The First Chimera.

Chapter 9

Xander's POV

***

The afternoon's session of peace talks is coming to an end and I can't wait to go back to my suite and sleep. Erebus huffs and I roll my eyes at him. Looks like I won't be heading up to bed tonight, but out for a run. Not that I blame Erebus for being restless.

I admit, at the beginning of this week, I'd felt that this was a waste of time. That the different spieces wouldn't be able to get along long enough to have a conversation, much less to come to terms for peace, but I've been pleasantly surprised. I have also come to understand Zane's curiosity in how differently they live their lives, the different laws they live by, and how they train to fight. We've seen them train here, I've even been able to train with a couple of the heirs. It's been enlightening honestly. We've been able to form fragile friendships with the other heirs, and a few of their parents which will help greatly when I take over from my father.

I can understand his desire for peace now. The desire to build a better future where we work together and form long lasting alliances, where the packs under our leadership may form alliances and work together to tackle future threats.

I can understand why this week has been so important for my family. Its the beginning of something better and it gives me hope that peace between our people will be possible one day.

If we can't come to terms for peace now, then I'll continue his fight for it. I've opened my eyes to it, and even Erebus can see the benefits to forming peace and long lasting friendships with the future rulers and their beasts.

I glance at my parents and unit wondering how they'd feel if I asked for permission for the other heirs and I to shift and let our beasts get to know each other? Maybe that could help strengthen relations between our races?

Zane hisses, his face screwing up in pain as the glaze from mind-linking passes and he leans closer to his parents while King Oliver of the Vampires continues to give a speech of how we should open our packs to these Rogues and rehabilitate them back into pack life.

Which is ridiculious.

It's clear to see that the rest of the room feels that it's a risk to our people to let these rogues back into packs. After what the group did to Ria? I'd be more likely to kill them on the spot, even if they had no connection to her capture and torture six years ago.

"Ria's on her way back, she didn't sound happy," he says to his father, while his mother bites her bottom lip and shares a look with her mate. My mother reaches out to pat her hand, her Luna Calm spreading around our table, trying to sooth her best friend.

"I'm sure she's fine Esmay. She probably just needed a moment to herself," mom says, although I can see that none at the table believe that. I don't even believe it, nor does Sam, or Kota who scoff under their breaths.

"Where did she go?" I mind-link to Zane, and he stiffens beside me.

It was the strangest sensation. One moment we're mingling with the future rulers, the next I am drowning in a rush of panic. When I spotted Ria stumbling out of the dining room I'd tried mind-linking to her, but it had felt as though her head was full, crowded even. Not to mention she severed every attempt I made, and her wolf made the strangest noises, in the seconds of connection I was able establish. When she made a run for it, I kept hold of her location through the pack tether to her, only for that tether to seemingly disappear from the pack a minute after she stopped at the lake.

It had felt as though she'd been severed from us, but she hadn't been. Her mother and father would have felt it if she'd been killed, Zane would have definately felt it. While her tether has been silent, Zane has been restless, constantly looking to the door while the meeting continued after lunch. He's fidgeted near constantly, itching to hunt his sister down. his father and mother have been no better, only hidden it better than their son

"I don't know. I felt her at the lake, then her connection just vanished from me too," Zane mutters through the mind-link. It's beginning to become clearer that I need to push Zane into talking about these secretes he keeps, because whatever he's hiding is effecting our friendship, and our bond as alpha and beta. Even Erebus is becoming annoyed with the amount of secrets between us. Secrets that could affect our pack, our people. It's my duty to protect them, and if he knows something that might one day become a threat to us, then he needs to tell me whether he likes it or not.

The doors to the room bursts open and Ria stands in the doorway, her wet clothing clinging to her skin, her white shirt now see-through, thankfully her wet hair covers her breasts in curtains of dark red, almost a rusty brown, making her tawny skin seem paler.

"Uncle, I need to talk with you, now," Ria demands of my father, challenging him with direct eye contact, as she stands like the avenging goddess of the sea.

"Ria, we are in the middle of a meeting. We can talk later in my..." my father states calmly, his gaze turning to the vampire King who scowls at Ria for her interruption.

"No, uncle, we need to talk. Now," she interrupts, a full order in her tone and that presence I've felt over the past month blankets the room. My eyes widen as Erebus and I are forced to bare our throats, and glancing around the room, everyone else is bowed in submission, even my father. Dad's eyes glaze over for a moment, and the presence pulls back enough to let us straighten up, although it still presses against us all, the tension so thick I'm surprised it's not visible.

"Your office, Uncle. Now," Ria states and turns on her heel before walking out, her back straight as she marches out of the room, the sound of her wet, barefeet slapping against hard wood fading. All eyes turn to my father, but I keep my gaze on Zane who stares after his adopted sister.

An adopted sister who had every ruler of our world submitting to her. Erebus growls, his unease at having someone capable of forcing us to submit, who isn't our father, in the pack rolling through me.

She's not an Alpha, how the hell was she able to force everyone in the room to submit?

"If you'll excuse us. Chase, Esmay, I think it's best if you join me," Dad mutters and gets to his feet, Beta Chase and Esmay following him while my mother frowns. I follow her gaze to find the Vampire king, his nose bleeding, the scent of old, decaying blood filling the space. His second in command, the woman who'd taunted Sam that first day passes him a tissue, the slightest of smirks curving her lips.

"What's going on mother?" I ask, Erebus's aura slipping out, coaxing her to answer me truthfully. Her head snaps to look at me, her violet eyes flashing with anger.

"Don't use your aura on me Xander. I can't tell you, it's not my place to." she reaches out and cups my cheek, those eyes so filled with wisdom and compassion now glassy with unshed tears.

"I wish I could tell you. It would help you understand," she mutters sadly and I hold her hand, squeezing it slightly.

"Why can't you tell me?" That sad smile appears, the one that she has when she regrets a decision.

"Because I made a vow to beings too powerful to defy son. It's not my story to tell, and untill I recieve permission I can't tell you," I frown at her. My brain ticking at her wording. Her eyes glaze over and omega's come in to serve cake and coffee while I watch my mother and Zane.

"Something else is going on in our pack," Erebus growls, anger at being kept in the dark flaring in up and it's taking everything in me not to let him rip right out of me to hunt and slaughter the population of rabbits out in the forest and mountains.

"Yes, and it's been going on for a long time too," that's clear from how secretive everyone has been my whole life. More so after my attempted kidnapping and Ria's capture and torture. Something I willingly ignored because it didn't concern me, and I foolishly assumed it didn't concern the pack.

"That was an enterance," Rowan Firewing, the crown prince of the Dragon kingdom muses to himself as he takes a seat near our table. A small ball of flames forms in his palm that he rolls around on his hand, or spins it on the tip of his finger as he takes a sip of coffee.

"It was, and she scented of lake water," Lucian, the first born son to Alpha King Eros states. Zane flinches as Kakoa comes forwards to let out a warning growl. No sign of real aggression, he knows from his research just how deadly a creature a siren is.

"You'll have to excuse our Beta's daughter, she's.... not been herself recently," I tell them both, unsure what to tell them. I'm not as close to her as I once was. I can't tell them what is wrong, if anything.

"You sure she's a beta?" Rowan asks, tilting his head slightly, his dragon coming to the surface to watch me. Erebus pushes forwards too, not willing to be challenged.

"To be honest with you I wouldn't know. She was adopted and I've never seen her paperwork that'd detail what rank her birth parents were," I tell them honestly, earning me a snarl from Kakoa. Erebus growls a warning at our friend. He glares back at me, fully ticked off, all Beta aggression.

"Why does she smell so strange?" Koa the heir to the Were-Bear kingdom asks, his head tilted slightly as he takes in a really deep breath, closing his eyes to focus intently on Ria's scent.

"Stop it," Zane snarls. I roll my aura at him, Erebus emitting a low warning growl in an attempt to get him to calm the fu'ck down. These are the future rulers of their people, and I want to be able to work towards peace with them.

"What do you mean?" I ask him, returning my focus on Koa as he places all his focus on Ria's scent.

This might be the only way I learn what exactly she is.

Koa's eyes snaps open and confusion twists his expression as he gaze darts between me, Zane and my mother who quietly watches on, not uttering a word.

"You've never noticed before?" He asks, then turns his gaze back to the door.

"That girl, she kind of scents like all of us. There's a little bit of every race detectable in her scent, even races unknown to us. But that can't be right, a creature like that wouldn't be able to survive, they'd go insane," he says, his brow furrowing in confusion as though he's just been given a large puzzle with hundreds of missing pieces and has no idea how it all fits.

"There'll be a reason for that. Could be her clothing, or any other reason," I mutter and reach out to try and form a mind-link with my father, wondering what she's talking to them about, only for it to severe before I can fully get a connection.

There is something about Ria that just doesn't sit right