Free Lorne (The Dark League 1) by Melody Adams Page B

forwards and pulled my friend to the ground. I knew what I had to do. I had no choice!

    “I killed him,“ I ended, my voice stifled.
    “Oh my God!“ said Trisha sympathetically. “That ... that’s awful.“
    I nodded.
    “That’s the reason why I’ve sworn to myself never to take a mate. Because ... because I ...“ I looked at her, pained. “I could not get over losing you, Trisha. Just like Serge, I’d go mad. That’s why I’ve fought against it. But I couldn‘t stay away from you. Every hour that I’ve spent without you has been torture. I know now that it’s useless to run away from it. No matter whether I now officially make you my mate or not – in my heart you’ve been my mate for a long time!“
    Tears poured from her eyes and I bent forward to kiss them away. I swore silently to myself that I would only make her happy from now on. I never again wanted to be the reason for her tears and I would I would hold to account anyone who hurt her, whether emotionally or physically. I would protect her, if necessary, with my life.
    “I will never hurt you again,“ I promised, raw with emotion. “Forgive me, my darling. I will send a message to Victor, to ask officially for your hand. As soon as we have his agreement, we will hold the ceremony.“
    “Victor? The vampire king? He has to give his agreement first?“ she asked me, with a clear trace of fear in her voice. “What if he says no? What will we do ...“
    “Shhh!“ I interrupted her and looked at her intensely. “It’s all just a formality. I’ve never heard of a case where he has refused to agree to the ceremony. Everything will be fine, trust me!“

Chapter 5

    Trisha

    I could hardly believe it. But it was true. I had read the official letter from Victor myself. He had given his permission and wished us all the best for the future. Now I was standing here in the blood-red dress at the centre of attention and I was so nervous that I was afraid that I would seriously wet my pants.
    “Don’t fidget like that,“ Charleene urged me quietly.
    She was standing next to me as my blood sister, a sort of witness, and we were waiting for Lorne and his blood brother Sean.  
    “There they are!“ said Charleene quietly and I turned my attention from my skirt seam to the door where Lorne and Sean were just entering. Cheering greeted them. Lorne’s eyes fell upon me and I saw that he had suspiciously wet eyes. Love took my breath away and I grabbed Charleene’s hand.
    “Everything’s OK. You see? There they are. He hasn’t changed his mind,“ Charleene joked, but I was not in the mood for joking. I felt quite miserable with anxiety.
    Lorne look stunning. As his family had Scottish roots he was wearing a traditional kilt in green and blue, with a white shirt and boots. He did not take his eyes off me as he walked approached. He knelt down before me to fasten a small gold band around my right ankle, as a symbol of the fact that I belonged to him. Then he got up and gave me a beaming smile. Now it was my turn. I nervously took the somewhat thicker gold band from Charleene and knelt down before Lorne. I took his right wrist and put the gold bracelet around it. As I got up, Milton, who would lead the ceremony, stepped up to us and Lorne and I both stretched out our left arm. Milton took the ceremonial dagger from Sean. It had a silver blade and would leave a scar because wounds caused by silver never healed completely. Silver was the only thing to leave a scar on a vampire. Milton first drew the blade over the inside of Lorne’s forearm, then mine. I bit into my lip as the hot glowing pain went through me. Once we both had a heavily bleeding wound on our underarm, Sean stepped forward and first drank from Lorne, then from me. After that Charleene did the same. Finally Milton lay my arm on Lorne’s arm, wound on wound, so that our blood mixed and he wrapped a red cloth around our arms.

    There was indeed no five course menu like at my cousin’s