The Vampire Empress: Blood Queen & Her Kings

As Jiang Ying Yue sat inside her bed-chamber in front of the open window while looking at the night sky, she kept recalling her conversation with Silver during their lunch episode in the restaurant. 

The more she thought about the matter, the more she felt like her head was about to explode. 

"You seem troubled." She heard the familiar voice that belonged to the Third Prince, speaking from behind her. The man didn't even try to respect her privacy and knock on the door before entering.

"That's because I'm troubled." She replied in a dry tone as she kept staring at the sky which was covered with dark clouds. There was no moon, no stars, and no silvery light illuminating the dark world outside. The current weather resembled her current mood.

"Why? What's wrong? I heard that you did a good deed today. Then what made your mood turn so sour?" The man asked as he moved closer to where she was sitting.

Jiang Ying Yue knew that he was talking about her and Silver visiting the Gu Manor to cure the Madam. However, there were no good intentions hidden behind what she did or made Silver do on her behalf since she was currently in a powerless state. 

Gu Chen was right about her. She was someone who could never do anything good without seeking benefits for herself in that very act. She was someone even more dangerous and heartless than a demon. Maybe the Gods living in the Heaven Realm should be more afraid of her instead of that poor Empress Dowager.

"Though I'm still not connected to you through the mate bond like my brothers, I can still tell that you are in a really bad mood. Tell me, what happened." This time his voice was soft and she did not need to look at him to know that he was genuinely worried about her.

"Why do you care? Don't tell me you have already fallen for me!" She asked while finally turning to face him.

The candles that were lit all around the room provided enough glow to bask the Prince in light and shadows. However, her vampire sight was perfectly able to see him very clearly.

Wu Xie remained silent for several minutes as he stared at the girl, trying to read her but failing miserably. As an Immortal, it was never a hard thing for him to hear the thoughts of others, especially mortals. However, the girl in front of him was different. She wasn't like any other mortal. Unless her guards were down, it's impossible for him to read her thoughts and currently, her walls were up and strong.

He closed the last few steps left between the two of them before he came to stand right in front of her, causing her to tilt her head back in order to look up at him. 

All of a sudden, it seemed like her hard exterior was finally cracking as she was taken aback by his closeness. This made his lips twitch but he made sure to appear serious as he bent down a little to move his face closer to hers.

He could tell that she had stopped breathing as his face became as close to her as it possibly could without touching her. "That's a question even I want to know the answer of. I shouldn't care but I seem to care too much for my own good. I should not worry but I seem to worry about you all the time. I should not be curious but everything about your past, present, and future makes me curious to know more about you."

"It's impossible for me to fall for you but I can't make myself say that to you. I can't find the words to say that it's not true. What do you think then? Have I really fallen for you? How could that be possible? You don't seem to like me that much, then how come I have started liking you..." 

There was a limit to what Jiang Ying Yue could take in. But Wu Xie's confession was too much and too sudden for her to take in. Her hand that was placed against his mouth in order to keep him quiet started trembling as she finally let out the breath that she had been holding all this time.

"I don't neglect you." She finally found herself saying as Wu Xie slowly pulled her hand down from his mouth but didn't let go of her hand immediately. 

"Are you sure, Ying'er?" He asked while moving his lips closer to her ear, making his warm breath touch the sensitive skin of her neck. Her neck was probably one of the most sensitive body parts of hers and it seemed like her mates were also realizing it because they seemed to be always attacking her neck in one way or another.

"We just don't get a really good start." She spoke in a tiny voice, not even realizing how her domineering side ended up changing into such a submissive one. Was it because Wu Xie was also a dom and a powerful one on that? 

The sudden questionable thought made her look up straight into the eyes of the Third Prince and she found her breathing getting affected all over again when she noticed the fire blazing in his eyes.

"What is it? Do you have something to say or to ask?" He inquired while arching one of his eyebrows. Though his expressions appeared calm and full of warmth, just one look into his eyes and she knew that she was right in her judgment.

She always thought that Silver was the most dominating one out of the four but it was basically due to the fact that he had pent-up emotions of hundreds of years. However, she would have never been able to guess that Wu Xie was the actual dom in their group. Just thinking about what their future held made her shiver.

"I'll ask again. Why do you keep neglecting me? Is it because I'm not good enough?" Wu Xie questioned her again. His voice coming out deep as he demanded her to answer without even sounding like that.

Jiang Ying Yue hurriedly shook her head as she tried to find the right words. She actually never tried to neglect him but she could tell why he was asking that question. After all, she never made any move to spent time together with him.

"It's not like that." That's all she managed to whisper out while she looked into the deep raven-like eyes of the third and the youngest Prince.

"That's not what I want to hear. It seems like you are just brushing me off." He spoke while placing his thumb and index finger of his right hand under her chin. His touch sending sparks to graze her body though he was barely touching her.

"No... It's not like that... I..." 

Jiang Ying Yue could no longer decide what to speak at all. The words refused to come out of her mouth as she started feeling more and more nervous in front of the Prince. She was suddenly seeing a side of him that she never got to see before.

Though her vampire personality could have done a better job handling him, her weak human form was no match to his domineering nature. 

He let his hand slip from her chin, making her feel like she had lost something important before she found herself in shock when she felt that same hand coming to rest on her back as he suddenly pulled her to stand up in front of him.

"We should end our meeting here tonight. I'll be back tomorrow to hear your answer. Think carefully about what I just asked you. You have to tell me the reason for which you kept ignoring me all this time." 

Jiang Ying Yue once again found herself shaking her head. It seemed like this was the only thing she was capable of doing. It took a lot of struggle but she did end up voicing out the words that she had wanted to say. "It's not like that, Your Highness. I never tried to ignore you on purpose." This time, she kept her eyes trained on him to show him that she meant those words. 

Wu Xie silently observed her for a couple of moments before he finally nodded his head. "Alright, then prove it." 

"Huh?" Jiang Ying Yue stared at him with a confused look on her face. What did he want her to prove?

"I said to prove it to me. Prove that you are not ignoring me. Prove that I matter to you just like the others. Prove it to me that I also have a place in here." He pointed his finger towards her heart as he spoke the last sentence. 

Did he want her to prove that she would also love him equally like the others? Or did he want her to prove that she was not being biased? And how was she going to prove it?