Royal shuffle: Vampire's mate

ANDREA

Leonidas sat there staring at me in shock as though I had just said the moon had fallen.

"What? How did you know this?"

I took a deep breath and told him about the fight she had with another child, carefully editing the story to leave out details of what caused the fight, and of course, leaving out Will. His face displayed several emotions in the span of a minute. I watched his face contort from shock to surprise to anger and then to pity. Which was the last thing I wanted for Adela. She didn't need to be pitied.

"Wow...there hasn't been a nightshade since the dark ages," Leo said, rubbing his chin.

I nodded. "Yes. But that isn't the whole reason why you're here."

Leonidas's gaze refocused and he slid forward on his seat. "There's something else? What is it?"

"Well, it's not as serious as her being a nightshade hybrid...and besides, it's merely a suggestion," I said, playing with my pen.

"Let's hear it."

"Do you have any idea what this means for her?" I asked.

"Um...it means that she's the strongest being alive?"

"Yes, true. And that would mean she needs to train more than other children. She has t be trained both as a vampire and as a werewolf," I replied.

"True. I hear you've already began on the werewolf part. I'll see to her training as a vampire," Leonidas said, rubbing his hands together.

I took a deep breath, glad that the issue of her training was out of the way. Now, on to more important things.

"Do you also know what this also means for her?" I asked.

Leonidas shrugged. "Um...that her life as a blooming teenager is changed forever?"

I sighed. What a simpleton.

"No, Leo. It also means that people would want to get her."...get rid of her."

Leo frowned. "Why would you think that?"

"For starters, she's the heir to the joint throne of

"For starters, she's the heir to our joint thrones. Secondly, she's the strongest being. They're either going to try and marry her, kidnap her and keep her until she's old enough, and then pop out with her pregnant and married..." "Andrea..." Leo said, rubbing his brows in exasperation.

I couldn't stop. The ideas not popping into my head made my mind run agog with imagination.

"Or...or maybe they'd cast a spell on her, make her do whatever they want..."

Leonidas sighed and screamed at me. "Andrea!!"

"What?!" I screamed back. "You don't think that it's possible?!"

"I think that you're overreacting. Maybe you need to calm down a bit..." Leo said, rubbing his temples.

I threw back my head and laughed. Nothing was funny but I laughed anyway. One thing I always wondered about Leonidas was his insane ability to not see danger when it was staring him in the face. But now me, I wouldn't be playing that game with my children. Not anymore. Tears gathered in my eyes as I remembered Vanni. I smiled ruefully, his memory always felt like a fresh, open wound.

"Overreacting? You think I'm overreacting?"

"Andrea, come on..."

"You want to also know when you thought I was overreacting?!" I screamed.

"No, I don't think..."

"When I told you Leovanni was in danger. Did you believe me?!"

"I'm sorry, Andrea..."

I angrily wiped away the lone tear that rolled down my cheek, angry that k had let this man rule me up yet again.

"Andrea, I'm sorry that..."

Leonidas didn't get to finish his sentence as Will burst into my office covered in mud from head to toe and holding up a dead rabbit like a prize. I could hear Savannah from down the hallway and I smiled again. A little track star, this one. "Mommy, look what I did!!!" Will exclaimed, jumping up and down. His muddy self stringing my marble floors and the blood of the animal dripping onto the floor.

"What is that?" I cooed at my adventurous four-year-old son.

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"It's a rabbit," he answered excitedly. "I hunted it!!!"

I smiled. Even at his young age, he has shown exceptional hunting skills and his senses were quite sharp. I know that it was expected, he was of royal bloodline, but it still shocked me whenever he did things like this: hunt for food or be able to tell when someone is a few miles away and who just by smell.

Savannah rushed into my office, her chest heaving from the small marathon she had just done. Her eyes landed on Will and they squinted in anger. Her eyes shifted to the mess he had made and she grasped her invincible pearls and gasped loudly.

"What have you done?!" She wailed. "I just had this office deep cleaned!!"

Will recognizing that he was in trouble, dropped the rabbit to the floor -blood, dangling head and all- and rushed under the table to hide away, inevitably staining me as well with blood and mud. I laughed even harder as he held on to my head and mouthed not to let her get him.

"I'm so sorry, Savannah," I apologized to my once-nemesis.

It's quite surprising just how much time could heal. One moment she hated my guts because it Will's father. Years later, she was instrumental in the recovery of my legacy. And now here she was...caring for my son with so much love. Her presence made me believe in second chances.

"Come on, go with Savannah. Let her get you cleaned up," I said, looking down at Will.

"But..."

"And no more dead rabbits or any animal into the palace." I said firmly.

"Okay, mommy..."

Will slid out from under my table with a defeated look on his face. He picked up his rabbit, and headed for Savannah, giving her puppy eyes in the hopes of placating the irate housekeeper.

"And no more muddy people in here!"

"Okay, mommy!!!"

I looked over at Leonidas to see him staring at the door that Will and Savannah had just passed through. When he looked back at me, his eyes held some sort of emotion. I couldn't place him, something between longing and jealousy...and then also hidden in those depths...anger.

I cocked my brows, "Is there a problem?" I asked.

Leonidas hesitated, shook his head and looked back at the door.

"He looks so much like him, you know? William. It's fitting that you would name him Will."

I wasn't so distracted or out of touch with Leonidas not to notice the tone of his voice. Any other person would have missed it. Very much like his eyes, his voice reflected anger, longing and jealousy.

"What did you want me to name him? Leo?"

Leonidas snickered, "You still got jokes...but no. I wasn't expecting you to name him Will. Matter of fact, I..."

Leonidas took a deep breath and rubbed his temples again.

"You what, Leo?" I probed, wanting him to finish that sentence.

"I didn't think that you would keep the child..." he finished painfully.

"And what is it to you?" I asked.

"It hurt me when I saw you and...and you were pregnant."

"Good," I replied. "Now you can only imagine how I felt to be thrown into prison and be treated like a common criminal. Now you know how it felt to watch my son die and be called a murderer." "Andrea...please..."

"Now you know how it felt to feel you fuck the woman trying to kill me!!!"

"Why are you acting so fucking innocent?! You fucked William too!!!"

My hands balled into fists that am badly wanted to be driven into his face. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

"That's not why we're here," I said. "We're here for Adela. Let's stick to that."

"Yes. Let's do that," Leo replied, and lowered his head.

"As for her werewolf training, she has already begun training with the head warrior. How do you suggest we schedule her vampire trainings?"

"How about she comes over to the vampire territory for a month. We interchange it every month."

I nodded. "Perfect. That'd be all, I guess."

I stood and headed for the door, eager to wash off the mud and blood stains on me as well as see to the cleaning of my office.

"Leo?"

"Yes?"

"Do not make the mistake of thinking that I'd let that event repeat itself. No matter the cost, I will protect my children."