Court of Ivy and Desire

Tacoma Clan

Maya
I slowly regained consciousness and found myself lying on a sofa as the natural light from the sun shone in through the curtains. We were not back at his hideout. This place was different. I went to sit up to examine the area and noticed that my arm was no longer broken, although it was still sore from the break. It reminded me of what happened last night. The manipulation of that unknown vampire—using my brother as a weakness to get to me. It almost worked until I realized that he was a shifter.

A voice echoed in the room breaking me out of thoughts. "I don't know how many times I'll have to save you." His tone was playful as he leaned forward in the chair. This place was clean, compared to the one we were in last night before I stormed out.

"Where are we?" I asked.

"In a safer place than before," he answered cryptically as he pushed himself up off the chair. The place was furnished with all of the essential needs. Many pictures hung the walls. Hardwood floor clean as if dirt or blood wasn't splattered during the war.  I raised an eyebrow, as I began to feel skeptical about his response. Now it made sense how he survived. He moved from place to place so when vampires think that they had his scent, he wasn't there. That thought alone brought me back to my senses.

"How did you find me so quickly? It's almost like you have some supernatural abilities."

He scoffed at my words, which cause frustration to rise within me. "Really? Supernatural abilities? I'm no vampire, but I have my ways."

I frowned, not completely satisfied with his answer. "You have your ways? You really expect me to believe that? We were far away from your hideout, Trey. No human could show up that fast unless they have some supernatural power." He was definitely hiding something from me and I intended to find out.

Trey sighed. "The military taught me how to track down our enemies. It's a skill, not a magic power."

I narrowed my eyes not entirely convinced of his words, but I realized that he wouldn't give me more information. I needed to know.

"A skill, huh?" That's interesting. Seems like more than that to me."

Trey shrugged, maintaining his enigmatic demeanor. "You can think whatever you want. I'm not here to explain nor impress you. I saved you because you saved me and it seems like we have a common enemy, but don't think this is blossoming into some type of friendship. Whoever these vampires are, want something from us—or maybe something from you." His harsh tone made me choke up, but it also made me understand where we stood. I was starting to get too caught up in something that never existed. So why did our connection feel natural? Instead of harping on that, I straightened my shoulders.

"You're right. They do," I replied, disregarding his other words. "They want my blood. The shifter said it when we were fighting. The question is why?"

The atmosphere shifted and there was tension in our unethical alliance. "I managed to get some information        on these vampires that's been haunting us. Apparently," he walked over to a desk to get his laptop before sitting next to me. Our close proximity was distracting but I managed to not let it take my attention away from what he was trying to show me. "They are called fledgling (which means newcomer or beginner). These are the weaker vampires. That's why it was easy to beat them. I think the real culprit is a pure blood." 

Why would a pure blood need my blood? Things weren't making sense. "I don't understand, what was so special about me?"

Trey hesitated before answering. "Your blood may be the key to something unique. According to my research, a vampire with pure blood possesses extraordinary abilities and maybe these vampires are after that."

I shook my head, although it still wasn't connecting any dots. "No, that can't be it. That's a myth."

Trey met my gaze sternly. "They don't seem to think so. You may need to look back into your linage, Maya. There may be things that even you are not aware of. If another pure blood vampire is calling the shots, we need to prepared for a war that's bigger than the last one."

-

Caedmon

I've known the outcome of this war before it was even put into motion. The Tacoma Clan was known for controlling humans and other vampires like puppets. Many feared us and if any one of them were brave enough to attempt to taken down our clan, well..they die! It's that simple. Nothing can stand in our way and we don't care who we had to hurt, break, or kill to achieve what we wanted. Our clan lives for any form of dominance—of power. In the heart of Ivy Court, I looked out into the streets that used to be filled with humans and vampires living as freely as possible. They never expected the plan I placed in order to get to where we are now. That was only the beginning. The Tacoma Clan were made of pure bloods and of venture linage. We had many havens spreaded throughout the city, each tailored to a dominate royal class including the Miller Clan. Princess Maya Miller had become a target since I found out how special she was. She's what I needed to control Ivy Court and my plan involved more than just getting her blood. With a calculated grin, I envisioned my next move. It would take some time, but I could already see how it was going to end. The only problem was the human. How he managed to survive the war lingered at my thoughts. There's something about him and I will find out what it was. I walked over to my cabinet and grabbed my crystal glass filled with human blood and sipped it. This wasn't checkers to me, this was chess and I contemplated the intricate chessboard of vampire politics. Our kind thrived on sophistication and power and we will have it no matter what. The stage was set and now all I had to do was wait.