Accidentally Married to…a Vampire?(Accidentally Yours #2)(62)
Author: Mimi Jean Pamfiloff

“He left a while ago. Didn’t say where he was going.” Helena tried to sound nonchalant.

The woman huffed. “When you see him, tell him to get his ass back to my place.”

“And, you are?” Helena asked.

The woman blinked. “Who are you?”

Helena swallowed. Why do I have a feeling this day is about to get a lot worse? “Helena.”

“You!” The woman lunged and grabbed Helena’s neck. “Little bitch!”

Helena coughed and sputtered while she clawed at the woman’s icy, steel hands. “Reyna?” Helena croaked.

The woman smiled and released her. Helena tumbled to the floor.

“I hope they told you all of the wonderful things about me?” Reyna said proudly.

Helena rubbed her neck. “Not really.”

Reyna shrugged. “Good. Because I’m a heartless shrew who doesn’t know the meaning of mercy.”

Helena couldn’t argue with that.

“Especially for you,” Reyna added.

“Why did I figure that?”

Reyna’s eyes narrowed. “I see why he’s so fascinated with you. You are a spunky one. But a puny little human like you could never compete with the love he has for me. A true mate’s bond is eternal.”

Helena suddenly forgot all about her aching neck and her fear of this woman. She stood boldly and faced Reyna. “But I thought vampires only have one mate?”

“Oh, silly girl.” Reyna flicked her finger at Helena as if she were a fly she was shooing away. “Did he say you were his mate? Did you fall for that old trick?” Reyna cackled at the ceiling.

Helena couldn’t believe it. Reyna was mated to Niccolo? No. That couldn’t be right. “But I feel the bond.”

“Silence!” Reyna screamed so loud the windows flew open. A gust of crisp afternoon air burst into the room. “I am the one who paid the price! I am the one who gave up my sanity to be mated with a human. Andrus could never love you!”

Helena’s mind clicked. “Andrus? You’re mated to Andrus?”

Holy crap! Poor guy. No wonder he was crazy. No wonder he wanted to kill her so badly—even if it cost thousands of good vampires’ lives. If Helene were in her shoes, she’d do the same damned thing. Poor, poor Andrus.

Reyna stopped and sniffed the air. “You…are…” she hissed. “ You are Niccolo’s mate! Aren’t you? You smell like him!”

Helena stepped away. She had no idea what sort of politics and plots lurked in their world. Niccolo had never told her anything other than he wanted to be free, and now he was. Wherever this conversation was landing, she didn’t think it would lead to her Happy Place—the one with a na**d Niccolo in it.

“It all makes sense now!” Reyna began stalking across the room. “Niccolo wanted to be with you. That is why he asked for his freedom. And, somehow, Andrus has taken a liking to you. Oh! This is a lucky day. I will get my revenge and get Niccolo back. He’ll have no use for his freedom once you are gone.”

Helena eyed the window. Could she survive the fall? Because there was zero point zero, zero, zero chance she’d survive the queen. Maybe the door was a better option. Helena made a run for it.

A hand appeared out of thin air and slapped her on the arm. “Come.”

Before Helena could blink, she found herself transported to another room. A log crackled in the fireplace, and the darkness of night peeked through a narrow slit between the burgundy drapes. She guessed she was in another time zone since it was now nighttime.

Reyna instantly released Helena and marched to the large bed in the middle of the room. She pulled down the blankets to reveal Andrus face.

Helena covered her mouth. What had Reyna done to him? His face was pale and thin, like he’d been partially desiccated. Guess his plan to swap me for the queen didn’t go so well.

Neither had Helena’s plan to save everyone. So far, she’d managed to drive away Niccolo—who was going to kill Viktor—Andrus was about to die and so was she. Once Niccolo realized Helena had been murdered by the queen, he’d kill the queen himself, thereby ending his own life.

Apocalypse. Boom. Everyone dead. Good job, bone head! Wanna take up another cause before you die? How about global warming? Maybe she’d end up getting the planet cooked before they all died in the apocalypse.

Reyna jumped on the bed and straddled Andrus. “Wakey, wakey! I have a surprise for you, my love!” she sang out and slapped his face a few times. There was no movement. Maybe he was dead? “Oh, for the love of gods, wake up. I need to get this over with so I can go to my lambada lesson.” She bounced on his stomach like a child riding a rigid merry-go-round horse.

No response.

Reyna moved her wrist to her mouth and bit down. She opened Andrus’ mouth and let a few drops of blood dribble in. A moment passed, and he suddenly jolted up. Reyna flew to the floor.

“Finally.” She stood and dusted herself off. She then pointed to Helena. “See, I brought you a gift.”

Andrus’ face looked like he’d been run over by the Reyna-bus. He suddenly looked horrified too. Then a sour calmness washed over him.

“Oh. It’s her.” He lay back down on the bed and pulled the covers up.

Helena, standing toward the foot of the bed, glanced at Reyna. She was no longer smiling.

“You’re going to play it that way, are you?” Reyna asked. Helena instantly felt Reyna grasping her throat from behind. Helena’s arms thrashed as the air was cut from her lungs.

“Yes. Fight my dear,” Reyna snickered. “It will make it so much more enjoyable for me. Andrus doesn’t love you, but he does care for you. I can feel it. I can feel every pathetic emotion running through that thick skull of his.”

Andrus suddenly lunged from the bed and slammed into Reyna with such force that she flew across the room and hit the wall. Plaster crumbled as she slid to the floor, moaning.

“Leave her out of this, Reyna! This is between you and me!” he screamed.

Helena crumbled into a ball on the floor. She grasped her own neck, struggling to let the air back in her lungs. Andrus rushed to her side. Somewhere in the back of Helena’s mind she registered the fact that Andrus was nude.

Had Reyna forced herself on him? Poor Andrus.

Reyna began crawling in their direction. “You do care for her! I knew it!” she hollered. “I don’t know how it’s possible, but if you value your life, you best remember that I am your mate. Me! You cannot love her! You are not destined to be with that wretched mortal.”