Bound (A Faery Story 1)

before he found a corner to curl up in. “I want my mate covered.”

He couldn’t stand the thought of her beautiful body on display.

She was his. He should be the only one to enjoy her loveliness.

Rhys frowned. “You know I cannot, Your Highness. The female

must be properly displayed. If the Planeswalker discovered I was

treating you differently, he would accuse me of breaking our

contract.”

Bound

23

Beck didn’t like the answer, but he had to accept it. He’d had to

accept many unsavory truths since the day his world fell apart. “Do

the vamps know she’s here?”

“Yes,” came the quiet reply. “I had to inform the Vampire

Governments as well. I gave them very short notice, but fifteen have

already shown up. You know they can move very quickly when they

want to. You were the first to see her. I have to open her to public

view soon. I must have at least ten warriors in the tourney to see a

profit.”

“Well, you’ll have that if fifteen vampires are here. They’ll all

fight for her.” It was a sad coincidence of fate that bondmates were so

alluring to vampires. Since his uncle had closed the Seelie mounds to

all outsiders, it had become difficult to find a bondmate, and the

practice of vampires wooing faery bondmates had disappeared.

Luckily it wasn’t all vampires, just the ones of royal blood, who

required a woman like Meg as a mate. He had asked a vampire once

why they needed Fae bondmates to procreate. Beck had been told that

there was something about their blood that strengthened the vampire.

They called the women “consorts.” A vampire of royal blood could

form a psychic bond with the female, much as Beck intended to form

with Meg. “The vampires will fight. They will all lose.”