Two hours later, Emma’s face was caked with makeup and she was wearing a regal gown that she could never afford. The gown was made of silk and hugged her body in all the right places. She had almost smiled after she looked into the mirror after the makeup session. She looked so beautiful, more than she had ever seen herself look before. She looked like a movie star. Her red hair had been styled with oils that made the red color more vibrant. The usually bone straight hair had been styled into waves and looked so different.
Emma would have loved the look if she wasn’t being prepared for sacrifice. After the makeup was finished, she had been taken to another room which had two brown couches. Another young girl was there, but she was a vampire. Emma had thought the young woman would be cold to her, but surprisingly Tara was very nice to her.
“Have you been with him before?” Emma asked Tara after the introductions.
Tara nodded. “Yes, but I’m not here for the same purpose as you wolves.”
“What do you mean?”
“I actually like Almede. I loved being with him because he gives me lots of money. Before I came here voluntarily, I was a street walker. The job was very risky and sometimes the clients were horrible. Almede is actually kind to me and likes what I do. I’m happy that I don’t have to sleep with multiple cheap ass men every day to make a decent wage.”
“Wow, so why am I here?”
“Almede wants to be the strongest vampire king in the country,” Tara began. “I don’t know if I’m supposed to be talking to you about this but whatever. He wants to breed an army of hybrids loyal to him. That’s why he wants to sire all of them by himself. Although he hates wolves, he wants to have as many hybrid children as possible. That’s why he kidnaps young she wolves so he can impregnate them.”
“What the hell!” Emma exclaimed, feeling more scared than before. “So he wants me to bear his child. That’s ridiculous! Is it even legal?”
Tara shook her head. “Mating between werewolves and vampires is okay obviously. Having a hybrid is not something illegal. But, breeding them for war purposes can’t be okay. Kidnapping other creatures is illegal. Using them for such purposes is. That’s why he kidnaps mainly rogues who won’t be looked for. Besides, everyone does whatever they want with rogues so it’s easy to use them.”
Emma felt anger boiling inside her. Her fingers balled into fists and she stood up to go to the window. The castle was surrounded by a strip of forest, after which were some buildings. “I cannot have a vampire’s child,” she said, tears streaming down her face. She didn’t care about the stupid make-up they had put on her.
“I’m so sorry about what’s happening to you but there’s nothing I can do. If it was up to me, I wouldn’t allow this to happen to anyone. I really wish I could help you.”
“But you can.”
“How? There are guards everywhere around the castle. Even if we were able to leave the castle, a miracle, we wouldn’t go far before we were caught and killed. There’s a chance that you would be spared because of your womb, but it wouldn’t be the same for me. I would be killed. I would have killed myself a long time ago because life is hard but I have people who depend on me and I have to stay alive. I’m sorry, Emma but I can’t help you. However, you will be released after having two children. That’s what they always do.”
Emma felt weak so she went back to sit. Tara gasped. “Your make-up is ruined. What have you done?”
“I don’t care,” Emma said. “I hope the king will lose interest once he sees how terrible I look.”
“They will not take you while looking like that. They’ll redo it, and you may need a different dress too. I have a feeling you’re a very stubborn person.”
Emma had always felt good when she was told that, but now it made her feel annoyed. What good was her stubbornness? It was what had made her leave summit pack and end up in the enemy’s house.
“I have to figure out a way out of here,” emma said.
Tara didn say anything. emma figured she was probably thinking it was impossible. The woman seemed to have resigned to her horrible life but emma was not going to be like that. she didn’t intend to let her life be dicated by some vampire king.
A woman came in and shrieked when she saw Emma’s face.
“What have you done?”
“What do you think?” Emma asked.
“Soon, you’ll lose that smart mouth of yours. Stand up. We’re going back to the dressing room. It was not much but Emma was glad to have delayed her prospective meeting with the vampire king. She got up and went back to the dressing room. The dress was removed and two women dressed her in a blue gown of the same design as the first one.
Thirty minutes later, she and Tara were led to the vampire king’s chambers. The vampire king lived on the top floor alone. Emma stared at the paintings of different vampire kings as they passed by the living room. The furniture followed a light grey theme, which was the colour of the walls and curtains.
Emma’s heart was pounding loudly against her chest and her legs were so weak she could barely walk without support. Tara was very supportive, holding the small of Emma’s back as guards escorted to the king’s bedroom.
The colour theme in the bedroom was the same as the living room. The duvet covers were grey and the lighting was dim. A man was lying on the bed when they walked in. he got up from the bed and came towards them as the guards walked out. He was middle aged but still very handsome.
“Tara, beautiful as always.” He said, staring at Tara who looked ravishing. “Who’s your little friend?”
“She’s called Emma.”
“Emma, you look like a good girl.” The man said, removing his red robe. It fell to the floor and revealed his muscled body. Emma tried not to look at his erection but failed.
“Try it,” he said, touching her head and pushing her down to her knees.
Emma gulped before moving her mouth closer.
“What the hell!” the man yelled, staggering back. Emma spit out blood from his mouth. She had bitten him.
Emma stood up and Tara looked at her like she had seen a ghost. “What have you done?”