The Long Life of a Vampires Wife

She came to a jolting halt when she saw Duke Marcus climbing the stairs to reach the next floor. Sir Nolan was nowhere to be seen. "Father!" She exclaimed, stopping at the bottom step. She clutched the railing in her hands as she gasped for air.  "Did you run to find me?" He asked with furrowed brows. He turned to look over his shoulder at her, a frown etched onto his aging face.  "Yes, it is urgent." Marci pressed. "If this is about Lord Reign-" He sighed out, but was immediately cut off. "You can not marry me to him!" Marci exclaimed, "Please! He is a vampire, I am human. It will never work. He will kill me."  "There's nothing I can do to stop it. You don't think I've tried, silly girl?" He climbed back down until he was in front of her.  Looking into his eyes, dread and unease settled into the pit of her stomach. As her belly ached, her hands clenched the railing like it was her lifeline. "But-" "But nothing. I've done everything I can to keep him away. He is a vampire, I could only do so much." He sighed.  "He will kill me," She repeated, hoping that one sentence was enough to get through to him. Her vision blurred as she blinked back unwanted tears.  He frowned at her, eyes not meeting her own as he stared at something behind her, "I'm sorry Marci. He will be back by nightfall. He'll be staying a while to begin courting you." The air was sucked from her lungs. "No!" She shouted. This was really happening to her. She was really going to become a Vampire Lord's wife. "Why must he come back? Why must I be sold like a slave?!"  Her head whipped to the side as a loud crack echoed the stairwell.  Her cheek stung, blood swelled under the skin. Her hands curled into the skirts of her dress and the tears in her eyes finally spilled over. Her face throbbed. "From now on, you will get the idea of being his wife as a happy image. There is nothing left for you to do." He said firmly.  *** Arranged to marry the Vampire Lord Reign Valentine, Marci did everything she could to get out of it. However, just when she came to terms that this was her fate, she learned there was more to her marriage than she originally thought. Her family claimed she was the answer to a war that was right around the corner. She didn't realize they meant it literally. UPDATED DAILY COVER DOES NOT BELONG TO ME CREDIT TO THE ARTIST PLEASE MESSAGE TO BE TAKEN DOWN