Forever Alone... Or Not

Chapter 20

3rd Person

Michael and Sariha were trapped between their mates, thankfully. They covered themselves with that perfume, but it still seemed as if every vampire in the room lusted for their blood. In particular, Michael's AB negative blood. Nicco saw the stares and quickly addressed them with a dominating glare. He was the son of a highly acclaimed vampire. So, they backed off.

Like most court meetings, it was dreadfully boring. Well, for most. Sariha serenely enjoyed the experience. It was a government, an entire regime that she had never learned about. Bethany could sense the excitement within her mate. Her leg shook in anticipation and contemplation. The vampire tried her best to deter Sariha from her habit, but it still drew attention. The attention was not pleasant.

"Stop." Bethany whispered. Her hot breath condescending on the human ear. Sariha nodded like the good girl she was. As excited as she was, she knew not to disobey her blood bond in this situation. She simply rearranged her crossed legs, then allowed her and Bethanys intertwined hands to sit on her thigh.

Michael sat silently. He was fixed and composed, not because he wanted to be, but because his instincts commanded him to be. The room was filled to the brim with vampires. Conniving, blood-thirsty, monsters that could kill him in an instant. His gut twisted and clenched at the thought of Nicco and his family mauling him to the bone. Nicco, covered in blood, smiling. Those two sharp fangs sitting proudly with carnage. A shiver vibrated down his spine, and he scooted closer to Sariha. Nicco did not regard his blood bond flinching from his presence. He too acted composed, and his eyes stayed focused on the movement of an Assise's lips.

"We gathered here to honor the memory of Aldridge Windsor." There was a moment of silence. In this moment of silence, the emissary dipped their heads and placed a hand on their heart. Michael and Sariha figured it was a traditional vampire gesture to say farewell. Once he raised his head and disregarded the hand on his chest, the head vampire continued his speech. "Son of the great King Johnathan Windsor and Queen Matilda Gallio. A relic to our old, and an inspiration to our young. It was such a pleasure to have that man by my side for many, many centuries." Michael questioned the point of this biography. "It came to me as such a surprise to find out he had been killed by a human."

Many vampires gasped. The row of four simply faked interest. They could care less about this "oh so great" vampire. If anything, he had probably deserved his death. Centuries of killing innocent mortals surely had to be a punishable offense. Morally, how could these people live with themselves after committing such a crime? Michael wondered about the vampire suicide rate.

"By his blood bond, no less." This caught their attention. "You all remember how smitten he was. That woman captured his heart. We were happy for him, he finally found the one. All thanks to our high court member Domingo Ignacio." He paused to glance at Nicco's father. In turn, the male sat straighter. He looked like a statue. Built of stone. "And that pathetic bitch shoved a stake through his heart!" Sariha was appalled by the vulgar language this leader used. It was inappropriate for a powerful government representative to swear like that in front of an audience. The vampires did not feel this way. They booed, snarled, hissed, growled. All sounds of anger and discouragement. Nicco and Bethany turned to each other, over the heads of their mates. They had no clue this was on the agenda. Together they worried about the course this conversation would take.

"We have this human in custody." Another Assise member continued. There were excited cheers, almost like the court shifted into a wrestling arena. "Through various ways of... interrogation, we learned that this human was a hunter." There were more shouts.

"This has not been the first time this has happened. Human blood bonds have a tendency to become homicidal. Including Aldridge, there have been 22 murders. So, we have come to a conclusion to enforce a new law."