Chapter 2: The Secret
1100 Words
-Ronan-
The large doors opened before me, and the entire room fell silent as surprise appeared on their faces. Or on most of them, at least. As I entered and looked around at the members gathered around the long, brown table, I caught my informant smiling, while the air began to carry a faint scent of nervousness. Yes, they’re definitely hiding something, I concluded as I walked to the end of the table and took my seat.
Silently, I studied everyone, my gaze lingering on my informant before shifting to Colum. He had a seat at the table as well. Only the most powerful alphas in the U.S. did, which made up ten in total. I watched Colum for a moment longer. He met my eyes, but something told me he didn’t want me here either. He knows, I thought.
“My king, what are you doing here?” one of the men asked.
“Can’t I be here?” I countered, turning my attention to one of the oldest members present. When my eyes landed on him, his fear only seemed to deepen.
“Now, what is on the agenda today?” I asked.
No one answered, and the stench of fear rose.
“Well?” I pressed.
“You came here with a purpose, didn’t you, my king?” Colum inquired.
He could read me, just like I could read him. I knew there was no reason to play games.
“I heard there was a reason to come today,” I said.
“Did you?” he questioned, and I saw his eyes briefly travel across the table to my informant before they returned to me.
“So? What is so important about this meeting? Huh?”
Everyone went quiet, glancing at one another, and it started to get on my nerves. I slammed my hand on the table, demanding their attention. Colum faced me again, calmer now.
“We were going to tell you,” Colum assured me.
“Tell me what?” I asked, annoyed that I had been kept in the dark.
“We just wanted to wait a little.”
“For?” I inquired.
They all glanced at each other again.
“Until you were prepared,” the oldest member replied.
“Prepared? Prepared for what?”
“A new mate,” Colum answered.
The room went dead silent, and I immediately turned to glare at my friend. What the hell was he talking about? A new mate?
“What?” I growled, my voice low.
Colum glanced down at the table, sighing softly before meeting my eyes. “I was going to ease you into this,” he said.
“Ease me into what? You know I had a queen, and that was the only queen I wanted. She was pregnant with my child!”
“I know,” he replied, his voice calm and collected, which only pissed me off.
“Then what the hell do you think you are doing telling me to get a new mate?” I yelled.
“This was why we didn’t want to tell you yet,” he said. “You aren’t ready.”
“I will never be ready! Are my words not clear enough to you?”
He looked at me with such a sad expression, as if he truly understood my pain… And maybe he did, at least a little, because he knew how hard it would be if he ever lost his mate and child.
“This is different,” he remarked.
“Different? You mean she is different? The one you have found,” I growled.
He nodded.
“What? Is she from some perfect wolf line that I simply cannot refuse?” I asked mockingly.
He shook his head. “No.”
“Vampire then?”
He shook his head again, confusing me this time. If this wasn’t some fancy highborn they wanted me to be mated to, then why was it so important to them?
“Then what?” I pressed.
Colum glanced at some of the other members, as if seeking their approval, but his hesitation only frustrated me.
“Colum!” I snapped.
“She is a hybrid.”
Silence fell over us again. The only sounds were our breathing and perhaps the pounding of my heart, though I wondered if anyone else could hear it.
A hybrid, I repeated internally.
I didn’t want to believe it. Adrianna had been the last female hybrid, there was no one else left but her. I was certain of it. This couldn’t be true.
“No!” I snapped. “There are no more!”
“There is one left,” he said quietly.
“How?”
My question made him hesitate. “That… is what we’ve been trying to figure out. We’re not completely sure yet,” he admitted. “We have people digging through old records—history books, your family line, and anything else that might explain it. What we do know is that she’s more vampire than wolf, so we believe one of her parents was a hybrid and the other a vampire. As you know, at least one parent has to be a hybrid, or another can’t be created.”
I tapped a finger against the table in front of me, turning my eyes to my informant. I knew now why he had asked me to come. However, my informant was an idi*t. I was almost madder at him than anyone here.
“Where is she?” I inquired, ignoring the information Colum had given me.
Colum glanced to the side, a gesture that worried me.
“What?” I asked.
“We… We don’t have her anymore,” he admitted.
“Excuse me?”
“The vampires somehow got to her last night.”
“Of course they did,” I snarled.
I looked over at my informant again to gauge his reaction, but he looked genuinely shocked, as if he hadn’t known either. Clearly, his chance of getting on my good side was slipping through his fingers.
“How perfect,” I groaned sarcastically, pushing back my chair as I stood.
“Where are you going?” Colum asked.
“Well, where do you think? I’m going to find out if this is true, and if it is, then I’m certainly not leaving her in the care of any of you. You’re all incompetent for losing her!” I growled.
I turned away, done with this st*pid meeting. I had questions that still needed answers… like, who the f*ck was she?
- Writer
