The plan should have been simple enough. Sneak away from your possessive partner in the night, bound for a little adventure that should take no longer than a week, so he could cool off and you could have a little freedom away from palace walls. If only said partner wasn't a greatly feared vampire lord with enemies around every corner, and you, a very valuable person to him and if only a group of mercenaries at the inn you stopped by hadn’t caught wind of your current relationship and heritage, tying you up, beating you to near death to use as bait to hunt the lord.

Even now, you can see it on his face as you lay on the floor, broken before him, the vampire lord lounging in his throne as his servants drag you in. But his eyes are wide, his expression almost unbelieving as he stares at you.

"Is that really you, little love?..." His words caught in his throat.

You choked softly on the gag wrapped around your mouth, his servants dragging you in. “We found them by the front gates, a group of mercenaries setup an ambush. We lost three of our own before they attempted to retreat. We’ve captured four.”