She met up with Anthony and they tried to find a way to let their families meet without ripping their throats out. They found it hard to do so without it being a bloodbath. They sighed. They knew they had to get them together soon because it seemed that the creature was getting stronger. It seemed to be out in the sun and this worried them. They were going to have to take a chance.
They decided to do it this Sunday. They were still concerned about how well this would turn out.
“Is that the bird that has stolen the heart of my cousin?” It was Declan. He came down the stairs. He looked less pale which was strange for a vampire. A beautiful Spanish woman followed him.
“Meet the bird, Isabella. Izzy, this is the family.”
She was breathtaking. Even Jacinta stared. Anthony started to have dirty thoughts which she picked up on and told him to stop those thoughts.
“Hi, nice to meet you.” She said with an accent. There was something different about her than the regular vampires.
“Oh, I should tell you. Iz is part-gypsy. She is a wiccan.”
Anthony looked at Declan, “You mean spells and stuff.”
“Are you daft, mate? Yes spells and stuff. I thought she would be the best help for this ‘creature’ as it is easily affected by magic.”
Anthony had been an idiot. Of course it was easily affected by magic! How else would it be trapped in the forest for so long?
“According to legend. The creature was actually human and it was a witch hunter. Mark, which was his human name killed the head witch and the coven was pissed. So they found a spell to turn him into a creature and they locked him up in the forest in a tree. Apparently, when the last witch died, he was able to move again but given the enchantment spell, he is only bound to the forest. But the creature always had a window of opportunity to escape every full moon but a witch always manages to repeat the recantation and keep it imprisoned. That’s where the bird comes in,” he said as he grabbed Isabella and kissed her. They were about to make out when Anthony cleared his throat to remind them that they were still in the room. They stopped and looked at them. They laughed for a brief second. Anthony continued, “So she is going to put the spell on the creature and prevent it from running amok.”
“What about actually killing the creature?”
Declan headed towards the fridge and grabbed a beer. He knew that it had no effect on him but it was a habit that he had developed before he turned. He opened the cold brew and drank it down.
“I dunno how else to tell you this mate, but you can’t kill it.”
Anthony and Jacinta looked at each other. They were not pleased by what Declan had said.
“I thought the plan was to find some way to kill the bloody creature!” Anthony shouted at Declan.
“Oi! Calm down! Don’t you think we considered all of the options? This is the best one that we have.”
Anthony calmed down. He believed Declan but was scared that the plan may go awry. Something just told him that this wouldn’t be that easy. He just couldn’t believe Declan. There had to be another way.
“Also, there is a full moon coming up so we need to act fast.”
Jacinta knew that her family would also be there. A full moon meant that she would change.
“My family would also be there. We tend to hunt during full moons.”
Anthony then realized how important it would be for them to meet.
“Declan, I know we have discussed this before but we need to meet up with her folks immediately. They might be there that night and we have a common goal. We don’t want any trouble.”
“You have a point there. So Sunday the in-laws get together and discuss this.” He winked at Anthony and Jacinta.
They began drafting a plan and this time they included the knowledge that Declan had just provided. If they couldn’t kill it, they had to trap it.
Isabella had some old spell books that she carried with her. She tried to look for the spell that would trap him back into the tree but couldn’t read some of the Latin. She eventually found something that resembled the spell but it seemed like it would require a witch with way more power than her. She groaned wishing that she did have the power to lock him away.
“There is one way that I can become more powerful in time.”
Anthony looked hopeful. “What is it?”
“I will need human blood and some crystals.”
“Sure ok. If that will stop the creature.” Anthony thought that they could go to a hospital nearby and find some crystals through a friend of his.
“Also, I am going to need a knife. I need to sacrifice some of my blood so that I can get stronger.”
Anthony would also get the knife. He didn’t care what it would take to kill that beast. He would have died but it would have been a different kind of death. The beast almost killed the love of his life and that would be the death of his soul; a death he could not endure. This sounded quite simple.
“I am also going to need the heart of a supernatural being.”
Anthony and Jacinta froze knowing that it would be impossible to get her that heart without killing someone. Declan did not want to go through with this plan.
“But we have to do it!” said Anthony. Declan was furious. He couldn’t believe what he was saying.
“You do understand that you would be killing another living creature? Is the death of one being worth saving many more?”
“Yes, look at what you are saying. If we don’t sacrifice the life of one, the entire supernatural population could be extinct.”
Declan groaned. He never thought that he would have to think of something like this. “So now we have to think about killing someone. Who do we kill?”
Never had the group been posed with such a question of morality.
“Maybe we should tell my family about this. They might be able to help.”
Anthony groaned. As much as he hated the idea, it could give them more options. It looked like they had no choice but to meet their enemies sooner than they thought. They arrived at Jacinta’s house and knocked on the door. The door opened and they were greeted by Jacinta’s parents.
“What are you all doing here? It isn’t Sunday as yet,” said Jacinta’s mom. She already could not stand Anthony’s smell. Now two more vampires put her in a tailspin. Her parents were not expecting these visitors nor did they approve.
Declan automatically hissed at her parents and her parents growled at him. Jacinta knew that she had to take charge of the situation.
“Mom, dad, calm down. This is Declan. He is here to help.” They calmed down but kept their eyes on him. Declan retracted his fangs once they did.
“Declan has some important information that he would like to share with all of us.”
Declan started by saying that as much as he wasn’t a fan of working with werewolves, that they must be amazing people to raise someone like Jacinta. They immediately softened. He then explained that Isabella was part-vampire and part-witch and that she had a spell to stop the creature.
“Whatever it is, we will help. That thing took out most of our alphas and threatened the integrity of the pack! We want it dead!” said her father.
Declan then explained the items that Isabella required. They were silent.
“But how do we kill someone? I mean we hunt but this is another supernatural being that we are talking about.”
Anthony stepped up and faced her parents, “We may not have a choice.”
Jacinta’s parents were stunned by his statement, “We always have a choice. I want to kill it but not this way.”
Isabella wished that there was another alternative but said, “There is no other way.”
Her parents sighed. “OK, we will see what we can do to help. We will call a meeting amongst the pack and find some sort of agreement as this impacts all of us.”
“Thanks for taking the time to meet with us,” said Anthony before they left.
“It’s ok,” replied her mother.
Before the
y all left, Jacinta’s father stopped them. “Jacinta, I need you to be home before 11.” He paused and looked at Anthony and Declan, “Anthony and Declan, you guys aren’t so bad for vampires and neither are you Isabella.” He said smiling at Isabella. His wife slapped him as he was holding his gaze on her for far too long.
“We will meet again on Sunday and we should have made a decision regarding the information that you just gave us,” said her mother. They closed the door.
“Well, that went better than expected. The entire time I was thinking if I included Anto in the will,”said Declan
“Hey!” exclaimed Anthony who disapproved of what he said.
“Don’t worry mate. Your name is still there. Might have to add the bird if things get serious,” he said winking at her. Isabella smiled softly.
“Well, let’s remember the most important aspect of that meeting. We left with our lives intact,” said Anthony.
Jacinta glared at him and thought that they were being quite dramatic about the events that occurred. She hoped that eventually they could all work together and can move past the past. Anthony heard her thoughts and hoped for the same. He wrapped his arm around Jacinta and kissed her cheek. Anthony proceeded to make fun of them.
“Aww! Look at them! So young and in love.” Jacinta and Anthony began making out in front of them.
“Eww!” exclaimed Declan “Oi! Get a room!” They stopped and smiled. They knew that if they began kissing that it would elicit this type of reaction. They continued it just to get another reaction.
“Hey! If you guys love each other so bloody much, then why don’t you two get married?”
They walked in front of them and left them behind smiling and holding hands. They returned to Anthony’s house. Anthon opened the door, swung Jacinta on his shoulder and carried her to his room and locked the door.
“Hey! Don’t do anything I bloody well won’t do!” Declan shouted after them. He looked at Isabella who was seducing him with her eyes. He bit his lip and realized that he was being a hypocrite. “Oh, who am I kidding?” He reached out for Isabella’s hand and squeezed it. They then made their way to the guest room and locked the door.
Chapter 19
Preparation
“This council meeting will now take place.” Said one of the elders. Almost all of Jacinta’s older relatives were in the room. These were the elders. They were way too old to fight but wise enough to make the important decisions. They gathered at her house to discuss the creature in the forest. They also discussed the possibility of working with vampires.
“I think we should just let the creature kill us all,” the entire council erupted with laughter. When the laughter had died down, they continued their discussions.
“It seems like we should consider working with these ‘creatures’ as it is in our best interest.”
“Excuse me,” said one of the elders, “but we are also supernatural creatures.”
“Yes, but we are better than they are,” said another. The two elders then proceeded to fight.
“Order! We will not begin to turn on one another. Apparently, the vampires are strong where we are weak. We could work with them and for a short time, we can put our differences aside and defeat this creature once and for all. Let’s vote on this. All those who agree to working with the vampires?” They looked around and saw 8 elders hands raised high.
“And those who oppose?” Six hands were raised.
“Ok, then it is settled. We work with the vampires.”
Jacinta’s father then spoke, “We have received some additional information. There is a witch who has the potential to kill the creature but she requires specific items.”
The council members began to whisper amongst themselves. The room buzzed with excitement. Once they had calmed down, they were willing to hear the terms.
Jacinta’s father continued, “She needs human blood, a special knife, some crystals and the heart of a supernatural.”
The council gasped. They were surprised at the fact that the witch had to kill someone in order to kill the beast.
“But has it been decided who she should kill?” Asked one of the elders.
“My guess is that it should be one of the vampires,” said one of the elders. Some of the elders agreed with what was said.
“However, we cannot just claim a life so easily. It perhaps may be easier if someone decided to sacrifice himself in order for the task to be carried out. Let us adjourn this meeting and think amongst ourselves who would sacrifice their lives for the sake of the pack. Let us think about who would be so noble to lay his life down for his fellow men. And with that said, this meeting is over.”
Jacinta’s parents waited two days later to tell the vampires the news. Declan, Isabella and Anthony were on their way. Jacinta was in the room. She heard what the council decided. They were to choose amongst themselves. They were to decide who should die. She groaned. She knew that no one would sacrifice their lives. She held up the moon-stone as it shone in the light. These were the crystals that Isabella needed. She could see the truth in all matters with the help of the crystal. She saw that Isabella was a good person and that she and Declan would end up happily ever after. She also saw that she would be spending the rest of her life with Anthony. She was very pleased to see that. She also saw that the beast was getting stronger and stronger. She almost dropped the crystal out of fear. She then heard a knocking on the door. She ran downstairs and saw that Anthony, Isabella and Declan had finally arrived. Anthony smiled at her and told her that she looked beautiful mentally. She thanked him and approached them. Her parents invited them to take a seat.
“So we met with the council and they decided that we should individually chose who should be killed. And knowing how fiercely proud the council is, it is safe to assume that no one would be willing to sacrifice their lives for such a noble cause,” said her father.
“So we are back to square one then,” sighed Declan. The full moon was drawing closer and they were running out of time. The creature grew stronger and stronger and they needed to stop it. They didn’t know what to do. Jacinta could see what Anthony was thinking. He was considering sacrificing his life.
“No!” she screamed. Everyone looked at her. “Sorry.”
“I would like to sacrifice my life to the cause.” Everyone looked at Anthony. They couldn’t believe their ears.
“I just want Jacinta to be safe and we are running out of time.”
“No! I won’t let you do it! NO Anthony!” screamed Jacinta.
Anthony kissed Jacinta and held her. She began to bang on his chest and then she began to cry.
“You can’t do this to me, Anthony.”
He looked at her forgetting the other persons in the room, “I have to, love.”
She sniffled. She wiped her face on the sleeve of her shirt.
Her parents were proud of his decision. They saw that they were together. They were both horrible at hiding and lying. They never thought that they would like her daughter with someone like Anthony but they were glad that she found someone like him. He seemed to have morals and respected and loved their daughter. He made her happy and they have never seen their daughter so happy before. They never seemed to fully understand their daughter or her choices sometimes but they knew that this was the right man for her.
“No Anthony, I don’t think you should be the one,” said her mother. “You are too young for this.”
“I know I look like I am 22 but I have lived for many centuries. I think I should do one noble thing before I leave.”
“Yeah, well we are not letting you do it,” said her father.
Anthony sighed, “But if I don’t do it, who will.”
Jacinta’s parents looked at one another. Her father cleared his throat. “I will.”
“What dad, no you can’t. You have a responsibility to the pack.”
“Sir, as lovely as that offer sounds, I can’t let you do that mate. This is my decision and I want to stick to it. ”
They spent hours trying to convince Anthony to change his mind but he refused to let Jacinta’s father sacrifice himself. They were getting tired of discussing the matter and decided to leave it until tomorrow. They were aware that the full moon was drawing close. They knew they had to make a decision soon.
Her parents sighed. Then her father said, “If we can’t find anyone else, we will consider it.”
Jacinta wanted to scream. She didn’t want to lose him but her pack and his kind were at risk. They ended the meeting and headed back to Anthony’s place. Anthony and Jacinta lay in bed, his arms were wrapped around Jacinta.
“Why are you doing this? You know I love you? Why do you want to leave me?”
He kissed her forehead and held her even tighter.
“I will never leave you but if something threatens your safety, then I will protect you. I made that promise to myself and I intend on keeping it.”
“I love you Anthony, but I am not sure what would happen if you just died like that. I will always love you and I know that I will be strong enough to cope but you can’t go out like this. I am not ready to lose you like this.” She began to sob. Tears stained his shirt. He wiped her tears away and kissed her softly. He then held her once more. He knew that what he doing. But he was scared. He was afraid to die. He was afraid to leave Jacinta by herself. Throughout his entire life, he had never met someone so incredible. He allowed himself to be vulnerable with her and now he was going to leave her. He sighed. He didn’t expect things to be this way because he truly loved her but felt like he was doing the right thing. Jacinta hoped that they would find someone else because he made her truly happy and couldn’t bear the thought of being without him. They ended up falling asleep in each other’s arms although they were consumed with thoughts of the future and what was to happen later in the forest.
ROMANCE: Claimed By The Forbidden Vampire (Alpha Male Paranormal Shifter Menage Romance) (Werewolf Vampires Interracial Pregnancy Novel) Page 8