ADAMEN WALKS THROUGH THE crowd, a smug smile curling his lips and contorting his otherwise decent looking features into something grotesque and fear-inducing. He's barely changed since the last time Lena saw him three thousand years ago, and he's still clinging to the idea that he has more power and sway in this world than those older than him. That is, if his fancy clothes are anything to go by.
"My dear Krasimira," he greets, arms spread wide in greeting, expecting her to uphold tradition and greet him in return. "And Nikolay, my boy. It has been far too long."
Meeting his dark eyes evenly, Lena moves in front of her Sired, staking her claim and warning him that it would be best if he didn't make any plans to try steal them away. "I would have been happy to go another three thousand years without seeing you again. I'm certain Nik would say the same, if he wanted to acknowledge your presence."
"You're not being very mature, children. Although, after all, you are just children. I shouldn't expect you to act like adults, ever."
"You may be older than us in mortal years, Adamen, but you are not the oldest one of us. That title is reserved for Nikolay and myself. Or have you forgotten your place?"
"You're nothing but a little whore, Krasimira," Adamen spits, slipping into their mother tongue, clearly forgetting that it is not just them two that speak Akkadian. "Just like your pathetic mother. You should have petrified in that fucking cell."
Lena doesn't bother attempting to stop Nikolay, simply raising an eyebrow as he darts past her and strikes Adamen, the physically older male's head snapping to the side and his feet stumbling across the boardwalk's flooring. Growls and snarls erupt from behind Lena at Adamen's words, malicious anger flooding the Bond between herself, Michael, and David, the only thing preventing them from attacking being her body in their way.
Glancing back at them, a satisfied smile curves Lena's lips. Xander is holding Nadine back even as he struggles to regain control over his own emotions, their eyes yellow with barely controlled rage and protectiveness. Percy is standing in front of Lottie and August, dark eyes a little more than irritated at his Sire's words as he holds the other members of his Coven back from their prey, their eyes yellow and their faces half transformed.
While they cannot understand Akkadian, it's not to say that they cannot read the atmosphere. Even then, Nikolay's reaction to Adamen's words would have been enough to tell them that the words being spoken are nothing kind. Although, the fact that they're so quick to bare their fangs and attack their enemy is quite delightful; a fact that will no doubt assist them this night.
"Mind your filthy tongue, you beast," Nikolay growls, not backing away as Adamen regains his footing and stands up straight, eyes rage filled. "Lena is my sister, and I will not have you speak of her in that way."
"Stand down, boy," Adamen warns.
"No. You stand down. You're the one that's set foot in her territory,without an invitation! The rest of us have her permission to be here!"
Lena's eyes snap to Nikolay, daring him to speak another word, and, by the tensing of the muscles of his back, she knows he's aware that he's treading a thin line at the moment. He growls in irritation and stalks away from Adamen, eyes livid as they flicker between human blue and beast yellow. He meets his little sister's unamused expression and huffs out stale air, leaning against her bike and crossing his arms over his chest, glaring at the floor beneath his feet.
"Leave now and there won't be a fight, Adamen," Lena offers, giving him the chance to survive past tonight. "Santa Carla is my territory, and you're not welcome here."
Adamen's dark eyes glare at her, blood staining his lips from Nikolay's blow. "Oh, my dear Krasimira. I'm not going anywhere."
"Then you've sealed your fate." Turning her head slightly, Lena meets Xander's dark eyes. "Take him."
In the blink of a mortal eye, both Xander and Nadine have hold of Adamen and are dragging the writhing man through the boardwalk. Lottie and August are right behind them, Percy hesitating for a few seconds before walking after the quartet and their prisoner. The humans don't look twice at the spectacle even as Adamen yells bloody murder at them, trying to use his Lure and force them into being his ticket to freedom; to create a blood frenzy that he could use as a distraction to escape from our grasp.
Nothing of the sort will work, not when they're already under the control of Lena's Lure for the next two nights. Nothing will sway the mortals as they go about their night, living life to the fullest on the boardwalk without facing any danger from vampire kind. They're pawns, not the extremely significant ones that she awaits the return of, but still significant enough to warrant the protection they're receiving. None of them are going to die under her watch tonight, at least not by her uncle's hand.
"What did Nikolay mean that they're all here by your invitation?" Michael asks, staring after them. "You said that he wasn't asked to come here; that he just showed up."
Lena looks over at the curly-haired male. "There are things in play that required a very limited amount of people to know. Unfortunately, that means I couldn't risk telling either you or David."
"You mean you couldn't trust us," David mutters.
Sighing out a stale breath, Lena turns to face both of her Sired. "For once, David, this doesn't concern either of you. Adamen is my problem, and I am dealing with him how I see fit. And I'm doing it in a way that has the lowest risk to your lives."
Michael stares at her, pained. "Lena..."
"Just don't, Michael. I don't have to explain myself to you or David." Lena ignores the stinging pain that burns through their Bond. "Everything I've been doing for the past ten years has led to this very night, and I refuse to let it slip away. Santa Carla is mine, from its foundations to its tallest building, and I will protect it and its human population until there's no life left in me. I will protect everything I hold dear, and I won't ask your forgiveness when this is done."
David's unearthly blue eyes stare at Lean; into her fractured soul. "What have you done, doll?"
"I've done what's necessary. I won't be witness to your deaths. Watching my brother die was bad enough. I cannot imagine losing another Coven member — another brother — after him."
"We already have!"
Lena smiles sadly. "As I said, I won't ask your forgiveness when this is done, dear one. I don't deserve such a kind thing after what I've put you through, no matter how much I regret what I've had to do in order to protect you both."
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