Chapter 28

Twenty-Eight

ALANA

T he entire island was there to watch the execution and staking of James. I felt sick to my stomach as Markus waded through the crowd so I could be at the front. I needed James to see that I was there.

It would give him some sense of comfort.

As we walked through the sweaty mass of people, my eyes were on James. He was shackled by his wrists to two giant stakes on the ground. His face shined with sweat from the sun, and his eyes no longer glowed with mischief. His eyes were downcast as he gazed at his feet, waiting to die.

I noticed with horror that the executioner was sharpening a wooden stake in his hands. King Armon was there wearing festive red robes. He looked much older as he gazed at the proceedings with delight. It had been the most drama that Howl's Edge had seen in years. His daughter, Princess Lyra, was friends with my mother, and he knew our family. I wasn't sure what he would think if he found out I was associating with a vampire. I couldn't risk mine or the babies' lives. They needed me. We rarely visited his palace since we weren't that close, but he was friends with my father, Grant.

Once we reached the front of the crowd, my eyes were fully focused on James, willing him to look up at least for a second.

"I'm sorry, Lana," said Lio. "I wish I could do something to stop this. I really do."

"It's just too horrible to watch," I whispered, and then James looked up. His eyes met mine, and my chest pounded with fear for him. His eyes softened, communicating to me that it would be alright. That he would be okay. I blinked several times, holding back tears as we locked eyes. I didn't care who was watching us. His face look weak and tired from all his ordeal and sufferings, which would be put to an end today.

"It's noon," said Markus, and my attention shifted to the executioner holding the stake. James also looked at him, and my stomach roiled. I was going to feel sick.

"It is time, my people," said King Armon, who stood before the crowd and held his arms out. I could hear people whispering about the vampire and unable to believe what they were seeing as they stared at him like a spectacle.

My pulse pounded in my head. I watched as the executioner neared James.

I slipped between Lio and Markus, running to stand in front of James. My pulse pounded in my head as I stood under the hot sun on the platform with James behind me. My arms were outstretched to block the executioner. If no one would stand up to this outrageousness, then I would. By god, I would.

"Stop!" I screamed.

"Move, little girl," said the executioner, leering at me.

"Alana?" said King Armon in shock, his eyebrows raised. "Get down from there right now."

"This is wrong," I said. Then louder to the crowd. "This vampire has a good soul, better than any of you. He saved my life."

Lio and Markus quickly strode to my side, their faces shocked at my boldness.

"Alana," James croaked from behind me. "I'll be okay. Don't do this."

With fire and determination in my heart, I refused to leave his side.

"Move," roared the executioner.

"No!" I screamed, standing my ground. Lio and Markus both crouched into fighting position. Ready to defend and protect me if anyone dared attack.

"Whore!" someone shouted from the crowd. Then they all started to chant that phrase over and over.

I looked around wildly, seeing the crowd go out of control. Then everything happened within seconds. Four alphas charged at Markus and Lio. I screamed, running to James and trying to pull the shackles off to free him.

"Leave him alone!" roared Lio's father, Jatix, from the crowd.

With my hand on the burning manacle, I turned to see Jatix transform into his werewolf form along with his pack, Shawn and Silus. Three fully grown alpha werewolves had jumped to the front of the angry crowd, blocking them from getting to Lio.

I gasped when I saw my dad, Grant, also running through the crowd to get to me. He shifted midair into his werewolf form while the rest of my fathers followed suit. Grant stood directly in front of James and I.

Ten alpha werewolves now against a mob of over one hundred.

"What in tarnation is going on?" shouted King Armon.

But it wasn't over.

I heard a loud whistle and turned to see a league of vampires led by Volgriff, wearing loincloths and carrying metal weaponry, rushing toward us. They were holding axes, knives, and even bows and arrows. Volgriff shouted a war cry, and shivers went down my spine.

An all-out war was about to happen, and I could do nothing to stop it.

"Fuck you!" screamed an alpha from the crowd. "Kill'em."

Shouts and screams erupted as the vampires, the Frostcrown Pack and Lustfur Pack, joined forces against the people of Howl's Edge. Bodies were being hurled everywhere, and blood spilled all over the sand. The vampires dodged the frenzied attacks with uncanny agility, retaliating with lightning-fast strikes. Fangs clashed against claws as both sides unleashed their centuries-old animosity upon each other.

"Get yourself to safety," croaked James. "Leave me be."

"No," I whined, trying to pull the manacle off his wrist, but it was futile. My fingers were burning from the hot metal resting under the sun for hours. Then Volgriff charged up to the platform to where we were.

"Move aside, omega," he commanded me with an axe in his hand. I moved, and he hacked off the manacles restraining James. Chaos still raged behind me, and I could hear howls, barks, and whistles from the island's two most powerful alpha packs.

"No!" shouted the executioner, and in a split second, a wooden stake was sticking out of Volgriff's chest.

The executioner had killed the vampire leader. I gasped as Volgriff dropped to the ground, clutching his chest. I didn't care about Volgriff dying, but I cared about James's feelings.

James roared, and the chains on him clanged loudly as they dropped to the ground. He charged at the executioner, wrapping his fingers around his pudgy throat. The executioner gazed in horror at the vampire in front of him. James ripped his head off in seconds and tossed the bloody head to the ground.

I flinched and turned away from the gruesome scene.

I saw my father Grant in his brown fur and Jatix in white fur fighting back to back at anyone trying to get to their children, Lio and myself. I was scared for Wesley since he wasn't much of a fighter, but Sam had his back, and he was a powerful machine gnashing his teeth at anyone who tried to come near.

The crowd was too much for them, though, and even for the king, who was rushing around trying to restore peace. He was surrounded by huge delta guards for safety. It was only a matter of time before all of the vampires were crushed.

Running over to James, I stopped in my tracks when I saw him having a last moment with Volgriff as he lay dying. James was kneeling at the side of Volgriff's body, and I watched as Volgriff handed James his stone necklace with the pendant of a fang.

I hesitantly walked over to James and placed my hand on his bare shoulder. James's wrists were bloody as he stood up and encased my face with his hands. The look of grief on his face was visible. In the midst of the turmoil, our eyes locked. Time seemed to slow as our gazes held, and for a brief moment, the world ceased to exist around us.

"If we die, I need to do this. One last time," growled James.

Then he kissed me in the middle of the battle. His lips brushed against mine, gentle yet demanding, and my heart skipped a beat. His tears and my tears combined as he kissed me with his entire soul. I could feel it in his lips. My eyes closed, absorbing the feeling of his rough hands encasing my face. Protecting me from the world. Our lips meshed as one as we cried together, holding each other.

When we pulled away, there was silence. Utter silence.

I looked at the crowd, at the alphas and the vampires, and saw that they were all watching us. They had all watched us kiss. A kiss that stunned everyone. King Armon looked baffled as he walked up to us. James's eyes narrowed into slits as he pushed me behind him, standing in front of me protectively.

"This is unbelievable," said King Armon.

"Kill her too!" shouted someone, but Armon raised his hand, silencing him.

"Do you love this vampire?" he asked me. I stepped around James despite him clutching my hand in warning.

"I do, until the day I die," I said, my heart pumping fast with everyone watching. "If you kill him, you'll have to kill me too."

"And if you kill her," started Lio as he stood on my other side protectively. He had shifted back into alpha form. "You know the deal."

One by one, all the vampires stood next to James surrounding us. Still in their werewolf forms, Grant and Jatix's pack prowled at the bottom of the platform in front of us.

"We can't keep killing each other," said Armon. Then he looked at James. "You are holding the necklace from your dead leader. Now that you are the new leader, will the feedings stop? Or are you still going to prey on my people?"

James clutched my hand tightly. "It will stop. As the new leader of my people, I will make sure no one feeds on your people in any capacity. I have fed on only animals for years, and I will have my people do the same."

I could see the Howl's Daily news reporters getting closer, taking videos and pictures of us. We stood there while King Armon drew up a contract with his advisor, and I watched as James signed the contract in his blood.

"From this day forward, the vampires will live in peace amongst the people of Howl's Edge," announced Armon. "No one is to start a war with one another, and we will have to learn to coexist and live in peace."

Relief coursed through me while he spoke. News reporters harassed the king with questions, and the crowd burst into conversation as they stared at the vampires in fear and disgust. They would need to get used to it. I know I did. And I ended up in love with one of them.

I turned to James, smiling, and he was also smiling through his exhaustion.

"I love you," he said to me, his eyes searching my face.

"I was going to say it first," I whined, and he chuckled, pulling me in for another kiss right in front of Lio. After the kiss, I pulled away and turned to Lio next. "I love you too, Lio."

"Don't forget you're mine too," he grunted, also kissing me hard on the lips. I felt Markus's hands roam on my back, and I turned, kissing him last to the wolf whistles and jeers of the people.

I had freely announced my love with my kisses. And I didn't care who saw as long we didn't get killed for it.