The Alpha's Assassin Mate: BOOK 1

2. DRUMOND

I rolled on the bed and slowly opened my eyes as they adjusted to the lights in Rosemary's room. She lay down besides me with nothing on but a sheet of fabric over her body. She was still asleep. I saw the way her breasts heaved when she breathed, Calling on me to grab them and kiss them. My eyes then passed to her laps. They were thick and smooth. So smooth. I shook my head and checked the time and figured out that I was already late for the prime alpha's gathering.

"f**k!"

Radcliff would probably give me an earful today and Crix will jest. They were the most important people on the council. Radcliff was a father figure to me. He took me in after what happened when I just transformed into a werewolf. That was a dark time for me and for my human family whom I swore never to see again after the incident.

As I wore my clothes, floods of memories of that time clouded my brain. I suddenly remembered my mother's smile, her cheerfulness as she prepared me for school along side my older sister Alma. We lived in Haresgate, a town close to St Christopher's city. I remembered taking that path in the dark forest and seeing a werewolf tear a vampire to pieces. I wasn't supposed to be there. It was a mistake. How was I to know that such creatures existed in the glamorous city of St Christopher's? The werewolf attacked and bit me. I felt my vision go blur and then I passed out.

Rosemary rolling on the bed brought me the memories of when I woke up injured and changed in a room I knew not. My senses suddenly became heightened, my reflexes fast. I couldn't stop myself as I flung my hands backs and ripped out the throat of the man who stood behind me. It was too fast, too sudden. I realized I had just killed my alpha and I became one, not just any alpha but a prime alpha, even stronger than the former. I tried to run away but other members of the pack found me in the maze of a house I was brought to. Suddenly, I was overcome with an anger, a drive to draw blood. My Adrenaline surged, I saw all other werewolves as threats and even though they tried to connect their minds with mine, I pushed them back and I attacked. I killed them all, I killed my pack.

Soon I was in the Hotel De Gracia, the hotel of Radcliff, the head of the table. The table consisted of all prime alphas and it was established as the primary seat of power for them and their packs. As expected, my arch enemy Crix made it a difficult meeting for me. He was always against the idea of having me in the table. He said I wasn't worth it and that I was a killer. He said no one was safe around me. I couldn't blame him, he was right. I killed my pack and because of that, no other werewolf wanted to join me. I got a stigma, a very conspicuous one. I couldn't make new werewolves for humans have become much more wiser and Technically advanced. As turning a human would require the human to assume the status that they were dead, the human police wouldn't just let a missing person go missing. They would find them and that may reveal the existence of the werewolves, something we didn't want. That of vampires may be revealed, we didn't care. They're our mortal enemies, the very thing we seek to eradicate and the feeling was mutual.

I dashed out of the hotel angry. Perhaps I shouldn't have come. They all hated me anyways. As I was about to drive my car, I saw my sister Alma sitting behind the car. She looked pale, very pale and when she opened her mouth to speak, her teeth was blackened.

"Find my son. Find him. The time has come. He is the æye. Find him. Protect him. Find my boy" She said to me.

I shook my head and looked again but she was gone. This isn't possible. It didn't make any sense. My human mother and sister died twenty years ago.

***

"Find my son. Find him. The time has come. He is the æye. Find him. Protect him. Find my boy"

My sister's voice continued to speak in my head even as I sat down in my dark lonely room. I had a glass in my hand, and it was half filled with blood. Besides me was a bottle of blood I had drunk to the very centre. Getting a constant supply of our nourishment hasn't been a trouble for werewolves. We had a big farm where we kept a herd of sheep and goats. It was located somewhere in one of the rural areas. It was the twenty first century indeed, but people still had farms. And so did we.

I took a sip from the glass and roamed my mind, trying to make sense of what my sister had said. Or did I even see her? How was I sure it wasn't my brain just playing games on me. It was very likely my moon rage was manifesting itself in another way. Moon rage, the very sickness that turns us into the rabid wolves we are. That moment when you loose control of yourself and everyone around you either becomes a threat or food. Managing it becomes easier if you belong to a park, they feel your rage and they anchor you to the light. They connect their minds with yours, they bring you peace. But for someone like me, I had to give peace to myself, and I had a very secured room in this house for that purpose.

I took the last sip from the glass and placed it down. Whether or not my sister actually came to me, It was about time I saw my nephew again. I stood up from the bed, wore a shirt and grabbed a coat. The coat looked very similar to the one I wore Twenty years ago when I saw my sister birth her son. It was a very difficult time, one I wasn't actually fond of remembering.

I did try my best to stay away from home after I turned. As Radcliff, my father figure in the werewolf world had said, I was sent far away from Haresgate as it could get. However, I realised that my status as prime alpha was one that gave me some sort of royal treatment. So I ordered some werewolves to keep an eye on my family. They didn't do it for long for they too were too scared of me to be involved in anything that was about me. So I left them and switched to the outcasts, werewolves who could not transform. The outcasts were basically the lowest of the food chain and soon, I began to have a secret relationship with one, Rosemary, the same one I had gone to visit when Alma showed up. She kept track on my family for several months, until she announced that my mother was dead. Apparently, she had had a heart attack after receiving news of my death.

The news of my mother's death broke me. Loosing track of time had placed me in this mess and she had to die for that. But I wasn't alone. I still had my sister, so even with Radcliff's warnings, I spirited away to see her. I found Alma sitted on the couch, crying her eyes out. She had a picture of mother and mine in her hands and when she saw our faces, she cried more. At first, I stood by the window and watched. It broke my heart to see her that way. My tough sister was suddenly so small and it was my fault. It was all my fault.

Suddenly she jerked her head towards me and our eyes met. She froze, thinking she had just seen a ghost. At that moment, I did not know what to do. I just stood as we looked at each other. Then I decided to test fate. I opened the door and slowly walked in. The creaking noise the floor made seemed to add to the suspense. Alma slowly stood up as I approached. I saw tears fall from her eyes as she extended her hand to me. I took it and pulled her into an embrace. She cried so hard. I just stood there and held her. I wanted her to cry all of her pains into me. I had the power to carry it all. I had the power to take the pains from her.

We then sat down on the couch and I told her everything that had happened. I told her how I murdered the prime alpha and his pack, my pack and how I was being scorned by every other werewolf that knew my story. But to my surprise, she wasn't shocked to hear all of it. Infact, I saw relief in her eyes when I told her.

"You do not seem surprised to hear that your brother is now a werewolf." I said,

"I have always known that the world was just beyond what we could see. infact, I have experienced it." She said to me

"What do you mean?"

"I can see things. Things that no one else can see. Things from the past, a long time ago. I can see it all like I was there. Like it happened before my very eyes."

"I don't understand. What do you see?"

"A battle. A great one. Something happened hundreds of years ago and that brought about vampires and werewolves. I do not know what it is for sure. The pictures are so blur and incoherent. But something always came up, the æye."

"What is that?"

"I do not know. But I have a feeling it's important. Very important."

"Keep this to yourself until we figure out what it is. You must not tell anyone about what you see and what I am. It is very important you keep silent Alma."

She laughed when I said that. "Since when did you become such a grown up?"

I managed to force a smile as well. Life had made me way older than I actually was.

After I had left, Alma mysteriously disappeared. I sent Rosemary to search for her but all attempt was futile. She was missing. I began to wonder if someone had seen me going to see her. I did that at the utmost discretion. Not even Rosemary, my spy was aware of the trip I had made. Somehow I suspected Radcliff had something to do with it but even after I confronted him, he did not know anything about her disappearance. Infact, he was so angry I had revealed my true self to my sister even after his warnings. So after a while of searching, I decided to give it a little break.

Months later, I received a distress call from my sister. She sounded like she was in trouble and she was in the city. I went out and looked for her but what I saw made me a bit surprised. She was heavily pregnant, malnourished, and addicted. I did not ask questions at first. I took her back to my house and gave her something to eat, but she threw up and immediately went into labor. I called Rosemary who came around and helped her in delivery. Shortly after, she told me she was in a dark place and began using drugs. She was eventually abused and became pregnant with the baby she just had. She kissed her son and named him Jonathan, after our father. It wasn't long before I perceived the smell of blood. She was bleeding profusely. I watched as she struggled for life. She never took her eyes off her son who was now in my arms. I had every inch of my body telling me to turn her before she died, but I didn't. I couldn't. I just watched as she bled out and took her last breath.

Soon afterwards, I took the baby to an orphanage in Haresgate and over the years, I have been depositing a large sum for his education. It was tagged as an anonymous donor. But I never went to see him. I was afraid seeing the boy would bring back the memories of all the things I lost. That was funny, because I never really forgot. The boy had grown up rather quickly was done with high school. He was living alone in an apartment. Yeah, I knew everything there was to know about him.

***

I drove down to Haresgate and finally parked my car close to the boy's apartment. Haresgate was exactly how I remembered; people going about their personal business and others who didn't have a business, sat and gossiped about those who had. Although I haven't reached out to my nephew since he was born, I had been collecting photographs of him. He looked alot like Alma. She had our father's eyes and thus boy took them.

Jonathan's apartment was an eight storey building. I only knew he lived there, I didn't know the exact room. That building was a recent development. It wasn't there the last time I was in Haresgate. I wanted to just step out of the car, walk into the apartment and ask of the boy, but I couldn't. I just froze on my seat. I did not know what to say to him. Talking to him would be like talking with my mother and sister and I didn't think I was up to that just yet. I sighed as I reached for my keys. This was a mistake.

Just then, I saw Jonathan walking towards the house. He was quite tall and had an average body build. The way he walked was identical to the way Alma used to walk. He was a spitting image of his mother. He walked into the first floor and that was when I saw something else. Two men followed him closely into the first floor. Before they walked past the door, one of them took a quick glance over his shoulder and I saw those eyes, those red eyes thirsty for chaos. Vampires were there and they were after Jonathan. Whether I wanted to meet him or not was no longer an option I had a privilege to decide upon. It now rested on my shoulders to save my nephew from whatever plan the vampires had cooked up. I dashed out of the car and followed them inside.

The first floor had an elevator and a staircase. I saw the vampires taking the staircase and I followed suit. I kept a reasonable distance so that they couldn't catch my scent. I was curious as to why they wanted Jonathan. Did they know about him being the æye, whatever that was? And if the vampires are after him for that reason, then I have to make sure they do not get him. Besides, two vampires aren't a big deal for me. I will squash them.

When we got to the fifth floor, one of the vampires suddenly stopped and turned. I was fast enough to take a couple steps down before he saw me. Their stench was all over the place and that made me want to kill them more. When I noticed they've started walking again, I followed. On getting to the seventh floor, they diverted to the corridor. At the far end of the corridor, I saw Jonathan bringing out his keys to open his door. The vampires walked close to him and stopped. He noticed their presence and suddenly became cautious. Maybe it was the looks on their faces that gave them away. Suddenly, one of the vampires dashed towards Jonathan, smacking him on the head. But the boy only yelped from the pain. He was still standing unfazed. Now that was interesting. The vampires themselves were in shock and that gave me the window I needed.

As the same vampire was about hitting Jonathan again, I moved faster than he did and grabbed his arm. My presence made them both snarl and I wasted no time in slamming the first vampire into the wall. The second one hurled at me but I grabbed his throat and raised him up. He quickly took out a silver knife and attempted to s***h my arm but I dropped him, knocked the knife off his hand and slashed his throat with my claws. The first vampire then stood up and brought out a gun. He opened fire on me. I dodged some of the bullets but when one hit my shoulder, it felt as if a hot iron had just pierced my skin. I groaned, and my wolf was preparing to come out. As the vampire wanted to reload, I dashed to him and dug my claws into his chest. I pulled out his heart and he became a pile of ash.

Jonathan was visibly shaken from all he had just seen. But then I heard vampires mobilising themselves downstairs and they were getting real close. From what I counted, there was atleast a dozen of them. That was when I realised that this wasn't just a small issue. If the vampires had mobilised a horde to bring Jonathan in, then he was darn important to them. I grabbed his arm and shoved him into the room. I followed suit, locked the door and groaned again from the excruciating pain that was coming from my shoulder. Silver was one of the things that killed werewolves faster, the other being a vampires bite if left untreated. The bullet in my shoulder seemed to be melting within me. It was weird. I had never felt anything like it before.

I took a quick look around Jonathan's room for anything that I could use to remove the bullet. I couldn't use my fingers, the muscles in my shoulder were too thick. I suddenly saw a dissection pack and took out a forceps. Then I dug it in removed the bullet that has melted halfway. Although the bullet was out, the pain still remained. I had a wierd feeling the silver had poisoned my blood. I needed to get lots of blood to cure it and I needed to do it right now.

"Who are you? Who were those guys back there?" Jonathan's questions pulled me back to reality.

"I am Drumond. I am your uncle."

"I don't have an uncle." He said with much conviction

"Yes, you do. And right now, we have a very serious problem. There are a dozen vampires coming here right now and we need to run."

"Wait, hold up, vampires? Is this some sort of joke? Vampires aren't real. Now you're probably going to tell me you are a werewolf because that will make so much sense." He laughed but when he did not see any form of amusement on my face, he then seemed to believe what he had just said.

"Are you kidding me right now?!" He yelled

"You better keep your voice down. They were after you. I need to get you out of here."

"Why? So that you can kill me instead?"

"If I wanted you dead, I would have done that the day you were born. Now shut up and let me think."

"No sir, I do not know who you think you are but..." I covered his mouth with my hand and listened closely. They were at the door. I motioned for him to keep it shut as I opened the windows. It was a bad idea to stay behind and fight a dozen armed vampires. I had no weapons on me and even if I defeated them, those bullets would put me down before I make it out. So I had to escape as well.

"We will jump down the window." I said to Jonathan

"Are you insane? That's seven floors. We can't survive that. No one can."

"Then I guess you'd have to hop on my back."

"No. I am not doing that. That is weird. No, I am not doing that. I rather jump."

"Fine." I said but the door suddenly burst open. I jumped down from the window and landed safely but as Jonathan landed, I heard a loud crack from his legs. They were broken. He wasted no time in wailing and I had to grab and fling him over my shoulder. The vampires above opened fire but I easily dodged the bullets. I headed for my car. I needed to get there.

More vampires suddenly showed up and opened fire on us. Some flew down from Jonathan's room and followed on foot. I kept running as the tons of bullets rained down on me. Finally I got to my car and got in with Jonathan. That was when I saw her. She was standing a few feet away from my car and had a riffle at hand. I saw her eyes, those eyes, I was certain I'd seen them before. But I did not remember where. She pointed the riffle at me and opened fire. I ducked to dodge the bullet and drove my car forwards. As the car approached her, she jumped over it like nothing and the way she regained her balance behind me surprised me. She didn't waste time to c**k her gun and fire another round at my car. I drove away, glad I had escaped. But as I drove, the same question continued to upset me.

"Who is she?"

I kept on asking myself. I looked at my side and saw Jonathan sleeping, more like lifeless. I stopped the car and checked his pulse. He had none.

"s**t!"

I can't believe I just killed my nephew. Why did I listed to him when he said he could jump from a place so high? I don't know how he did what he did with the vampire but he was still human. What was I thinking? Alma would never forgive me in death for sending her son to an untimely grave. Or maybe I could save him. Maybe I could turn him into a werewolf, the first member of my pack. I should have turned Alma when I had the chance. Maybe my best shot at having a pack was turning people I considered family. That way, they would not judge me for what I did with my pack. But what if I killed them the same way I killed my former pack? I didn't want to go through something like that again. I was still lost in thoughts when I heard bones cracking. I looked closely at Jonathan and saw his broken bones fixing themselves. His wounds healed before my very eyes and he suddenly opened his eyes and gasped for air. What did I just witness? What is this boy exactly?