Royal shuffle: Vampire’s mate

ANDREA

Time seemed to fly by here, or maybe it was just because I was a nursing mother on bed rest. But the best news I got all month was when we got word from the werewolf palace that they were withdrawing their troops and ending the war, on the condition that William is returned. Leo was all too happy to oblige. Seems he had had his fill of torturing and starving William. I watched from my spot on the window as William was forced into the backseat of a vehicle looking like a malnourished teenager. Even though the sight was a bit disturbing, I couldn’t help but laugh. He looked so tiny. So helpless. I laughed so hard that tears began to fall from my eyes.

I looked to the door as it opened, and smiled widely when Leo stepped through with my sisters in tow. They more or less jumped on me when they saw me, and we all fell to the ground. I didn’t mind it. I was just as happy to see them.

“It’s so good to see you…” Stacy muttered against my ear, and I could feel her wet face in mine, telling me that she had been crying.

“C’mon girls. Let the lady up,” Leo said.

They got off me, and pulled me to my feet, and then hugged me again.

“We were so afraid, Andrea…” Tracy piped.

Sobs racking her body. I gently rubbed their backs, trying to comfort them.

“I’m sorry…I’m here now. I’m not going anywhere.”

They both nodded. We remained in that position for a while, and then finally the girls pulled away, and ran to Leovanni’s crib.

Yes. We had named him Leo as well. I find that I liked the idea of all first sons answering the same name, or variations of it, and I wanted to make it a tradition. And so we had named him Leovanni Greg Grayson. But we just called him Vanni. There were enough Leo’s running around already. I sat on the bed, and watched as my Stacy gently lifted him from his crib, and rocked him. Although he was asleep, and I would most likely appreciate they leave him alone, it was a precious sight to see. Leo sat on the bed next to me, and nuzzled his head in my neck.

“How are you, my love?” Leo asked.

“Happy,” I replied.

And truly, I was happy.

“I have news for you…”

I turned my head around to look at him. “What’s that?”

“You might not like it…”

I gave him a resigned look. He shook his head and kissed me.

“If you don’t want to, you don’t have to.”

“Okay.”

“But I would love for you to give it a chance. It would really mean a lot to me.”

I sighed. “What is it?”

Leo sighed. “My father wants to meet you…and the baby…”

I moved away from him. Maybe it’s childish of me, but I was still carrying grudges from the last time we met. I haven’t forgotten how I was treated.

“No…”

“Babe…”

“So, now he wants to meet me because he now has a grandchild?”

Leo opened his mouth to speak, and then seeing as there was no sensible defense for his father, he closed it and sighed.

“Please…”

“Leo…”

“It’s not going to be like the last time, I promise.”

“Of course, it won’t. There’s no Leah to try and replace me.”

Leo chuckled, and wrapped his hands around me, pulling me to him. “I know. She’s far away now…which is why I’m saying it won’t be like the last time. If he makes any snide remarks, we leave. If he acts out of turn, we leave.”

“Leo…”

“Thing is we would still need to see him, about our marking ceremony…”

“You’ve already marked me,” I answered defensively.

“Yes, but you haven’t marked me. And that wasn’t the proper way to do it,” He kissed the mark on my neck, and sighed. “That’s why it doesn’t look very pretty…” He muttered.

“Hey!!!”

“Sorry…sorry…my goodness…”

I rolled my eyes at him.

“Please, Andrea…”

“You should go and see him…”

I looked up to see that Stacy was the one who spoke. I had almost forgotten they were there.

“He’s a really nice man,” Tracy added.

“Oh?” I asked with raised brow. The girls nodded and continued. “And how do you guys know that?”

Tracy smiled brightly. “He takes us shopping.”

“Oh, and he took us to the amusement park, and the museum. And so many fun places,” Stacy added.

“So, you two are trading me in for a fun time?”

They both nodded, and looked away.

I fake gasped, and held my hand to my chest. “You’re unbelievable.”

Leo laughed. “C’mon, darling.”

I sighed, and nodded. “When does he want to see me?”

“Whenever you’re ready,” he replied.

“What are we going to do about Leovanni?” I asked.

“Bring him with us. My father has already put together a small group of five nannies for him.”

My eyes opened wide in shock.

“Yes. That was my expression too. But I refused their services for now. You’d dictate how this will go. What do you say?”

“Fine…”

Leo kissed me. “I’ll go tell him. Thank you. Very much.”

He left the room and I fell back on the bed. Leovanni had woken up and my sisters sat on the floor, blowing raspberries at him as he sat in their lap.

“So, you guys are saying that he’s a nice man?” I asked.

They both smiled widely at me and nodded. Lucky them, they didn’t get to meet the bitch king that I had met. I sighed and rolled over to my side, facing away from my sisters, and staring at the open window.

I hope that this goes well.

I got dressed in a simple jeans, and a satin button down shirt, and threw my hair into a bun. I wasn’t dressing to impress, and honestly I didn’t care if he liked me or not. I’ve been through too much to care about that. Leo held our son in his hands, and led the way to his fathers chambers where we were having dinner. My mouth opened in awe as we stepped into the grandeur that was his reception room. The room was decorated with fine tapestries, exquisite and antique paintings and sculptures. It was like the perfect cross between medieval and modern.

“Wow…”

“I see you like it.”

I heard the door open and the king emerged from what I can only assume to be his private chambers.

“It’s lovely,” I replied.

The king smiled, the lines around his eyes crinkling. “Thank you. Leo’s mother did the decorations. She always had an eye for beautiful things.”

He walked to us, and stood in front of me. Leovanni cooed in his father’s arms, and I watched the king as his gaze fell on my son and softened. It made me smile a little.

“You can hold him if you want…” I said.

Two pairs of shocked stares fell on me, and it was then I realized I was the one who spoke. I swallowed and smiled. I mean, what could it hurt? It wouldn’t be fare to allow my grievances be in the middle of this.

“Are you sure?” He asked.

“Yes. He’s your grandson.”

He smiled widely, and I watched as my son was carefully transferred from father to grandfather. Leovanni cooed again, and his grandfather smiled. It took my son just a few seconds to wrap the powerful vampire king around his fingers.

“Come. Sit,”

He said, while his eyes stayed glued to his grandchild. We walked to what seemed to be a dining section. We settled, and once the food was dishes, the staff were asked to return in thirty minutes. That seemed like an odd request to me, because we definitely weren’t going to be done in thirty minutes. The clinking of silverware filled the room as we all enjoyed our meal, and the good wine. There was a certain tension in the air, but everyone carried on like there wasn’t. Leovanni had been placed in a rather large crib that was positioned in a he corner of the reception. He seemed content to kick his feet and laugh at himself. Finally, his majesty decided to bring everyone out of their misery, and cleared his throat. Both I and Leo stopped eating to look at him. He took a deep breath and released this slowly. I could tell that this -making peace- wasn’t his forte.

“Andrea…”

My heart skipped a beat when he called my name. I have been waiting for this moment. Now, it was here, and my tongue was tied.

“Yes…” I answered.

“I owe you an apology for the way I treated you when you first arrived on my territory. I said a lot of things about you and acted in ways that were meant to ridicule you. These are actions that I have now come to regret,” the king said.

I gently placed my fork down on my plate, and intertwined my fingers. This moment felt a bit too solemn than I would have liked.

“I know I haven’t been the easiest person around, and I want to let you know that I am deeply sorry about that,” the king continued.

For some odd reason, tears gathered in my eyes. Before coming here, I had wanted to have a good impression on him. But he already had his mind made up about me before he even saw me. Hearing him apologize felt surreal. Like a weight had been lifted off of my shoulders.

I nodded slightly. “I appreciate that, your majesty,” I answered.

He smiled. “And I would love to be a grandfather to your son…and if it pleases you, a father to you too.”

I smiled widely, I couldn’t help it. He smiled too.

“I’d like that, your majesty.”

We both smiled at each other, and I felt an immense warmth and relief spread through me. I knew it wouldn’t be easy to repair the damage that has been done but at least now we could start afresh. And that was a step in the right direction. One that was needed for Leovanni to grow in a conducive family unit.

“I know it’s not enough, but I would love to make it up to you. I have a gift for you.”

“That’s not really necessary…”

I began to protest. It he waved me off.

“It is,” he answered simply.

He put his hand in his robe, and pulled out a jeweler’s box, handing it over to me.

“It was my wife’s favorite jewelry. And I know for a fact that she would want you to have it…” He said.

I gently opened the box. Inside lay one of the most simple, and yet exquisitely beautiful necklace that I have ever seen. It was an emerald and Diamond necklace that seemed to match the ring that Leo had given me.This belongs © NôvelDra/ma.Org.

“I saw that Leo had already given you the ring, and thought to complete the set,” the king said.

I smiled at him, tears flowing freely from my eyes now. “Thank you so much…”

He nodded, and smiled widely at me. The rest of the night went so beautifully that I couldn’t believe k had thought about not accepting his invitation.