One by one, they arrived, each letting out a sigh of surprise at the sight of the dead vampire. The story seemed to fall into place then.
It had been a fight, not a murder, and both parties had paid the ultimate price.
Ranael, the dead wolf's saber, lay a few inches away from the dead vampire, covered in the vampire's blood.
"So what do we do now?" one of the Wolves asked, voicing out the question that all of them had asked in their minds. When nobody ventured anything, he continued
"Look, it's obvious what happened here. These two met, had a dispute and killed each other. It's a disaster and while I have no love for the bloodsuckers, I realise that this is not worth tearing up the truce over. Blood has had blood. So to speak. Let's just go bury our brother and alert the vampires to the presence of their fallen here"
Turk shook visibly with barely contained rage. Those bastards. Ranael was his friend. He looked at the dead vampire and spat on him.
"Ulfang's right" he said reluctantly. "Take Ranael back home to his family. I will make sure the vampires get word of their fallen scum"
They nodded and went to retrieve their brother.
Minutes after they left, Turk still stood beside the fallen vampire.
He hated vampires with a terrible intensity only rivaled by how much he loved his werewolf brothers.
He hated the treaty that had been reached. Hated the fact that future werewolf generations would grow up to believe they could live in peace with the bloodsuckers. They might even be friends. Who knew, inter-species marriage might even follow.
That last thought sent a blast of white hot rage coursing through his center.
A sound came from the bushes beside him and he crouched low, instantly at alert. He sniffed the air.
Nothing.
But there had been a sound. He was certain of it.
Unsheathing his saber, he walked warily towards the sound.
***
Keena sat in her room. The news of the fallen wolf had spread rapidly and had spread gloom round the entire pack.
Ranael.
She hadn't known him very well. She'd fought beside him in some of the past wars. He was a skilled fighter and was a serious believer in werewolf supremacy. She also knew that he and Turk had been very close friends. Her mind wandered to him. Turk. She wandered how he was. Probably brooding and frustrated that he could not exact his revenge.
The news had said that the vampire responsible for Ranael's death was dead as well. So as far as that went, justice had been served.
As if on cue, she smelled a familiar scent as Turk stepped into her room.
For a while, nobody said a thing. Then she broke the silence.
"How are you?"
"I'm fine. His killer got his just reward. That will have to do"
She was taken aback. She had expected a rant. Some deep, well thought out monologue on how the peace between both sides could never last and how vampires were a scourge and a blight on the earth that had to be put down before they infected everybody with their poison.
She got none of that. His hurt must be much deeper that she could comprehend.
"I need something from you" he suddenly said.
"What?" she asked warily
"I need your saber" he said simply.
"My saber?" she repeated in a monotone, instinctively reaching for the weapon. "Why?"
"I'll return it. I need to model a new one after it. I lost mine a while back. I figured, with Ranael's death, it would be time to get a weapon to defend myself. I'm good, but, one can't be too safe these days" he explained simply.
She thought about it. It made some sense.
"Have it back to me by morning. Not a scratch on it or you and I will have a problem" she said, handing it over.
"Thank you" he said simply.
As he turned to leave, he turned back to her, taking in her get up.
"Going somewhere?" he asked
She followed his gaze and stared at her clothes.
For the past two weeks since that first full moon, she and Christoph had met each other each night. Their meetings got better and better and she now looked forward to it with each passing day.
She realized he was still waiting for an answer.
"Yes. I was going to go out later" she said simply.
"Be careful" he replied. "It's dangerous out there"
Then he turned and left.
***
Christoph crouched down waiting. He smiled as he envisioned her walking out of the bushes towards him.
The past two weeks had been amazing. Keena affected him in ways that no one else had ever had and he doubted anyone ever would again.
They'd talked about what a future looked like for them. Eloping seemed like the best option, although they were pretty sure that if they did, they would reignite the war and a manhunt would be organized for them. Instructions to kill the party from the other side would also be given. Living a life perpetually on the run did not appeal to either of them much.
Eventually they'd decided to keep their arrangements a secret for the time being. So far, their plan had worked and both of them were having the time of their lives with each other.
Literally.
He heard a sound from behind him, turned instantly and spotted Keena walking towards him. She looked stunning as usual.
"Ah. There's my favourite fur-face" he said smiling, and she giggled.
God. He loved the sound.
They walked to their tree, sat at the base of it and he put his arms around her.
For a while, neither of them spoke.
Then.
"Did you hear?" Keena asked
"Hear what?" Christoph asked back, sensing incoming heavy news.
"A werewolf and vampire were found dead earlier today. Apparently, they stabbed themselves to death"
Christoph was taken aback. He had not expected this. The treaty was shaky as it was. What was wrong with people that at the slightest semblance of peace, they instantly sought to overhaul everything and deteriorate back to chaos.
"What are your people saying?" he asked guardedly.
"We're going to bury him. They don't think it's any reason to break the treaty. People are only just starting to warm up to the idea of peace"
"That's good" he said, "and the vamp?"
"Turk informed your brothers back at home. They've probably retrieved the dead body already and taken him home for burial"
Christoph heaved a sigh of relief and reached out to caress her face, but she flinched.
"You okay?" he asked, instantly worried by her reaction.
"Just a bit shaken. I wanna fight. It'll clear my head"
Christoph contemplated her suggestion for a minute
"Well, I would've thought some other activity would clear your head, but well, if that's what you want" Christoph said with a knowing smile.
A look passed over her face for a split second. It was a flash and he hadn't gotten a good enough look to be able to interpret it.
But he could have sworn it had been disgust.
Then she smiled, and he pushed aside the thought.
"We can do that later. We have the rest of the night ahead of us right?"
"Right" Christoph said getting up, when he turned to assist her, she was already on her feet.
Before he had time to move, she reared back and delivered a devastating blow to his chest. The blow sent him careening into a tree at the opposite end.
He struggled to his feet, massaging his chest.
"Whoa. What was that? A little warning next. . ." his sentence was cut short as Keena cleared the distance between them and delivered a smooth roundhouse kick, impacting with his jaw. He struck the ground with a sickening thud.
"Get up" Keena growled, her voice had taken on a sinister edge.
Christoph groaned. What was up with her? She was coming at him with more force than she had ever used before. It was almost like she wanted to hurt him.
He got t
o his feet, his face pulled in a frown.
"Okay Keena, I know you may have known the dead wolf and are hurt by his death, but that's no reason to take it all out on me. We're supposed to be sparring" he said, rubbing his sore jaw.
"You talk too much" Keena said and rushed towards him again. He was ready this time and parried her fore swipe and back swipe.
"What is up with you?"
"Shut up" she said, and planted an uppercut squarely beneath his chin. As his head reeled back from the impact, she caught it with his hair and dragged him forward lifting him off his feet with his forward force and dumping him, chest-first, on the floor.
"Are you even trying?" she asked and took a few steps back waiting for him to get up.
"What is wrong with you?" he asked as his jaw started to heal again, albeit painfully this time.
Keena scoffed and retrieved her saber.
"Isn't this what you wanted initially? This was the original plan right? Let's raise this up a notch" she said and ran towards him
She slashed at his chest, but he jumped backwards, withdrawing his blade simultaneously, blocking the attack.
"Stop this. I'm not doing this anymore" he said and shifted to the side, knocking her off balance with the sudden weight removal and as she fell, he caught him by the hair and dragged her towards him. He spun her towards him and head butt her forehead.
She fell in a heap in front of him.
He heard her whimper and was immediately penitent. He couldn't blame her, she was in pain. One of hers had just been killed.
Sighing heavily, he walked towards her.
"You okay? I'm sorry" He said as he bent to help her up. She grabbed his arm and tossed him over her shoulder.
Retrieving her saber, she straddled him and lifted the weapon above her head and paused.
They maintained the position. Staring at each other.
"Have you gotten it out of your system?" he asked, breathing heavily from exertion
She slowly dropped the blade but stayed there untop of him.
"Yes. Yes I have" she said in a monotone.
"Good" he replied "now come here" he said placing a hand behind her head.
She leaned forward slowly. A small smile spreading across her face.
He returned her smile as he stared into her deep black eyes.
Wait.
Black?
Before he could reconcile his observation with any coherent thought, he felt the tip of the saber pierce beneath his breastbone, up to his heart.
His eyes widened in shock. The garlic infused blade tore at the organ, ripping it in the middle.
"K. . . Keena" he managed to gasp as a violent cough erupted from him carrying with it a spray of blood.
Keena got up and stared at him.
Only now, she seemed to stand taller.
Her hair colour started to change as the length reduced steadily. Right in front of him, little by little, feature by feature, Keena transformed in front of him and a now familiar figure stood in her place.
Remus.
"Remus??" he gasped, groaning with the effort. "Why?"
His friend gazed at him sinisterly.
"You know why" he said simply.
"But . . . you . . . you said. . ."
"I know what I said. I said I'd put it behind me. And you naively believed me. Those beasts raped and murdered her right in front of me. She begged them. They tore her limb from limb Christoph. And they made me watch. Literally. Slowly. Limb. From. Limb." he said emphasising each punctuation.
"And you and your father expect me to just forgive them because of a stupid treaty? No. This war is going to be reignited, and the best part is that, you're going to be the reason it does. The irony is delicious."
Christoph's eyes widened as the implications of what Remus was saying registered in his slowly fading mind. His eyes dropped to the blade sticking out of his chest.
Keena's blade. The royal seal clearly indicated that much.
The treaty would be destroyed for sure.
"I mean what could incite a father more too righteous rage, than his sole heir being killed by the daughter of his enemy" Remus said interpreting Christoph's wide eyed gaze.
"You’ll . . . never . . . g . . . get. . ."
"Save your breath princey. You'll need every single one you can take. Dying for us is not a very quick process you know." he said smiling.
"Now. If you'll excuse me, I have to go now. I have to prepare to be shocked by the death of my best friend" he said pulling a shocked expression.
With one final snigger, he turned on his heels and left.
Christoph lay on his back as he slowly bled to death.
***
Keena reached the clearing and immediately knew something was wrong. She sniffed the air around her.
Blood.
Fresh.
She could not hear a heartbeat. She quickened her pace fearing the worst but refusing to accept it.
As she reached the field she saw Christoph sprawled on the floor in a pool of his own blood.
She still could not hear a heartbeat.
She knelt beside him and realised with alarm that the weapon sticking out of his chest was hers.
Her saber.
How?
Instinctively she felt along her waist for the saber. It wasn't there. How?
Then it hit her.
Turk.
It made sense. No wonder he had been so calm earlier. The bastard. He would pay for this.
A burst of white hot rage went through her, fuelled by her grief.
The transformation process was triggered and her skeletal system was slowly arranged and rearranged as she took the lupine form.
Once the process was compete, sh rested on her haunches, and howled at the moon. Then, with a determined look across her lupine features, she took off in a gallop for the castle.
***
Back at the running ground where Ranael and his fallen vampire conquest had been found earlier, Turk lay dead.
His chest was torn open. His face frozen in an expression of intense shock.
EPILOGUE
King Demetrius Thorin stared at his son's dead body.
The saber lay beside the body. The royal seal on the hilt was clearly displayed for all to see.
Demetrius had a stone faced expression that betrayed none of the tumultuous emotions he felt within.
He cleared his throat.
"For two and a half centuries, those beasts have waged war with us. Killed us. Raided our nurseries and killed our new-borns. Although we gave back just a good as we got, we decided that enough was enough. Not a long time ago, we reached a treaty. A peace treaty. A treaty that was to foster a new era. An era where vampires and werewolves could coexist in peace, and thrive independently" he paused as his voice cracked.
"This is my son" he pointed. "That. Is your prince. Your brother. Christoph Thorin was nothing if not noble, and was the brains behind the peace treaty to start with. Now he lies at my feet, killed by a blade made for someone of royal blood. We cannot take this lying down. We WILL NOT take this lying down. From this day henceforth, our treaty with the werewolves is over. They will feel the pain I now feel, and will come to fear the name, VAMPIRE."
A cheer arose in the great hall and was silenced as King Demetrius raised his hand. He unsheathed his blade and raised it above his head.
"Kill them all"
Can I Ask A Favour?
If you enjoyed this book, found it useful or otherwise then I’d really appreciate it if you would post a short review on Amazon. I do read all the reviews personally so that I can continually write what people are wanting.
If you’d like to leave a review then please CLICK HERE.
Thank you for your support!
About The Author
Mike is a writer, author, entrepreneur, life coach, personal trainer, speaker and an avid traveler.
Mike has been making money online since 2013 and decided to hop on to Kindle and sh
are with the world his wealth of knowledge. Mohammed loves the luxury of being able to travel and yet make money doing so.
He always tells his clients, you don't need to think of travelling as an expense but rather as an investment.
Some of his hobbies include:
Meditation, Mindfulness and The Meaning of Life
Running, Biking, Swimming, Rock Climbing
Helping Individuals Reach Their Full Potential
Spending Time With His Family
Playing Competitive Basketball
Writing, Traveling, Blogging
Bonus Content
Blogging Cash Course
What is a Blog and How Blogging Will Help Your Business
Many people wonder what exactly is a blog, and how can it help their business, if at all. This is a common question that people ask me as I make big money on the internet with blogs, but before you can make big money with blogs you must first understand what blogs are all about, because many people simply don’t know.
The blog has been around for years, however just came into major popularity in the last three years. The weblog, or blog is simply a application that allows users to post written text that gets immediately posted to the web, like an online journal of sorts. The blog is something that is meant to be as easy to use as the word processor application on your computer. While most websites take hours to update, a blog can be updated in real time, as quick as one would save a file to a computer. This is partly what makes blogs magical.
Blogging is a great way to get information on the internet inexpensively with friendly results, such as high search engine ranking, and free advertising. The blog, with it’s variety of keyword heavy posts allows people to make money off of the high return result on a search engine like Google. What this means is that if you are selling home security systems, and you create a blog about good deals on such systems, chances are people looking for a security system will come across your blog in the search engine. This added exposure will surly help more people notice your business, and make purchases, thus creating greater business for you.
Bloodmoon: Peace Treaty Page 4