---Lucius POV---
Shadows flocked around me, completely enveloping me with a nonchalant flick of my wrist. Within the blink of an eye, the scenery changed from the ruins of the stronghold to the entrance towards my home. I glanced at the castle in the distance broodingly, angry that I couldn’t find what I wanted.
My feet carried me through the gate and along the winding trail without a conscious thought. Where was she? I knew that with my second visit to that stronghold that Kale as obviously dead, his hunters killed or dispersed. And no sign of that soulshifter…
“Good evening sir. I trust that your search has gone well?” I stopped midstride, slowly raising my head to glare at the vampire that halted me. He must have sensed my mood because his eyes were downcast while he brushed his palms against his jeans.
“A-apologies my lord, it’s not my place.” It pleased me that he knew his place after all. My mind flicked through the possible options but then again, it was rather hard to keep your mansion functioning without the vampires there to support it.
“Cleary it isn’t.” I snapped, causing the male servant to back away slightly. An irritated growl escaped my throat while I continued my walk, the lesser vampire following behind me. “For your sake, I hope that you can remind your place in the future.”
“Y-y-yes-s, m-my Lord.” He managed to stutter, his voice a little more squeaky then before, creating a satisfied smile on my face. I nodded curtly. “Good. Now, where is my Beloved?”
A snap of my fingers threw the large wooden doors open, revealing the large staircase that was etched in marble, priceless artifacts placed on shelves on the walls and a small view of countless chambers along the way. I halted when the youngster still hasn’t answered my question.
Raising my eyebrow the slightest bit, I noticed that he was looking extremely nervous, fidgeting with the keys attached to a chain on his jeans. “Well…” I drawled slowly.
The young male swallowed harshly and looked up, his eyes dark from his bloodlust. My servants would only be fed if I allowed them to and if they deserved it. “She’s staring out of the windows of the inner yard again sir. I’ve heard her mumble something along the lines of freedom and suppressed, my lord.”
Without a second thought, I reached out and grasped the edge of his shirt, pulling him of his feet. He clamped his hands around my wrist, holding on without trying to aggravate me any further. “Anything else?” I hissed, glaring at him.
The blond vampire shook his head unnaturally fast and lowered his hands in defeat. “No sir, Milady asked to be left alone and you’ve commanded that we should listen to your Beloveds wishes, except her wish for freedom.”
I closed my eyes and growled deeply before I released the man. He landed on the floor with a groan and I walked away from him. “You’re dismissed…and you can feed.” Just before I walked up the stairs, I glanced back at the slave. “And make sure there’s a blood slave in my chambers before you indulge yourself. I’m rather thirsty and not in the mood to be trifled with.”
“Of course, my lord. Yes, my lord.” He said before disappearing from my sight. I rolled my eyes at his last words. Kiss ass.
I passed several chambers, all emanating the same, expensive aura but I ignored the classy environment. Instead, I was looking for my Beloved, my most prized collection. A smirk slipped on my face when I remembered the day that I found her.
My coven had just exiled me, stating that I was an abomination because I gave in to my bloodlust. I had been running through the forest, brooding and ticked off when I came across the remains of a forest fire.
In the center of the forest, which was completely burnt to ash, laid a young woman, seemingly untouched by the flames. As soon as I spotted her, I knew that she had to be mine. So, without a doubt, I had claimed her as mine, not even waiting for the moment that she gained consciousness.
My feet stopped again and I looked up, a smirk pulling at the edges of my lips. I had reached the inner yard, the only place where my Beloved was allowed to roam free. She was sitting under a small gazebo, the roof of it littered with small red or white flowers. Bleeding hearts, I believed.
Her pitch-black hair flowed down over her stylish dress, in sharp contrast with her fair, flawless skin. Her slender fingers were playing with the star-shaped necklace while she stared longingly out of the window.
She had been this way for the last hundred years or so, always ignoring me to the best of her abilities because she couldn’t change me. I wanted to snort at that; She thought of me as a monster that had swept her away, hiding her from her True soul mate, a collector that came across something rare.
A smirk slid over my face; it was close enough to the truth.
I made my presence known by harshly shutting the door behind me, slightly jolting her before she turned to look at me. Her deep green eyes wore a blank expression, hiding her true feelings while she turned her upper body in my direction.
“My lord.”
A snort escaped my mouth before I took a step closer to her. “My lord? That’s all you can come up with? My heart’s desire would be nice…” I drawled, leaning against the gazebo while I held my eyes on her. She looked away at the heart’s comment and I scowled.
“Forgive me for being rude, Lucius, but I never wanted this. You picked me but I never chose you.” She stated, shooting me a glare from under her eyelashes. I hissed threateningly and reached forward, digging my fingers in my invisible mark.
“You’re mine now, Peyton Fawna Barker, whether you want it or not. My poison ran through your veins. I changed you. You bare my mark.” I hissed, tipping her head up so she was forced to look me in the eye. Her eyes sparked up at her middle name and I smiled grimly. “You miss your other form, don’t you?”
Peyton didn’t reply, instead only reached out to trace her finger over the delicate flowers, hanging over the edge. A low growl rumbled through me while I clenched and unclenched my hands before my hand lashed out again, clasping her chin tightly.
Tilting my own head slightly to the side, I leaned in and whispered, “Fine, you have my permission to shift into your fox, occasionally. But it comes with a price…” I added, loosening my hold and trailing my hand over her neckline. My eyes darkened considerably when she kept her eyes downcast, although they have shown a glimmer of hope.
“Forget the fact that you have a True mate and accept me.” Her eyes lit up by anger, her fists slowly clenching but she didn’t comment. “Go feed.” I drawled darkly before I turned around.
She wouldn’t have to be alone…as soon as I could get my hands on that soulshifter, Paige…she’d have company and I’d have a new toy…as well as a new blood source. A cruel smile slipped on my lips before I linked to my generals.
“Prepare our best trackers. I want every bit of information about any remaining soul-shifters, as soon as possible. Break into the hunter files if you have to!”
“Yes, Milord! One of our informants in Rio has already reported that the hunters are researching the disappearance of that Kale figure.” Roark answered politely. He was one of my most trusted generals and I smiled contently. “Good. Keep me informed.” I said before breaking the link when I arrived in the royal wing of the mansion; my chambers.
Time to feed…
My ears picked up the wavering, erratic heartbeat coming from my chambers and I smirked, my whole demeanor became more predator like while I slowly opened the door, enjoying the fact that the waves of fear were flowing through the room while bare footsteps scurried away.
“Come out, come out, wherever you are…” I drawled slowly, shutting the door behind me before locking it with a loud click. The heartbeats accelerated even more while I inhaled deeply. My mouth tugged in a crooked smile when I heard and smelled the blood slave around my bedroom.
“You know…we can do this easy or very easy…Easy; you’re coming out and reveal yourself…” I trailed off while I carelessly shoved my shoes out and lost my jacket. “Or real easy. Let’s be honest, I can almost dance on the tone of your heartbeat.”
Waiting for a few seconds, the slave didn’t move an inch, so I sighed slightly, shaking my head a bit. “Ah well, I warned you… I do love this game.” I said before appearing behind the scared girl, who was hiding behind the locked door of my bedroom, causing her to scream loudly.
---Damon’s POV---
I scrubbed my face slightly, feeling tired as hell. The light of the small spotlight above the desk bounced back on the white papers scattered across it, making my eyes hurt even more. A sudden movement in the corner of the room made me jolt up with a snarl before I blinked a couple of times.
“Ugh, sorry Jack.” I groaned, rubbing the back of my neck slightly to ease the crack in it. Jack slowly lowered his hands while he shook his head with a chuckle. “Still running around for her cravings?” he laughed softly while coming closer. A warm smile slipped over my face while I nodded, thinking about my mate. Adrianna… She was due in a few weeks but neither of us wanted to know the gender of our pup…or pups.
Jack patted me on my shoulder before he looked at the paperwork in front of me. “Man, you’re still working for the pack’s defenses? Do you know what time it is?” He asked, his expression a mix between shocked and amused. I blinked, trying to remember how to open my eyes again. “Uh…” I scratched the light stubble on my jaw, thinking about it.
“I’d say… just about midnight?” My sentence came out like a question and Jack smirked slightly, shaking his head in a fake-sad expression. “It’s 3.54 am dude. Get some sleep before you’re needed for pack duties.” I groaned slightly before I nodded. Waving a hand at the paperwork, I mumbled, “It’s just…hunters…new arrivals…”
Jack laughed a bit and pushed me out of the door. “Go to sleep, you’re making no sense at all. Sleep in, I’ll ask Emilie if she keeps me company for a bit so we can look at these ‘new arrivals’.” I growled half-heartedly before I stumbled out of the office and up the stairs towards my room.
I wanted to drop myself in bed but thought against it and softly lowered myself, wrapping an arm around my mate. Adrianna turned around, squeezing her baby-bump between us while she smiled softly. “Worked late again?” I nodded and peaked through one eye. “Don’t wake me before I look human again?”
Adrianna giggled softly while I pulled her closer and she pecked me on the lips. “Deal.” She whispered. I didn’t answer; I was already asleep.
----------
A set of soft lips brushed over my face. I groaned lightly and pulled my mate in bed with me, causing her to laugh and giggle while I snuggled up to her. “Where do you think you’re going?” I asked sleepily, lazily opening one eye to look at her. Adrianna just smiled and kissed me again. “Just waking this lazy guy up.” She teased, showing me her toothy grin.
I chuckled lightly and rolled so I hovered over her. “Oh, really? Do I have to go to this guy and threaten him to stay the hell away from my mate?” A wicked smile appeared on my face while I rested my weight on my arms, looking down at her.
Adrianna shook her head slightly. “Nah, he’s way too protective, he’d put you in your place.” A smirk appeared on her face while she nuzzled my neck slightly. “But that’s what I love about him.” I growled lowly while I returned the affection before I rolled back off her and got out of bed.
Walking to the bathroom, I could feel her heated gaze on my naked body. “Want to join me?” I smirked, looking over my shoulder to see her blush. I wasn’t surprised when I heard her follow me to the shower.
---Jack’s POV---
I smiled while I gazed over the paperwork towards Emilie. Although she was human, she was pulling her weight in this pack. Her finger was brushing over the line she was reading before she encircled something with the pen in her hand.
“Ever since we’ve rescued Paige, there were no signs of hunters close by…and now, we’ve had several sightings within days.” She looked up at me with worry in her eyes before she pushed the numbers and sightings towards me. I frowned slightly while I leaned my head in the palm of my head, staring at the red numbers.
Four hunters on Friday, eight of then Saturday and by Sunday evening there were no less then twenty hunters, all traveling between the former strongholds and hideouts. I felt my mate beside me and wrapped my arm around her while I gave her a kiss on her forehead. “Good job Em. Don’t worry love, we’ll be fine.”
Emilie nodded but looked away from the paperwork, the evidence of the growing horde of hunters seemed to scream out from the paper. I started rubbing soothing circles on her hip while my frown deepened. “Alpha? We might have a problem on our hands…”
“The hunters?” Luke sighed deeply while I stood up and gathered the paperwork together. “Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to let those youngsters out in a wild goose chase…” he trailed off while I shook my head. Emilie smiled at me and frowned slightly in concentration.
“Can I speak?” she asked, much to mine and Luke’s surprise before I shook the surprise of and kissed her on the cheek, smiling proudly that she could handle the mind link, knowing that it was more straining for her.
“Go ahead.” Luke said, his voice polite, hinting a bit of curiosity. Emilie grinned widely, making me smile as well before she said, “Well sir, it’s better that they are out there now. If the hunters would go after Paige’s parents, they could have a hold on our pack. What Paige and Jacob are doing now, is eradicating a possible problem before it has even started.”
I stared at my mate while me wolf glowed with pride. “That’s our mate.” He purred while I nuzzled her neck lovingly. Emilie leaned into the touch while I could hear Luke think about it. Finally, he responded, “You’re right Emilie. They could have tried to frame our new Luna by using her parents as bait. And, more importantly, their race is to rare and valuable to risk.”
Hearing footsteps coming down while another pair slowly followed behind, I turned around and nodded at Damon, who had just lowered Adrianna back to her feet. Adrianna smiled but looked a bit green. Emilie slipped out of my grasp, much to my disappointment and waved her hands in the air.
“Oh honey, you okay? You look like you’re going too-“ Before Emilie had finished speaking, Adrianna had shifted on the spot. Emilie yelped slightly, causing me to growl in her defense while I appeared behind her, wrapping my arms around her protectively.
Damon looked down at his mate in shock before he smiled slightly. My wolf noticed the reason of the sudden shift and we both relaxed while I grinned widely. “Congrats mate, now it’s just counting down.” I said, patting Damon on the back while all of us stared at Adrianna’s black and grey wolf, which looked very pregnant.
I felt the confusion coming from my mate while she muttered, “I don’t get it.” Pulling her closer, I leaned my chin on her shoulder while I explained, “The last stages of werewolf pregnancy are the hardest because the pups grow at a rapid pace. The female will shift at a certain stage and will stay in wolf-form until the day of birth.”
“Oh.” Emilie said, her confusion disappearing before her face fell again. I frowned while trying to make something of the emotions that flashed through our bond. Amazement, hope, joy, pain, all flashed by before my wolf took over.
“What’s wrong love?” Emilie didn’t reply, she just spun around and buried her face in my chest. “What does that mean for us?” she whispered, her voice breaking off several times. Just like that, I understood and soothingly rubbed over her back while I placed soft kisses on her face.
“Don’t worry Em. It isn’t like you fear.” She looked up at me, her eyelashes wet with her tears and her lip quivering. I sighed and brushed them away with my lips. “If a wolf bonds with a human, we can ‘turn’ them if we want to keep them…forever.” Emilie pulled back a bit to look at me in wonder.
“Then why did you never mention this?” she pouted, causing me to sigh again. “It just never came up. If you want to be with me, forever and want to carry my pups, then we’ll have to mate on the next full moon. We’ll both have to mark each other during the mating to bind your wolf to your soul. But Em.” I cupped her face in my hands, searching her face.
“There’s no turning back once we’ve done that. If you don’t want me, if-“ She interrupted me by kissing me deeply. I was stunned for a moment before I reacted, deepening the kiss and forgetting everything around me.
A throat was being cleared while we heard a barking laughter. “Save it for the bedroom, will you?” Damon smirked. I laughed while Emilie blushed furiously in my arms. “I will.” I smirked, earning myself a playful slap from Emilie. Laughing again, I wiggled my eyebrows at her, making her laugh too.
“Okay you pups, knock it off.” Luke said while he came in, softly smiling at us. Isabella walked in close after him, running straight forwards to envelop my mate in a warming hug. “Oh honey, it would be wonderful if you’d become wolf. Hmm, I think you might be a reddish brown wolf…or a somewhat golden one, like Damon…”
My wolf purred at the thought of being able to go on a run with his mate. We both thought that Emilie was perfect this way, she didn’t need to change at all. But if we both wanted pups…if she really wanted me…
Damon clapped his hands, snapping us out of it. “Well, sorry to break this moment, but I belief that Alpha Luke has requested that we contact Paige and the others?” he said, looking at Luke for reassurance. Luke nodded before he motioned towards the living room. “John and Katherine are waiting for us so they can hear her and their son.”
Emilie smiled a bit and wrapped her hand around mine before she nearly pulled me to a seat. I laughed when she pushed me down, pulling on her arm to drag her on my lap. She squealed a bit before we all calmed down and closed our eyes, focusing on our bond with Paige and the others.
“Jacob? Time to report son.” Luke sent out, while the rest of us waited in silence. The silence continued for a moment while I felt Luke’s confusion before we felt a female replying.
“Sorry, the almighty Alpha’s son is busy guiding us in circles. What? You are, Jacob!”
All of us chuckled at Paige’s reply while we heard Jacob growl deeply. Even the vampires’ amusement was clear but they remained silent.
“For the last time Paige, we are NOT LOST!” Jacob growled. Paige just snorted and sent us an image of a welcome sign that said, ”Welcome to Thunder Bay.” I snorted before laughter broke through; I was shaking Emilie from laughing too hard. Damon joined in but he wasn’t as quiet about it.
“Damn Jacob, you know you’re supposed to go towards the Northwest territories, since there are the first sightings, right?” He snickered through the link, slapping his thigh in amusement.
“ I KNOW!” Jacob snarled towards Damon, irritation dripping from his voice. Luke chuckled a bit before he calmed everyone down. “Jacob, you’re going the wrong way. You’re running north-east, while you should be going north-west.”
“Dumbass.” Nick snorted slightly, followed by laughter from Tyler, Amy and Paige. Jacob growled lowly but had no other choice then to admit that they were lost. At that moment, one of the vampires, Cary or Cian, spoke up.
“Why don’t we lead the way till we’re back on track? Our senses will guide us to the right direction…”
A loud growl resounded before Jacob slowly asked, “If that’s so then why did you never say that I was going the wrong way?” A vision of Cary shrugging while the group turned around filled our heads. “It was all pretty amusing.”
We laughed with the others while Jacob grumbled incoherently. Paige laughed before she said “Everything is fine over here. We’ve got no problems, except some misguidance…” she said, pointedly looking over her shoulder at Jacob, who growled lightly.
“Uh, let’s see… Tyler and Amy turned out to be mates and they finally accepted each other…” The pack cheered and hollered at that while we saw Amy and Tyler through Paige’s eyes when she turned her head to look at them. They were running side by side, sharing looks with each other.
“And Sean has become a sort of body guard of mine. The others seem to think that I’d be the main target if we would be attacked.” Paige finished, her tone slightly irritated, causing several of us to chuckle while Katherine let out a relieved sigh.
Suddenly, we heard a series of growls coming through the link, followed by the groups’ nerves that flared up. “Oh, just great.” Paige muttered while Luke and Damon asked, “What is it?”
A moment of silence was the only answer, creating high levels of tension in the room, especially when Paige replied, “It seems that the local pack doesn’t like trespassers. Especially if a stubborn male is growling at the Alpha for looking at me. Got to go and fix this mess guys. See yah!”
---Paige’s POV---
I quickly cut off the link and focused on the brown wolves that fanned out of the forest, growling at us when Jacob growled at their leader. I nipped at Jacob’s hind legs with a snarl beginning in my throat. “Cut it out! We’re on their territory, not the other way around!”
The Alpha, a large silver wolf, looked at me with a calculating expression, his brows raised while he stared at our mixed group. His eyes flickered back to the vampires, who were assessing the treat, with their eyes flicking back and forth over the wolves. He retreated in the woods before coming back in his human form, tying up a pair of shorts.
Jacob growled lowly while he took a protective stance in front of me, hiding me from view. I rolled my eyes and nipped at his fur, only causing him to growl softly at me. Nick stood beside me, shaking his head and making a show of looking at me, then at Jacob and rolling his eyes around. A chuckle escaped my throat before I looked back at the local Alpha, who was looking at the exchange. I glanced at the others, keeping my posture relaxed and non-threatening, the opposite of the stubborn male beside me.
“Well, who’s gonna do the talking?” I asked while looking around. The vampires smiled wryly while Nick said, “It’s better if you or Jacob would; they wouldn’t belief a vampire, since they’re not the same species and with this kind of encounters, the highest ranking wolves would speak up.”
I sighed slightly, knowing that Jacob wasn’t in any condition to talk, politely in any way, I turned my head and yanked the clothes off my hind leg. It was a habit that I’ve learned from the others; it was nice to wear some non-revealing clothes, especially in front of strangers.
Clutching the clothes in my mouth, I looked at the Alpha before I threw my head up and pointed my muzzle towards the tree line behind us. He nodded slowly and I trotted away, lifting my tail up while I disappeared in the shrubs.
I appeared again a few seconds later, picking some leaves and twigs from my hair before I smoothed down my clothes. As soon as I looked up, I fixed my stare at the Alpha, daring him with my eyes to question my position. While we were assessing each other, I took a moment to take his appearance in.
He was muscular; broadly build while he crossed his arms in front of his chest. I snorted at the six-pack on display, my wolf purring proudly that our mate had an eight-pack. Jacob must have caught onto that bit of information because his growl changed tone while he shot me a look with darkening eyes.
I shot him a wink and pulled my lips in a mischievous grin before I looked back at the black haired male and raised my eyebrow slightly; he was more then a little bit of interested in me.
“That look is not appreciated.” I said shortly, still staying polite when his eyes dragged down on my body, in a way that any male would do while fantasizing about the female in question. Jacob growled lowly at my side, causing the Alpha to snap out of it.
“Trespassing our lands isn’t appreciated either.” He snapped, causing me to raise both eyebrows before I moved my weight on my left leg, placing one hand on my hip.
“My name is Paige Walker, I’m the future Luna of my pack. My mate here,” I said while waving at Jacob, who grinned widely when he noticed that the other Alpha’s face fell at the mentioning of a mate, “Is Jacob, future Alpha and son of Luke, Alpha of the Davis pack? They are friends with the Jackson pack.”
The unknown Alpha’s eyes widened, as did some of his fellow pack mates. They have obviously recognized both of the pack names. He nodded slowly whilst stepping forward. “My apologies for my rather rude greeting. My name is Enrique, Alpha of the Hernandez pack.”
I nodded again while Jacob stepped forwards, brushing his fur against my side. Hopefully, this alpha wouldn’t ask for an explanation because if he did, we would either have to lie or tell the truth. And I didn’t know which of the options was the best one.
“We didn’t mean to trespass, we were only passing through. Sadly, we had lost our bearings and were traveling the wrong way.” Enrique nodded again, rubbing his hand over his chin while he thought for a while. His packs’ wolves were looking back at him, communicating back and forth until his eyes landed back on us, a sudden glint shining in them.
Oh-oh.
“What is the purpose of this passing through? It is extremely rare that the future Alpha and Luna are away from their pack.”
I looked at Jacob while he glanced up at me.
Ah crap. How were we going to get out of this?
And a new chapter :)
So, Lucius is still alive and up to no good. And his Beloved... well, you've seen it for yourselves.
What do you guys think?
Vote, Comment,....