Slay My Soul

The land is empty, stripped of livestock, dry stores, and its people. The sixth empty pack site tonight. I stifle a chuckle as Belestine throws a tantrum, kicking the dry ground like a child while he bellows and belly aches. My own men hide their grins.

“She is my granddaughter Belestine. Did you really think she wouldn’t take precautions?” The vampire King says airily.

“You sound almost proud of the little bitch!” Belestine growls.

“Oh, I am. She’s amazing. Everything I could have hoped for and more,” the King says with a grin.

“She’s still going to die - amazing or not,” Belestine grumbles.

“Only if we can’t get her under our thumb or break her to remake her. My son came close to breaking her. Unfortunately, her mates found her. But the damage is still there, hidden under her false sense of safety. It shouldn’t take much,” the King cautions. “She will only die if her body gives in before she breaks.”

Poor woman. But if one woman’s suffering frees my people, it will be worth it. My people have suffered enough. So many lives were lost in that historical battle against the cowardly Fae. Our men were destroyed, becoming feral until the witches offered us a realm in which we could die out in peace. A meaningless existence, where time no longer meant anything, until the day Belestine summoned me, offering us hope.

Mixed breeding has been allowed to become acceptable once again. Races are now allowed to mate with other compatible races, so we may finally be able to find ourselves mates. Something we have been denied for so long. Belestine offers this hope to us, in exchange for our power being used to defeat his enemies. I have readily agreed. Full control of myself and my army until the final battle is won. Then all my people will be granted freedom (even those who are feral, although that will be done carefully) and all will be given free rein to find their mates. The only exceptions to the search for our mates will be those whose mates have already died, making them forever feral. They will have to be put down, as there will be no hope left for them. They will have already lost their shot at happiness. Even though it was stolen from them, there will be no kind or hopeful second chances for them.

That means my father, our King, will have to be put down too. As the eldest son, I will have to step up to rule in his stead. Something I have never looked forward to. I have been keeping the peace as my father has slipped further into madness, over the last two centuries. Even though ending his life is probably a kindness by now, I am still loath to lose my last parent.

I survey my men who stand around looking bored, awaiting orders. My eyes catch on one of my brothers who has locked eyes with me. I raise my eyebrow. He mouths the word ‘mate’ making me look around for his mate. I look back at him confused, only to find him scowling at me. He points at me and mouths ‘mate’ again. Did he know we were doing this for mates? I motion him forward and he rushes toward me.

“You can disband the army for now and return to your cell,” Belestine orders me angrily. I sigh, wishing he had given me just five more minutes. Unfortunately, the contract makes the order instant and with a flick of my wrist my legion descends back into their realm and I am back in my damp cell, trying to figure out my brother’s attempted message. It can’t be that they know it is for mates. He would have just yelled it out and thanked Belestine. He was trying to tell me something without others knowing. Had he found his mate on one of the battlefields? No, that wasn’t right either. He didn’t seem upset or excited, just intense, as he tried to covertly give me a message. One I had not received clearly enough to understand. I will make it a priority to get him close enough to me next time I summon the legion. Obviously, I need to do so discreetly, without alerting Belestine or the Vampire king.

As I sit wracking my brains, I become aware of a disturbance in the air. I narrow my eyes, tracking it, feeling it come closer to me until it is outside my cell. Then it is in with me and inside my circle. I pull my thin second eyelids over my eyes, then blink horizontally to see it with my second sight. A man, or what is left of one. He looks vaguely familiar. Oh, that’s right - him.

“Good to see you got your eye back,” I say carefully. “Though I would have thought there were better places to haunt.” The man’s shoulders sag with relief.

“Oh, thank fuck you can see me!” He breathes out.

“Demons have always seen and communicated with the spirits,” I explain. “But I still don’t understand why you are here.”

“I’m trapped here. Belestine harvested my soul to use, but I can pull away for periods of time if I concentrate hard enough. As for why I’m here in your cell, I have important information you are going to need to hear. You may want to sit down for this.”

I stare at him with an unimpressed arched brow. Pretty sure I could handle anything he could throw at me at this point. He shrugs. “Suit yourself. Just hear me out. You need to listen to everything I have to say, without interruption please.”

“I’ve got nothing but time, till Belestine has a new place to attack,” I say, motioning for him to continue.

“Okay, so what do you know about the people you’re fighting?” He asks.

“The Vampire king wants them gone and the leader is a woman who is his granddaughter. She keeps fucking up their plans,” I say, bored.

“Do you know about mates?” The spirit man asks.

“That’s what I’m doing this for. The chance for my people to be freed so we can find our mates. Mixed races are finding soul mates in random races now. My people deserve to have hope and love in their lives again. This is all for them.”

“That woman who keeps fucking up the plans is a true chimera. She holds a piece of every race in her DNA. She is the one who brought the mixed races to light. She is the one who is fighting for mixed breeds to have the right to breed. As a true chimera, she has a mate of each race. She is missing one mate though - a Demon. You.”

I stare at him hard, weighing his words and taking in his earnest expression. “When she comes to you, and she will. Protect her, and mate her as soon as you can. She cannot complete the prophecy and defeat the enemy until then. She knows what you are to her. Once her mating circle is complete she can take out Belestine and the vampire King. This will nullify your contract and you will be free just like you wanted but without killing your own mate in the process. If you fail to claim her, then it’s game over. Because, if you think Belestine isn’t going to kill off your race once they have what they want, then you’re an idiot. They will free you as per the contract and then they will take you out.” Well, shit! Talk about backing the wrong horse.

“What is she like, my mate?” I ask softly. A mix of hope for myself and fear for her, bubble in my chest.

“Beautiful. Her name is Eve. She was there on the field when they killed me. She was trying to get to me, to save me. Did you not see her?”

I shake my head. “I was busy focusing on my men fighting, I don't care what the witch and vampire do.”

“Well, she has waist-length dark hair and the most beautiful chocolate eyes surrounded by long eyelashes. She has this cute little nose and gorgeous plump lips. She smiles and the whole world lights up. She’s curvy but lean, strong, and super fast. She’s a one-man ruthless army. She trains others to be like her. A lot of your men will die if the fight goes to her turf,” he warns. “She’s loyal and funny. When she gets drunk, she’s the life of the party. She’s adventurous and fierce. Man, she’s going to turn your world upside down. You better treat her right too.” I study him and see the way his eyes light up as he talks about her. I also see the sadness that lurks.

“You were close to her in life. You miss her.” I state. “What’s your name?”

“Understatement of the year,” he mutters. “I am one of her mates, or at least I was, till I died. My name’s Reece.” He looks away awkwardly.

“But how can she complete this circle of mates if you are dead?” I ask, focusing on the facts.

“The Fates gave her a replacement mate,” He says, his voice both slightly bitter and sad. “He’s a good guy though. I approve of who they chose.”

“You’re still her mate,” I offer as a condolence.

“Hardly,” he scoffs.

“You’re still here aren’t you?”

“So they keep telling me,” he sulks.

“Still existing, watching out for her, helping her where you can, still loving her. That’s all the actions of a mate. Reece, you are still her mate,” I reassure him.

“Being dead really sucks man. Do me a favor. When she comes for you, throw a few hard and fast thrusts in for me,” he winks with a ghost of a smile curving the corners of his mouth and walks back the way he came.

I have a mate. Holy shit! I slump to the ground on my knees. A mate - who I’m going to release my legion on if she doesn’t get to me before Belestine gives his order to attack. A mate, who I have been ordered to crush on the battlefield. A mate, I may very well kill before I get to claim her.