Chapter 36 - Unwelcome Guests

Luci and Xavier treated Janie and Waylen to a celebration dinner. They had marked each other immediately after their day of lovemaking. Luci loved watching Janie with Waylen; they were so sweet together.

The two couples returned to the palace and went their separate ways. Janie and Waylen went upstairs to the room where Janie was staying while Luci and Xavier met with the king and queen.

They wanted to discuss the sentence they had come up with for Silas. Nolan was already dead after not having any blood for over a week. They had been giving Silas just enough blood to keep him alive until they decided on a punishment.

"Xavier, Luci, have you decided what to do with our prisoner?" King Malik looked at his son and his mate, anxious to hear what they had to say. This was a test to see how they would rule when they took over.

"We're going to let him live, but he will stay in the dungeon for ten years for every life he is responsible for taking. There is no way to know exactly how many deaths he participated in, so he will spend no less than two hundred years in the dungeon. If he is still alive, he will be released and be a servant in the palace for the remainder of his life." Xavier replied. The king and queen looked at each other and smiled.

"Well done, kids. With this punishment, you're making him pay for what he did and rewarding him for telling you everything by giving him a chance to be released. Are you going to give him his sentence now?" Malik asked. Luci answered this time.

"Yes, your majesty. We wanted to make sure we had made the right decision first before we talked to Silas." Luci bowed to the royals.

"Luci, you don't have to be so formal with us; we're family. Please just call us Malik and Reina, especially when we're in private." The queen smiled at Luci.

"Thank you, Reina." Luci felt awkward not using their titles, but Reina was right; they're family now.

Once Xavier and Luci left the king and queen, they walked to the dungeon to see Silas. When they arrived, they passed by the cell where Belinda was still being held. She looked like she had gone insane. She was sitting in the corner talking to herself and had used her fingernails to scratch some of the flesh off her arm.

Luci glanced at her but kept walking. She didn't feel sorry for the woman with the way she had behaved. When they reached Silas' cell, he stood and walked to the door.

"Silas, we're here to give you your sentence for your part in the death of humans, shifters, and vampires. You are hereby sentenced to no less than two hundred years in the palace dungeon. If you are still alive once your sentence has ended, you will work as a palace servant for the remainder of your life. Do you have any questions?" Xavier spoke very officially, knowing this was a horrendous crime, and Silas should be grateful he wasn't being left to rot like Nolan.

"Thank you, your highnesses, for not killing me. I will serve my sentence with gratitude." Silas felt a tremendous amount of relief flood through his body. He had been sure they would sentence him to death. Two hundred years was a long time, but the lives he had taken were gone forever.

Luci and Xavier nodded at him as they turned to walk out of the dungeon. When they got to the cell where Belinda was, she was no longer in the corner but instead standing against the bars of the cell. Her eyes looked wild, and she smelled of filth. When Luci tried to walk by, Belinda grabbed her arm.

"I'm not done with you, bloodsucker. You will die before I do." Belinda dropped to her knees and rolled on the ground in fits of laughter. Luci and Xavier continued on their way out, but they could still hear Belinda's laughter echoing all around the forest.

When they returned to the palace, they took a quick shower to wash the smell of the dungeon off. As they finished getting dressed, they received a palace-wide mindlink.

*"We have intruders. At least five of them they smell like vampires. They've jumped the gates and are headed to the palace. All guards respond."* Waylen sounded like he was running.

Luci had a sinking feeling in her chest that she knew who had come to the palace. She and Xavier quickly left their room and stopped to get Alessandra and Janie before heading down to stand next to the king and queen.

"Mom, five vampires have breached security and are on their way here. We need you to stay with us." Alessandra nodded, Luci glanced at Janie who looked terrified. She knew Janie was scared something would happen to Waylen. If this was Sam and his people, they didn't play nice.

As they stood in front of the entrance to the palace, waiting to see who was coming, Xavier held the vampire acid in one hand. If he had to use it on whoever was coming, he would. There was no way he was letting them get near Luci, Alessandra, or Janie.

When the palace door burst open, the five vampires that had kidnapped Luci were standing there, but Sam wasn't with them. They stopped in their tracks when they saw the royal family standing with ten royal guards in lycan form.

"What is the meaning of this? Why have you come to the palace in this way?" King Malik spoke angrily. Even though the vampires weren't affected by his aura as much as the lycans, they could still feel the power radiating off him.

"We have come to take back our boss's mate and get the vampire acid that rightfully belongs to us from Xavier." Mel spoke as though she had every right to be there. However, she looked a little shaken as the giant lycans began to form a circle around the five of them. Before anyone could speak, Janie walked forward.

"I am not Sam's mate. I have found my fated mate, and he has already marked me. You need to leave now; I will not be going anywhere with you." No one had noticed the figure coming up behind them until it was too late.

Sam stepped out of the shadows, and with lightning speed, he was standing behind Janie using her as a shield. He had a long, slender syringe in his hand that he was holding with the needle pointed toward her neck.

"My dear, you have no choice but to come with me. I don't care if you have been marked. I have chosen you so that you will be mine." Sam turned slightly when he heard a thunderous growl behind him.

The largest lycan he had ever seen was walking toward him with his canines showing. He was all black with golden brown eyes. Sam knew this must be Janie's mate, so he put the end of the needle closer to her neck and smiled.

"If you come any closer, I will inject her with this entire syringe of vampire acid so you can watch her die." Waylen stopped walking, but he didn't stop growling.

*"Waylen, he isn't holding me very tight. I'm going to push him back and leap up. When I do, you need to attack him before he recovers. He's faster than most vampires, so I need you to be even faster."*

*"What if he gets to you before I get him? I can't lose you, my love."*

*"He won't; I know you can do this."*

*"Alright, on the count of three. One, two, three."*

Everyone in the room stared in horror and shock when Janie suddenly used her body to push Sam off her and then leaped in the air. As she did, Waylen jumped and landed on Sam before he could react.

Waylen stood on Sam's chest and ripped his head from his shoulders before he could move. The other five vampires screamed when they saw Sam's head rolling across the room.

The other royal guards grabbed the five vampires with their teeth and pulled them out into the front courtyard. A large fire was already burning, and they threw the vampires in one by one. The last one was the pieces of Sam. Everyone cringed when they heard the five screaming in agony as they burned, but they knew this was justice for their new vampire family members.

Waylen quickly shifted back and ran to Janie's side. He picked her up and ran to their room without speaking to anyone. Xavier watched them leave. He understood; he had felt the same way each time Luci had been taken or when someone threatened her.

Once there was nothing but ash left, some of the servants came out and cleaned the area. After the commotion, everyone returned to what they had been doing before the vampires came.

No one noticed the syringe that Sam had dropped. The one person who did see it put it in their pocket. They thought it may come in handy later now that the prince had allowed vampires to tarnish the kingdom.