Chapter 7: Her Second Mate

The days that followed at the Black Hollows pack were spent preparing for Lord Alaric and his entourage's arrival. The pack manor was thoroughly cleaned, menus were discussed between Luna Beatrice and Chef Clara in order to please the lord and his family, fighters were polishing their weapons, and every hunter and sentinel was on the alert for anything that could go wrong, such as a rogue. Or worse, *Killian*
When the big day arrived, Alpha Callum sat on the balcony, watching everyone else rush around preparing for the Annual Royal Alliance Visit. When he gazed up, he saw the magnificent banner of a river between two mountains, but there were more crown and sword banners than those of the Black Hollows.
His jaws clenched because, unlike previous visits, Alpha Callum felt more annoyed than pleased that a knight from The Capitol was also on his way. Knights report to no one, not even the Royal Council that knighted them, but to the King, and Alpha Callum was not a fan of the vampire king.
By sundown, Lord Alaric's entourage had flooded through the manor gates, accompanied by six black armoured SUVs. As soon as the engine stopped roaring, the doors to the vehicles opened one by one, and the passengers slowly began to walk out. Everyone's attention was drawn to a man with night-black hair.
"*Cassian*," Alpha Callum thought sternly.
He had known the knight previously, and he didn't like him one bit, as the image of him and his brother proudly standing before puddles of blood and the bodies of slain rogues lingered in his mind. The Third War heralded the end of The Rogue Legion's reign over the area of the west that the Black Hollows pack currently guards for the vampire king. At the time, Cassian and his brother slaughtered hundreds of rogues, and Alpha Callum would never forget the remorse he felt when Darion, leader of The Rogue Legion, questioned him about his loyalty to the vampire king rather than to his own people. He was, however, born to serve the Royal Coven, and he was not the one to question his fate.
“Alpha Callum,” he heard Cassian spoke his name as if to acknowledge him, interrupting his thoughts. He gave the knight a brief nod.
Following Cassian was a tall kid who could only be Lord Alaric's son, Jaime, and his mother, Lady Bonnevie.
However, it was the enormous man next to Cassian, Lord Alaric, who surprised him. His belly was appropriate to his height, and his double chin showed the pit he had fallen into.
As he watched the visiting Lord and his family, Alpha Callum's brow furrowed. The last time Alpha Callum saw him was at the crown prince's coronation, and even then, he could see muscles on his arms, but now all that remained was fat.
"Callum!” Lord Alaric's deep voice roared as he smothered the alpha in a hug. “It is good to see you and that grumpy face of yours! Have you restocked your wine cellar?"
"Yes, Lord Alaric." The alpha smiled as he realized Lord Alaric hadn't changed all that much. He was the only lord who had visited Black Hollows and spent the most time in the wine cellar. "The wine cellar is all yours," he added.
While Lord Alaric embraced Luna Beatrice and their young children were introduced to him, Cassian looked around, smelling a delicious scent on the cool evening.
"What is it, Cassian?" Lord Alaric asked.
The knight stopped for a moment, wondering if the scent was something to be concerned about with the lord. He shook his head slowly as he realized it was probably just perfume and said, "Nothing to worry you about, my lord."
"Good, because I’ve planned to get really drunk tonight and I don’t want some nasty rotter to interrupt my time in the wine cellar with Alpha Callum right here, huh."
"I will sweep through the area."
"Good!"
After the welcoming rituals were over, Alpha Callum and Luna Beatrice took their guests inside the manor, leaving Cassian behind.

*The following day…*

Vanya placed her hand to her brow, feeling the fever that was coursing through her body. She'd been sick since yesterday, but she was well enough to volunteer to help merely to escape the assembly and meeting with Lord Alaric and his family the next morning. She asked Chef Clara to take her in and let her assist out in the kitchen, something she soon regretted. The heat and the hustle and bustle of preparing breakfast for the alpha’s family and Lord Alaric’s wife, son, and entourage, combined with her fever, made her to feel like she could faint at any moment. Yet, she pulled through.
By midday, she had taken a break from peeling carrots to drink water and sit in Clara's back-of-the-kitchen vegetable garden. As she sat on the couch, she noticed the coffee table in front of her was piled high with cigarette packs, empty, full, and half-full. She shook her head in disdain and drank a large sip of water from the glass in her hand.
It's been days since she had learned she was Ares' mate and he kept it from her. But what troubled her was the fact that Alpha Callum was aware, and he wanted Ares to reject her or she and Ares would be exiled. How could the alpha do something like that to his own son? But the fact that she was still not as fully accepted as a true born shifter crushed her heart. And she didn't have anyone to tell it to. No one, not even Ares.
She sniffed, her eyes moistening, and set the glass of water on the table and wrapped her arms around her when, suddenly, Clara burst into the shed and joined her on the couch.
"You want to smoke?" the chef offered.
Vanya smiled and shook her head. "No, thank you?" She cleared her throat, then said, "The garden’s nice."
Clara lit a cigarette and took a long drag before saying, "The place could have been prettier if it hadn't been for those idiotic pups running around and picking the flowers." As she turned to face Vanya, her brow furrowed. "You look awful. Are you sure you don’t want to head back to your room and rest?"
"Yeah. Maybe I will. How was dinner last night? I heard Lady Bonnevie couldn’t stop yapping about how your steak felt like butter in her mouth."
Clara scoffed before smiling cheekily at her. "Bless that woman. Serve her a plate of turd and tell her I cooked it. She’d eat it in a heartbeat, I think."
Vanya broke out laughing that her head slightly throbbed. "You think?"
"Yeah. I mean, breakfast was such a waste of my time and our supplies, if you ask me. The poor vampire kid didn't even touch his plate. I can't blame him. For fuck's sake, they're bloodsuckers. Vampires don't actually eat food. They don't really have to. All they need is blood. Why do they have to pretend that they care about what we cook for them? If it were all up to me, I’d just serve them blood and wine. That’s it. "
Vanya slowly nodded. "You have a point."
"Of course!" Clara coughed, and stubbed her cigarette out in the ashtray on the center table. She rose up after checking her watch. "I have to go get ready for the ball. Can you imagine that? A fucking masquerade ball. A waste of time, if you ask me."
Vanya's smile faded and she turned pale when she heard about the masquerade ball. How did she not know they were having a party? Was she so preoccupied with Killian that she missed the announcement? How come Selene never bothered her about it?
"We are having a ball tonight?" she asked.
"It was never really part of the agenda, but Lady Bonnevie suddenly wanted to have a masquerade party, so, I guess, we’re having one tonight." Clara shook her head, annoyed. "Go to your room and rest, Vanya. You look like shit."
Vanya smiled halfheartedly. "I will."
Chef Clara made her way back to her work and began giving out instructions to the omegas helping her when Cassian appeared by the doorway. Everyone’s eyes automatically fell on him as he looked around the room.
"Yes? Can I help you?" Clara asked, looking him up and down.
Cassian looked at her and slowly walked in. "I don't think you can," he answered dryly.
"Then why are you here? You’re in my kitchen," Clara answered matter-of-factly.
Cassian smirked. "I know. I was just－were you smoking?"
"Oh, so you’re looking for a cigarette, huh," Clara said, as if she already knew, and looked at one of the young women who had been staring at Cassian since he stepped through the doorway. "Lanie, go get one from my stash in the shed."
The young woman smiled at Cassian, taking an instant liking to the knight, before exiting the kitchen through the back door.
"I’m not really here for a smoke," Cassian said, gravelly, after a moment.
"Then why didn’t you－"
"－I can’t believe you’re letting people smoke in your kitchen, Clara." Vanya suddenly walked in, followed by Lanie, interrupting Clara. She handed the pack of smokes to Cassian without really looking at him, feeling dizzy and suddenly very weak, but the minute her fingers touched his, she felt something within her; a flicker of recognition; a brief memory of a feeling.
She looked up and saw him looking at her, and she was suddenly engulfed by him and his presence. On unsteady legs, she took a step back. Clara turned to her just as the fever, as well as Cassian's overwhelming presence, all hit her at once. Before everything went dark, she felt her eyes begin to roll back in her head.
"Vanya!" Clara screamed as she fell. 
Cassian caught Vanya before she could fall to the ground.
Clara turned to Lanie. "Go get Dr. Ryan and tell Randall what has just happened."
Lanie rushed out the door and fleeing before Clara could complete her sentence. Clara rushed up to Vanya, telling everyone in the kitchen to move back and give her some space. When she reached Vanya's side, she was taken aback by the way the knight cradled her, as if she were too dear to him.
Cassian simply froze as he cradled Vanya's head, overcome by the realization that he had found her.
*"My mate,"* he thought to himself.