Luckily the room filled with all these raging emotions made mine blend in.. I couldn’t put any of the way I felt into words just yet anyway, and I didn’t want them to see me as weak, not as I entered my first battle as a werewolf. They’d turned me, and so I needed to live up to my end of the bargain, find my spine no matter what it cost me, for Lex, for the Royals, for Nira and the vampires, for the innocents yet to be terrorized, not to mention the families of those already lost.
I latched onto the thought of Nira to change the direction of the whirlwind in my brain that had already begun to restrict my veins, to make it tense and ache. It would be good to see my new friend again. Sad we never saw each other during times of peace. I’d promised to come visit. I’d intended to. Lex and I had spoken of a vacation back to the states. I’d wanted to just be able to chill out at the vampire loft, really get to know them as you could in times of peace. Sure, true character showed in times of war. I already knew what upstanding, amazing individuals the vampires were. What I wanted to know was more of their history, more of who they were as humans, walking dead ones.
What had held me back at first had been turning and then training as a werewolf. After that, I’d put off going back just to delay having to see Chloe again. In my heart, I feared it would be a final visit. Even if I could make Chloe see how great Lex was, given I could only tell her a fourth of the truth about him. What would it gain my friend and I since Lex and I had chosen to live out the remainder of our lives on the island, going back to the States only when needed like now?
Knowing Lex stared at me, I turned to him, unable to wipe the worry from my face. His hand came under the table to grab onto the ones I still gripped tightly together once I’d taken them back. I’d let the pads of my fingers create white rings on my well-tanned skin to the point of pain, giving me some focus on the here and now. The Royals all sat together, alone in our thoughts, yet still connected. That connection alone brought comfort. I figured there was no rush to pack. No one had mentioned travel arrangements yet, but I knew they were in the works as fast as could be managed.
“Of course we will go,” Lex spoke up, merely talking out loud, but no one minded, everyone understood here. “Christina has been well trained in our time here. This is her first official battle not only as a werewolf, but knowing what to do with her magic, and definitely as a true Royal brought under the care of your family which I know personally makes such a difference in the connection, but still, I will be right there beside her as I couldn’t in the first one. And, I know Nira won’t leave her alone as evidenced before. We will be fine. We are ready to face him again. This needs to end once and for all.”
Murmurs of agreement went around the table like a low, sad war cry, getting louder as it progressed, taking on the deep tone of bravery. People sat up straighter, let their pride in their heritage beget bravery. Battle faces commenced. Heads nodded.
“Good, we shall all prepare to leave then on the private jet in an hour,” Edward said, speaking to the whole group. “We must force ourselves to eat, to partake of this wonderful meal to fuel our bodies. I know that none of us feel like food, so chew and swallow each bite for those we will go to protect. We owe it to them to be at our best, and that takes the nutrients the earth provides us so generously here. After we will go, get ready, and fly over the ocean. We have only us to offer, as the wolves already out in the field as protectors can’t join us once we get there. There has been a rash of incidents, seemingly unrelated, but we believe differently, and have them each working and needed where they are.”
“I think you should stay here,” Lex added, his tone demanding attention, showing how serious his words were, though he showed no disrespect. “I will attempt to speak for us all in saying that we appreciate you, Catherine and Edward, just not sending us out there, that you feel this battle is yours to fight too. But, this Daniel is a real head case. And now that he has a sorcerer forcibly working for him I suppose, plus these other wild cards of true werewolves, he is dangerous, a true threat. If the worst happens, you two must survive to continue to replenish the bloodline. You are the last of the pure descendants. In time, that will no longer be the case. All of your offspring has to marry outside of the pact, either spelled wolves or humans. We should protect the true line as long as we can since that is the case.”