Surrender [H.S]

Chapter Seventeen

Layla.

"Don't unpack, babe," Harry told me as I leaned down to open the bags at my feet. We were on the boat, beginning to sail off toward the Isle where I was raised, and we had made it to our bedroom.

I looked at him and frowned. "Why shouldn't I unpack? And honestly, I was just trying to see what was in the bags to make sure everything I wanted was packed while we were still in running distance of home."

"Everything is there," he assured me, nodding. "I made a list of everything you'd need, so don't worry. It's taken care of."

"Alright." I slowly sat down on the bed next to him. "Now, why shouldn't I unpack anything?"

His hand covered mine as he smirked at me, and at first, I thought he was going to say something inappropriate, but he surprised me. "You don't need to unpack because we aren't staying full time on the boat. The boat is just a means of transportation. We'll stay with friends and in hotels for the most part."

"Hotels?" I asked, blinking. "I've never stayed in a hotel before."

"I assumed that," he told me, grinning. "That's a reason why I planned the trip that way. I wanted you to see first hand what it's like to be the mate of the oldest and most powerful Lord in public."

I laughed. "You're going to milk that entire situation while you can, aren't you?" The public still wasn't aware that Louis was the oldest Lord, and not Harry. Neither of them really wanted to disclose the information, but I honestly thought it was only a matter of time. Rumors liked to spread fast amongst people of 'royalty'. And besides, Louis' daughter is older than Harry, you can tell by the blue of her eyes, so it was truly only a matter of time before people put the pieces together.

"Of course," Harry answered, proudly. "The title is still mine until it's decided otherwise. And even if I'm not the oldest, I'm still the Lord with the most power. I had more influence over the war than he did."

"Because people thought you were the oldest vampire in the world, and therefore, thought you had the most wisdom."

He shrugged. "I still won the war, babe. Even if I didn't have that 'oldest vampire wisdom' I was still able to win the glory and the right to rule the Isles."

"And you split that power and glory with four others," I said, smirking softly.

He shrugged again and chuckled as he put his arms around me, then pulled me back to lay with him. "The amount of power I was given as a Lord was just...it was way too much for one person. I trusted them the most, or at least as much as I could trust someone back then. Liam, Zayn, and Niall were the only people I had changed, so trusting them with the power was as easy as it could get."

"Only people you changed until me," I sweetly interjected with a smile.

He chuckled again, nodding. "Yes. Until you," he agreed then rubbed my back. "And with Louis..." He paused sighing and shaking his head. "I remember the council back then were annoyed that I chose to split the power, but they were beyond angry that I chose Louis along with the others instead of one of them."

"Council? And why would they angry at you for choosing Louis?" I couldn't help but ask, frowning.

Harry sighed again. "After the Made Vampires won the war, we had a war council that included generals and other higher ranked soldiers and officials. It was how things were ran for a while, but things just got...complicated." He rolled his eyes and began answering my unspoken question. "There were just too many of us making decisions. Everyone was so opinionated and egotistical. Finally, it was decided that only one of us should have the power over the Isles, and they appointed me as I was the oldest, known oldest," he explained.