Not Up For Negotiation

We sat inside their rather clean conference room and was instantly swallowed up with silence. Neither party tried to talk, resulting in the awkward sound of nothingness.

"What have you come to discuss?" King Khumalo asked.

"About a threat," Aaron replied.

"Ah, yes," King Gotto said and nodded. "We have found traces of Wiccan and Fae magic amongst our territories. Our prey was hunted, specific organs are harvested."

"Her name is Olivia Brokenchild," Stephen said, handing out the file folder of Olivia.

"Ah, a Brokenchild?" King Danish quirked his brow as he read the file. "Another wannabe, I suppose?"

"No." Aaron shook his head. "She claims to be a Brokenchild but she is not an offspring of a human."

King Gotto quirked his brow, "What do you mean?"

"She is the child of the previous Patron Gods of the Wiccan and the Fae," Stephen sufficed. "She's pure."

"This became interesting," King Khumalo said and gazed at me. "Much like your pale mate with three heartbeats."

My world stopped after hearing what he said. He knows?

"Although cats thrive through our vision, our perception isn't far from the wolves, Luna Klyde," King Khumalo grinned. "Tell me, why do you carry children in your belly when you're not a female."

"Let us not discuss our pregnant mate please," Aaron warned. "Our intention was to inform you about the Witxh and the harm she may cause."

"Ah." King Gotto clicked his tongue. "You see, our fortress is impregnable, unlike your male mate."

I could feel my mates tense. Their killing intent slowly resurfacing as the kings had insulted me. My hands gripped on their large shaky ones.

"It's okay," I said.

"Let us not delay this meeting," Queen Roslyn said. "What is it about this witch that's going to harm us? Our castle had never been broken into since the day it was built 1,500 years ago. Countless foes have tried but they all failed."

"The Witxh isn't something that anyone of us had encountered before," Aaron said, relaxing after I rubbed my thumb on his hand. "She is much more powerful than just a witch or a fairy. Her capabilities exceed ours."

"Then what is it that you wanted us to do?" Queen Rosley asked. "If you want us to join your alliance, you will have a no from me."

"No," Stephen interrupted before she could add more. "Our alliance is out of this. We just wanted you to join the hunt. We call it 'Project Burn the Witxh' and its goal is to hunt Olivia Brokenchild."

"So, you're gonna run after her?" King Khumalo asked. His attention still lingers around me and it's suffocating. I just want to dropkick hin for him to stop.

"Yes," Stephen simply answered. The Alliance is forming a large tracking team and we will sniff out the Witxh and kill her for good."

"I see," King Khumalo said. "You have our support. But unless there is an attack amongst us, we will not give it fully."

"And we will not do it for free," King Danish added. "We want your Luna to live with us during the duration of the–"

"The deal is off," Aaron quickly said. "The Luna will not stay anywhere unless it's around 3 feet from us and that is non-negotiable."

"We have Sheeva, the best tracker there is," King Gotto said and placed both his hands on the table. "When she helps, you can guarantee the hunt to be a success, in the shortest time-frame and with fewer casualties."

"Our mate is non-negotiable," Stephen repeated. "Thank you for your time."

They stood that made my eyes widen. I tried pulling them back, but they were being stubborn.

"Give us time to talk about it," I said to them and ran after my mates who were already at the door.

"Aaron, Stephen," I called out in a whisper. "Take the offer. As he said, they have a tracker. If we let me live–"

"No," Aaron instantly cut me off. "Let's get out of here. This place is trash."

They walked down the hallway with Lawrence trailing us and the people around were staring at us. Their stares were uncomfortable, but I didn't have time for that.

"Are you even thinking? We need all the help we can get right now," I said. "If the Witxh attacks again–"

"If Olivia attacks you again and we're not around, what do you think we'll feel, Klyde?" Stephen asked that hit me like a pan in the face.

I didn't think of that. "I'm sorry," I muttered. "I was being stupid."

They ruffled my hair and gave me a comforting smile.

'We would love to kiss you but let's avoid as much trouble as we can,' Aaron said through the link.

'Yeah,' Stephen added. 'Let's finally get out of here.'

We walked out of the ruined mansion and got into our car when Roslyn followed. She got on the passenger seat without even saying anything.

"You cannot get past the Split Road Path unless you have a guide," she said.

We drove out of the gate when she looked at us from the front and placed a finger on her lips. She motioned for a button on her suit and mouthed, "Voice recorder."

We all nodded and instead, gave her a pen and paper.

'Roslyn is the friend I mentioned earlier,' Aaron said. 'We can trust her.'

Roslyn showed us the paper she was holding.

'Escape with prisoners tonight.'

"How?" Aaron mouthed. She scribbled on the paper again and showed it to us.

'Just wait for me at the start of the white brick path road.'

Aaron shook his head and took the pen and paper.

'I mean, how can we help?'

Roslyn shook her head and pointed at her earlier message.

'Just wait for me at the start of the white brick path road.'

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