looked up at him.

Waylen felt multiple emotions at what Janie had said. The first was anger at the man who had used a potion on his mate. The second was heartache, thinking she might reject him after what had happened to her. He couldn't describe the last, but it made him want to kill anyone who touched or hurt her.

"I promise you that I'm your fated mate. I would never trick you or lie to you. I understand if you don't want to be marked right now after what happened. You can trust me; I won't hurt you. I've been waiting for you for a long time." Waylen reached out and ran a finger down the side of her face. He wanted to hold her in his arms but wasn't sure she would be receptive.

Janie felt the heat spread through her body again from his touch. She closed the distance between them and looked into his eyes. What she saw made her want to turn into a puddle on the ground. He was telling her the truth, and she couldn't deny how he made her feel. When he spread his arms apart, she walked into them and smiled. She was home.