"Thank you for your help. He will do exactly as you instruct." Jake quickly cut in before I could say anything, as if he were preventing me from making any counters.
I glanced at him with a frown, which he ignored, smiling at the man as he stood to his feet.
"I hope he does it because he doesn't seem like one who is willing to let go of that girl, and it is really dangerous seeing that he is the vampire prince and future king of the vampires. I thought he should know by now how dangerous it is to have such feelings for werewolves." The shaman sighed, shaking his head as he stared at me with disappointment in his eyes.
He seemed to know just everything, and it's irking the shit out of me. How did Jake know about this man here? Can he read my mind too? Fuck it!
"It will be hard for him, but he will definitely do it. I am guessing the girl might have used charm on him, but trust me, he has a strong will to end the forbidden romance." Jake defended with a smile, while I took a deep breath and stood up quickly.
"Am I right?" Jake asked me, and I hissed at him, walking off at that moment without saying any other word.
Each step I took away from that thatched house made me angrier and more ashamed of what I had turned into. I felt like a sissy being controlled by Jake. I felt really stupid and couldn't wrap my head around how and when I turned into this whimp.
Even if I were in love with a werewolf, it is no one's business. No one had to take me to a magician to help me get rid of her from my mind. I don't have to give an explanation to anyone, not to mention a common friend like Jake.
As I thought of all these things with so much anger, something began to stir inside me. I felt that familiar, powerful darkness stir inside my heart.
Jake's POV
When I asked him if I was right and he hissed, I saw the glint in his eyes. A glint of anger that filled the whole atmosphere with his royalty aura, reminding us all that he was the prince, and even the shaman could feel that we might have crossed boundaries.
I was trying to help him, but it was as if I had gone really far to bring him here. As he left, the old man gave me the knife.
"If he changes his mind to do it. Hand the knife to him." He breathed, and I hesitated before taking it.
"He is really angry. I can feel it."
"You are his friend. It is your duty to help him." He shrugged.
"What if I am doing it the wrong way?" I hissed.
"You aren't. Go now." He patted me on the shoulder, and I smiled and ran hastily to meet up with Jaden, who had really gone far. He was walking so quickly that I had to switch to my vampire's abilities to catch up earlier.
"Jaden..." I called and placed my hand on his shoulder. In a whirl that was like that of a strong wind, he attacked me so dangerously with a punch that almost made me pass out as I stumbled backward and hit my back hard to the ground, letting out a loud groan.
I was shocked to the core, but it turned to terror when I caught a glimpse of his pair of eyes that were glowing with pure rage, and his deadly powers seemed to be swirling around him like dark fog, instilling horror in me.
The last time I saw him this way was months ago when a werewolf spy was caught and brought to the palace, and when he was asking him questions, the spy spat on his face.
He made sure to tear his body from limb to limb and personally burn it. It didn't end there; he went as far as arranging the warriors and going into war with the pack of the spy. He singlehandedly destroyed almost half of them, making sure they were all wiped out.
That was how dangerous and deadly he could be whenever he was this furious. He has a special ability—a really lethal one that caused a lot of death while he was growing up.
I know he might have been so calm recently, but this man here was once a beast that even his parents were scared of. His presence brought panic and tension, and people would find an excuse to leave.
Even though he had changed after the same outraged powers almost made him kill his mother, everyone knew it was still in him and tread carefully.
"Don't touch me, bro, and listen. I don't need your help with whatever. You think I am crazy and need rehabilitation, huh?!." He snarled, his voice filled with wrath, and we're echoing danger in my head.
"No, no, no, I am really sorry. I swear. I swear. I was so stupid. Please." I slept stuttering, trembling as his eyes appeared really life-threatening. That perilous Jaden of the past was gradually returning, and his vampire scent was now really choking, as it had always been when his dark special abilities took over him.
"I don't want to see you around me. Sorry, but our friendship ends here and now. You can go make friends with that shaman who had the guts to make fun of me. I don't care whatever powers he has, but if he tampers with my personal life, I swear, I will cut his head and bury it in front of that disgusting hut!" He growled and let out a scoff before walking away.
I was too weak to stand and just lay there watching him stalk away like a lion till he was out of sight before I was able to stand, but my legs were still trembling.
Fear was all that gripped me tight to the neck as the scene of what just happened replayed in my head.
"Have I brought back the deadly vampire prince with my foolishness? Could it be that the dark powers were back to take control of him? Oh God, I hope not." I muttered as panic coursed through me.
It had been three years since he stopped being so cruel and heartless. I hope this is not another start.
****
When I returned to the royal castle, the gate guards all stood still as if they had come face-to-face with a horrifying beast. None of them could make any sound, and even when I greeted them, none responded audibly.
I made my way to Jaden's room, but it was locked, so I rushed back to the palace, where I was sure he should be, but when I got there, I couldn't find him.
"Where's Jaden?"
That was the first question the vampire king threw at me.
"Where is my son?" The queen shot too, her eyes glistening as they peered at me. The elders who gathered there were also giving me a questioning look, waiting for me to reply.
"My son just recovered from a strange ailment that left him coughing hard. He should be sleeping peacefully in his room, but you came and took him out to God knows where. Now you are back without him? Where is he, Jake?!" The vampire king fired, displeasure in his tone.
He wasn't happy that I was stressing his son, but the worst was yet to happen.
"He will be back very soon. He went to check on something and told me to go home and tell you all so you wouldn't be worried about him. We only went to the forest to chitchat as he said he was tired of lying on the bed." I lied, unsure if it sounded truthful enough.
"For how long before he comes back?" Jaden's mother asked, and I let out a little smile.
"Just a few minutes." I replied with a high-spirited tone that eased them all. What I don't get is why the royal guards at the gate were all in fear. Something wasn't right.
Just then, the door of the palace opened, and everyone turned their faces to the door. I was shocked to see the same shaman we visited, walking in with his aiding stick and rolled-up mat in his arm, a leather bag hung on his shoulder, and dressed in his red robe.
"Wow, to what do we owe this sudden visit from the greatest shaman of our time? What message do the spirits have for us? I hope we are safe?" The vampire king exclaimed in curiosity and surprise while I stared intently at the man, wondering why the hell he was here.
I just hope it wasn't what I was thinking.
"I don't think this kingdom is safe, and since I owe your kindness in the past, I can't keep this away from you." He spoke slowly in his croaky voice while I waited for him to look at me, so I'd give him an eye warning never to spill anything about the vampire prince and the wolf girl.
"Huh?... Please tell us what is wrong." The queen and king desperately requested it in unison while the man rolled his mat and sat with his legs entwined like a monk.
"What do you have to say? Please, we are impatient." I shot in with the intention of bringing his attention to me. He has to look at me and read the sign on my face not to expose the prince. I don't know how easy it would be, but Jaden won't rest till he kills him.
"Okay, where is the prince?" He threw the question, and both the king and queen spun their faces at me as if I had the answer.
"We are unsure of his current whereabouts and can't even trace him with the family link since he blocked it. Not long ago, he left with Jake and didn't return with him. Jake doesn't seem to be telling us the truth. Please, do you know where we can find him?" The queen whined, making me almost scoff at her.
She is always disturbed anytime her son is out, as if she knew of some beast out there waiting to kill her son.
"I'm glad he isn't here. Now listen carefully." He began, and I shut my eyes, taking a deep breath as I shook my head frantically.
"The vampire prince had fallen in love with a wolf girl, and she isn't from any other pack but the Silver Moon pack . I am sure it isn't real love but a spell, but I'm afraid he...."
"What did I just hear you say?!" The king's voice roared so dangerously, each word laced with a chilling menace.
"Your son is going crazy over a young girl in the silver moon pack!"
"Never!!" The king thundered, his voice dripping with venom, and his eyes burned like a raging inferno, ready to consume everything in its path.
Oh God, what has this man caused?
I sagged my head low, wondering what would happen next.