"I believe you have someone that belongs to me",Lord Brandon said while he glared venomously at Riven.
The atmosphere became charged with the negative aura that exuded from the Supreme Alpha and the Vampire Lord. The shifters that held back Brandon from advancing bared their canines angrily at the vampire just as Cade and the dozen shifters arrived at the shores. On one side was Riven and his lycan warriors while on the other side was Lord Brandon and his nest of vampires. A mass of pale skin and milky eyes, fangs exposed and snarling, ready to battle.
"Someone that belongs to you?",Riven asked furiously. "What nonsense are you sprouting?"
"I think we both know who I'm talking about Riven",Brandon said and a wicked glint appeared in his eyes.
When Maria Parker broke the news to him that the girl had escaped, he had been livid beyond words. In a fit of anger, he grabbed the woman and dug his fangs into her veins, draining out every last drop of her blood until she fell down dead, deathly pale and gaunt.
But it didn't satiate his thirst. He wanted the servant girl that had been living with her. There was a reason why he paid handsomely for her to be sold to him. He remembered the first day he paid a visit to Maria's house. He had arrived in the middle of the woman whipping the girl. And when the fragrance of the girl's blood swept through his nostrils, he knew he needed to have her, to taste that sweet blood and feel it flow down his throat.
Five years later and he was ready to buy her and that was when she escaped. In his rage, he searched through the entire city for the girl, turning it upside down with no sign of her until one of his spies informed him of the girl's location. How she managed to arrive at the hidden island remained a mystery to him but he wasn't going to leave without her.
"Bring her out Riven. The strange girl who appeared at this island weeks ago",Brandon said. "She belongs to me".
The lycans growled menacingly at Lord Brandon's words. This was their Luna he was taking about and they wouldn't take it kindly.
Riven's eyes flickered from gold to red and his canines emerged. One more push and his beast would be let out.
"Get out of my territory Brandon! While I'm still being nice",he said slowly, his voice thick with rage.
"You think I want to be here?",Brandon asked incredulously. "I loathe this place, after what you did to me centuries ago!".
"YOU MURDERED MY SISTER!",Riven roared furiously. His hands began to shift slowly, golden fur emerging and claws bursting out. "I should have killed you back then. There's nothing stopping me from doing it now! Leave!".
"I won't leave unless I'm taking the girl with me",Brandon said and bared his fangs.
"You're not getting your hands on my mate!",Riven said slowly. He was shifted halfway and soon his beast would take over.
Lord Brandon went quiet with surprise. And then he laughed, a mirthless laughter that was as cold as his demeanour.
"This just keeps getting interesting",he said with a vicious grin. "The fact that she's your mate makes taking her away from you all the better".
Riven growled and his beast took over. His transformation completed and he roared in rage. His size was larger than normal, fur glistening brightly. His eyes were glowing blood pools and he glared at the vampire, crouching low and ready to lunge.
"I hope you feel much worse pain than you felt when I killed your sister years ago",Brandon added heartlessly and grinned as the beast lunged at him.
In a flash, he was gone.
Riven stopped when his hands grabbed at the empty air. Brandon had been standing there a second ago.
[ALPHA HE'S HEADING FOR THE MANSION],the mind link was panicked and it tore through Riven's mind.
His eyes snapped up towards the direction of the mansion, where Brandon was racing to with inhumane speed. He took off in blinding speed after him, his claws slashing at the vampires that tried to stop him.
There was only a single thought on his mind. And it was to protect his mate.
...
Back in the mansion, Layla scribbled on the parchment and showed it to Caleb.
'Will Riven be okay?'
"The Alpha will be fine Luna",Caleb said reassuringly. "He just has some issues to settle with the Vampire Lord. He will be back soon"
'Who's the vampire lord?',she wrote.
"Just some ancient bat that was banished years ago",Caleb said nonchalantly. "The Alpha banished him, because he commited a deadly crime centuries ago".
Layla became thoughtful. She knew that name. She knew she had heard it from someone before. But she just couldn't recall. She quickly wrote on the parchment.
'What did he do?'
"I'm sorry Luna. You will have to ask the Alpha",Caleb said and smiled apologetically. "No one is allowed to talk about it".
'Okay. After he got banished, where did he go?',Layla wrote.
"Some said he disappeared into the human world. Some said he lived alone in a desert. No one knows",Caleb said and shrugged like he didn't care.
Layla looked towards the other shifter, Alec. He had been quiet since Riven left. She wrote on the parchment and passed it to him.
'Are you Alex's twin?'
Alec read what she wrote and raised his eyes towards her. "Yes I am Luna",he said.
Layla took the parchment and scribbled on it while Caleb and Alec waited to know why she asked.
'I am sorry about Alex. I talked to Riven. He will release your brother'.
Alec looked up in shock at Layla. He didn't know how else to express his gratitude. So he knelt before her and thanked her, much to the surprise of Layla.
"That's very generous of you Luna...",Caleb began to say when Riven's mind link reached him suddenly.
[Brandon is on his way. Protect my mate and do not let him touch her]
[Yes Alpha],Caleb replied and got off the couch abruptly.
Layla looked up at him in surprise, wondering why he stared at Alec strangely. The two seemed to communicate silently just as she heard a loud shout from afar. Her eyes widened fearfully and she shot out of the bed, almost tripping on the gown she wore. What was happening?
"Luna please be calm",Caleb tried to reassure her. "Nothing is going to happen".
Another shout sounded and she heard something crash. What was that?, she thought fearfully. Were they under attack? Where was Riven?
Just as the thought crossed her mind, the door to the room crashed in and two figures fell inside. One was Riven. She recognized his golden fur. The other was someone she had never seen. He was pale, so pale that she could see the red and blue veins straining in his neck. He had sleek dark hair that swept down his back smoothly and she took a jerky step backwards when his milky white eyes focused on her.
Riven flew to his feet and stood in front of Layla, shielding her with his body. Caleb and Alec were in their lycan form already, standing beside Riven and growling at the vampire. Dozens of other shifters in their lycan form barred the door, surrounding the vampire.
Riven slowly shifted back to his human form and held Layla behind him. His eyes were still blood red as he glared at Brandon.
"You're surrounded Brandon",he said coldly. "Your fellow vampires won't stand a chance against my warriors. Give up!".
Brandon ignored him and focused his eyes on Layla. His nostrils flared and he inhaled deeply, savoring the scent of her blood. There was just something about her that puzzled him and he would stop at nothing until he had her.
"Be careful Riven",he said in a warning tone. "You wouldn't want to hurt your precious mate".
"If you lay your filthy hands on my mate, you're dead Brandon",Riven spat out in rage. He pushed Layla behind him fully in case the vampire made any sudden move.
"Your choice",Brandon said and shrugged. The next events that occured happened rapidly.
Brandon moved in a flash, moving swiftly around the room and heading towards Layla.
Layla saw him approaching and her eyes widened. He moved too fast and she knew Riven wouldn't be fast enough to stop him. She saw the vampire's claws stretch out to grab her, she saw his fangs gleam sharply, she saw his eyes alight with evil intent. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion.
Terrified, she closed her eyes and awaited the pain that would come. It never came.
Instead the room exploded in a blinding white light.