The Newbreeder

Chapter 35

Jasper

I looked at the vampire, who was now handcuffed, as he stared at Amaya. Amaya seemed taken aback by what he said, as if it wasn't just him being deranged.

She stared at him a bit longer before reciting a spell, making the vampire unconscious.

"What did he mean by 'unite or destroy'?" I asked, looking at Amaya. Her expression was hard—something I'd noticed about her. When it seems she has no options, she freezes to think before acting.

"We need to keep moving. We're still ten minutes away from the pack," Amaya said, walking to the car, ignoring my question.

We put the vampire off to the side of the road, leaving him unconscious. We got back into the car and continued driving. Amaya went back to texting and making phone calls as I drove. The presence she had as she fell into command mode was the most attractive thing she could do. She was not only born to be the leader, but made to be one.

"You froze back there," I said to her after she got off the phone.

"What?" she questioned.

"After the vampire was unconscious. You froze before we got into the car." I quickly looked at her before turning back to the road. She looked at me, confused and frustrated at the same time. "I've seen you do it a lot since you've been back," I continued.

"I guess it's something I picked up from my siblings, " she said, dismissing the topic.

"Did you get all of the answers you wanted in the Capitol?"

"When I first got to the Capitol, Christian and Anna told me why I was sent to the mortal world," she said quietly. Ever since finding out she was their child, Amaya had wanted the answer to that question. "They were given a prediction of the future. He told them that I would either destroy the kingdom or help it, and that Victor would be the one who challenged me because he never liked the plan to combine the lands. He thought witches were the strongest beings until me."

"Victor? The Queen's brother?" I asked, and Amaya nodded. "Why you?" I asked.

"Because I have the powers of a witch and the shifting abilities of a shifter. Not only am I proof that my parents were right to combine the kingdoms, but I have a high chance of being the most powerful creature. At times, that's all I feel like," she said, dropping her head as she fidgeted with something in her lap. "A creature."

"What? Why?" I asked, seeing her retreat into herself. She took a deep sigh before looking up at the road and answering.

"I feel like people look to me to have the answers on how to get Victor and stop this before it becomes a war, but I don't. I have never met him, let alone know him enough to stop his plan. I feel lost, and I just don't know how to fix this mess that I was born into." She took a deep breath before looking back at her lap. I reached over and grabbed her hand, holding it, trying to give her any kind of comfort.

"You are the strongest person I know. Not because of your powers, or titles, or who your parents are, but because of who you are as a person. Which you are—not a big, bad creature." She smiled at my joke before looking out at the road.

We sat in silence, holding each other's hands until I drove up to the border of the pack. There was no one patrolling. Amaya and I looked at each other before I stepped on the gas, trying to get to the pack town as quickly as possible. We eventually reached the outskirts of what looked like a city. I was going to park the car before something fell onto the roof.

Before I could fully get out of the car, I was dragged onto the hood. A pale woman with blood-red eyes and blood dripping from her fangs sat on top of me. I put my forearm against her neck, keeping her from biting me. I debated punching her to get her off me when Amaya recited a spell, blasting the vampire off the car.