Blood King | Book Three of Blood Trilogy

Chapter 5

Zayden 

I roamed the hallway alongside my sister. We were quiet for the majority of the walk with minimal speaking. A while had passed since our parents found out about Alexia's werewolf bite. I could not tell whether she felt ashamed of the entire evening or not, but I hoped that Hazel wasn't blaming herself for this incident. 

I bumped shoulders with Alexia, but her head was still tilted down and she was still silent. I stopped on my tracks then grabbed her left hand.  

"Hold up, Alexia," I announced. She stood still on her spot then turned towards me. I sighed and pulled her in for a hug. "How are you feeling right now? Is there anything strange, and I mean anything strange at all? Because I would want you to let me know." I whispered the last part and stared at her to see if she heard me clearly or not. She just nodded then pulled me in for a tighter hug. 

"Thank you, Zayden. I'm just scared because what if something does happen to me? We are vampire, werewolf, and witch descendants, but what happens when our blood gets mixed with rogue werewolf blood? How can we be one hundred percent sure that his blood was pure, or at least clean?" She was ranting on and on but I could tell that the more she talked, the more tears threatened the spill. I shushed her then returned her tight hug. 

"We don't know anything about the rogue werewolves except for the fact that they rebelled and didn't agree to compel with rules within the werewolf kingdom. We don't know whether the prince of the rogues was clean or not, which is the disadvantage on our side since I'm sure they know plenty about us." I sighed then ran a hand through my brown hair. "I'll be hard, but we will go through this together, as a family." I offered a reassuring smile and she buried her face deeper within my chest. I would always be by my sister's side, no matter what obstacle stood in the way. 

"Thank you, Zayden." She whispered then brushed the tears that rested on top of her cheekbone. I rubbed her arm up and down then placed a hand on her back so we would start walking again. 

"Let's get you to your room. I'm sure you didn't get enough sleep last night when mom and dad sent all of us to bed." She sighed then shook her head. I knew she didn't sleep at all last night. She was too busy worrying just as she was now. 

"What about you?" She asked then glanced up at me with her wide brown eyes. I smiled then told her not to worry about me. 

After closing the door to her bedroom, I made my way to Uncle Aidan's room. I knocked gently since I wasn't sure whether he was still resting or not, after that long night. 

But he replied not too long after with disheveled bed hair. His brown hair was all over the place. I smiled then notified him that I would be getting some fresh air in the woods and walking around. He opened his mouth, ready to shoot down my idea, but I nodded then rolled my eyes. 

"Yes, yes. I know. I won't stray too far away from the castle walls. I just need air to clear my mind and rethink everything that has happened in the past twenty-four hours." I reassured him. He immediately understood me. I could tell by his facial expressions that have released a bit of tension. 

"Just be careful. How's Alexandria?" He asked with some concern. I sighed then shrugged so that he wouldn't begin stressing more than he already has. 

"She's doing alright, I guess. She still hasn't inhabited any side effects, which is always good." I stated and he nodded along. He was definitely a tad more relieved but I could tell that he was still worried since none of us knew exactly what would happen next. 

"Alright, well, I'll go turn the boundary alarms off, you have about three minutes. Just go through the gate when you come back, okay? Be safe." He hesitated to say but eventually did and a smile surfaced on my face. My uncle was the best. He would always allow Alexia, Hazel, and I to have some amount of freedom. "Don't return back too late though. I don't want your father chopping off my head repeatedly." I nodded then began walking away, but I made sure to give a thumbs up from over my shoulder to confirm that I had heard his message. 

I leaped over the twenty feet castle walls and landed back down on the ground, on the other side, in one smooth motion.  Nothing stood in front of me besides the numerous trees that scattered the forest grounds. I listened to the leaves swaying to the rhythm of the wind. It was all very serene and calming to my nerves. 

I began trekking down a trail and seemed to continue down it mindlessly for what seemed like forever. I then approached the edge of the city and snapped out of my trance when I realized how far I had walked from home. It would take me a while to return back home, but as I was about to turn and follow the trail- that took me there- back home, I caught a scent in the wind. 

It made me come to a halt on my walk and searched the area for the source of the scent, but couldn't find anything initially. It wasn't until I saw a white hiking jacket moving in the distance. I remained planted on my feet since the woman could not see me, nor did she even know that I was observing her. 

She carried a large hiking backpack on her back and was determined on making it to the top of the hill that I was currently on. Her dirty-blond hair was tied back and held together in one single braid down the middle. I followed her with my eyes and watched her closely. She stopped on her tracks then turned behind her and began talking to another person who was on a hike with her. 

It was a man that she was talking to. I happened to block out everything about the man and hid behind a tree to only focus on the woman that I had suddenly become fascinated with. Her alluring scent just stayed in the air and I could only draw my attention to her. 

Her hand came outwards right at the man and he grabbed onto her hand in a tight hold. My heart skipped a beat then tumbled. I was already attached to a woman who happened to be attached to another man. 

I shook my head furiously in attempt to rid of the stupid trance that I have been captured in. I sprinted from behind the tree all the way home to the front gate. I had to be miles away from the couple of humans, yet I could still smell her luring scent as if she were standing right next to me.