Page 2 of Blood Moon Bound

“I’ll get your dress, Miss Delphine. I’ve laid your underwear out on the bed.”

I’d known Agatha all my life, she was the closest being I had to a friend, but she’d only ever treated me with cool detachment, as was expected. Friends were forbidden for someone such as me.

Tonight, all over Roxburgh, blood moon ceremonies were taking place. Bondeds were being claimed by their mates, and their new lives were about to start. Their males would have sensed them, found them, then taken time to get to know them. They would have fallen in love, like most beings did.

My situation, though, was very different.

For some, like myself and the other four females here tonight, we’d never met the males coming for us, there’d been no getting to know each other, and our lives had not been our own.

The fates selected our mates when we turned sixteen. Only those of our kind who were old and extremely powerful had the ability to sense us that early. And if they did, and they so chose, they could announce their intent to claim their female when they came of age.

That happened to me, only instead of the male coming to our home and introducing himself, a member of the Vampire Court arrived the day after my sixteenth birthday and announced I’d been sensed by a male of great importance. No name was given, only that he was one of The Five.

I was kept safe after that. My stepfather and mother locked me away, making sure I remained unspoiled in every manner for the male who would come for me after I turned twenty-one. My life had already been controlled, restricted. My stepfather had hoped, no, planned for me to mate well, and he didn’t want me “tainted” by the outside world. But his early efforts had been nothing compared the restrictions of the last five years.

The identity of my mate remained a secret, even from my parents. We were told it was because of who he was—and for our safety, that’s what my stepfather, Douglas, said, anyway—and after years of loneliness, the time had finally arrived to discover who he was.

Tonight, The Five were coming to claim their brides under the blood moon, and I was one of them.

The crunch of tires on gravel came from outside. I rushed to the window and watched as cars rolled in. Vampires from all over the city were here to celebrate the special occasion. The Five were warriors, the most ruthless, terrifying, and brutal vampires of our race, males who had patrolled the borders of our territory for hundreds of years, protecting our kind and laying waste to any who would dare try to harm us. They were spoken about among our people like a myth or legend, stories told to children at bedtime to make them feel safe.

To do their job, they needed the ability to travel in and out of our enemies’ territories undetected, which was why their identities were such a closely guarded secret.

People speculated about who they were, of course, but no one ever knew for certain. What I did know was they were powerful males who moved in and out of society, never revealing who they really were, and therefore never getting the recognition they deserved for all they’d done for us.

All that changed tonight.

A new fae king had been crowned, and the war with the fae had ended. After fighting on and off for centuries, The Five were rejoining society for good.

I shuddered, but I wasn’t sure if it was from fear or excitement.

I’d read several articles about them, things that had sent a shiver down my spine and fascinated me at the same time. I’d wanted to read more, but I’d never had control over what I watched or read, or who I spent time with. My stepfather had been trying to frighten me by sharing these articles, but it’d just made me more intrigued about my future mate.

Four town cars rolled in, pulling up outside the imposing castle. My heart raced.

Chauffeurs got out and rushed to open the doors. One by one, four massive vampires stepped out of their cars.

I sucked in a breath at the sight of them—power, dominance, menace saturated the air, even from this distance. They strode into the building, and the cars pulled away.

By the end of the night, I might be bride to one of them.

Music drifted up from below, voices, laughter.

The grandfather clock tolled, and I jumped.

Douglas would be here to collect me soon. With shaking hands, I dropped my towel and pulled on my underwear and the strapless corset laid out for me. I’d just secured my stockings when Agatha walked back in carrying my dress.

“Quickly now,” she said, helping me lace up the corset before slipping the dress over my head. “Your stepfather will be here any minute.”

The gown was red, the skirt heavy with layers of silk and tulle that flowed to the floor. The bodice was tightly fitted and all lace, and had a deep V that revealed the modest swell of my breasts.

What if the male I was destined for didn’t like it or, worse, what if he saw me and didn’t want me? The thought sent a shiver through my body. Yes, I was his mate, but mates were sometimes rejected. Douglas wouldn’t countenance that kind of humiliation. He’d make me pay in ways I couldn’t bear to think about.

“Did you see them?” I asked, not expecting Agatha to answer. She never went against my parents. She’d followed the rules of my upbringing to the letter. Her life would have been forfeit if she hadn’t, and we both knew it.

But when she gently turned me, gone was my rigid and cool nanny, and in her place was the female I remembered from when I was very small. The female who had told me stories at bedtime and held me when I cried for my mother. The female who had squeezed my hand when I watched children playing, wanting to join them so desperately but hadn’t been allowed.

Her lips curled up tentatively, shakily, and she smoothed a lock of my hair, then nodded. “I know you’re afraid, Delphine, but you’re strong and resilient, self-reliant. Embrace what is to come, make the most of the hand dealt to you.” Her gaze softened. “Please, don’t fight it. Your mate can make your life unpleasant if he chooses to. You don’t want that.”