Fear ran even faster down his veins and he rushed towards her but before he could reached her, she stood up and side stepped him.
This wasn't the first time something like this was happening. It was always boiling down to the fact that they weren't real mates.
The Luna and Alpha Gery spoke in hushed tone at the far end of the room, while Zezi made sure to stay far away from George as much as the small room could allow. George leaned against the wall, tugging at his hair and sighing while he thought about the consequences of what he had done.
He mostly definitely didn't want to turn rogue once again.
When the Alpha and Luna were done arguing, they came back to the table.
"I will sign the deal."
There was silence.
"You will take a message to where we found the body to alert them that we are ready to submit."
Zezi nodded. She would have to go to the border of the Capital of Teeland, the Capital being where they were.
"I will go with her." George started walking towards the table.
"That will be impossible. You will be taking your sweet time in the dungeon thinking about the consequences of what you have done here today."
Before anyone could say or do anything, guards rushed into the room and bounded him with silver chains. He didn't resist but the pain that lashed across his skin made him groan loudly in pain as they dragged him away.
When he was gone, the Alpha handed Zezi a stamped message and left the room. Zezi knew that the only reason why the Alpha would chose to send George to the dungeon instead of banishing him or doing something worse was because of the Luna. So immediately he left, she turned to the Luna and thanked her.
"No problem with that at all, Zezi. How about your arm, does it hurt?"
Zezi subconsciously brush her hand against her arching arm. It did, but it was healing fast. The reason why it even hurt to begin with was because of the kind of force George, as a Beta, commanded.
"Does he do this all the time? Are you safe?"
Different images of when something like this had happened in the past flashed before her eyes and she blinked to lock the images away. She took consolation in a fact that it wasn't him, it was his beast.
"He loves him." Zezi finally said.
"Does his wolf?"
"His wolf sees me as a stranger." Before the Luna could say anymore, Zezi added. "We have been together for years. What matters is that he loves me."
The Luna nodded, backing down. "I will just go and get Mira while you send the message."
"That won't be necessary, Luna. She is with Aunt Alice and I won't be gone for long."
The Luna started leaving. She was always one for white silky gowns and even as she parted, the moonlight from the window seemed to shone upon her. "If you want to see him before you leave..."
"I don't." Zezi smiled, thanking her. "I will on my way now."
***
That night, Zize had sent the message. When she got back, George had been released from the dungeon. He apologized to her for his behavior, just like he had done everytime something like that had happened. They both knew it was something he couldn't control yet it didn't change the fact that it hurt.
They got a message from the Vampire King again. This time, it wasn't a body. Maybe because of their intention to surrender was now clear. They found the letter stuck with an arrow on one of the trees around the Capital's border.
The message was about the Vampire King and some of his kind coming to the Capital to sign and finalize the deal. Everyone was uneasy. The Alpha had already made announcement about what was happening and they knew that once that deal was signed nothing would be the same again. The vampires were cruel creatures, fearless too. They were immortals, they had no life to protect, only their souls.
The havoc their kind had wreaked on the world were fearful tales that would be forever remembered.
The pack was unusually quiet as they waited in anticipation for the arrival of their doom. Yet they knew it was better this way, better this way than the war.
When the Vampires arrived, their presence brought with them a sense of dread. The Alpha and Luna had been the one to welcome them. They tried hard not to show fear in order to reassure the rest of the pack.
If deals were to be signed between packs, it would usually take place in the Alpha's office but this time around, they decided to use the little hall in the pack house. Each kind taking a side. There were warriors at the werewolves table, everyone was at alert. A sharp contrast to the calmness at the Vampire's table. They looked calm and in control, something that should be odd considering the fact that they were just five.
Their King sat at the middle, two woman at either of his sides and other two men at the the other sides.
The hall was a beautiful one, filled with beautiful light and an heavenly scent that seemed to struggle with the aura of death the vampires carried along with them.
Not knowing what to do, Alpha Gery rose up to address everyone. "We are here today..."
"Cut the formality, I don't have time to waste." The Vampire King's voice cut him short. There was something sharp and cold about his voice, commanding even. He signalled to one of the men at the end of his table and the man stood up with a scroll in his hand.
"Your delay has caused me to review my terms, Gery."
Alpha Gery gritted his teeth at the disrespect. It hurt more that he was powerless. The way they came little in number showed how confident they were in their strength, what hurt most about it was that they were right.
One of the Vampires went across the hall and placed the new scroll before Gery, then he went back to take his seat.
Gery clenched and unclenched his fists as he read through the scroll. He flung it aside and slammed his fists on the table.
"That is just too much!"
The Vampire King was unfazed, he watched the furious Alpha through bored eyes.
"Is that so?"
George reached across the table quickly to see what the new term was. Anger clouded his eyes immediately but he knew better than to speak.
"I cannot allow you to turn 500 of my pack members by tomorrow night." Gery chest was raising and falling in anger.
The King stared back at him with a raised eyebrow.
Gery pressed his lips together then he spoke through clenched teeth, like what he said next was driving a dagger to his heart.
"They won't survive it."
"What does it matter?"
Gery clenched his fist tightly against the table. This was just too much for him! He could hear Sky say something to him through their mind link but he couldn't exactly make out what it was but he knew she wanted him to be calm so that he could think straight. They all needed that from him right now.
"The deal is that we surrender to you, you will be our King and we pay a certain quota of everything we get to you every month. The quota we are to meet is already ridiculous."
Something ticked in the King's jaw. "Then I believe we are done here."
Like as if on cue, they all stood up immediately, turning away from the table.
It didn't need to be spelt out, everyone knew that once they step out of the hall it meant only one thing.
There would be a full blown war.
Not like the one they had been battling for some months but one that would happen once and for all. They also knew that they wouldn't survive it.
"I beg you to reconsider." Gery forced himself to say.
The King's eyes flickered to one of the women by his side, the slightly taller and rigid looking one, she nodded lightly. Her movement was so small that it could have almost been missed.
They all settled down and Gery let out a sigh of relief. At that moment, Zezi rushed in, her boots making a muffled sound against the tiled floor. Eyes turned towards her before she scurried to the seat next to George and they looked away.
"Where have you been?" George whispered to her.
"Mira." Feeling uneasy, she patted her hands on her grey uniform. "What have I missed?"
George passed her the scroll and when she read it, she was angry too. This was insanity! Werewolves and vampires were two different kinds and turning them was a slim chance of survival. It was more or less like saying they wanted 500 pack members dead by tomorrow night. They had already lost so many pack members during this war already.
"480 then." Zezi heard a calm, sharp voice say and her eyes flew to the direction of whoever said it.
It was the man seated at the center of the table. He had a sharp jawline, a crown that sat gloriously on his jet-black hair. He was quite muscular and he looked like a godly sculptor in his blood-red robe. The more she looked at him, the more she felt uneasy. There was just something about him that she couldn't put her finger on.
Something about him felt so different and dangerous.
"I beg you to reconsider." She heard her Alpha say, frustrated. It looked like there was no head way in the argument. "I have already done that and I say 480." The uneasiness set in again in Zezi's veins. It was like there was something about his voice that made her feel strange, something that drove her to a certain edge that she couldn't explain."I will give you more territories." The Alpha said in defeat and the Luna looked at him sharply. Everyone did but he didn't look back at them. "All territories." The King started point blank and silence settled across the hall.The first deal had left only five small packs under the Gery's command. Unless he was willing to sacrifice the lives of 480 werewolves, then he would have to surrender totally to the King. He was caught in a tough place and he knew it.George looked up at the Alpha and he knew he was considering it. He swallowed a lump in his throat, he might have been wrong about Gery after all. Maybe he did deserved to be the Al
When she got to the First Borderline, the warriors had found it a little strange. Why would the Alpha send the Zeta here if they were meant to sign a deal to put an end to the bloodshed? Yet they had seen the stamped pass and they couldn't question any further. Besides, she was the Zeta, the war general, fourth in the rank of power. Too much questioning was a challenge to her authority. While Zezi settled in the tent that they had built up for her, different thoughts kept running across her mind.Maybe she had been wrong. Maybe he didn't know they were mates. Something about the way he looked at her made her feel like he hadn't known, like he had mistaken it to be some passing feeling.Yet a part of her told her that was just wishful thinking and she very well knew it. Or maybe he did know and he decided he didn't want her, an enemy just as she had decided that she didn't want him. Something told her that was impossible but she prayed with all her heart for it to be that. She drea
Zezi hid behind another tree, her senses alert. She was listening attentively for any movement. It had been two days or maybe even more she couldn't really tell. She was running out of supplies and she had left behind her weapons at the tent when she fled. Her eyes ached from lack of sleep and she was sure she must stink. It had been a while since she had a bath and she hadn't come across any river yet, neither had it rained. She couldn't waste the water she had with her on her body, she was reserving that for her thirst. She ran to the next tree and laid her back flatly against it. She bit her lips to stop herself from crying. She felt so cold and alone. She missed her daughter and her husband, yet she knew she couldn't go back. If she did, she wouldn't be able to stay. He would take her away, she would be forced to leave with the enemy. She was certain that with the Alpha, knowing everything now, would have drawn up another bargain that involved her. But could she blame him? It
"How is Mira?""She is fine. Aunt Alice is doing a great job.""I--I had no choice. I had to leave."It was quiet, like he wouldn't say anything in return. It got to a point that she was starting to doubt if he had even heard her."You should have told me.""I just...""I know we are not true mates but we love each other, don't we?"Zezi furrowed her eyebrows at that question, "Where is this coming from? This thing about not being true mates? We chose each other, George. Of course, we love each other."He stood up then, pacing in front of her before he stopped abruptly."Is it true? I have to hear it from you. I don't care how it must seem to everyone else, if you just say it isn't, then I will discard all the thoughts I have been coming up with. We will go back there right now and tell them that the Vampire King is nuts."His eyes looked like they carried weights of sadness. The way his shoulders slumped showed how hard it was for him to keep up with all of these. He pushed his hair
"He stopped Alice when she was about to leave the pack and seized your daughter."George didn't respond, he didn't know what to say."There is more.""More?!""Like I said, it isn't the pack against you anymore. He has sent the rest of his kind back to his Empire. He is giving us a day to give Zezi to him. If we don't, he will kill Mira and every single one of us."George heart raced at that thought. Fear wasn't always something he entertained but even his wolf that was full of ego and pride about his abilities knew when there was a challenge that they couldn't take down. His wolf was shouting at him for being stupid. Zezi wasn't even his mate. Why must he risk his life like this for her? He was shouting back in his mind that she was his, just like he was hers and being true mates didn't matter.When it came to Zezi, there were many things that he and his wolf never agreed on. Like what she truly meant to him.Alpha Gery's voice snapped him out of his internal battle."I know you co
The voice cut through the office.Dark, sharp, cold and absolutely daring. Just like that day in the hall. George gnashed his teeth, staying still while anger drummed in his head.She was his! His!No, she is not. His wolf snapped at him. He heard Zezi call him quickly, like she was afraid of what would happen if he didn't step away."George..."The King was there, still looking at them calmly but the tightness in his jaws showed just how hard he was trying to still have the reigns of control."Take your hands off her."George stood up abruptly. A sudden fear had crawled over him. He felt cold. He immediately grabbed Mira and carried her in his arms. Before Zezi could stand, she felt a cold hand tight around her wrist while she staggered to her feet. It happened so fast.She was just kneeling on the floor right there a moment ago and now, here she was by his side. He was fast, faster than they were. So fast that her sight had blurred for a moment. It was only then she noticed the
He started walking away then and she had no choice but to follow, his hand was still firm around her wrist. He turned back abruptly making her almost walk into him."You know, you should always clean up after your meal, Laura. You still act like such a child."Zezi turned quickly. She saw it then, blood just around Laura's lips. How had she missed it?She tried hard to maintain her breathing. Every moment here reminded her about how much of a monster they were.Laura's tongue slithered out to lick it away and she smiled blatantly at him. Like whatever made her terrified of him moments ago had disappeared into thin air."Well, I do that because you always look out for me. Don't you, brother?"B-brother?! They were siblings! Zezi sighed in defeat. How was she going to easily escape if there were no jealous lover(s).to aid and abet her plans?They soon resumed what was starting to seem like a journey to her room. They finally came to a door at the end of the hallway. In haste to get awa
The words jammed into her head and her throat dried up immediately. This just couldn't be happening to her.Gwen looked around, a little lost in the moment."It was supposed to be tomorrow but things happen anyway. Soon enough all these decorations will be gone."Gone?"What do you mean gone?"Gwen snapped her lips shut. It was like as if she was chastising herself in her head for saying too much. Then she started a reluctant speech to get herself out of the mess she was tangled up in."The King was supposed to get married tomorrow but you are here now so..." She shrugged and chuckled nervously.So there would indeed be a jealous lover to help her after all!"To who?"Gwen sigh uncomfortably, "will it be alright for you to know that? I mean, you won't be angry? You know this thing between mates, it can snap at...""I will be perfectly fine. Who was it?"It took Gwen a moment of internal debate before she finally answered, "Lady Delice."Zezi nodded slowly. So there was indeed someth