A Bride Worth Billions (12 page)

It was already dark outside when she woke up. The room was lit only by a night lamp beside her bed. She blinked a couple of times to adjust her vision and she saw Vincent seated on a grand chair at the foot of her bed. He was staring at her with an expression she had not seen before.

Leila got up and was glad she wasn’t as dizzy as she had been this morning, though she still felt light-headed. Vincent was right by her side in an instant.

“How are you feeling?” He asked, his voice laced with concern.

“I little better I guess.” She answered with a hoarse voice.

Vincent handed her a glass of water and she gladly gulped down the content and emptied it right away. She didn’t realize she was this thirsty. She leaned back against the headboard and looked at him.

“Now, can you tell me what’s going on?” She asked calmly even though she was shaking underneath the satin covers.

“Allow me to apologize for everything. If I hadn’t imprinted on you that day, none of this would have happened.” He looked really sad and a bit angry.

“Imprinted?”

“Yes. It’s a werewolf thing. Once we imprint on someone, we are bound to protect and love that person for as long as we live.”

She just stared at him not fully comprehending what he was saying.

“Believe it or not, werewolves exist and they live among us. We live in packs and function just like an ordinary human would. My father is the current Alpha and I’m in line to succeed the title when his no longer able to protect the pack.”

He paused and watched how she would react. But Leila remained motionless, just staring at him. She blinked once urging him to continue.

“From time to time, rivalry occurs between packs. It usually happens when another pack intrudes into the territory of another. Or when a successor imprints on his mate.”

“So, you imprinted on me, should protect me from other werewolves and I’m your.. Mate?”

“Yes.” He answered with a strained voice.

Leila pondered on it for a minute before smiling, which turned into a giggle. Why was she giggling? She didn’t have a clue. It just felt right to laugh it off, like how Kara would when faced with a situation that was ridiculously absurd. The best prank she’d ever heard in her twenty four years of life.

“That’s a reaction I wasn’t expecting.” He smiled, amused.

“This is crazy. I’m I on a TV show or something? Let’s see...”

Leila looked around for possible hidden camera. Maybe it’s on the huge cabinet, or the ceiling above her perhaps. She looked up at the white ceiling and saw nothing. She tapped the wall behind her hoping that there were people working behind the scenes as they edit the videos for public viewing.

When she didn’t find anything notable or unusual she looked up at Vincent.

“This has got to be a prank, right?” Tears had started to swell from her eyes.

It should be. There was no other logical explanation to all of it. She didn’t believe in the supernatural at all, it’s non-existent. No, it can’t be true. But how would she explain the sudden changes Vincent had earlier. The change in his aura, the glint in his eyes, the fangs? Were they actually real? It can’t be.

“You’re kidding right? Is it Kara? She’s behind all of this, isn’t she?”

She grew scared now that there really was a possibility that everything was true. No! Leila got off the bed to run away but she collapsed upon the first step. Everything around her was spinning, her head ached so much it felt like it was about to explode.

“No! Don’t touch me!” She pushed his hand away.

“Leila..” He whispered.

“Did you drug me? Why am I feeling sick all the time whenever you’re around?”

She sat on the floor with her head in between her knees. She wanted to pull her hair out because her head felt like it was being split in half. Leila wailed in so much pain.

“What’s wrong with me?” She asked while hitting her own head.

“Stop it!”

Vincent grabbed her hands and pulled her up. He had to help her get up and lie on the bed.

“Leila, stay with me. You can’t doze off. Not this time.” He said with urgency.

But Leila was limp and sore. Even a small movement from her finger was laborious, and she was grasping for air. It felt like she was dying. And she was about to succumb to the darkness again when she heard Vincent shout her name.

Vincent held her close to him, almost panicking as the color in Leila disappeared.

“No! I’m not going to let you go.”

Leila was dying right before him and the detoxifying spell wasn’t ready. If he does nothing right away, he will loose her. And although it was forbidden, he could only think of one solution. There is no guarantee that he could successfully do it because if looses control it would kill Leila instantly, but he just got to give it a try.

He leaned down to kiss her. Her lips were dry against his but it was soft and intoxicating. He parted her lips with his own and shared his life force with her. The warmth of his body glowed a bit and flowed into her own. The color on her cheeks returned and the energy flowed all over her. He could already feel the warmth of her skin and he was tempted to give her more.

Leila felt it too. She felt the firm but soft lips against her, the energy oozing out from him and the life that came with it. She saw memories of his family, his friends, of her. The thoughts he had about her when he bought coffee. When he took care of her for days when she was unable to get up on her own , when she was too weak to remember everything he did for her in a short span of time.

Slowly, she opened her eyes and looked at him. The kiss had ended but she could still feel his lips on hers.

“So it’s true.”

He smiled at her knowing exactly what she was referring to. Kara was telling her the truth . She didn’t show up at work for five days because she was unconscious and Vincent was with her the entire time. He cared for her and protected her though she didn’t remember.

“Vincent..” She whispered his name with cry.

He pulled her again for another kiss. This time it wasn’t for the sake of giving her a part of his life, he was kissing her.

Leila kissed back. She wrapped her arms around his shoulder, asking for more and he happily obliged. She melted in his arms as the kiss went deeper. Her cheeks were flushed with desire, her skin felt like it was burning due to the inexplicable sensation running all over her system. She groaned when his tongue was seeking for hers.

A subtle jolt of electricity sting her with pleasure as Vincent ran his hand up and down her back. It made her arch her body demanding for more of his touch.

“I want you, Leila.” He whispered in her ear before biting it.

It made her groan again and she fell on the bed. Vincent was on top of her while cupping her face with his big hands. His stare was that of a man full of desire for the woman he so adore, the sight made her look at him dreamily.

He kissed her again but this time with force, demanding for her not to refuse him. His hand slipped under the seam of her shirt and rubbed his thumbed on her belly. The sensation his touch brought to her made her grasp and she continued to do so as his hand reached further up.

“I’ve often dream of this, with you in my room, making love to you on my bed.” He murmured at her neck. “But I never imagined I’d get drunk by your scent. You’re making me loose control.”

“Go on.” She urged him.

He was about to pull her shirt up when someone called out Vincent’s name followed by a knock on the door.

“Vincent, the Mistress is here.”

Vincent sighed before rolling off her. 

Leila basked under the morning sun on a secluded beach which was part of the many estates Vincent’s pack owned. He was rich and known for his craftsmanship in architecture and design. She had no idea they existed or how much power and control they had over their subordinates, until the most recent events.

She had to stay off of her own life, postpone it somehow because the situation she was in was far more complex than she could ever comprehend.

The spell Vincent was talking about was casted on to her by a person they called a Spellcaster, a werewolf who has the ability to use special forms of magic mostly evil in nature. What she had was the Lover’s Kiss, or that’s how the wolves around her called it.

Right after Vincent imprinted on her, the Spellcaster, who had been following the pack successor, immediately performed the spell on her. It was a lethal spell which works like a poison that would slowly consume her and she could have died if Vincent hadn’t given her some of his life force.

Though she hadn’t been fully freed from the spell. The detoxification spell casted on by the Mistress, who turned out to be Vincent’s mother, had only slowed down the effects. Which brought her under the protection of the pack. She needed to receive Vincent’s energy from time to time so she won’t die. She was pretty much under the mercy of the entire pack but she didn’t feel inferior or threatened.

The family had strong ties and they respect and love each other, pretty much like what most family do. They welcomed her without judgment or ridicule. And the development of her relationship with Vincent was something she was looking forward to everyday.

Leila decided to find some shade because the sun was starting to burn her skin. She found the perfect spot near a boulder at the far end of the beach. After placing the towel in place she settled in and proceeded with reading the book she was holding. A little while later, Leila got lost in what she was doing and hadn’t notice the three, well-built men hovered over her on top of the boulder. They shifted into their wolf forms, jumped off the big stone and surrounded her.

The low but infuriated growl made her jumped out, clutching the book to her chest hoping it could help her somehow.

The wolves bared their long and sharp fangs who were ready to attack her. The black wolf which was directly in front of her took a few steps forward with his jaws widely open almost looking like it was sneering at her.

She backed away and shivered as it marched forward, closer to her. Leila shuddered at the idea of those fangs piercing through her skin and tearing her to pieces. She had feared for her life and how easily it can be taken by the wolves, especially since she had strayed too far from the beach house. But the same idea angered her. They had no right to inflict pain or threaten her existence because she was no wolf. She didn’t stepped into their territories nor hurt them in any way. She didn’t even believe in their existence, at least before she met Vincent. Therefore, they had no right to harm her. It’s pure savagery.

When her back touched the rough surface of the rock, Leila had to buy herself some time. Vincent and the others may start looking for her soon. She just needed to stay alive by then.

“Don’t come any closer.”

She held the book firmly for support.

“You still have time to run away. Vincent will come any minute now. Just go, run away and let’s forget this ever happened.”

It took a lot of her courage not stater. She could hear the loud beating of her heart. It got louder and louder almost deafening her while her legs started to feel numb.
No! This can’t be happening.
She felt woozy as her head started to throb. The spell on her was acting up again and now was not the time to grow weak and too vulnerable.

The black wolf shifted back to its human form. He had tanned skin, dark blue eyes and curly chestnut hair. His facial features were hard and cruel but he was handsome. He grinned looking down at her.

“Looks like you won’t last long in that condition.”

“What do you want from me?”

“From you? Nothing. You’re a mere human who serves us no purpose.”

“Yet you’re here, risking your lives.” Leila smirked.

The man frowned and gritted his teeth.

“Quite smug for a frail woman. Probably why the leech got attracted to you.”

He crossed the distance between them to grab her hair. Leila yelped in pain. The brutality had added to the throbbing of her head and everything seemed to spin around her.

“Look at me, little girl. Your leech of a boyfriend can’t save you this time. You will die in my hands.” He pulled her hair once more forcing her to look at him. “Nice knowing you.” He smiled vilely before raising his hand. Large, pointed claws sprung out and replaced his nails.

He scraped nape of her neck. It wasn’t too deep but the cut was bad enough for her to bleed. The man laughed seeing the red liquid flowed down her white top and soaked it.

“Fresh blood. Such a beautiful color. Makes me want to slowly rip you apart.”

He clawed her skin again, this time deeper and wider. Leila shrieked in pain as she watched her right arm with horror. Half of the skin on her arm was peeled off, making her writhe in pain. The man gripped her hair tighter giving her no chance to move.

“You will pay for this. Vincent will hunt you down.” She hissed with unshed tears.

The man tossed her aside with great force, her bones almost cracked when she landed on the boulder knocking her unconscious. He shifted back to his wolf form and turned to face the group of wolves coming their way.