The night the Volkov forces struck was colder than any Bucharest autumn in recent memory.
Draven Estate’s outer wards flared with crimson light as silver-tipped bullets and enchanted blades slammed against the ancient barriers.
Alarms howled through the halls.
Selene woke instantly in Viktor’s arms, heart slamming against her ribs.
They had fallen asleep only an hour earlier, her body still slick and marked from another marathon of claiming, his cum still leaking slowly from her well-used pussy, fresh bite marks throbbing on her inner thighs.
Viktor was already moving, pulling on black tactical gear with lethal grace.
They’re here.
Earlier than expected.
Stay close to me.
Selene dressed quickly in the reinforced combat suit Viktor had commissioned for her black, form-fitting, with kevlar weave and hidden sheaths for blades.
It hugged her curves like a second skin, the high collar concealing most of the bite marks on her neck.
She strapped a curved dagger to her thigh and a compact pistol to her hip, the weight both terrifying and empowering.
They raced to the command center in the east wing.
Darius Vale was already there, barking orders into comms while screens showed live feeds from the perimeter.
Red dots swarmed the northern border Volkov vampires and their human mercenaries, armed with silver ammunition designed to poison immortal blood.
Main force is two hundred strong, Darius reported.
They’ve breached the outer ring.
Lady Irina’s team is holding the eastern gate, but we’re taking casualties.
Viktor’s eyes burned crimson.
Selene stays with me.
We push them back at the main courtyard.
No mercy.
He turned to her, cupping her face with both hands.
You trained for this.
The bond will protect you.
Fight smart.
And if you get overwhelmed… His thumb brushed her lower lip.
I will come for you.
Selene nodded, rising on her toes to kiss him hard.
I’m not the virgin who ran anymore.
I’m your queen.
Let’s make them bleed.
The estate grounds had become a battlefield.
Torches and floodlights illuminated the sprawling gardens where blood-red roses now trampled under combat boots.
Gunfire cracked through the night.
Vampires moved with supernatural speed, blades flashing.
Human mercenaries fired silver rounds that burned on contact with immortal flesh.
Selene stayed at Viktor’s side as they burst into the main courtyard.
The scene was chaos, Draven loyalists clashing with Volkov attackers.
Lady Irina fought like a whirlwind, her crimson hair whipping as she tore out a mercenary’s throat with her fangs.
Time seemed to slow.
The mate bond surged through her veins, sharpening her senses.
She dodged, spun, and drove her curved blade up under his ribs in a move Viktor had drilled into her during their training sessions.
The attacker screamed and dissolved into ash as the enchanted steel did its work.
Adrenaline flooded her.
Another attacker came from the side.
Selene fired her pistol, three precise shots to the chest, then finished him with a slash across the throat.
Blood sprayed across her cheek, warm and metallic.
Viktor fought like a god of war.
He moved in a blur, tearing through enemies with claws and fangs, his powerful body a weapon.
When a silver bullet grazed his shoulder, he roared in fury and ripped the shooter’s head clean off.
But the Volkovs had numbers.
A squad broke through the western flank and charged straight toward Selene.
“Queen!” one of them snarled, recognizing her.
Draven’s mortal whore!
Rage ignited in Selene’s chest.
She met the first attacker head-on, using the training Viktor had given her, duck, slash, spin.
Her blade opened his belly.
The second she shot twice in the knee, then stabbed him through the heart as he fell.
The third was faster.
He grabbed her from behind, silver blade pressing to her throat.
Let’s see how the king screams when we send him your head.
Fear spiked, but the bond answered.
Selene slammed her head back into his nose, twisted free, and drove her dagger up into his jaw.
He staggered.
She finished him with a point-blank shot to the forehead.
Breathing hard, covered in blood and ash, Selene looked up to see Viktor watching her from across the courtyard.
Pride and raw hunger burned in his crimson eyes even as he tore another enemy apart.
The battle raged for nearly an hour.
Draven forces slowly pushed the Volkovs back beyond the outer walls.
When the last attacker fled into the night, the grounds fell silent except for the moans of the wounded and the crackle of dying torches.
Viktor found Selene leaning against a stone pillar, chest heaving, dagger still gripped tightly in her blood-smeared hand.
He pulled her into his arms without a word, crushing his mouth to hers in a fierce, desperate kiss.
He tasted blood, hers and others’, but it only made him kiss her harder.
You were magnificent, he growled against her lips, hands roaming her body, checking for injuries.
My warrior queen.
You killed four of them yourself.
Selene trembled with leftover adrenaline, but her core was already heating at his touch.
It made me faster.
Stronger.
Viktor’s hand slid between her legs, cupping her through the combat suit.
And wet, he added with a dark chuckle.
Fighting makes you ache for me, doesn’t it?
“Yes,” she admitted breathlessly.
He didn’t wait.
He dragged her into a shadowed alcove off the courtyard, away from the cleanup crews.
In seconds he had her suit unzipped and shoved down to her thighs.
He freed his thick, hard cock and lifted her, pinning her against the cold stone wall.
Wrap your legs around me.
She obeyed.
Viktor thrust into her in one savage stroke, burying himself to the hilt in her soaked heat.
Selene cried out, the stretch intense after battle.
He fucked her hard and fast, hips snapping with unrestrained need, the wet slap of skin echoing in the alcove.
Mine, he snarled with every thrust.
My strong, beautiful, deadly queen.
You fought for me.
Now take me.
Selene came within minutes, walls clamping down around him as pleasure tore through her battle-worn body.
Viktor followed with a deep groan, fangs sinking into her throat as he flooded her with thick pulses of cool seed.
He drank sparingly, heightening her orgasm until she was shaking in his arms.
When he finally pulled back, he licked the bite closed and kissed her softly, almost tenderly.
The Volkovs drew first blood tonight, he said quietly, still buried inside her.
But they underestimated you.
Word will spread that Draven’s human mate fought like one of us.
It will strengthen our alliances… and enrage our enemies.
Selene rested her forehead against his, breathing him in.
Then let them come.
I’m not afraid anymore.
Viktor smiled, slow and predatory, grinding his hips once more to make her whimper.
Good.
Because this was only the opening move.
Tomorrow we strike back.
But tonight… He kissed her again, cock twitching inside her.
Tonight I take you to our bed and remind you exactly who you belong to, over and over until the sun rises.
As they straightened their clothes and walked back through the blood-stained gardens, hand in hand, Selene felt the mate bond burning brighter than ever.
She had tasted battle.
She had tasted power.
And she had never felt more alive, or more completely owned, than when her vampire king claimed her in the shadows of war.
The real fight was just beginning.