"You summoned me, I'm here. Now speak. I have other things to get to."She gulped, nodding."My family. Set them free. Let them go, my daughter is sick and my husband---" her voice trailed off as tears threatened to overcome her at the thought of the condition they might be in. The inhumane treatment that they might be going through at that moment, the pain, it made her heart ache, most especially for her daughter, her darling little Mira. She knew nothing, she didn't deserve this."Please, just let them go. It is me you want." She said, her voice firm and laced with unhidden disgust.She watched him for a moment in anticipation of his response, taking in his silence, watched as he looked at her through black soulless eyes. As a usual thing, whenever she was around him, she had to fight the consuming mate bond that relentlessly drew her to him like a magnet far powerful than her entire being, a force mighter than her that always threatened to bring her to her kneels before him, to su
In the past, Zezi was quick to always find strength in her wolf whenever she was feeling too weak to combat a situation but not this time.Against a mate bond, her wolf was far more vulnerable and she had to be the stronger one for the both of them.She pulled her hands up to his hand, not looking away from his burning and accusing gaze, as she tried to pull it away from her neck and the mark that was increasingly burning hot against her skin the longer he invaded her private space."My family, please. Don't kill them. I'll do anything."Speaking was hard as she tried to hold her breath, to stop his scent rushing into her nostrils and flooding her senses.Something shifted in his gaze and his hand fell from her neck. Then he took a step back, his face hard and his eyes as cold as ice."I shall no longer execute them, but the pesky wolf and little pup dared my wrath when they tried to abscond with you, and they shall be punished fully for it." She opened her mouth to defend her famil
Zezi didn't like the elaborate long blue gown with the deep V shaped neckline, styled with barely anything for sleeves, that Gwen had made her wear. Neither did she like the silver heels Gwen had slid her feet into, nor how she had gallantly dressed her black hair in high bun and decorated it with little shinning silver stones.She hated everything, including the fact that she was now walking down the hallway and heading to the door of the King's dinning hall. But this must be done, she knew it and for that very reason, she kept the advice that Gwen had said to her playing in her head over and over again."Be well behaved, Milady. I know it is hard but please try to be. Our King was brought up differently, very differently, and his moves are rather clumsy. You have to show him that you are willing to submit to him. Only then, will he stop fighting you."Many things in her advice, was Zezi against. Submit to him?A thought that sent her whole body crawling with hate. Yet she could p
The word of gratitude that had slipped through Zezi's lips had been stiff and heavy.It was about damn time. Seriously, she was already starting to loss her patience and was already scared that doing as Gwen had suggested was giving her the opposite of what she wanted. Great things did come to those who wait. She had followed after him, down many stairs, with many guards behind them, holding up lit torches to light their way. Zezi could smell the anguish in the air, the pain, the suffering and her heart ached the further down they went, to know that her family was within these dreadful walls or even worse, killed her. Then they stoped, and took a path.She could hear a whimpering. Mira's.Her eyes grew glassy immediately, all her pretence shattering to the ground."My daughter--" she whispered with a gasp. "Mira." She teared up, her face quickly turning into a mess. She took a mindless step forward, ignoring the guard that moved behind her, as she held unto the bars that stood
Her eye lids were heavy and they were slipping close fast, she felt herself being lifted in his arms, all the fight in her quickly seeping right out of her body.Not because he was holding her but simply because she no longer had any fight in her.She was far too weak."Take them to the Execution Ground, I'm getting rid of the problem for good."She heard him dashing out orders, her heart feeling totally destroyed at them, not being able to do anything about broke her the more.She couldn't even open her eyes! She tried to speak, move, do something but no. Totally furtile!She could feel him breeze out of the dungeon, she couldn't smell the anguish nor hear the voice of her family that she was now scared of not hearing any more, now more than ever. Or it could just be because she was falling unconscious.She heard a door swing open and felt herself been settled into bed, a blanket dragged over her, gently.Careful treatment as if she was an egg.A sudden gush of wing. The door swin
"Milady!" The doors flung open, and Gwen stormed in, totally ignoring the men by the door that had tried to stop her. Her steps were determined and her eyes showed that no matter what they did, she wasn't ready to back down in the slightest.As for the men, their job was to keep the King's mate in the room, so they could let this slid. Besides, this was Gwen."Milady," Gwen rushed to the bedside that Zezi was sound asleep, her face dissolved into a relaxed smile. The smell that hit her nose almost stilled her to a stop, a whiff of powerful aura that only belonged to the King. Her eyes slowly widened in realization. Lady Zezi must have had the King's blood.Gwen had already heard the rumors of the dinner and how it had went down, but she had been in a little if a doubt. Well if the emergency trail that was going on right now on the Execution Ground wasn't enough confirmation of how terrible things had gone and how much further they would go, this was more than enough.Things had gon
Unlike last time, she wouldn't be able to deliver this plea to the King herself. She would have to go through Lady Laura as she normally would. In fact, the only reason she had been able to deliver her Mistress's message directly to the King before, was because he had been strolling along the hallway at the exact moment she had stepped out of Lady Zezi's room, he had also beckoned her to tell him about Lady Zezi and how she was faring.This time around, the King wasn't strolling the through the hallway this time around, so to Lady Laura's door she ran.Her hand rouse to Lady Laura's door but before she even had the chance to knock, it flung right open."Gwen," she declared with surprise. "What are you doing here? You are supposed to be feeding." Her eye lids came together in a slant and she said pointedly. "This is your break.""I have something of utmost importance to be delivered to his Majesty, Lady Laura."She held up the scroll and Lady Laura took it, moving it a little closer to
Bang.There were only a few steps away from the cheering crowd and Delice could see the podium distantly from here. Her face heated up at the sight of the King in his seat. Seeing him always made her feel that way, she loved him. But he had a mate and she had to stay away... for now, although Laura would argue otherwise. Her gaze shifted to the other side of the podium, landing on the werewolf who had his pup in his arms, as he looked around with misery in his eyes.Her heart went out to them, the one that was certainly not beating but still, it did."By the Blood, I forgot!" Laura stopped suddenly in her tracks."What?""My bracelet!" She dangled her bare wrist up to Delice. "The very one my Mother gave me. You know how important that is to me right? It's the last thing I have of her. I don't feel complete and I can't watch this execution if I don't feel complete." Laura lips quickly stretched into a smile. "It's on the table, next to last bottle containing green liquid. Don't touch
Regret threatened to overcome her but this was not the time to think of her past actions and question herself as to why she had made those decisions without thinking properly. Every second was important and she would not waste of by dwelling on the past. If her assumption about the White Circle was right, Zezi knew she would need the help of everyone she could get, and to test Lord Rosil, she had asked her if she really didn't want her head for killing her son."I totally understand if you do. What kind of mother wouldn't want the head of her son's murderer?"Well, it seemed like she had hit a nerve because, after that, Lord Rosil had plenty to say. "The kind her son wanted to murder. That silly boy thought draining my blood would give him magic, then gave his sister a hard time because she had orchestrated my escape. Sometimes, it had felt like he was two vampires, stuck in one body. He has one that played the role of a Governor perfectly, and the other that displays just how much
"It is different." Zezi finally declared and Lord Rosil frowned, taking a step closer to her. "Are there any other bonds you know of that could be mistaken as a matebond?""No... This..."Zezi shook her head. This wasn't the time to get overwhelmed by sadness or Lord Rosil's stuttering answer. This was the time to get her head straight and think probably.Lord Rosil snapped her fingers like she had just gotten a groundbreaking idea."Well, of course, it is different! Both of you are different." Her green eyes glinted with excitement at her coming explanation and for that brief moment, Zezi remembered Gwen and missed her. "The King is a Soul Seizer and you, are his mate."Zezi nodded, waiting for more, there just had to be more. "And?""Your Majesty, the King had to make a really big sacrifice to kill his father." Everything somehow felt a little quieter to Zezi, and all her focus zeroed in on Lord Rosil as she approached her. "Only self-sacrifice could kill him and he made that. He s
Had Akeem also been taken by the Volakys?That was what Zezi started to worry about when she still hadn't gotten a message back or seen Akeem and it was already some minutes past midnight. She had also gone to the library to check on him, but as expected, his seat was empty. The library had looked untouched by the chaos going on the the castle, it felt peaceful and Zezi lingered around longer, hoping to walk into Valerick.He had said his mother loved the library, and she thought that he was probably here to find peace in that knowledge.But no, Valerick wasn't here either. With a long and heavy sigh, Zezi stood up. She should probably ask Delice if she had seen Akeem, it was good to confirm everything before jumping to conclusions. She wouldn't want to report anything and arouse suspicion regarding her relationship with the librarian, if things turn out differently. Zezi didn't want more walls thrown between her and Valerick, they already had so many problems to deal with at the m
Zezi's heart was pounding with regret as she ran up the stairs of the castle at an unfathomable speed.Why had she left to watch the execution in the first? She should have never left. She should have never convinced herself that she needed to be at the Execution for all the reasons she had thought it was important before. Right now, they all felt very useless.George and Aunt Alice had stayed behind to be with Mira. Not like they would have been allowed to watch the execution, not like they wanted to either. Gwen had stayed too.Oh, by the Moon, Zezi hoped they were all okay. She screeched to a stop right in front of her daughter's door, flinging it open as fast as she could. Her eyes combed the room and horror seeped through her veins at what she found... or rather what she didn't. Mira's bed was empty. George and Aunt Alice were nowhere to be found, along with Gwen who was...Wait!George and Aunt Alice were on the floor, unconscious. Zezi ran to them, accessing the situation
Valerick looked unmoved and it was hard for Zezi to figure out what he was feeling through the bond. His side of it was still blocked.This was frustrating!She was sitting right by his side but it seemed like a whole wall had been thrown between them. Her attention moved to the Princess, who sat upright, her gaze unmoving from Riza as she clocked her claws together. Zezi wondered if she had poison beneath them, and mentally noted to herself not to get too close to Laura no matter what. She couldn't be trusted right now. But then, when was she ever worthy of trust? They were all unworthy.From the other corner of Zezi's eyes, she watched Lady Delice's reaction. The Royal Advisor kept a calm demeanour but something about hers and Laura's aura were off.From what Zezi could deduce, they were scared that Riza was going to talk about the White Circle.That made Zezi curious. What about the oath she had made before joining the White Circle to keep their business secret? Everyone had
After that, Zezi had gone to see Delice. She didn't even have to share her suspicion, the Royal Advisor had beat her to it."Just be vigilant," Lady Delice had said, as they hurried away from the den, and up the stairs. "I think there is more to this than we know, I will ask Laura soon." Leaving Lady Delice, she had ran into Akeem, whose path she had blocked. His eyes which were originally filled with worry turned into those of attack but she refused to move. Instead, she pulled him aside into the Hall of Statues. So much was going on in the Castle lately, their presence here would most likely go unnoticed. "She turned you, didn't she?" Zezi said the moment the door was shut behind her. "But something had been different in the process. That is why you are different."Hope lit in Zezi's heart. Maybe she would be able to get what her daughter was before the tests would be conducted.Maybe her daughter was just like Akeem. Akeem's face shadowed with secrecy. "I don't know what you a
"I don't have it. I gave it away.""To whom?"Her eyes found his, it had only been for a moment before she looked back at the King, pleading."Please, he didn't do it. He didn't mean it--""Who did you give it to?""Oliver. I gave it to Oli, my mate.""It was a gift of trust." Oliver stood up from the chair, his eyes twinkling with the glint of the ever-present humor. "I didn't even use it. I didn't do this, I didn't do anything. Tell them, Laura!" He ended with a smile. Rage blazed in her eyes, seamlessly mixing with helplessness. It was such a sight. Beautiful."You did it."His smile dwindled."I know you did it and that is why things haven't been the same between us.""Things haven't been the same between us because I spent a night with Riza."Gasps filled the court at the implied reference to cheating. It was a scandalous thing and very distasteful thing to happen between mates, fated or chosen. It was an act deserving of punishment.How hypocritical these vampires were, Zez
"What gives you the audacity to put a royal Pureblood in these filthy chains?!" The Princess's voice rang through the hall, bouncing off the walls, her glare directed to the guard that had just dragged her in and pushed her into the Accused box.Raising her head, she accessed her surroundings, a formation that seemed so high, that it made her feel like she was in a pit, with iron railings camping her. On the high chairs on her left side, different Lords were seated, while on her right, the Governors along with her sweet Delice, Oli. Behind her were the people.Wait!Next to her brother was that fur bastard whose existence was an absolute irritation. This was the Royal Court of Lavida, what an absolute disgrace it was to be in this box. Laura felt repulsed by everything. "You stand in the presence of the King and Queen of Lavida, Royal Adviser, Governors, Lords, and the people, to speak in your defence against the accusations that you are the one behind the Volakys attack!" That br
Valerick was nowhere to be found and even though she didn't want to, Zezi started to panic.Until, she had met Nicholas who told her that the King had to attend to other pressing issues that had more priority than "chit-chatting" with her. When she asked about Mira's health, he tried his best to seem reassuring but Zezi could see straight through his lie.Dr. Nicholas didn't know if her daughter would ever wake up. It was strange. If she really was a vampire, then why was she at the risk of dying without the Volakys venom ever being in her veins in the first place?This just didn't make any sense. "She has been starved for too long. Years! I don't even know how she had survived this long. My guess is that she is some kind of hybrid and that other part has been the one keeping her alive, and the overworking has been killing that part of her. That is why she is always sick. It will be a medical breakthrough to get to the root of this."He had declared in absolute excitement."My daug