The Vampire Vigilante
Chapter 28

I went into the library and found a book that seemed interesting. I made my spot on the lounge in the corner beside the window and cozied up.

I was about 6 chapters into a novel about the Nazi war when my phone rang. I looked at the number and didn't recognize it.

"Hello?" I answered warily. The man on the other end cleared his throat. "Is this her Majesty, Princess Raines?"

"Speaking," I answered, "May I ask who this is?" I could tell I recognized the voice somewhat, but couldn't put my finger on who it was.

"This is Sir Patrick," he replied, "From the council. I wanted to call and let you know that the situation with Malachi has been taken care of. His body has been destroyed along with any remains he might have had."

"That's good," I said, breathing a sigh of relief, "What about his kingdom?"

"We have taken care of that as well," he answered, "We have replaced him with King Delroy from Jamaica. He was next in line and decided he wanted a change of scenery, apparently. He will take control of the kingdom until we decide otherwise."

"Sounds wonderful," I replied, "Thank you all so much for your help. And for believing me."

"Of course," Sir Patrick said, "We are here whenever you need us. We again apologize for any grievances we may have caused you."

"Apology accepted," I stated, "I just hope all of this publicity will die down soon."

"It will," he replied, "With time. Just be patient. Keep your wits about you, and you will be fine."

"Thank you," I whispered, realizing that this council really wasn't out to get me anymore. They were at my beck and call after they understood who I represented and what I could really accomplish.

"Yes ma'am," he said, "The next order of business that I have is that your uncle would like to speak with you. He had asked for a contact for you, and I was hoping you would be willing for me to give him your number."

Here the hell we go.

"Of course," I replied through gritted teeth, "I still haven't decided whether I want the crown or not, though."

"You both will have time to discuss that," Sir Patrick said, "I believe that is the reason for him wanting to talk with you." I nodded my head. "That is fine. Give him my number."

"Great," he replied, "He will be calling you soon. Thank you for your time, your Majesty." He hung up the phone and I set mine down on the cushion next to me. I growled as I leaned my head back against the chair, closing my eyes hard.

I didn't want the crown because I didn't want to leave Erik. There was no way in hell you could pull me away from him. Hopefully one day he would ask me to rule his kingdom at his side as his queen.

That will be the day I explode with happiness.

I sighed as I imagined how we would look standing next to each other with the crest of his kingdom and the crowns on our heads to match. I smiled as I felt the love bubbling inside of me coming from our connection just from imagining a scene in my head.

I turned my head to the door as it creaked open and Maya stuck her head in.

"Is it safe to come in?" she asked with a smile. I chuckled. "Of course, get your butt in here." She came and sat next to me as I adjusted my position on the chaise so she could sit down. She threw her arms around me and I hugged back, confused as to what was going on.

"What's wrong?" I asked as she pulled away and looked at me with her doe-like eyes. She shrugged. "I just felt bad about the other night. I didn't know that it would be like that. I just wanted you to have a good night with the girls."

"It's fine," I reassured her, "Things happen. We can do it again when all of this shit dies down, I promise." She smiled at me and hugged me again. "Sounds perfect! I can't wait."

"And," I said, feeling a little more confident, "We can go to an actual club if you want."

"Oh yeah!" she exclaimed, jumping up and down in her seat, "I can't wait!" I laughed as I watched her acting like a little kid. She stood up and shook her hips as she danced out of the room. "Just let me know when and where, and I'll be there!"

"Okay," I laughed, watching as she sang going down the staircase. I smiled as I looked out of the window, thinking everything was going to be okay.

I immersed myself in my book for another couple of hours before noticing it was six in the evening. I set it down and left the library, locking the door behind me. I went to Erik's bedroom and noticed a note on the bed. I picked it up and started to read.

I had to run into town to pick up a suit. I'll be back later with a surprise.

-Erik

I held the note to my chest as I smiled like a star-crossed lover. I put the note in the bedside table on my side along with the other ones Erik had written me since I had been there. I then went to the bathroom and started to run a hot bath. Once it was at the level I wanted, I slipped in and leaned my head back against the tile. Erik's bathtub in his room was made into the tile of the wall rather than a free-standing tub like what was in my old room. I heard my phone ringing in the bedroom but decided to ignore it. I looked at the bathroom door and shut it quickly with my thoughts.

I soaked in the tub for nearly an hour before I decided it was time to get out. I slowly stepped out, careful to not slip on the tile since I had put some essential oils in the water. I wrapped a towel around me before I walked into the bedroom right about the time Erik slipped in. He closed the door behind him and stopped when he saw me standing there in just my towel.

"Isn't this a wonderful sight?" he said, putting his suit down and walking over to me. He wrapped his arms around my waist and picked me up as I put my arms around his shoulders. I smiled and gave him a kiss. "I missed you today."

"And I missed you," he replied, setting me back down, "Are you ready for your surprise?" I almost dropped my towel instantly, thinking one of us was on the menu tonight.

"I am," I answered, smiling, "What is it?"

"Well that would ruin the surprise," he chuckled as he walked over to his large closet, "Here, put this on." He tossed an outfit over to me that was wrapped in plastic. I laid it on the bed and opened it up. It was a set of waders in just the right size. I held it up and looked at him confused as hell. He threw his head back in laughter. "Do you have any idea what those are?"

"I do," I answered, "But I'm not sure I need to go duck hunting when I can do that without the actual guns." He chuckled as he unbuttoned his shirt and took it off. He slipped on a white t-shirt and took his pants off. I swallowed to keep myself from staring at the bulge in the front of his underwear.

"In addition to my jeep riding," he said, pulling on a pair of jeans, "I enjoy riding trails with some friends."

"Like horseback riding?" I asked, still confused, "Because I could do that without all of this." I held up the waders and made a weird face at him. He shook his head with a smile and pulled his own waders over his pants. "No, silly. On a Razor."

"Oh," I answered, still confused. I put on a t-shirt and some jeans before I pulled my waders on. I grabbed a pair of boots and looked at Erik once I was finished getting dressed.

"This will be fun," he said, "I promise. Have you ever been on a trail ride?"

"No," I answered, "I haven't. I still don't really know what you're talking about, but I'm down for the fun." He smiled and reached out his hand. I took it and we walked outside to his jeep.

We drove for a while into the deep country before we came to a set of garages.

In the middle of nowhere...just a little sketch.

Erik got out before I did and walked up to the garage, opening it up. I slowly walked over as the door lifted with a Razor on the inside. It had two seats, huge speakers strapped onto the top bar, and was lifted off the ground about 4 feet. I looked at Erik in shock. He turned around and laughed.

"I would have never pictured you being into this kind of stuff," I laughed as he started throwing drinks into a cooler from the fridge.

"Surprise," he said, climbing into the driver seat. I walked over and got into the passenger seat. It really was a comfortable seat, but it was unfortunate there was no back seat.

Erik placed his hand on my thigh and gave it a little squeeze. I smiled over at him, blushing slightly. He cranked the engine and turned on a song by Morgan Wallen. The speakers thumped with the bass which made the insides of my thighs tingle. He turned on the lights which flashed all of the colors of the rainbow before we pulled out and took a trail deeper into the woods.

We drove for about 15 minutes before we came to a clearing where there were about 7 other Razors lined up. We stopped next to another couple and Erik got out to talk with the guys. I sat there and made myself invisible since I had no idea who anybody was.

"Mel!" Erik shouted, "Come here, love." I growled under my breath and got out slowly, making sure I didn't bust my ass climbing down. I stepped over to him as he put his arm around me.

"This is Ben," he said with a beer in his hand, pointing to the guy in front of us. He had short brown hair and was nearly as tall as Erik. He had deep brown eyes that were almost the same color as Erik's but had a deeper brown in the center.

"Nice to meet you," I said, holding my hand out for him to shake. He took my hand and shook it firmly with a smile. "Nice to finally meet this girl Erik has been talking about forever!" I blushed and looked over at Erik, who had his face in his hand.

"Thanks for calling me out," Erik chuckled, "Mel, this is Ben's girlfriend, Liz." A short girl with brown hair pulled into a tight bun stepped out from behind Ben. She had large, gray eyes and a longer face. I could tell from her bun that her hair was super long.

"It's nice ro meet you as well," I said, shaking her hand that was already stretched out. She just looked at me in amazement, not saying a word.

"She's a big fan." Ben laughed.

"You're absolutely gorgeous," she finally spoke, "And Ben is right, I am a huge fan." I laughed. "Well, thank you." We then all got in our ATVs and headed down the trails.

The trails were all narrow, making it difficult for some people to ride side by side. I had grabbed a drink before we took off and thankfully Erik packed something besides beer. I had tasted one a long time ago, and realized quickly my taste buds did not enjoy it. I sipped on the seltzer and enjoyed this time with Erik.

I glanced over at him a few times as we rode and noticed he was truly happy. This was something he enjoyed, and his happiness made me even more in love with him. I truly believed if I did anything with him and he loved it, I would too just by seeing the joy on his face.

We got to a clearing and another Razor with two girls pulled up beside us as we drove on. I noticed Erik's jaw clenched up, so I put a hand on his thigh. He looked at me and turned down the music enough that I could hear him.

"I haven't rode since you came to the castle," he said, "But these girls are always obsessed with the idea of me. I've never given them the time of day, however. I know they like to get around."

I smiled as I held back a laugh. "Don't worry, I won't be mad." I slumped down in my seat as they got eye level with us.

"Erik!" The passenger girl called out. "Jada here can't drive for shit. Can I come ride with you?"

I popped my head up and looked at her with an almost genuine smile. "Sorry, this seat is taken!" She scowled in disgust and they drove ahead of us. I looked over at Erik who had a huge grin plastered on his face. I gave his thigh a squeeze and smiled at him. He looked over at me and grabbed my hand, kissing it. "Thank you for coming. I haven't done this in so long and it feels good to do it again; especially with you riding shotgun."

"I've never done this," I replied, "But I'm having a really good time." He gave me a quick kiss before we made a turn and went up into the hills.

After a few more stops for everyone to get another drink we arrived at a huge incline. I looked at Erik who appeared to be bursting with excitement. I looked at the incline and immediately knew we would be lucky if we made it up without flipping. We watched as the first few Razors carefully scaled the side of the incline before parking at the top.

"Erik," I said, "I highly doubt we can make that. We're too top heavy."

"Oh nonsense," he replied, backing us up some, "I've always made it." I shook my head nervously, knowing he was wrong. We watched as the vehicle with Ben and Liz in front of us started the journey up. They were about halfway up the incline when the front end tires came off the ground and the ATV started to roll backwards.

"Shit!" Erik exclaimed. I knew they couldn't flip, so I decided to intervene. My eyes lit up and my tattoo lit on fire as I imagined what would happen next.

Stop.

The Razor stopped with it's front tires in the air. I carefully lowered the tires back to the ground and Ben floored it. I made sure they were safe at the top before I released my energy.

"Thank you," Erik whispered, looking at me and immediately knowing I was behind moving the Razor. I breathed a sigh of relief. "We won't make it without my help, just to let you know."

Erik nodded as he put the Razor in drive and hit the gas. I focused on keeping the tires on the ground as we climbed up the side of the steep hill. Once we reached the top I let go and Erik parked next to Ben, who was obviously shaken up.

"Dude, I don't know what happened," he was saying to another guy, "I just knew we were about to go and all of a sudden the damn thing just went back to normal and I got up here."

Erik and I hopped out of our vehicle and walked over to Ben and Liz. Erik put his arm around me as a smile spread across Liz's face.

"Thank you," she said to me, "For saving us from falling."

"You're welcome," I replied as she hugged me, "I wouldn't have let anything happen to you guys."

"You did that?" Ben asked, looking at me with astonishment, "No way! That's epic."

"I told you," Erik added, "She's pretty bad ass." I laughed as those two girls from earlier came over.

"I don't get what the big deal is," the passenger from earlier said as she looked me up and down, "She's kinda cute, so what?"

"Wendy, let's not," the driver said to her, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"No!" Wendy exclaimed, "I've been trying for months to bag Erik, and this girl comes from legit nowhere and gets him? It's not fair!" I rolled my eyes as Erik put his hands on his hips and sighed.

"Wendy," Liz said, "Don't push her. She could seriously hurt you."

"Oh yeah?" Wendy replied, "I don't think so. I think she's just Erik's new little fling he will throw to the side when he's done just like the others."

The others?

"Now is not the time," Erik interrupted, "Let's just enjoy the night guys."

I was getting a little pissed at that point. What did Wendy mean by 'the others'? And who the hell was she to question my powers?

"Look," I finally said, "I don't want to start problems. Erik invited me here since I've been living with him for a while, and I decided to come and have a good time. Let's just drop it and move on."

"No," she stated, crossing her arms, "You and all of ya'll think she's so special, why don't you show us?"

"She just did," Ben groaned, putting a hand on his forehead, "Can't we just have one night without your bitchy drama?"

"Bitchy drama?" She exclaimed. She then ran towards Ben with a hand drawn back like she was about to punch him. I tuned into my powers and stopped her mid-punch. She grunted, unable to move. I crossed my arms and looked at her with icy blue eyes. "I don't think that would be a good idea."

She looked at me in awe, a tear dripping from the corner of her eye. "I-I-please let me go. I'm sorry!" I dropped her to the ground and she let out a huff of air. Everyone grew silent and stared at me.

"Let's just have a good night, please," Erik said through gritted teeth. I turned on my heel and headed back to our Razor as Liz mouthed a 'sorry' to me. I sat down in my seat with a sigh as Erik got in and everyone started their music back up.

"I'm sorry about her," he said, putting a hand on my leg. I held his hand and looked at him with a smile. "It's fine. Let's just have a good time the rest of the night."

"Sounds perfect," he replied, giving me a kiss on the cheek. We rode for a few more hours into the night, listening to music and enjoying company. I was also highly impressed with his beer-chugging skills when Ben would challenge him.

I just couldn't get Wendy's words out of my head: 'just like the others'.

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