Chapter |77| ~The First Casualties of War ~
Unedited.
Embry’s POV.
“Oh, my Goddess! This is unreal, someone please pinch me,”
“Ouch!” I yelp as Speck pinches me.
“Don’t blame me,” she sasses. “You’re the one who told me to pinch you whenever your eyes get all dreamy and bubbly looking like OMG! I can practically hear your thoughts right now. Oh, my Goddess! This is all so unreal,” she teases while trying her best to make the face that I was just making and Anastasia Vlad burst out in a fit of giggles.
All three of us, just burst out laughing!
“Yeah, I did but you didn’t have to really pinch me,” I laugh harder, as I desperately try to catch my breath.
“Awe, yeah I did. Your wish is my command, your highness,” she says while bowing before me.
“My queen,” Anastasia Vlad just has to add in as she bows as well.
“Oh, I’m totally both of your majesties,” I joke while doing a royal curtsy and then all three of us burst out laughing even harder, and this time we gain the attention of just about every royal vampire guest in attendants.
Oh, my Goddess! Tonight has been Epic.
Speck, Anastasia, and I have been standing at the far end of the ballroom just about living in our own world ever since the house of Ettore pledged their loyalty to me. Yes! Me. Oh, my Goddess! I still can’t believe it but that’s beside the point right now. Now, back to what I was saying. Although, the girls and I have been practically living in our own bubble since early on. Gutter Butter and his toy soldiers have also been surrounding us the entire time, downright refusing to allow anyone other than Aunt Katherine and Ghost Falls to burst our personal bubble.
“Where are you going?” ask Anastasia Vlad as soon as Speck steps out of our bubble.
“We’re at a ball and I look hot,” she speaks the honest to Goddess truth because she does. Speck is looking radiant in her bubblegum pink evening gown and pressed silky black raven hair. “So, I’m going to dance,” she tells her as she leads one of Gutter Butter toy soldiers to the dance floor.
Out the corner of my eye, I catch a glimpse of Gutter Butter’s heavenly deep blue eyes turning into a fiery pit of soulless dark red orbs right before he spits out, “Oh, no you don’t! That dance belongs to me,” and then he chases right behind her and his toy soldier.
Oh, wow! What the heck did I just miss?
“Unclaimed men and women are all the same,” sighs Anastasia Vlad as she grabs two champagne glasses from the passing server and hands me one of them. She then proposes a toast, “Heres to spending the rest of eternity with the men of our dreams,” she suggests before we down the drinks quickly.
“Hell, yeah!” says my wolf. “I’ll drink to that,”
“So, Embry,” Anastasia Vlad begins with her beautiful and thick accent that I now know to be British. “Please tell me that you gave any thought to my proposal about joining Elijah and me on our upcoming journey to Rome. I’ve already made the appropriate arrangements. We can leave as early as dawn,”
“I would love to,” I begin as she loops her arms around my arm and then we begin to stroll throughout the ballroom with the remainder of Gutter Butter toy soldiers following the two of us of course.
“Now before you make any excuses,” she says with a single raised eyebrow. “I’ll have you know that my Elijah has already sent a letter to your beloved before his departure,”
“Before his departure?”
“Oh, yes! How could I forget to mention the fact that my not so lovely beloved had to abandon me for some bloody got darn summons,”
“Summons,” I stop in mid-track, “Are you referring to the summons that Cyrus had to respond to,” I whisper into her ear. I’m still learning about how the life of the royals works, but I do know a few things like the classified summons.
It is supposed to be a top-notch royal secret for that I’m sure. Although, Anastasia Vlad has been married into royalty thanks to her paring with the King of all vampire king’s cousin. I’m not sure if she is supposed to know about that one secret.
“Of course, I am,” she confirms my suspension before she looks to her left after looking to her right and then whispering in my ear. “Yes! Embry, I know all about the summons, just like I know all about The King of All King’s human beloved, Claire,”
My eyes in large. “But don’t worry darling, all of the king’s secrets are safe with me and my beloved, we are on their side for many reasons and the first one happens to be that we are no fools. Secondly, we wouldn’t want to die, now would we,” she attempts to ensure me with a joke, but something tells me that she isn’t joking at all.
“Besides, King Marcellus of Europe just happens to be my first cousin and my favorite cousin at that. He’s the one that requested my beloved and I attendance here, just so we can look out for you during King Cyrus brief departure,”
“He did what?” I yelp! Now, why would he do that? I mean, we only met once or twice, I think to myself and my first impression of him was nothing but the fact that he was a foolish flirt.
“Or more like just foolish,” my wolf suggests as I ignore her. Either way, it doesn’t matter how what we think about him. What matters is why on heavens earth would he care to think anymore about us or our safety.
“Because you are family now, silly,” explains Anastasia with a smile. “And one thing that I’ve learned about all of the kings is that family means everything to them, and I’m not talking about the family that they were born into at all,”
“I’m referring to the family that they created. The one that they have formed through bond and loyalty,” she pauses for just a second, and then she says. “You might have lost the family that you were born into by accepting your bond with King Cyrus, but you gained an entirely new one, who is ten times more deadly, trust me,” she says before looping her arm with my own and then begins to pull me throughout the ballroom.
“Just look at it like this, you have inherited seven deadly brothers, and trust me when I say that they are all just as bad as they say that they are when it comes to any of the safety of their loved ones, especially one of their brothers beloved,” she adds in, leaving me completely speechless.
Cyrus POV.
Nicklaus and I’ve settled our differences for now but things are far from over between us two. I mean yes, I have pledged my loyalty to Claire and him but I still don’t trust him and I’m sure that he doesn’t just willing trust me as well and my mind still hasn’t changed about giving up my crown. Once, I return to my Kingdom, Embry and I are getting the fuck out of dodge.
That is the only reason why I allowed my aunt to throw a ball in her honor during my absence in the first place. I wanted the world to know that I’m not trying to hide her from anybody, I just want to run away and hide with her. That’s a major difference and I plan to do just that as soon as I touch down but first thing first I need to deal with my brothers.
“Here’s the man of the hour,” says Cornelius the very moment that I walk through the sliding door to enter Nicklaus’s private kitchen inside of his man cave, or more artistic cave because that’s exactly what this is.
This quarter is Nicklaus artistic pad filled with rainbows, unicorns and skittles taste the rainbow bullshit.
Ha! Ha! Ha! Just kidding, just kidding but this private quarter is colorful as fuck. Starting with the fact that everything inside of here just pop’s to life! Each wall tells a story about a time in Nicklaus’s past. Then the next wall goes into another story and the next wall goes another story. It’s just a room full of walls with fucking stories and like I said everything is bright.
Pink walls, striped walls, yellow walls, and blue walls that all host neon lights. There are even statues made of beer cans that Nicklaus made himself after he hosts a game night for the guys. He also painted portraits of different people, living in different times from all across the world that happened to be captured from many different angles because Nicklaus is just weird like that, but yet I always admired his work and most likely always will.
Before, the awakening he uses to do Art shows that only us Kings knew about and we all would attend. Although the after party was the real work of art as we all went out with whatever poor human girl’s that would attend his events just so we can have orgys and feast on their blood.
Yup! Those were the days that are now long gone...
Long! Long! Gone, which doesn’t bother me at all because I’m a happily claimed man.
Thinking of my beauty, I wonder what she is doing right now. I miss her so much and I can only pray to the blood God himself that she misses me too. I wish that I could have bought her along with me here. She would love it, especially this portion of the Palace.
Nicklaus made it his business to dedicate his personal space to art and Embry is a work of art. She belongs here.
“Don’t start with me, Cornelius,” I warn while some poor slave girl places a plate of Magarına Bulli in front of me and I can’t help the smirk that grows onto the side of my lips. Everyone knows that fresh magarına Bulli is my favorite traditional Cypriot meal, made of bucatini pasta, chicken and drenched in rich blood. Embry would love this meal that is without the blood of course.
“I’m not in the mood,” I end the conversation before it even begins as I dive my knife into this tasty dish, or least I thought I did.
“Speaking of mood,” Cornelius just has to speak again.
“That sexy little she-wolf of yours is certainly quite the mood. I took it upon myself to do your job and control the media and I’m glad that I have. I mean by blood God, have you seen your beloved at the ball. She’s look’s magnificently enchanting. There is no wonder why the Lycan Prince was in my Kingdom sniffing around like a lost puppy if I was him,” he pauses as his piercing blue eyes light up.
“I would most certainly want my bitch back too,” he dares to say, and just like that my knife goes flying in his direction across the table.
“Oh, Blood God,” chimes in Seneca. “Can we please just feast in leave for once in our lives?”
“I am feasting peaceful,” says Cornelius as he lifts his head back up from underneath the table. Of, course the pussy boy manage to avoid my attack. “He’s the one throwing knives and shit,” he adds while he picks the remote up from off the table. Then, he begins to flicker the channels. “All I did was speak the truth. Here if you don’t believe me see for yourself,” he shrugs and the next thing I know is that everything else around me ceases to exist as the love of my entire existence appears on the Flat T.V screen.
Embry looks like magic. Her make-up is subtle and just the way I like it. The pure white gold diamond earrings that I purchased her right before my departure, drips richness into her lovely cute earlobes. Her expensively dark brown hair is slicked back to pure perfection while styled into an elaborate bun with a simple part going straight down the middle.
The dress that I created for her was made for her in every way, crafted with the finest periwinkle blue chiffon that this world has to offer and the floor-length voluminous chiffon train ruffle ending is stitched with the worlds finest sparkling diamonds and shiny pearly white pearls. That has also been carefully beaded into the corset styled bodice that shows of her flawless curves.
As I said before, Embry looks like magic. She is magic, a magnificently magical creature that this world doesn’t deserve.
“See, I told you he’s whipped!” Cornelius’s voice breaks me out of my trace.
“A course he’s smitten,” Seneca pitches in. “Just look at her. Out of all my years, I’ve never seen a she-wolf that holds that sort of beauty. It’s quite enchanting if you ask me,”
“Oh, not you too,” Cornelius rolls his eyes. “Please, don’t tell me that you too have a thing for dogs,”
That’s it!
“If you disrespect my beloved, or her species one more time I promise you that I will personally deliver you a box of your pretty little secret perfectly beating little heart,” I jump up out of my seat.
“Try me, bitch! Try me,” his monster roars as his neck snaps in my direction.
“What the actual fuck,” Seneca hisses while taking a stand and slamming his hand down onto the table, causing the entire room to shake along with him. “Both of you are acting like two little girls, not men. I honestly don’t know how either of your women deals with you,”
“Now can the two of you act like men for one second so we can do our jobs,” he spits before he decides to sit back down and dive back into his dish of bloody Koupepia. It’s his favorite.
“Sure,” says Cornelius with a smirk as he takes his seat. “I’ll start first, as I stated due to Cyrus,” he pauses while looking at me before his smirk deepens.
“Let’s just say due to Cyrus emergency departure, I took it upon myself to do his job and so far, so good. The media doesn’t suspect a thing. Thanks to Cyrus Grand idea of hosting a ball inside of his Kingdom for his she-wolf queen all of their focus is placed there,”
“Good,” analyzes Seneca before he stares off in space. He does that a lot, whenever he’s thinking, which is almost every second of the day, “But doesn’t that place your queen in danger, Cyrus,” he places his focus on to me. “With the media placing all of its focus onto Embry doesn’t that mean that the Lycan Prince will know exactly where she is,”
“He’s preoccupied,” Cornelius once again adds his two cents in. “My father made it his duty to escort him, his mutt of a Beta and his little mistress outside of my Kingdom just to take hin to meet the council, so I guess you can say that we won’t have to worry about him for a long while,”
“Unless the council decides to team up with them,” Seneca suggests and for the first time ever he sound’s stuck on stupid.
“Surely, you know that would never happen,” I speak up. “Never,” and for that I’m sure, if you think that we kings are racist bastards just wait until you meet the council. Nicklaus’s father per se is the most racist animal that I’ve met. That’s another reason, why I couldn’t understand how he and my aunt hit it off.
“Never say never,” Seneca chimes in as the slave’s girl returns with a tray full of blood dip and wine glasses. That reminds me, why is she even here. Nicklaus usually doesn’t allow any slaves inside of this quarter.
“Where’s Nannie?” I ask as the slave girl places my wine glass full of blood down in front of me.
“Xander Kingdom, I suppose,” suggest Seneca as he takes his drink to the head. “You know like I know that Xander and Nicklaus want to keep her far, far, far, far away from danger and Claire,′
Yup, he’s right. They would do anything to protect their precious secret from Nicklaus’s father and do ten times more with protecting Claire from finding out about their bloody past from Nannie. So, I guess it was a shoo-in when they decided to take Nannie to the end of the map. Literally.
No one lives there.
“Where are the other Kings?” I ask him next. I suppose that they are killing off the weakest links under Nicklaus chain of command.
“Doing some last-minute adjustments,” Cornelius is the one who answers, confirming my suspension. They are killing off the weakest links. Umm, it must sucks to be them right now. I always hated that part, being in a group of bitch boy’s presence always gives me a headache.
“And Princess Daniella,” I dare to ask Seneca, which results in Corneilius choking on his glass full of blood and Seneca giving me a murderous side eye.
Ha,ha, ha. Hilarious I think to myself but yet I decide to drop it just because what’s understood doesn’t have to be explained, meaning....
Brother’s don’t speak on brother’s who are smashing their other brother’s sister.
Yuck that sound’s gross.
“Now would you excuse me,” Seneca says, as he take a stand to leave, not even bothering to finish his favorite dish. Yup! He’s really pissed. I got it!
Out the corner of my eye, I see Corneilus cover the smirk on his lip's with his handkerchief.
“Cool, I’ll see you before departure,” I smirk.
“Yup! I’ll see you before departure,” Corneilus adds in.
“You know what, fuck the both of you and I swear on my life if anyone one of you breathe a word about Daniella and I to Nick, or Xander that I’ll end you myself,” he goes off which causes the both of us to burst out laughing.
“Don’t worry your secret is safe with me,” Corneilus lies.
“Yup, it’s safe,” I lie as well and I can all but feel Seneca's monster seconds away from breaking free when one word enters my head.
“SOMNUM” (SLEEP.)
Everything goes blank.....
Embry’s POV.
For some strange reason, I’m engaging in another conversation with Cyrus’s third, fourth, or fifth cousin twice removed, or something of the sort, who happens to also look nothing like his cousin. Although, he does favor Cyrus other third, fourth, or fifth cousin that my wolf had a slight altercation with a couple of night's ago.
“Oh, yeah! I remember him. What’s his name again?”
Alaric Ettore I mentally sigh as Eric Ettore and I move around on the dance floor.
“Oh, yeah! He’s such a jerk.”
“Yes! He was,” I admit.
“But at least he doesn’t talk as much as this one,” my wolf just have to admit “This one is way to full of himself. It’s no wonder why our mate doesn’t value bloodline family. Most of his family, are pricks,” she expresses and although I don’t respond, or comment because it is rude to talk about my mates family I can’t help but to silently agree.
Apparently, Eric Ettore was supposed to be Cyrus successor into I came along because now that I exist that means that Cyrus shall one day have a heir that will eventually claim his throne.
“Would you belive that? A hybrid heir taking my place,” asks Eric Ettore for what seems to be the thousand time since we started to dance. “Yeah,I know! I can’t believe it either,” he says to me once again.
It’s like he’s talking to me about me without really talking to me at all because everytime that I attempt to get a single word in he continues.
“Yup! He’s so smoothly charming,” my wolf adds in. “Not, oh and let’s not forget the fact that he’s talking about our future pup.”
“Hold Up! Slow down little wolfy,” I just have to cut her off. “We’re only one hundred and eighteen years old. Goddess! It’s way to early to think about pups. Not to mention the fact, that we just lost our flower,”
I trip over my own two feet when she reponds back to me,“You don’t have to remind me, human. Trust me! That was the longest deflowering in history,”
Oh, my Goddess! “Are you okay,” questions Eric Ettore as he helps me prevent my face from hitting the floor and that’s when I realize that we are now surrounded by toy soldiers.
“Yes, I’m fine,” I hastly respond as he swiftly lifts me back up. “Thank, the blood God! Cyrus would most certainly have my head on a spike if you so might have a scratch on your delicate skin by the end of our dance,” he says and then he begins to talk about something else but I tune him out when I catch a glimpse of a familiar face.
No, way! I think to myself and blink twice just to ensure that my eyes are not playing tricks on me and there she is. Celine looking stunning in a pale lavender even gown as she walks up the grand staircase towards the exist.
“What the heck?” says my wolf, meaning she saw her too. “Yeah, I did, but I didn’t catch her scent, actually I haven’t caught any werewolf scent, so that can’t be her. Can it?” she second guesses herself.
“I don’t know, but I know onething is for certain and two things are for sure, I’m not about to stand here and not find out,”
“Neither I am, go,” she urges me as I make my way in Celines directions.
“Wait,” says Eric Ettore as I pull away from him.
“Excuse me, I have to go,” I advise him with a soft smile. “Thank’s for the dance it was truly amazing,” I lie before I place the both of my hands onto the lower end of my gown while I pull the cool material up from off the ground and then take off in Celine’s direction, and of course a few toy soldiers come’s rushing behind me.
I quickly follow her up the grand staircase, but yet I’m still walking at a speed that won’t draw too much attention to myself, nor her.
Only because if Gutter Butter learned of her presence inside of this Kingdom he will most certainly report back to Cyrus after he so drastically ends this event. That’s exactly why I havn’t screamed her name out loud while I chase behind her. Although, it doesn’t matter because I’m almost there just a few steps away from her when I accidentally bump into someone in the middle of the hall, or more like they accidentally bump into me, but it’s okay because I’m still able to catch a glimpse of Celine walking into the ladies room.
“Oh, dear! My apologies,” says Aunt Katherine as she takes me in with a sweet smile. “I was in such a rush back to the party that I didn’t see you coming. Although, I have a feeling that you were in such a rush to get to wherever your going that you didn’t see me coming as well,” she says.
Her soft almond eyes are filled with so much love.
“And you were correct,” I admit with a smile. “I’ve got to go to the ladies room,”
“So why the heck are your security detail running after you, like chickens with their heads cut off,” she questions as she takes in the toy soldiers, who were just running after me. “And where the hell is Gutter, ” she questions a second later.
“Beats me,” I admit. “The last time I checked he was chasing after Speck,"
“After, Speck. Oh, wow! I always expected that he was charmed by her but I would have never expected for him to act upon his charm,” she says with a smile.
"Ball’s, have a way with touching even the faintest beating hearts,” she adds in. “Well, I guess that I’ll go remind him of his duty after I’ll allow you a little breathing room,” she says with a wink.
Breathing room, I think to myself as she turns to face my toy soldier’s. “Your queen has to attend to tend to ladies duties in private,” she advises them. “So, I suggest you make yourself scarce for just a moment<"
“But,” one of the toy soldiers dares to say.
“There are no but’s,” she tells him off. “Get the hell out of my hallway, now,” she says sternly and just like that they toy soldiers disappear,”
“Thank, you,” I say to her while pulling her into yet another tight hug.
Oh, my Goddess! This feels so good, I really do love this women.
“And I love you too,” she expresses, which let me knows that she was inside of me head.“Yes! I was inside of you head the entire night but that’s neither here or there, go complete your destiny, sweet girl,” she’s says but not before I hear her voice float inside of my head, “And don’t forget to open up my gift at sunrise,” and then the next thing I know she’s gone.
Gone! What the heck she can’t be that fast I think to myself as I look around the now empty hallway but then again anything is possible when you consider how many centuries she have graced this earth.
With that thought, I check inside of my gown just to ensure that her gift to me is still safely secure and there it is, sitting directly in between my breast.
Thank, Goddess! I can’t wait to open it I think to myself as I finally make my way into the lady's room.
Only to find that Celine is no where to be found, but a woman with uniformly brilliant long jet black hair and smooth milk chocolate skin is.
No, correction! A she-wolf with an unfamiliar but yet strangly famlilar scent uniformly brilliant long jet black hair and smooth milk chocolate skin is standing right here.
“Who is she?”
“Hello, Embry Destiny Wilde,” she’s the first to start the conversation. “It is such a pleasure to finally meet you. I’ve heard so much about you,”
“Hello,” I greet her with a smile as I stare into her stunning brown eyes and take another deep whiff of the air. She smells so familiar. “Have we met before?” I just have to ask.
“No we haven’t,” my wolf ensures us. You know that I don’t forget a scent, but I have picked up on her scent before I just can’t place my finger on it,” my wolf advises. “But that’s neither here or there, who the fuck is she and why is she in our Kingdom,”
“Calm, down,” I soothe my wolf. “Aunt Katherine did mention that she had werewolf friends maybe she invited her,”
“I doubt it,” says my wolf. “You just missed, Aunt Katherine,” I decide to ignore my wolf and tell the pretty she-wolf instead. “Come, I’ll take you to her,”
“Aunt?” Questions the mysterious little she-wolf.
“Excuse me, I meant Lady,” I quickly correct myself, as my eyes briefly flicker in the direction of the door,
“Excuse me,” she mocks. “Lady,” she suddenly looks disappointed. “I’ve never met a tamed Wilde wolf before,” she then points out.
Met! She said met, which means. “I’m sorry, what Wilde wolf have you met before?” I question her at the same time that her eyes flash neon yellow.
Now, that can only mean one thing and that’s her wolf feeling threatened.
“Yeah, Embry,” says my wolf. “Why would her wolf feel threatened, I say foe,” my wolf declares as she briefly takes over and that’s when I realize that we are not alone.
With one swift movement, I quickly turn around just to come in contact with a violent violet eye vampire.
“Well, you look at that,” my wolf huffs.
It’s Mistress Ravana or more like The Misstress who desperately wishes that she could be with an Ettore, my Ettore.
I allow my wolf full control as we lower our stance and get ready to go to war and my mate ex girlfriend lower her stance as well, showing no fear.
“Come on, bitch! Bring it on,” growls my wolf.
“Now, wait just one second,“says the she-wolf that I now know to be a foe as she walks in between us. Then she looks at my mates ex and say, “You can have your fun with her, but that’s it. My mate wants her alive. His nuisances of a brother would go crazy if something happened to his darling daughter and so will the lycans. She’s supposed to be a special little wolf. Although, I don’t see anything special about her,” she spits as her head snaps back in my direction.
“Fuck you too, bitch,” growls my wolf.
Hold on wait! She just said, “Mate?” I question her, briefly taking control.
“Oh, so you do have a brain. Wow, ” she sarcastically state.
“But yes my mate, little miss traitor. Your Uncle Maddox happens to be my mate. I’m Mecca, your real aunt and you my traitorous little pup just happen to be the first Casualties of War,”
Hey, love bugs! Here’s your Wensday update a day early, I just had to make my lack of updates up to you somehow or someway.I hope you enjoyed: As scheduled my next update shall be Friday, enjoy the rest of your week my loves.