Chapter 4 - Vampires

Alexa set out with him on the journey to find out what was going on, which was an idea that he didn't like very much.

Since she was a woman, and Zulcan's queen, he thought it would be wiser to send a warrior werewolf to that.

His arguments were not good enough to convince her.

They decided to keep it a secret, for the time being, their union could cause even greater rebellion, than the one that seemed to be happening.

He stopped near a stream and sat under a tree to rest, although he was a creature that could stand for days without sleep and rest, unfortunately, he had spent a lot of time in the place where the heat emanated in the kingdom of Zulcan had affected him in a very negative way.

He bent down and wet his fingers in the water. He had made the same route, not long ago and the temperature change had already made drastic changes. The water that had to be chilled almost to the point of frozen was already only fresh. That made him even more worried, he knew he needed to speed up the whole process of telling Morgan of his plans.

He set up with the queen, so both of them were in the same river that was between the two territories, in a week, to leave together.

Staying there only made him worse, so he decided to continue his journey back to his kingdom.

The forest was tightly closed, there was no passing mark since the vampires preferred not to leave their trail.

Close footsteps were heard, and he stopped suddenly. Silence took over the entire environment, he could hear his breathing. Edwin decided to approach, and the smell made his nostrils inflate. She was human. She looked frightened, she was alone in the woods, the icy wind made her red hair ruffle. His predatory instinct was sharpened. Edwin could even hear the blood of the human thumping through his veins. It was too tempting, even for someone well-controlled like him. He smiled imagining savoring every drop of blood that would come out.

He quickly climbed to the top of the tree and watched her closely. The young woman stood still more frightened, the winds making horrible noises in that forest as it beat their leaves, causing them to sway and strike each other. He was ready to attack her when he heard other footsteps and came to his senses. He was fighting for the treaty to be fulfilled, he was still in Alexa's territory, if he did hunt her, he would be doing what the treaty does not authorize. Quickly he jumped into the trees ahead.

The young woman smelled sweet. Tempting.

Edwin shook his head and continued on his way, trying to dispel the scent that was still impregnated in his nose.

At dawn, he saw the great stone castle in the middle of the green mountain. The wall was just ahead. It was protected only by some guards, the gate was made of wood and had large iron spikes stuck out.

He approached and the gate opened. He was tired, but there was no time to rest. "I have to meet Morgaine!" He declared to Aurea, Morgaine's right arm.

Aurea packed her hair in a messy bun. Edwin wondered why she always did it, it must have been a strange craze on her part, but her coke was always messed up, with a few loose threads in the front. Despite being as old as Morgaine, Aurea always preferred to appear among all with a youthful appearance, "she's in a meeting with some village rulers!" That was all that she replied.

Edwin gave a slight snort and straightened his hair, "tell her it's urgent. I'll take a shower, and then I'll go to her office." He proclaimed, ignoring anything else she could say as he walked away. Edwin went up the stairs to his room, the silence reigned, and that sounded even stranger. In a way, everything was changing. He took a bath, changed himself, and quickly went to meet Morgaine.

Morgaine was dressed in a black dress, her hair and eyes were black. Everything in her remembered the darkness. Many feared her, "son, I hope you have some good news!" she hoped with a broad smile. She was sitting on the other side of an office table. Edwin sat down in the chair in front of her. "Things are even more difficult."

"It's not hard to see!" He replied thoughtfully, he couldn't anticipate how Morgaine would react to his news, but even so, he decided he would not go back.

"Even humans must have noticed the change since none of them dare walk through the forest!" She continued, ignoring any of Edwin's lack of attention.

"Negative!" He remarked, remembering the sweet young woman who was in the middle of the forest with the frightening features. "There are still humans walking through the forests!" He concluded, his argument made Morgaine very surprised. Her eyes kept moving from one side to the other, she was trying to think of something to answer. "I have good news, but I have bad information." Edwin was faster. He could not waste time, with Morgaine's entanglements. He needed to give notice of his journey along with Alexa, the queen of Zulcan. And he also needed to know if she was involved in vampire rebellions and if she took part in it, giving consent for the treaty to be broken.

"What information?" She asked stepping forward, showing her curiosity to the surface. She arranged some papers on the table and watched him closely.

"The treaty is being broken..." He began, slowly, thinking about how to word it correctly.

"Of course, it is, we already knew that. They are raising more werewolves and this is affecting us. It's affecting Lucius." Morgaine interrupted him. When she spoke of Lucius, Edwin remembered that he brought nothing so that they could sacrifice to making him healthy again.

He shook his head and continued, "it's being broken on both sides." Morgaine was startled by the revelation, and when she was ready to inquire, Edwin continued. "But from what I could see, there aren't enough werewolves to cause us all this evil ..." He paused and thought a little, "at least not in Zulcan's."

"Are you saying there's another Natural Werewolf? Who can transmit the genes?" She inquired worriedly.

"I'm not sure what's going on. But I can assure you that there is nothing wrong with that side of the forest."

"I do not understand what's happening then."

Edwin got up, went to the window, and watched the village.

"There is a rebellion being made by vampires." He began, Edwin turned and stared at Morgaine. "A lot of humans were killed by vampires outside our territory."

"What do you mean?" She stammered.

"Are you giving consent to this?" He interrogated irritably.

"I... I did not know until now."

Morgaine couldn't convince him, Edwin was annoyed at the whole situation, she was the only person who still had the power to talk to the vampire residents of Elatre. She was to instruct them to follow the treaty to the letter, but it was not quite that what she did.

"I'm off on a journey, to find out what's going on!" Edwin declared he wasn't expecting any further approval from her. "I've joined the Queen of Zulcan, and together we will search for answers."

"What?" Morgaine stood up, her voice pitched, "that's absurd!"

"Just so we have chances to find out, I will not take guards and she will not take the pack. That way we will not risk war," he remarked quietly.

"I do not accept it!" She protested.

"I can't expect approval from anyone who authorizes the breaking of treaty rules," Edwin said firmly, he might not be the most ethical of all, but the treaty was a legacy from his father, and he would do anything to keep it. "I hope you will not try to stop me. I'm doing this for the greater good!"