Stolen: Bitten Vampire Series, #2

PROLOGUE

Ordinary riches can be stolen, real riches cannot.

In your soul are infinitely precious things that cannot be taken from you.

- Oscar Wilde

If Benedict could have sensed the tiniest shift in the air, or had detected the smallest hint of Moira’s fragrance, then it would have been more than enough to have warned him of the dangers lurking nearby. Perhaps, he could have prevented the circumstances that would soon arise. Maybe, he would have been able to convince Moira to drop her ridiculous scheme and to let him and Ally be. Should have. Would have. Could have . In hindsight, it was useless to dwell upon these suppositions. No matter what the outcomes were, Moira was no fool and she came well prepared.

Alice Korman (aka Ally) was but a small and stupid obstacle in Moira’s path. A thorn at her side, which needed to be swiftly plucked away.  Moira was a determined woman with dreams of wielding great amounts of power within her own realm. She was completely unfazed by Ally’s sudden appearance in her life.  Yes, this human happened to be Benedict’s object of desire and in some small scale, Moira completely understood him. She knew that he only wished upon himself what anyone would have wanted: True love. Did she not, as well, long to spend the rest of her inhumanly long life with a companion? Perhaps, in another life. But, nothing would stand between her goals and the approval of her household. If she could not have both love and power in her life, she would choose the latter.

Moira knew very well that it was imperative that she was properly equipped and honed to execute her plan. Though she knew Benedict was quite advanced and skilled in runic training, she also knew that she mastered spells unknown to him; Spells that were stolen from a coterie of powerful vampires; Spells that were long forgotten and only remembered by the very few. Therefore, to perfect her abduction, she studied how to combine these chants with their respective relic. Benedict would never have stood a chance. How was he to know that his ambitious fiancée was close-at-hand?

As a result, the invisible veil that descended upon her and Ally made it utterly impossible for Benedict to have detected her. He would not have realized that Ally was moments away from being abducted. For if he knew, he would have surely destroyed Moira, or anyone, to protect his beloved Ally. Allowing his blind rage to overtake him and inadvertently making himself a fugitive within his own realm.

CHAPTER ONE

Benedict placed his cellphone on the kitchen counter. He smiled slowly to himself. He was still reeling over his good fortune. After all these years, and after everything he had gone through, he had finally found her.

It was all too surreal for him. How many decades had he searched? How many false leads had led him to despair? He remembered, as each New Year rolled by, how his sense of sadness and loneliness would exacerbate.  He realized, once again, he had failed to find her.

For the past few months, he agonized over the prospect of living his life without his true mate. With his wedding date looming, Benedict was no closer at finding her. Gradually, he began to accept the idea that his arranged marriage to Moira would take place.

After postponing the date for the fifth time, he knew it was impossible to delay the matrimony any further. His soon-to-be father-in-law took precautions to guarantee that the union between Benedict and his daughter would take place on November 4th. Not a moment later. The only loophole that would nullify the marriage was if Benedict found and bonded with his human mate before the ceremony. Benedict agreed to this arrangement. And, Vincent trusted he would uphold his end of the bargain because Benedict was, and always will be, a man of his word.

While speaking to Gabriel, his childhood friend, Benedict quickly revealed the happy news. Gabe was stupefied by Benedict’s luck and good timing. In less than four days, Ben, his closest friend, was to settle for an arranged marriage with Moira. Yet, against all odds, he found his human counterpart. How? It had been said that it could take centuries to find a mate, a lifetime, even. Most vampires would not bother with the search. So, for Benedict to have found her, and bonded with his mate... Well, it was almost like some sort of a fairytale. Gabriel simply could not get over it.

God’s Blood! Talk about playing it close. Gabe replied, relieved how everything turned out.

Benedict chuckled at his comment. Playing it close, indeed. Ben knew that as optimistic as Gabe was during his search, it was getting quite difficult to stay hopeful. Gabe never disguised his feelings towards Ben’s looming engagement with Moira. He overtly and loudly disapproved of it. For some reason, which remains unknown to Benedict, Gabe was profoundly against anything remotely related to the Verdons Household. In his opinion, Moira Verdon would have slowly poisoned the life of his good friend.

Gabe resumed. If I were you, I would get all this paper work done as soon as you can. I still can’t believe you agreed to such an arrangement in the first place, but at least you won’t have to marry that heartless vamp.

Benedict sighed. Once again, he had to remind Gabe that marrying Moira was not such a terrible and abominable fate. Why would it be? Ben thought Moira was beautiful, smart, and witty. He heard the rumors that the Verdons were apparently involved in orchestrating and participating in the Old Hunt, but no evidence was ever produced. Besides, the last Hunt occurred more than a hundred of centuries ago. It was prohibited and would never manifest again.

In addition, Moira was also extremely kind and caring. Benedict still marveled on how patient she was during his search, how she encouraged him and told him not to lose faith. If he never found Ally, Benedict would have gladly accepted to spend the rest of his life with Moira.

Gabe snorted derisively. Kind? Caring? In the same sentence? Was Ben trying to aggravate him? He gritted his teeth. He understood how Ben ­­could think Moira Verdon was such a person, but he knew better.

To put it bluntly, she was an expert liar and a deceitful bitch. Traits inherited directly from her grandmother. Perhaps Moira can play the innocent-as-a-lamb act with Ben, but Gabe was not as easily fooled. He despised her and her household. He barely spoke to her and, at best, remained icily polite, never anything more. With the announcement of Ally and Ben’s bond, Gabe would now be able to relax a little, but he would not let his guard down until Benedict and Alice got their bond officiated by the