Ethan
“Where would you like to have the training and how would you like to have them? Should the men be trained in batches or all together?”
I was in a meeting with Rudolph and the male werewolves. Quinn smiled and handed a piece of paper to me.
“I already drafted out how everything is going to be, your highness. I think you should take a look and see that you have nothing to worry about. You are in safe hands.”
I smiled as I checked the sketch he had made. It was so detailed that I didn’t need to ask him questions. I was glad that I had asked them to come to my aid and I realized at that point that I had made the right decision.
“Have you seen that there is nothing to be worried about, your highness?” Jack grinned.
“I know that now.” I smiled and nodded. “Thanks for making my heart be at peace.”
“Thanks for trusting us with this responsibility.” John smiled at me.
I waved my hand, showing him he didn’t have to be so formal with me. I was glad that he hadn’t bowed to me. That would have made me super uncomfortable.
“I wouldn’t have asked for your help if I hadn’t believed that you could help me.”
I trusted them and Quinn’s detailed plan showed that I was right in trusting them. The plan was to train the men based on their capabilities. They would have a training where the men would be tested and sorted into groups. The stronger ones would be trained more than the others and would be the ones at the forefront of the battle.
Since we had no idea of who was starting a war with us or when they were going to attack, there was going to be a rotating schedule in place that would make the men not all train and rest at the same time so that when the war starts, there would be some men well rested ready to fight, holding the fort till the remaining men could get their strength and join the war.
Quinn had also changed their diet, including in their food what was going to make them stronger. He had also ordered supplements from their land which would fill the vampires with strength at anytime of the night, regardless of how tired, hungry or sleepy they were at that moment. He didn’t have to make the order but I was grateful to him. Of course, he also knew that I was going to reimburse him for what he had spent but that wasn’t the point. I was glad that he cared enough about my land and my people to make that choice for us.
They were really good people and I couldn’t help feeling a bit grateful towards the dark wizard for possessing me. If he hadn’t possessed me, I wouldn’t have known them and wouldn’t have known what I was meant to do at this stage or anyone else that could give us a disadvantage over the other vampires who were trying to break us down for no reason.
I knew nothing of who the clan was. Was it the vampires of the west, south or east? I couldn’t think of why they would come to war with us. I knew that some vampire clans acted out against one another but I didn’t think that applied to us. I hadn’t met with any of them since I became king but I knew that father had signed treaties with each of the clans as he hated war. I hadn’t been there but I didn’t need to. I didn’t need to start going about to have treaties signed because father had done the work and made ruling on the throne as his successor easy for me.
The treaty father had signed was that the clans would never at any time declare a war against our land and the old kings had promised to hold on to the agreement, promising to tell their heirs of it and have them tell their heirs too so it could be a lifetime treaty.
That made me wonder who it was that was trying to break a pact that had been made a long time ago. Maybe I should have visited the other lands when they got new kings. I would have known their personalities and be able to guess who would be able to do this among them all.
That was a mistake I shouldn’t have done. I still tried to find out who it was. The king of the east who had signed the treaty with my father was still ruling so I had no doubt that it couldn’t have been him. I had to guess between the king of the west and that of the south but I didn’t know anyone of them well enough to know who could be behind this and I didn’t want to accuse anyone of what they didn’t do. I would hate for that to happen to me and I didn’t want it to happen to others.
“When do you intend to start?” I tuned in to Rudolph and the werewolves.
Rudolph nodded. “We are ready, your highness, and so are the men. We only need to have your permission to start. Each of us would take a group and train them even though there would be times we would merge them together so each of us could still take a training session with them all.”
I smiled. I liked the idea. “You can start with the training.”
“Yes, your highness.” They bowed and we’re about to leave when one of the guards patrolling the streets walked in with a package. I had heightened the security and added guards to patrol the streets as well, including the entry from the forest. We had been wrong. It shouldn’t have been the border alone that we would guard. We had thought that all men were honorable and would walk into a land the way they ought to and had found that was a lousy thought. I wasn’t about to use the lives of my people to pay for the error in strategy that should have been protected a long time ago.
I waved at the men to sit and they nodded. They didn’t have to leave. I wasn’t expecting a package and would like them to assess it with me.
The guards bowed. “Your highness. This seems to be for you.”
Seems? I arched my eyebrows at him. “Who brought it?”
“I didn’t see the person. We only heard a thump and by the time we looked back, we saw this and saw that it was addressed to you. We combed the area but didn’t see him. I thought you would like to see it and brought it here.”
If the person didn’t want to be seen and had been fast enough that the men couldn’t see him, I had no doubt that it was our enemy. They had improved on their tactic and found a way to infiltrate our land even with our heightened security.
The king of that land had to be one cunning bastard.
“You can leave.” I said to the guard. He bowed and left.
Finally, they had sent a message. Maybe I was finally going to know who it was. I tore open the package and scowled at the stone attached to the letter. That had to be so they could throw the package into the midst of the guards. It was the stone who had made the thump.
“What!” I growled as my eyes scanned over the contents of the letter and let the words sink in.
How dare he?” The bastard! I still didn’t know who he was but I didn’t care. I wanted to kill him. My fists scrunched up and I hoped that it was his neck that I was squeezing.
How dare he turn my girl into an object that could be passed around to change ownership without hesitation? I didn’t know who it was but I knew why all the nonsense attacks had started.
The men with me noticed my expression and asked me what was wrong. “What is the problem, your highness? What is in the letter?”
I scowled as I waved the letter in their faces, still shivering with rage. “The bastard says that he would call off the war if I could let him have Ava. He says the attacks would stop if he hears that I have divorced her. Then, he would send her a letter to tell her where to meet him.”
“What! What insolence?” Rudolph growled. “Ge should bring it on, my friend. We are ready for war.”
I nodded at him. I couldn’t have agreed more. I would love to break the idiot’s neck myself for daring to disrespect my wife.
Ava was mine and I would fight to the bones to protect her and make her stay by my side always. The bastard could dream on for as long as he wanted. He would never be having her. Not even over my dead body.