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.

Two.

Haven Brook

"Leave me," Sarah defended, and pushed Lloyd in the chest, sending him staggering backwards. Lloyd didn't give up but charged back at her with equal vivacity, and grabbed her jaw with his left hand.

He brought her face towards his' and kissed her, not minding that her lips refused to welcome his'. She let out a moan as he used his right hand to grab her buttocks, and caressed it roughly.

"I said leave me," she cried, pushing him away again. This time he stopped and rested his palms on his waist.

"You can never leave me, can you?" He smirked. Silence remained for some seconds before Sarah broke it.

"We're leaving for Dragon Falls tomorrow."

Lloyd jaws dropped in surprise on hearing this.

"Why?" He asked.

"Tyson's cousin's uncle is a werewolf and he thinks he might know someone that can help break the curse on Stefan," Sarah said, and pushed off a strand of her blonde hair off her face.

It was 20 years since Stefan had suddenly collapsed due to a curse that had befallen him.

Sarah was a potent witch from a family of witches and wizards, but still, she wasn't able to break the curse, or even figure out what kind it was.

She had been asked to the care of Lord Roosevelt's sick wife, and had tried to experiment some spells on her that backfired, killing her. Lloyd, Lord Roosevelt's son had happened to know of this, and had used his knowledge to blackmail her. She hated him for this, and could have wiped his memory but for the protection spell placed on him since he was family; son to a representative of humans in the world, and a member of the grand council.

"Well, guess what. I've always wanted to know werewolves but can't just go alone," Lloyd said.

"I'm going with you guys," he continued.

***

Dragon Falls

It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents, except by a violent gust of wind which swept up the streets, rattling along the rooftops.

Kruger turned the door knob into his house. His clothes, a gray t-shirt and black pants were soaked in water. Water dripped down his jaw, the tip of his ears and his soaked raven black hair that fell down his face.

He turned around and closed the door, wiping a streak of water off his eyebrows.

The sky let out a roar, lightning cracking, with Kruger swiftly moving in alert as he caught a glimpse of a shadow; not his in the lightning's light.

He walked to a torch leaning on the wall, and lit it, the wind fiercely agitating the scanty flames of the torch, that struggled against the darkness.

He sighed in relief on seeing no one in the now illuminated room, but no sooner had fear taken its place again as Kruger noticed a swift movement behind him.

He turned around to check what or who it was, and his face was met with a scary one, the person's eye glowing an enchanting emerald green. The face was awfully close to his, so Kruger could not make out the details of the face.

Acting on quick instinct, he hit the intruder on the chest with the heel of his palms, his wolf strength sending the intruder crashing onto the wall. Kruger's eyes widened in surprise on recognizing who he had just pushed. It was his own Alpha, Alpha Xeres.

Apology washed over his entire expression as he wondered why his Alpha's link hadn't warned him. Then he remembered, the wolfsbane, Lucy, a witch, had poisoned him with.

It was probably still in his blood. Even then, why would his Alpha sneak up on him, he could just summon him.

"To prove to you that you can't hide from me," Xeres read his mind.

"He's proud," Kruger's wolf, Omar said, finally talking for the first time since the wolfsbane poisoning.

"Shut up." Kruger shut his mind to avoid Xeres reading it again.

"So that's how you welcome me after three days," Omar said bitterly.

"Your brother's nephew is coming with his team to you tomorrow, isn't it?" Xeres asked much to Kruger's surprise on how he had found out about that.

"Yes," Kruger replied, his Alpha's link betraying him to speak the truth.

"Good. After helping them find a solution to the cursed one, Stefan, I want you to bring him to me."

"What! Hell no!" Kruger yelled, shocked at what Xeres was asking him to do.

"You expect me to betray the people who trust me to seek my help?" Xeres stood there in rage, the brown eye color of his wolf, Xander flashing, with Xeres' emerald green eyes disappearing.

"Listen to him and do what he says," Omar said, speaking on primal urge to obey his Alpha.

"Shut up Omar." Kruger shouted out loud, pushiness Omar into a dark corner in his mind.

"Oh, I see. You've not fully accepted your wolf since I turned you." Xeres eye changed to its usual green color bed he continued.

"He's still slave to your humanity!" Xeres yelled, his eyes flashing a brown color again.

"I'm not saying that you should turn off your humanity and go rogue. I'm asking you to accept who you are now." Xeres continued. Kruger began to go dizzy, and realized that Xeres was compelling him. Whatever Xeres wanted must be very important or he would have killed Kruger on the spot rather than compelling him by magnifying his Alpha's link. Kruger's eyes flashed the brown color of his Alpha's eyes and Xeres spoke a few words before transforming into a six feet tall wolf, and leap out the window into the full moon.

"Bring him to me at the Dream Bridge."

***

Dragon Falls

Jaden walked through a corridor that once used to be heavily guarded. Since Alpha Stark's death, about three guards remained here, since the only chamber on the corridor; Alpha Stark's chamber was now empty. It was exactly two month since Stark had died, and since then, no one had entered his chamber. He didn't know why, but he wanted to. He had a feeling that there was something else behind Stark's death, a werewolf couldn't die naturally, and there were no physical sign of attack on his body. He still regretted that Stark had called Zayn to stay with him that night, and not him. Despite being Stark's biological son, and having lived with him for over a century, Zayn and Stark never had the father-son bond. Zayn was way older than Jaden, being over a century old. He had been lucky to stop aging at a young age of 25. Jaden was 21, and was already seeing signs of slowed growth. He'll probably soon stop aging.

Jaden turned the door knob, and entered Stark's untouched room.

"I miss him," Vincent, Jaden's wolf said.

"Yeah, me too."

Jaden picked up Stark's sandals, lying recklessly at the foot of the king sized bed, and set it carefully in a corner of the room.

He went on to arrange Stark's weapons on the wall, and from the corner of his eyes, he spotted the edge of a white envelope peeping below a pillow on the roughly laid bed.

"What's that?" Vincent asked.

Curiosity took the better of Jaden, and he walked forward to pick the envelope. He didn't bother to open the seal, but tore the envelope and brought out the neatly folded letter. His eyes began to slowly widen in surprise while reading the content of the letter; Stark had written a letter of resignation.

Warecia

"Why would I try to contest for the councillor position?" Minerva asked, feeling tensed.

Kairo stood up, and walked aimlessly through the room, with his back turned at Minerva; who was currently filled with curiosity and minimal anger. He swiftly turned, using the tip of his shoe to slide on the floor; paved with smooth marble.

"In 1543, General Leo of the Black Cedar Coven was elected Council, and he managed to get his hands on the Devlin Family Scroll." Kairo tapped his feet at a continuous rhythm on the floor.

"How does that correlate with me becoming councillor?" Minerva asked, even more curious, and as usual was twirling her long blonde hair with her index finger.

"Of course you know that the Devlin's Family Scroll contains deep secrets to great power. Only the councillor has access to where it is kept. Luckily; perhaps foolishly, the council members are ignorant of this fact." Shocked, Minerva stood up from the golden brown couch she sat on, and the shock quickly morphed into a mischievous smile; her dazzling blue eyes glowing. She faced Kairo and bit her lips.

"What would I do without you? What?"

Fang Valley

The room was large and chandeliers illuminated the room; elegantly dropping in professional patterns down the ceiling. The light of the chandeliers reflected off the surface of the sparkling white walls. At the far end of the room was a humanoid statue, with demonic wings spreading out it back. A blood shaped droplets was carved to the corner of his mouth; at the side of the lips.

There was silence in the room but for the continuous tapping sound that could be traced to a magnificent crimson and cream seat, where General Drake sat, looking tensed. He had a lot of emotions running through him at once; anger, indecision, disbelief, evil plans and the lots.

"Xeres takes me for a fool," Drake stated in disbelief.

"But he's only asking for your help," Eric, a younger vampire says.

"You see, that's what differentiates me from most."

"I trust no one, and believe nothing I'm told. What do you think Xeres wants my help for: to help him kill Zayn? Or to help him fight in the conclave? No! All he wants is to shut me up, and makes me keep low," Drake continued, and Eric's eyes widened in realization.

"You should surprise him: attend the conclave." Eric advised, and Drake replied, "Exactly," Drake said with affirmation, "We'll thwart Xeres' plans."

***

Black Tridax Territory, Dragon Falls.

Tyson stretched out his hands to knock on a door, but it opens before be could do so; revealing Kruger. He had sensed them coming from about a mile away, and had waited patiently at the door. He hugged Tyson and let them in.

"Can I park here?" Zedler shouted from inside the car, and stopped the engine as Kruger gave him an affirmative "Yes."

Kruger blinked; Zedler shutting the car's door recklessly, before walking towards the door. Kruger stared at the hunter dots on Zedler's body; judging by the number: Zedler was a good hunter, and had killed a good number of vampires. Zedler cleared his throat, snapping Kruger back to reality, who then apologized, and let Zedler in.

"Is there a restaurant around here, I'm famished." Everyone looked at Lloyd in surprise, and he stretched out his hands.

"What? This body's gotta have something to eat," he defended himself.

"Where's Stefan?" Kruger asked.

"He's in the car boot," Rayna replied.

***

Red Crescent Territory, Dragon Falls.

"Zayn, you have to believe me," Jaden cried, following Zayn, who was storming out of the Mansion in anger.

"No, you're just jealous because you think I might end up becoming councillor," Zayn retorted in anger, holding a letter he had found in the envelope given to him by Alfred; the both walking through the meadow behind the mansion.

"Dad was about to resign, but died before he could. There has to be something dangerous attached to the position."

Zayn stopped walking on nearing the territory's end that stood out some metres behind the mansion.

"He had been councillor for two centuries, maybe he thought it was time to let go." Zayn yelled, and crumbled the letter with him.

"Aaargh." He screams and throws the letter far away before turning around to head back to the mansion; the crumbled letter landing in another territory.

Jaden let out a loud sigh, and follows Zayn, but they both stopped on hearing a very familiar voice: Xeres.

"I see you also got a letter for the grand council."

Jaden shook in head in unbelief, with Xeres bending to pick the crumbled letter Zayn had thrown into his territory.

"Well, guess what? I also got one." Xeres smirked.

"Good to know." Zayn returned Xeres' smirk with a stern glare.

"It's a pity Stark left behind weak sons incapable of leading."

Jaden, annoyed at Xeres' statement finally spoke to.

"Oh, wanna fight? Cross that boundary!" Xeres completely ignored Jaden who was pointing at the boundary line, and faced Zayn.

"I promise to, I'll win you. How it'll happen is a surprise."

***

The cabin was cozy and dark but for the candles with surprising blue flames, serving as faint illumination. Cauldrons stood here and there the cabin; fumes of various colors rising from them.

Zedler and Tyler drops a coffin before Lucy, who bends down, and opens the coffin to reveal Stefan's emotionless and calm countenance. Sarah looked at Lucy with intense observation, hoping to learn from the older witch. The older witch rotated her palms over Stefan's forehead, and remained silent for some seconds; Rayna's stare at her, enough to pierce a soul. Sarah, sensing the anxiety coming off of the female immortal, grabbed her hands, and squeezed it. Rayna smiled at Sarah in return, assuring her that she was okay.

"It's a time curse." Lucy blurted out, and they all looked at her with a mixed expression of surprise and confusion. Noticing this expression, the older witch decided to explain better to them.

"His own self from another time is here so their lives are tied. One has to sleep for the other to stay awake."

"Time travel." Lloyd scoffs.

"Can you break the curse?" Rayna asked, and Lucy replied, "yes."

***

Kruger, Tyler, Zedler, Lloyd, Sarah waited at Kruger's place for Stefan to do what Lucy had told him to do alone. Lucy had successfully awoken Stefan, and it was strongly visible: Rayna's glowing face. Stefan had been asked to throw some things Lucy had given him into the Rivers of Dreams right below the Dream Bridge, and he was on his way there right now. A part of Kruger struggled from within. Xeres had given Omar full control, pushing Kruger deep into his own mind since Omar had no choice but to obey his Alpha. Stefan going to the Dream Bridge was all a set up. Kruger had earlier on met with Lucy, and blackmailed her into luring Stefan to the Dream Bridge, threatening to report her to Xeres for poisoning him with wolfsbane. He couldn't betray them. He had to do something about it.

"Are you okay?" Tyler asked as Kruger froze, sweating profusely.

"Nothing," Omar said through Kruger, fighting internally as Kruger slowly crawled out to take control. Kruger's eyes flashed a light grey; Kruger took control.

The others looked towards the door in surprise; Kruger storming out.

"What's the matter with him?" Zedler asked. The gate to Kruger's garage slowly got reeled upward, and Kruger ran in, started the engine of his motorcycle, and drove off.

***

Stefan neared the Dream Bridge, recalling the directions given to him by Lucy. This was his first time in Dragon Falls, and most especially, the first place he had opened his eyes to see after 21 years. He carefully held the gourd Lucy had given him to empty out into the Rivers of Dreams: the border between Haven Brook and Dragon Falls. He smiled as he remembered the starlit smile that had formed on Rayna's face when he opened his eyes. As he neared the Dream Bridge, he walked faster, hoping to get done with it, and return to Rayna. Little did he know that hiding in the bushes at both sides of the Bridge were Xeres' men: Werewolves

"Stefan, stop!" Kruger yelled, and Stefan turned around, lifting his hands to cover his eyes as a motorcycle approached; the headlight blinding him. Stefan winced in pain; a painful and tight grip grabbing his arm. The last thing Stefan saw was a fist approaching his face, and he blacked out.

"Nooooooo." Kruger yelled as they drove off with Stefan. He begged to turn, at least for a few minutes, but no he couldn't, not until it was a full moon. Kruger fell on his knees, surrendering to his fate; tears trickling down his face.

A car approached, it's headlight illuminating the bridge. The car stopped, after which Rayna and the others ran out.

"What happened? Where's Stefan?" Tyson asked, but Kruger couldn't reply. All he could say was, "I'm sorry."