Andor.
We gave the horses no chance to rest and rode straight back to king Isaac's kingdom of Scandonia. The fighting was finished by the time that we got there; his soldiers put the bodies of the dead in a heap amidst plans to bury them.
King Isaac was waiting for us in his private chambers when we arrived. Jennifer ran away from us and unto the warm embrace of her father.
"Did they hurt you?" He asked.
"No." She replied. "I don't remember anything. Some men came into my room and put a cloth over my face. I woke up when Andor came for me."
"I owe him my eternal gratitude." King Isaac replied.
"My lord." I bowed back.
"I have some things to discuss with Andor in private." He said to Jennifer. "Freshen up; I will see you immediately after I am done with him. I can not afford to have you out of my sight."
She hugged him tightly before exiting her father's chambers; immediately he heard the door shut, he turned back to me.
"I know that you have some questions." He replied.
"Yes," I answered. "I have more than a few. The first thing I want to know is why vampires want your daughter?"
King Isaac was dumbfounded. He jumped down from his bed and crept to his table. He reached on top of it and brought out a necklace. It was gold and had a green stone in the middle.
"This was her mother's." He explained. "She was a direct descendant of Lycaon; Jennifer is the last remaining member of that line. Her blood is an ingredient be used for a spell that can end all werewolves."
I froze. It reminded me of the prophecy that had loomed over my head since childbirth, which made my Father hate me before I was born.
King Isaac knew nothing of the prophecy because he wouldn't be sharing this information with me if he did.
"This is the first time I have come across a vampire," I said.
"You are young. Some of us have the pleasure of going through life without coming across any of them. But those vile creatures will do anything in their power to end our race."
I sighed.
"I can assume that a vampire was responsible for what happened in my kingdom today." He asked.
"Yes and no," I replied. "Your former Beta planned the attack. I heard that you banished him."
"Jeremiah dared to lay a finger on my daughter!" He growled.
"Not only that, after he successfully kidnapped her, he sold her to some vampire who claimed that his master was Marius."
King Isaac's eye's widened with terror; the confident and Outspoken king that I worked hard not to trigger his wrath was scared.
He sighed. "I am glad that you were around when this happened. It was as if destiny brought you to me."
"Destiny or not, it is time for me to return home. I have spent enough time away from the pack."
"I understand." King Isaac replied.
"You must prepare your people for an attack from vampires because it would come sooner or later," I explained.
"My walls are protected by serious magic. It's the reason he needed Jeremiah to breach my walls. His kind can not set foot in my kingdom."
"And in combat, are your men trained to handle them? The one I met was pretty fast." I replied.
"Those bloodsuckers may be fast, but we can match them in strength. Driving a stake through their hearts should not be a problem."
I nodded.
"You are a good man, Andor, just like your father."
"I am nothing like my father," I replied. "I am a better man than he could ever dream of becoming."
King Isaac smiled. "I did not like my father either."
"It is not the same thing." I barked back.
"I never said that it was." He answered.
King Isaac poured himself a cup of wine from his table. His outstretched hands offered me an empty cup to run one myself, but I shook my head.
"I would like to take my leave now, my Lord," I said.
King Isaac emptied the contents of his cup into his mouth and said, "I know that I am not in a position to ask you for any favours, but I will ask regardless."
"If I could grant my lord any wish, I would," I replied honestly.
"I want you to take my daughter with you. You are the only one that I trust to keep her safe," King Isaac said.
"My lord, you are asking me too much," I replied.
"Maybe I am. But I am not only doing this because she is my daughter. Our entire kind is also at risk."
I sighed.
"There is no guarantee that I can keep her safe," I replied.
"You are the strongest werewolf that our kind has seen for centuries. Your great power must come with some responsibility."
"For how long?" I asked.
"Until Marius is killed. The council would meet in a few weeks and plan how to get rid of that threat."
"So, I am your Insurance policy?"
"Yes." He replied. I considered his proposal; I had never seen a vampire in my life meant that whatever protection was guarding the king Isaac's kingdom was also in mine; she would be safe with me.
"Ask for the Princess's permission. If she decides that she will be safe with me, she can come along. I have more than enough room in my castle. And in the next meeting, we would make a plan and kill that bastard." I said.
King Isaac listened to my requests earnestly.
"You are correct. It has to be her choice."
"For now, I would tend to my horses, and if she is with me by the time I am ready to leave, then so be it."
"We have been bonded today, Andor. You are my brother, and I would lay my life for you and your family."
"And so would I," I replied.