VAMPIRE Wolf

Chapter Two

Claude

It’s not often that Thales calls me to a meeting. Even though I’m his second - in - command, he generally prefers a more hands - off approach and prefers to let the chips fall where they may. I’ve complained about it in the past, but his reaction is to chuckle and blame it on me being barely over a hundred years old. He’s nearly a thousand, and age seems to come with a disassociation from the surrounding world. The things he sees as minor don’t matter to him. As long as we maintain our treaties with shifters and other vampires, Thales is happy.

As I linger in the foyer of his mansion, occasionally finger - combing my dark hair into place and straightening out my suit so I look professional, my mind wanders to what the meeting could possibly be about. There’s a good chance it’s just going to be a discussion about the local wolf pack, since word has spread of the alpha’s illness. I’ve been the go - between for Alpha Birch and Thales ever since the night the rogue coven attacked, and while it’s not gone as disastrously as I feared, we’re far from on what I would consider good terms.

Of course, there’s also a chance Thales wants to discuss something far more personal. I’m the only unmated high - ranking vampire in the coven. Because of Thales’ breeding, my coven places an emphasis on producing vampires that were never human and holds those vampires in high regard. As an alpha, I’m expected to take a vampire omega as my mate and produce one or more of these special vampires and raise them to serve the coven. Because they were never human, their only allegiance will be to Raven’s Crest.

It doesn’t sit right with me. In fact, it feels like brainwashing. But I’m honor - bound to Thales. He saved me from a shifter - gone - hunter back when I lived in New York City and nursed me back to health, naming me his second - in - command when a hunter attempted to assassinate him and I returned the favor. While we’re even now, I can’t shake the powerful bond I have with him. Like the shifters, it’s in a vampire’s nature to form a hierarchy and respect it at all costs.

If he does want me to choose a mate, I don’t know what I’m going to say. Most vampires wait for the day we imprint on our fated mate, or mates, in some cases. We wait for the one person the universe has set aside for us. But that day has yet to come for me. Sometimes I wonder if something happened to my mate and we will never meet at all. That’s what happened to Thales, apparently -- that day never came to him either, and after a hundred years of waiting, he gave up and chose for himself.

And a hundred years is fast approaching for me.

Thales opens the door that leads out of the foyer and steps out to greet me. He was born a vampire, and as such, he stopped aging at twenty. But his eyes betray his age. They’re the tired, grim eyes of a man many years beyond what should be normal.

“Claude,” he says with a smile that would be pleasant if it were worn by anyone else. 

“Sir,” I reply, giving him a slight bow.

“Come in, come in.” He steps aside, letting me into his home. He leads me to his living room, where he’s set out a fresh kettle of tea and two cups. I take a seat in one of the green antique chairs positioned alongside the coffee table where the tea sits, trying not to breathe in the dust that puffs up like a cloud. Thales has always had an affinity for furniture as ancient as he is.

He sits in the opposite chair and raises his cup to his lips with a pleasant sigh. I do the same, pleasantly surprised when I find the tea has been laced with blood. It warms my throat and soothes some of my anxiety.

“Do you know why I invited you here?” he asks, his unreadable black eyes focusing on me.

“I believe so,” I reply, clearing my throat when my voice comes out hoarse and dry. “Is it about the wolf pack?”

“In part,” he muses, shifting his gaze to his tea as he stirs it. “I’m sure you’re aware that their alpha’s health is failing more quickly than expected.”

“I wasn’t aware of any recent developments,” I admit. “Did the cancer spread?”

“To his liver, yes. It’s a shame that the wolves do not enjoy the immortality bestowed to vampires,” he murmurs. “Even if their ability to shift can keep true aging at bay forever, there’s very little they can do about disease.”

“Yes,” I agree quietly, unsure of where he’s going with this.

“I am calling a meeting with the rest of the coven in a few days’ time,” he says, looking back at me. “We will come up with a proposal for the Gull Bay alpha wolf in hopes he will solidify the temporary treaty we made that night, regardless of who takes over in his stead. I’m sure he will, considering it means no Gull Bay citizens will be lost to our fangs.”

Most of the vampires in Raven’s Crest were born into their immortality and view humans as nothing more than prey. They would kill an innocent just as readily as they would kill a murderer, and Gull Bay is full of innocents. Hell, half the population is sweet elderly retirees who should only have to worry about the weather. A permanent treaty would be a blessing to them and a relief to me.

“Are you alright, Claude?” Thales asks, tilting his head.

“Yes. I’m just thinking about the treaty,” I mutter, raking a hand through my hair and dislodging the bangs I swept back in the foyer.

“You’re falling apart,” he chuckles.

“Sorry, sir. You know how I feel about Gull Bay.”

“Yes,” he says, pressing his fingertips together. “You’re quite attached to this sleepy little town. I can understand why you don’t want anything to happen to it.”

“You do?” I ask, raising an eyebrow. Thales is one of those vampires that sees humans the same way humans see cows and chickens. I doubt his empathy is sincere.

“Of course,” he says. “You were born human, after all.”

“Right.”

“Which brings me to my next point.”

I glance warily at him. “Which is…?”

He leans forward, his dark eyes boring holes into mine. “I believe it’s time for you to choose a mate,” he says quietly, as if it’s a secret and someone might overhear him. “There are plenty of suitable omegas in our coven. You could have your pick.”

“I’m waiting to take a mate, sir,” I reply cautiously, unsure how he’ll take my refusal. “You took a hundred years. Let me have the same time.”

His eyes narrow into slits, but he’s still smiling. He’s always smiling, as if everyone around him is downright amusing. “Claude, do you enjoy being my second - in - command?”

“I do, sir.”

“Then you will choose a mate by the end of the year, and you will produce young for the coven. Do I make myself clear?”

“Perfectly,” I mumble, staring into my tea.

“Perfectly what?”

I lift my gaze and hold eye contact with him until his permanent smile falters.

“Perfectly, sir.”