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Kingdoms of Darkness and Light

"Interesting," Thea said, moving her arm slightly so she could be closer to his touch. She was glad that she was able to get his mind off of the stranger pursuing him and get him back into his usual happy-go-lucky mood. She liked it when she was able to get him smiling, and this was definitely one of those moments. 

Smirking slightly, she commented, "I wonder who she could possibly be." She pretended coyly that she had no idea that he was interested in her, adding to that little puzzle he seemed to enjoy so much. She looked around, pretending to scope out the party for the focus of Nick's interest. "Hmm..." she said, tapping her chin in thoughtfulness. "I think... she must be one of those elves over there." she said, pointing a finger in the direction of a group of girls that had been ogling Nick all night. She smirked taking a bite out of a celery stick and raising her eyebrows. 


Dominic gave Flower's shoulder a little squeeze, his eyes saying "I've got your back if you need me, but I doubt you will." before he completely separated from her and allowed Ezra to take her hand. He gave a cordial nod to them before backing away toward the bar. He didn't trust Ezra, that was certain, but he also knew that Flower could handle herself. There was no real reason to worry.

Taking a seat at the bar, Maverick slid a glass of water down his way, which he drank down thirstily. Who knew that dancing took so much effort?


Ezra returned Flower's venomous smile with a gentle, calm one. It was the kind of face that appeared cordial, but was probably hiding something behind it. Taking her hand, he pulled her in close and began to dance. He was much more skilled than Dominic was, having also been taught elven dances. It was easy for him to keep up with Flower.

"It's good to see you again," he said, his voice gentle - just barely loud enough to be heard over the crowd. "You've been so occupied after the war, I was hoping I'd be able to see you here." His eyes never left her face, despite the harshness in her expression. He knew she hated him, that was obvious, but that didn't quell his determination to win her by any means necessary. Sure, Dominic was king of the humans now. Their alliance would be formidable if him and Flower were to marry. But, Ezra still had the benefit of producing more powerful light elf offspring, untainted by human genes.


"What?" Marco snapped, his hand freezing as he looked down at Alicia in confusion. How long... how long what? How long had he had feelings for Flower? He shook his head, looking away from her with a steely gaze. "I don't know what you're talking about. There's nothing going on." he stated, closing himself off again. His fingers slowly began to move again, rubbing gently behind her ears once more, but he was much more tense about it.

He was still in denial about how he felt for Flower. He knew he was jealous when he saw her with other men. He knew he admired her as a person. But any kind of attraction or romantic feelings he forced into the back of his mind and buried. In his mind, there was no place for feelings like that. After all, Flower was elven royalty and the council would only settle for her being with the best of the best. He didn't exactly fit those qualifications as the youngest prince in the human royal family. Therefore, he gave up all together and pretended that the thought had never entered his mind.


Alessander chuckled and smiled at Zelda. "Oh, I wouldn't have asked if I didn't think I could handle it" he said and paused their dance to offer her his arm. "Would you allow me to buy you a drink?" he asked with a grin. He was relieved that she was actually receptive to his suggestions. Normally people would be a little unnerved, being that he was an elf. Most elves were very serious about who they brought home, usually saving that for life partners. But Alessander wasn't exactly your typical elf. Just like Flower, he had a bit of a rebellious streak, and Zelda was the catalyst that brought it out of him. He didn't dare miss a single opportunity with her before the night was up.


Mia practically melted into Deathwish as he bit her neck, but before she could get her wits about her and retaliate, he was back to his stoic self. Shaking her head, she tried to hide the flush in her cheeks as she reached up and gently touched the place where he had bitten. Her eyes went wide with the realization of what exactly he had just done. She looked at him in dismay as he walked back toward the party, unsure exactly how to respond. She wasn't exactly an expert on these things, but she knew that, with the mark he'd left, he had staked his claim on her. Although she wasn't opposed to the idea, she still wasn't going to submit like that without at least a bit of a fight. 

She scrambled after him exclaiming, "Deathwish! You piece of s***!" As she caught up to him she threw a heavy punch at his arm, hoping that it would leave a bruise. "I'm not done with you, a**hole." She couldn't decide if she wanted to punch him again or kiss him, but either way there was a fire in her eyes that wouldn't go out. He was going to have it in for him, that was certain. 
 
Nick


Nick looked at Thea and smiled gently as she commented on who could possibly hold his interest in that manner. Nick set his chin in his hand as he watched her in amusement as she scanned the area around them. Nick’s grin widened as she pointed out a group of elves. Nick turned to look at them with his arm moving on the other side of his chair as he turned. He tilted his head slightly as most of them looked away from him.


“Hmmm.” He smirked before he shrugged. “Nah, they’re…” Nick suddenly spotted one elf that was staring intently at him. It only took him a few seconds to recover. “to easy.” Nick finished with a smile even though inside he was quite shocked.


He didn’t expect her to be here, he didn’t expect her to spot him, and he certainly didn’t expect her to be staring at him. Of course, Nick found that she was one of those rare cases where he couldn’t predict her actions. She was just as much as a puzzle to him as Thea was and that concerned him.


Nick kept his smile and his attention of Thea. He picked up a glass of water that he had grabbed before coming over to the table and took a sip. After all, he wasn’t here to let past things creep up on him. However, …


“Nickolas.” Nick choked on his drink as her voice hit him. He quickly set down his glass and coughed as he looked up to meet pale eyes. They were almost white, much like her blond hair. Her skin was light, but held faint freckles that almost didn’t seem to match an elf like herself. She was on the husky side.


She was the only one that ever called him Nickolas.


“Akasma!” He said in the middle of his coughing.


“I see you’re still clumsy.” She stated with humor in her eyes.


“I’m not clumsy.” Nick shot her a glare as he grabbed a napkin and wiped off his mouth.


“Aw, of course you’re not. Only when you’re drunk.” She stated that last sentence in a whisper. Nick’s eyes widened before he quickly gestured to Thea.


“Akasma, this is Thea.”


“Ah, this is the girl with whom you’ve solely rested your attention on. Hello, I’m Akasma.”




 Flower




Flower gave one last glance at Dominic as he moved off. Flower once again turned her attention to Ezra, as displeased with it as she was. She didn’t like how he held himself, how he guarded himself, and yet appeared so kind. It wasn’t like a light elf, it was foreign. Despite his increased skill level, she found herself missing her time dancing with Dominic. It was much more open and friendly.


Her ear gave a twitch as she watched him. She gave a displeased hum as he stated it was good to see her again. She stared at him with a burning in her eyes. “Sorry I cannot return the sentiment.” Flower stated as she rolled her shoulders. Just something, something to get a rise out of him.


“So, Ezra, what are your intentions tonight? Breaking off the courtship I would hope.” She said with a sweet smile that only left a threat underlined. Flower continued their dance, but there was danger in her movements, it wasn’t like when she was dancing with Dominic.




 




Alicia


Alicia looked at him before she shook her head and looked back out at the crowd. She moved her head from under his hand before she pressed her nose into the palm of his hand as she attempted to get him to relax. She could tell he was tense and true to animal form picking up on emotions was very easy. Alicia pawed at his pants for a bit.


“You give up to easily, Marco.” She stated as she looked up at him. She rubbed her head on his hand before she sat down beside him and relaxed. He wasn’t ready, but Alicia just hoped that when he was, it wasn’t too late. “I suppose we could always watch the fun. I get the feeling this will end in a fight one way or another.” She stated with a chuckle. “Flower’s body language speaks more of war than dance.” She said before she broke out in laughter.


 




Zelda


Zelda looked at him and easily took his arm. “Nah, I get free drinks anyway.” She stated as she looked over at Maverick with a wink. “But the sentiment is very nice.” She stated as she practically pulled him to the bar. She sat down, spinning in the chair for a moment before she slammed her hand down on the counter.


“Maverick, my dear gentlemen, I need a drink!” She said as her eyes shone bright. Her dragon tail silently trailed up Alessander’s leg. Suddenly as someone passed her and in passing there were words spoken, and Zelda only paused for a moment before her tail lashed and struck the man’s leg harshly.


She closed her eyes and smiled brightly. “So, tell me about yourself, Alessander.” She asked as she peeked open an eye at him.


 




Deathwish


Deathwish paused only for a moment as he watched her come after him. He stopped as she hit his arm, but did nothing more as he stoic eyes examined her in her anger. He merely tilted his head to the side as he watched her. There was nothing written on his face, nothing to indicate anything he was thinking.


“Mia.” He acknowledged her as he looked out at the party. Deathwish looked back down at her as he tried to figure out how to handle her this time. He was sure her reaction wouldn’t be too pleased about the marking, but it was a mere fact to him that if a male wanted near her, they’d have to go through him. Instead, he steered himself back toward the bar and merely assumed Mia would follow. Usually when she was angry at him she would stick to his side like annoying glue. If she didn’t, well not many males would have the courage to approach her now not with his scent and clear mark on her.
 
Thea watched Nick's face closely, easily seeing straight through his smile. She was a little surprised to note that he actually did recognize someone in the group of elves staring him down and raised an eyebrow at him in curiosity. Before she had the chance to question him further, they were approached by the woman in question. She sat up a little straighter, her training as a princess coming out as she held a slight aura of authority. It was almost reflexive to hold herself a little prouder when being introduced to strangers. From birth it had been engrained in her to be proud of her family's name and make sure that she was respected by those around her. Even though, technically, as a princess she was supposed to be submissive and demure, her mother had made sure that she knew that she deserved as much honor and respect as any of her brothers. 

She looked over the elf in front of her, her eyes as cool and calculating as ever. She couldn't help but notice how she called Nick 'Nikolas'. She'd never heard any one address him that way before and wondered what kind of relationship the two of them had that gave her that sort of right. It was difficult to see the girl's intentions, that was certain. She was beautiful, as typical of most elves, but she was shapely with a dusting of freckles that made her stand out from the crowd. 

"It's nice to meet you Akasma," Thea said, nodding to her respectfully. She chose to ignore the comment about how she was the girl Nick had solely placed his attention on. No matter how much she adored Nick, she didn't want to just be known as his girl. She was a strong, independent woman and she was good at making that clear.


"Oh, Flower, Flower, Flower..." Ezra sighed, the cool smile never leaving his lips. He shook his head, his long auburn hair brushing his shoulders. "You know that I would never dream of breaking off this courtship. You will be mine. That is certain."

He could feel the warning in every step that Flower took, only to respond with skillful precision in every one of his movements. It was like a battle where he dodged every one of her attacks. Her attempts at getting under his skin bounced right off of the facade he constantly kept up. 

"I can see that you prefer my competition," he said as casually as one could. "But, I have to say, the council doesn't quite fancy your opinions when it comes to men. I doubt they'll truly take his courtship seriously now that the war is over. They have future generations in mind. A next generations with powerful light elves in it would lead to a stronger future for our kind, and I doubt that would come from pairing you with a mere human man."


"There's nothing to give up on if there was nothing to fight for in the first place..." Marco thought to himself as he watched Ezra and Flower's interactions on the dance floor. It left a hollow feeling in the pit of his stomach to see the two of them together. The way Ezra looked at her reminded him far too much of the way Draco did. He didn't care for her. He wanted her for all the wrong reasons, and power was at the top of the list. 

"I doubt that Flower would make too much of a scene. Not tonight, anyway." Marco commented, crossing his arms close to his chest. He could tell how much Flower wanted to punch Ezra right in those stupid straight teeth of his. Marco honestly wanted to do the same. But, tonight was supposed to be a night of celebration, and he knew that Flower had definitely built up more restraint. She could handle this situation without starting an all-out brawl - or at least that's what he hoped. 


Maverick raised an eyebrow at Alessander, looking between him and Zelda curiously before pouring Zelda her free drink. "And you?" he asked, looking to Alessander. 

"Surprise me," Alessander responded before returning his full attention to Zelda with a smile. 

He took a sip of his drink and pondered her question for a moment. "Hm, well, what do you want to know? I'm a typical elf. Do carpentry for a living. I love long walks on the beach, stiff drinks, and sleeping in when the opportunity arises. What about yourself? I'm sure you're much more interesting than I am." 


"You've got to be f***ing kidding me!" Mia snarled as Deathwish addressed her and headed for the bar. "You give me the worlds weirdest hickey and then you just walk off like that s**t didn't happen?" She stormed after him, doing exactly what he had predicted and sticking to his side like the most irritating super glue on the planet. As they approached the bar she snapped, "Maverick, get this a**hole a drink. He's being a difficult little s**t." She shot a venomous glare in Deathwish's direction as Maverick obeyed her orders and poured him a stiff drink - another alcoholic beverage strong enough that a vampire might not be able to handle it. 
 
Nick and Akasma


Akasma smiled at Thea as she carefully examined Thea. She was pretty, but the fact that she was pregnant caught her attention. She had heard that someone had been taken as Draco’s wife by force before he was killed, so Nick had chosen Draco’s mate? How curious but yet expected. Nick always went for the challenge. He could have any female he wished, but he chose her. Sure, she was a princess, but Nick never did care about rank.


Akasma turned to look at Nick with a smirk that made Nick nervous. Nick slowly looked away, unsure of what she wanted. Something that crept up his spine and put him on edge. She was clever and found ways to get what she wanted. Of course it only took him a week to figure that out, but that was enough to warn Nick that she was dangerous and not in the fun way like Thea.


“You’re probably confused about how I know, Nickolas.” Akasma smiled lightly. “Nickolas…” Her voice was low and silky, something that on the outside didn’t effect Nick, but he did look to meet her eyes. “and I were married.”


“For a week, Akasma.” Nick warned as he narrowed his eyes at her.


“Aw, but who’s fault was that?” She smirked at Nick


 “You know why I couldn’t do that.”


“So we got married after a drunk night, it isn’t the best way, but I am an elf, Nickolas. I clearly didn’t see you complain the first few nights.”


“Akasma.”


“Oh, we did have fun, didn’t we?” She snickered. Akasma smirked and leaned down to whisper something in his ear. Nick tensed up suddenly and there was a light blush on his cheeks. Something stirred in his eyes as he remembered a very specific memory. Akasma smirked in triumph.


Nick crossed his arms on the table before he waved her off. “Why are you here, Akasma?” Nick played his Deathwish card and started to control his expression very carefully.  


“I just wanted to see how you were and meet who you were with! She’s been quite the talk. I know a few male elves have just been dying to talk to her.” Akasma looked over Thea once more.


“Right” Nick seriously doubted that. She was plotting something. “You’re not here to tell me there is a 30 year old kid I need to worry about?”  That would be so much easier than this painful conversation right now.


“Of course not.” Akasma waved Nick off. “You vampires, always have such nervous dispositions.”


“Nervous?” Nick raised an eyebrow.


 




Flower


Flower looked at Ezra as he remained calm. She narrowed her eyes as he spoke her name. When he claimed she was his, she felt her nails dig into him. She growled lowly at that. Her eyes burned with fire as her magic slowly rose off of her like fire. It was quite the sight for a moment before she took a calming breath.


Flower met his eyes once again as she quickly slipped her foot behind him just enough to trip him up. She forced him back in a dip and Flower stayed above clearly in the male role. Flower let a smirk slip over her lips.


“You think you can claim me? I’m not so tame, Ezra.” Flower’s voice was cold and her eyes sparked in amusement at the odd placement before them. “I suppose I do prefer Dominic over you, but that doesn’t matter. I’m not marrying either of you and even if they were to choose you, Ezra, there is still one thing I can hold above them…” She let her voice fall to a whisper. “I wouldn’t let you touch me if you were the last man on earth, light elves be damned.” Her voice was cold and threatening.


Flower did thank Draco for one thing. Vicente now carried the genes for a light elf, and he was strong very strong if very young. He was quick and smart if a bit off with his attachment to scalpels. However, that gave her the full liberty to ignore passing on light elves. He was one, no matter how they argued with her and he could produce light elves. That could afford her many things, including making sure she never truly had a child herself. Flower however, was naturally very motherly, so the thought of never having a child of her own did hurt her, but she could survive that with Vicente filling the void.


 






Alica


“Wanna bet? I think I have a few gold coins.” Alicia stated with a chuckle. She looked at Marco before she shook her head and watched Flower. Perhaps Marco was right. He was too much like an omega, and she was clearly an alpha. She wrapped her tail around her paws as she watched with a smirk, knowing once again Marco was wrong. Flower would make a scene and just a touch of that possibility was shone when Flower dipped Ezra.


“Ohhhhhhhhhh!” Alicia hopped to her paws at the dominate move. She laughed and placed a paw on her muzzle as she truly started to laugh. “That’s it, Flower! Show him off!” She laughed as other lycans took note and snickered themselves. To Lycan’s that was a very spit in the face kind of move.


“Now, Marco, it’s times like these that make going to these events fun. Watching others make fools of themselves.” Alicia smirked in satisfaction. “That’s blackmail material right there.”


 




Alicia wasn’t the only one to note it. Isabella saw and followed suit as she dipped Roger. She was clearly teasing poor Roger who was forced into a dance with her.


“H-hey!”


“Shut up, old man.” Isabella stated with a smirk.


“I’m old? What are you 80 thousand?”


“How rude!” Isabella pouted as she pulled him back up. “It was only fun.” She teased before Roger rolled his eyes and broke off their dance as he headed to the bar. Isabella smirked and followed after him.


“Keep away from me, woman!”


“Awwwwwwwwww, someone’s grumpy!” She laughed as she followed him. “Buy me a drink?”


“Not on your life!”


[SIZE= 12px] Hunter and Sky also took note of Flower. Hunter ignored it, but Sky sat in clear interest with cruel amusement in her eyes. Now that was the type of thing she wanted to see from Flower tonight,. [/SIZE]




 




Zelda


Zelda smirked at Maverick as she grabbed her drink. She winked at Maverick before her eyes turned to Alessander as he answered her question. Well that was unexpected. Zelda smirked as she ran her finger around the rim of her glass.


“Hmmm. I’m a doctor.” She stated. “I specify in Light Elves and other rare creatures.” She leaned back as she chuckled. “I drink heavier than I probably should, and I love to party.” She chuckled and looked in front of her. “As my brother use to say, I specialize in dancing on tabletops.”


 




Deathwish


“It was a display that you are not available.” Deathwish answered her as he glanced at her. “The neck was the optimal place to display that.” His voice did not weaver and his eyes were cold. He was perfectly controlled even against her outrage. He observed the crowd and noted his brother with…his x-wife? Now that was curious. What did he miss? He examined Thea for a moment before turning to watch others. He was examining everyone at the party, much like he was an assassin on the job, not a normal party goer. Deathwish wasn’t much for joining in or socializing. He’d rather sit out of site, but he though here would be more comfortable for Mia.



Deathwish didn’t look at her as she ordered Maverick to give him another drink. He raised an eyebrow at Maverick before he pushed the drink away from him. He turned back to Mia with a stoic expression. “You are angry over something that is normal for vampires.” He added blatantly.
 
Thea could practically feel Akasma's eyes looking her over inch by inch. She was used to being stared at. She was royalty, after all, but the way this elfin girl looked at her made her feel inclined to pick a fight. She was just waiting for the moment where Akasma would point out her pregnancy and she would have to get defensive. She was aware of the rumors that were spreading - that she was some sort of whore, that she was faking it for sympathy, or, the truth, that she was carrying Draco's child. Thankfully, she'd managed to avoid the sideways glances and questions from the strangers at the party, but with Akasma right in front of her, she was just waiting for the moment where she'd have to defend herself and her family name. 

But then Akasma turned her attention toward Nick and dropped the real reason she had approached them. The two of them... had been married? Thea raised an eyebrow at Nick, a little skeptical, a little shocked, and a little curious. She should have expected that in Nick's many years of life that he had gotten into plenty of trouble with the women he relentlessly flirted with, but marrying someone for a week? That seemed absolutely ludicrous. But, then again, it was Nick. He was bound to make some pretty idiotic decisions on occasion. 

As soon as Akasma directed her gaze back in her direction and mentioned the elves that were just dying to talk to her, Thea quickly snapped her eyes to watch Akasma closely. Of course there were plenty of men wanting to talk to her. That was a given. "If they really want to talk to me, I would suggest actually introducing themselves instead of lurking across the room." Thea said, her voice hinting at the fact that Akasma had been doing something very similar only moments before. 

She was a little relived to note that Nick didn't have any more children she had to be concerned about. It was strange to think that he could easily have children that were closer to her age than he was. But, that was the struggle when dealing with a vampire. That and, according to Akasma, their nervous dispositions, whatever she meant by that.


The realization suddenly hit Ezra all at once. Flower was right. There was no way she would willingly have children with him. He would have to force her into it somehow, but that would be plain dishonorable and he knew the council would never allow him to do that to such a powerful figure. He had planned out how to get her as meticulously as he could. The council loved him. They preferred him. But, if he couldn't produce the results they wanted, his whole plot to have Flower was a waste. 

The fact that she wouldn't marry either of her suitors, though. That was an interesting thought. Even though she preferred Dominic, she still wouldn't marry him. That was something he could possibly use. "Make it seem like she's equally opposed to the both of you... use her own words against her... you still have a chance..." he thought. He quickly pulled himself out of the compromising position she had placed him in, appearing completely unbothered as he took back his position as the leader of the dance and acted almost as if nothing had happened. 

"Whatever you say, Flower, whatever you say..." 


"If you want to place bets, Chuck and Benn are the people to talk to," Marco said, watching Flower's display of dominance closely. He realized at about the same moment that Ezra did that Flower was not planning on marrying either of her suitors any time soon. Sure, her and Dominic were close, and anything was better than Ezra, but that didn't mean she was ready to settle down. She had to have a trick or two up her sleeve.

But, simultaneously, he couldn't help but think about his own position in matter. Even though he wasn't blatant about it, he had skin in the game to win her heart. Dominic was trying to protect her and give her as much freedom as he could offer while keeping the council off her back. Ezra was trying to take possession of her, not just win her but own her. And he... he wasn't sure what he wanted. He was still uneasy about his feelings. Frankly, he was still in a bit of denial. But, in that moment he silently built a wall around his heart. "You have no chance..." he thought to himself. If she wouldn't accept some of the best options that the council had placed before her, he would never have a chance.

He resigned himself to failure without even really trying. 


Maverick glanced over at Roger and Isabella and slid a drink down to the vampire queen. "That one's on Roger" he said with a little smirk. As bartender, he managed everyones tabs for the night, which also meant that he had a little bit of an opportunity to play matchmaker. 


Alessander noticed the look on her face as she mentioned her brother and immediately made the connection that the war had taken him away from her. He didn't want to poke at a fresh wound, so he decided to draw the conversation back toward the first part of her statement. "Doctor, eh?" he said, flashing a smile filled with genuine interest and curiosity. "And specializing in rare and magical creatures? That's impressive, I have to say. I'm sure you have plenty of interesting stories about all the people and creatures you've treated." 


"Well, if you haven't noticed by now, I'm not exactly a vampire." Mia snapped, pushing the drink back toward him in insistance. She sat down on a barstool next to him with a pouty huff and crossed her arms. "How the hell am I supposed to mooch free drinks out of unsuspecting men if I've got you all over me telling them to back off? Huh? Charm some gold out of a guy?"

She groaned and looked to Maverick in exasperation. "He literally just ruined the best thing about parties. Getting free stuff out of losers who want a lay. Now nobody's going to want to touch me with a ten foot pole because somebody's a little possessive. Ridiculous, right?" 

Maverick shrugged, deciding not to get involved and gave Mia a glass of wine. "You do realize I can put your drinks on anybody's tab, right?" he said. 

She sighed and took a drink out of the glass. "Yeah, but there's no fun in that. No challenge!" She turned her attention back to Deathwish, eyeing him closely. She was starting to scheme something, but it was hard to tell what. 
 

Akasma and Nick
​


Akasma smiled at Nick before she held up her pointer finger. “You more powerful vampires are always looking out for traps and tricks. I suppose it’s not surprising considering all you do is try to kill each other. You, partially, are a dangerous vampire. You are always waiting for someone to kill you. You get nervous whenever you enter into a situation you’re unsure of.” Akasma leaned down toward Nick as he discreetly leaned away from her. “Your nose always twitches when your nervous. Your muscles always are tight as if ready to kill or run at any moment.”


Nick knew what she was doing. She was pointing out that he was dangerous and that he had killed before. However, who was she telling that too, him or Thea? As if on que, his nose did twitch a little. He looked away and sighed heavily.


Akasma looked at Thea and only smiled in response to Thea’s small jab. “Some people like to research a situation before they enter it. I’m sure a few of them will pluck up their courage and come to steal you away from Nick. You’ve also attracted some looks from a few vampires.”


“Let them try.” Nick stated darkly before he shrugged his shoulders and in a much lighter voice added. “I’m not the one keeping her here. I couldn’t convince her to do anything.” Akasma was trying to prove her point that Nick was dangerous and Nick partly fell for it. Did she think that would scare Thea off? She didn’t run away when she saw that look in his eye when Peter died.


Akasma casually leaned against the table. “How’s your son Peter?” Nick’s fingers started to tap on the table as he tensed. That was cold; that was stone cold. Nick didn’t have a doubt that she already knew what had happened to Peter. When did she not?


“Dead.” Nick stated.


“I’m so sorry, Nickolas.” She looked at him with sympathy. “I suppose it happens a lot with vampires though.” Now she was moving onto children. Why did it bother her so much that she would actually start toying with both of them? Why would she care? It was only a week.


“Although, you are a strong vampire, I am surprised. I would have expected your children to be able to handle themselves.”


Nick’s eyes widened slightly. She was pointing out at the fact Peter was at least part human. “Not many survive Draco.”


“You did.” She grabbed a piece of fruit from his plate and popped it into her mouth.


Nick looked off to the side faking boredom.


“His mother is dead as well, is she not?”


“Yes.”


“Humans, such selfish creatures sometimes. They don’t understand the deep bonds that we hold with each other. We have too; when we marry we marry for hundreds of years. The death of our partners could kill us as well and leaving us is even harder. It could shatter us. You’ve survived that once already.” Akasma glanced at Thea for a moment.


“I seem to lack a good sense of taste with woman. I seem to pick the evil ones.” Nick narrowed his eyes accusingly at Akasma. She pretended not to notice.


 




Flower
​


Flower watched as realization hit him. She watched him carefully as he mulled it over before he adjusted their position and the dance continued. Flower nearly growled. She couldn’t get past his façade. He was such a fake! He was no light elf and that burned her. He was so frustrating for her. Another light elf, finally another light elf and he had to be it!


“You’re not a light elf; you don’t get it.” Flower shook her head as she stopped their dance. She stared at him with burning eyes. “Light Magic is emotion, it’s furry, it’s warmth, it’s freedom, it’s love, hate, and sadness. It’s your soul.” He was cold, she couldn’t read his magic. How was he so powerful then?! Did he force it? “You’re not a light elf, you’re a fool.” Flower growled as she turned. On impulse she grabbed the nearest male. She just needed to tick him off! Show her what she desperately wanted to see.


She pressed her lips to his and the elf dropped the drink in his hand only to be caught by Flower. His eyes widened considerably as Flower pressed herself into him. She tried hard not to blush as she tilted her head just slightly. She grabbed onto his belt loop and forced him to either get closer or to stay still. He grabbed her shoulders but before he could either push her away or pull her closer she separated from him. She looked at Ezra from the corner of her eye.


“I warned you once, I’m not so tame.” She stated with a deadly venom. She ignored the gasps and whispers of the elves around her. Elves were very proper in public. She finished off the elf’s drink before placing it back in his hand and walking away before she lost her confidence. That was stupid. That was really stupid. Flower disappeared from site before she gripped onto a wall and put a hand over one of her eyes and blushed like mad. She was going to pay for that so much…because she was pretty sure that was one of the council members right beside him.


“What did I just do?” She asked herself in silence before she shook her head. Call it lack of sleep, call it frustration, call it whatever, Flower just couldn’t take it when people forced her to do something. She might have not minded marrying Dominic, but…they gave her no choice so she opted to not marry either one of them.


 




The elf she had kissed suddenly coughed as he gathered himself. “What was that about?” He looked at the council member.


“Obviously she’s got a bit of her great great grandmother still left in her.” The female council member stated before she turned her eyes to Ezra with a very controlled look as if covering up her anger with the situation. The council always had trouble with Flower’s family. The royal line as known to be a very independent and eccentric bunch, well eccentric as far as it was for Elves. While Flower was more as a symbol than an actual ruler, it still was displeasing to have such displays in public.


 




Alicia
​


Alicia looked at Marco and sighed slightly. The boy was almost depression to watch. She watched Flower and Ezra’s dance closely and noticed Flower’s magic sparking once again in her anger. Alicia used her back leg to scratch behind her ear before shaking out her fur.


“Ah, I’ll make a note of that.” She said before she noticed Flower broke there dance. Her eyes widened as Flower kissed a perfect stranger. Man…Flower REALLY hated Ezra. “I think I won those coins.” She stared blankly as she watched Flower down a drink and leave.


“She was really angry…” She said as she glanced to Marco. She sighed and shook her head. “She does the strangest things when she feels like you’ve backed her into a corner. Flower likes making her own choices and such she gets quite riled up.” Alicia chuckled. “Ah, I have some very interesting kid Flower stories, let me tell you.” She lightly tugged on Marco’s pants.


“Come on, there’s a group of lycan’s have a drink at the bar. They’re omegas so they should leave you alone for the most part. Just don’t tell the females you’re a prince or else you might get flirted with.” Alicia smirked at Marco. “But I think you need at least one drink and leading the wolf to the bar would be much obliged.”


 




Isabella and Roger
​


Isabella looked at him and smirked widely. “Oh! Thank you, Maverick.” She said and chuckled with a wink. Roger stood there with a very dangerous glare on his face. It promised Maverick that later he would pay for that…dearly.


Roger sighed and looked away. There was no way he was going to escape her. She just would be stuck to his side annoyingly. She also would drive away any woman that tried to talk to him. He did talk to some generals earlier, but as soon as she came around they were all over her. Darn vampire queens. They were very beautiful and very dangerous.


If Benjamin was alive, he would have killed him for introducing him to Isabella. Roger gently rubbed his eyepatch. If it wasn’t for his cursed eye, he would be dead several times already. All of this of course was preferable than dealing with Isabella. Benjamin lucked out. First he was married, and then he was dead.


“Thank you for the drink, Roger.” She said as she took a sip. “And what a lovely drink it is.” She said as she rubbed her leg up and down on his. Roger grabbed eyepatch.


“Get your leg off of me.” Roger warned before Isabella huffed.


“Roger, is the fact you reject all my advances perhaps because uhh, you…can’t?”


Roger glared at her. “Woman….”


“So that’s a yes?”


“Of course I can.”


Isabella set her drink down and leaned towards him. “Prove it.”


“Woman, I’m not proving anything unless you convince me to marry you.” Roger stated hoping that she would back off.


“Challenge accepted.”


“WHAT?!”


Zelda​


Zelda looked at Alessander and smiled brightly at him. She chuckled and looked up. “Well let me tell you. Don’t trust pixies. They are so irritating when they start sticking tacks everywhere. Also, they like to pull at your hair.” She said before she waved her hand.


“However, I did meet this one snake shifter. I found him in the forest. He was so cold he snuck his way through my clothes.” Zelda chuckled before she smirked. “Of course I had to bring him back…he needed to be treated for a concussion. After he warmed up, he shifted to his human form. Of course he did end up back in his snake form sometime during the night and slept in one of my nurses bed. She was a bit startled when she woke up. Let’s just say trying to revive a snake is harder than it looks.” She smirked widely.


Deathwish ​


Deathwish looked at Mia for a moment with a blank expression before he looked over to a few people who seemed to be having a good time. His eyes slowly turned to look at Mia once again as he rolled his shoulders.


“Tell me, Mia…” Deathwish’s voice did not hold its usual cold demeanor. “What would you do if you saw me charming women because I had something to gain when you could do just as well as provide that for me. Would you think it’s spoiling the fun for you to lay your claim on me?” Deathwish glanced at her from the corner of his cold eyes.


The fact of the matter is; he would not let her make men think she was unattached. If she wanted a relationship with him, she will not hide it for any reason. Deathwish took a sip of his drink, but all there was in the glass was water. In a COMPLETELY unrelated note, the guy next to Deathwish just got drunk off his butt.
 
Thea could sense Nick's irritation with Akasma's poking and prodding. She could easily understand why their marriage lasted only a week. Heck, she could put up with Draco for longer, and that was saying something. It was obvious Akasma was trying to get a rise out of Nick, not only by threatening his position with her, but by bringing up his son. Did she really think it would be that easy to scare her away? After all she had been through with Nick, she doubted that Akasma's dirty tricks could keep her from him. 

As Akasma taunted them, Thea discretely moved her foot under the table, gently pressing it against the side of his shoe. Even though she appeared cool and confident, she wanted to show Nick that she was still standing beside him. 

But, suddenly, Thea froze as Akasma's words echoed in her head. "Humans, such selfish creatures sometimes." She had been trying to avoid thinking too hard about the fact that Nick was an ancient immortal vampire and she was just... her... a human with a limited lifespan. Even if the pair of them could find a way through all the red tape that tried to keep them apart, there would always be the fact that Thea would get old and die, while Nick would have to sit back and watch. Just the thought of it made her heart drop into her stomach. Thinking back to when Draco had complete control over Nick, she couldn't help but remember the heartbreak she felt at the thought of losing him. But, in all reality, wasn't she going to put Nick through the same thing?

Nick's snarky comeback was completely lost on her as her mind was flooded with conflicting thoughts. Her feelings for Nick versus the inevitable pain their relationship would cause him. She did her best to keep the fact that something that Akasma said had an effect on her. She rose from the table, breaking contact with Nick as she stood. "Excuse me for a moment," she said curtly and strode away toward the nearest bathroom. 


Dominic watched Flower as her fury grew. He laced his fingers together in his lap, waiting for her to strike, but what came next was unexpected. Instead of lashing out at Ezra and throwing a few punches, she turned completely away from him and planted the biggest smooch on a random bystander that just happened to be nearby. His jaw practically dropped to the floor as he watched her cling to the poor soul inflicted with her furious, vengeful kiss before turning away and storming off. He could tell she was hiding her embarrassment, but decided that maybe chasing after her would probably make the situation even more complicated. 


"I never bet any money with you," Marco insisted, but reluctantly followed her lead toward the bar. He decided that he would amuse her at least a little, since she had been trying pretty hard to get him to enjoy himself. As they approached the bar, Maverick slid a frothy beer down toward him, to which Marco nodded his thanks. He wasn't one for heavy drinking, but he knew how to handle his liquor. One beer wouldn't hurt him or his inhibitions too much.


Alessander couldn't help but laugh at how ridiculous some of Zelda's stories seemed. "That's absolutely unreal!" he said, leaning toward her with interest. "Pixies are notorious for being problematic. I know. I've dealt with them a handful of times and it's never been enjoyable. But I've never heard of a shifter getting themselves into that much trouble." 

He ordered himself another drink, which he guzzled down shockingly quickly before locking his gaze back on Zelda. He was enthralled by her. The way she spoke was like a spell over him where he couldn't help but be completely drawn in to every story and anecdote she told.


"Oh, don't pull that s**t on me!" Mia snapped, narrowing her eyes at Deathwish and pointing an accusatory finger at his chest, despite the fact that he did have a point. If she saw him flirting with strangers, she would be the opposite of pleased. But, Mia couldn't let him win that easily. 

"You never have fun in the first place, so how could I spoil it?" she said matter-of-factly as she took a long drink from her glass of wine. There was a mischievous glint in her eyes, like the spark that starts a forest fire. If she couldn't find entertainment in any of the other men at the party, she was going to make Deathwish make up for it in twice the entertainment value. She snatched his glass out of his hand, dumping the water unceremoniously on the ground before handing it back to Maverick to fill with alcohol. There was a hint of a smirk on her lips that silently said "You're going to have fun, even if you don't like it, Deathwish." 
 
Nick glanced at Thea as she pressed her foot against his. His eyes seemed to smile at that moment before he was forced to look at Akasma again. When Thea stood up, Nick suddenly tensed. He looked at her with a frown as he watched her go. He narrowed his eyes as he placed his arms on the table. Had something Akasma said finally upset her?


“This won’t work if she runs away every time someone makes a point.”


Nick glared at her as he slowly stood up. “What do you want?”


“Something I cannot have.” Akasma looked at Nick with a serious gaze. She sighed and waved toward where Thea ran off. “She either deals with the consequences of the reality of your relationship with her or she needs to be out of your life.”


“That was a test?”


“It was an inquiry.”


“It was nasty.” Nick gritted his teeth for a moment. Shadows seemed to flicker ever so slightly around his feet.


“I’m not a nice elf.” Akasma looked at Nick seriously. “Either way, if she runs off now, I would have saved you a lot of pain later. I do not care if she hates me, I hate her.”


“She’s stronger than that.” Nick glared as Akasma stated she hated Thea.


“For herself or for you?” Akasma stared at Nick. She sighed deeply as he stared at her in question. “Nickolas, I would have stayed married to you.”


“It wasn’t fair to you. I had done enough already.” Nick hid his eyes from her. “Really, I was the monster then wasn’t I? I just used you.”


“No, nothing about it was fair.” Akasma gripped his chin and forced him to look at her. “I should have known after you told me about your son and x-wife that you weren’t ready. I should have known to end it right there. Perhaps then I would have you now.”


“It seems silly, you know. For some much damaged to be caused by only a week.”


“I’m an elf, we tend to get very attached very quickly in private. That is why we seem so controlled on the outside.” She smiled at him. “Goodbye, Nickolas, and do call me if things don’t work out.”


“You know I can’t do that.”


“I am slightly more grown up, Nickolas. I can handle myself even against you.” She smiled before she walked off.


Nick sighed and sat down. He stared at Thea’s seat. If something really did set Thea off, he knew he would have to talk about it with her. Nick sighed. Sometimes he missed the meaningless relationships he had with women…at least then there was a lot less talking. He stared out at the party and set his head in his hand as he thought about it.


“I hope she knows she cannot escape now. Not after so much pain I went through just to get her.” Nick hid a smirk in his hand. He almost dared her to run.


 




“Mistress.”


Flower turned as she looked at Hunter behind her. She frowned at the light blush on Hunter’s face. “Hunter…are you drunk right now?”


“Getting drunk is a sin.” Hunter puffed up her chest and crossed her arms.


“Hunter…”


“It takes more than a 20 rounds to get me drunk, and apparently Sky is just as resilient.” Flower stood there with her mouth open with shock. “We are not out here to talk about me, Mistress.” Hunter reminded.


“Right.” Flower looked away with a frown.


“Was that really wise?”


“Was what wise?”


“Trying to tick off Ezra?”


“Probably not.” Flower added as she looked at Hunter.


“Hm, always such a pup you are.”


“I’m not a pup. Hunter.”


“You threw a tantrum right in front of everyone in there.”


“I just…had to see if he was…if I could…”


“If you could even beat him?” Hunter asked and Flower nodded. “You feel very strongly about your magic and how you connect with it. It confuses you when someone like him could match you when he is so disconnected playing a façade?”


“I don’t know how the council doesn’t see that.”


“They probably do, but they ignore it.”


“Why?!” Flower stared at Hunter with tears threating to fall from her eyes.


“For the sake of their pride and the survival of light elves.”


“I can still produce Light elves no matter who I pair with.”


“There is no guarantee that if you pair with a human who will ever produce a light elf. They could all end up human.” Hunter added as she grabbed Flower’s head and pulled her into a hug. “I have given my life to protect you, Mistress. I will not see it destroyed just because a couple of foolish high ranking elves decide to stick their noses in your life. I will be sure you do not marry Ezra.”


“Thank you, Hunter.” Flower hugged Hunter back.


“I cannot guarantee that you will not marry Dominic.”


“Hmm.” Flower looked down and nodded. “It’s still better than Ezra, but even if you cannot, I will find a way.” Flower smirked.


“So many years ago, their king gave himself to save all of the supernaturals. For that reason, they do not wish a repeat of that. It was because of that, that light elves today are so rare. They will keep you under watch.”


“I know.” Flower closed her eyes before she pulled out of Hunter’s hug. “Perfect way to irritate them to death.”


Hunter smiled lightly. “May God bless you, Mistress.” She nodded toward the party. “Will you come back in? They will take notice of your disappearance.”


Flower smiled and rubbed the back of her head. “I don’t think I’m ready to go back in there just yet.” Flower still held a light blush on her cheeks.


“As you wish.” Hunter turned and cracked her knuckles. “I have a bird to pluck.”


Flower smiled nervously. “Please don’t kill anyone.”


“I wasn’t…” Hunter was interrupted by Vortex appearing behind her.


“Hey, dumb dog.” Vortex’s twin tails wrapped around his waist as his cat ears twitched. “The bird stated you wanted to dance? At first I didn’t care but she threatened to eat me so…”


“I would rather burn to death.” Hunter stated proudly. “And watching you get killed would be a bonus.”


“That can be arranged.” Vortex lit a fireball in his hand with a wide fanged grin.


“Both of you knock it off.” Flower growled as she let her light magic glow in her hand. “Get in there and just dance already.”


“But…” Both of them stated before Flower growled and her light magic glowed brighter to threatened to blast them both. Hunter growled while Vortex hissed.


Hunter huffed and took Vortex’s hand. “Fine already, but I will have to purify myself after this.”


“I can set you on fire if that’ll help.” Vortex grumbled.


Flower just got behind them and gave them a shove. “Off you go!” As both of them walked off, Flower sighed and leaned back against a wall. She closed her eyes and just soaked in the moonlight. It settled her after going toe to toe with Ezra.


 






Alicia smiled happily as he agreed. She looked at the other lycans who instantly seemed to sniff her before nodding their heads in respect. Alicia certainly wasn’t an alpha, but she wasn’t an omega either. Of course, Lycan omegas aren’t really treated that much differently.


Lycan omegas were merely lycans that didn’t have that much battle prowess but they could still get respect. An example would be a lycan who didn’t fight but was very good blacksmith. He could be highly respected in that aspect. As such, omegas held skills that other lycan’s didn’t, but there were always those lycans that truly were omegas. For the most part omegas were just sparring partners and held jobs that didn’t require warrior roles. Either that or their personalities ranked them. More submissive lycans were ranked lower even if their fighting ability was top notch. It was an interesting social structure.


Alicia transformed into her human self and she smiled at Maverick. “Ah, a lot of good looking guys these days.” She slammed her head on the counter. “And not one of them is mine.” She sighed before she glanced up at Marco.


“Marco…” Alicia straightened up as she sat down on a stool and crossed her legs. “You’re not a light weight right?” She smirked at him. “Not that I don’t think it’d be interesting to see if you’re a happy drunk or still as emo as ever.” She smirked widely.


“Just don’t get yourself drunk.” One of the lycans teased. “Remember what happened last time.”


“It’s not my fault she challenged me.” Alicia growled making the lycan shrink back a little.


 




Zelda smirked at him. “Shifters are devious creatures sometimes. They do have animal forms and animal instincts which sometimes makes them very forward beings.” She added before she looked at him. “I wouldn’t be surprised if you held a bit of shifter yourself.” She chuckled before she glanced at the party. She looked back at Alessander.


“Besides dragons or half dragons are surprisingly warm for basically being a giant lizard. Those that do in fact breath fire tend to be able to warm up really fast, so it was no surprise that the shifter found me. I was a walking heating pad so I couldn’t blame him…the nurse however could.”


 




Deathwish stared at her for a moment. “You hardly know if I have fun or not, Mia.” Deathwish stated very bluntly if very coldly. He simply turned to look at Maverick with an unsettling stare as if to tell him to stop pouring him drinks. “You are avoiding the question which tells me that in fact you know I have a point.”


He grabbed his glass which somehow got switched to water once again. Another man nearby suddenly got drunk. Deathwish took a sip of his water and this time kept the glass in his hand. His idea of fun apparently was vastly different from Mia.




“W-wha d-ya…did ya…g-give me?” The drunk man groaned.

“I-I thought it was water!”




Deathwish observed her expression and knew she was trying to find some humor through him. He decided not to oblige. He merely turned and kept his stoic mask on tight. He read her smirk easily and his eyes looked even colder than before in their response. It basically read that she could not force him to do anything he did not want to. Considering she had no idea on what he found fun, there wouldn’t be a way to get him to have fun. He silently mused when the last time he truly enjoyed himself was. That’s when it hit him. He enjoyed watching Mia and all her outbursts. It was fun watching her freak out over his mark. He supposed toying with Mia was a type of entertainment for him, even if he hadn’t realized it.


Deathwish was not an emotional man, so by all accounts he could not have fun like others do, but he supposed watching Mia’s reactions came close. He was perfectly unreadable as he took a drink of his water. If Mia wanted to get him to have fun, she’d have to pay the consequences of that. He was perfectly ready to spoil any fun Mia wanted to have with him.
 
Thea stood in the bathroom, her hands gripping either side of an elegant stone basin of a sink. She was relieved upon entering that it was completely vacant and promptly locked the door behind her. There was no way she was going to get walked in on in her current state. The full bladders of the partygoers could wait.

She slowly raised her head to gaze at herself in the mirror above the sink. A gold design of vines surrounded the glass that was shaped like an oversized shard, as if a massive glass panel had been dropped and shattered in order to make one-of-a-kind mirrors. But, in that moment, she only resonated with the jagged broken edges instead of the delicate, artful border. Her reflection was pallid, her eyes vacant and her brows anxiously furrowed. She looked nothing like the regal princess she should be.

"You could end this now, before you can hurt him any more..." she thought as she dragged her hands around the edge of the basin. "He deserves so much better. A little bit of pain now will be better than the agony you'll put him through later... Just end it..."

But, she knew that she couldn't. It was impossible for her to move on. Not after everything the pair of them had been through. Years of squabbling and teasing as she aggressively insisted he not flirt with the castle staff. The vacancy and loss she felt in her heart when she was forced to marry Draco and was sure she had lost Nick forever. The light in his eyes when she relaxed around him. She shared her rarest smiles and gentlest touches with him. She could try to run away and leave him to find someone else, but deep down she was fully aware that, no matter how far she ran and who she wound up with, Nick would always be on her mind. There was no escape from what they'd been drawn into.

Straightening up, she brushed the loose hairs away from her face, tucking them back into her ponytail and tightening it. She rolled her shoulders, set her gaze, and thought to herself "It's just one problem out of many. Your mortality isn't the worst thing on your plate right now. Just add it to the checklist of things to figure out."

With a new confidence in her step, she finally unlocked the door and exited the bathroom. When she saw Nick still sitting at the table with Akasma long gone she let out a sigh of relief and quickened her step. She placed a hand on his shoulder and gave it a tight squeeze before sitting back down beside him. "I really don't know what's worse about being pregnant," she said with a very faint smirk, "not being able to do anything because you're fat, or having to rush off to the restroom every twenty minutes."


Dominic shook his head as he watched Ezra disappear back into the crowd and the confusion surrounding Flower's outburst fade into the past. Of course there would be consequences for her actions. The council would not stand for that kind of behavior, he was certain, but, he had to admit, the council should have seen it coming. Flower was the most stubborn person he had ever met, possibly even besting Deathwish, and that meant that, no matter what it took, she would get her way. He was grateful that she was a good person or else the entire world would be in a mountain of trouble.

He watched closely as Vortex and Hunter were abruptly pushed out from where Flower had exited and headed reluctantly toward the dance floor. Smirking slightly, he came to the assumption that it was partially Flower's doing. But, he noted the tension between the two and could make a guess that there were plenty of feelings that Hunter and Vortex had for each other and not all of them were based out of malice.


Maverick, the champion bartender that he was, slid drinks down the bar toward Marco and Alicia with an understanding nod. The lycan's point about the amount of good looking guys lurking around was pretty accurate, but none of them really caught Maverick's eye. He felt like he had the means and the skills to set up anybody on a date except for himself. Maybe he was cursed by a vengeful witch that had had a bad time at his bar. Everyone he would have romantic feelings for, no matter how small, was destined to die a horrifying death. That must be the case. Either that or he really was undesirable to the masses. With a resigned sigh, he silently concluded that it was probably a mix of both that was destined to leave him single.


"I can handle myself," Marco said, watching Alicia closely through his long fringe. Grabbing the drink Maverick slid down to him, he sniffed it suspiciously before taking a sip. It was definitely strong alcohol, but nothing he couldn't handle. Or, at least he thought that was the case.

By the time he had downed the glass, he was feeling the alcohol take hold. Another drink, and he was invincible. After two more, it was obvious that he would regret his decision to drink at all by the morning.

"You know," Marco said, gesturing toward Alicia with the glass clasped tightly in his hand. "You're a terrible influence." He chuckled to himself and downed the remnants of the drink in his glass before slamming it down on the bar and gesturing to Maverick for another. Maverick sent two glasses back, one of alcohol and one of water, silently insinuating that if he didn't stay hydrated, Marco would have a very, very rough morning.


"That must be why I've been so drawn to you," Alessander said with a chuckle, "My great grandmother was a shifter. I must really take after her." Smiling gently, he added, "Or maybe you're just irresistible to everyone. In my opinion, you're absolutely charming and hotter than a dragon's fire breath."


"Come on, Deathwish" Mia said, offering her glass of wine to him for a drink. Sure, it wasn't as strong as the stuff she was trying to push on him, but it was better than nothing at all. "If I'm stuck dealing with your crotchety a** all night, you need to loosen up a little."

She turned her body toward him and smirked. "We're going to play a game," she stated matter-of-factly. She was making it obvious that he had no choice in the matter. "You don't seem like much of a gambling man, but my friends and I used to play this all the time back in the day." She picked up a random straw laying on the counter and pointed it out at the crowd. "It's really easy. You pick a person in the crowd, I'll let you have first choice, and all you have to do is guess what they're going to do next. I'll guess something different, and whoever's closest to being right wins the round. Whoever wins the best of three rounds gets to have whatever they want from the other person." She put the straw in her mouth and chewed on the end. "It's always fun putting yourself on the line, but if you're as good at reading strangers as I am, it's not just random chance."

She raised an expectant eyebrow at him, awaiting his choice of subjects to observe. He could choose anybody at the party and guess what they were going to do next, but Mia was determined that, even though he had the advantage, she was going to win. And she had already decided what her winnings would be. All she wanted was for Deathwish to have one drink of Maverick's especially strong alcohol. Just one glass. She was desperate to see him actually loosen up a bit and she knew he wouldn't be happy with her for it, which made it all the more satisfying.
 
Nick waited patiently for Thea to return. He smiled lightly as he stared out into the crowd. He tapped his fingers on the table to the beat of the music. He watched vampires try to charm and flirt with their targets. Nick had become a master of charm, as most vampires were, but he remembered when he met Thea. A brick wall, he remembered thinking she was. Of course, it wasn’t the first time a woman rejected him, there were plenty out there that had, but Nick always found her more interesting for it. Yes, Nick did tend to push just to get the reaction of their rejection, it amused him, but he found hers to be more amusing. He supposed he was more like his brother than he thought. After so many years of hiding and pretending, it was interesting to see different reactions. Yes, Nick had wanted to see a more honest reaction out of her.

He purposefully toyed with her, enjoyed when she scolded him, and had fallen before he even realized. Perhaps that was the downfall of the twin vampires, humans were always so interesting. Most of them were free to have emotion and marry who they wanted. Granted Thea had to be slightly more controlled than that, but even then…she still held genuine emotion and care in everything she did. The more he watched her, the more he noticed she wasn’t as perfect as her role tried to make her out to be. There were flaws in her persona…he slightly wondered if she had ever seen his flaws or had become too good at playing the flirtatious fool? Sure, she had seen some of what hid underneath, but how far could she really see? Nick was curious…he had to know. He’d play

Nick had heard her come back long before she squeezed his shoulder. Was she trying to reassure him? Nick let loose a smirk. Nick was more of a predator than she realized. Nick looked at her with his charming smile back up. He folded his arms on the table.

“Personally, I quite like you like that. I can escape your wrath so much easier now.” Nick chuckled and winked at her. “However, if you’re lucky the baby will take more after the vampire side and grow quicker. Vampire children do tend to age quickly until their powers kick in where they will slow down.” Nick looked away. “The baby and toddler stage goes by rather quickly. As you can imagine, it isn’t a good thing for a vampire child to remain helpless.”




Flower took a deep breath before she opened her eyes and saw Vicente standing in front of her. “Vicente.” Flower smiled widely at him which only made Vicente rub the back of his head nervously. “You’re rather late.”

“I…uh….didn’t think it was right for me to be here, but hey there’s nothing else to do.” Vicente scowled as he hunched over. “They took away my medical tools.”

“What did you do this time?”

“I may have…perhaps…put a robotic attachment on a nurse’s bunny.”

“You…did…what?” Flower blinked blankly at him.

“It was missing a leg!” Vicente defended himself. “Let’s just say…they didn’t like it.”

“You know how to create Draco’s machines?”

“Yes?” Vicente shrunk back unsure.

“That’s…amazing!” Flower beamed at him and Vicente stared at her in disbelief.

“You don’t think…it’s evil?”

“You gave a bunny a working leg, how can that be evil?”

“Because they said it was!”

“Draco was evil, but not all his creations were. You certainly aren’t.” Flower hugged him and ruffled his hair. Vicente blushed slightly. “And look, you clean up nicely.”

Vicente stood tall with an elfin designed clothing. His shirt was white and long but lined in red on the collar and bottom with a black cloak over it. His pants were black with red boots. It was simple, but it looked nice on the half elf. Flower grabbed his arm and dragged him into the party much to his dismay. Flower soon pinpointed Dominic once more and decided to head over with her captive still in unwilling tow.



Alicia happily drank her drink although she paced herself, unlike her companion beside her. Alicia eyed his suspiciously as she cocked her head to the side. She shook her head and imagined he was in for a rude awakening in the morning. She chuckled as she looked over at the party goers. Soon, her eyes were find Flower with someone she didn’t recognize. Alicia raised an eyebrow as she dragged the young man with her. Who was he and why did he kind of look like her?

Alicia turned back to Marco as he spoke. Alicia chuckled and took a sip of her own glass. “I’ve been told I’ve had that effect.” She said before she patted his back. “But then again, I wouldn’t be able to get people to come out of their shells if I wasn’t.” She winked at him.




Deathwish watched Mia carefully as she offered him her drink. He gently pushed her hand aside in a refusal. He had no intention of getting drunk and letting Nick win a bet. Yes, Deathwihs had already figured out that Zelda and Nick had made another bet that included him. He rather disliked their seemingly endless bets that involved him in one way or another. Most of the time Nick swindled Zelda out of a lot of her money. Zelda was one of the reason’s Deathwish didn’t make bets. He raised his eyebrow in question as Mia told him to loosen up.

“I believe I did, and you got angry with me.” Deathwish stared at her stoically. “I am not stopping you from doing anything, Mia.” He wasn’t exactly keeping her glued to his side, he merely marked her neck to show she was unavailable to other vampires, but he didn’t tell her she couldn’t leave his side. She was the one claiming she was stuck here. There were other ways to have fun other than swindle men for free drinks which Deathwish would did not appreciate.

Deathwish listened to her game as his cold eyes scanned the crowd. He rather disliked betting and even more when it came with the promise of doing something for another without knowing what. Deathwish was careful about his promises. He looked down at Mia and raised an eyebrow. She did know it was his job to observe and predict others, right? Still, Mia could be quite clever when she put her mind to something. He didn’t like this at all.

“In my line of work, risking one’s self is not fun nor is it healthy.” Deathwish deadpanned. It was not fun risking yourself especially when you’d end up dying for it. He supposed Mia found some sort of enjoyment out of it, but she held the safer end of the bargain. It was unlikely Deathwish would make her do something she did not want, but then again. Deathwish could think of a few things.

Still, he didn’t like this game and what she wanted from him would probably end on him drinking alcohol again which wasn’t a good idea. Him becoming drunk was to be avoided at all costs. He knew he’d never hear the end of it if he randomly disappeared somewhere now, so he decided to just beat her at her little game.

“As you wish…” Deathwish picked his first choice. “They are going to ask that woman to dance.” Deathwish stated clearly picking out the woman too. Deathwish had read the person quite thoroughly and by all chances he was going to be right.
 
"Oh great," Thea sighed with exasperation. "I don't even get the solace of having an immobile infant after he's born. Just a few days and suddenly I'm chasing around a vampiric toddler. What could possibly go wrong?"

Looking to Nick with a small smile, she patted the side of her stomach. "I don't even think I'll have time to direct my wrath on you once this little guy comes out. If he's anything like my family, he'll be a complete menace as soon as he can move on his own."

Suddenly her eyes widened as she felt a kick in her stomach. She looked down, and her eyes widened further as she felt another kick. Without saying a word, she grabbed Nick's hand and pressed his palm against where her baby's little feet were pounding away. "He's already trying to talk back to his mother." she said, squeezing Nick's fingers as she continued to press his hand against her stomach.

There was a little glint in her eye as she talked about her baby. Despite the terrible circumstances of its conception, she was proud. Despite her cold, strictly guarded exterior, it was almost like she had finally realized she was destined to be a parent all along. This child would be hers and hers alone to love, raise and fiercely protect. Draco would have no hold on her son, and she would make sure of that.


Dominic's eyes lit up at the sight of Vincente and he abruptly arose from his seat and went to meet with him and Flower. "I was worried you weren't coming tonight!" Dominic exclaimed, grabbing Vincente by the hand and giving it a vigorous shake. With his other hand he affectionately patted the half-elf's shoulder before backing off and giving the man some space. Dominic had to remind himself that he had to keep at least a little bit of dignity and professionalism in his demeanor.

Although, he couldn't really help it. Vincente, although being a direct descendent of Draco, had chosen to ultimately side with Flower and their cause to take down his creator. Plus, with Thea also producing another one of Draco's offspring, he couldn't help but feel a bit of familial affection for Vincente. He felt almost like an uncle to him, even if Vincente would possibly never see him in that way himself.

"You're working with the hospital here, correct?" he asked, mentally crossing his fingers and hoping that he hadn't done anything too... Draco-like... during his work.


Marco frowned, looking between the glass of water and Alicia. He wasn't entirely sure what he was more frustrated about. The fact that the bartender was mothering him, or the fact that Alicia had possibly succeeded in getting him to loosen up.

"I don't have a shell," he grumbled, crossing his arms and deciding to ignore the water he was given for the time being. "I have four stone walls and a metal roof. It's called a house and I prefer to stay in it alone." He looked straight into Alicia's face, or at least as well as he could with his long bangs guarding his eyes. It was hard to tell if he was lying or not. His face was serious. His eyes were honest. But, was it because he was being truly genuine or because he had only convinced himself of a false truth so deeply that even he believed it?


"Oh, no no no," Mia said, taking her glass of wine back and downing the last of it. "That man is a flaming homosexual," she said with a smirk. She felt very confident on this one, being that Deathwish didn't seem to have the best gay-dar. Either that or he was very skilled at hiding his feelings about everyone and their uncle thinking that he was gay.

She set her empty glass back down on the bar, which Maverick promptly refilled, and she propped her elbows up behind her on the edge of the counter. "He's going to walk right past that girl and try to strike up a conversation with the man standing behind her. He's not quite comfortable enough to ask the man to dance, but he still wants to get his attention."

She tilted her head to the side to gaze at Deathwish and watch his reaction, feeling incredibly self-assured that she was correct. She watched the scene out of the corner of her eye, but kept her focus on Deathwish, wanting to watch his expression as she bested him.
 
Nick would turn to Thea with a devious grin. "My dear Thea, even when they can't move around too much they still are a hand full, crying and sleeping and needing fed. At least you'll have maids to help you. I just had a vindictive wife." He chuckled and rubbed the back of his head. “She didn’t let me touch her for a week after Peter was born.” His first wife certainly didn’t take to the fact that Peter grew quite quickly and then there was the slow decent in madness…but he didn’t want to get into those memories. Thea certainly didn’t think he was a monster.

Nick had told his wife he was a vampire before they were married. Why had she married him still? Nick never could figure out. Perhaps she thought she could overlook that, perhaps she was more afraid of being alone than being with him. Nick pushed that away once more. His eyes turned to as Thea suddenly grabbed his hand and moved it over toward where the baby was kicking. Nick never remembered his x-wife doing this.

Nick tilted his head and trained his advanced senses onto the baby. It was easy to hear the two heartbeats of mother and child. Nick suddenly broke out in a smile. A protective streak suddenly kicked in and Nick had to resist smothering Thea. He had lost his own son, and no one could replace that feeling, but Nick just knew he was going to be very protective of these two. More reason Thea wasn’t getting away from him. He chuckled as he gazed up at Thea. She was certainly a strong young woman. She loved this child dearly despite the unpleasantness she had to go through. Other people might hate the child, but if Thea could look at the kid like that, Nick could love him too.

“Nah, he’s just saying hello.”


Vicente grumbled about annoying mothers before his head snapped to Dominic. He seemed a little taken back by the response of the human. Hadn’t this been the one to kill his father? Vicente decided not to go into how he felt about that. Now Dominic also was the one to court his mother…he decided that WAS something he could go into. He didn’t like it.

“I do.” He stated simply as he stared down at Dominic. “I do believe they need some time before accepting my other…. unique talents.” Vicente smiled creepily. “My sense of humor apparently needs work as well.” Was he trying to put of Dominic? Yes, yes, he was.

Flower’s ear twitched before she gave him a deadpanned stare. “You scared the life out of several nurses.”

“I was trying to be friendly.” Vicente stated. “That includes humor.”

“You threw a scalpel at someone’s head.”

“He was late.”

“You ignore Zelda.”

“She avoids me.” Vicente looked down at Flower and pouted. Flower just stared up at him. Somehow it didn’t seem fair Vicente was taller than her. Flower pushed that aside.

“Why do I get the feeling that if you’re my only heir the whole world is doomed?”

“Because I have no intention of ruling a kingdom. I guess you’ll have to have a legitimate child.” Vicente shot back. His eyes turned back to Dominic. “…Well, at least adopt someone else.” He narrowed his eyes at Dominic. Vicente had slightly stepped behind and closer to Flower. He took a more protective stance.

Flower huffed and crossed her arms. “Stubborn.” Vicente smirked widely. It somehow still held a creepy vibe. Flower would have to work with him on his smile.


Alicia looked at Marco and smiled at him with a predatory glint in her eye before she leaned toward him. “It’s called a prison, Marco. Stone walls and metal roofs only keep you in darkness and the thing about darkness is you go blind to all that could be.” Alicia tapped a claw on his nose. “It’s no wonder Flower managed to sneak her way in. She tends light up everything in her life.” Alicia chuckled and pulled back.

“Believe your own lies if you wish, but they only trap you further.” Alicia watched others go about it. “Of course, I could just huff and puff and blow your house straight to pieces.” She smirked widely. “Oh yes, what a lovely twist it would be for the wolf to save a prince from imprisonment. It is a brilliant tale do you not think?” She laughed as she set her glass down.


Deathwish looked at Mia with his usual stoic demeanor. “He might be homosexual, but he’s too nervous.” Deathwish stated as the man in fact asked the girl to dance. “The girl is the man’s sister hence close to the mark and gets the other man’s attention without drawing attention to his preferences until he is ready.” Deathwish looked at Mia.

“I believe that is one for me.” He raised an eyebrow at her. Deathwish had to deal with a lot when he was still in his mother’s court. He had to fend off advances from both females and males. He cocked his head to the side as he waited for her to pick one. Deathwish had been studying people far longer than Mia, but who knew, she might best him yet.
 
"Are you quite sure about that?" Thea said, removing her hand from Nick's, but still allowing him to feel around her belly if he wanted to. She placed her hand on her hip and gave him the smallest teasing smirk. "I think I know my own son, and from what I can tell, those kicks are definitely defiant."

She huffed a small laugh though her nose and leaned into her seat, allowing her body to shift slightly closer to Nick. Sure, they would have an innumerable amount of challenges ahead of them, but in this very moment, she was sure the pair of them could handle it. After all, she could tell just by the way Nick looked at her that he wasn't going away any time soon. She was going to have to learn to deal with the difficulties that come with loving the flirtatious vampire.

Her previous panic about him being immortal and her being painfully mortal seemed so far away in this moment. Yes, the pair would find a way to make this work. Even though, as a human, her lifespan was so much shorter than Nick's, at the very least she could raise a son that could stand beside him after she's gone.


Dominic couldn't help but let out a soft chuckle at Vicente's antics in the hospital. Although Flower obviously didn't approve of his behavior, Dominic understood the dark humor behind it all. He smiled at Flower, trying to allow his own aura of calm infiltrate her frustrations with her son.

"Stubborn is right," he chimed in, crossing his arms with a little smirk. "Just like you, Flower." His eyes held the tiniest joking glint in them that mirrored the looks the twins almost always had in their gazes. It was one of the moments where it was obvious, despite all of their differences, that the Monroe siblings were all definitely related.


"At least in my prison I get some peace," Marco grumbled, crossing his arms tightly against his chest. He leaned his hip up against the bar and watched Alicia closely. What was she getting at? Rescuing the prince from his prison? He was in no need of rescue. Or, at least not as far as he was aware.

Even despite his stubbornness, his heart was warming up to Alicia. No matter how much he wanted to deny it, his shell was, in fact, receding. Maybe he was in need of some rescue, and the wolf woman was possibly the one to do it.


Mia cursed under her breath and glared at Deathwish. Did he really just best her? She shook her head. No. There was no way he would win this.

She scanned the crowd, eyeing everyone closely. Finally, her eyes locked on a woman at the end of the bar who was obviously incredibly intoxicated. She had long, bright red hair and a slender build that bordered on dangerously underweight. She was practically a skeleton with bright, watery eyes that protruded out of her skull like shiny billiard balls. "That one there," she pointed her thumb at the lady before turning her gaze to Deathwish. "She's wasted off her ass, but isn't aware of it yet, but before she can finish another drink she's going to be running to the bathroom to vomit."

She leaned her back against the bar with a smug smile and took a sip of her own glass of wine, feeling the warmth of the alcohol filling her chest. Deathwish wasn't going to beat her yet.
 
Nick looked at Thea before he chuckled and shook his head. “Whatever you say, Thea.” He said before he removed his hand from her stomach before he moved and placed a kiss on Thea’s temple. He probably would have tried to mark her as his in that moment, but he both doubted Thea would understand or appreciate the gesture. Unlike his brother Deathwish, Nick didn’t want to risk the wrath. He wasn’t as much a glutton for punishment. He was sure Thea was sick of possessive streaks from vampires since Draco probably showed a lot of that to her. Draco was after all a full vampire.

“Nick.” Isabella startled Nick. Nick had talked his mother since the battle. She had been keeping a close eye on the Vampiric Twins after thinking she practically lost them to Draco. Nick hadn’t really explained what his relationship to Thea was. After all, Thea carried Draco’s child and that fact alone made his own mother very dangerous to her. It was doubtful his mother would wish to harm Thea, but Isabella could be very vicious. She was a vampire queen, and preventing Draco’s offspring from threatening her could be on her to do list. Vampire females were very vicious beings.

“Mother.” Nick turned and smiled although he moved so Thea was behind him.

“Oh please, Nick, if I wished to harm her she would be dead before you could blink.” The truth of the words made Nick frown for a moment. Nick might be a powerful vampire, but his mother’s power dwarfed him by far. Isabella smiled. There was a glint in her eye and Nick knew she been keeping an eye on the two of them. Nick rolled his shoulders. Protective streaks would be the end to him.

“Thea, I don’t think you two have met. This is my mother, Isabella.”

“Please excuse me, dear. I don’t wish to be rude, but it was obvious Nick wasn’t going to let me in on your relationship.” Isabella smiled. “Vampire instincts are very easy to spot when it comes to those close to them.” She waved her hand at Nick.

“Besides, why would I wish to harm someone who had gone through what I have? Your father had trapped me just as much as Draco had trapped her.” To be honest, Thea admired the girl. Draco had tricked her into marrying Nick and Deathwish’s father, and for generations she let that man control her. Well, she literally had his head on a stick, and now that Draco was dead her vengeance could rest.

“But like me, dear, there is light beyond the horror we go through. Our children certainly should never be regretted.” She smirked and hugged Nick, despite his displeasure with the affection in front of others. His mother always found ways to tease him.

“I thought after all this time it was about time I met with you. Besides, it seems my dear son may finally settle down with someone worth his time.” Isabella smirked as she smothered poor Nick.

“And here I thought I’d never get tired of a woman’s affections.” Nick smirked at his mother.

“You wound me, sir!” Isabella laughed.




Flower looked at Dominic and her ear twitched at the look in his eyes. She huffed and looked away. There was a small blush that had creeped up on her. It was hard to retain her frustration when Dominic teased her like that. She knew she was stubborn. Sky and Hunter reminded her of that fact way too often. She glanced back at him from the corner of her eye and allowed a smirk to spread across her mouth. It made her look dangerous.

“If I wasn’t so stubborn, neither one of us would be standing here, Dominic.” Her voice was teasing.

Vicente shifted his weight from one side to the other obviously uncomfortable. He wasn’t use to interacting with people or having them interact around him. It certainly almost seemed like the two of them were flirting. Though he really didn’t have much to compare on, friendly teasing was beyond him at this point. He only knew of the facts, and those were that people expected these two to marry at some point. Their overall friendlessness would be confusing for him.

“Well, at least I’ll be difficult to kill, right?” Vicente finally spoke out attempting to redirect them from a danger that wasn’t even there.

“Extremely, and you’ll be the bane of the council’s existence. I’m so proud!” Flower smirked as she made Vicente blush. It was so easy to rile him up. After all, he wasn’t use to praise.

Vicente looked at his mother before something clicked in his head. “If you dislike the council so much, why are you going along with them pairing you off? Dominic is a suitor, is he not? Which confuses me in the first place. He is human, you are not. Eventually, you will need another husband.” Vicente was very blunt and when it didn’t come to his rather terrifying jokes, he didn’t really know how to be tactful.

Flower growled lightly. “You will probably learn sooner or later there is only so much you can refuse when it comes to them. As my proclaimed son, you must deal with them too.”

“Can’t we just kill them?” That made Flower bust out laughing. Vicente looked at Dominic. There were two meanings to his words. One was the council, but the other was intended for the suitors as well. Vicente smiled once more.



Alicia smirked at him before she observed him. “Peace and misery might be mistaken as the same thing.” She chuckled at him before she turned and ran a claw around the rim of her drink. “But clarity does not come from misery.” Alicia shrugged and grabbed her drink once more before she finished it off. “I wonder, if you were not a prince, what you would be like. Would you still doubt your worth, or maybe you might just be more open to a little bit of fun.” She chuckled as she glanced at him.

“Tell me, what would you do if you were not a prince? If you were not the omega of the family?” She smirked a wolfish grin. “If didn’t have a stick shoved up your hind end.”



Deathwish listened to Mia curse. He merely ignored it as she eyed the crowd and picked her chosen target. He observed the woman she had chosen. Obviously, Mia was now picking easier targets. He let out a breath through his nose. He could practically smell her alcohol level from here. He eyed Mia carefully before he conceded that she was correct.

“Hn.” He turned as the woman indeed attempted to race off. She barely made it with how unsteady she was. Some creatures had no clue when to stop. He gestured towards his own target. “He will attempt to bully that woman into dancing with him. He will get a slap for his attempts.” He stated simply as he watched a man with a crooked smile and bright green eyes. He was a type of snake. His skin was slightly scaled and his eyes had slits.
 
Thea sat up straighter in her chair as Nick's mother appeared. She stood out of respect and mustered her best bow, although her current condition made it a little difficult.

"It is truly an honor to finally meet you" she said, appearing cool, collected and confident, despite knowing that this woman could easily kill her or her child at any moment. But, she didn't really feel much of a threat from Isabella. She had an immense respect for the vampire queen, just as she would any figure of royalty, but she didn't feel any reason to be afraid. Isabella only clarified that as she teased Nick about their relationship. It was easy to see that she wasn't too upset about him falling for a human pregnant with her mortal enemy's child.

With all of Isabella's teasing, Thea couldn't help but crack a tiny grin. "You need to be kinder to your mother Nick," she said, adding to Isabella's taunts. "You need to get used to setting a good example for my son." She patted her stomach with pride before another kick sent her eyes flying wide open. That would take a little getting used to.

She looked down at her stomach and pursed her lips, "Don't you try to pick a fight with me. I'm sure Isabella will give me plenty of pointers on how to keep you in line." She returned her gaze to Nick and Isabella, feeling good that, if she had Nick's mother's approval, the struggles ahead might be a little easier to manage.


Dominic nervously chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck, trying his best to pass off Vicente's threat as a joke like Flower did. He could sense that Vicente wasn't the biggest fan of Flower getting unwillingly married. And he obviously wasn't aware that Dominic was on his side with the matter. The only reason he was one of Flower's suitors was to keep the council off her back and prevent Ezra from swooping in and forcing her into something even more detestable than pretending to date him.

"Maybe I should ask Flower to explain this to him...?" he thought, but from his limited knowledge of Flower and Draco's son, he doubted he would know when to keep his mouth shut about the matter. Sure, he didn't feel great about keeping everyone in the dark, but it was the safest bet to keep the council from getting even more angry about Flower's refusal to wed.

He loved Flower, but not in a way where he was genuinely wanting to marry her. He wanted to protect her and make sure that she could live whatever life she wants to live, whether that be as a wife or a queen or a warrior or a guardian or anything else her heart may desire. If she ever got married, her wanted it to be her decision, not his or the council's or anybody else's. He would hate for her to end up like Thea, forced into a loveless marriage by duty.

He had never really pondered the consequences of his courting Flower until Vicente decided to not-so-subtlly bring up killing her suitors. That's just the way Dominic was - thoughtless when it came to his own needs and always thinking solely about others. Both him and Flower could be missing opportunities to find their own real loves out in the world and actually succeed in marrying people for the right reasons, but instead they were trapped in a ruse that had no end in sight.


Marco glowered at Alicia, displeased with her constant teasing. He almost retorted with "I do not have a stick up my ass, but I might shove one up yours if you keep taunting me" but he managed to hold his tongue and, instead, pondered her question for a moment.

"If I wasn't a prince...." he said, pausing in order to choose the right words "I would probably work as a stable-hand. Try to study medicine if I had the money. I probably wouldn't ever be a real doctor. I don't like people enough for that. But veterinary medicine would be interesting."

A glimmer if mischief flickered in his eyes as he added, "So if I punched a dog like you in the mouth, I could fashion some braces to fix the teeth I'm bound to displace."


Mia turned her attention to the snake-like man and narrowed her eyes, trying her best to discern his actions. His facial expressions were a little hard to read, but even without those subtle cues she could tell that Deathwish was most definitely correct. Gritting her teeth, she was determined not to go down without a fight and quickly plotted up a scheme to make sure that Deathwish wouldn't win.

"Excuse me for a moment," Mia said, the embers in her eyes kicking into a slow burn. She rose from her seat at the bar and confidently strode toward the lizard man just as he was starting to harass the poor woman. She only had a moment of time before the woman would become visibly frustrated and slap the man senseless, so she had to act quickly.

"Hey, scaly!" Mia snapped, catching the attention of the pair. "Can't you see she doesn't want anything to do with you?"

The snake man was taken aback for a moment, startled that a stranger would willingly interfere with his pursuit. The woman, on the other hand, wasn't startled or even grateful, she was irate.

"Excuse me, but did I ask for your help?" She snapped, turning her full irritation toward Mia. She had obviously had a few drinks and her inhibitions were down and, before Mia really knew what was happening, she slapped her right across the face and stormed away, leaving the slimy snake and Mia standing in the crowd. The man quickly slinked away, not wanting to deal with whatever reaction Mia was about to have, uttering something about how crazy women could be.

Normally, Mia would have chased down her attacker and beaten her to a bloody pulp, resulting in an unpleasant encounter with the law and possibly another stint in a jail cell. But, in this very moment, she wasn't even bothered. In fact, she was proud. Turning back toward the bar, she smirked with triumph and returned to her seat beside Deathwish, completely ignoring the red handprint on her cheek.
 
Isabella watched Thea as she attempted to bow before the girl seemed to be quite at ease with her presence. That was good. The child was not easily spooked. Certainly, humans were getting better at not fearing every little thing.

Nick chuckled at Thea’s comment. “I think you need to think about just who you’re asking to be any sort of good example.” He winked at Thea. “I’m a pretty bad influence you know.” He gently pushed his mother off him.

Isabella smirked at Thea’s comment before she clapped her hands in excitement. “I will be sure to keep you informed. Vampire children are so much trouble when their abilities kick in or their fangs. I remember Deathwish had gotten his fangs in and he bit me right on the hand. Fangs are so sharp at that age! Nick, thankfully, was a lot less bitey.”

Nick leaned over to Thea. “Deathwish was a very different person back in our childhood.”

“He was adorable! Oh I hope this one will be just like him. Deathwish once developed an innocent crush on a servant and started bringing her dead mice.”

“I wouldn’t suggest letting this one go around a castle hunting mice.” Nick raised an eyebrow at his mother.

“They are perfectly suitable meals for young ones and teaches them a lot about their abilities. Even werewolf children hunt mice.”

“They don’t grow up with humans.” Nick stated before his mother huffed and crossed her arms.

“Humans and their sensibilities.” She grumbled something about Roger’s avoidance of her advances. “Even so, this little one is bound to be trouble. Vampires in our line are very strong and stronger abilities require a lot of training in the beginning. I know to you it would only see a toddler, but we are predators, thus we are dangerous at almost any age.”

Nick remained smiling, even though memories of a young Deathwish killing everything in sight came to mind. He was very young, for a vampire, and he had managed to murder several other vampires before he could be stopped.



Flower noticed Dominic’s change in mood. Unlike Dominic, Flower had considered a lot about what this rues could mean for them. There were many reasons why she was against this plan in the first place. Her feelings on the matter had not changed much. She sighed before she grabbed Vicente’s shoulder.

“Dominic is not my personal choice, mind you, but the alternative would probably end me.” Flower whispered to him before she smiled gently at him. Vicente raised an eyebrow, but felt disarmed somehow, like these two knew something he did not. He tilted his head but kept quiet. It appeared he would have to study Flower and Dominic more before he understood what their relationship was exactly. Flower removed her hand before she cracked her knuckles. Just thinking about that light elf made her go on edge.

“If…that is your feelings, mother, then perhaps I should tell you that Dominic is a favored suit.” Vicente’s words struck Flower rather quickly. Flower’s mouth dropped open and Vicente tilted his head slightly. That did not seem to make her feel better.

“What?”

“There are many elves discussing it. Dominic has gained favor with the council by killing my fa- I mean Draco.” Vicente rubbed the back of his neck before he looked at Dominic. “One said there was no doubt the council would choose you.”

Flower’s eyes widened. That…wasn’t good news. That meant they had reached a decision, and a decision meant a wedding, and a wedding meant… Flower shut down that line of thinking before she freaked herself out. She took a deep breath. “You are sure of this?”

“I would not bring it up otherwise.” Vicente raised an eyebrow. His mother’s posture had changed completely. She had gone back to her royal presence with a straightened back and unreadable face. She looked like a queen should, but that bothered Vicente.

“Drop the suit.” Flower stated very clearly as her eyes stared into Dominic’s. Vicente was now more confused than ever. They had done this to buy time, but time was close to running out. It was time for Dominic to drop the suit. She was their protector, and she would not sacrifice his freedom just for hers. It was not right.



Alicia watched Marco carefully before she laughed and patted his shoulder. “Boy, you stick your hand anywhere near a dog like me, you’ll get your hand bitten off.” She let out a playful growl. “and I bite a lot.” She chuckled before she looked up. “Ah, stable hand is not easy work, but I suppose if you enjoy it, anything is easier than what you do not enjoy.”

“Tell me, Marco, you are a prince without any way to the title of king. Why don’t you start studying vet medicine? You have plenty of money for it.” Alicia asked honestly. Dominic had a rule to fulfil, but if she understood correctly Marco did not. Nothing that would prevent such actions anyways. He smelled like a stable of fresh hay and straw. He obviously spent a lot of time there. Why should he not spend his time learning? It would be more useful than hating yourself.


Deathwish watched Mia carefully as she seemed to realize he was right. She looked angry before she suddenly got up and left. Deathwish raised an eyebrow before he noticed where she was heading. Deathwish stood up, and if it wasn’t for his stoic outlook he would have glared. Clearly, she was cheating now. As she called to the snake, she met with the anger of the snake’s target. Deathwish knew it was coming before the woman’s hand even moved.

Deathwish narrowed his eyes as Mia came back happy as ever. He watched her before he leaned back in his chair. He placed a hand over his mouth as he continued to stare at Mia. He was torn between smoothing over the red mark or smacking her upside the head for cheating. He decided to do neither.

“Cheating does not become you.” He stated simply before he looked across the crowd. He would not resort to the same tactics, but distance and a time limit to this game might be in order.
 
Thea glanced across the room at Deathwish. She'd been doing a lot of thinking about the future of her son, but she had never really imagined the possibility of her child being like Deathwish. It didn't frighten her, but it was definitely an unexpected possibility. She would definitely need some help with raising her little one.

"He can hunt mice all he wants," Thea said, with a soft chuckle as she turned to look back at Nick and Isabella. "Just so long as he only hunts pests and still sits down for family dinners, there shouldn't be too many issues." In all honesty, despite the unfortunate circumstances of her child's parenthood, she knew that the best thing for him would be to be properly trained to use his vampire abilities. Pretending that he wasn't going to have powerful vampire abilities was just asking for trouble.

"I'll definitely need some help though," she said with a small sigh. "Human sensibilities probably won't be too helpful when it comes to raising a vampire."


Dominic's eyes widened as soon as Flower asked him to drop the suit. "Wait, what?" he whispered, shocked. "If I do that, Ezra's your only other option. I'm not letting you do that to yourself, Flower."

He reached out, placing a hand gently on her upper arm, concern filling his eyes. He could tell this was another attempt from her to protect him. She was always doing that. Everything she did was to protect him and his family and she would never allow someone else to do the same for her, no matter how desperate the situation was. It was a miracle that he'd gotten this far with protecting her from marrying Ezra and now she was suddenly throwing their plan away, risking being forced into marriage by the council, all for what? To give him the chance to be single? To find love? To be a 'free man'?

He lowered his voice, leaning in a little closer to her and Vicente. "I can't do this right now. We need to come up with a plan. I'm not letting you haphazardly throw your own life away."


"It was never given to me as an option," Marco said, uncrossing his arms and leaning on the bar. "The late king, our father, always said that as royalty, taking up the jobs of the common folk was below us. Our options were government positions, military leaders, or lazy aristocrats. All three of which I was never too fond of."

Thinking about it, with Dominic as king, he doubted there would be as many barriers as when their father was ruling. Their father had ruled their lives with an iron fist. Maybe with Dominic at the helm, some changes could me made to the status quo.

Looking over at Alicia, a tiny smile spread along his thin lips. "You know, you might not be completely full of bad ideas, even if you did threaten to bite me." He reached out and teasingly rubbed a finger behind her ear. Maybe the alcohol really was getting to him.


Mia flashed a toothy grin at Deathwish. "Everything becomes me, Deathwish. And that includes cheating." She placed a finger underneath his chin and flicked upwards teasingly. She sidled up next to him, bumping her hip against his leg as her smile slipped back into a satisfied smirk.

"Now, one more round," she said, leaning in close to him with a flicker of triumph in her eyes. "I predict that this man right here," she said, poking his chest with her index finger. "Is going to kiss me any minute."
 
Nick had been thinking on what to do to train the child without too many humans getting in the way. While he was sure Thea would support some things, he wasn’t sure what she would do when he needed to feed for the first time. A vampire’s first successful hunt is usually a bloody affair and presenting their animal kill was important. What would Thea do when her child came to her with a completely disassembled rat? He came out of his thoughts as Thea responded.

Nick looked at her and something passed in his eyes as she said the child could hunt mice. He suddenly wanted to hug her, kiss her, anything really. His x wife never let Peter hunt mice. She often repressed much of his abilities. Thea was not like that. She could accept what came with a vampire, what came with vampire children. He smiled gently at her and nodded. She would be the perfect mother for a vampire.

“Probably not, but you are already helping more than you know.” Nick stated warmly before he smirked and leaned toward her ear. “And that’s very attractive to us vampires.” His voice purred with a deep rumble. He glanced out of the corner of his eye as his mother giggled and then pretended she had not heard any of that. Her son was always so mischievous when it came to women. It was a vampire quality.


Isabella smiled triumphantly before she gave Nick a knowing look. When she met Nick’s first wife, she nearly clawed the woman’s eyes out. The elf was hilarious enough, but even she knew Nick was going to leave. This one, this one just might end up differently. She chuckled at the look in Nick’s eye. He seemed so calm right then. It was quite wonderful to see that sort of loving look in his eye.




Flower shook her head in denial. “And what if they tell you tomorrow they have decided? What then? We cannot avoid a wedding forever, Dominic.” She whispered harshly as she glared at him. “My life is so much longer than yours. I am sure once they realize marrying me to Ezra will not have their desired effect they will release me, but you are human, and your life is so much shorter than mine. I cannot let you waste it on me.” She reached and grabbed his hand and squeezed it. “And they will push it.”

Vicente snapped his fingers as he figured it all out. “Then just have a baby with Dominic. They want you to have offspring, so give it to them. Then you will not have to marry either of them.”

Flower blushed at the suggestion. “That…requires something that cannot be accomplished without a few basic things that was NOT required in your creation.”

“I know what is required mother.” Vicente blinked at Flower. “Sex is a perfectly normal biological production of offspring. That is all.”

“This is not science, Vicente. We’re a bit more complex than that.”

“They are attempting to breed you, Mother; this is science.”

Flower hid her face with her hand. “That’s not the point!”

Vicente rolled his shoulders. “Then you do not wish to breed with either male? Than tell them that. I am sure Dominic will not force you. Anything that does not result in a baby will be counter-intuitive to their plans. You are one of the few light elves left, if you do not produce young, they will merely swap you with another more compatible partner.” Vicente sighed. “It is something Father did with his monsters when they refused to breed.”



Alicia frowned when he said that certain jobs were below him. In werewolf law, such a thing did not exist. While breeding did tend to give offspring that followed certain paths, warriors tended to breed warriors and such, but an alpha’s pup may not always be an alpha. The strongest were always in power, so ruling families often changed. It was unusual to be told anything else. Yet, their father had died and Dominic was reigning. It seemed against his nature to force Marco into anything he did not wish to do.

Alicia smirked when he took her suggestion. She waved him off. “I am full of great ideas, Marco!” She stated before she stuttered when he reached and rubbed behind her ear again. She closed her eyes and leaned into the finger. She opened her eyes and smirked at him. “A wolf could get used to being around you.” She teased as she leaned back and chuckled at him.



Deathwish merely raised an eyebrow as she placed a finger under his chin. Deathwish watched very carefully as hip bumped him. His eyes examined her as if she was up to something. Her every movement was caught as she suddenly leaned in and claimed there was one more round. He seemed unmoving as she poked his chest. There was a rumble in his chest as his eyes hooded over.

“Hn…” He stared down at her before he leaned down, and merely nipped her nose with his fang as if scolding her. “No.” He stated simply as his cold eyes stared into hers before he looked away and straightened up. He observed the crowd for a moment. Mia would not be happy with his refusal, but he knew the quick indulgence would turn into a long-term punishment if she won this game. Never bet on a man who was cold as ice. His violet eyes looked down at her from the corner of his eye.
 
Thea rolled her eyes and gently pushed Nick's face away from her ear. "Your constant need to flirt is insatiable, Nick" she said, breathing a sigh that was intended to come across as being sarcastically exasperated, but was actually more satisfied and pleased than anything. Despite her usual no-nonsense behavior, Thea had always had a soft spot for a confident, charming man.

Although she didn't know much about the ways of vampires, Thea was prepared to learn all she could before her son's birth. She was the kind of person who was always prepared for any situation, and this was no exception. She knew that raising him exactly like a human child wasn't an option. Her child needed to embrace his skills and learn to use them properly, even if that meant him dragging bloody rodents into the house to show off. She was aware that finding a balance between being part of the human royal family and being a vampire would be difficult, but already, just from one short conversation, she was getting ideas for some ground rules as well as places to be more lenient.

Her son would be able to hunt and train, at first under supervision from Nick, Deathwish, Isabella, or any other trustworthy vampire that would be willing to chase around a bloodthirsty toddler. But, keeping blood off the carpets and learning to wash blood out of his own clothes would be key, as well as learning to sit at a dinner table with humans and have good manners. No threatening the household staff, no attacking pets, people, or property, and definitely no listening to Nick when it comes to relationship advice.

It was nice to see the look on Isabella's face. It was a look of pride in her son, and even though she didn't know the full reason why, she was sure that Isabella would be an important ally when it came to raising her child. After all, with Thea and Nick's relationship, she would practically be the baby's grandmother. Hopefully the vampire queen would be able to give that same look to Thea's son someday, despite the fact that he was genetically Draco's.


"Vicente has a point," Dominic whispered, glancing between the two of them. "If you ever want to get the council off your back, you might be forced to pick the lesser of a number of evils in order to have children."

Dominic sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. This situation was becoming more complicated by the minute. He loved Flower like she was part of his family, but when he decided to bring himself up as a possible suitor to the council, he never expected them to favor him. Actually marrying Flower had been pushed to the back of his mind as other priorities took the forefront. It's not that he was repulsed by the idea of marrying her by any means. He just hadn't pursued a romantic relationship out of respect for his and Flower's friendship. He had never genuinely thought of them as anything more. But, he also knew that, if it came down to it, he would marry Flower in a heartbeat if it protected her freedom to live her life as she pleased. He would happily live in a marriage of convenience rather than a marriage of romance for Flower's sake.

"I'm not going to force you into anything. You know that. But you've put your neck out for me more times than I even know. I don't even know what sorts of things you've given up to protect me and my family. Just this once, let me repay the favor. You can talk to the council again about refusing to have children with us, but if all else fails, I don't want Ezra to be their only fallback. If you are forced to marry someone, if it isn't too presumptuous of me to say, I would prefer it be me rather than Ezra or someone else that you don't even know."

He gently grabbed her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze, although the reassuring part was more for himself than for her. He wanted them to be a team, whether it be politics or friendship, war or marriage, and he hoped that she wouldn't be too upset with him for trying to protect her. "I'll gladly do whatever it takes to give you the freedom you deserve, even if that means sacrificing my own freedom" he said, his voice low, but genuine. Dominic always had an honest look about him, but in this moment, he looked even moreso.


Marco shrugged. "I've always been more of a cat person," he said as he removed his fingers from behind her ear and propped both elbows up on the bar. Although, in spite of what he said, he could definitely get used to spending more time with Alicia. The way things worked in her lycan community made a lot of sense to him. But, then again, maybe that was just because he had spent more time with dogs, cats, horses and the like than with people when he was growing up.

"But we've talked enough about my problems as a spoiled prince." He said, running a hand through his bangs to pull them over his forehead. "Tell me about your issues Alicia."

If you could actually see his eyes through his curtain of hair, you could tell there was a teasing glow in his blue irises. The combination of opening up, calming down, and the undiluted alcohol in his system were bringing out a different side of Marco than most people never got to witness. He would never admit it, but he was enjoying himself. Saying he was having fun might be going a little too far, but he was definitely pleased with the way the conversation with Alicia was going.


Mia scrunched up her nose and pouted as Deathwish refused to give in. "Come on!" she whined, pursing her lips and crossing her arms. "I'm not allowed to tongue wrestle with anyone else since you marked me. One little kiss won't kill you. Or are you so desperate to best me that you won't give yourself a little enjoyment tonight?"

She rolled her shoulders and reached out, grabbing his chin and guiding his head to face her. Her blue eyes were wide, and for once you could see right through them. No blazing fire ready to engulf you. Just warmth, and a sea of thoughts that you could easily drown in. Would she ever get the attention she so desperately craved? Would this relationship with Deathwish always feel like an uphill battle? Or was this what she really wanted? A constant challenge where she would never be able to get bored. A constant ache in her chest like an addict craving a fix. Had Deathwish really become her new drug? And when would he finally give in and give her the high she was itching for?
 
Nick smirked at Thea. “That isn’t the only thing insatiable about me, Thea.” He chuckled before turning to his mother. He was already making plans in his head for training the young vampire. Deathwish would be a tremendous help in this area. Being able to control instincts was an important thing for young vampires. Instinct would grow as the young grew. He would also have to learn how to cleanly kill prey. Vampires knew how to not get blood on themselves while hunting, less they constantly have blood on them. It was one of the first things caught for young after their first kill which often ended messily.

“I see the child will be well cared for.” Isabella nodded to Thea. “I will be in touch, dear Thea. Do not hesitate to message me even if it seems like just for a stupid question. There are some things that even Nick will not be prepared for.” Thea looked at Nick for a moment who raised an eyebrow.

“You forget, this is the offspring of an old blood vampire. There is a possibility it will take on traits of the old bloods, not like your brother and you. Which means he could turn others into vampires just like his father.”

Nick raised his pointer finger before lowering it and narrowing his eyes. “Vicente doesn’t have that ability.”

“Not that you know of. Vicente might look older, but he hardly knows anything of his abilities. He’s like a puppy who’s hardly big enough to fit his paws. He knows enough for now, but soon he will need to know more. It is not the first nor even the fifth time I have encountered Draco’s offspring. Each of them were different and yet the core of them was the same, to create the perfect vampire.” She sighed deeply and looked at Vicente.

Nick placed a hand on his mother’s shoulder. “It will be alright now.”

Isabella looked at Thea for a moment. Isabella knew more about Draco than anyone. She knew why he had become who he was. She had seen his childhood. She was a queen vampire and in that respect, it had protected her much from the cruelty of their father. Her mother had favored her and sought to rise her above, but she had ignored Draco and left him to be taught the harsher realities of their time. Vampires had fallen far since the days of enslaving humans, and she had seen it come. Much of her thoughts on humans had changed over the years, despite Draco’s mind being stuck right back to that child.

When had their roles reversed so quickly? Isabella held rage against Draco, but she had seen, she had known that child. She closed her eyes as she pushed her grief aside. Still, she was sad for the complete loss of the child striving to be a doctor then turned into the monster that their father molded him to be. The monster that grew to large even for their father to control. The monster that seemed just too easy to beat. Isabella felt a cold chill. After so many centuries with Draco’s terror, perhaps it was habit to believe he was just around the corner.

“Right.” Isabella waved Nick off. “It’s time I head off to have some fun.” She smirked and her eyes glanced at Vicente. “Perhaps bother a certain queen’s offspring.”

“That offspring has quite the ferocious mother.” Nick eyed Flower and Dominic for a moment.

“I’ll keep that in mind.” In a blink of an eye, Isabella was off.


Flower sighed deeply. That look in his eye was akin to a puppy-dog and she hardly could say no to. Flower sighed deeply and looked off to the side. She let her hair fall into her face as if a barrier against his eyes. She never had time for romance. It wasn’t something that held a high priority in her life. That did not mean she didn’t want romance. Flower was secretly a hopeless romantic, but her life hardly gave her time to explore that.

“That’s what I’m afraid of, Dominic. I rather you not have to risk your freedom just for mine.” She looked at him from behind her curtain of hair. It was when she felt the most venerable that she hid this way. Trying to hide that vulnerability that shined in her eyes. It wasn’t often Flower let anyone see this side of her, but Dominic managed to pull it out. She trusted him, even if he was irritating When Vicente placed his hand on her shoulder, she jerked up and looked at him. She blinked before he nodded to her.

“I will attempt to convince them in the error of their ways. After all, arrange marriages did not work out well for the human kingdom. I’m sure my humor and charm will change their minds.” Vicente smiled and it made Flower smile. He looked so creepy, but Flower found it rather adorable. After all, Vicente wouldn’t harm anyone…on purpose anyways.

“No throwing scalpels.”

“BUT!”

Isabella appeared out of nowhere and waved to them causing Flower and Vicente to jump. Instantly Flower was right back to being the respect demanding Queen. “Hello, King Dominic, Queen Flower. Sorry to interrupt your romantic conversation, but I was hoping to have a word with Vincente.”

Vicente instantly hid behind Flower. He stared out at Isabella and glared. He knew who she was, and the fact that she was the sister of his father which made her very dangerous. He hissed lightly only for Isabella to hiss back at him.

“Respect your queen, child.”

Flower let her light magic glow in warning. “This is my territory and my child, your majesty. You’d be wise to abide by it.”

Isabella huffed and crossed her arms. Flower was the offspring of Kira and Benjamin. Benjamin being a man she had sought after for a long time. She begrudgingly respected Kira for her acceptance of Vampires. She ran a fine line between hating Flower and admiring her. Despite Flower’s early age, she was a force to be recon with and that light magic was nothing to sneeze at, even for her.


Alicia chuckled at his comment about being a cat person. She let that comment slide as she merely enjoyed his teasing humor. She smirked and eyed him as he asked about her problems. She shrugged and looked at a few of the lycans around her.

“Only that in the future offspring department. I am a female in her prime and unlike some people…” She glanced at Flower. “I do like to take full advantage of that fact.” She leaned over the counter. “But there is plenty to deal with that we all must go through besides romance. There is a lot to do to clean up the damage of Draco’s reign, even for us wolves.”

Deathwish watched as she pouted like a child. He raised his eyebrow as she stated she couldn’t tongue wrestle with anyone else. His instincts kicked in and he instantly stretched to his full height and examined her. He might be a controlled man, but he was still half vampire as evidence to the mark on her neck. He did not respond to her taunt.

Once she moved his head to look at her again, he stared coldly into her eyes. Despite himself he relaxed. He was in a public place and it went against all his training. He was the perfect killer and that he had to remain. His eyes turned hypnotic as the blazing purple shined through his normally emotionless eyes. It was a glimpse he allowed her to see before he pulled away again. He stared at her before placing a hand on her head in an affectionate manner.

Deathwish was a secretive man. He would go so far as to mark her, but other public displays of affection were going to be hard to come by. If she wanted attention, she would have to learn just where and when she could get it from him. He stood up in that moment and glanced at her from the corner of his eye. Dealing with Deathwish was a game of patience and taking what you can get at any point in time.
 
Thea nodded to acknowledge Isabella's leaving, relieved to know that she would be available to help with raising her child. Sure, she doubted Nick would ever leave her side, but she also knew that he didn't exactly have the best track record when it came to raising kids. He had all the love in the world, but the fact that his ex-wife didn't allow him to step foot near his own son for most of his life meant that his experience with raising children was lacking. She could never blame him for that, but she was glad that she also had the vampire queen on her side to help out when things got over Nick and Deathwish's heads.

Thea returned her attention to Nick, crossing her arms and tilting her head coyly to the side. "So, where were we before your mother joined us?" she asked, raising an eyebrow and eyeing Nick closely. She knew that he was in a flirtatious mood. Heck, he was almost always in a flirtatious mood. But, just because she wasn't going to indulge him in public didn't mean that she was going to abstain from toying with him a little bit. She was, after all, the kind of person who liked to have the upper hand, whether it be in a position of authority, or just not giving someone what they want from her until she says so.


Dominic immediately bowed low at the waist as Isabella approached. After all, she was one of the human kingdom's most fierce allies and he would hate to break what bonds they had formed by being disrespectful. Plus, with how well her and Thea seemed to get along, him getting on her bad side might earn him a serious butt-kicking from his sister, and he would prefer to avoid that as well.

As he rose back to a standing position, he noticed how tense Flower had become. Elves and Vampires weren't known for friendly relations, so the fact that Isabella wanted something to do with Flower's son could easily be misconstrued as a threat. But, Dominic, despite how friendly and oblivious he seemed at times, could tell that Isabella wasn't out to start another war - at least not yet anyway.

He gently placed his open palm on the back of Flower's upper arm, silently advising her that he didn't believe Isabella to harbor any ill will at the moment. He was well aware that his opinion didn't hold much power when it came to Flower. She was more stubborn than a mule in the mud. But, when it came to his relationship with Flower, he was never afraid to share his insight. After all, she might take some of his good-natured advice to heart one of these days.


Marco leaned in, his curiosity piqued when she mentioned romance in her species. After being barred from learning about anything other than racist, speciesist human history for his entire life, he was itching to learn more. Without the alcohol in his system, he would've been too shy to ask, but his question came out of his mouth before he was able to stop it. "So, is lycan romance like human romance? Do you get married, have kids, realize you hate each other, get divorced...?" he asked, before trailing off as his brain caught up with his mouth and finally stopped him from digging himself a deeper grave.

"Wait, no, stop that" he thought, his mind a little fuzzy as the alcohol made its way through his system. "You could just look that up in a book. Why do you have to ask? It's just rude. You don't ask people about that. That's like asking a stranger about their sex life. It's just something you don't do. Are you still talking? Stop that! Shh!"


Mia scowled, but her shoulders relaxed as Deathwish looked down at her and put a palm on her head. This was one battle that she wasn't going to win and, although she'd never admit defeat, the bit of affection she received from him was enough to calm her down... for the moment.

She punched his arm and frowned, breaking her gaze away from him and staring into the crowd. "I'll get you later..." she grumbled, pressing her back against the bar and slouching. "You totally owe me one."
 
Nick smirked at her and chuckled. “I might have been very close to marking you as mine.” Nick eyed her just as carefully before he suddenly looked more predatory as he used his height to toward over her. “Tell me, Thea, how much do you know of vampire instincts?” He ran his tongue over his fangs. He was teasing her. He liked these games they played. They were exciting for him, and Thea was quite the mystery to figure out. She kept his attention solely focused on her. Since she accepted his advances, he’d been drawn in further because her unique reactions to him. Oh, he knew she teased him and used strategy to keep the upper hand, but just once he wanted to throw her for a loop and already he was planning just that.

For now, he’d play her little game, but he was channeling some of Deathwish’s habits in preparation to surprise her. Nick was brilliant when he wanted to be, and Thea provided the perfect partner to test their battle of wits.


Flower glanced at Dominic for a moment. She knew what he was trying to say, but Flower was very protective of Vicente. It was odd the relationship between Vicente and her, but Flower was prone to picking up strays. After Trinity’s death…Flower was all too eager to take in another. Vicente was like a lost puppy after Draco’s death, and she did have a soft spot for children, even if this one did look her age. She, in a surprising amount of lack of caring, snorted at Dominic’s gesture.

Isabella raised an eyebrow at the two. “At least the human has respect. I approve.” She winked at Dominic before she focused on Vicente. “Come here, boy. Let me get a look at you.” She waved her hand to call him forward and slowly Vicente moved out from behind Flower. He glared at her.

“I see you take on more of our father’s looks.” Isabella stated as she observed him. “Probably his intelligence, abilities, and obsessions.” She stated as she circled Vicente. “Tell me, Queen Flower, how do you intend to quell his vampiric abilities?”

“Who said I would quell them?” Flower said shocking the Vampire Queen completely. Flower’s eyes almost looked bored as she stared at the queen. “I know more about vampires than you think, Queen Isabella.” Flower voice darkened with the memories of her time fighting her vampire self.

“Mother?” Vicente looked at Flower before Flower waved to dismiss it. Vicente raised an eyebrow at her and made a note to ask about it later. Flower really confused him.

Isabella gathered her composure. “Well, that is good. However, you will need someone to teach him. He could after all become a very powerful vampire.” She turned toward Dominic. “A vampire as powerful as Draco.” She eyed Flower as she noticed the slight tremor that went through the young elf. Flower carefully held her trembling hand at the mention of Draco. Isabella blinked and stored that information for later. Flower clearly was suffering from Draco’s actions as many others were.

Vicente blinked and only silently observed them. He already knew Draco designed him to be powerful, but would she really train him, the child of her enemy? That went against every vampire instinct she had. Why? Did she not see Draco as her enemy? Had she not threatened revenge against him? Even Draco feared Isabella.


Alicia blinked at all his questions. Was this what was under that closed off nature he held? How interesting. Alicia smirked at him as she rolled her shoulders and turned to look at the other lycans around.

“I suppose there are some differences. Lycans choose their partners based on rank, strength, and of course attraction. During courting, they will often battle each other to determine strength, abilities, and fighting styles. If the female thinks the male can defend her and her pups, and likes the male, she will take the lead in the courting. Females usually control the relationship and when she feels it is right, proposes to the male by submitting to him and allowing him to scent mark her as one of his own.”

“Submission merely means she gives him permission to protect her and their possible pups, but males are not domineering of the females. Often, she still rules the relationship while he focuses on provision, like territory, food, and shelter. We marry of sorts. It usually is just a ceremony of the female being taken into the male’s pack and acknowledged as one of their own. We do not diverse as you call it. We are very loyal creatures by nature, and it is very rare for a pair to split a part. Any challengers of the two usually battle one another during courting to determine the strongest. Once we are paired, we bond very closely.” Alicia looked at Marco and smirked at him.

Deathwish watched her for a moment before he raised an eyebrow. He merely turned and observed the crowd for a moment. He seemed to be searching for something before he gently held out his hand to her. He gestured to the dance floor silently as ever as he waited for her to accept his invitation or stubbornly rebuke him. Either way, Deathwish wasn’t averse to dancing. After all, it was drilled into him as a child. There were many talents that he was forced to partake in, whether he enjoyed them or not. Dancing was one of the more unusual ones he seemed to enjoy in his youth. Although, many of his talents were hidden under that stoic façade he was forced to wear just to keep his sanity.

He supposed Mia might never understand why he kept things secret, but just as his attentions were sparing, there were others already watching the couple. One that smirked and sipped a drink under a strange mask that he wore. He set the drink on the table and stood up only to disappear as people passed by.
 
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Thea stood a little taller to combat Nick's advances. "Oh, I know enough," she said, turning slightly to the side and giving him a bit of a 'cold shoulder' routine.

He was charming, but she had held off his advances since the day he started working at the castle, and there was no way she would swoon over him now. She would only submit to him on her own terms. No seduction and charm could change that. That didn't mean that she wasn't drawn to him. In fact, she would be more than happy to fall right into his arms when the time felt right.

"I know that it takes training in order to keep control over some of your instincts..." she commented, giving him a side-eye. "Although, with you, I think you could've used a little more work to contain your flirting." She smirked softly, remembering how frustrated she used to get when he completely incapacitated the female castle staff with just one wink.

She continued, "and when something belongs to you, you have a tendency to get very... protective. Possessive even. Vampires are very good at staking their claim."

Her little smirk turned into more of a smile. She knew that his flirting was unstoppable. Eventually, she might not be able to stop old habits from rising up again. A passing wink or a smile that sends a poor maid fainting or the entire kitchen staff stepping outside to fan their blushing faces. The fact that Nick was extremely attractive wasn't something she could help. But, she knew that, at the end of the day, his real affection belonged completely to her. His attention, his love, his genuine self was what she got. He had ultimately decided that she belonged to him and, in return, he belonged to her, and that was more than enough to keep her satisfied.


Dominic relaxed a bit as Isabella shot him a wink. Looking at her, he could easily see where Nick got some of his charms and Deathwish obtained his ability to intimidate. Isabella embodied both of those qualities and more. He listened intently to hers and Flower's conversation, slowly removing his hand from Flower's arm and clasping both of his hands behind his back. When it came to the outcome of this encounter, he didn't have much say, but he did still have things to talk to Flower about as soon as this was sorted out and he didn't want to completely lose her attention.

As soon as Isabella mentioned Vicente possibly becoming as powerful as Draco, his jaw clenched. Just the passing thought of Vicente or, even worse, Thea's unborn son becoming the next Draco made his skin crawl. After so much work and so much death for the sake of peace, the notion that a successor to Draco's evil could rise up was equally infuriating and terrifying.

He knew that Thea would do anything to keep her son from turning out like his father, but Vicente was another story. He was practically a grown man, although a relatively clueless one when it came to certain aspects of life and society. If he held the potential to be swayed into evil, he would be much more likely than an infant. He was definitely more of an immediate threat.

He had to wonder if it was really such a good idea to put Vicente through training. If he had abilities as powerful as Isabella was suggesting, he could pose a real danger to the community if things got out of hand. But, then again, if he didn't have any training, he would be not only a danger to the people around him, but to himself as well. It would be safer for him to know how to control himself so a power similar to that of Draco's wouldn't be left unchecked.

He looked to Flower to gauge her response. He knew that she would never allow harm to come to Vicente. She believed that he was virtually harmless. Threatening, yes, but not the type to go out of his way to cause damage. He still had a lot to learn, and Isabella could be incredibly helpful in teaching him about his own skills. But, would Flower's stubbornness get in the way? Would she refuse Isabella's help and train Vicente on her own?


"Hm... I see..." Marco said, processing her response for a moment. Their courtship took more after their wolf halves rather than their human forms. It seemed to make a lot of sense to him. It was much simpler than the complexities of human relationships. Women didn't have any kind of obligations to marry because of some contrived duty as Thea did. They just tried to be their best and choose the best based on obvious factors like strength and status in the pack.

Glancing up at Alicia, his eyebrows furrowed as he noticed her smirk. "What's that look for?" he asked, his voice a little accusatory and a little defensive. He had been trying to play off his slip-up as a normal, non-invasive question, but it was obvious there were gears turning in Alicia's head and he was a little uncomfortable with what exactly those gears were processing.


"Excuse me, but is this lug bothering you?" a high-pitched voice stated, blocked from view by Deathwish's shoulders. Mia pushed off of the bar and turned to face the noise, an irritated and confused look on her face.

"I'm fine, thanks, I can take care of myself." Mia grumbled as a girl with dark red curls took a wide step around Deathwish, stepping between him and Mia.

"Oh, I know, trust me. You look tough as nails." The girl said, her green eyes sparkling. "But men can be the absolute worst sometimes, and when you're marked, sometimes it's hard to find backup."

"What?!" Mia snapped, grabbing her neck where Deathwish had marked her not long ago. "How the...? How did you....? What the f**k?!" she exclaimed, shock filling her eyes for a moment.

"Sometimes it's hard for humans to tell, but I promise you'll get the hang of it. It took me a while to figure it out myself." The girl pointed a thumb at a tall, tan man with a brown mop of curls on top of his head who looked like he would seriously prefer being at home under a blanket than sitting at the bar nursing a pale ale. "That one's mine. Real sweetheart. The best house-husband I could've asked for during the war. The poor man's only ever been in one fight and he came out with a black eye and missing a fang." She looked over at Deathwish, eyeing him up and down skeptically before returning her attention to Mia. "I can see that you've got yourself stuck with a very different type, though."

"You could say that," Mia stated, shooting a glare at Deathwish.

"The name's Lorryn, but everyone just calls me Lor." the curly haired girl said, holding out her hand and flashing a quick grin.

"Mia," Mia responded, firmly shaking the girls hand and smirking. She could easily learn to like this girl.

"Now," Lor said, leaning in close to Mia. "Tell me what size stick your man has up his butt."

"A stick? More like the entire f**king forest," Mia stated, sending Lor into a fit of giggles.

"Oh dear, you do have it rough. I'd say that he sounds like a riot at parties, but it's more than obvious right now that he's not. Maybe him and my Olly can go be wet blankets in a corner somewhere." Lor gave Deathwish another once over, doing what she could to analyze his cold exterior. She'd heard whispers about him throughout the party. A ruthless killer. One to be feared. Blah blah blah. In her opinion, he seemed more like a cranky old coot who needs to loosen up and show his lady friend a good time.
 
Nick smirked as he watched her carefully. Nick was surprisingly patient when he saw something he wanted. He had all the time to wait for the perfect moment to spring on her. He smiled suddenly very predatory as he circled her. He chuckled, that chuckle he used to draw in women. He flashed his smile and stopped in front of her as he stared down.

“Bravo, but one thing is off. Flirtation is not my nature.” Nick smirked wider. “It is merely a lesson I excelled at, but we all act, do we not?” Nick clicked his tongue as he waved his finger at her.

It was not something Nick openly admitted, it was not something that many people knew about him. It was surprising to other people that Nick would settle down with one woman or pay attention to one woman, but by all accounts…it was not shocking to anyone that really knew him. His act, his whole persona was just that, an act. It was not his true nature, and it was rare that he would share his true nature to anyone. Thea had glimpses of the man underneath the charm, but did she not understand it yet? Nick smiled warmly. He wanted her to see him, not the mask he wore in front of everyone else. That was probably one of the few things he shared with his brother. They wanted their partners to see them.


Flower watched Isabella carefully before she glanced at Vicente. Flower had barely quelled her own instincts and with no one to help her to do that, she had become very unpredictable and even hurt Marco more than once with her need to feed. She inwardly flinched at that. Vicente might be clueless and harmless now, but what about later? Should an accident break out because he wasn’t properly trained could taint his innocence now. Vicente was very intelligent, and he already felt the friction of his presence here. Isabella could offer him more acceptance.

“Then you will train him?”

“Of course.” Isabella stated as she looked at her nails. “He is my nephew after all.” She smirked as she looked at Vicente. Vicente suddenly swallowed nervously.

“Alright.” Flower stated and Vicente snapped his head to her. She patted his shoulder. “Under my watch.”

Isabella huffed and crossed her arms. “How unusual.”

“He is my son.”

“Is he?” Isabella challenged.

“I will accept him.”

Isabella took a step back and watched the woman before her. “You really are your parents.”

Flower bowed slightly to her. “Thank you.” Isabella inclined back at her.

“I suppose that is all I had wished to discuss.” Isabella stated before she looked at Vicente and smirked. “Do you know how to dance, young one?”

“There is no use in dancing.”

Isabella clapped her hands together. “OH! But there is! Come, youngling, I will show you how to dance!”

“I would like to de-CLINE!” Vicente was hopelessly whisked away by Isabella and Flower couldn’t help but giggle at Isabella’s antics. This was one thing she was not going to save her son from. After all, Flower loved to dance and she hoped her son would catch on with its uses. Flower turned toward Dominic and sighed heavily.

“Tell me your thoughts?” Flower asked, hoping to gain some of his perspective on…well anything really at this point.


Alicia broke out into laughter as she waved her hand at him. “Nothing! Nothing!” She insisted as she watched him. He was quite adorable really. Alicia took another sip from her drink. “Humans are not very simple creatures, are they? After all, you’re not very simple. You say one thing but mean another, you want one thing but never go after it. Humans make little sense to me.” She stated as she took another sip.

Lycans saw what they wanted and went after it. There was very little that got in the way. Even when they lose, they will fight tooth and claw for it before even considering giving up. Lycans were simpler creatures. Even when they are heartbroken, they are fierce and demanding. They move on and accept what life gives them. They do not dwindle on things unlike many immortals. They suppose their wolf selves help them to cope with what life gives them.


Deathwish watched as Lor came around him and stepped between him and Mia. Deathwish instantly looked at her marking and smelled the vampire on her. He examined her closely before she explained herself. Deathwish kept silent as Mia freaked out over her picking out his mark. Clearly this human knew much about vampires. Deathwish glanced at the vampire she picked out and raised an eyebrow. It was unusual to find such a docile vampire, but he supposed there was a reason why vampires served other vampires.

He watched carefully with his deep purple eyes as Lor observed him. He merely raised an eyebrow at the two girl’s interactions. As Mia claimed he had a forest up his butt, he “hn”. He had a bad feeling about these two getting to know each other, but he supposed he could do nothing about it. As he was called a wet blanket, he slowly turned to stare at Lor as she observed him again. Deathwish decided to humor her and like a sudden draft, his aura was released to chill the surrounding air. The surrounding people suddenly looked a lot less crowded. He watched Lor carefully, wondering if his aura would bother her or not. She was watching him and in return he would watch her.
 
Thea continued to turn her face away from him as he circled around her. He was predatory, but not in a way that made her feel unsafe. In fact, it was drawing her into him, like some sort of spell that blocked out the noise around them so it was just the two of them. She wondered if it was some sort of vampire trick that he was pulling or if she really was that vulnerable to his charms.

Flashing her teeth at him for a split second, she completely turned away from him and started walking. She signaled with one hand, raising it and curling a finger in his direction to cue him to follow. She strode toward the exit, hoping to find somewhere a little more private to continue their 'conversation'.

It was a surprisingly short walk to escape the noise and crowds of the party everyone from near and far was attending, so the streets surrounding the venue were empty. Thea found a place between two buildings to pause and wait for Nick to catch up. As soon as he approached her, she grabbed him by the shoulders, spun him around, and pressed him against the wall with a wide smirk on her face.

Nick's nature might not be flirtatious, but Thea wasn't as cold and law-abiding as she made herself seem. If she was really attracted to someone, she knew exactly what to do to seduce them, even if it wasn't exactly the 'proper' thing to do.

She dragged her hands down to his chest, leaning in slowly and pressing her lips against the side of his neck. Just because she had Nick alone didn't mean that she wasn't going to stop teasing him.


Dominic let out a sigh of relief as Isabella pulled Vicente away to dance. He was glad that Flower had allowed the vampire queen to train Vicente. Glancing over at the pair, it was obvious the poor boy was uncomfortable, but if anybody was going to teach him to dance Isabella was obviously the person with the skills to do so.

Turning his attention back to Flower, he put a hand on her shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. "You're in for a long night if you want to know what I'm thinking." he said, his mouth curving into a sympathetic smile. He had a lot of opinions on what was going on - Vicente, Thea, the aftermath of the war, his current relationship status, the council, the future of the humans, the future of the world. It was his job as king to think about all of these things and more. The real question was where Flower wanted him to start.

He started to walk, gently leading her by the shoulder to a quieter corner of the party. The pair obviously couldn't just disappear. Their presence was far too prominent for them to run off to privacy without a scandal arising. Once he found a suitable place to stop and talk, he pulled a couple nearby chairs and took a seat. He crossed his legs and rested his hands in his lap, relaxing a bit into his seat as he pondered what exactly he wanted to start with.

"I think that you might want to try and get along better with Isabella." he stated, his voice gentle and his eyes sincere. "If the two of you can work together to train Vicente, the council might take him more seriously as a viable heir and as your offspring. He's smart. I know he will learn fast. And if you can get the council to accept him as yours, then you won't have to worry about marrying anyone. I can break off my suit and you'll be your own woman for the rest of your life, free to marry who you choose. But, I don't want to let go of my suit if the council is just going to push harder for you to marry Ezra again."

"I know you want me to keep my freedom to marry for love and all that, but I would rather marry you than see one of my best friends and strongest allies suffer being married to someone who only wants them for power." Dominic placed a hand gently on top of Flower's and gave it a little squeeze. "I love you like I love my family, and I'd give anything to protect my family. If that means I have to marry you, then so be it. But until I know you're free to be your own person and make your own choices, I'm going to do anything I can to protect you and your rights."


Marco sighed, signaling to the bartender to slide him another drink. He slumped over the bar and took a slow sip. "Humans are too complicated. That's why I avoid them. I'd rather be by myself than struggle to deal with human sensibilities."

"Even other people, like elves, make no sense. Councils and bureaucracy and all kinds of meddling and tradition. It's a little ridiculous if you ask me. I'd rather fight for what I want and lose than weasel my way through all the hoops set up by society and succeed." He looked into his drink, dipping in his little finger and swirling the alcohol around. "And when fighting isn't a viable option, I've found it easiest just to lay down and give up. Causes a lot less heartbreak when you resign."


Lor's head snapped up as Deathwish released his aura, clearing away anyone who came too close. She narrowed her eyes and, in an almost motherly tone, snapped "You can stop that now, honey. I've heard all about you being all spooky, but I'm trying to have a nice conversation with Mia and you dropping the temperature is making it a little hard to focus."

Olly, Lor's beau, was obviously uncomfortable with Deathwish's presence. He shifted in his seat at the end of the bar and watched Lor closely from the safe distance. He knew that she could handle herself. That's part of the reason he loved her so much. When he would rather back down, she would stand up and, in the nicest way possible, fight. She was never violent unless she had to be and tried hard to be honest, even if it got her into trouble. But, if she ever got in over her head, he would do what he could to back her up.

He looked at Deathwish for a split second, silently communicating, "You might not want to cross her, because I don't want to get my butt kicked when she pisses you off." He flashed a nervous, one-fanged smile and quickly went back to staring into his drink.

Lor turned her attention back to Mia, ignoring Deathwish and his aura again. "Is he always like that?" she asked, referencing Deathwish's silent and deadly persona.

"Yeah, for the most part," Mia said with a small sigh. "Most of the time he's just a pain in my a**. And not in the sexy way."

Lor snorted, covering her mouth as Mia's comment sent her into another fit of giggles. "You're a riot," she breathed when she finally calmed down. "How 'bout we down a couple drinks and go dancing?" she suggested, beckoning Maverick over and ordering some cinnamon whiskey on ice for the two of them. "It's so hard to get a dance partner when you're marked. So many people are scared they'll get killed if they so much as look at you." She quickly downed her drink in one large gulp. "I guess it keeps the creeps at bay." she added with a shrug.

Before Mia could even choke half of her drink down, Lor had her by the hand and was pulling her to the dance floor, ready to have a great time with her new best friend.


 
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