I slowly turned to get a better look completely ignoring the vampire soldier standing beside me. There in the center of the room sat my father....or at least someone that looked like him. He was covered in wide, deep gashes and bruised beyond belief and his clothes were tattered as though he hadn't changed them in months. There wasn't a part of his body that wasn't bloody or bruised
I walked to him, I needed to touch him to make sure what I was seeing was a hallucination caused by the number of blows I took to the head. I fell on my knees in front of him and when his eyes met mine my heart broke all over again. That's when I saw it and it all made sense.
My father Giordano Lycaon was the king of all werewolves and a direct descendant of one of the original bloodlines and yet....he was here like another common omega; weak but why? It was that damn collar around his neck. It stood like a sore thumb I don't even know how I missed it; a collar that must have been laced with wolfsbane and Ginseng, two of the deadliest plants known to my kind.
They knew he couldn't be restrained otherwise, his hands wiped my cheeks and only now did I realize I was crying. It was my fault, this was all me. "Dad, I'm so sorry," I said through the sobs; my throat was hot and tight but I forced my voice out anyway. He shook his head but I only grabbed his hands, "Im sorry papá, it's all my fault."
He looked at me, really looked at me and in his eyes there was only love. "It isn't your fault Ayden, the vampire queen has had a blood feud long before you or even I was born, I'm sorry I couldn't protect you better, I'm sorry I couldn't keep the promise I made to your mother all these years ago."
"Well isn't this a touching sight?" she said. Either she's been here the whole time or just walked in, either way I had to do something, anything to get my father out of this alive. "You're not thinking clearly your majesty, but then again when do you leeches ever do?" Her eyes narrowed, "you want to carry on a feud that's been brewing for decades of not centuries, you do realize that of the council of elders gets to know that you killed Giordano Lycaon who is a member on of the four original bloodlines you could have a war your hands?"
There was nothing but silence, but the firm squeeze from my father told me he was proud of me for not cowering in front of the inferior more sadistic species. Her eyes twinkled with malice as her lips curled back revealing a smile that could fool the gods if not for her fangs. "Oh honey, no one will ever know who killed you and your father and if someone does come to know I'll simply have them kill them like our little informant here."
She moved too fast for my eyes and was in his face, the quiet vampire assigned to spy on the queen. His eyes only slightly widened as she plunged her fangs into his neck so violently that I could hear the flesh tearing open. He looked at me and even though his lips didn't move, his eyes held an apology. She ripped his heart out and his lifeless body fell.
A new found fear settled in my bones but I would not let it show, never. "As I was saying, no one will know and if the council finds out it wouldn't be hard to convince them that I was trying to convince your father to turn you in after I found out that he had a hybrid not to mention illegitimate child that he had hidden away in the human world and when I wouldn't help him keep you a secret he attacked me and killed one of my men so naturally I had to defend myself."
She was right, we had the short end of the stick here. They would believe her story... I looked at my father who's face was expressionless, "You say I am mated to your son yes and you are aware that our community values soul bonds more than anything and if it got out that you had your son's mate, hybrid or not, princess of the werewolf faction and the future queen of vampires killed it wouldn't look so good on you either. That informant you killed had already told two other people everything and they know that if he doesn't get back to them in the next twenty four hours something happened," it was a lie but served it's purpose.
"As authentic as your story might seem it won't have much weight because you tampered with absolute laws and the laws of your faction. Also you killed the king meaning you could have a full on war on your hands. Let my father go and I will tell the other spies that everything is fine."
"You can kill me to keep your own hands clean because already what you've done to him is an atrocity." She seemed to be contemplating everything I had said, my father grabbed me and I knew he was going to protest against what deal I just offered but one look and he knew he couldn't change my mind.
"You drive a hard bargain mutt princess, but my hatred for your family far exceeds any and all consequences I may be faced with," her words were final. The next thing I knew I was being dragged away from my father and I struggled and screamed bloody murder.
She beat him up more than he already was, "NO!" I cried, "please don't hurt him, don't kill him take me instead please!" my voice was hoarse and my throat dry but I didn't give up, even if my body was completely worn out.
She bit down on his neck and he could do little to fight back. Blood dripped down the side of her mouth, his blood but he only looked at me with that same loving gaze. "A father should never outlive his children, I love you Ayden and I'm sorry it has to be this way." something small rolled to me at the same time she thrust her hand into his chest cavity, "I hope your ancestors are seeing this mutt," she spit with a horrendous amount of venom.
She ripped his heart out and I saw the light extinguish from his eyes not before he said something I couldn't hear. Blinding light came from the marble and surrounded me, making me feel like my body was being pulled in different directions. When the pain faded, so did the light.
I was in a forest clearing and then it hit me, he used a teleportation marble. He could have used it to save himself but he chose me, his hybrid child. That last look, the life fading from his eyes would haunt me for the rest of my days.
It wasn't over.
An eye for an eye and a parent for a parent.
That was a promise.