Chapter 5: Pep Talk

Alpha Lycus POV

I had walked into a trap. This old vampire King was cunning and devious. I knew it from my heart. But my brain did not function when I was around him.

Walking back into the Crystal Eshe Wolf Pack, I felt my confidence return. Being around him threw me in a daze, and I hoped no one would find out. The words that I read were fresh in my mind. I needed to get my hands on that book. What bothered me the most was the smell of the anthora leaves that belonged to the ancient wolf pack oracle. How was it possible that the scent came from the book?

“Greetings Alpha Lycus,” Seth Ahren murmured politely. “Did you succeed in finding the scroll that will help us?”

Seth Ahren was the Beta of the Crystal Eshe Wolf Pack and the General in charge of the military.

“Pray tell Seth, where did you get your intelligence report? I walked into a damn trap,” I growled.

“What?” Seth sounded surprised and took a step back.

Being an Alpha, I knew what my power was. And the mind link that connected all the wolves in my pack enabled me to domineer and command them. It demanded this of any Alpha leader.

I stared at him in annoyance. But even if I did, I knew it was all because of Salvatore Ryss. Thoughts of him made my whole body shiver. I cursed and Seth looked at me even more surprised.

“Alpha, is something wrong? You look-” Seth whispered.

He was right. The blush on my face and neck was evident. To cover it up I muttered, “Annoyed.” Deflection because i knew that Seth would have a mental breakdown if he knew what had transpired in the library. Literally.

I knew the old vampire was near indestructible. My wolf, on the other hand, was nervous. Shifters and Vampires generally did not coexist, and there was a great deal of mistrust, misunderstanding, and misinformation about the two species. I wasn’t quite sure the facts and the myths about vampires. When I walked into the council meeting, I expected him to be snotty and proud. I always believed that vampires are cold-hearted killers. But meeting him today I felt something totally different.

“Alpha? You okay over there?”

We had reached my pack offices.

“I’m fine, Seth. Just thinking.”

“About?” he murmured.

If he only knew I was thinking about that damn vampire king. We sat in silence as the setting sun rays streamed into the window.

“The Vampire King was waiting for me in the library. I did not get a hold of the book. But he suggested we work together?”

Seth frowned. “Work together?”

It appeared that the Vampire King had no idea who was behind the killings. Someone in his coven was out to stir trouble. With all the power that he had, he knew that peace would only reign if the Sila council stood. But who was bold enough to start this war?

“Tell me, Seth, from your analysis, who is the one behind these killings?”

Seth paced around the office. “Alpha, vampires are snotty and cunning. Bet they killed our people for fun. But if the vampire king wants us to work together, he must be suspecting there is someone in our pack who had a hand in it.”

“Of course. He looked irritated during the Sila council. Meaning someone had set him up.”

"Did he tell you that already?” Seth narrowed his eyes at me.

“No, he did not. But I could tell that if he knew who did it, he would kill them without mercy."

"How is it that you got out of the coven unscathed?" Seth wondered in a mixture of awe and disbelief. "How are you still–"

Alive! My mind completed his sentences. I had never seen a vampire this close without one of us trying to kill the other. The Sila council meeting was a perfect example.

Being able to observe the vampire king up close was a special experience. His eyes were blue, his skin almost translucent, and his lips red. He was slightly taller than me and leaner. He donned a white shirt, black trousers, and a beautifully tailored red coat that made him look royal. His white hair fell on his forehead and when he pushed it back, it made my heart flutter. He was the full description of a magnificent man.

“Do you perceive me as weak?” It was a deflection. My body and mind knew it.

The Vampire King let me go after charming the wits out of me. If only Seth knew the whole truth. There would be chaos in the pack. At the shift of the conversation's topic, Seth tipped his head up.

"Do you trust his words? It wouldn't hurt to be cautious. Am I right?” Seth's eyes pleaded with me.

Indeed, a truce between me and the Vampire King had been reached. However, that didn't give Seth enough reason to believe that someone out there wanted war.

"I couldn't disagree." I nodded. "Please look at the matter cautiously. Don't let anyone know what we discussed here today."

I knew that people perceived me as a peaceful Alpha. I didn't like fighting or sending my pack to their death. It was a waste of good men and everyone's precious time. The Sila council existed with the mandate of ensuring peace between the two breeds over a century.

Being a peaceful Alpha did not mean I could not handle war. Years of training and fighting made me who I was today. It did not come as a surprise that someone in my pack wasn't happy with me being an Alpha. Or how else would they lead my men into a killing zone?

I knew my shifter pack were known for being hotheads and impulsive. But this was way out of line. Honestly, I did not want to fight vampires at all. Even more, I did not want to engage with them, especially the Vampire King.

For centuries, werewolves and vampires had fought for power and control of the lands.

Though we were immortal, the war had claimed many lives on both sides and made us extremely territorial. An uneasy truce between our races for the last century with rules defined by the Sila council.

There would be no coordinated attacks on and by either side without proof of provocation. Trespassing and cross-territory incursions were punishable by death for individuals, without counter retaliation by the affected side. Intermingling between the races was strictly prohibited.

As an Alpha, they tasked me with enforcing these rules for those under my charge. My Alpha blood ran hotter than the other werewolves, my senses were keener and more refined, and my size, strength, and reflexes were unmatched. I was born a leader, the protector of my pack. How could I fail them?

With all the latest killings, war was knocking at the door. Whether we wanted to or not, it would enter our lives.

The ending of the day was long overdue. I walked into my house at the edge of the river. Winter had fully settled in and coated the world with its wonders. My body was like a portable furnace, and because of the king's bloodline, no amount of cold could penetrate my skin. Was this why when he touched me, I wasn't bothered by the cold?

It wasn't like I was looking for a mate. And the pack has a lot of females that had been lined up to be my chosen mates. But since I became Alpha, the females in my pack were no longer attractive. No matter how many small glances were shared between us the call of her ‘mate’ had never found my ear.

“All except for him…” I grumbled lowly and used my hand to slide along my face, stopping to cover my eyes.

My mind once again was filled with him. Devilish smile, piercing icy blue orbs, towering, powerful height. This made my wolf purr in want and need. He rose to the surface whenever Vampire King Salvatore Rhyss was near.

When Salvatore stood behind him in the library, a sweet melody rang in his head. This called my wolf to stir with wanting. He felt like submitting to him, at the same time claiming him. It was the call, right? My senses breathed new life into it. It was overwhelming, and I had never experienced such a thing in my life.

I shifted and ran. This was the only way my body could cool off. And true to the weather, the forest floor felt cool and soft beneath my paws as I ran. It was the smell of the first rain on parched earth, the crisp freshness of a misty night.

My wolf sped like the wind to reach that rare tract of land that was neither ours nor theirs, a forgotten field that lay like a peaceful haven amidst the chaos of our territories.The Pack was covered in evergreen mountains and hemmed in rocky cliffs surrounded by rivers.

On the other side of the forest lay the Vampire glamorous city. Since becoming Alpha, I had not been to the border. I never saw the need. I remembered my father telling me that there was a special magical place at the edge of the forest. The sanctuary that was for mating. This is the place where the Alpha royal bloodline resided. It need only came when i needed or had to mate. I knew this was knocking on my door and soon or later i would have to face it.

My senses led me to a thick, covered mist and without fear, I proceeded on.

I took a lung full of fresh air, sensing the sweet smell. I sniffed the air once more, looking around to locate where the scent was coming from. After smelling the mist, I found a hidden enchanted forest. I narrowed my eyes past the mist and mass of trees on the other side of the river. This is where the scent came from.

My whole body froze. Standing there was the Vampire King Salvatore Ryss. He must have sensed my presence because he turned around and stared right at me.

How could I be enjoying this forbidden view?

He smiled and cocked his head to the side as if he was reading me. Has he called me here? Did my wolf sense him and brought me here? It has only been a few hours since we were locked in the goddamn library. And how could he guess it was me? There was no way, unless-

I growled in defense and he must have heard because his sweet laughter carried itself across the wind. He stood there like he was waiting.

Did he expect me to come to him? My ego would never allow it.

Slowly, his eyes glowed, and I felt the pull. The call of the mate. The inevitable that i was running from.

I turned around and left. The run back home was fast. The reality that my wolf recognized its mate was horrifying. I knew how the pack would view this. This would bring dishonor to the pride of the pack and the shifters as well. As much as my wolf has never felt this way, all it headed was its call to its mate.

I shifted into my human form when I got into the house and headed to the shower. An hour later, under the cold showers, I was still rubbing my c*ck over and over while cursing the Vampire King.

“Salvatore Ryss, you damn b*stard.” i cursed out loud. He was affecting me in one way or the other. The way the vampire king stared at me had driven my blood hot and my c*ck hard. My body was no longer my own. My wolf growled and was unhappy. All these feelings needed to die down.

“Don't forget the rule, Alpha," I reminded himself. “What was I going to do, dammit?”