His Secret Love Child (Book One of the LOVE CHILD series)

Chapter Thirty-Two "THE ANCIENT ONE"

Picture above VLADIMIR DRAGO

The intensity in his eyes is the reason that I chose this model for Vlad.

The silence continued to stretch out amongst the Council members as they stared in awed shock at Vladimir Drago. Gerard was especially shocked as he realized his carefully formulated plans were just about to go up in smoke.

Many of the council members had only heard of him, some even thinking that the stories about his existence, were just that, stories. Now here he was, standing among them in the flesh. He was legendary among super naturals. And from the stories that were told, he was not a man to be messed with or taken lightly.

Gerard's thoughts were racing a mile a minute, thinking how he could salvage the situation and stop the disaster that was about to unfold before him. Gerard unwisely chose to let his arrogance guide him, "How can we know who you really are? Non of us here have ever met Vladimir Drago. How can we know that what you say is true?"

Before he could blink, Vladimir was standing before him and Bethany. The council members were once again stunned into silence. No one saw when he moved or how he moved. He gave out a vicious snarl and a deep growl right in Gerard's face, before turning his laser eyes onto Bethany. "How dare you question me, pup!? I am the ancient one." A lesser man would have peed himself and quivered with fear at facing his obvious rage up close and personal. To give Gerard his due, he did neither. Gerard, this time however wisely chose to maintain his silence.

Satisfied at their reactions, Vladimir Drago turned to face the still dumb struck Council members. "Honourable Council, as I have declared I am Vladimir Drago. Many of you know off me by another name, The Ancient One."

The Council members were captivated by his presence. He commanded their entire focus and attention. Behind him, Bethany whimpered in true fear as she was impacted by the force of the powers rolling off of his body and spreading outwards. They seem to lash out at her in punishment.

"I have come here for one reason and one reason only. I do not usually involve myself in the politics and wrangling’s of this Council. But when the actions of the council impacts upon the life and happiness of my son, then you all have my undivided attention." Vlad's voice was dangerously low, yet everyone heard him. "Now, I will not presume to tell you what to do, or how to take the news of my son's mating with Hunter and their human lover. But I will tell you all this, any move against them, I will consider a direct move against me and I will not take that lightly. You will all suffer my wrath." His words were both a threat and a warning.

Vlad turned to face Gerard, who had turned a pale, pasty white behind him. Vlad leaned forward and whispered into Gerard's ear, only loud enough for him to hear. "I know everything. Nothing you've done has gone beyond my notice. You make one more move against Hunter and Rafe, you and this bitch standing beside you will beg for death by the time I'm through with you. If I were you I would cut my losses now. Oh, and in regards to Liam, my grandson, he is off limits. Do anything to him again and you won't live to regret it."

Vlad leaned back and smiling sinisterly at both Gerard and Bethany he took his leave. All eyes in the council chambers followed him as he left. Gerard exhaled the breath that he didn't even realize that he had been holding, in a whoosh. He would never admit to himself much less to anyone else, but he was scared. He was very much afraid of Vladimir Drago.

As the council members recovered themselves from the shock of Vlad's sudden appearance among them, they started talking all at once. True fear, mixed with awe was going through them. "The Ancient One" was not someone that they wanted to cross.
"Lords, Ladies. We cannot let fear sway us from doing what is right. How can we know for sure that this man is who he says he is. It could just be another trick of Rafe and Hunter, to get us to do exactly what they want us to do. Sit still and do nothing in the face of their actions against the laws. But not just against the laws, but against nature itself. There has never been a mating between two dominant males before in the history of the supernatural world. So this mating that their both professing must be false. It's a poorly disguised attempt to hide their true intentions. If they were indeed true mates, why now? Why didn't they mate with each other centuries ago. It's not like they've never met before now. As we all know, as supernatural beings, we are able to recognize our mates once we reach 18 years." Gerard was shouting, thinking quickly, hoping to regain the earlier hold that he had on the council members. Hoping to salvage something from the meeting.

His words gave them food for thought, he could see them digesting what he had said. But before he could start to once again regain his confidence in the influence that he had over the members of the council, one council member stood up and stated categorically. "I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm not taking any chances with my safety and that of my people. It was one thing, thinking about taking on Hunter and Rafe, but with the Ancient One now involved, I for one am not doing anything to draw that man's attention. I will take no further part in this discussion." And with that he left.

His words and subsequent exit, proved detrimental to Gerard's plans. He watched, seething with rage as many of the council members followed suite and left the chambers. He was left with the die hards, that shared his way of thinking and were also apart of the entire plot to bring down Hunter and now Rafe along with him.

As the others gathered around Gerard he howled with rage, "How the hell could it all go so wrong. It was all going perfectly." His voice ended on a deep, low growl. "Somebody better find out who the hell that man really is, and how the hell did he get in here. I want to know now." His rage continued to spill over everyone around him. He couldn't believe that all his carefully laid plans were disintegrating right before his eyes.

Without anyone taking notice, Bethany slinked out of the council chambers. She had no intentions of being caught up in the crossfire. She didn't need to verify who Vlad really was. She knew, and she was scared out of her mind. For the second time in her extremely long life she felt real fear. And it went deep, bone deep and it chilled her from the inside out. She was leaving, as far as she was concerned it was time to cut her losses.

As she ran from the council chambers, she went to her room to hurriedly gather her things. True to her utterly selfish and self centered nature, she didn't even consider to contact her father and brother through their mind link and let them know to get out while they could. All she thought about was herself.

As she hurried around her room, gathering and packing her things, the door suddenly flew open and banged into the wall, the sound echoing throughout the bedroom. Bethany whirled around startled and gasped in fright and shock. Standing in the doorway looking like a man on a mission was none other than Vladimir Drago himself.

As Bethany stood there, literally shaking in her boots, Vlad stalked forward. He was a predator on the prowl and he had his victim, his prey within his sights. Bethany was frozen on the spot, like a deer caught in the headlights unable to move. Vlad came to a stop right before her. He was extremely close, crowding her personal space and intimidating her. Bethany cowered before him. His power lashed out at her and she felt it like a physical attack once more. There was nothing that she could do, but just stand there and take it, suffering from the impact.

"Now. Let me and you come to an understanding." His voice was filled with controlled fury and menace. "You are going to sign and send divorce papers to Hunter immediately. You are going to give up all rights to the twins and turn full custody over to Hunter, Rafe and Cameron. You are going to give up all claim to the Throne of Wolves. Now do we understand each other."

Bethany whimpered, and a choked sobbed escaped her, "Y..ess" she stuttered out, nodding her head jerkily.

"Good. Now that we understand each other. Do not cross my path again. Next time I won't be so nice or forgiving." Vlad turned and walked out of the room, leaving an extremely shaken Bethany behind him. Bethany collapsed unto the bedroom floor. Her chest heaving as she took deep breaths in an effort to calm her self down.

She new just what he was capable of. She had been a witness to his fury unleashed once, many centuries ago, when some misguided vampires and wolves working together had made the mistake of attacking and killing his wife, Rafe's mother.

Bethany closed her eyes as the images flashed through her mind. It was the very first time that she felt true fear. Never in her wildest dreams did she think that she would have ended up on his wrong side. She honestly thought that he had killed himself or gone mad. He had disappeared soon after the death of his wife and soul mate. Never to be seen or heard from again until now.

What no one knew, was that even though Vlad had in effect recused himself from society, he was well aware of everything that was going on, especially when it came to the well being of Rafe. His one and only son meant everything to him. And he would stop at nothing to ensure his happiness.

Vladimir Drago walked out of the Council's Palace and walked towards the waiting limo. His driver stood at attention and opened the door as he approached. "Lets go home." , he said before getting into the car. The driver closed the door and getting behind the wheel, he drove away from the palace. Vlad leaned back and settled into the comfortable seat, leaning his head back he closed his eyes.

His driver looking at him through the rear view mirror asked, with concern in his voice, "Everything alright sir?" Vlad took a deep breath. "It had better be."