CHAPTER five: saving a mate

Amelia Whittaker was dead, dead in the human world, dead in the real sense of a human who died taking a vial of poison.

But as hybrid king Alpha Conroy pumped more of his blood into a pint connected to a slowly beating vein in her wrist, he won’t let her die. Not after waiting for her for this long. He had long given up on finding a mate as even his cousin Beta Arian, his second in command had long been mated during his teenage years. Although they never raised an eyebrow in his presence, he knew his pack needed a queen, they needed a female commander, a Luna beside their beloved Alpha.

Now as he watched her deathly pale bluish lips, quivering in her ghostly state, he knew he had to swallow his pride to save her. Her eyes were squeezed shut and he would give anything to know what the colors of her eyes were.

Her skin had assumed the greenish tint it did when humans died. His heart squeezed as he willed her to wake up and save him the shame. He didn’t care if she was about to kill him before she drank the poison, what mattered was that she hadn’t. no matter how weak it was, she had felt the mate bond and that was enough for her to stop whatever she was about to do.

Even if she had plunged the blade into him, he knows he wouldn’t have been affected by the silver.

He was a hybrid werewolf, his mother a white witch and also from a descendant of true blood vampires, he had a rare blood that couldn’t be affected by silver. But right now, his blood doesn’t feel as rare as it couldn’t heal the strange woman that had come to mean some much to mean in such little time.

“She has to face the law brother.” Beta Arian, holding on to the bed post carved with ornate designs of a lion’s head and a jaguar’s paw, said from behind the forlorn King who sat beside his mate on the divan trying to revitalize her. The royal doctor had just left and he gave her two days to live.

“Stop!” his voice was gruff and thick as he wished away the pronouncement that would come at a later time should the assassin survives this. It doesn’t matter if she was their queen Luna or not, she would have to be burnt on a stake for daring to hurt their Alpha. But the king wouldn’t mind dying beside her to protect her.

“I am really sorry, I can understand what you are going through…” he was saying but the king cut him off with a growl.

“Shut the fuck up, have you ever lost a mate. Have you ever felt the pain of not knowing if you’d ever be loved by anyone and when you finally have her in your arms, she turns out to be your killer?”

Arian stared at the human girl, supposedly his cousin’s and felt a stir of hatred for her, she was unusually beautiful than most of those ugly humans and her long black hair feathered her pale face laying still in death. She had tried to kill his brother, an assassin hired to end the life of their king. That was unforgivable and there is nothing the king can do to save her—mate or not, he would make sure of that, she deserved to be burnt on a stake with her eyes gouged out for the vultures to feed on. Besides the obvious fact that she tried to kill him, the beta couldn’t rid himself of the feeling of unease at the human in their kingdom. It feels as if she would be the one to create problems, but it would just be his dislike for her making him feel that way.

Beta Arian knew his brother was hurt because he rarely cursed—a cultured King he was but mate bond did funny things to the mind that much Arian knew. He was hurting badly and this was probably no time to talk to him about his barely breathing mate’s punishment. But there was no harm in pointing out the obvious and he secretly wished that the moon goddess would take her life right now, so as to save his brother from more pain.

It came as a shock to all of them when their king howled in pain two nights ago and they all ran to his bedroom to see what amiss. Lying in his arms laid the dying body of a human and a silver sword beside them both, some of the guards had slunk back into the shadows at the sight of the silver. Beta Arian unfazed had approached the king and placed a hand on his shoulders, quietly asking what happened.

“Arian… I have—she is mine—fucking hell, my mate!”

Arian had looked dumbfounded as he stared at the still body in his brother’s arm, “But…’ he cleared his throat. “She is dead brother.”

“No!” the king looking crazed and unwilling to accept the death of his newly found mate yelled and some of them shivered as they have never seen him so out of control. “Get me the royal physician.”

Nobody moved from where they were rooted. “Are you all fucking deaf!”

His second in command, Beta Arian shook from his daze and sprung into action, he ordered two of the warriors to get the Physician as soon as possible into the castle.

The king slowly rose from the floor of his bedroom and tenderly placed the still body of his mate on the bed.

“I have to go.” the King, Alpha Conroy said quietly to Arian his second in command, pulling him out of his retrospection.

“Where to brother?” he asked in a calm tone, else he might anger his brother whose nerve endings seemed to be frazzled.

“I have to get to Fehr Kingston, the high vampire king of Ancientrova.” He sat up as he said it out loud, his mind made up.

“What!? Are you out of your mind brother?” Beta Arian yelled.

The king left his slouched position from the bed and walked towards his cousin, he grabbed his equally thick set shoulders and shook him roughly, “If your mate’s only chance of living is to get the blood of Fehr, swear to me right now you wouldn’t cross the seven high waters and hell to save her.”

Arian shook his head, “That is different. Sian had never tried to kill me. Don’t be stupid Your Majesty.” He bit at his brother.

“This is no different. I am a wolf longing for a mate. I finally found her and not even the moon goddess herself would take her from me.” The King Conroy spat.

“Save her and Sell your kingdom and soul to the devil.” Arian replied.

The king chuckled dryly, “Then it’s sold. And if you have forgotten, I am the devil himself.”

“No you are not. I won’t let you do this to yourself and put the kingdom at risk.” Arian made to block his path.

The king, desperate and angry glared at him, “If you wouldn’t help me then as your King and Alpha, I Command you to take charge while I am gone to Ancientrova to save my mate.” He looked deep into his eyes and unable to suppress the dominance and control King Alpha Conroy had over him, his shoulders visibly relaxed and he submitted to his king who nodded.

“Prepare for my departure.” He commanded and the angrily seething but subdued Arian nodded and made to walk out of the king’s royal chambers.

As he got to the door, the King stopped him, “The reason for my departure stays between us, am I understood?”

Arian smiled blandly and managed a nod, “I Promise you would regret this brother.” He mind linked as he broke through the haze of mind control the king fogged had over his mind and he walked out of the room to prepare a carriage that would take the king outside the Castle, past the village into the woods. Then from there, whoever tries to venture into the vampire kingdom has to go by foot as the horses would be too unsettled move further.

Few hours later, the King slid out of his castle through the backdoor, his dying mate in his arms and a heavy black cloak over him. Nobody would guess that the shady creature in the smelly black cloak with frayed edges was their beloved Alpha king. He carefully placed his mate whose name he hadn’t had the grace of knowing in the car of the carriage and he mounted the horse whose mane was plaited back and sparsely decorated with a diamond hairpins, the only giveaway that its rider was someone of consequence.

“Remember my words Arian and protect the empire while I am gone.” The king thundered in a low voice and his cousin bowed in submission.

Lightly whipping his horse, the stallion carried on a trot, before picking up speed on the cobblestone walkway and they shot into the village.

Some of the human villagers paused to gaze out who rode out from the palace and they resumed back to their normal duties as if nothing was amiss. And truly nothing was amiss in the human world now ruled by the werewolves’ colony.