"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 Alpha because here he was about to give away the little that was left of his authority and power to save 480 lives.
"Fine." The word pushed pass his teeth. He knew the implication of his agreement, once he signs that deal he would be nothing, just a mere werewolf. He would be reduced to nothing.
He felt his Luna's hands on his, holding him tightly so that he could understand he was not alone. Zezi and George shared worried glances before looking away.
Then the signing began. Agreements upon agreements about different packs under Alpha Gery's command.
When it was Alpha Gery's turn to pass a scroll to the Vampire King, he signalled to Zezi who took it and went to the other side of the hall where the vampires were seated. She took a quick note of everyone who sat at the table, their gazes were empty and they all looked pale. When she got to the King, she tried hard to keep her head down. She put the scroll forward and he took it but his cold hand had mistakenly brush against hers. Immediately, fire lit in her veins. She looked up instinctively only to see that he was looking at her already.
She got lost in his eyes then, feeling trapped in a spell that she couldn't resist. It was like as if she could suddenly see all the different emotions he buried behind them. Her breath caught in her throat and she gulped.
He looked away then, his eyes on the mark etched firmly into her neck. His black eyes turned a shade darker and his jaw tightened. Then he blinked and just like that, it was all gone. He was cold again, unreadable, like whatever she had seen happen hadn't happened at all.
She blinked in confusion then turned away, resuming back to her side of the table. No one seemed to have noticed anything being admissed.
She sat down, visibly shaken. George put his arms behind her and whispered something to her but she couldn't hear. She looked up at where the King was again but he was going through the scrolls, his eyes focused on them.
She felt so confused and dazed, the rate at which her heart was racing didn't let her think straight. She felt George lean in and whisper something to her ears, his lips brushing it lightly. He looked up at her then, cold emotionless eyes staring at her across the hall before he looked away yet again, his eyes set on the scroll.
She stood up abruptly, gave an excuse that she didn't even know if it sounded right then dashed out of the hall. She could feel him looking at her but she didn't look back.
What had just happened had to be some mistake. She was a lone wolf, there was no way she could ever have a mate and even if by some chance the moon goddess decided to change that, there was no way it would be a vampire.
Vampires and werewolves were not mates, they were enemies, enemies that boiled down to the very root of history.
***
Zize pulled down her bags that she had been packing three nights before. Tears rushed down her eyes, she didn't know what to do. With shaky hands she grabbed her clothes and folded them hazardously into the bag.
She could hear the worried voice of her daughter in her head, remembering what she had said the night she wanted to leave but she pushed it to the back of her mind. She needed to leave, she had to do this.
She was really greatful that Aunt Alice had Mira with her. She wouldn't have known what to do if they were still here, she wouldn't have known what to tell them, what to tell George. How would she say it?
How could she tell anyone that the Vampire King everyone dreaded, everyone including her hated, was her mate? There must have been some mistake. Mates don't happen between the two kinds. What was the meaning of this? She had already lived with the fact that she would never have a mate and built a family. Why now? Why him?
She zipped up the pack, ready to leave. She needed that pass though, the one that the Alpha had sent to her through George three nights ago. Her heart ached that she would be breaking her promise but she knew that if she stayed, she would be risking too much. He must know that they were mates too and she wasn't quite sure if he was the type to take having a mate seriously. He wasn't an easy man to read and there wasn't so much she could get from his blank eyes.
Too many thoughts were running through her mind. She finally found the pass in the pocket of one of George's pair of trousers. She tucked it into her own pocket. Without any more hesitation she dashed into the garage, flung her bag into the backseat of the car and in no time, her hands were on the wheels. She swirled out if the garage, her mind in a gaze then suddenly she stumped her feet on the brakes and the car screeched to an halt.
What was she doing? Was she really going to leave? Her daughter, her family, everything she ever had.
Would she really leave everything behind?
Could she do that?
***
Back in the hall, the King watched the scroll blankly once again before he looked up at the werewolves. Their tensed faces etched into his memory, then he looked at the empty seat at the end of the table and he nodded lightly.
"Where is your Zeta?"
They all looked at the King confused. Alpha Gery was the first to speak. "Off for important matters."
A lot of thinking was going on in the King's head, his eyes seemed to have turned a shade darker too.
"What..." he dropped the scroll in the scroll on the table, the small movement echoed across the silent room. He was fighting with a force that was more than him and fighting this was difficult. "...matters?"
George didn't like the possessive tone he used. There was something oddly farmiliar yet so strange about it and he didn't like it one bit. This King could poke his nose into the packs' business but Zezi shouldn't be one of it.
When Alpha Gery spoke again, it was obvious that he felt uneasy by the close questioning.
"I'm afraid we can't discuss that, it is pack issues and has nothing to do with this."
"It does. Turns out your Zeta is my mate and I think she just fled." He looked icily at the Alpha then, "Find her."
Silence casted across the hall and before anyone could do anything, George bolted out through the door. He had suspected that something was wrong but there was no way he could have suspected this.
It was impossible! He told himself over and over again. Vampires and werewolves could never be mates. Besides, Zezi was a lone wolf. She wasn't destined to have a mate. Wasn't that how they had ended up together in the first place?
This was just impossible.
When he got back home, he ran into the house shouting her name.
"Zezi?! The Bloodsucker's King is saying some really stupid things!"
The house felt empty. His voice echoed back to him softly and his eyes slowly became glassy. If Zezi had indeed fled then it would mean things, things he didn't want to be true.
He ran to the garage immediately to see the spot where Zezi's car used to be empty and his heart sank.
It was true.
Zezi had fled.
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
Just like his eyes were when they were in the car, they were flashing from red to black and those black veins hazardously lined his face, down to his neck where the robe started covering the rest.She stepped back slowly in fear.The fear she felt for him was overpowering, more than even the bond she couldn't fight.A cold hand grabbed her from behind and she turned, startled."You shouldn't be here."It was Gwen but it wasn't the sunshine Gwen. This Gwen had something dark and monstrous in her eyes as she pulled her away from the hallway."You shouldn't have come here."Zezi looked back at the man lying on the floor. He had black blood oozing out of his mouth, a sharp contrast with the sparkling clean white tile. His eyes had also been permanently rolled back, leaving a plain whiteness in its wake. His body stiff as he gave his last fight and suddenly he went limp.She looked back up at him and she immediately felt trapped because no longer could she look away. The compelling bond an