Chapter 2

The figure in front of me approached rapidly. As I spun, my foot met his chest sending him flying across the room. I walked over towering above him as he relented in defeat. Kneeling down, I peered into his eyes and he grabbed my arm as I lifted him up.

Thalan, my training partner and friend, looked up at me grinning while grasping his chest in pain.

“Damn, Onyx, you seem particularly vicious today.”

“Does that mean you think I am vicious everyday? Flattery will get you nowhere, Thalan.”

He laughed, apparently amused by my deadpan humor.

“Father has decided to push up my betrothal to Elijah. He will be here sometime this week, although I’m not sure when the ceremony is to take place.”

“Seriously? Why so soon?” He asked curiously.

“I believe he’s worried about the wolf/witch/hunter threat, if you could call it that, and trying to gather reinforcements. It seems we have enemies all around us now.”

Thalan eyed me thoughtfully. “Well, that does make sense, honestly. It’s a smart match.”

My eyes darted to his with a death glare.

“But that’s completely unfair to you,” he continued raising his hands as if to block an attack.

“Yes, it is quite unfair,” I sighed. “I do not enjoy being told who I am to be with. I do not wish to commit to anyone other than myself. My loyalty lies to my father and clan. That is all.”

“I completely get it. That’s tough. Maybe this will all work out somehow.” His voice was hopeful, but it did little to sooth my concerns.

“Go again.” I jumped up into a readied stance and Thalan was unable to hide his annoyance.

He was older and taller than me, a strong warrior indeed, but he could not best me. His shoulder-length brown hair that usually hung in his face was now pulled back. He had a muscular build, and eyes the darkest shade of brown, almost black. I envied them. I would have traded my bright violet eyes for his any day. My eyes did not suit me. They were pretty and alluring and gave a false sense of sweet and innocence, which I loathed entirely.

Thalan’s upbeat, laid back personality was the exact opposite of my dark and dry one. He was kind of the ying to my yang. He was attractive and very much sought after by the female vampires, but I had never seen him in that way. We had always just been companions.

Most days he was able to keep up with me, but today I was filled with a rage that sent me into overdrive and I was taking it out on him. It didn’t take long for him to tap out for good.

After training, I took my time walking down the halls of the castle heading to my room. The compound where our clan lived was extremely large housing close to 1,000 vampires between multiple buildings.

My siblings - when they were actually present - and I lived in the main castle along with our attendants and some other higher-ups. My family had produced a long line of clan leaders and for as long as I know we had always lived here.

I had many siblings from my father, but my mother was not their mother. Mother had been killed many years ago. Father had loved her very much, so her death brought a strain to our relationship. Although we were still close, closer than him and the others, something had changed between us. I remember as a child how he used to be softer and more sensitive towards me, but now he was mostly stern and hardened. I had gotten accustomed to it and it no longer bothered me. Perhaps it was the fact that I reminded him so much of her. From my memories and pictures I had seen, the resemblance was uncanny. I wondered if she had been as calloused as I or did I get that trait from my father?

My fingers trailed against the walls until I let my sharp claws extend, scraping the stone pacing back and forth deep in thought thinking about my current situation.

How would I get out of this? I would not be controlled by anyone, especially not Elijah. I had no interest in being used by a man to climb the ladder to success. I was the one who would be doing the using. I had no feelings or emotions. I cared for very few. I would be damned, more than I already was, if Elijah thought he was going to use me.

Did my father think Elijah would have our clans merge and that he would just be satisfied taking second in command behind him? He had to know Elijah would expect to lead this newly-formed clan himself. Would Father agree to that and step down as our leader?

No. I would not let that happen. I would just have to play into this game, allow Elijah to think I was complacent, that I accepted our betrothal, even content at the possibility of being with him.

That’s it. I would use what I had to get what I wanted from Elijah and then I would take his clan for my father.

I, even more ruthless than he, understood that sometimes you couldn’t be diplomatic. This was a dictatorship, not a democracy. I needed to find a way to manipulate Elijah, make it seem as though he had defied his orders then I would be within my right to take him out. Maybe father was right. As much as I hated the thought, I needed to seduce him.

I shut the door behind me as I entered my blacked out room. Hours had passed since my conversation with Father, but I was as angry as ever. I liked to have power, to be in control. This situation was becoming a nuisance.

My eyes lit up once I saw the document on my bed containing details for my next assignment. That is exactly what I needed to take my mind off things and release some of my pent up anger. I read it over carefully before taking a quick shower. I would be heading out immediately after.

The water dripped down my long hair and onto my skin. I scrubbed my scalp making sure all of the mutt from earlier had been washed out. I kneaded my knuckles into my thighs and did some stretching preparing for my upcoming assignment which I knew would be physically trying, but that thought only enticed me more. I couldn’t wait to sink my fangs into another wolf, especially since Father had disrupted me earlier.

Elijah was just one of many issues. My brother had put a wrench in my plan to completely destroy all wolf kind when he mated with a half-witch from the Zoldeck clan, nonetheless, who also happened to be mated with the alpha of the Blue Stone Pack. Although I tolerated their relationship – not that I had much of a choice since father demanded it once an agreement had been made decreeing her wolf-mate and their pack to be under protection – I did not like him or any of his wolves. In fact, quite the opposite. Had it not been for our truce, I would have killed him long ago.

The fact that I was forced to “behave,” around his wolves, made me completely furious and only added to my hatred of their kind. Thankfully our agreement only extended to the Blue Stone pack, so all others were free game.

I walked out of the shower into my walk-in closet naked. My hunting suits were lined up perfectly. They were black, of course, and leather, but they were not ordinary suits. Not only were they tailor made for me, they had been spelled with protection by my brother’s mate, the Zoldeck witch Araya. At least she was good for something. When worn properly, the suits masked our scent allowing us to get dangerously close to unsuspecting marks, as well as providing some protection from regular bullets and claws for the most part. It was like a bullet-proof body suit. It didn’t protect you from any and everything, but was a good form of defense for certain and it fit my body like a glove.

I slid into the suit and pulled the mask over my head making sure to tuck all my hair covering as much as my body as possible. By the time anyone would notice our scent, If at all, it would be too late.

I looked like a thief in the night but I would be partaking in more than just thievery.

I checked my bag to make sure I had all my hunting gear and without hesitation, I ran full speed jumping out of my window.

Who needs doors when you can jump out of a three-story building and land on your feet?