*Capitulo 16*

As my mom turned her back, I rolled my eyes and turned around, annoyed by the punishment she had just bestowed on me.

I was grounded for two weeks for leaving with Tatiana without telling anyone of my whereabouts. Apparently, Dimitri no longer sensed my presence on the lands as soon as Tatiana whisked us away, and that set everyone into a panic mode. For the hour and a half we were gone, a search party was conducted, and even my parents put a bounty on anything that breathed, thinking they had somehow taken me. The second we were back though, I was pounced by a black wolf, who just licked every inch of my face, before very thoroughly searched every visibly part of my skin.

Once Maximus was done with his search, I had to willingly let Dimitri hold me in his arms for a few seconds. The entire time my dad was rubbing his fur all around me, Dimitri was staring at me, his fingers twitching as he clenched and un-clenched them into fists from his sides. I wasn't thinking of letting him hold me, but one small little push of my mom had me sighing, and taking the last step towards him.

The feel of his warm breath fanning down my neck made me shiver not in coldness, but in something else. His arms tightened for a few more seconds, before he released me and let me take my two steps back to separate us.

"I take it they didn't leave you unpunished?" Came her voice from behind me, and I groaned. I lifted my head from the pillow I had buried my face in, but then quickly buried it again when I saw her sitting down next to me.

"What did they do to you?" She was alive, and uninjured from what I saw, but I was positive they had threatened her or even prohibited something.

"Nothing." I could practically see her grin, even though I wasn't staring at her. "They can't touch me. Besides, they know perfectly well I can protect you. I don't know-" When she stopped short, I peeked through my lashes and saw her staring off into space.

"Tatiana?"

At the sound of her name, she quickly shook her head and tilted her head down to give me a small smile. "It's alright. I have to go, but I'll be back tomorrow. I did make you a promise."

I nodded twice, and she disappeared before I could blink. With a sigh, I quickly untangled my hair from the braid, and let it tumble down my back in its soft waves. I didn't even bother changing into my pajamas as I walked into the bathroom, brushed my teeth and then tumbled back into bed.

Two weeks...

Life was totally unfair.

~~~~~~~

"Again!"

"No."

I threw the rock that my hands had unconsciously grabbed when I had been thrown to the floor at her, but of course she just flicked it away with a movement of her fingers.

"I said again Tatiana! I'm not going to be weak!"

I wiped the sweat on top of my forehead with my arm, and took ragged breaths, knowing that one more drop to the floor would make me stay there until someone helped me up. Tatiana wasn't standing up straight herself; her shoulders were sagging with exhaustion, and I could tell that small magic she had done to flick the rock away had taken the last of her energy away.

But we were still standing up. We could still fight, even if we were gasping and tumbling.

"I said no Emilee. That's enough." She turned her back to me, but I quickly squatted down and grabbed a smaller rock. I threw it again, groaning when it missed her completely, but sighed in relief when it caught her attention.

"It's been over two weeks Tatiana! You have completely taken over my training, but I feel like I haven't learned anything!" In a few steps, she was standing in front of me, her eyes narrowed into slits as she took deep breaths from her nose. "Am I even going to be ready to fight when the-" I stopped short when her right eye twitched the slightest, and I gasped. I took a step back, and balled my hands into tight fists besides me. "I'm not fighting am I?"

Her mouth pursed for a few seconds, before she barked out one word without emotion. "No."

"And why not!" I practically roared, my hands going up in the air. The few wolves that were running around us stopped to stare, but I didn't care. I was seething. "You promised! I'm going to-"

"There is a valid reason. You will not fight, and neither will your mother or sister."

"Why not?" I sighed in defeat, tumbling down to my knees. All of this for nothing...

"I saw when they will attack. I saw the war, and everything that will happen. Everything, but the outcome of it all."

I took a deep breath. "So my mom knows?"

"Yes."

"Are you going to tell me what's stopping us from fighting?"

Her lips trembled as she looked at me. They parted slightly, but then closed again, and I raised an eyebrow, gesturing for her to just get it over with. She sighed, closed her eyes and took a deep breath, before she spilled everything out. "It's going to start the day before your birthday."

I gasped, my mouth falling open in shock and she bit her lip before continuing. "We can't stop it; I've seen all the possibilities, and they still end up with supernaturals fighting with each other." She knelt down to my level, and slowly placed a hand on my shoulder, squeezing it softly. "I... We can't risk the chance. There's no telling how long it will last, and there is no possible way for you to be fighting one second, and then being turned the next. You'll be vulnerable, which then takes away warriors from the fight to protect you, which then causes the balance to go uneven and we will lose more people than we have to."

"But my mom can still fight. Eveline can still fight as well, so why are they being backed off too?"

Tatiana slowly smiled, and shook her head as she chuckled. "That is something they must tell you on their own time. You'll see soon." She stood up, held out a hand and helped me get up. "Trust me. It will be a shocking surprise." She laughed again, and began to walk towards the house, leaving me confused and irritated.

With a groan, I followed her and sighed deeply as one thought ran through my head.

Less than three months until this all starts...

*Unknown pov*

Without a care, the man dropped the lifeless body of a woman to the ground, and raised his blood stained face up into the darkened sky. He cackled twice, and then flickered his gaze to the other young vampire, who had accompanied him to this hunt.

"You almost done there? We need to head back."

The ginger haired guy pulled away from the mans neck with a slurp, and slowly licked his lips, removing any traces of his feeding. Even though he was a hatchling, he was much cleaner than his trainer...

"Why go back? They just fucking lock us up in those crowded rooms, and only let us leave when we complain enough about our thirst."

The older, blonde haired vampire quickly gathered up the gingers shirt, and lifted him a few feet off the floor with ease. He bared his fangs, hissing at the vampires words.

"Don't ever say those words around them ever again! Do you hear me?" He shook the man a couple of times, and then dropped him like the dead body behind him. "If they hear you say shït like that, they will definitely kïll you on the spot. They won't care if they lose one stupid vampire. They will just make two more in return!"

The ginger frowned, but gulped and nodded in understanding. He knew what the hunters could do; they were the ones that were controlling everything and everyone. They had many rules, but only two were the most important:

Don't kill each other.

Leave your prey dead and visible. No hiding.

The high pitch laughter of females brought him out of his short daydream, and he nodded twice, before he sprinted out into a run, following the other man.

Not even ten seconds later, they both heard bloodcurdling screams.

______________________

Might do a double update.... don't know yet... still thinking about it 😆

Hoped you enjoyed though, and please leave comments!! Even comments saying hi 😂

Many apologies for the very late update!! Take these chocolate bars as my peaceful gift 🍫🍫

-Gris