THREE: AFTER WAR

The Vampire Lord's sharp claws sank into her throat as his lips curved into a satanic smile. He could hear the queen's heartbeats and even count them. He could hear the rush of blood in her jugular vein. His eyes scanned her pale neck as he imagined sinking his fangs into her flesh and sucking every last drop of blood from her body.

"Kill me already, if that's what you want! " The queen who was at his mercy barked.

"Not so fast, your highness. Your husband and I are gonna play a game. It's called, Save me if you can. Where your husband will try to save you before I tear your throat out. If he fails, both of you die, but if he wins your lives will be spared." Michaelo explained, then glanced at the Alpha.

"Your time starts now!" Michaelo finalized.

The Alpha began running towards the Vampire Lord, in his wolf form. He was a big, black wolf with fierce canines and red irises. Before he could get to his wife, Michaelo sank his sharp claws into the flesh of her throat and gashed it. Blood splashed and gushed from the fresh laceration and the queen's body became limp almost immediately.

A malicious smile curved at the Vampire Lord's lips as he dropped the cold, blood soaked body of the Raksha to the pile of dead werewolf bodies.

"NOOO!!" The Alpha roared in pain as he watched her lifeless body on the ground. He ran to her side in his wolf form and then shifted to his human form. He scooped her bloody corpse in his arms and broke into a bitter sob. With every sob, his heart shattered into countless pieces. He had lost a part of him, his mate.

A mate was a significant part of a werewolf and once a werewolf lost his mate then a part of him died as well.

He looked up into the moonlit sky and howled angrily at selene, the moon goddess. Part of him blamed the moon goddess for allowing something so horrible to befall his mate.

"Poor Alpha, If only you had saved her in time then she would have been alive." The Vampire Lord mocked.

Anger seethed through the Alpha at Michaelo's words.

"I will avenge you, my Raksha." Alpha Nathan whispered to his mate's corpse then planted a peck on her cold forehead.

Swiftly, he shifted into his wolf and pounced on Michaelo and then pinned him to the cold ground.

"You will pay for this! " He barked, exposing his deadly canines to the Vampire Lord. Slimy saliva escaped his fierce mouth thus dropping Michaelo's face.

The other vampires wanted to swoop in and save their leader but Michaelo instructed them through the Psychic link to let him handle the situation.

A psychic link was an ancient means of communication among the Dracula Clan of Vampires. It is how a vampire Lord communicated to his subjects. The link was believed to grow stronger with the increase in the number of vampires in a clan.

"I like your spirit. You are a fighter. It's so unfortunate that I have to kill you" Michaelo mockingly stated.

Before the Alpha could attack, Michaelo pushed him off his body, and then swiftly sank his clawed hand in the wolf's chest cavity and ripped his heart out. He watched the bloody heart in his hands and waited till it stopped beating.

He then took a huge bite of the heart and chewed on it as streams of blood trailed at the corners of his mouth.

"This is.. so delicious" he exclaimed while moaning at the taste of the fresh werewolf heart.

"Sire, what should we do with the rest of the survivors?" Maldos, his commander inquired.

"Take them in as slaves. We need more workers, harlots, blood bags and play things " he responded while munching the heart.

The screams of anguish echoed through the night as the hopeless war victims were captured and tied up in silver shackles. Silver was known to weaken werewolves.

Unknown to the vampires, the children were still hidden under the beds, at the safe house. They were shivering in fear especially after witnessing their mothers being massacred by the vampires.

"Sire, these are all the survivors" Maldos reported to Michaelo after ensuring that every last survivor in the pack was in their captivity.

"They are quite many " he surveyed the battered war prisoners and nodded his head in approval.

"What shall we do about the manor?" Maldos inquired.

"Burn it to the ground!" He ordered.

As instructed, Maldos , accompanied by two more vampire soldiers, torched the massive manor. Michaelo watched as the gigantic yellow flames consumed the Manor and thick black billows of smoke wafted through the cold night air. The heat crackled along the walls of the manor, spreading to the adjacent trees and grass. The fiery flames swept through the fleet of houses bordering the manor. The owners of the houses watched in sadness as the fire swallowed their homes. Michaelo, just like the rest of the vampires watched in satisfaction as the fire consumed every last structure that the werewolves called home. 

"Tonight! We celebrate our victory over the werewolves!" Michaelo thundered and the vampires yelled in victory.

"Long Live The king!!! " The vampires chanted in unison.

"You are no king, Michaelo Von Dracul! You are pure evil! One day you will pay for all your crimes. One day someone will put a stop to your evil deeds! That day is coming soon, mark my words!" An elderly woman, a fore teller of The Red Moon pack announced. Her wisdom was valued by everyone in the pack. The late Alpha used to seek her advice regarding important matters in the pack. Nera was her name. She was a runty old woman, with black shoulder length messy hair that was splotched with grey, signifying her old age. Her slim visage was a sea of wrinkles. The irises of her eyes were bright amber in colour. Due to her ripe age, she had difficulty in walking hence used a long, crooked pole as her walking stick.

A soft laugh escaped Michaelo's lips as he advanced towards the elderly crone. "What's your name oldie? "He questioned.

"My name is Nera." She boldly replied while fixing her gaze on Michaelo.

Her stare for some reason, intimidated Michaelo.

"Sweet name." Michaelo retorted while surveying the lady who seemed unafraid of The Vampire Lord.

"You are evil Michaelo Von Dracul! You have ripped our loved ones from us and destroyed our homes. Your heart is filled with pure darkness. But soon, that darkness that you've embraced for so long will be replaced with something pure and innocent. Something that is not only priceless but also timeless--"

"And what is that old woman?" Michaelo who seemed immersed in Nera's words inquired.

"Love. Yes, I see someone who will love you unconditionally regardless of the darkness within you. I see someone who will fill your life with light. Someone who will be the reason you turn away from your evil ways. Yes, once you meet that person then this long lived enmity that has lasted between the vampires and werewolves will be snuffed out. " The old woman explained as everyone else listened.

Michaelo seemed disturbed by the woman's words. For some reason, they made him feel nervous.

Could she be right?

What if she made up a story to try and get to him?

Michaelo's mind was torn, he didn't know whether or not to believe the woman's words.

"Michaelo, your heart is your greatest strength. Never doubt that. You will be faced with a situation where you will have to choose between your heart and your head. My advice, choose your heart " The woman added, then traced her old wrinkled fingers on Michaelo's cheek.

"Sire, what do we do with her? I mean she just dishonoured your reputation in front of everyone. Should I decapitate her? " Maldos whispered in Michaelo's ear.

"No. The woman shall remain unharmed. We will keep her alive" Michaelo retorted.

No werewolf that ever spoke to Michaelo in the manner the old woman did, lived to see another day. That's why Michaelo's decision to keep her alive bewildered the vampires.