Chapter 13
Luke practically skipped to his room; he was filled with so much glee. After decades of misery and torment, inflicted on him by his so-called ‘pack’, Luke was finally getting what he always wanted.
Luke opened the door with a smile on his face expecting anything but what happened. A vase, which had held flowers Luke had specifically chose for Victoria, thrown in his face.
The vase broke and ceramic shards cut and imbedded themselves into his face. Luke roared with anger and managed to open his eyes long enough to see Victoria try to escape.
Victoria made a dash for the door but Luke was suddenly in front of her. She sent a curse to whoever invented these silver collars. If only she could phase right now, she’d show Luke who was boss.
“Victoria,” Luke started, “Don’t let me have to restrain you.”
Victoria always hid behind her bitchy personality anytime she felt threatened, and this time was no different.
“Restrain me?” she scoffed, “You can’t even beat a newborn pup, much less me!”
Luke growled as he stalked towards her. Slamming and locking the door behind him as his body pushed the shards out his face and started to heal his wounds.
“I saved you, you should be grateful,” Luke snarled.
“Saved me? You think I’m happy you had your cronies burn down my home? You think I’m excited that you had a hand in killing my father? You think I’m ecstatic about having to be in this room with your sorry ass? Well Luke, you may be a betrayer and a psychopath, but I never thought you were stupid; apparently I was wrong!”
Luke had had enough; this was supposed to be a joyous occasion. Victoria was supposed to fly into his arms and shower him with kisses, love and affection.
“Maybe I just need to show you how you respect me,” Luke said more to himself than her.
Victoria backed up as Luke advanced on her, “What are you talking about Luke?” she asked, her heart pounding with fear. She looked around the room frantically for anything that she could use as a weapon; but unfortunately there was only the vase which she’d already chunked at his head.
If Victoria wasn’t so damn weak for this damn collar! She’d kick Luke’s ass and move on with her life.
Frustrated, tired and just sad, Victoria asked, “What do you want with me?” Tears were threatening to spill down her cheeks. She just wanted life to go back to the way it used to be.
“I want you as my mate,” Luke said to her. She had finally backed into the wall and Luke was only an arm’s length away from her.
“Mate? But, I don’t love you, I don’t even like you!” Victoria told him.
“That never stopped you from fucking my brother! All I ever wanted was your attention! But you, like everyone else, were just too caught up in the radiant beam that was Damien! He never loved you, and he never will! He has a mate and yet you still go pining after him while I have loved you in secret for as long as I can remember. But have you ever given me the light of day? No! Well, now that’s he’s not here, I guess I win by default. But hey, a win’s a win, right?”
Victoria didn’t stop the tears from falling this time, “What are you going to do to me?”
“What I’ve always wanted to,” Luke replied. The dark look in his eye made Victoria scream. Luke put a finger to her lips and gave her a caring look, “Now, now, need for all that; no point in screaming because no one will hear you.”
Victoria was silent the entire time Luke forcefully made her his mate. She didn’t even shed a tear. Why would she? Only people who had emotions cried and people with emotions had a soul. Hers was taken away from her as she was forced to be bound to Luke.
~
Damien paced through the snow. The phrase ‘so close, but so far away’ had never been so true for him before until now.
Damien could practically see into the windows of the vampires’ castle yet he didn’t attack. Despite his new-found strength, Damien would be mad to try and take down thousands of vampires by himself.
He wondered if maybe he should have stopped back at the castle and asked his father and pack for help. No, he couldn’t have. The scent he followed had been fading by the minute. If he hadn’t followed it, he would have lost the only thing leading him to Ali.
Damien wanted to howl in agony; Allison, his beautiful mate, he wanted nothing more than to hold her soft body and assure him everything was going to be alright in her sweet voice.
Damien was contemplating just barging into the castle, consequences be damned, and retrieve his mate when he heard something behind him.
Damien whipped around so quickly his tail almost hit him in the face. Damien looked down at the man standing in front of him. No, he looked down at the vampire standing in front of him; and not just any vampire, the prince of vampires.
Lucien didn’t fear much, but the sight of this werewolf made him a little uneasy. He was nearly as tall an elephant. How he managed to run through the trees without plowing down the whole forest was beyond him.
The wolf in front of him must be Damien by the fierce look in his eyes and the snarling. This wolf was planning Lucien’s murder in his mind.
Lucien held his hands up, “I come in peace, friend,” he said.
The snarling became louder; it obviously meant that Damien thought Lucien was no friend of his. “Now before you attack me, I have something I need to say; it’s about your pack… and your mate.”
Damien growled and leapt through the air. Lucien managed to dodge the blow but how that large frame could move so fast was, again, beyond him.
“Damien, please, you must listen to me!” Lucien tried to get out between dodging and countering Damien’s sharp claws and teeth.
“Allison is okay, I am on your side!” But Damien was not listening or if he was, he didn’t believe it. Damien was fighting for not only himself, his pack, but for his mate as well. And nothing was going to deter him.
“Lilacs!” Lucien yelled before Damien was about to deliver a death blow. Damien stopped the attack and slowly lowered his paw. He gave Lucien a confused look with a tilt of his large head.
“Allison told me that you gave her lilacs the night after you bonded with her. They are her favorite because she used to help her mother plant them in her garden,” Lucien finished.
Damien whimpered and then phased back into his human form. “How did you know that?” Damien yelled at him. “You took that memory out of her mind! I know vampires are mind-readers!”
“Not all vampires can read minds. And I am half human; hybrids have no such powers,” Lucien replied.
Damien was still shaking; he was so close to phasing again that his eyes still glowed a vibrant gold. “Why should I trust you?” he said through gritted teeth.
“Because I am the only one who can help you get out of this war alive.”
Damien glared at the vampire, he didn’t want to trust him; but Damien didn’t really have plan anyway. “And what do you want in return?”
Lucien sighed, like he was happy he was making some progress with Damien, “After this is all over, and you, your pack and your mate are safe, I want a treaty of peace between werewolves and vampires.”
Damien raised an eyebrow, “You’re only prince, and your father will never allow that.”
A dark look crossed Lucien’s face, “After today I will be King.”
“How so?” Damien asked, intrigued.
“Because I am going to kill him,” Lucien replied.
Damien couldn’t help the grin that broke out on his face. “That’s the best news I’ve heard all day. Now, tell me, what’s the plan?”
~
There was a knock on Luke’s door. He looked up from where he was laying and sighed. He got up, pulled on some pants and opened his door.
“What do you want?” he asked the vampire at his door.
“They’ve captured Damien, sir. The King is waiting for you in the Throne Room,” said the messenger.
Luke’s eyes widened, they captured Damien? How so? He surely didn’t hear sounds of war, and Damien wouldn’t have given in so easily. Something was not right…
“I’ll be right there,” Luke replied and closed the door.
He looked towards the blonde in this bed. She was lying absolutely still; obviously still shocked by his lovemaking skills. He looked lovingly over the bite on her neck that bound them together.
Luke walked over to her and kissed her down her neck, “I have business to attend to, love. You just relax here and I’ll be back soon.”
Her blue eyes were empty of emotion and possessed no life; she just gazed at him and then went back to staring at the ceiling. Luke smiled and got dressed and left his mate alone in their chambers. All Luke had to do now was kill Damien and he and Victoria could live a happy life together.
Luke made his way down the stairs and through the hallways to the Throne Room. There he saw his half-brother kneeling before the king and queen. His neck, wrists and ankles were all in silver chains and he had his head down, staring at the carpet.
“Who clothed him?” Luke asked no one in particular. Damien must have come in wolf form and he wouldn’t have had time to grab clothes if he’d tracked Luke down immediately after leaving Yorkie Pointe.
“I did,” answered Lucien, standing beside his father on his right side.
Leonardo clapped his son on the back, “The boy brought him in here willingly!”
“I promised him the safe release of his mate if he came to us willingly,” Lucien said.
“Bring her in!” Leonardo ordered and they brought Ali in chains the same way Damien was.
The two met eyes and tears flowed down Ali’s face. “Damien!” she yelled and tried to break free to go to him but the vampires held her back.
It was clear in Damien’s eyes that he wanted to go to her, but he promised he’d be on his best behavior, and right now he was ordered to kneel in front of the king and queen.
“Aw, look at them; so in love. Bring her over to him, let them reunite,” Leonardo said and the vampires drug Ali over to Damien. She cried into his shoulder when she was in touching distance. She ran her fingers down his face and Damien could do nothing but soak her in.
Luke watched as they whispered to each other and decided that something was still wrong. But he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. It was like the whole room was holding its breath; there was something in the air.
“Now that they’ve had their reunion… kill her,” Leonardo said simply.
“What?” Damien roared. He looked to Lucien, “You said if I came you’d let her go!”
Leonardo scoffed, “You’re dumber than I thought you were! Did you really think we were going to offer you peace? That my own son would betray and kill me? That was all a rouse to get you werewolves to believe him. I don’t know about you werewolves but vampires are loyal! And did you ever stop to think that even if we did release her, like we would keep you alive. She’d die along with you anyway.”
Damien roared and tried to fight against his restraints, vampires ambushed him, tossing their bodies on him while he fought.
“Kill him,” Leonardo said with a wave of his hand like he was bored. Luke moved out of the way of the carnage, Damien couldn’t phase with the collar on him but he was still killing vampires left and right.
“Well don’t just stand there,” Leonardo said as he was suddenly beside Luke. Luke jumped and Leonardo handed him a large silver sword, “Do your part of the deal: kill him.”
Luke took the sword and looked to his brother and walked over. He stood over the mass of bodies, looking for an opening. Leonardo appeared back in his seat beside his wife and watched the show.
With a grin he said to Hailey, “Entertaining isn’t it?”
Hailey shook her head, “I have stood beside you for centuries, Leonardo. I have watched you do terrible things, but this… this tops them all. I cannot watch it anymore.”
Hailey looked towards Lucien and he nodded to her. She gave one last look to Leonardo’s shocked face, “I love you, always remember that.”
And with that Hailey disappeared out of the Throne Room. Leonardo, slightly confused as to what was going on, turned to Luke and said, “Never knew your mother had a weak stomach.” Then he turned back to watch what was going on.
Through the bodies of people, Damien and Lucien made eye contact, he got the signal from Damien and Lucien looked to Ali who was sitting in the corner surrounded by vampires. He nodded at her and she nodded back.
Out of her pocket she pulled out a small dog whistle. She put it to her lips and blew. The vampires around her fell to their knees, the sound deafening them.
“What’s going on? What is she doing?” Leonardo exclaimed.
Then through all the madness a lone wolf howled. The sound was crisp and clear and pierced the night. The entire room fell silent as they all waited for something to happen. The vampires fighting Damien stood up and looked to the walls.
It was then that Luke realized it, “It was you!” he screamed at Lucien. “You did this! You never killed the pack; you hid them away to attack the castle!”
Leonardo looked to his son, “Is this true, Lucien?” he asked.
Lucien looked at no one in particular and didn’t answer at all when the silence was broken by the barks and growls of wolves. There were also the screams of vampires getting slaughtered by the werewolves.
A vampire rushed into the room. He was bloody and was missing an arm and his left eye, “Sir, they’re everywhere sir! Hundreds of thousands of wolves, they’re pouring out of the forests in waves that won’t stop!” Then the vampire fell to his knees and died, having delivered his last message.
“Everyone get ready for battle; and take my son prisoner for treason,” Leonardo said with a snarl. “I raised you, boy, you are my son! My own flesh and blood, how could you do this to me?” Leonardo yelled as they dragged Lucien away.
“You’re mad with power Father, and you’re evil. I intend to reign with a righteous hand, unlike you,” Lucien said.
There were bangs on the large oak doors now, the werewolves had massacred all the vampires on the outside, and they were now here to kill everyone inside the Throne Room.
“And how do you expect to reign? You inherit the throne from me!”
It was then that the doors burst opened and the room was flooded with werewolves of all sizes and colors. In the confusion that had been caused, the vampires holding Lucien got distracted and let him go.
Luke, who was standing completely mortified at how his plans had gone awry, finally snapped out of it and managed to escape the room. He dropped the silver sword and ran off leaving it.
Lucien walked over to the sword, which happened to belong to him, and held it in his hands. Around him, Damien and Ali had been released of their chains and were joining the fight, and the werewolves were dominating the vampires.
Lucien walked back over to his father and stood before him, sword out and ready for battle. “I intend to kill you, Father, for the throne; and for the good of vampires.”
Leonardo hissed angrily, “You think you can beat me boy? You’re nothing but a child compared to me! And you’re not even fully vampire. You will die where you stand!” Leonardo said as he flew towards Lucien, pulling a sword of his own.
Lucien met his father blow for blow. Honestly, he was quite surprised at the way the old man fought. It was like he was twenty again, at the vigor in which he fought.
The sounds of hissing, growls, screams and whimpers filled the air as the epic battle continued around the son trying to kill his father.
Lucien was parrying as his father spun and sliced through the air, trying to find a weakness in his son’s defense. There was a yelp from behind him and Lucien was distracted by Ali’s cry that Leonardo managed to get a blow in.
Leonardo cut Lucien on the arm so deep that it sliced through skin and went halfway through bone.
Lucien could barely keep a hold on his sword as his father stood back and shook his head, “Look at you! You can’t even defeat your poor old father. How do you expect to rule a kingdom? You’re weak Lucien, just like your mother. I knew it since you came out her womb! I should have killed you then,” he said with a sneer. “You can’t even land one blow on me; and it looks like you won’t since I’ve nearly chopped off your sword arm.”
Lucien switched the sword from his injured right hand to his good left one, “Father that just proves how much you don’t know me.”
Lucien stood up straight and lashed out at his father single-handedly. “Compassionate and weak are not the same thing!” Lucien attacked and it had his father backpedaling.
“Being part human does not make you weak!” Lucien said as he hit again and it broke Leonardo’s sword. Leonardo fell backward and was looking up at his son with fear in his eyes.
“And you don’t even know your own son, because I’m left-handed!” Lucien finished and slashed his sword downwards.
Leonardo looked up at Lucien and then looked down at his body. “You missed? You missed me at point-blank range! I knew you were an insolent-” Leonardo started but didn’t finish because he saw the blood on Lucien’s sword.
Then a thin line of blood appeared on Leonardo’s face, from his right temple to his left jaw bone. Lucien had sliced his father’s skull in two and it fell apart that way. Leonardo collapsed at his son’s feet and all war around him stopped.
Lucien made his way to the throne, where his father sat for many centuries, and lowered himself. The vampires still left standing knelt before their new king.
“From this day forward, as long as I rule, there will be peace between vampires and werewolves!” Lucien stated.
The wolves around his howled in unison and in agreement and Lucien let a small smile grace his face. It was finally over.
“You never thought it was going to be this easy, were you?” said a voice from behind him. Lucien then felt a sharp prick in his back and a burning on his neck.
Luke stood behind him, a cross pressed against Lucien’s neck and a wooden stake poised to be stabbed in his heart.
“You screwed up my plans and now I’m going to kill you; any last words?”