Chapter Two

Ezmeralda POV:

Not a single one of us said a word as we weaved in and out of the trees. I wasn’t really sure what I was looking for but the deeper we got into the woods the more the feeling inside me became less like a feeling of dread and more like nervous butterflies, it was more nerve-racking than anything else. We have never had something like this happen before,at least I have never experienced anything like this, but then again I have never really dealt with the vampires or the wolves. You see, we witches, dark or black tend to face any and all opponents head on. No hiding or lurking,which I am sure is what you and everyone else thinks us witches would do, but it was something we have always done. People never expect the unexpected, and they never think that someone would be so bold as to just come out and attack an enemy head on. But you see, we don't just meet our enemies head on, we are able to sneak up to them from the trees as well. Effectively dropping down directly in their path and throwing them off guard. Our ability to do this is a big reason as to why it has taken us so long to fully get rid of the black witches.

While we walked through the woods I took in how the sun beamed in between the trees, highlighting certain parts of the ground to the point I could still see the dew on the leaves. I started feeling as if we were getting closer, and the nerve-racking feeling turned into one of fear. Whoever it is was scared but not moving away. “Hold on.” I whispered looking at the ground. “What do you see?” Mariah asked. Talon stepped a little closer and looked down at what I was pointing at. “Is that a childs’ footprint?” Malachi asked. Rowena bent down and placed her hand next to it and it was evident that it was. “Why would there be a child out here?” I asked, looking at them. “Only one way to find out. Lead the way.” Talon replied. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. I needed to concentrate right now.

I wanted to know why a child, not ours, was out here. Maybe they are curious. I recoiled my fire, the last thing I really wanted to do was harm them or scare them. “Stay behind me.” I said. Slowly, I started walking forward, leaving them no room to argue. It was clear I wasn’t in any danger. I could handle a child. I tuned out the sounds of the birds chirping from the trees and allowed this feeling to lead me. We walked merely half a mile before I heard leaves breaking. I looked up to see a small childs’ head ducking back behind a tree. I turned to face the others, holding my hand up to make sure they stayed right there. Quietly, I walked over until I was facing the tree. I could hear the little boys breathing, it was rapid and shaky. I stepped around the tree to see him staring wide eyed at me. Fear was evident all over his face and I smiled softly.

His golden blonde hair stood out a little more due to the sun and his bright carmel colored eyes blended perfectly with his tan skin. He was six, maybe seven, given his height. “Hello there. Who are you?” I asked, looking down at him. For a moment he didn’t speak a word. His mouth opened but nothing came out. “There is no reason to be afraid child. We are friendly.” I added, hoping it would get him to say something. “I- I’m sorry.” He whispered. “Sorry for what? You’ve done nothing wrong.” I replied, squatting so I could be more eye level with him to show him that he doesn’t need to be afraid. “I wasn’t supposed to leave the lands.” He whispered looking around. “They will come for me.” He added. “Who? Who will come for you? What lands did you come from?” I asked. I felt the need to protect this boy but I wasn’t so sure he was afraid of us or who would be coming for him. “My uncle. He is the Alpha King.” the boy replied and I took a deep breath.

The royal children were known to be a little more curious, but I wasn’t sure how the alpha king would handle this. “Can you tell me your name?” I asked. “Jordan. What is your name?” Jordan asked and I smiled. “I’m Ezmeralda. It’s so nice to meet you Jordan. Would you like us to take you home?” I asked. His little eyes widened as he stood in shock staring at me. “Uncle Ash may not like that.. We were told to stay away from witches.” Jordan replied and I frowned a little. “I simply can’t let you walk back on your own. You never know what could be lurking out in these woods. I will send word to your uncle that we found you safe and sound and will be returning you.” I smiled. I looked over my shoulder to see that Talon was already on the phone with the royals. Honestly, I wasn’t sure how this would go but given our last meeting and history I don’t see an issue..

FLASHBACK

Ezmeralda POV:

This was my first official meeting with Alpha Ash. He sent a summons to not only me but also the vampire queen. Why is it that men always think they can summon us women? That we are all just sitting around waiting for a man to ask us to tea or something? But since, he said he had wanted to speak of peace, possibly create new border lines and has asked for a general update on things, I decided to accept his offer to meet. I’ve personally never had an issue with him, when we were younger I would often find him playing in the woods and even though our parents had kept the peace we knew they didn’t want us to really mingle with each other. Children don’t keep secrets like adults can, which was why we were either kept outside to play or tasked with things to keep us busy. Either way, they thought of us as children who needed to live a childs’ life. There were times that Alpha Ash and I would play hide and go seek, or tag. It was the simple things that kept us entertained, but that was long ago. I honestly don't know what to expect now that we have grown up, will I even be able to recognize the boy I used to play with?

I decided to dress in an emerald green satin dress with a lace over top, the sleeves hung easily off my shoulders keeping my upper chest and back bare. It’s not too over the top but not anything less than a royal would expect. “I swear if one of those wolves even smells you in a funny way I’m breaking their nose.” Mariah muttered as she walked into the room. She was dressed in a soft pink maxi dress with black high heels. Her hair was straight and she kept her makeup light. “At least my legs are covered.” I giggled. “Well I didn’t have enough time to go and look for a new dress. He could have given us a better warning, you know.” Mariah argued. She had a point, we only received word this morning that he wanted to meet. “How do you think the vampire queen is going to be?” Mariah asked.

I could tell she was slightly nervous, she wasn’t really one for confrontation, but she definitely wouldn’t hesitate to break someones’ spine either. “I honestly don’t know. She was kept away a lot growing up, but if she is anything like we have heard then we really need to be on our guard. This is precisely why Talon, Malachi, Rowena, Fez and Hunter will be with us today.” I replied. I remember when our parents would meet, I could tell then she was extremely disciplined. She only spoke when she was spoken to but she was never afraid to look any king or queen square in the eyes, she spoke with hardly any emotion in her voice but then again that is how her mother was. There wasn’t a friendly vibe about her, and her mother was worse. When she spoke everyone listened, but it was hard for the previous alpha king to accept that a woman could be in charge and make good decisions. Thankfully for all of us, he eventually came around and used his brain for once, which allowed our parents to keep peace between the races.

I took one last look at myself before I turned around, “Let’s get going shall we? The faster we get there the faster we can leave.” I muttered opening the door. I could hear her heels following after me. Even though I could feel her emotions she hid it well. “No.” Talon said stopping me in my tracks. “No? What are you talking about?” I asked. “Go change. Both of you.” Talon said. I rolled my eyes. “We look fine, and covered.” I replied. His eyes met mine and behind them was the ultimate father look. “Stay right here.” Talon said, he turned around and walked off and I looked at the others. “For what it’s worth.. I think you both look lovely.” Rowena said winking at us. When Talon came back he was holding a sashe in one hand and a full length formal dress in the other. “You put this over your shoulders, and you go put this on.” Talon said handing it to us. “Is this really necessary?” Mariah asked. All it took was a look for her to turn on her heels and run to the bathroom. A few moments later Mariah came back in a soft pink formal dress, glaring at Talon. “Keep looking at me like that and you won’t have eyes, asses in the car.” Talon said, narrowing his eyes. It wasn’t worth the argument, we would never win, so we made our way to the SUV we had waiting for us. There was a silence that settled over the car, and as we drove I looked outside to watch the trees go by. “I want you four on high alert. No one gets close to the girls.” Talon said, finally breaking the silence. “I have full faith that they will do fine.” I replied.

They were the best, and I knew that they wouldn’t let anything happen and as ruthless as Ash could be, I don’t think he would ever intentionally put us in harm's way. At least I would like to think he wouldn’t do that… and part of me still hoped that playful little boy was still inside him somewhere. I didn’t realize how deeply I sank into my thoughts until the gates appeared in front of us. Their guards stood in front of our car stopping it before walking over to the driver side window. They didn’t say anything, just waved us through. As we drove up I noticed how they now had a split driveway with a huge fountain in the middle with little rose bushes around it. The house was repainted from dark brown to white with golden trims. Freshly placed pillars seem to have stood taller than I remembered. Honestly the whole Palace seems to have been redone to resemble the human built Zappeion Mansion in Athens. The palace itself is two stories tall, not including the ground floor that is used only for formal parties, and if I remember correctly each floor used to have fifteen bedrooms. The stairs leading up to the massive double doors were a whitish-golden granitite. “He certainly gave this place a makeover.” Mariah whispered. “It definitely looks more welcoming. Alright everyone, game faces on.” I said, taking a deep breath as we pulled to the front. Malachi and Fez got out first to come and open my door, while Hunter and Rowena helped Mariah out.

They stood at our sides with Talon standing directly behind Mariah and I. I looked up the stairs to be met with a pair of familiar piercing ice blue eyes. Alpha Ash stood tall, wearing a crisp black suit; his sandy blond hair was slicked back. His face was stern but not threatening. His olive skin seemed to glow a little more in the sun and even I had to admit he was incredibly handsome. “Introducing; Queen Ezmeralda of the dark witches.” a guard announced. At that moment everyone stopped to turn and look. With all eyes on me, I squared my shoulders back and kept my head held high as I began walking up the stairs.The closer I got to the top, I was able to notice that Alpha Ash now had a hint of a smile on his face. Maybe he would not be too different from when we were younger after all.. He extended his hand to me, “Queen Ezmeralda, thank you for joining us tonight.” Ash said in a husky voice. “The pleasure is all mine, Alpha King Ash.” I replied with a small smile. You see, in introductions like this, it is very important to get the title correct so you don’t offend anyone. “My beta, Wayne will show you the way. I wish to stay and greet the vampire queen when and if she arrives.” Alpha Ash said.

I nodded my head and looked at Wayne. He didn’t speak a word, only nodded and turned around and walked inside. As we started to walk in we moved a little closer together, Malachi stood to the side, behind me while Fez stood a little in front of me. Hunter was standing in the same place on the side of Mariah while Rowena was in front of her. Talon was directly behind us. I took in my surroundings; the walls were painted a deep blue with white trimming which makes sense, their pack colors are gold, blue, and white. They had medium sized statues of Greek gods on the floor between each of the pillars, while portraits of previous Alphas hung above them. My guess was they are comparing themselves to whatever god they are above but I could be wrong, especially since I see no goddesses in here, guess the women really take a backseat in wolf culture. Sheer white drapes were tied back with a golden ribbon to allow the sun to shine through. I looked down to see that the floors were granite as well with a deep blue rug down the middle. Everyone was dressed to impress, I’m sure everyone who lives here knows what is happening today since they all seem to be moving with a purpose. We came to an opening and I looked around to see people standing around next to the railings.

I had forgotten that all the rooms circled around the ground floor so you could see literally everything that was going on. Tables were being placed around and everything was being decorated. I wondered if they were having some sort of party or something later on. I looked forward, seeing that there was now a stage that faced the open room. I tilted my head and smirked when I noticed Alpha Ashs’ chair was a throne. It was as if we were living back in the medieval times, but then again it was very unique to see and I was impressed. “We will be going to the meeting room, sorry for all of the onlookers, bunch of nosy bastards.” Beta Wayne said over his shoulder. “That is alright, they are just curious is all.” I replied. It was a rare sight to see another race coming onto the lands and I’m sure they were all nervous. I wasn’t going to voice that though, it didn’t matter how low I spoke, wolves are known for their hearing.

We followed him down a hallway that had portraits of Alpha Ash and his family. In one photo his mother and father were standing behind him and five other kids; two boys and three girls. They must be his siblings, I don’t remember ever seeing them though but I know he is the oldest. Beta Wayne opened a door to a large meeting room. There was a wooden table that seats about twenty people. “Please, sit anywhere. The others will be here soon, and don’t worry, every room in this palace is sound proof.” Wayne said before closing the doors. I relaxed my shoulders a little bit and walked towards the other side of the room to take a seat. “I guess, we wait. Mariah next to me. Talon I want you sitting here because I have a feeling Ash will sit at the head of this table. Malachi, Rowena, Fez and Hunter I want you all behind us. Keep a neutral face but be on your toes.” I said. It didn’t take them long to get in their places and the only thing we could do now was wait for the others to arrive…