The Heartless Hybrid Queen

Chapter 10 - Samael's POV

My father glares at me with his usual disappointment. He sits next to Lilith, in front of the fire, listening to her describe her outfit for tonight in great detail. He looks at her with love and devotion, but when his eyes glance up at me, they narrow in disdain.

My mother and five of her sisters – Cordelia, Josephine, Delphine, Rhiannon, and Briannon – are fussing over a few new arrivals.

Maribel and Jesibel sit at a window-side table with me, in support of my refusal to be bombarded by 'Queen Candidates' constantly.

Though these new ones, sisters by the look of them, seem not to care about my obvious disinterest, as they detach themselves from my flock of aunts and head in my direction.

"My King" they say in unison when they reach me. They each offer sly smiles and bow, ensuring to arch their backs in order to shove their ample cleavage in my face.

I lean as far back as I can in my chair, and glare at them as they straighten. I remain silent, waiting for them to leave.

One of them speaks, her voice quiet, "Please, allow us to introduce ourselves. My name is Heidi Nightshade, and this is my sister, Harlow." She gestures to herself, then the girl next to her. Both of them have long, straight blonde hair and pink lips, the nails on their dainty hands are painted pink as well, their dresses are tight fitted to show their curves, and heat rises to their cheeks as they look at me.

"Nightshade." I state tonelessly.

"Y-yes" Heidi replies, "Lucien is our cousin, he sent us here tonight to meet you. He had it approved with the former Queen, of course." Her eyes twitch nervously when she says Lucien's name.

Fucking Lucien. Of course he'd try to weasel in one of his own candidates to be my queen. And of course his family would be terrified of him. I doubt these girls even want to be here; I take a closer look at their made-up faces and nervous eyes and confirm they were forced to come here by Lucien. He probably threatened them with some depraved sexual act.

The man is psychotic and power-hungry, which is why I need Adelaide to stop edging him on during the fucking council meetings.

I look up at his cousins and try to conceal my pity, "It was nice to meet you ladies, I'll be sure to tell Lucien it was a pleasant conversation."

I nod to Maribel and Jesibel who were watching silently, and rise from my chair, towering over Heidi and Harlow, "I hope you enjoy yourselves tonight" I say, before shooting my mother a glare from across the room and leaving.

In the hallway I come face to face with Maeve Norrix, daughter of Bryce Norrix, leader of the Undying Moon Coven. Her full red lips are on me before I can fully take her in.

Her arms wrap around me in a possessive hold, and her tongue slips into my mouth with a moan of desire. I feel her body press against mine and almost give in to the feeling before shoving her away harshly.

"Dammit Maeve, what the fuck?" I groan out, pissed at myself for almost giving in to her again. She's smart and she's a good fuck, but she's far too selfish and manipulative for me to ever trust her to be queen.

"Just saying hello" she says innocently, blinking up at me with docile eyes. Right. As if she wouldn't have let me take her against the wall in this hallway. Her greedy little moan when she kissed me was far too telling.

She's desperate. They all are. Everyone says it's time for me to make my decision. It's like they're all convinced I've chosen one of them.

I haven't forgotten about the vision Adelaide had over a hundred years ago; she said my queen was a powerful being, and that our bond would be unbreakable. She also said she wasn't a vampire, so I'm confident I won't be meeting her tonight.