Chapter 3

Fear ran even faster down his veins, and he rushed towards her, but before he could reach her, she stood up and sidestepped him.

This wasn't the first time something like this was happening. It was always boiling down to the fact that they weren't real mates.

The Luna and Alpha Gery spoke in hushed tones at the far end of the room, while Zezi made sure to stay far away from George as much as the small room could allow. George leaned against the wall, tugging at his hair and sighing while he thought about the consequences of what he had done.

He mostly definitely didn't want to turn rogue once again.

When the Alpha and Luna were done arguing, they came back to the table.

"I will sign the deal."

There was silence.

"You will take a message to where we found the body to alert them that we are ready to submit."

Zezi nodded. She would have to go to the border of the Capital of Teeland, the Capital being where they were.

"I will go with her." George started walking towards the table.

"That will be impossible. You will be taking your sweet time in the dungeon thinking about the consequences of what you have done here today."

Before anyone could say or do anything, guards rushed into the room and bound him with silver chains. He didn't resist but the pain that lashed across his skin made him groan loudly in pain as they dragged him away.

When he was gone, the Alpha handed Zezi a stamped message and left the room. Zezi knew that the only reason why the Alpha would choose to send George to the dungeon instead of banishing him or doing something worse was because of the Luna. So immediately after he left, she turned to the Luna and thanked her.

"No problem with that at all, Zezi. How about your arm, does it hurt?"

Zezi subconsciously brushed her hand against her arching arm. It did, but it was healing fast. The reason why it even hurt to begin with was because of the kind of force George, as a Beta, commanded.

"Does he do this all the time? Are you safe?"

Different images of when something like this had happened in the past flashed before her eyes and she blinked to lock the images away. She took consolation in the fact that it wasn't him, it was his beast.

"He loves him." Zezi finally said.

"Does his wolf?"

"His wolf sees me as a stranger." Before the Luna could say anymore, Zezi added. "We have been together for years. What matters is that he loves me."

The Luna nodded, backing down. "I will just go and get Mira while you send the message."

"That won't be necessary, Luna. She is with Aunt Alice and I won't be gone for long."

The Luna started leaving. She was always one for white silky gowns, and even as she parted, the moonlight from the window seemed to shine upon her. "If you want to see him before you leave..."

"I don't." Zezi smiled, thanking her. "I will be on my way now."

That night, Zezi had sent the message. When she got back, George had been released from the dungeon. He apologized to her for his behavior, just like he had done every time something like that had happened. They both knew it was something he couldn't control yet it didn't change the fact that it hurt.

They got a message from the Vampire King again. This time, it wasn't a body. Maybe because their intention to surrender was now clear. They found the letter stuck with an arrow on one of the trees around the Capital's border.

The message was about the Vampire King and some of his kind coming to the Capital to sign and finalize the deal. Everyone was uneasy. The Alpha had already made an announcement about what was happening, and they knew that once that deal was signed, nothing would be the same again. The vampires were cruel creatures, fearless too. They were immortals, they had no life to protect, only their souls.

The havoc their kind had wreaked on the world were fearful tales that would be forever remembered.

The pack was unusually quiet as they waited in anticipation of the arrival of their doom. Yet they knew it was better this way, better this way than the war.

When the Vampires arrived, their presence brought with them a sense of dread. The Alpha and Luna had been the ones to welcome them. They tried hard not to show fear in order to reassure the rest of the pack.

If deals were to be signed between packs, it would usually take place in the Alpha's office but this time around, they decided to use the little hall in the pack house. Each kind taking a side. There were warriors at the werewolves' table; everyone was alert. A sharp contrast to the calmness at the Vampire's table. They looked calm and in control, something that should be odd considering the fact that they were just five.

Their King sat in the middle, two women at either of his side and a man at either side of the women.

The hall was a beautiful one, filled with beautiful light and a heavenly scent that seemed to struggle with the aura of death the vampires carried along with them.

Not knowing what to do, Alpha Gery rose to address everyone. "We are here today..."

"Cut the formality, I don't have time to waste." The Vampire King's voice cut him short. There was something sharp and cold about his voice, commanding even. He signaled to one of the men at the end of his table and the man stood up with a scroll in his hand.

"Your delay has caused me to review my terms, Gery."

Alpha Gery gritted his teeth at the disrespect. It hurt more that he was powerless. The way they came little in number showed how confident they were in their strength, what hurt most about it was that they were right.

One of the Vampires went across the hall and placed the new scroll before Gery, then he went back to take his seat.

Gery clenched and unclenched his fists as he read through the scroll. He flung it aside and slammed his fists on the table.

"That is just too much!"

The Vampire King was unfazed, he watched the furious Alpha through bored eyes.

"Is that so?"

George reached across the table quickly to see what the new term was. Anger clouded his eyes immediately but he knew better than to speak.

"I cannot allow you to turn 500 of my pack members by tomorrow night." Gery chest was rising and falling in anger.

The King stared back at him with a raised eyebrow.

Gery pressed his lips together then he spoke through clenched teeth, like what he said next was driving a dagger to his heart.

"They won't survive it."

"What does it matter?"

Gery clenched his fist tightly against the table. This was just too much for him! He could hear Sky say something to him through their mind link, but he couldn't exactly make out what it was, though he knew she wanted him to be calm so that he could think straight. They all needed that from him right now.

"The deal is that we surrender to you, you will be our King and we pay a certain quota of everything we get to you every month. The quota we are to meet is already ridiculous."

Something ticked in the King's jaw. "Then I believe we are done here."

As if on cue, they all stood up immediately, turning away from the table.

It didn't need to be spelled out; everyone knew that once they stepped out of the hall, it meant only one thing.

There would be a full-blown war.

Not like the one they had been battling for some months but one that would happen once and for all. They also knew that they wouldn't survive it.

"I beg you to reconsider." Gery forced himself to say.

The King's eyes flickered to one of the women by his side, the slightly taller and rigid-looking one; she nodded lightly. Her movement was so small that it could have almost been missed.

They all settled down and Gery let out a sigh of relief. At that moment, Zezi rushed in, her boots making a muffled sound against the tiled floor. Eyes turned towards her before she scurried to the seat next to George and they looked away.

"Where have you been?" George whispered to her.

"Mira." Feeling uneasy, she patted her hands on her gray uniform. "What have I missed?"

George passed her the scroll, and when she read it, she was angry, too. This was insanity! Werewolves and vampires were two different kinds and turning them was a slim chance of survival. It was more or less like saying they wanted 500 pack members dead by tomorrow night. They had already lost so many pack members during this war already.

"480 then." Zezi heard a calm, sharp voice say, and her eyes flew in the direction of whoever said it.

It was the man seated at the center of the table. He had a sharp jawline and a crown that sat gloriously on his jet-black hair. He was quite muscular and he looked like a godly sculptor in his blood-red robe. The more she looked at him, the more she felt uneasy. There was just something about him that she couldn't put her finger on.

Something about him felt so different and dangerous.