The First Chimera.

Chapter 8

Ria's POV

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The morning has passed in a blur of arguments, strategies and noise. Noise I haven't been able to focus on for longer than a few minutes.

If they're not arguing about making it illegal for different species to accept each other as goddess gifted mates, they're arguing about whether or not to destroy and slaughter the rogue group.

It's exhausting listening to them go round and round in circles. No-one is listening to the others point of veiw, they all believe their way is the best way..... Well nearly all, there are a couple of exceptions.

But right now, we've broken up for lunch and I have no appetite, not with uncle wanting to tell those in this room what I am.

The only thing that this meeting of leaders seems to have accomplished is the current and future rulers now seem to be making an effort to get to know each other, even become friendly. I've even seen Alexander, Dakota, and Samuel mingling with the other heirs. I've really enjoyed watching Zane be in his element this week, speaking easily with everyone. Maybe it's from our years of learning about the other races in the pack's library, or maybe its purely from being my brother that gives Zane the confidence and ease talking among the future rulers.

Maybe having me as a sister wasn't so bad for my family after all? I shake my head at the thought, disgusted with myself. I've been nothing but a burden on my family, and on their pack from the moment the goddesses gifted me to them. What I am hasn't made life easy for them.

"You're Kimaria, yes?" A soft female voice grabs my attention and I look up from my plate of untouched lunch to find a beautiful women standing in front of me. Her chestnut brown, shoulder length hair let down, the sunlight catching natural highlights of honey and ginger, adding a layer of softeness to her high cheekbones and striking beauty. Her eyes the soft blue of forget-me-nots stands out against her creamy complextion and dark hair. She's stunning, which is not really surprising when I catch the vampire scent off her. A small smile tugs at my lips, even as my body stiffens in preperation for fight or flight.

"Yes, I'm Kimaria, and you are?" She grins at me, flashing white teeth. Her fangs hidden to show that she means me no harm. My beasts watch her from behind our glamma, and Theia takes a deep breath, comfused by the slight scent of wolf emenating from her, a pack wolf scent that doesn't belong here.

"I'm Ocean, King Oliver's second in command," there is no pride, only exhaustion and disappointment in her tone as she tells me her rank. Her bright eyes dim slightly as she takes the seat beside me, Jayla's seat at that. I raise an eyebrow at her, watching her gaze dart around the crowded room, looking over her shoulder. It's almost as though she fears consequences for simply being seen speaking to me.

"It's nice to meet you," she says watching me for a minute before leaning back in the chair, her gaze sweeping up and down my body, calcualting, assessing.

"It's nice to meet you too," I parrot back to her out of politeness, even if I have no idea why she decided to sit next to me.

"What's your thoughts on all this?" She nods her head to the crowd of mingling rulers, and my lips curl back in a silent, and frustrated hiss.

"They are making matters more complicated then it needs to be," I blurt out, Ocean's eyes widening slightly before a large smile spreads across her face.

"Are they now?" She asks, and I tilt my head to the side, really taking her in now. Vampire skin hides a multitude of sins and at the spring sunlight pouring through the large windows bathing her in it's warmth, I near gasp at the scars that cover one side of her face, her neck covered by a high collor shirt, buttoned up at the throat, under the chin. Her shirt is long sleeved, and she's wearing fitted trousers covering her legs. The scars covering her face, and carved into her left hand, dissapearing under the sleeves of her top look as though she was tortured, as though whoever hurt this woman wanted her to carry the scars, a permanent reminder of the pain they caused her.

Ocean smiles sadly at my reaction, and shrugs before leaning forwards, dropping her voice so only I can hear her.

"These scars weren't won in battle young one. The King of Vampires is not to be trusted, and I'm sorry.... little butterfly," she grabs my hand, a crumpled piece of paper pressed into my palm before she darts to her feet and weaves through the crowd as though she was never talking to me. I sit, frozen in place, my hand a tight fist crumpling the slip of paper as another voice whispering comfort floats through my memories. Memories I buried, pushed deep into the darkest parts of my fractured soul so I'd never have to relive them

"Little butterfly," The woman's voice sharpens into focus, her violet eyes, pale skin and chestnut hair suddenly in startling clarity in my minds eye.

The clatter of my chair as I stand too fast, uncaring of the curious stares, my feet moving, the walls closing in. My skin crawls and the desire to claw off the remembered touches, and sit under burning water in an attempt to wash the memories away near overwhelms me. I scratch at my throat, a faint, near invisible scar from a bite six years ago burns faintly in remembrance

The woman who'd sat beside the cage the rouges kept me in, who'd run her fingers through my hair or held my hand after the rogues tortured me and attempted to break me had been a vampire. She would stop it, stop them hurting me. She wouldn't let the other vampires in that rogue group near me after she'd caught one feeding from my neck.

"She's ten years old Oliver, we don't feed from children."

I can't breath, my breaths now shallow gasps as I push faceless people out of the way, bumping into chairs and tables.

I crash into a hard, muscled body, a pair of masculine hands steadying me, gripping my shoulders tighter than what's considered helpful. Skin only a little cooler against mine shocks me into taking a step back. The scent of Vampire pushes through the cloud of memory, along with his unique scent. Aged books, frankincense, cotton and crushed winter berries and spiced wine. Pain splinters through my head at the scent, a memory trying to force its way to the surface after being drowned. My scalp prickles and the hair on the back of my neck stands on end.

"I'm sorry," I say and step back, only to look up into a face I'll never be able to forget. His dark blue gaze sends a chill down my spine as his thin lips quirk up in a cruel mockery of a smile.

"Is everything alright? You look a little pale," the man near purrs down at me and my beasts growl, Selkie hissing in warning inside my mind, my body vibrating from suppressing Angel's rage and my magic.

"I'm fine, thank you. Excuse me," I mummer and take off out of the room, my heart beating frantictly against my ribs, my lungs frozen, and when I do finally manage to draw in a breath it's half strangled. People try to connect mind-links to me, only for me or one of my beasts to sever the connection before it can form, unknowing who's reaching out for me, uncaring even. Our fight or flight response kicks into gear, our shared body moving fast to escape the memories haunting us, rising from murky graves to force us to remember. The echoes of our screams, voices taunting and laughing at our pain, whisps of half remembered scents, fractured pictures forming in our mind like broken glass.

I stumble out of the packhouse, down the steps and take off at a sprint, not caring who sees us as Theia pushes forwards, running with our full wolf speed.

"He was one of the rouges," Esha states, her voice a little shakey. They went through those six weeks of torture too! They felt the pain and fear too! A scream of anguish rises in my throat and we push our shared body to go faster, as it claws its way up the back of my throat.

"We have to tell Uncle, that man could be planning an attack," Theia whimpers. We stop arruptly at the lake and gulp in breaths, my hands shaking as I pull unfold the slip of paper

Little Butterfly, a new King to the Vampires will rise. Don't trust Oliver, never let your guard down with him. There is a rogue attack planned to take place on the last day of the peace talks to discredit Alpha King Zavior. They're the same group who tried to break you, who killed Talia.

They want you and are willing to slaughter anyone and everyone to get to you.

Be safe.

I slip the piece of paper into a pocket and strip, storing my clothes where no one can see it before diving into the lake, needing the safety of its depths, knowing no one will be able to hurt me under the waters glassy surface. As soon as we're fully submerged in the water that scream finally breaks free from our chest, the water swallowing up the sound as we let the remembered emotions erupt out of us.

Selkie pushes forwards and shifts us when my lungs burn, allowing us to breath as she darts to the bottom of our lake, and curls up amongst the other algi and plants, hidden under the murgy water.

"It'll be ok little butterfly, I'll find a way to free you,"

The woman's voice whispers through my memories. Her name had been Talia. The man, Oliver, killed her after my fifth day in captivity, because she'd tried to free me.

Selkie uses our magic to telaport us away, to the lake we play with Zane in. Our body shaking as we're slammed again and again with memories we never want to remember.

Oliver hadn't been King six years ago, he'd been a rogue. A rogue who desired power.

How had he survived? I thought we'd killed everyone but one to send a message back, we scared that man, branded his skin, his cheek, and he'd scented of Cheetha, not vampire. So how had Oliver survived us? How had he become king?

Selkie touches our throat again, the memory of how he fed from us that first night, became addicted to our blood even. He never let another vampire touch us after he killed Talia, but fed from us often after her death.

Our blood. Something in our blood made him stronger.

That thought fills us all with an icy horror that my blood can give another, a rogue, the power to overthrow their King. How do I even protect myself from something like that?

Time passes under the water, the sun travelling to the western horizon painting the sky pretty pastel pinks and oranges.

"We need to tell Uncle. That vampire, Ocean, risked her life to warn us." Seren says and there's a chorus of agreement.

"I know. We'd better be prepared too," I sigh and use our magic to blip us back to the pack's lake.

Selkie swims us back to the surface and I quickly get dressed, my clothes getting soaked and sticking to my skin, not that I care, not when the people I love are in danger. Not when a brave vampire has risked the wrath of her "King" to warn me.

Taking a deep breath, I push my fears down, when a mind-link forms before we can sever it.

"Where the hell have you been Ria? We were so worried about you!" Zane's voice booms through my thoughts. In a way I'm happy to hear his voice, it gives me an anchor to ground me in the present instead of getting lost to my memories.

"I'll explain later. I'm on my way back," I state as I march through the pack, moving only as fast as an Beta wolf. I hear Zane sigh in my thoughts, and a shiver passes through me, a chill setting in.

"We're still in a meeting Ria, you might as well head back to mom and dad's suite until dinner," We growl down the mind-link. I sever it, knowing my brother is probably hissing from the pain I know it causes. I'll have to make it up to him later, but this is far too important to keep to myself until after dinner.

I might not like what's about to happen, but I'm not about to let a threat get anywhere near my family.