#3 Chosen by the Vampire Kings: BBW Romance (Part 3: Love & War)

Love & War

Chosen by the Vampire Kings

Part 3

By

Charlene Hartnady

Copyright and
Disclaimer

Copyright ©October 2014, Charlene
Hartnady

Cover Art by Melody Simmons

Copy Edited by Kimberly Reichmann

Produced in South Africa

Published by Charlene Hartnady

PO BOX 456, Melrose Arch,

Johannesburg, South Africa, 2176

[email protected]

Love & War is a work of fiction and
characters, events and dialogue found within are of the author’s imagination
and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or
persons, either living or deceased, is purely coincidental.

With the exception of quotes used in
reviews no part of this book may be reproduced or shared in any form or by any
means, electronic or mechanical, including but not limited to digital copying,
file sharing, audio recording, email and printing without prior consent in
writing from the author

Part 3

Chapter 13

Xavier paused as he leaned forward to open
the door to the SUV. His nostrils flared right before his whole body tightened.
By now she knew vampires well enough to know that he could scent Zane on her.
He would know that they had recently had sex even though she had showered
before leaving.

The big vampire shook his head slowly as he
opened the door.

Tanya slid in praying that she wouldn’t
have to explain herself to Brant’s head guard. To Brant’s brother. It was bad
enough that she’d soon have to face Brant. She was so screwed. She buckled up,
letting her face fall into her hands as they pulled away. Another vampire sat
in the seat next to Xavier. There were two vehicles ahead of them and another
three behind them.

“You do know that I’ve been assigned to
your wellbeing?” Xavier kept his eyes on the dirt track as he negotiated the
trail.

“Yes,” she paused trying not to sigh. “I
know.”

“You’re making it difficult to keep you
safe. You do realize that don’t you?” his eyes never left the rode as he spoke.

“How is it my fault that the elves and the
wolves are after me?”
What a complete jerk
.

Xavier gave a humourless chuckle. “It’s not
the other species that I’m afraid of.”

They turned up a sharp, twisting incline.
Xavier handled the vehicle with practiced ease. Tanya waited for a few beats once
the track straightened but much to her frustration, Xavier didn’t elaborate
further.

“Is there another enemy I’m not aware of?”

Another humourless chuckle. “You have no
idea. Really?” He hauled the vehicle sharply to the left, more sharply than
what was required. The seatbelt tightened across her chest and she was yanked
to the side.

“You rutted with my brother’s birth enemy.”

Tanya cringed. To make matters worse Xavier
sniffed at the air. “From the scent of your essence I would say he drank from
you too.”

She gasped. “You can tell all that from the
way I smell.”

“What? Had you hoped to keep it a secret?”

“No.” Her cheeks heated. “I would never lie
about something as important as that. Brant will understand. He would never
hurt me.”

Xavier sighed heavily. “I’ve never seen my
brother besotted before. He talked about you the entire time you were gone. He
missed you damn it.” Xavier hit the wheel. The manor house loomed ahead. “He
has started work on your little store. Upgrades to the book section and a whole
coffee shop. I realize that Zane invoked Mate’s Lore, but I had hoped you
would’ve had some sense of loyalty.”

She gasped using her hand to stifle the
sound. What had she done? Brant had trusted her. A mere twenty-four hours away
from him and she’d fucked another man. Not just any other man, but his enemy.

“Brant wouldn’t hurt me,” she repeated
because what Xavier was implying was too crazy for words. He might never
forgive her but he would never hurt her. No way.

“Not on purpose but when he gets a nose
full of Zane,” Xavier shook his head. “You reek of him.” They pulled up to the
manor house and Xavier shut off the engine, his gaze still facing ahead. “He
might just lose his mind. He won’t know what he’s doing. I will do my best to
keep you safe.” He turned dark eyes on her and she shivered. Just when she was
sure he must hate her, his eyes softened. “I know it’s not really your fault. I’m
thankful I haven’t had the urge to mate. I’ll never go down that road if I can
help it.”

****

Brant could scent Tanya on his birth enemy.
It made him want to gouge Zane’s eyes from his skull. Made him want to tear off
his arms and beat him with them but that would only worsen the situation. Zane
was here to discuss their female’s safety.
His
female’s safety. Just because
he scented Tanya didn’t mean they had…he mentally shook his head. It wasn’t the
right time for that train of thought and with Tanya on the way he would soon
have his answers. It wasn’t fair of him to expect her fidelity. At least she
was safe, that was what was most important.

Brant paced across the Persian rug at the
foot of his desk. His office was spacious with dark mahogany. A space he always
enjoyed. Most likely because it was his and his alone. A sanctuary he could go
to if he needed to think, work, plan. It irked him that Zane was in his space but
it was the best place for a private conversation. “You’re sure the two species
are working together.” He glanced at Zane who stood with his arms folded across
his chest.

“My men saw the elf king astride the alpha.
They have had more than one opportunity to kill the female…”

Brant couldn’t help it, he snarled at the
thought of losing Tanya and snarled at the vampire that would’ve been
responsible for her death.

Zane unclasped his arms, his hands falling
into tight fists. It wasn’t lost on Brant how the vampire king had widened his
stance. “I am here because I want to keep her safe. The female’s wellbeing is
of just as much importance to me as it is to you.”

“You want heirs.”

“As do you.”

“I want more than just offspring. I want to
share my life. I want her to be happy.” Brant felt frustration rise within.
Zane was not capable of any type of emotion let alone love. He would never be
able to give Tanya what she needed, what she deserved.

“Write a god damned love song. We’re here
to discuss her safety or there will be no heirs for either of us.”

Brant grit his teeth to try and stop
himself from retorting. The other vampire was right, but he didn’t have to like
it.

“The alpha still needs a mate. I think that
he plans on taking her for himself.”

Brant took in a deep breath letting it out
slowly. The thought of a beast laying a single claw on Tanya made his blood sizzle,
his veins burn. His skin grew tight. “Destroy our people and take our queen? He
can’t fucking have her.”

“I feel the same. We are very much on the
back foot. Neither of us can mate with her until the new moon. Nine whole days.
The alpha doesn’t have that problem.”

“Why did you invoke Mate’s Lore in the
first place?” Brant fisted Zane’s shirt grinding his teeth so hard he was sure
they would crack.

“Get your hands off me,” a low growl.

Brant held on for a second longer. “If it
weren’t for Tanya, I’d take your head.”

“You would try.”

That’s where Zane was wrong, it wouldn’t be
easy but he would win in the end. Brant had a reputation of being the ‘just’
king, the ‘honorable’ leader, he was also greatly underestimated which suited
him just fine. “You should have left us alone. Tanya and I would’ve been mated.
The future of our people guaranteed.”

“What? Your little coven against two
species? I think not.”

Zane was right. The elves and the wolves
would’ve attacked regardless of whether Tanya had mated one of them or not.
They saw an opportunity and had taken it. He would do anything to ensure that
Tanya did not become collateral damage.

“Just for the record, I wanted the female
from the start.” Zane locked his jaw for a second, looking to the left of
Brant. He stuffed his hands into his pockets. Zane turned his gaze back on
Brant.

He wasn’t sure he wanted to hear what Zane
had to say.

 “I didn’t want a repeat of what happened
to our fathers. I knew you had your sights set on the female so I chose another.”

His heart stopped beating for a second even
though blood rushed in his ears. Zane had wanted Tanya from the start.

“It’s why I chose the way I did. I wanted
to avoid another war.” Zane’s eyes narrowed.

“Bull fucking shit.”

“Listen up asshole, I didn’t have to
explain this to you but you asked why I invoked Mate’s Lore and so I’m telling
you. I wanted the human from the start. I should have fought you for her then.”

“The only reason you invoked the lore is
because you killed your human.”

Zane took a step towards Brant, his whole
body had tightened like a coiled spring. Brant secretly hoped Zane would come
at him. The longer he spent in the same room as the bastard, the more he wanted
to feel his bones crack beneath his fists.

“Someone is spreading untruths about me.
The human took her own life. It had nothing to do with anything I did or didn’t
do.”

“It seems human females are in a habit of
offing themselves on your side of the fence. Can’t say I blame them.”

It was a low blow with the expected results
except Zane moved quicker than he anticipated and managed to plant him straight
in the jaw. Thankfully the blow wasn’t direct as he was moving away, so
although it hurt like a bitch, his jaw remained intact. Brant kneed his enemy
in the stomach enjoying the grunt Zane made and the way he hunched over for a
split second.

****

Tanya took in the familiar decadent décor.
Her mind going at a thousand miles a minutes. So much for not letting her out
of his sight ever again. After they had fucked, Zane took her back to his
tower. After a light supper she had fallen asleep, exhausted from the day’s events
only to have woken alone in his bed. She hated the disappointment. Hated that
she felt it in the first place. Zane hadn’t so much as said goodbye to her when
she’d left. Tanya had pretty much thrown away her future with Brant and for
what, a roll in the hay with one times dickhead.

“Are you okay?” Stephany smiled at her,
concern in her eyes. They had said their hellos. Tanya had noticed how the
blond vamp’s nostrils had flared just before they embraced. Everyone in this
whole damned coven would know her and Zane had slept together.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Stephany
asked as they made their way into the living room. “I take it you got along
well with Zane?” The blonde gave her a mischievous smile. Tanya realized that she’d
missed her easy companionship.

“Don’t joke, Brant is going to go nuts when
he finds out. Where is he anyway?”

“It’s Mate’s Lore, he may not like it but
he will need to deal. He’s just in a meeting, he’ll be out…”

Confusion set in. What did Mate’s Lore have
to do with her indiscretion?  There was a crash as something toppled over
followed by a loud grunt. A heavy bashing noise and another muffled crash.

“Nothing to be concerned with.” Stephany
had plastered a fake smile onto her face.

“Who’s Brant meeting with?” Panic rose in
her. Zane hadn’t been there to say good bye and Brant wasn’t there to greet her.
It didn’t take a rocket scientist to know where the kings were and that they
weren’t getting along.

“Stay out of it human.” Xavier tried to
take a hold of her arm, but Stephany swatted his hand out of the way.

“Leave her alone. They need to sort this
out and like it or not she’s involved.”

“I have been assigned to keep her in one
piece. Getting between the kings is no place for a puny human.”

“Go.” Stephany blocked Xavier. Tanya rushed
in the direction of the noises. The grunts and thuds growing louder as she made
her way to a large oval door. She pushed down the wrought iron handle and
opened it. Brant and Zane had each other in a lock. Brant pushed Zane and his
back collided with the wall. A picture frame crashed as it hit the ground.

“Stop!” She knew she should be afraid, but
watching the two of them kill each other was not how this was going to end. She
moved in as close as she dared.

“You shouldn’t be around humans,” Brant
growled as Zane pushed back until the back of Brant’s legs connected with a
large desk in the center of the room.

“Like it or not. She’s just as much mine as
she is yours.” Zane snarled, he head butted Brant with a sickening crunch.

“No!” She screamed not giving a damn if
they hurt her. She inserted herself between them, her back against Brant. “Stop
this.” Zane had a bloody gash in his forehead.

The room reeked of blood, sweat and
testosterone. Heavy breathing turned to loud sniffing. “You fucked him.”

Her eyes were locked with Zane’s, whose irises
turned dark and stormy.

“Oh shit,” said Zane.

“You rutted with my female.” Brant’s body turned
to stone behind her. He lunged for Zane knocking Tanya to the side as he did.
She fell to her knees landing hard. Thankfully she was wearing jeans or her
knees would be a mess. She scrambled further out of the way as Brant took a
second swing at Zane’s head. Brant had lost his mind and it was all her fault.
Why
couldn’t she have kept her panties on?

Zane tackled Brant knocking him to the
ground and flat on his back. “It’s Mate’s Lore.” He punched Brant twice using
his arms and body to hold him down. “We are required to rut. You know that.”

“I know,” Brant growled. “Don’t have to
like it though. I can’t stand your sent on her. It’s making me…” He snarled,
his eyes were glowing. “I can’t take it.”

“Calm down. You need to put your own scent
on her.”