I will be back

Aleida’s POV

I decide that I need to communicate with him. It doesn’t matter how I do it, but it will happen either Victor wants it or not. I have a plan, and if it goes through, I’ll hopefully see my family again. Victor will do as I order him to; if I’m going to die, then I might as well ask for one last thing? I wonder what my family and friends would say if they knew what I’m about to do. My mates wouldn’t allow this to happen. In themselves, they’ll hardly accept my destiny regardless. Victor mentioned the other day that he has sent out invitations for my last time on earth. Although I think it’s a sickening thing to do, I still have to admit that his bravery impresses me. He has balls; I got to give him that. If I didn’t know that he’s the one who’s going to end my life, I’d offer him the job when retaliation is needed. The worst part is that the little snake has the stomach to sit opposite me when we eat and chat as if nothing has happened. We aren’t friends and will never be. I don’t give a shit about his goddamn reasons. He forces my puppies to grow up without their mother, the people without a queen, my brothers without their little sister, and my mates to lose the love of their lives. Now, if I’m supposed to die, then this son of a bitch is going down with me. Then at least I can find peace in knowing that it’s one bloodsucker less walking around this earth. If Victor thinks he can make me forgive him just because he offers me kind words and some coffee, then he’s completely wrong. Therefore, I’m now heading towards his office with stomping steps. I want everyone in the whole house to know what I’m about to do. Without knocking, I kick the door open, and he jumps at the sound. It serves you right, you fucker.

“Victor, you owe me a favor, and considering you’re going to kill me the day after tomorrow, I’m going to claim my payment now,” I say with a cold voice.

He looks scared and says nothing at first. His eyes quickly move back and forth in the room as if searching for an invisible threat. Oh, no, baby. The only danger in here right now is me. His hands shake when they put down the papers on the desk.

“What is it that you want?” he asks in a wavering voice.

“I want to talk to the same person you made a deal with,” I say and smirk when I see the terror on his face.

“Y-you want to talk to him!?”

“Yes, considering that he’s the person you pay back your debt to, I feel like I have the right to know about what’s at stake here,” I answer with confidence.

He’s about to protest when his body shakes violently, and his eyes slowly change color. Victor’s body sits in front of me, but I know it’s no longer him. The cold here means that I have the devil himself in front of me, and he grins.

“Hello, werewolf queen. It’s an honor to meet you finally,” he says and smirks even more at me.

“Wow, I never thought that the devil knew about manners,” I snort, which makes him laugh.

“You’re just as feisty as the rumor states. Now, down to business. You asked me here, which means that you want something,” he points out and raises one of the eyebrows.

“All I ask for is to give you some more entertainment,” I answer lightly and begin to stroll around the room.

“Oh?” he asks and looks intrigued.

“Instead of letting Victor kill me just like that, and make it be over quickly. Why not let us fight to the death? If he wins, you’ll have me. But if I win, mine and Victor’s deal is off. I’ll go back to my family, and you’ll find someone else to pest,” I say, draw blood and reach out my hand for him to take.

“I like your style, your highness. You know what you want and aren’t afraid to ask for it. Fortunately, you’re right. It’ll be much more fun to see you two fight to the death since I know that the two of you have the same strength inside of you. You got yourself a deal,” he answers, draws blood, and takes my hand.

“Happy doing business with you,” I say sarcastically.

The devil only smirks at me before disappearing, and Victor comes back. When he looks around and sees that he’s still in his office, he gradually relaxes until he sees the black mark over his hand. At first, he just looks perplexed but gradually becomes terrified.

“Aleida, what did you do!?” Victor exclaims in horror.

“I made a deal,” I answer nonchalantly.

“About what?”

“Instead of you killing me easily, we’re going to fight until one of us dies. The devil believes in you if that’s any consolation. He’s sure that you’ll win, so what’s the problem here?”

He doesn’t answer me; instead, inspecting his mark and sighs heavily. His gaze finds mine, and it’s clear as a day that he doubts his own ability to take me down. But in the end, he nods his head and massages his temples. I take that as a hint and walk out of there. Out in the hallway, I meet a dozen or so worried vampires. Victor has called in backup for my killing. The fear over what to do if their leader dies gnaws within them. As I mentioned before, it becomes chaos for werewolves and vampires when the leader passes. Some of them even bow their heads in respect, which I’ve earned, by the way! I’m a seventeen-year-old girl who has given birth to two children, built up a strong pack, made a good reputation, and escaped death several times. In my few years here on earth, I’ve had time to accomplish things that some people don’t even have time to do for a lifetime. And soon, I’ll be with my little boys again. I’ll make sure of that, even if it’s in my last minutes alive. I don’t even know how long I’ve been here! It may be months, weeks, or days. I honestly can’t tell. My guess is two weeks, maybe a little less. I haven’t tried to mindlink since I got here because I don’t want my people to find me. But right now, there’s one person I have to get my hands on no matter what, my big brother Nathan. I don’t know if you remember this, but before I left our old pack, I gave Nathan some of my power in case I die. Before I made mush of Hailey, she allowed none of my mates ever to notice anyone else besides her. Yeah, I think you remember. I need to know if Nathan still has that power because he’ll take my place and be King if I die.

Nathan, can you hear me?

Aleida is that you!?

Yes, it’s me.

Oh, goddess! Where are you? How are you? We’re so worr—.

My time is limited, Nathan. I just need to know if you still possess the power I moved to you?

Of course, I do. I promised you to take care of it.

Will you be there the day after tomorrow?

You mean to watch when King kills you? Oh yeah, I’m going to be there!

I need you to promise me something.

What?

Neither your pack nor anyone else’s going to attack them. I mean it. There’s too much at stake.

If you think that I’m just going to stand by while my sister dies, you’re dead wrong!

Please, Nathan. Trust me with this. I know what I’m doing.

Fine, but if you die, I’ll bring you back just to kill you myself.

Thank you, you’re the best. Spread the word. I love you.

I break our link and realize that I’ve moved to my room without noticing. My gaze drifts over the landscape outside. A lake is located between the trees far away in the distance. Something shimmers over us like a kind of globe; I’m guessing it’s a cloaking spell. This means we can see everything that happens outside, but others can neither see nor hear us. Then it isn’t very strange that no one has managed to find me. Considering how Nathan sounded when I talked to him, everyone has been anxious and, therefore, probably searched for me. But all of them will soon see me. It won’t be easy to miss me. Victor has made sure someone grabs a beautiful white prom dress that I’m supposed to wear when he sacrifice me. Although I will now have to fight, I will wear it when I get there anyway. Get there elegantly, and in style, you know. I already know that the fight will destroy it, but it’s worth it. If I’m going to die, why not do it when I’m beautiful and with a bang? I’m not sure how it’ll end, but I know that I have good chances to survive if I play my cards right. One of the vampires knocks on the door and comes in. He looks incredibly stressed and anxious. Our glances meet, and he immediately bows his head in respect. I don’t know if they do it because I’m royal or because they respect me.

“Can I help you?” I ask with a slightly annoyed voice.

“I’m very sorry if I’m disturbing you, luna... Um, I mean alpha, I mean your highness...” he stutters and looks even more stressed, which makes me chuckle.

“Aleida is fine,” I say and smile at him before looking back outside.

“I can’t call you by your name, your highness.”

“Why not?”

“Because I recognize a superior when I see one. I don’t want to hold you for long; I just wanted to ask you something,” the vampire says and sounds unsure.

“Ask away,” I reply, slightly curious.

“If you win the fight, may I pledge full alliance to you as my alpha?”

That makes me turn to look at him with wide eyes. Why does this vampire want to pledge his life to me? This reminds me of when Michael did that, goddess; that feels like decades ago. I give him a suspicious glance.

“And why would you do that? I know that vampires don’t have alphas,” I answer.

“We do, but we call them clan leaders, regarding your question why, because I’ve heard about you. You’re a person that leads people instead of commanding them. That’s how this place should be. Yes, we’re different species, but we’re also in the same area, and most of us just want to be left to live in peace. Vampires and werewolves have been in a war for ages without thinking twice about it. Why should we continue to fight about something that happened before any of us were even conceived?”

I’ve to give it to him; he pledges his case pretty well. This is the first time that I can see the fragile human inside a vampire. They aren’t all devious and out for blood; some, like this man, just want peace. To be able to walk outside without being worried about if a wolf will appear.

“Tell you what. If I survive, and I’m not sure I will. Then I’d be happy to help you in every way I can. I’ve also been thinking about this stupid war from time to time, and we could work together against the real threats instead of starting petty fights with each other,” I agree.

He nods, and now he’s also smiling. This has obviously weighed him down during my stay here and maybe long before that. What baffles me is the kindness he shows, which he doesn’t have to give me. But instead of feeding the stereotypical picture of vampires, he does the opposite.

“What is your name?” I ask.

“My name is Blake, your majesty,” he says and bows deeply.

“It’s nice to meet you, Blake. I promise you to do my best during the fight if you can do something for me.”

“Of course! Anything you want,” Blake answers with happiness.

“I need you to make sure that no one’s going to interfere. The possibility that I win against King is there, but I can’t fight against several vampires on my own,” I say and shake my head.

“Oh, that. I promise that you have nothing to worry about; we all want the same thing, which is for you to win. I can’t tell you the reasons why right now, not until we know the outcome. But trust me when I say that no one will help King,” he says with a wink before leaving the room.

Huh, what do you know? The vampires can be civilized when you show them authority and respect. It reminds me of werewolves, both species work like dogs. You have to show who’s taking the shots around and who has the strongest dominance. I smirk at myself because, in this house, the dominant one is me.