Destined Queen

Chapter 7

Jareth Pov

    ‘Get him!’ I widened my eyes, tightening my hands into fists as I tried to stop the wave of anger racing through me. ‘He’s a vampire, attack him!’ My wolf shouted in my mind. 

    I blinked, taking deep breaths as I tried to calm the wave of anger. ‘Sam, you’re wasting your strength being angry. He’s obviously someone she knows.’ I told my wolf, trying to calm him down. 

    ‘So? Who is she anyway? Why is a human friends with a vampire?’ he asked. I frowned, blinking as I looked at the vampire. Louis, she called him. He was fairly short, about five-seven or five-eight. Like an angry yelping puppy, to be honest. His messy feathered light brown hair was being swept to the side as he glared at me, teeth elongated as he hissed at me in anger. Why was she friends with a vampire? 

    I frowned. Were they…together? I felt Sam trying to break through and I took another deep breath, trying to hold him back. “Can you both please calm down?” The woman asked, sighing. I looked at her, feeling her hand on my chest, realizing I had scooted closer to Louis than I thought I had. She stepped in between us, touching both of our chests to hold us apart, and all I could focus on was her touch. How…strong it was. Once again, I was startled by her. Something wasn’t adding up. She smelled human, but…was she? 

    I shuddered, feeling Sam retreat once more in exhaustion, and sighed. I stood up straight, taking a step back from her and Louis, nodding my head at her. “Apologies, miss. My wolf recognized his scent and tried to come out. I’ve contained him for now.” I told her. 

    “Thais,” She said, looking at me. She dropped her hands, stepping back as well. “My name is Thais,” She told me, before looking at Louis. I felt her gaze sharpen as she glared at him. “Not, Princess.” She said. I could hear the daggers in her voice and I c****d my head to the side, curious. What was that all about? 

    I gritted my teeth, not liking the way Louis was looking at Thais. His eyes were wide, staring her up and down. Why did he look at her like he'd never seen her before? Especially since she seemed to notice him based on his appearance? “Princess…I mean Thais, I need to speak with you. It’s very important. Can you ask your mutt to leave?” He asked, lifting his eyes to glare at me. 

    I growled, a low deep warning growl that made him take a step back and narrow his eyes. He felt the Alpha blood in me rising as I crossed my arms over my chest. “I’m not leaving you alone with her,” I said with finality. 

    Thais sighed, frustrated. “First off, I can protect myself. Secondly, I don’t need to talk to you, Louis. Go away.” She said, glaring at both of us. She turned to look at me, her head tilted to the side in wonder. “Don’t you need to leave? Your assassins are waiting for you.” She said. 

    ‘Robby,’ I mind-linked. Robby was the only other werewolf on my team, and it was times like this that made it useful to be the Alpha. We never really considered ourselves a pack but…in a sense, all of the werewolves that lived in the Dragon kingdom all followed me and my father. We had Alpha blood, after all. Jaelyn as well, if she still lived with the Dragons. ‘Tell Lottie she’s to lead you guys to town. Hand Wyatt to the sheriff to collect the bounty. Get some rest in the inn and come back in the morning.’ I told him. 

    ‘Yes sir,’ Robby replied, before cutting it out. I nodded, before turning back to Thais again. That’s what I liked about Robby. No questions, no arguments. 

    “I talked to my Assassins. They’re heading to town now. They’ll be fine. Lottie is second in command,” I said. I didn’t say it out loud, but I figured she didn’t need me to say it anyway. I wasn’t planning on leaving her alone with a vampire, even if she knew him. Especially since he was looking at her like that. 

    Thais looked at me, then at Louis, before rolling her eyes. “Fine. You can stay. He can stay, Louis. Whatever you have to say, just say it. I don’t have time for this.” She muttered. 

    Louis seemed annoyed by this, but ended up shrugging, calming down his anger towards me a little bit. Sam was still growling softly in my mind, but I knew he was done trying to fight. I sat back down on the stool as Thais started putting herbs and meat into the pot above the fireplace as Louis leaned against the doorframe. I could see he was eyeballing me now, looking back and forth between me and Thais, trying to see how she knew me. “You don’t want me to say any of this in front of him, Thais.” He said finally. “It’s about…where I come from.” he finished. 

    I raised an eyebrow at him, watching her stiffen, her back turned towards us. “The Vampire Kingdom, right? Honestly, I could turn you in for trespassing. Your Kingdom refuses to sign the alliance, this town isn’t in your territory.” I said to him. 

    “Yeah, our territory. The few towns we’re given where humans are running from? All your alliance is doing is pissing the Vampires off even more. They’re never going to sign at this point. Not him, anyway.” He said. 

    I chuckled at him. “Your eyes say you don’t really care about the humans or their towns,” I pointed out. He raised his eyebrows at me and I nodded. “I’m an assassin, Louis. We go all over, catch criminals and turn them in for bounties. I know the secrets of the vampire eyes. Honey-colored eyes mean the vampire doesn’t drink human blood. Red eyes mean they do. It’s not that hard to figure out,” I told him. 

    “Just tell me, Louis. Whatever it is,” Thais said. I smirked, recognizing the tone. She wanted him gone. He seemed to notice as well, straightening up with a frown. 

    He stared at her back for a few seconds, watching her stir the food, bringing the ladle to her mouth to test it. Not a vampire, then. She smelled human, but that didn’t mean much. Nicki smelled like a werewolf since one of her dads is a werewolf until she turned eighteen and shifted into a dragon. If someone is around others for a long time, they start to smell like them. Finally, Louis sighed, shrugging. “They figured out that you’re still alive, and they’re coming to kill you.” He said. 

    She choked on the food as he walked over to her, gently patting her back. I stood, instantly ready, my hand on the hilt of my axe as I looked around. “Who’s coming? What’s going on?” I asked, hearing the growl in my throat. 

    Louis rolled his eyes as Thais wiped her mouth, her hand shaking. “I’m not telling you,” he said, sticking his tongue out at me. “Just go away. I can protect her all by myself.” He said with a grin. 

    Thais shoved him, and I have to admit I was impressed. Vampires were strong. Our werewolf teeth could pierce their skin but for a human to shove him? Impressive. She definitely wasn’t a human. There was no way. Quietly, Thais pulled down two bowls off of a shelf. She filled one and handed it to me, before filling another and sitting down at the table. I blinked in surprise, looking down at it. I didn’t expect her to feed me. I looked at her, grinning. “Thank you,” I said, taking a bite. “This is delicious,” I added, watching a small blush appear across her cheeks. Cute, she was cute. 

    Louis seemed annoyed as he moved to the counter, leaning against it like an overbearing parent staring us down. “I’m assuming, as the leader of the assassins, you know about the vampire hierarchy. Previous king Sinclair, and Queen Meridian.” She said to me. 

    I nodded. “Yes. Eight years ago, they and their four daughters were killed in a m******e. It was very big, because the Dragons were blamed for it. Even now, they still say they did it. They believe Queen Aislyn, with her ability to have wings without needing to be a full dragon, had swooped down from the sky and murdered them all in their sleep because King Sinclair wasn’t going to sign the alliance.” I told her. 

    She shook her head as Louis chuckled. “Stupid,” Louis muttered. 

    I looked at him, but Thais was the one who spoke again. “They’re truly stupid for believing that lie. If they cared enough to think about it, why would Queen Aislyn kill the previous king and queen, but leave the current ones alone? Why not try to kill them too when they’re so verbally against the alliance? No…the vampires see what they want to see, and believe what they want to believe. They won’t question it even if it makes no sense.” She said, shaking her head. I waited patiently, realizing there was much more she needed to say. I took another bite, chewing softly as she sighed. “King Sinclair, he had five daughters, not four. Only…four of them were important. The fifth was nothing more than a child of an affair with a human. A Dhampir. She was very easily overlooked and often forgotten.” She whispered.

    I frowned, confused, as Louis shook his head. “I’ve never heard of a fifth princess,” I said. 

    “Of course not. As I said, she was often forgotten and not talked about. Anyway, the m******e. It wasn’t queen Aislyn, it was an inside job. Another vampire. The fifth daughter, she wasn’t there during the attack. She is a Dhampir, she can be outside during the day. She was forgotten, and when she went back to the kingdom…she was stopped by a dying servant. He gave her a bag of gold and heirlooms, and told her to run. And so…she ran.” She whispered. 

    I stared at her, then at Louis, seeing the anger in his shoulders as he looked down at the ground. It was starting to make sense. “You’re the fifth princess. A Dhampir.” I said to her, curiosity in my voice. 

    She nodded, an embarrassed look on her face. “And you need to leave, Thais. They found out about you,” Louis added. 

    She shook her head back and forth and once again I was confused. She said an inside job, and they found out about her. Who? Who did it? Who was looking for her? “Why should I matter? My cousin is taking over, right? I’m not important.” She said to him. 

    Louis sighed, walking over to her, placing his hands on the table. “He doesn’t have the tattoos, Thais. They’re worried if you try to come back, you’ll show off the tattoos and prove that, despite being a Dhampir, you’re the next in line. They’ll kill you so he can have the tattoos.” he said. 

    I widened my eyes at this, staring at her as she wrapped her arms around her shoulders. The royal tattoos. I heard about that but I had never seen it. The royal vampires had tattoos at birth, and as they grew, the tattoos grew. Only those who were destined for the title had them. As the fifth princess, the only one alive…she was the next in line. “I don’t want them, Louis. I don’t want any of it. I ran away, put it all behind me. I can’t lead them, they won’t want me to anyway. I’m a…I’m just a Dhampir.” She stammered. 

    “Who?” I asked, confused. “Who is looking for you? Who killed the previous king and queen?” I asked. 

    Louis sighed, rolling his eyes. He was annoyed I interrupted their little moment, no doubt. “My uncle, Jareth. My father, he was the older twin. His little brother wanted to be the next ruler. When my father said he wouldn’t change the rules for him, he came to kill him. All of them. He wanted to make sure they were all out of the way…so he and his son could rule.” She whispered. 

    I gasped, looking at her. “It’s your birthright. You are the next to lead. You have the proof on your arms.” I told her. 

    She banged her hands on the table, standing up as she glared at me. “I don’t care. I didn’t ask for these!” She yelled, lifting her sleeves to show off beautifully intricate woven black swirls. I heard they stared at the shoulders and woven down to the fingertips. All I could see was from her elbow down but it…it was so beautiful. “You don’t know me, either of you. You won’t be telling me what to do. I’m not leaving here. This is my home now. They’ll have to figure it out without me.” She said. 

    “A coward,” I muttered, standing up with a sigh. “You’re acting like a coward,” I said. I felt…disappointed. This beautiful woman, the one I had been watching from afar for so long. Drawing…for so long. She was so much more than I thought she was, but at the same time…she wasn’t. I felt so disappointed. 

    Thais stood, glaring at me with flashing eyes. “You don’t know anything! You have no right to judge me!” She yelled at me. 

    I turned my back on her for a moment, sighing, before looking at her. “You’re right. But I do know the facts from what you said. Your uncle murdered your parents and siblings. You should want to get revenge for those horrible deaths. You bare the marks of the next ruler but yet…turn away from all of those people that need their true leader. It’s cowardice,” I muttered, shaking my head. “I’ll be sleeping in your barn for the night, and when they return in the morning, I’ll leave with them,” I said, sadness in my voice as I walked out the door, leaving them behind.