Chapter 28

Credence Percival Lawrence saw the shock register on my face before I could hide it. A small smile played on his lips, I guess he gets that a lot. It wasn't what he said though, his words were like vanilla pudding, sweet in their ordinary sort of way, it was the richness of his tones – luxurious and warm. He must be a baritone in church. I'm glad I saw him before I heard his voice, I'd never have put the two of them together otherwise. I bet he gets that a lot, after all his position said it all. Still I could not believe that I had made his acquaintance thinking that he was nothing more than a mere guard in the manor of the Vampire King.
The Vampires were literally an Oligarchy so the word monarch did not fit properly but he was progressing in my direction and my heart beat was increasing like anything. I went to catch hold of Serafina’s hand for support only to find empty air. She was too busy with the bread that she had left me alone to fend for myself.
He was the enemy…he was…..I did not what he was but I should not be feeling attracted towards him.
Attraction, huh? Well that's easy. Attraction is a magnet. It's that thought inside your head that says "There's something about this..." You gravitate towards this extraordinary thing that has captured your attention, and the more you're exposed to it, the more you learn about it. It may bloom into something more, or you'll just lose interest and go find something else to be attracted to.
And he was in front of me.
“Heiress of the Red Hearts Pack. What an honour to meet you!! I have been meaning to make your acquaintance for quite some time now,” said the vampire as he caught hold of my warm and clammy hand and kissed the knuckles like a perfect gentleman. I cringed inwardly that my palms were sweating and that I should have worn a pair of gloves but he did not show the slightest problem in kissing them.
“I am also very pleased to make your acquaintance, Lord Credence. I am sure that you would love to meet all the other Alphas of the Pack?” I enquired softly trying to get my hand back but I could not jerk it away without making it look like I was being rude.
“Of course, Heiress. Always trying to shift the attention from yourself. So humble and modest. But we have a lot to discuss about,” said the handsome vampire and I could literally feel myself drool at the way he spoke. That crisp English with a slight lilt of French accent, holy molly!!
“But she is not the Queen yet,” came Rubina from the other side. She was wearing a purple gown with silver filigree and puffed up sleeves which made her look like something from the set of the Red Queen’s Halloween Hall.
“And you ought to be the Heiress of the Purple Poison Pack, isn’t it?” asked the vampire with a sly grin on his face which meant that he remembered the entire altercation that I had with Rubina in his manor. He could have not forgotten it so soon already. If he recognized me then he definitely recognized the bitch. I wished that sometimes he had trapped her there in the manor as vampire fodder.
Holy heavens!! What on earth was I thinking???
“I am sorry, but have we met before this?” asked Rubina as Credence smiled at her exposing his fangs and said,” My lady, don’t you think that we would both have remembered such a momentous occasion had it happened already? I merely made an observation based on the colour of your beautiful dress. I see that you uphold traditions and values greatly!”
I had to bite the inside of my cheek in order to stop myself from clawing out her eyes and skin of her face. Not that it was going to be that big of a deal. She would heal soon enough.
Soon Serafina was beside me and her sheer presence by my side made me more comfortable.
“Ahhh! So you have a magical with you, Heiress Synthia… I must say that it is already a win for you,” said High Lord and Rubina was fuming badly. Even though Raksha had made it apparently clear that she was going to be supporting Rubina but while the new Queen was not chosen she could not openly choose her allegiance amongst the heiresses. This was not a rule per say but the magicals of the wolf kingdom had only one purpose and that was to help and aide the Queen and the Royals.
In that case, Raksha was existing without any proper monarch at the moment. But still I was not going to touch her with a barge pole seven foot long. She was a big problem but everyone was taking their seats by the table and I also followed the suit. The vampire Overlord was on my one side and his aide was on the other and on the other side was Serafina. So I was practically squeezed between two handsome predators.
“My Lady, you were not looking forward to the State Dinner, I take it?” asked Credence and I looked at him briefly and smiled. The shrimps were smelling delicious and I was not going to pay him more attention than him. But I was going to be courteous and polite. Just as it was expected of me.
“It would be treason for me to say something like that, my Lord. We might be without a monarch at the moment but that does not mean that I shall something of this sort. You can say that I am not a very big fan of parties and formal dinners. I would rather take poker night with my pack mates any day. But I know that this is my duty and I am never going to shirk away from that,” I replied him.
“You are a fascinating creature, Synthia, Heiress of Red Pack,” said the Lord while I could see that Ambernette was least interested in all this that was going on here and was fawning over one of the Knights of the Queen’s Guard. It was most likely that they had found their mates which was a rare occurrence but still a joyous one.
“I am sure that you would find us fascinating as well once you get to know us, Lord Credence,” said Rubina in a slithery voice which was her trying to flirt with him.
“Oh I have no doubt that it is going to be fascinating for you as well. I have heard a lot about the pet you have, Rubina, Heiress of Purple Poison Pack. Did you really name him after one of the founder members in Harry Potter?” he asked with a smile and even though it was not an insult the scorn was clear in his voice. Rubina’s pale and fair skin went pink in an instant as she was angry. She could never tolerate any word about that disgusting snake of hers, even when she was a kid. It looked like not much had changed since we were children.
“So High Lord Credence, I guess that there must be some reason other than formality for this dinner tonight?” asked Blossom who was sitting opposite to him. He raised his brows in a smile and then said,” Of course, Heiress Blossom. That is only natural. Even after we been trying for centuries to keep the animosity among both our kingdoms at minimum it is still really saddening to see that very little has changed. However your earlier Queen, the Red Queen as she liked being called, she had signed a Treaty of Truce between the two clans so that bloodshed would be minimum and that we could live in peace.”
“And you wish to know if the same rules will be followed or not?” I asked as I popped a creamy mushroom in my mouth. The fried mushrooms with the blue sauce was simply heavenly and even though I wanted to fully focus on eating I could not. Because it would be then rude.
“Of course, Heiress Synthia. We have come to know that the circumstances of her death are murky at the best and it would not be investigated until and unless the new Queen Heir is chosen,” said Lord Credence smiling at me as he paid his full attention towards me. It was definitely flattering but I could see that neither Blossom nor Rubina liked the entire situation.
Blossom could not control herself and she gushed out,” the Queen has not been chosen yet. And it is not even confirmed if Sin is going to be the Queen. Then pray tell me why would you pay her more attention?”
I looked at her and my eyes were glowing bright. I could understand that. She was publicly insulting me at a formal state dinner and my wolf wanted to tear her throat out that moment. But suddenly a cold hand was on my thigh and I knew it belonged to the vampire to whom the question was addressed.
“I am sure that you would not mind me saying this, Heiress Blossom of Yellow Sunflower Pack, that you are merely a child, rather a pup in your terms when you are compared to me. And believe me, I know a Queen when I see one. It does not really matter who is chosen, what matters most is who is ready to take the mantle when the time comes and I know that that your counter-part of Red Hearts Pack is more than capable of doing so,” said the vampire in a voice of ice which if were a shard then it would have pierced Blossom right in her heart.
The entire table had gone silent. And I knew that something had to be done in order to salvage this situation. Taking sides, before the Summit was complete, that too by the vampires was like declaring an open all out war.
“I am really very glad that High Lord Lawrence has considered me even eligible for his attention, but my Lord, until the Summit is over we are not eligible to speak on the behalf of the Kingdom. However I assure you, if my word has any value that nothing at all will be done from our end actively to harm your people or Kingdom. But you do understand that there might be a chance that the attack on the Queen might have been done by any rogue vampire as well?”
“I am sure that that is not what has happened however if it has then they will be dealt with most severely and if it does then they will be made an example of,” said the vampire. He was meeting my veiled threat with head on collision.
“That means that you want no more than we do, is that correct?” I asked and he nodded at me with a tight lipped smile. And so I thought it was better to take the leap when the chasm was wide open,” So that means that we can expect your full support and co-operation in the investigation of the death of the Red Queen once the Summit is over?”
“Of course, Heiress. You have my support and you have the support of the entire Vampire Council,” he said with honesty and the hand that was on my thigh which was rubbing slightly and I wanted to purr like a cat at that point.
God he was making me feel….no words would be able to describe what I was feeling at that moment.