Ch. 26..30: The Werewolf's Vampire Mate Chapter 26-30

Chapter 26: Cassius Blade

Alanis

Beau is pacing around my room, ever since he watched the footage, he has been so focused on it. I know we need to figure this out but I also want him to face his reality first. He needs to go back home; he needs to start burial preparations.

His father is dead and he is focusing too much on avenging him. We don’t even know if it is the same person that killed him. This might just be a coincidence and he will regret not saying goodbye to his dad.

I walk over to him and he stops moving. A faint smile creeps up to his face as he grabs my hands in his.

"Do you want to call home?" I ask him.

He shakes his head "Not yet, I need the day off."

This confuses me, he is in denial. You can’t have a break from this kind of thing. I need to convince him to go home, he needs to take control of this situation. He is the next in line, people will be watching him. I know this is a lot but he needs to be strong. I will be here for him all through. I will do anything to let him know that I am the shoulder he can lean on.

"Babe. You need to go back home" I push even further.

He lets go of my hands and sighs out of frustration. "I spoke to my uncle. I will go home tomorrow" he retorts.

He walks away from him but I am persistent so I follow him. We get to the window in my room and he is looking out of it "We need to find out who that man is" he brings back the footage again. I don’t want him talking about the video. I want him to tell me that he will go home and make arrangements. He will bury his father.

"That’s not important right now. Please focus on what is important. Let me take you home. I’ll be with you every step of the way."

I brush a strand of hair out of his face. His hair is longer than usual; he needs a haircut.

"You know it’s not possible right now," he manages a laugh.

"Why?"

"Because you’re a vampire," he states the obvious. We are running out of time; it’s almost like he is procrastinating. It hurts that he doesn’t think he can take me home but I understand that it is not just about both of us and these are trying times.

"I think we should use this opportunity to tell everyone," I try to reason with him.

"My father just died," he reminds me.

"I know and I want to be there for you. I know this is scary; I know the judgement is scary but we need to do this."

He moves away from me "I can’t. Not yet" he is panicking and I am not helping matters.

"Okay," walking over to him again "I’m sorry. I won’t go with you but you need to go home today"

"Please don’t make me go back. Just give me a day," he cries. I hate being the bad guy in this situation. I am doing this for him because I don’t want him to have any regrets but if he really doesn’t want to go home today, then the least I can do it let him stay.

"Okay, just calm down,’ I hug him and he cries in my arms. Beau is a very masculine man, seeing him vulnerable is taking a lot from me. Watching him with so many mixed emotions is painful. He stays in my arms and I hold him, ready to stay with him until he is ready.

*************

There is an owl outside my window hooting and somehow it reminds me of Beau and his kind. His eyes are closed, all he did today was sleep. He is just sleeping to get his mind off everything. He doesn’t want to talk or think about anything. I also remember that he hasn’t eaten anything. This has me worried because unlike me, I could go for months without food as long as I have blood but he is more human than me.

He stirs in his sleep and I reach for him and brush the strands of his hair gently. He snores become louder and I relax. I am treating him like a baby because he needs all the love he can get. I don’t know if he is ever going to be okay considering all that is happening to him and how fast it is happening.

There is a knock on my door and Eligio walks in. He looks at beau sprawled on the bed and manages a faint smile. I see the pity in his eyes; Eligio is the only one that knows Beau lost his father. This is not the time for anyone to know that the Alpha of the pack is dead. Without an alpha, a pack is at its weakest and they could be attacked at any time.

"I need to talk to you," he whispers so as not to disturb my boyfriend.

I nod and stand up from the bed. We walk out of the room and stand in front of the halls. I lean against the wall "We know who the person in the footage is" he is talking about the CCTV outside Russo’s Bar.

"Who Is it?" our voices are low. I don’t want Beau to wake up and overhear what we are talking about. He doesn’t need to be fixated on this right now. He needs to bury his father first.

"His name is Cassius Blade," he tells me his name and it sounds vaguely familiar. I have heard the name before; I just don’t know where.

"Why does that name sound so familiar?"

He is watching me; waiting for me to remember. I think back in an attempt to jog my memory and recognition hits my face. Cassius is the worst person to be in our town right now. Fuck. Cassius is the epitome of evil. He will stop at nothing to make sure all wolves are extinct. What is he even doing here?

He is known as the vampire who is a werewolf hunter. He is responsible for a lot of deaths of their kind. He has a story, one that is quite sorrowful but not enough to agree with his views. It all started 500 years ago when Cassius was still human. I have only heard the story; it is not a 100 percent factual. Cassius’s whole family was murdered in cold blood by a pack of wolves. No one knows why there have been different reasons circulating but none have been confirmed. Even though there is a peace treaty between the two kinds, Cassius, has never conformed to the agreement.

He doesn’t stay in a place for a long time; once he is done with the murders, he leaves the town. The fact that he is here is scary. Someone must have tipped him off on the fact that there are Mutts here.

Shit.

"This is bad."

Eligio nods.

"Does father know about this?"

He nods "He is on his way to Louisiana. He has a meeting with one of the Eli’s to discuss the necessary steps we need to take to protect the wolves," my heart beats faster at the fact that Beau could be in danger. Cassius is capable of so much and the fact that he is here, hunting down the wolves is scary.

"We have to kill him. He can’t harm them," if this link didn’t happen. I wouldn’t give a shit about wolves but now I have to protect him with my last breath. I would rather die than let anyone hurt him.

He is my life.

"Calm down. Let father come back. We will see what to do next," he tries to assure me but there is no assurance in his reply. We are engrossed in our conversation that I don’t notice the door open.

"Who is Cassius?" he asks standing in front of the door to my room with a dazed expression.

I walk over to him immediately and place my hand on his arm "You’re up. Are you hungry?" I don’t want to involve him with this right now. I am trying to keep him away from all this.

"Who is Cassius?" he repeats.

"He’s no one. You need to eat something. Whatever you want" I sigh in hopes that he will let go of this"

Frowning "Who is Cassius?" his voice is stern. I know this tone, he is pissed. I don’t know what to say; I don’t want to tell him the truth yet. I need to know what we’re going to do about Cassius. "Answer me," he persists.

I sigh "Come on, let’s talk in my room."

 

Chapter 27: Are you ready?

Beau.

His eyes look everywhere but at me. He doesn’t want to be honest with me and that Is all i need right now. I stand in front of him waiting for him to open up but he doesn’t say anything.

"Lanis," I call his name.

He sighs and I can see the frustration plastered on his face. The fact that he doesn’t want to tell me what it is shows how serious this is. I heard their voices. They were trying to be quiet but it was very loud for me. They woke me up with their sounds and I overheard him. They know who killed my cousins but they don’t want to tell me.

He sighs and I watch him as he runs his hands through his hair. "Come on, just tell me who it is. I already heard everything," I lie.

"He’s a vampire," he breathes out in defeat.

Okay, Cassius is a vampire but why is a vampire killing wolves intentionally. He should be aware about the contention. This is all confusing to me but i do know one thing; when I find this Cassius person, I am going to kill him. I won’t be thinking about the contention or keeping peace.

"Why is he killing my kind?"

"He doesn’t follow the rules of the contention. He hates your kind and he has made it his life mission to destroy you all," his words get to me. They crawl all the way into my skin and suddenly there is a strong fear in me. The fact that there is a vampire out hunting is means that anyone could be hurt at any time. I need to go back home; I need to get my fucking shit together.

"I need to go home," I tell him as I try to gather my things together.

He nods because all along that is what he wanted me to do. He has been pestering me to go home and now he has won "You’re coming with me." I tell him blankly because this is not just about us anymore. I need him by my side. He is the only one that can get me through all this. His presence makes me stronger and I need all the strength I can get in this situation.

"What?" his eyes are wide.

"I need you with me, you can pack a bag. I am bringing you with me to my home. My father told me that he was okay with us; I only care about his opinion. Hence why you are coming with me. I am going to tell everyone."

"Are you sure?" I can feel his nervousness but there is a hint of excitement in his tone. He wants this too. I know he wants to be accepted. I will do my best to make sure he is accepted. No matter what anyone says, they will not make me change my mind about this decision. I love this man with all my heart and I want to become one with him.

"100%"

***********

We get to the front entrance of my community and I watch Lanis. I want to know how he is feeling. What he is thinking about? "Are you okay?" his hand is gripping the gym bag in his arm. He manages a smile. The smile is forced. He wants to make me think he is okay, but I know this man more than I know myself.

He is scared.

"I am great. You want to lead the way?" I walk over to him and kiss the top of his head softly. He closes his eyes and releases a soft breath.

"You look nervous."

He nods "Do you think it’s too soon to bring me, considering the murders going on. What if they attack me or something?"

There we go, he is opening up now. This is what I want, I want him to talk to me. I want to know how he is feeling. I want to comfort him and assure him that everything will be okay.

"I am by your side. I will protect you," I wink and a blush appear on his face. His smile is the most beautiful part of this man. I love him so much and I want to make him happy always.

We walk in hand in hand and I feel him tremble against my touch. I really don’t know the situation at home but I am ready to take charge and protect the man I love. The only way I can do that is by becoming one with him. Ii need to complete the mating ritual.

I see Jabi sitting on a rock and he smiles when he notices my presence. He stands up and walks over to us. The expression on his face changes with a crinkle of his nose. He can smell Lanis. He knows he is a vampire; i watch to see his reaction to this. I can handle Jabi freaking out but can I really handle the rest of my pack?

"He’s a vampire." he points out, his voice shaking.

He can’t attack he is too weak.

"Yes, this is Alanis." I let go of my boyfriend’s hand and Jabi looks at our hands confused with what is happening. It should’ve clicked by now but he is a little slow.

"You brought a vampire home?"

I nod.

His brows furrow "Why?"

I manage a smile "He is my mate" I explain. It takes a while for him to comprehend what I am saying but once understanding hits in, a faint smile spreads to his face. He doesn’t need to say it out loud, he doesn’t need to tell me. I already know what he is thinking.

He is happy for me.

I leave Jabi and walk to the front of my house, no one is loitering outside. There are usually people outside but today for some reason the whole community is empty. I hear faint sounds coming from inside the house. I can hear Fallon. I take a deep breath and I can sense a lot of people inside.

They are having a meeting without me.

"I need to take you to my room. Something feels wrong," I explain to Lanis. The nervous look is still plastered to his face. Worry etched and bound on his face.

He nods but remains quiet.

I sneak him into my room "Are you sure this is a good idea?" he speaks up after a long while. I smile because I cannot cave right now. I am the next Alpha; I need to start acting like one. Father is dead and I need to have enough strength to avenge his death. Alanis is the only one that can make me stronger. The bond we have will give me all the power I need to fight that fucking Werewolf hunter.

"I am. I need to talk to everyone first. I don’t want this to be an ambush. Just give me an hour max." I kiss him softly and he welcomes me into his arms. We remain stuck to each other for a couple of minutes. After we pull apart, he smiles "You got this." he encourages me and suddenly his words of encouragement have me feeling stronger.

I walk out of my room and stop by Rex’s room. He jumps up when he sees me. Whatever meeting they are having probably doesn’t include him since he is an omega. "Where have you been?" he asks me immediately.

I run my hands through my hair "Alanis is in my room. I need you to make sure he is safe." I don’t know what is going to happen but if things go south, I will need Rex to get him out of here.

"You brought him with you?"

I nod.

"That is too dangerous. They are talking about a war right now. Fallon has everyone believing that the vamps are about to attack. They are all convinced."

I frown "Why didn’t you warn me about this meeting?" I accuse him already getting pissed.

"You didn’t reply any of my texts."

I bring my phone out of my pocket and scroll through. Sure enough, there are missed calls and messages from him and Bells.

Shit.

"I need to get in there. Just go stay with Lanis. I will get this all under control," I walk out of the room and go straight to the meeting room. I hear the voices clearer and I don’t like what I am hearing.

"He is not ready for the responsibilities that come with being an alpha." Fallon says.

"He is the only one that has the powers to be a leader." Olin says. Olin was fathers’ good friend and is a beta in the pack. He will have my back as long as he remains loyal to my father.

Fallon laughs "He doesn’t have a mate. How will he lead without a mate? Beau is not the best person to take on this role. He couldn’t even handle his father’s death. Where is your Alpha now?"

I am fuming but I want to know who I have on my side. I don’t want to walk in just yet until I know who is loyal to me.

"Come on, it has just been a day. Give the guy a break. He needs to mourn his father." Bells defends.

"We are at war right now. Someone is killing our kind."

"Are you saying it was a vampire that killed Rick?" someone asks.

Fallon sighs "Most likely. They are out to get us and we need to let them know that we are not creatures they can cross."

I decide to walk in at this moment because this is getting out of hand. He is trying to turn everyone against the vampires. I know there is a vampire out there hunting us but this is one person, not the whole kind.

"How are we sure it’s a vampire?" I walk in and all eyes turn to me.

Fallon remains wide eyed as I continue "You have no proof that He was killed by a vamp. This happened in our territory, it could be anyone," I suggest.

I don’t actually believe what I am saying but I won’t let Fallon win. If he even cared about my father, he wouldn’t be bad mouthing me to my family. He wants the title of Alpha and I will not let him win.

"They could’ve easily come to our territory. They killed two of our brothers. What stops them from killing the strongest member of our pack?"

"You don’t know for sure. You are jumping to conclusion. I didn’t find their scents in the graveyard when I got there. There was no vampire scent." come to think of it, this all seems suspicious. I should’ve been able to sense them. His body was still warm. If there was a vampire, I should’ve known.

"You just saw your fathers’ dead body. Do you really think you were focused on scents?" he scoffs and anger boils within me. I have always hated uncle Fallon and I have always felt that he doesn’t like me either.

"I know what I sensed. Don’t think you can manipulate me into agreeing with your point of view."

He laughs. At this point everyone is watching and they all seem conflicted. No one wants to go against me. I might still be a kid but I am next in line for the title. Fallon is trying to get everyone against me.

"Are you even ready?" I furrow my brows "Are you ready to take on what your father left behind?"

"I am."

I don’t know if I am being sincere but I have no choice but to be ready. Being the alpha is the only way i can be close to father. I need to be better; I want him to look down at me and be proud of me.

Fuck.

Chapter 28: Rex’s suspicions

Alanis.

I pace around the room as the nerves kick in. This was a bad idea; I don’t know what is happening out there and I am scared. I have never been this scared in all my life.

There is a knock on the door.

"Shit."

I walk to the end of the door and hold the knob; Beau didn’t mention that anyone was coming. I open the door slowly and a face peer up at me earnestly. I know him; he is Beau’s friend. Rex.

"Hey," he smiles through the door. I let go of the wooden door handle and he walks into the room slowly "Beau asked me to stay with you."

So, he is worried too?

"What’s going on out there?" I ask because I am fucking curious. This is a defining moment for our relationship. The fact that he brought me here, means that he is ready to be with me wholeheartedly. I have been ready since the moment I met him.

"His uncle is trying to turn everyone against him," he brushes it off like it is not a big deal. I know Beau is strong, he is the strongest person I have ever met but will he be able to handle a group of angry wolves?

"Why?"

Rex shrugs and walks over to the bed; he sits on it gently and looks at me "I don’t even understand their relationship. You gotta keep this a secret but I actually think Fallon was the one that killed his father."

My eyes open wide from his words "What?"

He stands up and rushes to me "Look, I don’t have the courage to mention this to Beau but when we got to the Graveyard, Fallon’s scent was lingering everywhere, so that means he was there."

Shit.

This is a lot.

"He needs to know."

He nods "I know, but he would freak out. Beau isn’t very subtle with his reactions. He would kill him without getting any proof and there is none right now, I don’t think it is a good idea to tell him yet." "I can’t keep this from him," I say instantly.

A terrified expression forms on his face "Please, just give me some time. I will tell him myself. I just want the funeral preparations to be done. He needs to focus on that," the door to the room opens before I can give Rex an answer. Beau looks at us and his expression is curious.

"Hi," I walk over to him and grab his hand in my grip. He smiles kisses me softly not even caring that someone else is in the room "I need you to come with me," he tells me.

I frown "What’s going on?"

He looks around the room until his eyes stop on his best friend "You can leave now Rex."

Rex walks out of the room giving me one last glance, he is using his eyes to plead with me but I don’t know if I can actually do what he wants. Just looking at Beau makes me want to be honest with him. If Rex says after the funeral then I will wait till after the funeral.

"I told them; they want to see you?"

I take a deep breath "Everyone?" I ask because this seems suspicious. If he told them everything then that will mean there were issues because there is no way they all just accepted it and now suddenly want to see me.

"Yes, they were having a fucking meeting without me; can you imagine? I walked in on my uncle talking about a fucking war with your kind."

Okay, he is telling me what happened but I don’t hear the part about him talking about finding his mate "How do I come into this?"

He sighs and runs his hands through his hair "Thye mentioned that I am not strong enough to be the next alpha because I don’t have my mate. I told them that I do."

"Okay, so they know that I am a Vampire?"

He shakes his head, his eyes dart away from me "You want me to walk into that meeting and expose myself, without any warning whatsoever?"

He nods "Just listen. I caved okay. They were all looking at me, with taunting eyes. I need you next to me when I explain this to them," his words make no sense but I can understand his fear.

I don’t think it is a good idea to have me with him when he breaks it to them but I can’t tell him that; I have to be the support system he craves so desperately. He needs me and I will not let him down.

"Okay," I breathe out.

He manages a faint smile and we walk side by side. This seems straight out of a movie. The hallways that lead to the supposed meeting room seems never-ending. I just want to go back home at this moment. I don’t belong here and I don’t think the people of this community will think otherwise.

"Wait." I stop walking and he looks at me almost like he was expecting this panic. I shake my head continuously because this is me panicking "I don’t think this is a good idea," we are in front of a large door, there are voices on the other side of the door.

"Babe," he whines.

I let go of his hand "This doesn’t make any sense, we can’t ambush everyone like this, this is all my fault for putting this into your head," I am trying to rationalise with him. He needs to think this through before we face the consequences of this coming out party.

"I know, but we need to do this, I need you with me."

"I can’t."

He sighs and runs his hands through his hair "I need you Lanis, I am not strong enough to do this on my own," he grabs both of my hands in his and squeezes it encouragingly. His eyes are pleading. I am so engrossed in our conversation that we don’t hear the creak of the door.

"Oh, isn’t this peachy." I look at the voice and a man is watching with an evil smirk on his face. I don’t know who this is but I already know that he will be the cause of all our problems.

Chapter 29: A little acceptance.

Beau

Uncle Fallon stares with amusement plastered on his face and I release a breath of relief because Lanis can’t run again. I am still holding unto him and I don’t plan on letting go.

Fallon closes the door and moves closer to us "This is the mate?" he sniffs and I know he is trying to register Lanis’s scent. The expression on his face changes from a smile to a deep frown. I watch as his eyes darken "You brought a vampire to our sanctuary?"

"He is not just any vampire." the courage that I knew I’d have with him next to me, surfaces "He is mine." I defend.

A laugh escapes from his lips "I don’t even need to do any convincing. This will surely get everyone on my side."

He opens the door to the room and walks in "I can’t go in there." Lanis pleads.

"It’s fine. I will handle this," I assure him but the look on his face tells me that he is not so sure. I wouldn’t let anyone touch him, no matter what happens in there.

He walks in with me with so much hesitation. Once we get into the room, all eyes look at us. I notice Isabella first and she is wide-eyed.

You brought him here?

She communicates with me through a mind link.

I’ll explain later.

"As you all can see, this is the future alpha that we are all supposed to trust," Fallon speaks up pointing at me.

There are a lot of gasps and murmuring but I block them all out because I need to explain my side to them. I don’t know if they have all figured out that Lanis is a vampire but just the fact that he is man is enough to make them all shell shocked.

"This is Alanis. He is my mate," I look at Lanis and I have never seen this expression on his face. He looks scared and nervous at the same time. He doesn’t want to be here.

"What?" someone mutters ghastly.

"That’s impossible, has this ever happened?" Olin questions.

I nod "I thought so too, I didn’t want to accept it. Neither did father, but Alby said it was meant to be."

"Alby knew about this?" Bade a man in the pack asks, shocked.

I nod because that is the truth, I look around and notice that Alby is not in this meeting. It is rare for Alby to show up for regular meetings but I think he needs to be here. "I can go get him," I suggest.

Fallon shakes his head "There is no need for that, Alby is already too old, he is losing his powers and we all know that," he is trying to twist things, make Alby’s opinion invalid.

"How dare you say that about one of our elders?" Olin stands up already getting angry. I am glad to have him here because apart from Isabelle, I don’t think I have anyone on my side. The fact that everyone’s opinions can be easily coerced by this man that is supposed to be my family is overwhelming.

Fallon laughs and I hate him even more "This is not a matter of the elders, a war is brewing and you have no idea how serious this is,"

"This is not about the war; this is about the fact that Beau has a mate. He could be stronger after the mating ritual. He will be strong enough to be the alpha." Olin manages.

Fallon laughs again and somehow this upsets Olin, he walks over till he is face to face with my uncle and I know what will happen next if this continues. Olin is already angry and Fallon is amused by that fact. He wants a fight; I shouldn’t let that happen.

At this point I am watching like this is a movie, I need to take charge. I need to act like a leader before this gets out of hand "Everyone, please just stop this, I know this is difficult to comprehend. It took a while for me to accept this. I have no choice. Alanis is the one that was chosen for me by the deities, we have to accept that,"

"What if this is a trick, how can we trust the Vampires?" someone asks.

I look at Lanis and he is still quiet, he manages a faint smile at me and there is a warm sensation in my chest. Him being here is exactly how I knew it would be, he is making this a million times easier.

"I am not tricking anyone," he suddenly speaks up and everyone including me is shocked. "I love this man so much and I will do anything to protect him, including being in this room in front of all of you."

His words have me speechless but in a good way. He is trying to assure them that he is not here to hurt anyone "Beau just lost his father, you all just lost a great leader, I understand that everyone is worried and a little bit scared but I am not the enemy, we need to come together and find the real enemy."

Isabelle smiles and I know that even though this won’t be as easy as it should, I have a couple of people on my side.

"We need to prepare the funeral arrangements first. We need to send Father, Win and Mali up to the deities and then I will get to the bottom of all this. I promise you all, please just trust me," I plead desperately. In the span of a couple of days, we have lost three members of our family. This is very bad and the fact that we have a vampire, targeting us is scary. I can’t let them know yet, I have to figure out what to do; I need a plan.

A couple of people still have frowns on their faces, but they are all a little more receptive. "Alright," Bade speaks up. Others nod their heads and I know that for now, I have the majority of the pack on my side. I look at Fallon and he is frowning so strongly that the lines on his forehead are evident. He remains quiet and I am glad that for now, things are under control.

***************

"You should stay here," I close the door to my room and he hugs me immediately. He is trembling against me and this makes me realise just how terrified he was of being in a room full of wolves.

I hold him tighter until I can feel the beating of his heart against my chest. His arms grip the ends of my shirt tightly and he releases soft breaths against my neck "I am so glad that didn’t go south," he murmurs.

"Thank you,"

He pulls apart from me and watches me with an intense expression, his brows furrows "Why are you thanking me?" he inquires.

I shrug "For being so great.’’

A smile forms on his lips and I can’t resist as I press my lips, what starts as a soft kiss turns into one that we both crave. I push him until he is lying down on my bed and I am on top of him. This is not the time for this; I have a lot to do but I am so happy for our little win that I can’t think about anything else at this moment.

"I love you," he breathes those words out loud and they travel into my ears warming my heart in the process.

"I love you too," I continue kissing him. We continue our make-out fest until there is a knock on the door. Alanis pushes me off him and I laugh at how scared he is. If this was his house, he wouldn’t give a shit. The last time his brother walked in on us, he wasn’t so concerned. He is walking on eggshells around my people and I completely understand why.

He doesn’t want to do anything wrong to ruin what we have accomplished so far. We are going to get to the point where this will feel like his home too. I want him to be comfortable in this house. I want him to want to be with me all the time. After the mating ritual, he is going to become one with me, he is going to be mine.

"It’s probably just Isabelle," I tell him as I stand up from the bed and adjust my clothes. There is a tightness in my pants that I will have to get rid of, considering the interruptions.

"Your friend?"

I nod and walk over to the door. Isabelle smiles warmly. "Hey baby," she wraps her arms around me in a hug and I can already tell that Lanis is staring at us. I welcome her into my arms because this is our relationship. She is one of the most loyal people in my life. She genuinely cares about me. "How are you holding up?" she reminds me of the elephant in the room.

My father.

No matter how hard I try to get it out of my head, it keeps on popping in and I feel sad. I miss him so much and I still can’t believe I won’t ever see him again. It’s just been a day but it feels like an eternity.

"I’m okay," she pulls back and her eyes peer at Lanis. The smile on her face widens as she walks over to him.

"Hey," she greets him.

He manages a smile but I can sense the discomfort in his tone. Isabelle doesn’t seem to notice because she continues "Apologies about that time," she waves her hand in the air and releases a nervous laugh.

He chuckles "It’s all right," he brushes her apology off.

I don’t know what they are talking about but I am glad that she is trying to get along with him. "Do you want me to handle the preparations?"

I shake my head because I want to do this on my own. This is my father we’re talking about. I need to say goodbye to him personally. I need to be the one to do this.

"I’ll be fine," I assure you.

As Bells leave, I think about all the things I will have to do "Can I help you with anything?" My baby asks me as I wrap my arms around him on the bed. The smile on his face is warm and welcoming.

"You will be by my side all through this," I tell him blatantly and this gets a nod from him. The sky is already dark, the day is already over. So once the sun rises, I will have to do the one thing I am dreading the most.

Say goodbye to my father.

Chapter 30: The Ambush

Alanis

I jump up in the middle of the night to the sounds of howling. Upon realization, I look to my left and Beau is sleeping soundly. He seems to be more at ease in his house than at mine. I am glad that he can get this needed sleep. He has been through so much in the past couple of days.

Everything that has happened this week has been so overwhelming. he has been through so much that I am surprised he is even able to smile.

I get up from the bed and walk over to the large window, the moon reveals itself in the night sky. It is almost full. We are going to have to talk about everything we need to do before it gets full.

I open the window and the night breeze hits my face in the comfort that I didn’t even know I needed. My phone vibrates on the bedside table which makes me run over to it, I don’t want to wake him up. The caller ID shows that it is Eligio. I press the phone to my ear "Hello," I whisper.

"You need to come back home now," the tone of his voice makes it seem like there is some urgency to this.

"I can’t," I am adamant about that because I can’t leave Beau right now. Something must have happened. "What is going on?"

He sighs into the phone "He isn’t alone."

I furrow my brows "Who?"

"Cassius isn’t alone, he has a group of vamps on his side, they are like an army. They are out to start a war," he explains.

"Fuck," I mutter. I don’t know what to say to that, this is not the time to start a war. I am so in love with a wolf. I would fight with the wolves no matter what. There is no choice in this matter.

"I can’t come home right now," I tell him honestly.

"Father wants you home, they might attack at any time and you need to be away from the wolves for now.

I frown "You can’t be serious, I won’t leave them when they could be in danger," I don’t know if he is expecting me to dessert Beau when he needs me the most now.

"It could be dangerous; we need to come up with a plan."

He is not making any sense. If he thinks I will just abandon Beau. "Look, tell father that I will come over tomorrow but I won’t leave tonight. I won’t leave beau right now, he needs me."

Eligio sighs "He’s going to be pissed,"

"I don’t care," I tell him blatantly.

"Okay," he ends the call and I look at beau still sprawled on the bed. His movements are slow and very quiet. He must be exhausted. I walk back to the bed and lie down next to me. He stirs in his sleep and I watch him terrified that I might not be able to help him and his family. I don’t know what is to come but I know that they are all in danger. Cassius is ruthless and he always has his way when it comes to hunting down the wolves. if he sets his mind to kill someone, he does it.

I don’t want Beau and his family to be targeted but that is what is happening and it is terrifying.

"Why aren’t you sleeping?"

I look at beau and he is watching me with worry etched too his face. He moves closer and I am in his arms again. The warmth of his body soothes me and I take a deep breath as I try to forget about everything but this moment. He nuzzles up against me and I smile at how clingy he always is around me "Are you okay?" he can sense that something is wrong with me.

I nod.

He grabs my shirt under the covers and I hold unto him tighter "Something is wrong...you know you can trust me," he assures me of what I already know. Beau is the one I live for; he is the reason why I want to continue breathing. He is my whole life and I trust no one but him.

I love him, but I can’t tell him all that I know now because I don’t want that to be all he can think of. I want him to bury his father first and then I can be honest with him and we can fight all the bad guys together.

"A lot has just happened in such a short amount of time, it is overwhelming," I explain and this gets a nod from him. He feels the same way. A couple of weeks ago, I was still dating Maddie, and desperately craving a mate; now I have my mate but a lot of problems have come with it.

"We’ll be fine."

He is telling me but it sounds like a question, almost like he is not so sure about that. I don’t know how the future will turn out but I will fight to be with him, I will fight to protect him, I will fight until we can get our happy ending.

He leans forward and presses his lips to mine; I welcome him because kissing beau is the best feeling. I feel safe in his arms, I feel at home.

We continue kissing until I hear the sounds of screams, it’s at a distant but my exquisite hearing picks it up. I jump up from the bed and he sits up worried from my reaction. Someone is being hurt, I can hear it. I don’t know what is happening but someone’s in pain.

"Something’s wrong," I manage to explain.

He furrows his brows and gets up from the bed unsure of what to do "What do you mean?" He is confused but also at alert. The sounds become clearer and Beau finally hears it. It is a man and he sounds like he is hurt. His screams are very loud and it sounds like it is coming from outside.

"Wait here," Beau warns me and flashes out of the room. I watch him as he disappears and I know I can’t just let him face danger alone, he needs me and I need to be by his side.

I walk out of the room and out of the house until I am outside. Beau is the first person I see and the expression on his face will forever haunt me. The man I heard is on the ground and bleeding everywhere. At this point, he is only making soft moans. Clutching his chest which is gashed and bruised.

I know who did this, and I was warned but chose to remain quiet about it. Somehow this is all my fault.

I did this.

I knew that something like this was going to happen and I did nothing to warn them. I am the worst person right now. I walk over to the person and Beau jumps in front of me. He grabs the man who looks so much like a boy at this moment and I watch him run to another direction with him.

I see Beau’s friend Isabelle walk out of a house with a guy from school—Justin. They both have sleepy expressions on their face. Isabelle walks over to me and furrows her brows "What happened?" she asks noticing the trail of blood.

"Someone got hurt."

Her eyes open wide "Who?" she looks around for some clue but I don’t even know who it is. I can’t answer her question because I don’t know the man that was hurt.

A whiff of a scent travels through the wind and I sense them "They are still here," I mutter taking their scents in. Whoever hurt that man is still around. They are lingering in the woods and I am going to stop them.

"What are you talking about?" Isabelle asks.

"I gotta go," I run into the direction of the woods with hopes that I will be able to find whoever did this and kill them.

I hear laughter, they are taunting me. They know I am here, and they are trying to confuse me. My ability to hear heightened sounds make this a lot difficult because I can hear their breathing but I can’t find them. "Come out," I shout to no one in particular.

Laughter emanates from them like this is fun for them.

I hear their footsteps before I see them, they are three in total. Dressed in long capes. I see a logo on their shirt. I decipher it immediately; a wolf being beheaded. I know Eligio mentioned something about him not being alone in this but I didn’t expect this.

"A vampire in the den of the wolves," one of them smirks.

I am angry right now. So angry that I am one of them, that I am a vampire. I have never hated being a vampire as much as I do at this moment.