Chapter 12

☆ ☆ James ☆ ☆

She fell asleep on my lap, leaving me alone with the thoughts of tonight's events. God, she was perfect. Smart, innocent, sexy as hell, passionate, I could list more, but thinking about her only stirred my inner demon. I continued to stroke her silky hair as she slept. I knew that I had to leave soon; I needed to find out what was on the scroll that my father had purposely withheld from me. I let out a sigh; I didn't want to leave.

I gently lifted her head from my lap and placed a pillow under her beautiful face. I grabbed a throw blanket from my room and eased it around her curled body. I kissed her forehead and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear before leaving her. I heard her sigh deeply in her sleep and shift slightly before closing the door of our wing behind me.

I rushed to my father's office eagerly. I desperately needed to know what the scroll said; I didn't want to lose her. "Sylas, you have some explaining to do.", my brazen voice echoed in the room. "Why so brash?", my father spoke softly but authoritatively. "You lied to me.", I growled. "I didn't lie: I just withheld some details.", Sylas hissed, "I planned to tell you everything once the prophecies' ritual had begun." "You mean the blood bond." I thought that was some kind of vampire ritual for marriage.", I stammered, "What did you make me do?"

"Take a seat.", Sylas commanded. I had to obey despite my disdain toward him now. I sat down across from his desk. The scroll was still splayed out. "What does the scroll actually say?", I asked respectfully. Sylas stroked his chin, "I will start off by first telling you my history; then maybe you will understand why things had to be this way."

"I am a descendant of the first vampires. Their blood runs through my veins, as it now runs through yours.", he paused, thinking back, "I found this dust-covered scroll at their home where I spent many years deciphering it. Sanskrit, after all, was a dead language." He continued, "I conjectured that they had pillaged it when they were warring with the wolves over the years." 

He stopped to gather his thoughts for a moment, "After transcribing the document, I set out to acquire the girl from the prophecy. It took me more than twenty years to find her; however, she was already mated. During my search, the wolves attacked me, and as a result, she died. I, myself, barely escaped with my own life.

He sighed, reminiscing, "Then I found that from her death, another spawned. This time, I lurked in the shadows and kidnapped her on the eve of her 18th birthday. I kept her prisoner and did the blood bond, but she wouldn't have me. The time passed unsuccessfully." His eyes flashed at the thought, "So I drained her; it was much more benevolent of me to do that than sending her off to die alone. The time had passed, and the bond she had with her future mate was completely severed. I also needed to trigger her reincarnation."

"It was only after that that I discovered that my plan was futile. A newly made Vampire, one with his soul still clinging on, would be the only one that could fulfill the prophecies' demands. So, I waited another eighteen years. During my hunt for her, I did not give much thought to making a new Vampire, which was my mistake. Upon locating her, I took her immediately. She was my prisoner for almost 5 years before she came of age. I found a random man, turned him, and during the blood bond ceremony, he nearly killed her from his newfound blood lust. In my anger, I decapitated him swiftly. I tried to nurse her back to health, but she was too far gone, so I ended her suffering as well.

I raged against myself for several years before I met you. You were going to be my meal that night, but I saw something in you; I can't explain it, but I wanted to attempt this once more. I knew that I had to devise a different plan; I had to be methodical this time. That's why I gave you the knowledge beforehand. I trained you so that you might be able to overcome my trials and tribulations. Once I had you on board, my search for her began. That's also why I waited to turn you. I gave you roughly two months to settle into your new life as a vampire so that you would be able to better control your blood lust, so that things would turn out differently, better even.

I sat there in shock. I did not know this side of Sylas even existed; he was so brutal and uncaring. Had he relinquished his humanity in search of fulfilling this prophecy? So many lives were carelessly wasted, and I swore that my outcome would be different. "What does the prophecy say exactly?", I asked after reclaiming my thoughts.

He began, "There are three futures for the heterochromatic-eyed wolf, born from a mother who dies during the birth and doesn't shift until she meets her mate:

The first: She meets her true mate, shifts after they have mated, and gives birth to her offspring like normal. However, she will be reincarnated upon her death so that the prophecy has a chance to be fulfilled. 

The second: After the blood bond, she is successfully mated to a vampire, and their one and only offspring will be a Dhampir-Wolf hybrid. She will lose her wolf during this process, as her unborn child will carry it on within them.

The hybrid will be the strongest of any of our kind, vampire or wolf alike. She will have all the benefits of being a vampire and werewolf without any drawbacks. She will have her own vampiric abilities, an infinity for magic, be able to walk in the sun, her shifts won't be painful, and she will be semi-immortal. Because her mother has alpha blood in her veins, there is a chance that she could control the wolves, too.

The third: Her true mate rescues her successfully and mates her before their bond is severed completely; if this happens, she maintains her wolf and their heir will become the king of all werewolves, enhanced by the power of your blood bond being broken.

This future wolf will be three times bigger than normal, just as fast as us vampires, and with strength unseen by normal wolves. He will not be immortal but tough as hell to defeat."

I sat, my mouth agape, digesting everything that Sylas had just said. Panic set in as I replayed the words in my head (She will lose her wolf during this process). "What happens to Kara after the hybrid is born?", I asked. Sylas coldly said, "She'll die without her wolf. They are one, after all. You could turn her if you're so attached, but I'll leave that decision to you when the time comes." 

I hesitated at the thought of losing her, "And if we don't complete the blood bond?" Sylas responded unsentimentally, "Once her bond with her true mate is severed, she will be in a considerable amount of pain. The touch of another would only cause excessive strife within herself, and that would only increase as time went on. I would wager that she would be dead within the year." 

I stared at him in disbelief. "Remember.", he warned, "You have twenty days." He glanced over at an old grandfather clock, "Make that nineteen days before your blood bond expires." He patted me on the shoulder before saying, "I know you'll make the right decision son."

"We heard a wolf howling at the French Broad River tonight; could that be her mate?", I inquired. Sylas thought for a moment, "It is doubtful, from what I've read, her true mate will develop an ability that will lead him to her, but it wasn't clear what or how the ability worked. She will know instantly that he is her mate when they meet, and she will see you as the anti-mate. Her true mate will try to kill you; if he is triumphant, you will have successfully aided in the creation of a lycan king. If he fails, I doubt she will complete her blood bond with you, given her new knowledge of the situation. I never waited intentionally for the mate to arrive after starting the blood bond, so I assume the second girl's mate was too far away to find her in time."

"This hunt ends with me", I snarled; standing up from the chair, I stormed out of his office. I could kill him for doing this to me, to her. She could have had a normal life had he not pursued her, all of her reincarnations could have had a normal life. I needed to let off some of my frustrations and think about all I had learned. I had promised that I would tell her what I found out but how could I now, the two outcomes either led to my death or hers. Should I tell her the truth, should I warp it slightly only divulging some information like what Sylas had done to me? The bottom line was that I didn't want to lose her. I couldn't lose her.