Book 2: The Unexpected Duo- Chapter 2

***VLADIMIR***

It had been weeks since the battle against Jupiter and we were still rounding up our dead. Many brave vampires and wolves had lost their lives in the battle. I searched hopelessly for Myra, hoping I could find her in the ruckus, but I never found her. I knew deep down that she wasn’t a part of the dead. I would’ve felt her loss.

My second in command Nikolai walked up to me a grim look on his face, I knew he had more losses to report.

“How many?” I asked Nikolai getting straight to the point.

“Eight, Vlad. All dead.” Nikolai responded, hatred for the war flaring in his eyes.

“We’re we able to identify any of them?” I asked, hoping to ease some of the families with lost ones.

“Two of them were identifiable, the other six, there was almost nothing left. We sent them to the morgue and we will have the families that are left see, if they can feel a familial bound to them.”

I hated putting my grieving people through this time and time again. Some would be heartbroken over and over again, some would lose face that their loved one would ever return, and others were left grieving their deceased; hope for their survival diminishing once they identified their loved ones body.

“Who was identified?” I asked, planning on going and informing the families.

“Kit Livingston and Angela Tayler.” Nikolai responded, his face a blank expression.

Kit was a young vampire, he was turned at the age of 18, and he had only been a vampire for a year, but he was willing to fight, he wanted to protect his mate, and her family. His mate had been Angela. She must have left the protection of the dungeon, to go out and fight with her mate. The mate pull was strong, once fully mated, it was hard to not to stand by your mates side.

Angela’s mother, Rebecca, had turned Angela when she was eighteen. She’d always wanted a family, but couldn’t bring herself to change a child from the orphanage. Rebecca had been visiting my office daily since the war ended, trying to find Kit and Angela.

“Has Rebecca been informed,” I asked, secretly hoping that one of my warriors had already delivered the bad news.”

“No my king,” Nikolai responded shaking his head, “We wanted to inform you first.”

“Alright,” I responded, standing from my desk, “I’ll inform Rebecca of our findings.”

“Vlad, the men are exhausted. When will the search efforts end.” Nikolai asked, the grief and exhaustion showing clearly in his face.

“When all the deceased are reunited with their family.” I responded, “These men and women fought hard for them, they deserve to be laid to rest.”

I left my office, wanting this nightmare to end. I wanted the effects of the war to be over so I could track down my mate, but right now my clan needed me, and I needed to appear strong for them. I began the walk to Rebecca’s house, knowing that I was about to break her heart, She’d been so strong, holding out hope, that the lovers had ran off together, to escape the war. I knew she knew better, but I couldn’t take her hope from her, even though now, I was doing just that. I reached Rebecca’s house, an inhaled deeply, trying to get my emotions in check, before placing a soft knock on the door. Rebecca opened it quickly, as if she was expecting company, when she saw me, her face crumbled, tears flowing down her face, as she fell to her knees, sobbing.


The next day Nikolai informed me the last two remaining bodies were found and identified. Finally we could lay our dead to rest, and move on from the war. I linked Damien and Guinevere, advising them we ready for funeral preparations. Guinevere thought it best, we do the funerals together, to show we were a united front. She also wanted to give the pack good news, she was pregnant with the future heir of the pack. Even though she was having a daughter, Guinevere was set on making her the heir, She said her daughter, who they decided to name Sabrina, would be the start of real change. I couldn’t have agreed anymore. If Sabrina was anything like her mother, she’d be a strong warrior.

Once the funeral procession ended I still didn’t feel like I could leave the pack to search for my mate, we needed to rebuild, and I needed to plan for my departure. I’d already decided I was going to leave Nikolai and Guinevere in charge, but there was still so much that needed to be done to recover after the war and we still needed to help the pack settle from the merger. I promised myself, once I knew the pack was settled, and life had returned to somewhat normal I’d leave to find my mate, and I would end the curse the Faeries had put on my kind.


***2 YEARS LATER***

“Are you sure you have to leave?” Guinevere asked, before picking up her cup of Chai and bringing it ot her lips.

“Guinevere,” I said smiling, “We’ve been over this, My mate, she’s still out there. I can feel her. I need to find her.”

Guinevere frowned a little, sadness showing in her eyes, “But what if she doesn’t want to be found Vlad?”

I took a sip of my tea, swallowing down a lump that had formed in my throat, that thought had already occurred to me. “When I find her, If she doesn’t want to come back with me, then I’ll walk away, but I have to try, for the sake of Vampire Kind. I need to try and break this curse Gwynn, I want to give my species what you have,” I said motioning towards Sabrina and Damien, and then towards the unborn babe, in Guinevere’s belly.

Guinevere smiled sadly at me, “Okay Vlad, I understand. Do what you must, just make sure to come home in the end. Sabrina will miss her Unk Unk when you’re gone.”

I smiled fondly at the nickname Sabrina had given me, while I hated the nickname, I absolutely doted on Sabrina, she’d been our light after the war had ended. I stood up to make my departure, holding out my arms to Guinevere.

She waddled over to me, and wrapped her arms around me. “We will miss you.” She whispered, pulling back, tears in her eyes.

“Make sure to call me when my nephew’s born.” I said smiling, rubbing her belly affectionately. Guinevere and Damien’s children were our future.

“Will do,” Guinevere said smiling, I waved goodbye to Damien, who’d let out a little growl, shaking my head laughing as I departed. After all this time, he still got jealous over the littlest of things.

I was both nervous and excited, the time had finally come to find my mate and convince her to fall in love with me.

***If these last two chapters seemed familiar, it is because they are, these two chapters took place in book one, but they were rewritten to fit the start of Book 2. I hope you're as excited as I am to begin Vladimir's story.