The Holy Sacrifice (boyxboy)

Prologue

Third Person POV

"Adam, seriously? You went ahead without even talking to me?" Peter, Adams father questioned anxiously.

Adam retorted with a touch of sarcasm, "What did you expect me to say? 'Hey Dad! I'm sending warriors to go kill a vampire coven living within our domain, hope you have a good day'."

"This isn't a joke, Adam!" Peter's frustration was evident as he sighed, attempting to calm himself down.

"...at least tell me there wasn't any survivors," Peter pleaded, trying to find some reassurance in his son's actions.

Adam assured him matter-of-factly, "There will not be any survivors. I sent Jack and some of the best warriors the packs have to offer. This mission has been kept secret, so word of a vampire coven slaughtered by my orders won't even reach the packs... let alone our enemies across the Atlantic."

"I hope you're right. You have breached the peace treaty that I worked so hard to put in place. Why must you antagonize the night children so much? We've gone 20 years with peace between our kingdoms, and yet here you are, trying desperately to undo everything we have accomplished as a species," Peter stated sternly.

"PEACE?!" Adam erupted in anger, rising from his desk chair, towering over his father.

"Do not come into my office, yes, MY office and preach to me about maintaining peace. It was you who ruined our species. When Grandfather John was Alpha Supreme, the Royals wouldn't dare have challenged us," Adam spoke furiously, his strong chest rising and falling as he looked down at his father.

"...Your obedience to those that haunt your dreams has resulted in the death of countless werewolf lives. I will stand for it no more. 100 years ago not a single vampire resided in the North American Domain, and now the eastern regions are plagued with covens who steal from our packs and hunt humans for sport. They break our laws and go unpunished - it will not stand," Adam lectured his father, his resentment seeping into his words.

"Two months you have been Alpha Supreme, two months! Your reign should last for 200 years, and yet you've put our species' existence in jeopardy at the very beginning. Where did I go wrong? I thought I was raising a level-headed, kind man who was going to focus on building a strong domain. Yet, here you stand before me, fueled by rage and a hunger for power."

Suddenly, the door to the Alpha Supreme's office flew open, and in came Jack, Adam's beta, looking fatigued and bloody.

"Well?" Adam asked the out-of-breath man, anxiously awaiting a response from his Beta and most trusted friend.

"We succeeded. Although when we were counting the bodies, we only had 16. How many did you say there was in this coven again?" Jack finally managed to say after catching his breath.

"17... you let one escape, you fool. Get every available warrior to search the woods within 100 miles; they couldn't have gotten far," Adam commanded, doing his best to remain calm and positive in such a dire situation.

Two weeks later

Elijah sat on the balcony of his sister's room, both siblings enjoying the crisp morning air and each other's company.

"How're you this morning, my Queen?" Elijah turned to his sister with a smile on his face.

Anna tutted and returned his look with a scowl.

"What did I tell you about referring to me as 'Queen' when we aren't in formal settings? You're my brother, for goodness sake," Anna said, frustrated at how seriously her younger brother took his job.

Elijah let out a small laugh.

"My apologies, Anna. You know how much being a part of this sacred order means to me. I'd serve any pure-blooded monarch that sits on the throne; it being my sister is just an extra blessing," Elijah said proudly, then reaching for his necklace underneath his royal armor, planting a light kiss on it.