While Jay and I walked, it crossed my mind that we were alone. Meaning, now would be a good time to talk to him about being my king. I felt a little nervous. I didn't know if he'd answer me. And I didn't know if he'd be angry or not.
"You're nervous, beauty. What's on your mind?" Jay asked, bringing me out of my thoughts suddenly.
"I was just thinking, my love..." I smiled up at him.
"About what?"
I sighed and stopped walking. I looked up at him, holding his hands in mine. "I'm going to ask you a serious question. And I want you to answer honestly." He nodded slowly, his eyebrow raised. "Jay, are you nervous about being king one day?"
Jay froze at my question. He looked away and, finally, he nodded hesitantly. "Yes..."
"Why..?"
"I'm afraid I won't be a good king, I guess....You know how I am...Cold, protective, possessive...I've seen how intimidated some of the pack members are by me. It never really bothered me before though...."
"Until you found out you were mated to a crown princess..." I said quietly, frowning.
Jay nodded slowly. "I don't want to be the reason your kingdom falls again. Heck! It's already falling because your mated to a Gamma!" he groaned, running his fingers through his hair. "I do my best to be a good Gamma. But I don't know the first thing about being king....I'm...afraid I guess..."
I knew he hated admitting when he was afraid. But, unless he closed the bond, I could feel his fear. He tried to hide it well, but he can't hide his feelings from me.
"Jay....I know you're cold, protective, and possessive sometimes...I know that it intimidates your pack members...But I also know, that you are a great Gamma. Being king is probably like being Alpha almost. I know-"
"Elena, I don't know the first think about being an Alpha." my mate deadpanned.
I rolled my eyes. "Let me finish, please." Jay kept silent and looked at me. I gave him a small smile. "I know you would be a great king. You care about your pack. You care about my future subjects. You care about me. You will still be Gamma. I won't make you give that up or choose between the two. You can just help me and be there when I need you...I want you to be happy, Jay..."
Jay looked at me. "You really think I have what it takes to be a good king...? You really think I can be a good king and Gamma at the same time...?"
I shook my head. "I don't think it, my love....I know it." With that, I kissed his cheek. "Come on now. We need to find Alec."
Jay nodded, smiling. We resumed our walking. I felt better after talking to Jay. I could see he felt better too. I felt it in our bond. I didn't blame him for being nervous. I'm a little nervous too. After all, I was not trained to be queen. But, I'll do my best and that's all I can do. And the same goes for Jay. All he can do is his best. But I really do believe he will be a great king.
We had finally reached the edge of the pack. We sniffed the air and looked at one another. We both could smell Alec somewhere nearby. But he was nowhere in sight...
"Alec! Come on out! It's us! Gamma Jay and Elena!" Jay called out.
"We just want to talk, Alec! Please!" I added. "Your sister and mate are worried about you...At least come out and talk to us."
"I'm not here...." a voice mumbled quietly. I jumped a little, not expecting a voice to come out of nowhere. Jay and I were holding back chuckles. We smiled as we looked at one another.
"If you aren't here, then why did you answer?" Jay asked, his arms crossed. Silence met my handsome mate's question.
"Alec, please, just talk to us!" I exclaimed. I frowned sadly. Tears threatened to come to my eyes when I thought of Vicky and Kiera.
Jay growled and took me in his arms. I gave a small smile, as I relaxed and enjoyed the sparks that flew at our touch. "Just come out, Alec. You have upset my mate, your sister, and your mate enough. And your mate happens to be my mate's friend. Unless you want to make me angry, I suggest you get over here right now."
It took a minute or two, but finally, Alec came out from behind some bushes, on the other side of the border. He looked like he'd been crying. His pale face was stained with tears. His eyes were red and puffy, which, I don't know about other vampires, but this does not look good on him.
"What?" Alec asked in a quiet voice.
"Alec, why did you think Vicky would hate and leave you?" Jay asked, getting straight to the point. Alec looked off to the side, like he wanted to run. Jay frowned and walked over, grabbing his hand. "Answer me."
"Jay, please be gentle with him." I pleaded. He looked at me and nodded slowly. I looked at Alec. "Alec, we just want to help..."
Alec sighed and nodded slowly. Jay kept his hold on him. I think he was trying to prevent him from running away. If he ran away, we'd never find him. Vampires are pretty fast...
"Vampires live together in their own community most of the time...But, my family was an exception....My mother was a strong vampire who married a half-vampire. Therefore, she was shunned and, just so she could be with father, she left and went rogue. Rogue vampires are liked just about as well liked as werewolf rogues." Alec began. He gave a small smile as he talked about his mom and dad. "Mother and father loved each other. A lot. And I thought they loved Kiera and I. They played with us, helping us get better at our skills. Because father was a half-breed, we weren't expecting to be so powerful. But...we were wrong..."
I frowned. "What happened, Alec?"
"Our tenth birthday. Usually vampires fully unlock their true selves and abilities at age fifteen, but we were different. Usually, a vampire is a little different. Their true form will normally have black or red and black hair. Their skin would be pale and their eyes either black or red. Their everyday features would be similar, but, a human wouldn't be able to see they're different. Dark colored hair. Light skin, but not too light. They're eyes would be dark, but most likely a normal color like brown or green or something. As you can see from my sister and I...." Alec looked away from us.
"I'm assuming you were born this way?" Jay asked.
Alec nodded. "When we turned ten and transformed to our full vampire form, it was..." Alec sighed heavily. "It's usually one of the best days of a vampire's life when they unlock their full power and true form. But for us, it was the worst day of our lives....I think it may have hit me more than Kiera though...."
"Why?"
"Because she kept dreaming about love and friends. I didn't. I shut myself off completely..."
"What happened, Alec..?" I asked in a gentle voice.
"When we got our forms, all four of us were surprised. Mother and father looked....scared....of us....Of the children they raised, played with....The children they had! Their own flesh and blood!" Alec's eyes flashed between his normal red to black. My eyes were wide in shock. I scooted closer to Jay, part of me feeling nervous. I could see his teeth were sharper than they had been...As if they had turned to fangs or canines...
Jay's eyes were wide. He kept his hold on Alec, but he put his free arm around me protectively.
Alec scoffed. "See why they were scared?? Even you're scared of me!"
"We aren't scared. Just surprised. We've only ever seen your normal form." Jay told him.
"He's right, Alec..." I said softly.
"Then why is he holding you like he's protecting you??" Alec retorted. We kept silent. "I knew it...Our parents saw how different and powerful we were and were afraid of us...We never would have harmed them but they didn't care...They left us...Years later, we met a friend...another vampire. When she saw how powerful we were, she left! They all leave. They're all afraid."
Alec's skin was paler and almost gray looking. His hair was pitch black. Tears rolled down his cheeks. His eyes had turned black, his pupils had become red slits. He had jagged black marks on his face. Jay and I stared at him, our eyes wide. We were seeing his full form. I don't know much about vampires, but, I'm guessing they can be dangerous when they are in their full form.
"They left me...They left us..." Alec's voice was cracking as he sank to the ground, crying.
I felt bad for him. I looked at Jay before crawling over to the vampire boy. I took him in my arms, hugging him tight. I could feel him tense up, especially when Jay joined the hug. But finally, he calmed down and let us hold him.
"We aren't afraid of you...We never will be...Your true friends will never leave you. They will stick by your side through thick and thin. They care about you no matter what." I whispered. "We'll never leave you...Our friends will never leave you...Vicky will never leave you. And Jeff will never leave Kiera."
"It's up to you whether you want to trust us and give us a chance. But we want you to know, that we are your friends. We promise you we will never betray your trust. Ever." Jay spoke up.
Alec looked up at us. Jay released his grip on the boy's wrist. Alec looked down at his wrist before looking back up at us. "Do you really mean it, princess...?" I nodded, giving him a small smile. Alec looked over at Jay. "Prince Jay...?" I smiled when I noticed Jay didn't seem tense at the title Alec gave him.
Jay simply smiled and nodded. "We mean it, Alec."
"Then....I will come and I will give it a chance...I'll see what Vicky has to say...." Alec said quietly.
Jay and I smiled at each other. "Very well then." Jay replied. The three of us stood up and walked back to the others.
I felt bad for the vampire twins. Kiera has become a really good friend. I really haven't gotten to know Alec, but I know he didn't deserve to go through that. Neither did Kiera. I'm glad they found their mates. I just hope Alec will stick around long enough to make this work.