Queen of Darkness

Chapter 26 - Unfit ending

Alex: “So where’s Shadow? Why haven’t I met him?”

I try and force a smile “You haven’t seen him around because he isn't... We're no longer together”

Alex: “Why, what happened? From what you told me, he was your true love...”

Me: “After our return everything, initially went as planned, I got the region straighten out, got the kingdom's economy back up, rebuild not only the kingdom, but new friendships and alliances.

The Vampires that did not comply with my rule of no attack on werewolves and setting the humans free instead of enslaving them, were banished from my region. It was the most peaceful region of all and was quickly becoming the most prosperous.

We also had a quite a few vampires coming to me, seeking to join our region because they, like me, wanted peace. They agreed with my way of thinking, my rules, and some of those vampires even became good friends.

The only altercations that ever arose were attacks instigated by Robert, but he was always careful not to implicate his involvement, we knew it was him but could never prove it.

On the werewolves’ side, we also only had a few incidents, mostly involving Wildflower and her new found pack of misfits, out to cause trouble. Werewolves that were born as one were calmer, they could control their emotions and anger and wild nature because it was constant...It was part of their being.

But the few that were turned werewolf because of a bite, they only had peaked werewolf instincts and emotions on a full moon, they were the dangerous ones because they couldn’t control the sudden increase of testosterone and anger, they could easily hurt others unwillingly or unknowingly because they were no longer in control of their own emotions or mind. They would go around attacking people which would cause an outburst of attacks and increased werewolf populations.

This brought unnecessary trouble to a pack who wanted to stay unnoticed and that’s why packs tried never to turn people. Generally werewolves avoided having these "bitten" warewolves in their packs.

Wildflower however, who was a ticking time bomb, created a pack of her own out of anger and revenge. She wanted power and numbers, she and the rest of her pack went full out attacking people and turning them. Luckily turning could also only be done on a full moon, but once a month Shadow and his pack had their hands full, trying to locate wildflower and stopping her pack from going on attack.

Mostly the werewolves in Shadow's pack were better off, because of the peace in my region between werewolves and vampires, the werewolves weren’t constantly attacked and therefore did not have to move around so often, which meant more of them settled down, put down some roots, started families, had full time employment.

Robert, who was no longer a king but part of the council, wasn’t allowed to have his own private army anymore. Imagine his surprise when The General declared his loyalty to me. Only then did Robert, as well as the rest of the council learn that The General and Sabastian both had divided loyalties since I bit them... Years had passed and both kept it a secret. Robert realized that The General had betrayed him, all that time spent trying to locate me and Sabastian, searching and planning to kill me... All fake. The General deliberately sabotaging each search, and he knew where, most of the time, all along.

The council found it very intriguing that a devided bond was even possible, no vampire had ever been able to change a vampire’s loyalty through their bite, of cause it was of great concern as well and I was immediately prohibited from biting any vampires belonging to another... They feared I could start a war if I was able to turn all vampires’ loyalty to me... I would have an unfair advantage and be able to take over all the regions.

Of cause this just fuelled Robert’s desire to own me... or kill me. That was exactly the kind of power he desired. If this was a power he pocessed he could take over all the regions and the council and not even the council would be able to stop him.

The General returned to be at my side, ensuring I was protected. He also brought Sabastian back. As a favour to me he had always kept an eye on Sabs... Ensuring he didn’t get into too much trouble.

It was great to have my brothers back. Sabastian's youthful playful childlike personality reminded me so much of Joshua’s and it was no surprise they developed a love hate relationship, a typical bro-mance.

When they got along, they got along like a house on fire, often hanging out, attending social events together but mostly getting drunk and into mischief together... but when they butted heads, they literally set the house on fire... My house...to be precise. They often wanted to kill each other and they would get into physical altercations. On one such occasion they somehow knocked something over that caused a fire and before anyone could do anything, the entire living room were engulfed in flames...

With Sabastian back he had to start new. He quickly started up a bar in New Orleans, always looking to surround himself with people and the hussle and bustle of night life, loud music and drinking with friends was kinda his thing.

Because of his friendship with Joshua and my relationship with Shadow, werewolves were also frequent visitors to his bar. Sabastian was like me in that regard, he didn’t care if someone was vampire, werewolf or whatever, as long as you had fun.

Sabastian being Sabastian quickly had a few girls interested in winning his attention... One in particular, Genevieve, who happened to be a she wolf in Shadow’s pack. Of cause my brother would have even the she wolves drooling over him. He had his fun with whomever was willing, but kept to the rules of no using seduction on werewolves or biting them... They were more than willing on their own in anyway.

Genevieve however had such a crush on Sabastian in bordered on stalking.

Sabastian on the other hand had fallen in love with a young human Asian girl called Emiko. He often had his fun with the young human girls that came into the bar. One of the regular girls named Suzi was Emiko’s sister, Suzi was one of Sabastian ‘one night Vamparics’ ... as we referred to them, they are the ones that vampires seduce and use for a night but then set free.

When Suzi’s sister Emiko came looking for her Sabastian fell head over heel for the human. I didn’t understand his obsession with the little human. I call her little because she was tiny, small build, face like a doll... very unique features. She was beautiful and looked like she was only a child, but she was only interested in reading and studying... A real bookworm

It was odd, unlike the other girls that were basically throwing them self at Sabastian, he hardly needed to ever use seduction on anyone...but Emiko, or Emi as we all called her, wasn’t interested in Sabastian at all, other than friendship which in itself he had to work hard to get.

Of cause the Vampire wants what he can’t get. He didn’t want to use seduction on her... He wanted her to fall in love with him out of free will but she never wanted him. She was sweet and innocent and probably saw him as a player.

Genevieve wanted Sabastian as much as Sabastian wanted Emi... And then I had a suspicion that Joshua had a thing for Genevieve, which fueled the tension between Joshua and Sabastian. Being the older sister I often got dragged into their drama and fights and required to bring balance and peace and give guidance.

Somewhere along the line Shadow started to come home less and less, and when he did come home, he wasn’t himself. He wouldn’t tell me what was going on with him and he even started pushing Joshua away.

I heard a rumour that a new wolf pack had been seen in the area and figured Shadow was just occupied with a territorial dilemma, other than the increasing problems caused by Wildflower.

Shadow started staying away days at a time and I figured he was at the cabin as he often spent time there to be part of his pack...and do his alpha thing as required from him. But then Josh, Genevieve and some of the others visited me and Sabs at the house one day, and told us they haven’t seen Shadow for days. I started to worry.

I immediately thought Robert got to him. We set out looking for him, the wolves tracked and we followed, but they lost the track. I however caught a smell that I couldn’t place my finger on. It was strange that the wolves didn’t pick up the scent only Sabastian and I did.

I sent the others back to the house and kept looking by myself, not wanting to give up. Sure enough I found a little wooden hut in the middle of nowhere and that’s when I saw Shadow with another woman.”

Alex: “So he cheated on you... That’s why you’re not together anymore?”

I gave a chuckle “If only my life was as simple as that... I didn’t confront him there and then, the pain, heartache and deceit I felt was far too great right at the time, to act on. I needed to get away, but I did return the following day.

When I got back to the little hut, Shadow wasn’t there, he’d gone to get supplies. I did confront the girl however.

Demanding to know what she was doing with my husband, why he wasn’t coming home? Trying my upmost best not to sound like an insecure, jealous wife.

She didn’t help the situation with her sugestive taunting “maybe he just needs to get away from you” and “maybe you’re not woman enough for him” to name but a few...all implying that I wasn’t good enough for him and he was no longer happy.

At that point I demanded to know if they were having an affair which she didn’t confirm... but she didn’t deny it either, resulting in a full on cat-fight between us.

The one thing I had to give her was that she was a worthy opponent, we fought until Shadow returned and separated us.

I learned the girls name was Dimitra, and Shadow was pissed with me for following him, for finding her and fighting with her but mostly about me accusing him of having an affair and not trusting him, but he saw nothing wrong with the fact that he just up and left without explanation, and leavingbeveryone worried about his disappearance.

It was frustrating to have an argument with him when he was blaming me, disappointed and angry with me, while Dimitra just stood there with a smirk on her face. Even with hearing her taunting insults, Shadow did nothing to stop her or ease my pain.

I returned home broken hearted, I had a region to take care of, peace to uphold, businesses to run, if Shadow wanted to go gallivanting with some she wolf, I wasn’t going to sit around and sulk about it, I’ve learned in my life not to focus on the sadness and pain but rather the anger, when I replaced my sadness with anger and focused on work, I was more productive.

Days turned to weeks, weeks into months. I needed to satisfy my own needs and desires. At first I just needed to satisfy my blood lust but as time passed other desires also arose. The ever willing General who had been at my side since my return, declaring his love for me at every occasion we found ourselves alone in, started to look all the more enticing.

The only one who knew about The General’s secret “meetings” with me, was Sabastian.

Sabastian never said a word, partially because his loyalty now lay with me but mostly because he didn’t like Shadow. Sabastian and Shadow was always at each other’s throats. Shadow never agreed with Sabastian’s methods or decisions and he always had insecurities surrounding me and my brother,... Believing we had at some point had a sexual relationship...Shadow was jealous of my relationship with Sabastian.

The last thing I expected was for Dimitra to show up at my doorstep, begging me for help. Shadow had become so depressed and angry, the darkness in him taking over and she couldn't help him.

Needless to say I was too angry to want to help her, but my heart was aching for Shadow. Even though he broke my heart, I still loved him and couldn’t stand the idea of him being hurt.

Only after another huge fight as a result of Damitra’s taunting comments, did she finally reveal that there was nothing going on between them and she was in fact Shadow’s Sister.

I didn’t believe it, no one in Shadow’s pack knew her not even Joshua who was Shadow’s cousin.

She told me she was born around the same time as Joshua but because of the increasing attacks on the pack, Shadow's father sent his wife and his new born baby girl away to ensure their safety. No one even knew about the pregnancy so to ensure their safety, Shadow's dad told everyone, including Shadow, that his wife had abandoned them.

Shadow grew up believing his mom took off, not caring about him, not wanting or loving him... It messed him up as a young wolf. All the while the truth was she didn’t want to go, but she left to protect her and her baby girl. She couldn’t take Shadow because he was the Alpha’s son... He had to one day become the Alpha.

Even with my disbelief of Damitra’s story, I went to Shadow, I Insisted Dimitra leave us alone and I stayed with him for days, trying to get through to him, coaxing him to come back to me.

I felt responsible and guilty for his state, he was depressed because I left him, because I didn’t trust him, because he had so much going on and I wasn't there to help him... All the things he had to deal with, and he had to do it on his own because I let him down.

When Shadow finally started showing signs of his former self, I begged him to forgive me, he did...eventually but he was never the same after that. The darkness in him ever growing, slowly taking over... consuming him. He was changing into someone I no longer knew, cold hearted and emotionless.

Dimitra didn’t wait to get her claws into Sabastian which caused even more problems. Shadow was against the relationship because he couldn’t stand Sabastian. I was against it because I couldn’t stand Dimitra. In the meantime Dimitra and Shadow became close which got under my skin and it caused constant fighting between me and Shadow.

Shadow didn’t want to hear anything wrong about his new found sister, he took being a protective big brother very serious. He wanted to protect her and put her on a pedestal. I felt like I was the only one that saw her as the conniving little bitch she was. It seemed to me as if she found pleasure in stirring shit, taunting me and causing Shadow and I to fight which resulted in us growing farther and farther apart”

Alex: “So you and Shadow ended things because of her?”

Me: “No... Not just her. There were other reasons too. A big factor was Robert... He was a constant problem. We always had to worry about what he would be up to next, who he would get involved in his schemes. Who he had on his payroll. I was always looking over my shoulder, always worried about who I could and couldn’t trust, who would turn against me.

And then...he caught me off guard and had me abducted, held me captive for almost six months. It drove Shadow to the point of insanity... And me too, after so many years of being "free" from him, I was his slave yet again, locked away in a tiny dark room with no escape.

Robert tortured me, denied me blood, denied me light or fresh air.

He was the only one that new where I was and he would often not come around for days, fact is I preferred him not coming around even if it was for days, left in a tiny dark cell without light, fresh air, food, blood, water.... It was torture but the days he did show, those days were worse... filled with physical, emotional and sexual abuse.

Robert more than ever before wanted to own me completely, he wanted me loyal and submissive to him, he wanted my spirit and will power broken. The only way Robert knew how to instill fear and power over another was with abuse and torture.

It got so bad I started to hallucinate, hearing Shadow’s voice in my head. I had discussions... even arguments with him on a daily basis... I believed it was real, I hated him for not coming to help me, for allowing Robert to break me. For sitting back while Robert abused me.

In reality Shadow did search for me but after a few months started to believe that I deliberately abandoned him, You couldn’t blame him, all the others believed it too, and especially seeing there was absolutely no leads. All signs indicated that I just up' and left.

The only onle that never stopped searching for me was Sabastian, he even went to Shadow and grovelled at his feet after Shadow gave up, trying to convince him that I would never abandon him, I would never leave without a word...but Shadow was fast becoming engulfed in his own darkness and was distancing himself from everyone.

When Sabastian finally did find out that Robert had me captive and where Robert was holding me he went back to Shadow for assistance, but Shadow didn’t believe him. Sabastian had to literally force him to go with him.

When the two of them finally freed me, I was equally fucked up, initially I didn’t want to go with them, I didn’t want them to save me... Robert had convinced me that he would kill Shadow and Sabastian if I ever left him again, knowing Robert I didn’t doubt for a second that he wouldn't keep true to his word. To protect Shadow and Sabastian I would rather sacrifice myself.

Shadow tried to be supportive as much as he could but I was lost in my own mind and pushed him away, he had his own struggles and we just slowly drifted apart, no matter how hard we tried we just couldn’t mend our relationship.

I found more comfort in other relationships and friendships. I spend my time with my brother, Joshua who became a close friend, Mark... a Vampire that moved to the region when I took over, The General whom was the one fulfilling all my physical needs. They all occupied my time but none of them could mend my broken heart.

Shadow found that as long as he was helping take care of humans, it kept him sane, he didn’t lose himself as long as he felt normal and that he had purpose, it was a hard decision for him but he chose to leave... Leave me, his sister and his pack to start a new life, a normal life amongst the humans. No more werewolves no more vampires, no more drama, as he stated. Apparently I was just one constant drama after another...he really hurt me. We didn't separate under the best of terms... Not from my side. I just wanted him to be happy even if it broke my heart but he wanted to make it clear just how horrible it was for him to be with me.

Joshua took over the pack, he became the new Alpha, his days as a carefree child was over. He needed to grow up and step up”

Alex: “Was that it, you never saw Shadow again? ”

Me: “He moved to a different continent, I’ve checked up on him from time to time... He never knew of cause... I didn’t want to upset or uproot his new life; I just needed to know he was doing okay.

Each visit broke my heart all over again, especially when he decided to start dating again. He fell in love with a human girl who had no clue about his past and what he was... He married her some time later and they starting a family, thus releasing me from being his wife under werewolf law. He had moved on.”

Alex:” And you, did you move on... You were no longer wife to a vampire or a werewolf? ”

Me:” I survived, it wasn’t as easy for me. I couldn't just move on as if nothing happened. I had my own demons to conquer. As technology improved I could move away, away from Robert and still rule my region, but it was still too close for comfort.

I decided to take a new approach, my region was flourishing, but New Orleans was still too close to Robert and filled with painful memories so I approached the king of a different Continent all together, one that was not doing so well at the time. The Royal family lived in a villa in Mexico.

I negotiated with them and yet again did something, never done by a vampire before, I negotiated a regional swop. He would get a thriving region with successful businesses and peace for the most part, wealth and fortune and I moved further away, got a new region that had problems of its own.

When we brought it in front of the council Robert denied my proposal outright but he had no good reason to deny this suggestion. The other council members had concerns but overall my progress in the south had great results and they saw it as a way to spread the prosperity.

I could possibly turn one of the worst regions into another success, it would be great for peace, and wealth for the vampires. Robert was out voted.

The plan was to move away, to a new home. But I wasn’t going to move to the house that the Royal family occupied, I wanted to start fresh where no one knew me and Robert didn’t know where to find me.

I left Joshua and the pack behind, but we kept in contact. Only Sabastian and The General came with me but as time passed I insisted that Sabastian go life his own life, even though technically he still fell under my region, he had been on his own for years, financially he wasn’t as headstrong as me, I taught him a few things but always had part ownership in his businesses, just like the bar he had in New Orleans, now with the Night club in LA.

The General I set free as well, as free as I possibly could I guess, he was never far, always ready and willing to protect and serve (I laugh at my own words but Alex doesn’t grasp the joke)... The General joined the police force... his new calling in life while he survives unnoticed amongst the humans.

And then there’s me... Juggling a few businesses, I prefer owning shares, being a silent partner in companies, that way I don’t have to be involved as such, just my money and I get part... No, most of the profits.”

Alex:” So that’s it?... That’s the story? Not much of an ending... ”

Me:” Let’s just say the ending still needs to be filled in... Hopefully soon enough. You're going to have to add that part in on my behalf? ”

Alex:” You mean when the council learns of this book, revealing everything and then have you killed for revealing there vampire's entire existence?”

Me:” Something like that”

Alex: “Well maybe I just won’t write your stupid book then!”

Me: “OH Alex... Don’t get all sentimental on me, besides you already agreed that you would... you can’t back out now.”

Alex is clearly upset with me but gives me his word that he will draw up the book and bring the manuscript within a week, for me to go through and make any changes if need be.

Alex: “What if you approached the Vatican with this information, I’m sure they will help. This kind of situation is not something they would want?”

Me: “Are you kidding me? Alex... how do you think the council had kept all the secrets and conducted all the cover-up throughout the years? Where do you think all the proof of vampires are kept?... Everyone knows the world’s best kept secrets are locked away underneath the Vatican.”

Alex: “Are you saying The Vatican is part of a conspiracy to keep the existence of vampires a secret?”

I shrug my shoulders and just give Alex a smile.