Chapter 4

"I beg you to reconsider." She heard her Alpha say, frustrated. It looked like there was no headway in the argument.

"I have already done that and I say 480."

The uneasiness set in again in Zezi's veins. It was like there was something about his voice that made her feel strange, something that drove her to a certain edge that she couldn't explain.

"I will give you more territories." The Alpha said in defeat and the Luna looked at him sharply. Everyone did but he didn't look back at them.

"All territories." The King started point blank and silence settled across the hall.

The first deal had left only five small packs under Gery's command. Unless he was willing to sacrifice the lives of 480 werewolves, then he would have to surrender totally to the King. He was caught in a tough place and he knew it.

George looked up at the Alpha and he knew he was considering it. He swallowed a lump in his throat, he might have been wrong about Gery after all. Maybe he did deserve to be the Alpha because here he was about to give away the little that was left of his authority and power to save 480 lives.

"Fine." The word pushed past his teeth. He knew the implication of his agreement; once he signed that deal, he would be nothing, just a mere werewolf. He would be reduced to nothing.

He felt his Luna's hands on his, holding him tightly so that he could understand he was not alone. Zezi and George shared worried glances before looking away.

Then the signing began. Agreements upon agreements about different packs under Alpha Gery's command.

When it was Alpha Gery's turn to pass a scroll to the Vampire King, he signaled to Zezi who took it and went to the other side of the hall where the vampires were seated. She took a quick note of everyone who sat at the table; their gazes were empty, and they all looked pale. When she got to the King, she tried hard to keep her head down. She put the scroll forward, and he took it, but his cold hand had mistakenly brushed against hers. Immediately, fire lit in her veins. She looked up instinctively only to see that he was looking at her already.

She got lost in his eyes then, feeling trapped in a spell that she couldn't resist. It was as if she could suddenly see all the different emotions he buried behind them. Her breath caught in her throat and she gulped.

He looked away then, his eyes on the mark etched firmly into her neck. His black eyes turned a shade darker and his jaw tightened. Then he blinked and just like that, it was all gone. He was cold again, unreadable, like whatever she had seen happen hadn't happened at all.

She blinked in confusion then turned away, resuming back to her side of the table. No one seemed to have noticed anything being amiss.

She sat down, visibly shaken. George put his arms behind her and whispered something to her but she couldn't hear. She looked up at where the King was again but he was going through the scrolls, his eyes focused on them.

She felt so confused and dazed, the rate at which her heart was racing didn't let her think straight. She felt George lean in and whisper something to her ears, his lips brushing it lightly. He looked up at her then, cold emotionless eyes staring at her across the hall before he looked away yet again, his eyes set on the scroll.

She stood up abruptly, gave an excuse that she didn't even know if it sounded right then dashed out of the hall. She could feel him looking at her but she didn't look back.

What had just happened had to be some mistake. She was a lone wolf; there was no way she could ever have a mate, and even if, by some chance, the moon goddess decided to change that, there was no way it would be a vampire.

Vampires and werewolves were not mates, they were enemies, enemies that boiled down to the very root of history.

Zize pulled down her bags that she had been packing three nights before. Tears rushed down her eyes, she didn't know what to do. With shaky hands, she grabbed her clothes and folded them hazardously into the bag.

She could hear the worried voice of her daughter in her head, remembering what she had said the night she wanted to leave but she pushed it to the back of her mind. She needed to leave, she had to do this.

She was really grateful that Aunt Alice had Mira with her. She wouldn't have known what to do if they were still here, she wouldn't have known what to tell them, what to tell George. How would she say it?

How could she tell anyone that the Vampire King everyone dreaded, everyone including her hated, was her mate? There must have been some mistake. Mates don't happen between the two kinds. What was the meaning of this? She had already lived with the fact that she would never have a mate and built a family. Why now? Why him?

She zipped up the pack, ready to leave. She needed that pass though, the one that the Alpha had sent to her through George three nights ago. Her heart ached that she would be breaking her promise but she knew that if she stayed, she would be risking too much. He must know that they were mates too, and she wasn't quite sure if he was the type to take having a mate seriously. He wasn't an easy man to read and there wasn't so much she could get from his blank eyes.

Too many thoughts were running through her mind. She finally found the pass in the pocket of one of George's pairs of trousers. She tucked it into her pocket. Without any more hesitation, she dashed into the garage, flung her bag into the backseat of the car, and in no time, her hands were on the wheels. She swirled out of the garage, her mind in a gaze, then suddenly she stumped her feet on the brakes, and the car screeched to a halt.

What was she doing? Was she really going to leave? Her daughter, her family, everything she ever had.

Would she really leave everything behind?

Could she do that?

Back in the hall, the King watched the scroll blankly once again before he looked up at the werewolves. Their tensed faces etched into his memory, then he looked at the empty seat at the end of the table and he nodded lightly.

"Where is your Zeta?"

They all looked at the King confused. Alpha Gery was the first to speak. "Off for important matters."

A lot of thinking was going on in the King's head; his eyes seemed to have turned a shade darker, too.

"What..." he dropped the scroll on the table; the small movement echoed across the silent room. He was fighting with a force that was more than him and fighting this was difficult. "...matters?"

George didn't like the possessive tone he used. There was something oddly familiar yet so strange about it and he didn't like it one bit. This King could poke his nose into the packs' business but Zezi shouldn't be one of them.

When Alpha Gery spoke again, it was obvious that he felt uneasy by the close questioning.

"I'm afraid we can't discuss that; it is a pack issue and has nothing to do with this."

"It does. Turns out your Zeta is my mate and I think she just fled." He looked icily at the Alpha, then said, "Find her."

Silence cast across the hall, and before anyone could do anything, George bolted out through the door. He had suspected that something was wrong but there was no way he could have suspected this.

It was impossible! He told himself over and over again. Vampires and werewolves could never be mates. Besides, Zezi was a lone wolf. She wasn't destined to have a mate. Wasn't that how they had ended up together in the first place?

This was just impossible.

When he got back home, he ran into the house shouting her name.

"Zezi?! The Bloodsucker's King is saying some really stupid things!"

The house felt empty. His voice echoed back to him softly and his eyes slowly became glassy. If Zezi had indeed fled then it would mean things, things he didn't want to be true.

He ran to the garage immediately to see the spot where Zezi's car used to be empty and his heart sank.

It was true.

Zezi had fled.