by Tara Shuler
“It is done,” Alexi said, and I turned back around.
Logan’s wolf form bowed all the way to the ground before me, and I bowed politely back to him. He nodded toward Alexi and then dashed into the woods, quickly disappearing into the shadows.
“Why haven’t you told me about the wolves before?” I asked Alexi as he put his cloak back on.
“To be honest I have not thought about it,” he answered. “I know you could be trusted, so I would have told you if it had been on my mind.”
“Fair enough,” I said. “I just wish I’d known. This was a real shock.”
“I know, darling,” he said, chucking my chin.
“So what can we do to help Logan’s pack?” I asked. “We have to do something.”
“We will send some council members to help,” Alexi said.
“That’s all?” I demanded. “Alexi, this is your good friend and his whole pack is being threatened!”
“Calm down, darling,” Alexi tried to soothe me. “We will help however we can.”
“You’re right, we will!” I said firmly. “We will be helping him personally. All of us!”
“With everything we are dealing with, I hardly see how…”
“My mind is made up,” I interrupted him. “We will help Logan and his pack. This is non-negotiable.”
Alexi stared at me for a while, his expression stoic. Finally his lip twitched and then formed into a smile. He took me into his arms and squeezed me so tightly I could scarcely breathe.
“Alexi,” I croaked. “Can’t… breathe…”
He loosed his grip but kept his arms around me and said, “I am so proud of you.”
“For what?”
“For so many things,” he answered. “But for standing up to me and sticking so firmly to what you believe is right. You are starting to act like a Chancellor.”
I felt my face warm with glowing pride. For the first time, I really believed I had a chance to be a good Chancellor. Maybe I wasn’t the hopeless case I had thought I was.
“Should we head back inside?” Alexi asked me.
“Yes, I think we need to tell the others and start preparing,” I told him.
He stuck out his elbow, and I hooked my own into his, and we headed back to the compound to inform the others that we’d need to prepare for battle.
Chapter Eight
Alexi called a meeting of the Council, and we gathered in the dining hall. Normally the Council would convene in the meeting hall, but since that was in a separate building in the compound, Alexi decided the dining hall would be more secure.
Alexi had insisted that I make the announcement to the Council since it was my decision to help Logan’s directly. I was understandably nervous, but I knew that I had to step up as Chancellor at some point. And he was right, this was my decision, so I should be the one to announce it.
I stood in front of the dining hall and cleared my throat uncomfortably. The din of chatter continued as everyone talked and wondered about the topic of the meeting. I heard Dmitri’s name mentioned several times, and others mentioned me.
“Excuse me!” I raised my voice above the commotion. “May I have your attention?”
A few people turned their heads in my direction, but others continued their chatter. I noticed Max frowning. He popped to his feet, thrust two fingers into his mouth, and whistled loudly enough that the sound ricocheted off the walls. The hall was instantly silenced.
I mouthed a silent thank you in Max’s direction, and he nodded as he took his seat. I took a deep breath and tried to swallow away the lump that had risen into my throat. My face burned hot and red.
“I want to thank everyone for coming today,” I said. “I have a matter to discuss with all of you that I hope I’ll have your support on. I’m not sure how many of you are aware of the existence of wolf shifters. I know that I myself was not aware of them until earlier today, but for those of you who are not, I must inform you that wolf shifters, ‘werewolves’ I guess they are also commonly called, do exist and one of their packs needs our help.”
Many of the council members looked unaffected by the news, but a number of them were wide-eyed and Denise looked as if she might be ready to lose her lunch.
“Alexi has a good friend who is the leader of the wolf pack who lives in the area outside the compound known as The Thicken,” I continued. “His name is Logan Thornton, and his pack is quite friendly. Another pack is apparently making aggressive moves that leads Logan to believe they are about to attempt to take The Thicket.”
People started glancing at one another as if they couldn’t understand how this applied to the Council. I began to worry that I wouldn’t have their support, but I went on.
“I know some of you may be wondering why any of this matters to us, but it matters on several levels,” I told them all. “For one thing, the leader of the rival pack is an… I guess an enemy of Alexi’s. It definitely would not do to have him running the territory just outside our compound. It could make security a nightmare, especially if he deliberately allowed our enemies to infiltrate the compound via his territory.”
Some council members began to nod their understanding. I could tell I was slowly getting through to them, and I began to feel braver.
“Logan, as I mentioned, is a good friend of Alexi’s,” I said. “He knew Barnabas. He and his pack have lived peacefully in The Thicket for a long time now, and they have also agreed to help us in our fight against Dmitri in any way that they can. We simply cannot sit back and do nothing. Their pack is seriously outnumbered, and it is not only important to our own security that we help them, but it is also the right thing to do.”
“I’d like to make a motion that we assist Logan’s pack in any way that we can,” Liam said loudly.
“Seconded!” Alexi piped up.
With the support of Alexi and Liam, I knew I had a fighting chance.
“All in favor?” I asked the crowd.
“Aye!” chorused the crowd in unison.
“All opposed?” I called out.
No one spoke.
“The motion carries,” I announced. “We must begin preparing at once for potential battle. I’d also like to mention that this will also give us valuable practice in our fight against Dmitri, in addition to giving us additional aid in the event that we need it. Let’s be sure we don’t let the wolves down, alright?”
A cheer arose from the crowd, and a warmth spread through me as I realized that they were beginning to accept me as Chancellor. In fact, maybe they always had. Maybe it was my own fear all along that had me thinking they wouldn’t.
The crowd surged around me, surrounding me with claps on the back and handshakes. We may have had only a few dozen members, but it felt as though I were being backed by an entire army. My heart swelled with pride as I received overwhelming support.
“You’re all dismissed,” I said. “And I can’t thank all of you enough for your support!”
“You were wonderful, darling,” Alexi said into my ear, his arm going around my shoulders in a supportive embrace. I smiled up at him, my eyes full of thanks.
As the crowd began to move toward the exit, I shouted, “Wait!” Everyone turned to face me and I added, “We don’t know when the wolves will need our assistance. It could be anytime. So please be sure you feed often. Everyone needs to keep their strength up at all times.”
Everyone nodded their acknowledgement as they surged through the door, and I turned to Alexi and said, “Speaking of which, I’m starving.”
“You must feed on a volunteer,” Alexi said. “After that you may ask Jamie to prepare you anything you would like.”
“Yes, you’re right,” I agreed. “I’ve been neglecting to feed for far too long, and that is dangerous considering the situation we’re in. Will you be coming with me?”
“Liam and I will both come,” Alexi said.
“It’s been too long for me, too,” Liam admitted. “I am feeling a bit weak.”
We all t
urned toward the door to head to the volunteer quarters and suddenly I froze. My jaw went slack and I could scarcely speak.
“Long time no see.”
“Kai,” I whispered.
Kai extended his arms from his sides and said, “Don’t I get a hug?”
I glanced at Alexi, and he nodded his approval. I dashed toward Kai and threw my arms around his neck, jumping into his arms as he lifted me off the ground in a giant bear hug.
“I can’t believe you’re really here!” I squealed. “Where have you been?”
“Here and there,” he said, letting my feet drop to the floor. He released me and ruffled my hair. “You’re looking great. Marriage agrees with you.”
I smiled back at Alexi, and he beamed back, clearly glad that I was happy.
“Alexi is wonderful,” I gushed, turning back to Kai. “I’m truly happy.”
“And I’m truly happy for you,” he said. “I’m sorry it took so long for me to feel this way.”
“I understand,” I told him. “It was a difficult situation. I’m just sorry you got hurt.”
He shrugged and said, “It wasn’t meant to be. I understand that now. I’ve done a lot of thinking and soul searching, and I understand a lot that I didn’t before.”
I nodded, unable to think of anything to say. Then I realized the only thing I really could say was, “I’m really glad you’re back.”
“Me, too,” he said with a smile.
Alexi approached, and he stared wordlessly at Kai for a few moments, and then he extended his hand. Kai took it and clutched it firmly, and the two shared a friendly, if awkward, handshake.
“I thank you for coming to help us, Kai,” Alexi said.
“When I heard Alice was in danger again, what else could I do?” Kai asked.
I noticed Kai’s muscles rippling in his arm as he gripped Alexi’s hand, and I raised an eyebrow. He’d morphed from a lean teenager into a muscular man practically overnight. Although it had been a while since I’d seen him, I was shocked by the transformation.
“I see you’ve been working out,” I told him. Alexi shot me an uncomfortable glance, and I added, “You’re larger than I remember.”
“Well, I figured that if I didn’t have any special powers like most of you do that I should at least try to become the best meat shield I can be, right?” he joked. “Really, I just didn’t like feeling useless.”
“I know the feeling,” I groaned.
“You, useless?” Kai asked. “You’re the most powerful one of all of us!”
“She cannot use her powers,” Alexi interjected.
“What? Why not?” Kai asked.
My head was hanging in shame as Alexi said, “She has been having trouble with the darkness ever since she used dark magic. We have had to get her to refrain from using any powers at all until we figure out what to do.”
“Bummer,” said Kai. “Any ideas?”
“Not at this time,” Alexi said.
“Actually,” I said quickly, “I have found something that may help. There’s this crys…”
“Ahem!” Alexi cleared his throat at me, and I glanced at him with a shrug.
“What?” I muttered.
“I will remind you that the object in question was locked away by a powerful incantation for a reason,” Alexi said.
“Oh, right,” I said. “Sorry, I forgot.”
“I get it,” Kai said. “Top secret Council stuff. No worries.”
“We are going to feed,” Alexi said. “Would you like to join us, Kai?”
“I fed on the way here,” Kai said. Then he quickly added, “On a volunteer of my own. It’s a… well, it’s a girl I met at a club. She’s a blood doll.”
“A what?” I asked.
“A blood doll,” Kai repeated. “It’s… well, a human that volunteers to donate blood to a vampire just the way the volunteers you have here at the compound do. Only they do it for… mostly sexual reasons.”
Color rose in my cheeks and I said, “Oh.”
“She and I haven’t… we’re not…” Kai began to explain.
I held up my hand and said, “You don’t have to explain anything to me. What you do is your business, not mine.”
He nodded and said, “Well, anyway, one friend to another — it hasn’t gone there.”
“Let’s go feed,” I said, quickly changing the subject.
*****
The Council volunteers were humans who came to live at the compound for the express purpose of allowing us to feed. Most had been homeless at one point and the Council gave them room and board for the price of a bit of their blood from time to time, and it kept us from having to bite unwilling humans.
The volunteers knew they were safe, because Council members were fully in control of their thirst, and accidents rarely ever happened. I say rarely because I’d once nearly killed a volunteer when the darkness had begun to take over in me after I first practiced dark magic.
I was always exceptionally cautious now when I fed, especially now that I realized the darkness was still somewhere inside me. I always had Alexi or Liam with me when I fed in case something did go wrong. I knew they’d be able to do something to stop me if I happened to lose control.
Despite these precautions, I was still uncomfortable every time I fed. This left me weak a lot of the time, because vampires, while they can live on human food, lose a tremendous amount of their strength, speed and power if they don’t feed on human blood for a while.
Right now, I had to be at my strongest. Even though I couldn’t use my powers, I still needed to be as strong as possible in case we were attacked.
As we approached the living quarters for the volunteers, which had been moved to a wing of the basement in recent weeks, my heart was thrumming erratically inside my chest. A knot formed in my stomach, and I felt like I might have a panic attack. I froze, Alexi and Kai taking a few steps ahead of me before realized I had stopped.
Alexi turned and said, “Darling, are you alright?”
I swallowed hard and and shook my head. I could feel sweat collecting in beads on my forehead, and the room began to spin. I fell to my knees and bent forward, pressing my head to the floor.
Alexi kneeled beside me and embraced me, and he could feel me shivering. I could feel his concern wafting off him in waves. I’d rarely ever been so tuned in to someone else’s emotions, and it was a bit jarring.
“I’m fine,” I said quickly. “I guess I just got nervous because of the darkness.”
“You will be fine,” Alexi assured me. “Both Kai and I will be there to ensure you do not lose control.”
I nodded, but I wasn’t entirely convinced. I couldn’t help but worry that I would latch on and refuse to let go, and that some poor human would die because of my mistakes.
Alexi helped me to my feet and hooked his arm around my waist, keeping me mostly stable as we approached the feeding room.
The feeding room was just a room set up in the living quarters where volunteers would sit to await Council member who needed to feed. There was a television, a wall of books, computers, and some other forms of entertainment to keep them amused while they waited. If no volunteers were in the feeding room when we needed to feed, we could simply ring a buzzer and a few would show up quickly.
When we entered, there were several people milling about the room. Some were sitting around a table playing cards together. A few were gathered around the television watching some reality show set on an island and everyone on the screen was nude. One young girl sat alone in the corner reading a book. I approached her.
“Hello,” I said. “What’s your name?”
She peeked over the top of her book and said, “Claire.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Claire,” I told her. “I’m Alice. Have you been here long?”
She shook her head and said, “I just arrived last night.”
I sat in the chair beside her and said, “Do you know how this works?”
“Not really,” she a
nswered. “I mean, I do know what’s going to happen. I just don’t… I mean… will it hurt?”
“Only for a second, like a pinch,” I answered. “My venom will quickly paralyze you and you won’t feel a thing. You won’t even remember what happened when it’s over.”
“O-ok,” she stammered. “I trust you.”
The knot in my stomach leaped into my throat, and I couldn’t shake the nagging feeling that I didn’t even trust myself. Now I was going to feed on some poor, helpless young girl who was most likely a runaway and was only here because she had nowhere else to go.
I popped to my feet and looked Alexi squarely in the eye and said, “I can’t do this.”
“You can, darling,” Alexi said. “You must.”
Alexi spun me on my heels and forced me to face Claire. Her blue eyes looked up at me innocently, and she brushed a strand of her chestnut hair behind her ear. I swallowed the lump from my throat and sat back down beside her.
“Are you ready?” I asked her.
“Y-yes,” she answered, pulling her hair away from her neck.
I could see her pulse pounding in her jugular. I could smell her blood, and I could hear its gush through her veins. My own heartbeat sped up to match hers, and I bent my head and placed my lips against her throat.
I could feel the sting of my fangs erupting from their sheathes. I inhaled deeply the scent of her, and I parted my lips and tasted her with my tongue. I could feel her anxiety surrounding me like a thick fog, and I decided I must get this over with as quickly as possible.
My fangs pierced her flesh with a slight crunch, and she gasped, and then went limp in my arms. I felt the warmth of her blood filling my fangs, bleeding past my gums and filling my stomach. I drank fully, and any fear I had melted away. I could feel the crystal resonating inside me, protecting both her and me from the darkness. With each pulse of her artery, more blood ran down my throat.
Finally, I broke away from her and I let her limp body droop against the back of her armchair. I licked a drop of blood away from my lips and sighed with contentment.
