Vampire King Chapter 48

Kane
Guilt burns in my chest. I have no desire to give in to King Peter’s demands, especially if it endangered my family. Despite all that has happened between us, Lex is my brother. I should not give him up.
“I don’t want to send you as a hostage,” I tell my brother. “I’m going to refuse King Peter, and he can deal with it-”
“Stop,” Lex interrupts me. “You’re just prolonging the inevitable.”
“Lex-”
“King Peter will never stop. This man is looking for any excuse to come after you. If you’re seen refusing to concede on old traditions, you’re going to look worse in the eyes of the other vampire kingdoms.”
“I don’t care what they think.”
“You should. You used to. That’s what made you a good king. You thought about what was best for your kingdom above all else.” Lex sighs, looking wearier than I’ve ever seen him. “And it’s my turn to be the same way. I’ve been selfish long enough.”
“Lex, if you become a hostage, I can’t protect you,” I point out. “King Peter could decide not to honor the agreement and have you tortured and executed before I can even try to help you.”
“That’s the point of this. It’s a big game of chicken,” he replies. “You have no one else you can send. Anybody else besides me, Mother, and Emory aren’t important enough. It has to be me.”
I stare at my brother. His face is as familiar to me as my own. I remember the boy he was, always following me around the castle. I’ve seen the man he became, stuck in a perpetual adolescence with no real purpose. Today, I can see glimpses of a better man he could become, and I feel a swell of pride.
“If you’re sure…
Lex nods, his expression serious. “I am. Let me serve my kingdom in the only way I can.”
“There’s a chance you might not come back.”
My little brother has worried, frustrated, and at times, consoled me. If he never returns, what would my life be like? I can’t quite picture it.
“I know,” Lex declares. “But that’s part of the risk, and I’ve always liked my odds.
Emory
I call Coit once a week to keep up to date with Moonraker pack and wha’ts happening there. Coit seems to be putting out fires when he isn’t bogged down by the day-to-day minutiae of running a pack. He complains to me about the amount of paperwork he has to go through, and he can see why our father care of. Jace Kincaid had been an hadn’t bothered with this and instead dumped it on his Beta to tak Alpha in anything by name with the amount of work he had done behind the scenes to keep the pack running.
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Darius suggested hiring an accountant to help us with all of this,” Colt says the books who he paid out of his own pocket which is really unfair.”
“His dad had hired one off
“I agree. That shouldn’t have been Jace’s responsibility. We should hire an account, officially on the books. Maybe Jace can suggest a good one.”
“I’ll talk to him about it. I cannot get my head around all these numbers. I barely passed algebra in school.”
“Hire a professional and stop worrying about it.”
“Will do, boss.” He snorts. “Sorry, I mean Alpha.”
“I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to being called Alpha. was brought up to be one, but it’s different to actually be called that. And then, with the stunt that b**a*eyes.
“He’s such an a**le,” Coit states. “The more of his mi*stakes and damage to this pack I uncover, the angrier at him I get. I can’t get my head around the kind of person he was pretending to be and who he really is.”
“He fooled all of us.”
I loved my father. I worshiped the ground he walked on. He was this hero Alpha trying to fight off the evil vampires who were trying to hurt our pack, but it had all been lies upon lies. In reality, he is a greedy coward who only ever cares about himself. The man and father I thought he was had never existed.
“The worst part is not all of it was bad.” Coit’s voice is wistful. “When we were little kids, he’d play with us and take us camping.”
“I remember.”
I close my eyes, and memories of Bernard taking us camping and teaching us about the stars at night make me want to weep and throw something. Monsters aren’t supposed to make you feel loved. Even if it had been lies, they had felt real at that time. And I can’t remove them from my memories.
I don’t want to talk to Bernard. I don’t want to see him. He’s rotting in the dungeon beneath my feet, and I try to pretend like he isn’t there at all. The person I want to talk to is my mom.
“Every time I try to call Mom, she doesn’t pick up,” I say. “Is she upset with me?”
“No.” There’s a pause before he concedes, “She’s upset about the situation. Everything that happened with Father is confusing for her.”
Hurt blooms in my chest, but it comes out more like anger. “What’s confusing? He almost destroyed all of us for his own ego. Why is she upset with me? She should be upset with him!”
“I know,” Coit tries to appease me. “But he’s her mate, and you know what that means.”
I do know what that means. I witnessed it growing up, and I feel it now with Kane. My mother endured so much because of Bernard, but she never left him because being mates are not something you can throw away. It’s for life and there’s no way out except death.
I sigh in frustration. “I just want to talk to her. Why can’t she just pick up the phone?”
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“She…” Colt lets out a ragged breath. “She said that she won’t speak to you until you release Father.”
“I can’t do that. You know I can’t do that.” I refuse immediately. “After everything Bernard has done, we can’t trust him not to try and start a war again as soon as he’s free. He’s too dangerous.”
Bernard had tried to kill me, his own daughter, for getting in his way and exposing him for the terrible person that he is. I shudder to think what he will do if he ever gets out of the dungeons.
“Could you talk to Mom?” I ask. “Just try to persuade her to talk to me. I really need to talk to her about something.”
“About what?”
“I’m not ready to tell you that yet. Just help me out with Mom, please.”
“I’ll try, but I can’t promise she’ll listen.”
I thank my brother for all of his help. I’m truly surprised he isn’t more upset that he’s no longer going to be the Alpha. The call ends soon after that. I hang up the phone and cover my face with my hands, feeling
is my weary and overwrought. My own mother doesn’t want to talk to me because my terrible father prisoner. When did my life become this tragedy?
All I want is to talk to my mom about my pregnancy. I want to hear her advice on what to do and for her to share what her own pregnancies had been like. When I was younger, I would talk to her about anything, and she’d make everything better somehow. I want that
Lex
I have never lived outside of Crimson Peak. I stayed in other kingdoms for short periods of time as guest or a tourist. Being a political hostage means I could be living in Scarlett Thunder for decades or even centuries. If worse came to worst, I could never even come back.
My bags are packed. I have my entire life squeezed into half a dozen trunks. The items I will leave behind have been deemed unnecessary to be brought along into my new life. I’ve spent the day walking around the castle and the grounds, looking at my home for what might be the last time.
Only a few people have been informed of my departure. My mother makes a show of being quietly dignified before giving in to a few tears and hugging me. She is reminded of her brother being sent off to a similar life, and now she has to see her own son have the same fate. Uncle Cyrus was lucky. He came back.
“Don’t let them break you,” she murmurs into my coat. You are, and have always been, stronger than your know.”
We say our farewells, and she retreats to the rose garden where she has always found solace. Emory is sleeping so she hasn’t been informed. I asked specifically for her to learn once I’ve left. I still harbor guilt for my past actions against her, and I feel it’s better this way. I won’t blame her if she’s relieved to see me go.
Kane is more maudlin than I expected. My big, strong brother looks like I just shot his dog. Guilt is written all over his face. I can’t stand it.
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“Don’t look at me like that,” I tell him. “I’m not dead yet.
“Don’t be s**d when you’re there,” he replies. “I mean it, Lex. You have to be careful if you want to survive in King Peter’s court. Just like you were the last time you were there.”
“I can be clever when I want to be.” I give him a pointed look, both of us remembering I managed to get
home last time I was there.
He sighs deeply. “Lex, it’s not too late to back out of this-”
“You don’t get to take this away from me,” I counter. “Let me be a hero for once in my go**mn life,
Kane.”
He looks furious and devastated as he grabs me hard and pulls me into a hug that makes my bones rattle. I don’t remember the last time we hugged. I think we haven’t hugged since we were little children.
“You little s**t,” he hisses angrily into my ear. “If you get yourself killed, I’m going to actually have to go to war with Scarlett Thunder. I love you, you f**ng idiot.”
That makes me laugh. “I love you too, brother.”
I’m not going to cry. I’m not sad, not really. I know deep down I’m doing the right thing. Centuries from now, when the history books are written, I want to be remembered for doing something good for my kingdom. The whole mess with Opal and Scarlett Thunder is partially my fault. I should be the one to fix it. In a black SUV, I’m escorted by a handful of guards to Castle Blackmoor. It isn’t as large as Castle Graystone but make up for it with a moat and more spires. I look at the dark fortress from the car window and try not to show my hesitation. Rainier is one of the guards, and he will never let me forget it if I look scared.
“You should know that, if you betray us, I will hunt you down,” he says. “Kane may trust you, but I don’t.”
I give him a bland smile. “No need for threats. I’m already walking into my tomb.”
“Don’t be dramatic. King Peter won’t kill you.”
I raise both eyebrows at him. “We’ll just have to see if that’s true or not.”
I exit the car, slamming the door behind me. This is as far as my escorts can go. Scarlett Thunder’s guards allow me into the castle while s**nts carry in my belongings. I walk down the long hallways flanked by the guards preventing me from running away even if I try. The castle is made of black brick and decorated with dark wood furniture that makes me feel like I’m in a mausoleum.
I’m shown to the throne room where King Peter is seated on his high throne. He looks down at me haughtily. His pale blue eyes glare at me like I’m a c**roach he’s considering crushing underneath his
shoe.
“Lex,” he intones. “Welcome back to Scarlett Thunder.”