Vampire King Chapter 39

Family Or Power?
*Emory*
Rainer is p**ed. Still. And it’s been a couple of hours since he returned to the castle and I sheepishly told him what was going on.
He’d yelled at me. A lot. Everything from how dangerous this was, to do I not remember that I was almost dead a few days ago to h**ed in his position, too, but when I attempt to explain, he accuses me of trying to be the hero, and that just makes me mad.
So here we are, leading the defense against the castle, both of us irritated as hell at one another, knowing we may very well end up dead without being able to hug it out.
He has sent for Kane, even though I assured him we’d already done that, thanks to Lex. I did give the prince credit for being the one to insist that the king be notified.
It doesn’t matter now. We are about ten miles from the border between Moonraker pack and Crimson Peak, and I already smell wolf-in large quantities. It’s billowing through the air like someone has emptied a bottle of wolf shifter cologne.
I can tell that Rainer, who insists on staying right by my side, smells it, too, but for some reason, he doesn’t look as repulsed as I feel, which is odd considering he is the vampire and I am one of the same creatures whose scent is currently repelling me.
It’s strange. The last couple of days, I have been noticing odors a lot more strongly. I hadn’t really paid much attention to it until now…..
Perhaps the vampire venom that got into my system from the bites is affecting me. At the moment, it doesn’t really matter. I need to concentrate on the task at hand.
Before we even left the castle, I went over with Rainer what my plans were, and he’d laughed, shook his head, and said there was no way they were going to work.
He might be right, but it’s worth a try. We’ll know soon enough how badly outnumbered we are. He thinks we should just try to hold them off until Kane can move more troops back here, but I am afraid if he does that then King Peter will invade in areas where Crimson Peak troops are not present to hold the line,
No, my plan has to work. It just has to…
Lex is on my other side, and we have almost covered the expanse. We’ve exited the wall so that still lies behind us, between us and the castle, which means whatever my father was planning to do to get over -the wall, we may be able to stop him. Ladders, perhaps? That’s how we got over it. There won’t be time
for that when the shifters will have to switch to their human forms, climb, and then climb down the other side. That would only work if my father had the element of surprise, and thanks to my sister, he doesn’t.
I can only pray to the Moon Goddess that Lola is all right.
They come into view in the distance, all of them on foot, most of them on four paws, I am guessing they brought transport vehicles and parked a distance away so that they wouldn’t be heard by any vampire patrols that might be here looking for invaders of any kind. I doubt they walked all this way, which would’ve been about twenty miles from my father’s house to where we stand right now.
+25 BONUS
Family Or Power?
We had taken the train the day that my father sold me….
I push those thoughts aside and take a deep breath. Now that I can see them, it’s time for me to enact my plan.
I am certain that Alpha Bernard has noticed the forces standing in front of him by now, I am certain that he thinks we are a minuscule force and can easily be torn apart by his combined forces since I can see even from here that not all of these wolves are part of Moonraker pack.
But I wonder if he sees or smells me yet. I wonder if he knows it is his daughter standing in opposition across the ever-shrinking battlefield from him.
I wonder if he even cares or if it matters.
Well, I’m fairly certain I know the answer to that question already, but I’m about to find out for sure.
“Alpha Bernard, I order you to halt where you are, right now, by the authority of King Kane Alexander of Crimson Peak, whose territory you are currently invading.” I use the mind-link, and I am clear, precise, and as authoritative as possible,
Before my father can respond, Rainer asks me, “Did you do it? Are you doing it? Are you trying your little plan?”
“Yes!” I tell him. “Shut up so I can hear!”
He shifts back and forth on his feet while I wait for a reply. After about five seconds, he asks, “Did he answer you yet? What did he say?”
I swat at him as Lex, who is on my other side, says, “Rainer, shut up and let her concentrate.”
“But I want to know what’s happening!” He sounds like a spoiled child.
In my head, I hear the loud, demanding voice of my father. “Emory Moonraker? Is that you? What in the Goddess’s name are you doing out here? You should be in the castle where it is safe!”
I almost laugh. Why would he care about my safety?
“He answered, didn’t he?” Rainer asks, leaning toward me. “Did he make a joke?”
“Shut up!” I tell him, and then I respond back to my father. “I am here, and I am warning you, Alpha, you need to step back. This cannot end well for you.”
“Emory, darling.” he says, more quickly now that he knows it’s me. He’s using the tone he always uses when he is trying to convince me that something is good for me when it’s really not. “You need to step aside. This doesn’t concern you. This is between me and the evil vampire king who stole you from me.”
“Stole me?” I scoff, but before Rainer can say anything, I stick a hand out in front of him. We have come to a stop about half a mile from the enemy, and they are no longer advancing either as we size each other up across the open field. It’s growing darker by the moment, but our eyes adjust to the dark easily, so it doesn’t matter. It’s just a choice of whether the death will begin with the sun still peeking over the *** the stars in the sky above us.
“I know what you’re thinking, but I had no intention of selling either one of you, Emory. I had no choice. He threatened me. You missed all of that.” My father still sounds confident but also pleading just a tad. “Step aside and let us go past. It’ll be better that way.”
Family Or Power?
+25 BONUS
“No, Father. Either you turn this army around and march back to your villages or I will tell them all the truth, about the war, the debt, all of the opportunities Kane gave you, and how you sold me, which I’m sure they don’t know about.”
“It’s all lies, Emory! That madmah has been poisoning your head and likely poisoning your blood. You simply can’t believe him.”
My eyes focus on his face. He is in his wolf form, and he is a great distance away from me, but I can see
him.
My brother is on one side of him, Darius on the other. They look as if they are trying to look as powerful as he is. I am certain the other older wolves near them are Alphas from other packs, and I wonder if they know the reason for the delay.
“This is your last warning.” I say.
“Emory, darling, I will try to spare you the embarrassment, but your pack mates will not believe you, no matter what you try to tell them. You’ll be wasting your breath and your energy. Energy that could be spent fighting.” He shakes his head, and I see a look of irritation in his eyes. He’s trying to stay calm with me, but he’s about to lose it..
I have no choice but to play my final card before the battle begins.
“Warriors of Moonraker pack!” I begin, using the mind-link to project my message to every pack member standing in front of me. “It is I, Emory Moonraker, daughter of Alpha Bernard Moonraker! I was to be your next Alpha. I trained with you, served with you, lived with you, laughed with you, and cried with you from. the moment I was born until I was sold as a feeder to King Kane by my father not long ago.”
I see their heads turn, their expression shift as they consider my words. I decide to start walking forward! to get closer to them so that I can be better understood. I signal for Rainer and Lex to stay there, but “ainer throws a fit. “Absolutely not!”
I turn and glare at him. “Just give me a moment.”
He mumbles under his breath, but his feet don’t move.
I close about half the distance as I continue. None of them move.
“That’s right. I was sold. But not because my father wanted the king to have me. No, I was able to step in. To spare the life of my younger sister, Lola.”
Now, the murmurs are even greater as the wolves yelp and yip, their way of asking how can it be true.
“You’re lying, Emory!” my father barks through the mind-link, but I will not be stopped.
“I am sur
he told you some story about me that made you think I had suddenly changed my mind about wanting to serve as your next leader, but if you will look back at the history of my father’s choices, you will see many of them are not what’s best for our pack. Many of them involve making poor choices and blaming others.”
“Lies! All lies!” he says. I see Darius,
“Did you know that my father borrowed millions and millions of Drakes from Kane to attack our neighbors? Some of those pack members are here right now, standing up with him. While I can see why
3/4
+25 BONUS
Family Or Power?
you might be upset at the vampire king for loaning the money, he didn’t know my father’s purpose at the time, not until it was too late, and then he battled my father to try to get repayment, even after their packs had seen heavy losses keeping us out.”
The members of the other packs wouldn’t know what was happening because I couldn’t communicate through the mind-link with them. But some of the people in human form were repeating my words. I believed they were there to carry supplies, possibly to Hoist ladders which might be on the ground behind them. I wasn’t close enough to see through the tall grass.
I continued. I could see my father and brother getting ready to give the order to attack me. I was running
out of time.
“I have lived at Castle Graystone for several weeks now. I have gotten to know the vampires, including the king, and I can tell you that what you’ve been told before is all wrong. They are not evil monsters. The members of the Crimson Peak Clan are good people. We can work together, their people and ours. We can finally have peace and unity. I can help facilitate that.”
in front of you I took a deep breath and said, “But not if you attack today. Rest assured the forces you see are only a small portion of what is waiting for you. It is true King Kane was gone from the castle when our scouts confirmed you were approaching, but he is returning enforce, and you still have a massive wall to scale. The element of surprise is gone. Only a fool would order you to attack now.” My eyes went to my -father.
“You don’t have to fight. We can have peace. We can have a society where vampires and shifters can coexist-”
“Emory!” My father’s Alpha voice boomed. “That is quite enough! We did not come here to discuss the merits of King Kane and the vampires. We came here to reclaim what is rightfully ours, to take back the supplies, the feeders, the money we were forced to give in tribute-it was never borrowed!”
You are a liar!” I shout the words aloud. “You are a liar and a weak man who will give up anything and everything for power! Including your own child!”
I am moving forward now, not thinking about the consequences, even though I hear Rainer shouting at me to stop and come back.
I stop directly in front of my father’s wolf, and he looks at me, snarling, his eyes narrowed in hate. Rainer
is coming. I feel him covering the ground quickly behind me, but I’m not afraid.
“Tell me, Father. Tell me the truth. What do you love more? Your family-or power?”
The answer comes in the form of a white-hot pain that burns through my flesh into my abdomen and through my spine as the world spins and I find myself falling backward.
+25 BONUS