Hunting My Vampire (Immortal Vampire #3)

Bonus chapter

Jack

I had everything, well, almost everything.

In many ways, my life was perfect now. I had a family; a beautiful daughter and a woman who loved me. We had more than enough money. The business was thriving in my absence and I was doing work that I truly enjoyed as a Special Advisor to the president.

But I did not have a wife. Kaya and I weren’t married.

“But it’s like we’re married!” she’d laugh whenever I raised the point. She was right of course. It wasn’t about our relationship either.

Since she had become a vampire after giving birth to Monica, our life together was wonderful. She was stronger and all the issues that had plagued her as a human were gone. There were no more headaches or nightmares. She was born to be a vampire, truly, the lifestyle suited her. She became more vital and energetic. She became even more athletic and chose to hunt animals for her blood supply. Our estate was overrun with deer and she kept the numbers down.

Kaya was more beautiful than ever.

She was a great mother and Monica was so much like her. She had the same willfulness and the stubborn streak that I’d loved in Kaya from the beginning but Monica also had a watchfulness about her that did not come from Kaya, who was too impetuous and impatient.

Now that Kaya was no longer human, Monica was the last of the female bloodline on her mother’s side. She was the last sho’qa’i of the tribe. Monica had Kaya’s dark hair and her almond eyes. Her Native American heritage was evident for anyone to see.

We had to protect her from those who would try to kill her, as they’d tried to kill Kaya and murdered her mother.

The sho’qa’i were powerful protectors and in times of danger they came into powers that helped them protect their tribe. Kaya had been able to tap into it when we needed to take down the evil New York Governor Leo da Salle. Since then, there had been no drama at our castle but that didn’t mean it wouldn’t come. Some uber vampire could want to get their hands on the occillite that we had sealed away in the hidden chamber at the back of the castle. Someone could want to kill Monica because of her lineage.

Zoran kept a tight hold on security and we monitored all visitors. Kaya and Monica never came with me when I left for Washington.

We were careful.

After what we had gone through to get Monica, nothing seemed worth the risk of losing her. But then one day, it was her who asked us, “Why aren’t you married?”

She was only five, but she’d overheard the kitchen staff talking.

Kaya could laugh it off but it bothered me.

I was a bit old-fashioned like that. I wanted to call her my wife, the queen of the castle.

“Am I not the queen of your heart?” she teased me but then she relented and said perhaps we could have a small ceremony, inviting only our dearest and closest friends. It would not be a big fancy affair but we would hold it outside, in the glade by the river, where the daffodils bloomed in spring. I had always thought it would be ideal for a wedding and had hoped that I would one day be able to marry there. The dream had never died, no matter how many obstacles presented themselves.

As our wedding day approached, I became nervous and Kaya was anxious too. We worried about skinwalkers inhabiting one of the guests’ bodies or of vampires sneaking in through the tunnels, one of Simon or Ulrike’s family members coming to avenge their deaths. The Gustafsons had told me they would not forget and a wedding was just the kind of venue they might choose to launch an attack.

I ordered extra security for the castle grounds.

Kaya kept Monica with her at all times, as if she thought faeries might steal her away at any moment, which was not unheard of, of course.

Finally, the day of the wedding arrived.

My company CEO, Max van Patten arrived, along with Kaya’s nearest and dearest, her best friend Pearl, whose daughter she had helped raise. Princess was sixteen now and close to Monica. She had almost forgiven me for turning Kaya into a vampire. Josie flew in from Washington and even Elizabeth, my sister’s granddaughter, attended.

The guests took their seats as the sun set.

Kaya was a vision in a white satin dress that clung to her figure and shimmered as she moved. Her hair was swept up and she wore no jewelry, just a thin leather band that had once held the occillite that had saved all of us. The leather band was a reminder of who she was or used to be.

We stood in the field of daffodils and said our vows, holding hands.

Then I kissed her, probably our most chaste kiss yet, as the wedding guests clapped and cheered.

It was a moment of pure joy.

And then, Kaya said suddenly, “Where’s Monica?!”

She’d been there moments ago, standing with us, dressed in a lovely flower girl outfit. Now she was gone, nowhere to be seen.

“Monica! Monica!” Kaya started screaming, looking for her.

The guests jumped up from their chairs, all looking and calling for Monica.

Everyone knew how precious she was.

I found Zoran, who said he’d go check the security cameras but there had been no breach, no incident from security’s side.

I joined Kaya searching for Monica, calling her name and then I saw her, standing at the river.

“Monica!” I swooped down and swept her into my arms.

“Where did you go? We were so worried about you?!”

The little girl seemed unconcerned about the fuss she had caused.

“Grandpa was calling me,” she said earnestly.

“Grandpa?” Kaya asked, frowning.

I asked what he looked like and she described my father. But there were pictures of him all over the castle.

Then she said, “He said he wanted to show me his bridge. It was made for children like me, he said.”

I looked at Kaya. “That’s true. My father did build a bridge and dam with lilies for children. He’d told me he’d done that hoping that it would bring children to the castle. He’d loved children.”

He would have loved to have known his granddaughter.

Although I looked for him, I did not see him, not then or thereafter.

But I could feel his presence every springtime when the daffodils flowered. I felt him smiling when Monica ran through the fields of the castle as I had as a child.

Finally, I had settled down with a family and wife.

It was what he had always wanted for me.

I had Kaya to thank for all of that and I’d never forget it.

She had brought me the greatest happiness on earth and that evening, after we had tucked Monica in bed, I waited for her on the roof while she went out hunting. She came back and found me, looking over the grounds.

“What are doing up here?” she asked me.

“I am waiting for my queen,” I said.

“Here I am,” she said in a husky voice, sliding into my arms.

“What will you do with me now?” she asked me in a teasing, sexy voice.

I could feel myself becoming aroused by her proximity, wanting her as much as I had right in the beginning. Our sex life was as wild and passionate as it had been then, it showed no signs of abating.

“What will I do with you?” I pretended to think. “Only absolutely everything,” I said, leaning in to kiss her.

Her eyes sparkled in the dark. “Just what I was hoping for.”

*****

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