Mortal Flames

Dragon Falls

Black Tridax Territory

"I thought I said you should come alone," Alpha Xeres said, standing before General Drake: the leader of a vampire coven called the Orion Star Coven.

He was a strong and rugged man who had lived to see several centuries, though he looked like he was in his mid-forties.

He had broad shoulders that brought out the beauty of his armour. His face was a very pale one, and a sharp contrast his voluptuous red lips. His jaws were like one that had taken years to carve judging by the outline, and his strong jaw lines.

"Oh, what of your men hiding behind the pillars." General Drake smiled, and looked back at his men standing in alert behind him.

"Tsk, Tsk, Tsk." Xeres sounded, and his men hiding behind the pillars slowly came out of hiding.

"So what did you call this meeting for?" General Drake asked, intertwining his large fingers at his back.

"The empty councillor's seat at the grand council," Xeres replied, and pressed his light pink lips into a tight line, with his leg tapping at a continuous rhythm on the floor.

"Look who's happy about the death of councillor Stark." Drake chuckled, "and how the hell do you plan to achieve that?!" Drake's countenance changed suddenly to a fierce one, with his eye color turning a mesmerizing twilight color.

"If you're talking about Alpha Zayn, his son, then don't worry. I have a plan," Xeres said, "it's not like I'm even afraid of him, or are you?"

"What makes you think I won't try to take the position for myself?" Drake asked, scrunching his nose upward.

"Don't deceive yourself, we both know the rest of the council will never allow you because of your past bad actions," Xeres retorted, "you killed several humans, you instigated a massacre, and you even tried to kill Stark." Xeres licked his tongue, and pressed them into a tight line.

"Fine, what's in it for me?" Drake asked, supporting his jaws with his clenched fist, and Xeres smiled before replying.

"The liberty and power you've so much desired."

***

Red Crescent Territory

"That's it for today Liam, see you tomorrow," Jaden said to Liam, who immediately realized Jaden's reason for cutting the lesson short on spotting Alpha Zayn approaching.

"Okay, you've got tell me what you really see in that kid, what?" Zayn asked, but gets no reply from Jaden.

Jaden had put Liam under his tutelage, and instead of allowing him to be trained by one of the senior combatants, he had opted to train Liam himself.

They walk through the field behind the pack's mansion. Trees and shrubs were evenly spread out to the sides, waving a greeting as a gentle wind blew in the air.

Directly ahead was a waterfall, the clear crystal droplets of water pouring down the ancient rock into a gentle, flowing stream below. Pigeons could be seen taking their bird baths, chirping in delight from the descending water.

"He reminds me of dad." Jaden let out an exasperated sigh.

Zayn understood what Jaden meant. Stark had treated Jaden like his own son, even though they had found Jaden outside the pack mansion when he was just a baby.

Silence remained for a few minutes before Zayn spoke up.

"You know, for some time, I was always envious of you. The way dad treated you. Maybe because of your strange abilities," Zayn said, and looks up to the clouded sky, "at some points, I even began to fear you'll become the next Alpha."

Zayn's statement caused Jaden to look at him in surprise, but the surprise soon fades away as fast as it came, with his expression returning to a calm one.

"I guess you never really had to be. He died and your legitimacy was there for you." Jaden flicked off a dry cordant leaf that had fallen on his shoulder before.

"You say it as though I am overjoyed at his death," Zayn hollered at Jaden, who walked past him.

"Do you think you are innocent after all that happened that night, do you?" Jaden asked, at the top of his lungs, and tries to calm himself. Zayn didn't reply, but Jaden could sense the guilt and remorse coming off of him.

For some reason still unknown to them, their dad, Councillor Stark had wanted Zayn to be with him through the night, but Zayn had left Stark's room in anger after an argument ensued between the both.

Zayn looked at Jaden, unable to talk. He places his hand on the door knob of the arched door that lead to the pack's mansion. The mansion was where the Alpha, beta and the gammas stayed with their families; if they were mated. As at now, only one of the four gammas was mated, so the mansion was kind of empty apart from the cooks, cleaners, servants and the butler. The rest of the pack members were scattered around the territory in houses and cabins.

The Red Cresent pack was a very large one, as four other smaller packs had joined and sworn loyalty to Alpha Stark. The Alpha's of the pack were the four present gammas of the pack.

Zayn sighs and opens the door into the huge mansion. Far ahead was a spiral stairwell that passed through the building all the way to the last floor. The room seemed busy as servants and maids moved here and there, going about their daily business.

"Zayn, Jaden, where have you been?" Alfred, their butler and assistant asked putting on a wide grin. He was an old man in his late seventies with his head partly bald. He had grey beards that stood out from his color drained face, with a few wrinkles here and there.

Standing before Zayn and Jaden, their height seemed to belittle him. Jaden was a good six feet, eight inches tall while Zayn was six feet, two inches tall whereas Alfred was somewhere between five and six inches tall

"Receiving some fresh air." Jaden put on an equally wide grin.

"Yes, Zayn. Lord Roosevelt stopped by early this morning."

Surprised at Alfred's statement, Zayn gave him a curious glare.

"What did he want?" Zayn asks, and faces Jaden whose expression clearly matched Zayn's curiosity.

"The grand council summons you." Alfred stated bluntly, and handed an envelope to Zayn.

***

Northern Empire

Minerva stood on the balcony of her fortress that overlooked the vast mountainous landscape of her territory, a three-forth of the Northern Empire.

She was dressed as usual in a blood red robe that exposed her thighs and covered only half of her breasts. Her face was as smooth as silk and her lips matching the color of her blood red robe. Her beauty was extremely dazzling and seemed to be out of this world.

She plucked a white rose and holds it to her nose, inhaling the soothing scent, after which the once white rose turned a coal black color, and fell like dust to the ground, leaving only the stem in Minerva's hand, elegantly clothed with silk silver gloves.

"Uhn, what did that poor rose do to you?" Minerva immediately recognized the voice, and turned back to see Kairo, her loyal assistant. Kairo was the only man in the fortress and one of the few men in her territory, Warecia (the sacred lands).

The others were guards at the only entry point into Warecia, the cedar gates. Kairo was also the only one trusted by Minerva, and he proved his loyalty at so many times.

Kairo was dressed in a shin black jacket and pants, with light seeming to radiate off it's leather surface. The hair on both sides of his head were shorter than the one at the middle, standing out tall and neatly brushed forward.

They were a coal black color, matching his dress' color. His eyebrows were full, and below it were his dazzling eyes with a bright golden color and a bit of green lurking around the corner.

"Heard the grand council is seeking a new leader. I must say, it's really hard to find someone as powerful as Stark. Well, except you." Kairo flattered, crossing his legs as he leaned on a pillar.

"The grand council and their stupid politics, why compete for a position I'm equal to." Minerva boasted, and walks towards Kairo; her red robe crawling on the floor, behind her.

"Yes, but there's something you need to know."

***

20 years ago

Venice, Haven Brook

"Someone or something placed a curse on him. I don't know what kind of curse it is, and it is too powerful to break," Sarah said, standing by an opened coffin, where a body was covered with a white fabric.

"I know he's not dead and we'll not give up till we find a way to break the curse," she continued and bends down to close the coffin; but stopped on a command.

"Wait." Rayna sniffed, and wiped a drop of tear that was trickling down her left cheek with the heel of her palm. She ran forward and kneeled next to the coffin.

"I'll figure this out, I promise you." She cried, and pulled off the white fabric covering the body, to reveal an exact replica of Jaden.