Choosing Fate (Book 3)

Chapter 17

The hunt with Xavier actually went off without a hitch. I was impressed when he easily grabbed an elk with his bare hands, and sank his teeth into its neck, drinking from it for a few seconds. I could feel my teeth aching as I watched him feed, but when he handed me the limping body, his red eyes brightened when my teeth found a spot right next to his. He made sure two out of the four wolves were with me before he went to the other elk the wolves had brought down, and began to drink.

When we had all had our fills, and the extra meat was stuffed into a cloth bag for the sick, we headed back home, me taking the lead. Xavier followed close behind, his breath fanning the back of neck when he would get too close. With him being a hybrid, he was twice as fast as a normal wolf or vampire, so he was probably jogging right now.

I jumped over fallen trunks with ease, breathing in deeply— something I felt I hadn't been able to do in a while. I followed the faint trail of our scent, which was mainly covered by the musky scent of the wolves. Wolves, that trailed behind, giving me a wide berth... for safety.

I slowed down when I began to see the first signs of supernatural life, and straighten myself out, now trailing behind Xavier, who carried a bag over his shoulder with ease. I could tell he was a bit precautious with every step he took as I followed him, but he didn't do anything about the wandering eyes that fell on me. It was understandable.

After delivering the meat, we quickly went back inside to take a shower, getting rid of the coppery scent that hung around us. Once I was done, I went to the main conference room, arriving just as Dimitri was rounding the corner with Emilee on his arm.

"Just in time," Dimitri remarked as Emilee bounced to me, encasing me in her arms. She dragged me like that inside, plopping me down in the chair next to her as her husband went to the other side. Alex and Delilah sat on his side, but she quickly stood up and came to us, grabbing my other hand in confidence. I could feel the warmth of her human body next to mine, and could hear the strong, and appealing beat of her heart, but having the eyes of two Kings on me quenched down any thirst I might have had.

"Do you know where you will be going?" Alex asked, breaking the silence. I shrugged and shook my head, earning a soft nod from him. He turned his head to Dimitri, and he immediately began to speak.

"Her training went well. She is clearly ready to be around humans—" he motioned to me being seated next to Delilah. "—so we don't have to worry about that, but we will be keeping an eye on you for the rest of the year."

"And by year, he means your first vampire year," Delilah whispered in my ear, making me shiver as her warm breath fanned across my neck. I instinctively inched closer to Emilee, who tightened her grip on my arm, and gave an apologetic smile to Delilah. She understood, and squeezed my arm once more before going back around the table, sitting down next to her husband. I saw him immediately relax, and I tried to not take that harshly.

"I understand," I finally answered to Dimitris words.

"As for feeding, if you are in a pack, we recommend to take the meat to them, or even allow one of them to go hunting with you. If you are outside... just, try to feed near a pack." He didn't have to worry about that. If I followed everything according to plan, I would always be near or on pack grounds, and with the royal family as friends, I could stay as long as I needed.

They warned me of a few other things, Delilah invited me to her childhood house, —which she assured her parents would treat me like one of their own— and Emilee just kept on hugging me, almost as if she didn't want me to go.

When the last words were said, and they were standing up to leave, words came tumbling out of my mouth before I could stop them. "Wait!" They all looked at me, and I began to panic. My eyes went down to my fingers that were playing with the hem of my shirt, and I quickly thought of an excuse. When my mind came up with the perfect one, it brought tears to my eyes, and that is how I stared up at them.