King Xandros Zeppelin
I didn’t even know who the girl is, not that it mattered because she is mine now. Yet, for some reason, she thought she could escape me. Not in my city. Had Mal searched the house properly when I ordered him to, he might still be alive.
Well, he won’t make the same mistake twice, or any mistake for that matter. Walking back to the house, my Beta Javier is waiting out the front of the s h it box she must have grown up in. For some reason, this house feels familiar. I just can’t place the déjà vu I have when I peer up at it.
“My King, what do you want me to do with the body?” he asks as he walks down the stairs and to the car. Javier opens the passenger door while I glance back up at the decrepit old house, the paint flaking from the harsh elements of this city. If it wasn’t one extreme, it was another with the weather here. Yet this house is so unkept it looks like a strong gust of wind could knock it over at any given second. Sighing, I peer down at my mate in my arms.
“Find out who she is and bring anything you think she might want to keep back to the castle. Then burn it.” I order before ducking down and sliding across the seat. Javier peers inside at me.
“Burn it, sir?”
“She won’t be coming back here. I will send the car back for you,” I tell him, and he nods, shutting the door while my driver, Enzo, peers in the back. I nod to him, and he starts the car while I maneuver my mate on my lap to a more comfortable position.
“Is there anywhere you wish to go before home?” Enzo asks,
288 Vouchers
glancing at me in the rearview mirror.
“No, home is all,” I tell him, leaning my head back. Fuck, how do I explain finding her to my mother? She’ll be furious because now she’ll have to t ur n down King Dresden’s arrangement. Not that I wanted to marry his daughter Carina anyway, but she will still be upset. I’ll have to find a way to explain to her that the wedding will be off. I take a deep breath and prepare myself to face her and my mother. Queen Anita Dresden and my mother are quite close. The Dresden’s helped her in a time of need, so I know she’ll also be upset.
My father couldn’t care less who I marry; he hates King Dresden because the man has no limits. I don’t know what his arrangement with his wife is, but he openly hits on my mother and can become a bit too hands-on with her. Yet my mother is oblivious to his advances, though his wife does not appear to mind his wandering hands.
But he’ll have questions, no doubt about my whereabouts, and so will my mother and my fiancé. One advantage, however, is my little mate. Mates are rare and sacred, and rarely does anyone find their true mate-most choose mates. Now my father will finally hand over the crown to me. I’ve been ruling as King anyway, but until I married or found a mate, I couldn’t officially take the title.
Lycan law states any future King must have a Queen before taking the throne. It was a rule enforced after too many lone kings became cruel dictators. Luna and Queens keep their kings and alphas grounded; without them, we become savages eventually, and after too long in solitude, we become rabid and unfit to rule. We aren’t sure why, though werewolves are the same, we are pack creatures and live by rankings.
It just happens I hold one of the highest rankings, meaning my
15.995,
|||
12:12
Chapter 9
288 Vouchers
family is constantly watched by the world and the seven kingdoms. And any show of weakness means we run the risk of being overthrown. Two hundred two years old, I know I was under the most scrutiny of all. Hence, the marriage and treaty were arranged. A king can only rule for two hundred years and must hand the title down, but unmated meant the kingdom would be at risk in my hands because I am one of the oldest united Lycans in the world. Most don’t remain sane past one hundred and fifty years of age without their mate.
The Dresden family luckily offered their daughter to ensure both kingdoms, creating an unbreakable treaty
just hope my mate doesn’t ruin it. I can’t between kingdoms; I
marry Princess Carina now. But she’ll understand, and my father
o will be delighted
knowing I won’t be marrying a vamp. So our usual agreements will hopefully stay strong. Carina will make a fine Queen, and she isn’t required to marry to hold her title, and this was only a favor to my mother to strengthen the relations between our two kingdoms.
True mates strengthen us, and once she turns and awakens, my feisty little mate will make one hell of a queen.
My only hope is that we don’t trigger any conflict between our Kingdom and the vampire Kingdom by turning down the marriage. The newest treaty depended on our marriage. But even Carina is aware of the importance of mates; she searched for hers for decades before agreeing to this marriage, just as I have. And to think my mate was here all this time.
I haven’t been home in days and have done nothing but ignore my fiance and parents while I searched for my mate. I was sure she would try to flee the city. We’ve had every seeker out looking for her.
Driving through the city is bustling with life, people moving and
34.46%%%
O
12 12
<
288 Vouchers
rushing about their day. The sun is setting, casting a deep orange and red hue over the buildings that tower over the streets, creating shadows on the sidewalks and blanketing the alleyways in the shadowy light.
Along the streets are stores and restaurants, with people strolling and talking or racing to get home. As the human store owners barricaded and barred their stores, they prepared to lock down before our clientele changed. The smell of street food wafts in the air, and there is a sense of energy and excitement along with the potent stench of fear.
This time of day is the most dangerous, and most of the supernaturals are primarily night creatures. We are drawn to the moon or the shadows of the night. Lycan got the advantage of both worlds. We were stronger at night, almost supercharged, and yet the vampires couldn’t handle daylight for too long. We aren’t sure why.
It didn’t hurt them, but I think living in the shadows for centuries, hiding from humans, evolution adapted, making them also stronger at night. Their change in sleep patterns suddenly made them nocturnal. Just like humans sleep at night, vampires sleep during the day. However, Lycans can go days without sleeping.
Enzo navigates the windy road leading toward the castle. By the time we reached the tall iron gates, the sun had fallen behind the trees and mountains calling on the night. The lanterns running on either side of the driveway along the hedges illuminate the road.
The castle coming into view makes me antsy despite its beauty. The castle is a sight to behold. It is made of beautifully patterned sandstone, with tall towers and spires reaching toward the sky. Dark window frames filled with colored stained glass create an otherworldly feel.
52.95%
O
12 121
1288 Vouchers
Most humans stare in awe at this place. It is like stepping out of reality and into a picture book. Roses of every color fill the garden beds despite it being winter here. The weather is bizarre, one minute, snow. The next, it’s blistering heat.
Earth truly is a marvelous place, mysterious. I’ve always found humans fascinating. I can only imagine how good it must feel to have such simple minds that can be controlled and manipulated easily, never having to think for themselves when their
governments would do the thinking for them. Now we do. Now supernaturals run the world, no longer hiding and starving in the shadows.
How good it must feel not to be driven by instincts that will never make sense to you, driven by hunger and desire so strong you can’t refuse it. Pulling into the circular driveway, fountains sit in the middle, filled with orchards and lilies. This place could sometimes take your breath away. Especially at night, with the fairy lights in the trees turning on, lighting the place up like some winter wonderland. As the car stops, Enzo jumps out, opening the door for me as the servants come out to greet me.
I can’t wait for her to see this place. I hope she loves it as much as I do, for this is now h er h ome, too. Peering around, I suck in a deep breath of the moist icy air. Finally, I can sleep, and I get to wake up next to my mate. Something I have longed to do, and a true mate, not a chosen or forged mate, but someone that is truly created for me by the divine.
Taking in my surroundings, knowing I won’t be leaving my room. until she shifts, it is evident that the groundskeeper did the lawns. yesterday because the grounds were well-maintained despite the thin blanket of snow, which gives the appearance that the lawns are decorated with glistening diamonds. The lawns are lush, with flowering gardens and a pond in the center that is currently frozen
71.15%
|||
12 12
288 Vouchers
over. It is a place of beauty and mystery, and this castle has been around for a long time.
Turning, the entrance is grand, with two towering stone pillars and an ornate wooden door. Servants glance between each other as I move toward the open doors and step inside. I nearly tu rn a ro u nd and walk out when I spot Carina walking down the grand staircase toward me. F uck ! She is back already. I thought she wouldn’t be back until tomorrow. No doubt my mother r ang her to let her know I hadn’t been home.
“Xandros, my Love.” she beams happily, her paleness showing she is in need of blood. She smiles and rushes down the steps only as she reaches the bottom. Her smile slips off her face, and she stops in her tracks. Her blood-red eyes
peer at the woman in my
arms.
“And who is that?” she questions.
“My mate,” I answer with a growl, not liking the way she is eyeing her.
90.87%
O
12 12
