THE BLOOD OATH

THE NEGOTIATION

MAXIMUS

My Astera! Part of me wants to hate her because of her arrogance and her bossy attitude, whilst the other part of me feels the urge to run to her and hold her tight in my arms, and protect her from ever being hurt. The thought of her rejecting me for that vampire hurts so much that it makes me wanna rip my heart out of my chest to stop the pain. But nothing compares to the pain of seeing her suffer from the vampire mating situation. She looks so strong and so serene, but through our bond, I can feel some part of her pain and it makes me crazy. I would do anything for her suffering to cease. Goddess, please help us!

ASTERA

I cannot believe what is happening. I refuse to give up without a fight. I must find my father… maybe he can help.

EDRIC

I can’t wait to see these monsters pay for all the suffering that I and my kind endured for centuries because of them. This will be our era and we will rise as Gods.

- Why those long faces? I told Astera and her pathetic she-wolves as I sat at their table.

- Please, leave. One of her filthy b*tch replied to me.

- Well, well, there is no need to be beasts. Not all of us are animals. Let’s try at least to behave civilized. I responded to them to add to their misery.

Suddenly, one of her beasts shifted and started to circle me like I was her prey. I made eye contact with her and tried to compel her. For some strange reason, it did not work. It made the beast more nervous. She looked at Astera and she shifted back into her human form, covering her now naked voluptuous body with a big scarf. I despise them deeply! I hate their kind, their need to follow an Alpha and to submit to every command. They are so weak and so vulnerable. The only good thing about their kind is that after the mating and marking, all the beasts will submit to me. Including this infatuated b*tch, Astera. I hate her guts! ‘Astera’, what a waste of a name! Who could think that a mutt’s destiny could be related to the stars? Only her i***t father could have named her “star” in an ancient language. I hope that he is still alive and he gets to see the suffering he caused by saving his animal’s life. He always looked down on us, always despised us. I had the most brilliant outcome for my initial plan to just kill that infatuated ass*ole’s offspring. I was surprised at my brilliant idea of saving her life in exchange for her freedom when I saw the desperation in him. I could not believe that he agreed to my terms. I could not believe that Larra got on board with this plan. That was a good day, but not nearly as good as this day. This is the best day ever, and I could not be more satisfied.

ASTERA

What is it that he wants? He had already destroyed everything he could. What could he possibly want more?

- Why those long faces? I hear his dull voice asking. Not even Saradi reacted to his question.

- Please, leave. I hear Dina responding to him.

- Well, well, there is no need to be beasts. Not all of us are animals. Let’s try at least to behave civilized. He responded by trying to get a reaction from us.

And he did get it. In just a matter of seconds, Dina shifted, and with her wolf, Cleo, in control, she starts to circle him in preparation for an attack.

- Do not engage! Leave this bastard alone! And shift back! I said to her in our link. She did, and she told me through our link that he tried to compel her but for some unknown reason, it did not work. Maybe because she was very strong. Or because she was my Beta… or maybe…

- “Alpha, Edric!” the King’s voice interrupted my thoughts as he approached my table alongside Queen Larra and Prince Maximus. I did not even realize that all the guests were gone and we were the only ones left. I was exhausted and in need of a long, long bath and even a longer sleep, and maybe when I woke up, I would come to realize that this was just a nightmare. But this will not be going to happen.

- “Well, well… mutt, mutt, traitor mutt, strange mutt, prince mutt, king mutt, and queen mutt and witch. What a gathering!” Edric said with a fake laugh. I could see and feel everyone’s tension and I hoped that none of them would fall into this piece of s*it’s trap.

- “And talking dead!” Olympia said to him with a smirk as a response to his wannabe insult of her being a traitor. I wonder why he would say that about her…

- “Let’s just talk and sort this out!” King Albert said with a grave voice.

- “I don’t think talking will do much…” Maximus said with a growl, letting us know that Xander was there, too.

- “Well, I would like to get married as soon as possible. I can’t wait for this… “beauty” to be my Queen”. Edric said as he grasped my hand, just to provoke Maximus. I pulled my hand out of his miserable touch. His smell alone makes me want to vomit. I can’t imagine how I will get over this. It is out of the question the matter of mating or marking. This I am sure of!

- “Let’s not get ahead of things!“ Queen Larra said, trying to remain calm.

- “I am thinking about the ceremony in 7 days from now. What do you say, MY dear?” Edric said as his eyes looked down on me.

- “Well, over my dead body. I understand that my father promised me to you, but as long as I do not reject you as my mate, everything stays the same. So, from my point of view, all I have to do is not reject you. This does not mean that I have to accept you.” All eyes were on me. Technically, I was right. I found a small loophole and I could use it to my advantage.

- “Hahaha! Well, this is not entirely true,” Edric said with a smile on his face.

- “What do you mean?” I asked.

- “You have until next full moon to either accept or reject either proposition.” The king said, trying to hide his worry by putting on his brave face.

-? I looked at his face perplexed.

- “Well, the law says that if you are claimed by two mates, you have until the first full moon to either reject or accept the claims. If by that time, you do not accept or reject the claims, you will feel the pains of rejection permanently, for as long as you live. Given that you are an Alpha, this will mean – for eternity. And if someone tries to kill you to put you out of your pain, they will take over your pain. The only cure for the pain is to accept or reject the claim. It is known only as a she-wolf that resisted the pain for 3 years, and after 3 years, she took her own life. As a consequence of her action, the pack that she was part of was punished by the Moon Goddess and became the first rogue pack to have ever existed, even though she did not hold any rank in the pack.” The king explained to us the rules of mating in supernatural beings.

- “Even if you choose this path, it is not sure what will become of your pack, it may be worse than becoming rogues, considering that you are their Alpha.” – the king said to me through our link.

- “Ok. So I have 28 days to decide.”

- “27.” Edric corrected me.

- “27.” In 27 days you will have my answer.

- “We will have your answer.” Edric corrected me again.

- “Yes.”

- “Well, this worked out nicely.” Edric said with a smirk on his face. “I must leave now, I must do my beauty sleep.”

- “Then you should sleep for eternity.” Michala said to him with satisfaction.

- “Haha. Mutt jokes. Maybe I will get them better after I will officially be part of the family.” Edric responded, and he stood up and left the castle in a hurry.

- “Well, that did not go as I expected. I did not know of these rules…” I said to the king with a sigh.

- “Not to worry. We will figure this out!” Maximus said to me as he involuntarily touched my hand. Again, the sparks ignite from our touching hands, making me feel safe and relaxed. “Can’t we just kill him?” Maximus asked his mother, hoping for a positive response from her.

- “No, we can’t. But someone not related to us, not from our kind, not a witch, not a wolf, could kill him without breaking the pact. When he took the oath, he was so wrapped up in his ego that he left out a very important part of the deal. The oath says that he will give your father his blood to save your life, in exchange for your hand. He did not specify that he must mark and mate with you. Also, the oath says that if your father, or his kind, me – as a witness, or my kind, try to take his life, we will die horrible deaths. But the oath says nothing about other beings trying to take his life. And last but not least, the oath specifies that if you reject his proposition, your father and I will die, and your wound will reopen, causing you to bleed out and probably you will also die.” Queen Larra responded.

- “Well, we must find someone capable of killing him, and we must ask that person to kill him! It can’t be that hard!” Maximus said.

- “We cannot ask, this would be considered breaking the oath. We must find someone willing to kill him, and let that being do its job.” Queen Larra responded.

- “It’s settled then! Tomorrow morning we will leave! I must go and find my father. Dina, you will come with me! Michala and Olympia link Tony and put up a task team to search for someone who is not related to wolves or witches, and is capable of killing the Vampire king!”

- “This matter concerns me also, so I will join your search party!” Maximus said to me in his Alpha voice. Everyone submitted except for me. I heard myself saying: “no, you will not!” The king and the queen were petrified. What just happened? My future alpha king ordered me something and I did not accept it. How can that even be possible?

- “What do you mean “no”? and how were you able to refuse? It was a direct Alpha order!” Maximus said. I started to look very nervous and shocked. I honestly did not know the answer to that matter.

- “Alpha Astera! Answer!” The king said to me in HIS alpha voice.

- “I honestly do not know.” I answered him as I involuntarily bent my head in recognition of his role. This was a first never heard of. Since his son first shifted, his alpha voice carried the same strength and authority as his father’s. For me not to submit to his command was very strange, and considered an act of rebellion. Maybe, because I am Maximus’s fated mate, I am immune to his alpha voice. Maybe I was immune to him until I would decide if I would accept or reject his claim. I shared my thoughts with them and they approved me, despite Maximus’s shock. My team was perplexed. They assisted at some things that they would not believe possible. I wonder how we will get out of this.

- “You will take Maximus with your team, and you will search together for your father! He is the best tracker you could possibly have.” King Albert said to me using his Alpha voice. The queen tried to hide her smile at his command towards us.

- “Yes, my King! We should go to get some rest. Tomorrow we will start our quests and we must be at our best.” I told them.

- “Sure! I will call someone to show you and your pack your rooms.” The queen said to me.

- “My king, my queen... Maximus…” I said to them with a little bow as I stood up and prepared myself to leave.

- “I will show you to your rooms if you do not mind,” Maximus said with a soft voice, trying not to look bothered by the fact that I did not call him by his title.

- “Thank you, but I do not want to bother you even more than I already did...”

- “It will be my pleasure,” he answered.

And we smiled politely at each other as my soul screamed for his and his alone. I must confess that I like to play with his nerves because he is so vain and so selfish and he has this superficial way of acting that I do not like. This is my way to remind him of his place, and thanks to the Goddess and the fact that I do not submit to his alpha voice, I can do it legitimately, without any effort. Maybe my soul ached for his, but my mind was not on board with all this fated mating arrangement. If rejecting the mate Moon Goddess fated for me was not considered an act of defiance towards Her, I would’ve rejected his ass the first moment I found out that he was my mate. I did not like the stories I had heard about him. From all I knew, he seemed like a spoiled man-child, not a future Alpha King. And I resented the fact that he would take anything for granted. This showed a lack of respect towards others' efforts.