Chapter 7: Bloom

The council leader yelled back at Alpha Lycus, “No one is allowed to yell at the Sila council. Tone it down, Alpha Lycus”.

I slowly crouched down in my chair and smiled at Alpha Lycus. He snickered and looked away.

“Dear council members,” The council leader said, silencing everyone around the main hall.

He cleared his throat, checking if everyone was listening. “We have gathered here because the Vampire Coven was kind enough to report killings in their territory. Unfortunately, the killed are of the shifter clan. Someone is trying to stir up trouble and the council will not allow it.” The Vampires acknowledged this statement while the Shifters snickered at the audacity.

The room fell into silence as we listened to the suggestion of both the shifters and the vampires. I stared at Alpha Lycus who continued to ignore me. This drove me into a state of annoyance. I closed my eyes, feeling the air in the room on my skin, and allowed a long breath to leave my lungs.

This was not the place I wanted to be. I felt like the people who were in the room were the most annoying and tested my nerves. My patience was running out. I knew why Tristan was pushing for a plan but in my mind, all I wanted was to see my mate.

I opened my eyes and the few hours had not made me immune to the perfection of his face. My eyes traced over his dark features: the hard square of his jaw, the softer curve of his full lips twisted up into displeasure, the straight line of his nose, the sharp angle of his cheekbones, his long hair, and saved his eyes for last.

I knew that when I looked into his eyes I would be lost. Staring into his eyes always made my hunger rise. Mine. He would be mine. I was truly done for.

The problem was that the killings were in the coven territories. I wasn’t so naïve as to think we had left things in a good place. But I had hoped that we could work it all out somehow. Alpha Lycus was defensive by nature, and I couldn’t really blame him, though.

The uncertain atmosphere had put everybody’s hackles up and that had led to tempers fraying all over.

I stood up and walked to where Alpha Lycus was seated. His eyes widened as he saw me approach him. “I would like to have a word with you privately.”

The whole room gasped. Alpha Lycus stood up and whispered, “What the hell are you doing?” His eyes widened.

Looking into those eyes earlier had been like staring into the forest itself, the green hues seeming to capture its essence. They had spoken of wildness and sparked with a sense of freedom I couldn’t remember ever seeing before in someone else. They were eyes that looked like they would rip through anything.

“You’re an a*ss, you know that right?” he retorted, crossing his arms, and glaring at me.

I smiled and moved closer to whisper, “If you don't move quickly everyone here will know what you are to me. I will shamelessly announce it.”

Alpha Lycus stumbled back, and he growled. The shifters stood up in attack mode. I smiled at them and when I turned around, he responded with his teeth clenched. “Okay. Let's talk. Everyone leave the room at once. The Vampire King and I need to discuss the killings in private since he does not trust anyone.” His statement angered the shifters even more. He had added fuel to the fire.

“Are you saying I only trust you, Alpha Lycus?” I loved where this was going. And I could tell he was close to punching my face.

I walked over to Tristan and whispered, “Keep everyone out of the council hall distance. I don't want anyone to hear what we are discussing. Especially the Sila council members.”

The council elder agreed and they ushered everyone out of the room.

Alpha Lycus laughed and said, “Do you think that I want to be in the same room as you? Your coven is butchering my people. It’s only been a few days and here we are again. What explanation could you possibly give?”

“You know too well someone in your pack has a hand in it,” I responded firmly.

“Even so, the person killing the shifters is not on the list of rogues that you slain. It’s someone else. You were duped.”

“I am well aware of what my coven is capable of. But we need to work together to catch these two culprits. Or else it will be a cycle over and over. Your foolish members are led to the killing zones by someone from your camp “

“How do I trust what you are saying has some truth in it taking into account that you would defend your coven, Your Highness?” The question was laced with sarcasm and mistrust.

“Lycus.” I looked him dead in the eyes. “You are my mate.” Whatever crackling tension had been in the air dissipated in less than a second.

“Are you out of your mind?!” Alpha Lycus yelled.

“Just hear me out!” I yelled back.

Alpha Lycus growled. “It’s out of the question here. There are more important matters than this.”

“I know it’s you,” I insisted. “Your scent and plus no one can access the enchanted forest unless they are of royal blood or my mate.”

“I don’t have time for this,” Alpha Lycus sneered.

“Really?” My voice was significantly softer now, soaked with conviction.

“My pack members have been killed and all you are here thinking—” Alpha Lycus huffed.

“Alpha —?” I murmured before Alpha Lycus attacked but I saw it coming. Within seconds I had pinned him on the council table and his wrists pinned above his head.

“Get off me!” Alpha Lycus remained undeterred, squeezing his wrists tighter in a warning.

“Stop resisting,” I whispered. “Just listen to me and don't shout. You know very well that someone outside might hear. We knew well that the team outside wanted to hear the conversation between us. But I had Tristan block all the communication so all they could hear was the soft wind.”

For a few tense seconds, we stared at each other. That scent. God, that scent. It was something sweet and encompassing; hunger rose.

“Shifters only mate with Shifters,” Alpha Lycus stated.

“I want to kiss you. I wonder if you taste as sweet as you smell.” Lust had already clouded my mind.

Alpha Lycus’s eyes widened as he swallowed and for a moment I was distracted by the movement of his Adam's apple. How would it feel to feed? I turned to look at his eyes and I saw the same need. Lying on top of him, my beast fought for dominance while his eyes glowed.

“What kind of king does not put his people first?” he growled at me.

“Vampires are selfish beings. Right now, I just want to kiss my mate. What is so hard about doing that my dear Alpha?” I whispered seductively. The way he growled made my body hard with need.

“Last night, I wanted you. Now here you are. What would stop me from taking you?”

“You must be kidding you f*cking b*stard. I will not mate with you this way.”

My eyes widened at his statement. He realized what he had said and closed his eyes, groaning.

“In what way do you want to mate, Alpha? I want to know.”

He opened his eyes and they glowed. He was absolutely beautiful. I watched him with so much lust as his nostrils flared and when he opened his mouth to speak, I inhaled his sweet scent. He must have realized my intention to kiss him, and he shut his mouth quickly and his palms pushed my chest after wriggling out of my grasp. Electricity shot through both of us when he touched me.

I felt like I could not breathe. It felt so good. How was I going to survive without him? I leaned down toward his neck and inhaled the scent of him again. I was distracted enough that I never noticed when he pushed me away so hard, that I landed a few feet from the council table. He got off the table and walked toward the door.

“Yes, I agree that we need to flash out the culprits. I will assign Seth, my beta, to work with your advisor. Until then, stay out of my way.”

“No. I want to work with you. Let’s go to the border together to inspect the killings.”

He froze and turned around. “You are willing to leave your coven and go to the border?” He sounded surprised.

What kind of information did the shifters have about me? I knew I was a monster but to what level did they believe the stories?

“Yes. It’s only a day’s run. I will be back by the end of day tomorrow after the inspection. Why are you surprised?”

“Your Highness, you are pulling my leg, right?” Alpha Lycus sneered.

“Yes, I want to pull your leg toward me and hug my mate. But he keeps a distance from me.”

“That was not funny.” But I could see his lips turn up in a smile.

“I want you to relax around me. I promise you that I will behave for the time being. And yes, I will be leaving for the border tomorrow. The coven will be fine without me for the day. And in any case, they will be told I will be at the library. This is a secret between me and you.”

His eyes bore through mine as the words sunk in. He was curious as to why I was doing this. I could read it on his face and mind.

“To answer your question, I can’t have my mate doubting me all the time or having his people killed.” There, I had said it. The vulnerability of my thoughts.

Alpha Lycus looked away. “How do I know that you are not lying to me?”

“You know it too well,” I drawled. The mating call defined both of us.

“Let’s say we flush them out with a trap. I feel that this is much more than the killings. Someone is sending a message that we have been at peace for too long.”

I stared at him in amazement. My mate was truly smart.

“What?” Alpha Lycus asked.

I just shook my head and waited for him to continue.

“Do you realize if someone finds out about something between us,” his hands gestured between us back and forth, “The chaos it would raise? It would be like adding fuel to the fire. My pack would say our Alpha was seduced.”

“I haven’t seduced you as of yet. But the fact is that you are my weakness.” I confirmed it more to myself.

“They say you are hard to kill, Your Highness. If this is true, then I have a little bit of confidence we can work together.”

“What about you?” My eyes blazed as I demanded an answer.

Alpha Lycus smiled as he stood by the high windows. “You want to try?”

I laughed and leaned on the council hall table with one leg dangling over the edge. “The things I want to try with you have nothing to do with this topic. I prefer to use my tongue and hands.”

“I am leaving. I don’t want to be in the same room as you anymore,” Alpha Lycus muttered.

“Loosen up a little bit. If you leave this room in anger, you will surely make your packs anger worsen. Calm down.”

“How do people stand you?” Alpha Lycus asked in disbelief.

“I barely spent time with the coven members. Only Tristan and my brother Leonardo have spent time with me. I rarely interact with anyone since I love being alone. That is until I laid my eyes on you.”

“I would never let you put your fangs on me.” Alpha Lycus walked to the door.

“For how f*cking long, dear mate, are you going to run? You ran away last night, and you are doing it again,” I asked.