*Capitulo 13*

"Damn it! I had a feeling it was a vampire that was doing this!"

The eyes that were on me the entire time I had arrived to the room left my presence for once, and glared at my dad, who had voiced his thoughts as we all sat around the big screen tv in the living room.

Bodies. Bodies were being found everywhere, drained of blood.

"And what gave you that thought that you didn't bother sharing with me through our calls?" Dimitri spat angrily and I shuddered. I still wasn't used to hearing his voice again. It always chilled me -a good chill, but I was trying not to react. I had made my decision not even yesterday -a week after the incident; I did not want a mate. Or in his case, a beloved.

Was I getting back at him because he had admitted he didn't want me at the beginning? No. The reason I didn't want a soulmate... I just felt like I didn't need one. My life was already complicated enough without him, and adding him to the pile would just tip me over. I wasn't ready to be a queen -I don't even think I will ever be ready to be a queen. A king needs his queen, and I'm just not queenly material. I just met my parents after almost eighteen years, and I'm barely getting used to calling them mom, dad, brother, sister, out loud instead of their actual names.

I took a quick peek at him as they talked, and noticed he still looked the same as before. Nothing was out of place, unlike me, who felt like crap and knee looked like crap too.

I quickly looked away when I saw him turning his head again, and focused my eyes on the television again. The reporter was still talking about the bodies that were in her district, and even mentioned similar cases going on around. It was only when Ali spoke up did I turn back to stare at her... and him.

"I don't know if Tatiana told you all this, but I came in contact with two rogue vampires." All eyes snapped to her and she blinked once.

"Rogue?" Dimitri asked and she nodded, but then stopped and shrugged.

"Untrained is more like it." The invisible lightbulb in my head popped on as I remembered the day she had told me that. It was the day we moved for the first time before all of this came next.

"Those two vampires?" I asked her, making everyone look at me now and I blushed. She nodded again at my words, and confirmed my thoughts aloud.

"Yes. I was going for... a... umm... hunt-" she flinched and stopped when Dimitri glared at her. He was mad at her ways of feeding before we got here. Apparently that's not the way they are supposed to hunt.

"Hey!" I snapped at him and he immediately looked at me. "She didn't know! Stop making her feel bad! Besides, she erased their memories!"

He just stared at me silently for a few seconds before he looked away with a sigh. He looked back at Ali -nicer I might add- and muttered, "What happened? She didn't tell us this."

She spoke quickly as she played with her fingers. "Like I said, I was out for a hunt, when I smelled the faint scent of blood. I-" She paused, looked up, and cocked her head to the side as she thought. "Wait... I can mind link you, can't I?"

"Yes. But it will be weak since I wasn't near you when you were born to create it."

"Tom. Can you read my mind and then link it to Alex so I don't have to speak? I don't want them to be asking me questions after questions when they can just see it for themselves."

"Sure. I've never done it before, but ok." He wrapped his arm around her and focused on her face as she took a deep breath and stared at Dimitri. Everyone was silent as the group just stared at the persons they were reading, and in the middle of it, Dimitri hissed. Once they were done, Ali shuddered and snuggled closer to Tom.

"That was creepy. I could feel both of you." Tom just kissed her forehead as Dimitri and my dad growled and stared at each other.

"I think I know how this is all starting," my dad growled under his breath as he untangled himself from my moms hold, but then switched positions so she was now being strangled in his arms.

"The human." Dimitri hissed and he nodded. We all just stared at him confused and he looked at Ali with a small frown resting on his forehead. "The woman you left behind. She's the one that will cause the war against us."

Ali gasped. "How do you know that? It can be anyone!"

"Think about it Alice," my dad said, taking a step forward while still holding on to my mom. "If you were a human, and you had just witnessed a vampire saving you from an attack from other vampires, would not you be scared? Wouldn't you go and try to see if what you had seen was actually real and not a figment of your imagination?"

"Plus, with what you showed us, you didn't erase her mind. I haven't drunk directly from a human vein in centuries, so I completely forgot you could do that." Dimitri spoke up, adding his comment at the end with a small wince.

"So where can we find this human? We can stop her before she does anything else, right?" My mom spoke for the first time. Both Dimitri and my dad sighed, and even shook their heads.

"I don't think there's anything we can do to prevent this from happening. Someone out there is creating vampires without consulting with Dimitri, and they are getting out of hand. They don't know the ways of hunting, and with this woman, she could easily go to her president or someone high up in power and tell them what she saw." My dad gulped, and his eye twitched slightly before he cleared his throat. "Sure they might not believe her, but someone out there will believe her, unless they think there is a serial killer out there that drains their victims of blood."

The room was silent as we let that soak in. William was just rubbing his chin, walking back and forth from one side of the room to the other one. Thomas was standing in a corner, nodding to himself as he stared off into space, probably thinking about all he had just heard. Everyone else had evacuated shortly after my parents blocked the screen with their frames as soon as they began to show the blurred bodies. Dimitris quick snatch of the remote to mute the television ushered the ladies to get the kids out of the room, leaving us with questions in their eyes.

With one last longing look at me, Dimitri looked away and gave my dad a short, but sharp nod. They both disappeared in seconds, William and Tom trailing after them a few seconds later. My eyes stayed trained on the hallway they had disappeared through as everyone else began to whisper with each other. My hands rubbed against my thighs, a nervous tick I was trying to break from, and I sighed when I heard my name.

"Yes?"

"How are you feeling? I'm sorry I haven't been with you in the last couple of days." My mom rubbed my shoulders as she hugged me and I gave her a small smile.

"It's ok. I understand."

Her eyes seemed to brighten a bit by my words and she softly gasped. "You do?"

I nodded twice as my eyes quickly flicked down to my lap before they went back to her face. "You're the queen of the werewolf race and a mother. Of course you'll be busy and not have time for-"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence," she snapped so fast, my eyes widening at the tone of her voice. She sighed when she saw my expression, and quickly gave me a timid smile, although the glint in her eyes didn't change."Just because I am... queen, it doesn't mean I put them first. Family always comes first to me."

I was left speechless as she crushed me into a hug, making my face bury against her chest. For a few short seconds, I relaxed, and hugged her back, breathing in the scent I was slowly getting accustomed to coming from her. For a few short seconds, I imagined my life with her since my birth, not just a few weeks ago, and I smiled at the thoughts. But then reality kicked in, and I sighed, pulling away from the hug.

We both sighed, and looked up in confusion when Thomas rushed into the room, only to quickly make a beeline to the door without a word to us. I quickly glanced at Tom, who stared at the door his father had disappeared through, in confusion. Ali stared at him with questions in her eyes, and I frowned.

What was going on?

Not even a few minutes later, William walked in, looked at all of us, but then stopped at both my mom and I. His lips parted as if he was going to say something, but then he shook his head and sighed. From the corner of my eye, I saw Tom stiffen and I felt my mom stand up from besides me.

"What's going on Will?"

"I can not say."

She narrowed her eyes at him, and placed her hands on her hips. She raised an eyebrow, and cocked her head to the side. "Oh really? So who can tell me?"William gulped, and quickly looked away, his eyes going everywhere but her. "Let me guess, it was Alex that commanded you not to tell me."

He merely just nodded and she breathed deeply. "Of course. Why didn't I see this coming." Without another word, she disappeared down the hallway they had gone through, and we were all left there, still confused on what had just happened.

I stood up a few seconds later, and slowly followed her steps, sensing Ali following behind me. I had barely taken three steps when my moms loud shriek froze me, and then sent me to a run.

"OH HELL NO ALEX! I WILL NOT JUST STAND TO THE SIDE, AND WATCH YOU FIGHT!" Her voice got louder as we reached the open door to their study.

"Delilah, this is not up for-"

"I said NO!"

"DELILAH!"

"ALEXANDER!"

He stood up from behind his brand new desk -since apparently he had broken the other one with Dimitris brawl the other time- and walked around it to stand in front of me. He gave my mom a wide berth of space, which caused her to roll her eyes and his large hands grabbed the door handle.

"I'm sorry. I'll explain everything soon," was all he said before he closed the door.

*Delilahs pov*

"Alex, I will not stand on the side lines again and watch you and my family fight." I tried telling him again, but of course, he didn't listen.

"Delilah, please. I don't want to argue with you right now. Dimitri agreed with me too."

I snapped my gaze to his quiet form in the corner of the room, but he didn't react. He just blinked once, and crossed his arms as he looked away.

"Why? Because I'm human?"

"That's one of the reasons," he grunted and I rolled my eyes again.

"Come on Alex. You know as well as I that I-"

"You are also a queen. You are mine." In a flash, he was in front of me, and caressed my cheek. The familiar tingles exploded all around my face, relaxing me, and he smiled. "I wouldn't be able to live with the guilt if anything happened to you. I can't die my love," he whispered as a reminder. "But you still can. If you die, I will be a soulless man for the rest of my life."

"I won't die," I croaked out, closing my eyes as he continued with his slow, steady, touch of my face. "I have our race to protect me. We have Dimitri and the vampires too."

When I said his name, he cleared his throat, and I slowly filtered my gaze to him. "You're not going to be alone."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Emilee and Eveline will be with you."

The peaceful emotions coursing through my body from Alex's touch screeched to a stop and I blinked rapidly. "Excuse me?"

"You heard him Lila. You won't be alone. You'll have our daughters there with you."

Oh hell no. I knew I wouldn't be the only ones with the same thoughts. If I knew my daughters -well at least one- good enough, they would never agree to what they wanted us to do.

Without a word, I turned around and took the five steps that took me to the door. I flung it open, and was momentarily relieved when I found Alice, Emilee, and Tom still there. "Emilee." When I said her name, I heard Dimitri cuss behind me and I smirked. "Can you come in for a few seconds? Tom." He stiffened when I looked at him. "Can you link Noah so he can bring Ev? I need her too."

"Delilah, what are you doing?" I didn't answer him. I just smiled as Emilee timidly walked in, cautious as she took in her surroundings. Her eyes stopped at Dimitri for a second too long, and I groaned internally. My baby....

"Hi mom. What do you need me for?"

I poked my head out the door again at the sound of Evs voice and I gave her a smile as well. "I need to talk to you. Noah, you might as well come in since I know which side you'll be in."

They both looked utterly confused, but walked in without another word. I heard Ali sigh deeply from where she stood the entire time, and I took a step forward to hug her. "I'll tell you later. I promise you."

She nodded once. "I trust you. I'm just going to go hunt while you talk. If you need me..." she trailed off as she motioned to Tom with her eyes. I nodded twice and kissed her forehead.

"Watch her. She disappears again, I'll make sure you die a slow and painful death." Tom gulped loudly while Ali chuckle and rolled her eyes. In seconds, they were gone and I turned back around to go into the room filled with confused people. "Alright, let's just get this over with. Girls. These idiots are demanding for us to stay behind while they go off to war."

Noah stiffened for a second as the girls screeched their disagreements, but then he nodded twice and went to go stand besides his father.

I knew it...

"Oh hell no Noah. You better get your ass over here right now or-" Ev stopped herself short and looked at us. Her eyes quickly flicked back to him, and she just rolled her eyes and smirked as she crossed her arms. Noah visibly flinched, and paled, but stayed in his spot, much to Evs dismay.

"I can protect myself," Emilee growled, snorting as she looked away. "I don't need a man or a mate to protect me."

Dimitri took a step forward. "You, specifically,  have no choice." I frowned and opened my mouth to interject, but he raised his hand and pleaded with his eyes. He looked at me as he spoke softly. "She is vulnerable Delilah. She has..." He gulped and closed his eyes as he took a deep breath from his nose. "She doesn't have a long time as a human. We don't know when this war will happen, therefore the reason we are beginning with the training as soon as possible."

He sighed and Alex stepped forward, reaching out for me but I stepped away. His green eyes dimmed in sadness, but he dropped his hands in defeat. "If it is hunters, our people need to know how to defeat them. They have been laying low for years already, so the proper way to... taking care of them has been forgotten. Plus we need to take into consideration that vampires might be involved too."

Dimitri nodded in agreement and continued for him. "Alice saw the two rogue vampires that I never knew of. Who knows how many more there are out there. Untrained and unknown vampires are tricky to control. Remember your parents?"

I gulped and looked away. My vampire/hunter parents. What a coincidence, huh?

"Exactly my point." His voice was soft and I looked up to see him looking at Emilee, who stood silently watching us. Eveline was ignoring Noah, who was trying to get her attention and I rolled my eyes.

Noah! Pay attention!

"Emilee. I don't know if you remember me saying this." His voice hitched for a few seconds, but he managed to control it and continue without another problem. "You are vulnerable in many ways. As a human, but also to two supernatural crowns." My breath hitched as I realized what he was talking about.

Emilee might be human right now, but if anything happened to her, two important kingdoms will come crumbling down in seconds. Dimitri, the King of all vampires, was her mate. She was the future queen of vampires -if she ever accepted what the moon goddess made for her before she was ever a thought in my brain.

But she was also a princess. A princess by blood for the wolf kingdom. Her kidnapping or death would crumble both Alex and I, thus making her a very powerful child. Even more powerful than her father or mate...

I looked up at my daughter with wide eyes, and gulped. Maybe it was for the best...

Emilee was shaking her head rapidly as she stared at me. "No... no... I will not accept that." She looked at Ev, who stared at her in understanding and went to go stand besides her. Without a hesitation, she grabbed her hand and stared at us with her wide, green eyes. "You will not make me stay behind and watch the people I am beginning to call my family kill themselves on a war."

Ev nodded in agreement and all three men growled out in frustration. Alex raked a hand through his already tousled hair and began to pace. It was silent as everyone thought of more excuses, until Eveline cleared her throat, getting our attention.

"I have an idea."

"No. Absolutely not," Noah growled out and she sent him a glare that had him looking away.

"Be quiet Noah! You're already in the dog house, so don't make your punishment even longer!" She snapped at him and then took a deep breath to control her temper. "What if you train us as well."

It was silent as everyone else absorbed her idea. I thought Alex was going to immediately agree with his son, but he clearly surprised me when he rubbed his chin and flicked his eyes to Dimitri for a few seconds as he thought about it as well.

"If... that will make you ladies happy."

We were all smiling as Dimitri spoke to Alex softly. "Are you sure about that Alex?"

"This is my family Dimitri. These are my girls. I might be the king, but if my mate is going to hate me for the rest of our lives because I forced her to hide again..." He trailed off as he sensed me watching him and gave me a grin. I returned his smile, and walked into his hands, burying my face in his chest as he crushed me tighter. He mumbled something under his breath that had Dimitri chuckling for a few seconds, and then Noah ruined it by speaking out an idea.

"But they won't be alone. Dimitri, dad, if they are going to be training and maybe... fighting." He practically forced that word out with a gulp. "Then they need to have a group of supernaturals with them at all times. They need to train with a specific group that will stay with them until this is all over."

"Agreed," they both said and I sighed.

"We might as well agree on this girls. We already won something, so let's just make it even."

Emilee sighed. "Fine. But I get to choose my group."

"Deal. Training starts tomorrow at 7am in the clearings around the grounds. If you ladies aren't there on the dot, the deal is over."

"We will see you there." Was all Emilee said and dragged Eveline away as Noah followed her like a lost puppy. I looked up at Alex, and frowned a bit at him.

"I'm still mad at you." He rolled his eyes but smiled and shook his head. I pecked his lips and maneuvered myself away from his arms, walking away with a wave of my hand. "So no sex for you for two weeks."

There was a loud gasp, and even some laughter as I closed he door behind me.

That's what these men get for trying to make us stand behind the lines...

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SOOOOO MANY APOLOGIES!! This book has literally beaten my ass.

It took me over a month to write the first half of this, and then another to write the rest. But lucky you.... the next two chapters just flew out of my fingers, so I have more. I have 4 new chapters for y'all (not including this one, of course). I would have had more, but life has just been a big ass pile of poop for me. And now with the hurricane happening in Texas... 😖

Anyways, I have a reason for all of this. So please don't be all "oh not again. They are gonna be arguing over fighting?" Blah blah blah. I know it's cliche and shit, but I HAVE A REASOOONNN. So reason with me ahaha

Love you all, especially all of y'all that waited for me all these months. ❤️

~Gris

Ps:
None of this is edited. So if you see any mistakes, please KINDLY point them out. Thank you! 😘