Chosen Bride of the Seven Dark Princes

Candi gave a short laugh. She could hardly believe her ears. Was he actually saying that she was too good for him? Did he truly believe that nonsense?

She was just a simple girl from a backwater world on the periphery of the galaxy and he was a fricking Prince and Prime Warrior of the Erenveil Empire!

Who was too high for whose reach???

"Slate. Please don't think that way." She shook her head. "You are the one who is too high above my reach. I can't even believe we're sharing the same air space." She waved her hand in amazement.

"I'm still in a daze about the whole Avgo Event, and the only thing I'm sure of is that life is so unpredictable and things change so fast, you never know for sure what will happen next."

"I knew for sure." Slate nodded. "The day you won the Sky Walk Face and Grace Event, Byron had fallen head over heels in love with you. He tried to hide it, but everyone could see it…except you."

He gave a wry grin at the clueless woman he loved so much.

"Then when the Strength and Vitality Event ended, I knew that you would be Dante's bride. He had fallen for you hard by then, and I knew that whether you won or not, it didn't matter to Dante. He was going to marry you at all cost."

"How did you come to that conclusion?"

"Because I knew that Dante was the rightful Crown Prince. Out of all of us brothers, he had the highest chance to marry you. He was simply waiting to see if you won or lost."

"If you won then he would take over the Crown Prince position and gain a throne as well as a wife. If you lost, he would use his position as Second Prince and get first dibs, choosing you as his bride."

He closed his eyes as a single tear rolled down his cheek.

"You and I never had a chance. I knew that from the very start. I am the youngest of the Princes which makes you, the Prime Avgo Female, too high above my reach."

Candi's heart broke at that moment. For Slate to shed even a single tear meant that he was hurting badly, and she did not know how to console him.

He was gripping both of her hands, so she leaned over and kissed his tear away.

Slate smiled and reached out to embrace her into his arms.

"I knew that we had physical attraction at the very start. It wouldn't have taken much for our relationship to deepen into something permanent, but I also knew you were not just any normal woman I could be with."

"You're the Chosen Avgo Female and I am the Chosen Avgo Guard. All you and I would ever have would be stolen moments while I was protecting you, so I stole as much of it as I was able to steal."

He sniffed and gave a sad laugh. "I'm stealing moments again right now, aren't I?"

Candi pulled away to look into his eyes.

"You say you're my chosen Avgo Guard?"

He nodded.

"Then why aren't we mentally connected? How am I supposed to call for help if I can't even reach you?"

Slate was silent for a moment.

"You have no magic. The only way that you would be able to contact me mentally would be for me to mark you with my serum and then possess you."

Candi nodded. This seemed to work quite well with Byron and Dante. If Slate was supposed to be her protector, he needed to be able to connect with her as well.

"Let's do it then. I need to know that if we're far away, I can still call you and you would be able to respond."

"Candace, it's something that's only done with a partner or spouse or someone very close to you. It's not to be entered lightly."

"Slate. You're very close to me." Candi insisted. "Not only that, you are also my chosen Protector. How am I going to call you for help if we're not mentally connected?"

Slate shook his head. "There's more to it than just mental chatter. There is a dark side to it all."

"Oh you mean the mind-control part of it?"

"Yes, it's—wait." He stared at her with incredulity. "You know about that?"

"Hmmm. I don't care though. I trust you not to harm me."

Slate rubbed his eyes and shook his head. Of course he would never harm her, but she was just so unconcerned about something that could potentially be so devastating if the wrong person…

He never got a chance to finish his thought. Candace had already pulled her hair back and shoved her neck onto his lips.

The hunger in Slate, barely suppressed under a thin veneer of civility flared up again.

He grabbed her and began breathing in her scent, feeling the heady thrill of having her in his arms. She was asking him to bite into her soft creamy delectable neck.

He licked her skin and almost died. He'd had such terrible withdrawal symptoms every night just thinking about this woman that he could hardly sleep.

And yet, here she was, offering her neck up for him to sink his teeth into. It was enough to drive a man insane.

Almost against his will, he began nuzzling his nose into the space between her face and her shoulder.

As his desire grew, he began licking and suckling on her neck. His powerful lupine nose could smell the delicious scent, his instincts honed in on the throbbing artery that was feeding blood into her brain.

Just a tiny little bit of her blood was all he needed to establish connection but Slate was so hungry that he was afraid he would lose control. He was so afraid of taking too much and hurting her.

She should be very afraid at this moment, but the woman was fearless, even inviting it!

Almost against his will, his fangs began growing. His control was fast slipping but he reigned in his desire. He needed to remain in control so he would not inadvertently hurt her.

With care, Slate's razor sharp teeth pierced her neck. At the moment of entry, he sighed and bit down.

Candi gasped as he injected her with his serum. He had been so gentle, she didn't even feel the slight sting of the initial bite because he had released pain killers prior to the bite itself.

And then she could feel the warmth of his liquid serum flowing through her bloodstream and racing throughout her entire being. Her body warmed and she quivered with ecstasy.

Deep in the recesses of her mind, Candi marveled at the thought that Slate was sucking on her neck and taking her blood into his own body and she was a willing participant in this ancient blood ritual.

As Slate took in her blood, he constrained himself to a couple of gulps of her sweetness. He could not take too much blood from her. She was a tiny woman who didn't have much excess blood to spare.

Slate retracted his fangs and began licking her wound to clean it. Once she was no longer bleeding, he healed her with a tender touch.

'Raspberry Pie.' She thought at him.

'What?' He blinked.

'I'm testing your ability to hear my thoughts. Say it out loud. Raspberry pie.'

Slate laughed.

"Raspberry pie."

He leaned closer, touching his forehead to hers.

'Now it's my turn to test your ability to hear my thoughts. Say it out loud.. I love you Slate.'