The Alpha's Concubine

The party drums were rolling in the distance. The feasty balminess was circulating in the air. Giggles, laughter, and hurried footsteps from busy servants could be heard, adding a natural flavour to the atmosphere.

It was the most important day for the Night Nation's Coven; the most beautiful day.

Colorful ribbons were floating in the streets, some dignitaries could be seen riding in on their horses, the theater was packed and full already and everything was screaming life.

Lady Masha could hear the rolling drums and the sound of it alone rattled her. As she walked down the hallway with her bestfriend, adorned in her red silk dress and long befitting hair that relaxed in equal length on her back, she kept hearing her stomach grumble and her her heart beating heavily.

This was meant to be a normal day for her. She was supposed to be like everyone else - having fun at the collaboration party her father had organized - but unfortunately, she could only think of the doom before her. The terrible mistake she had made that was sure to come knocking on her door soon enough.

Her bestfriend - Terra - could effortlessly read the fear on her face. Few of the servants they came across had bowed in courtesy, but Masha did not even notice them. It was getting out of hand, Terra had to stop walking and pull her to a corner.

"Masha", she called, standing at a close distance.

Masha already had a hint of the topic about to brew. She stared at the floor and blinked her eyes to relive the sting.

"You cannot continue acting this way, Masha. You have been paranoid and rude to everyone. How long do you think it would take before someone realizes something is wrong?" Terra cooed, holding her hand.

"Well, what am I supposed to do, Terra?" Masha whispered, even tho the hallway was empty at the moment. "After... After what we did last night, you really expect me to act normal?"

"Well, I expect you to be worried. But not in this way. You are tormenting yourself, Masha. You have been starving yourself since last night".

Masha shut her eyes and exhaled deeply - for a few seconds.

"You really expect me to eat knowing I just committed a grave mistake? What we did last night - what I DID last night - was the biggest mistake of my life. And if anyone ever gets to know, I will be dead, Terra. Do you realize that? I will be dead. And to think the wolves are here today. Do you know what they would do to me the moment they discover what I did? My father worked so hard to make this peace collaboration with the wolves work. But, if my mistake gets discovered, it would ruin everything! The wolves would do something crazy - especially the Alpha's son. Remember you told me how dangerous he was and how he hated..."

"Masha, Masha, please...!" Terra rolled her eyes. Although, she looked very worried.

"Sweetheart, I understand how you feel. I would feel the same way. But the thing is - what happened last night was a mistake. You never did it intentionally. And thankfully, nobody knows about it yet. I was the only one there with you, and I swear with my life, I am never going to reveal it to anyone".

"But... how long do you think it would take before they find out?" Her voice cracked. "I am...I am scared, Terra".

Now, that was the first time Terra was hearing her friend use those words. She had never been so scared before. Never.

She was about pulling her to a hug when suddenly, they heard loud footsteps behind them.

"And what are my girls doing here, looking so beautiful?" "Masha!" The chief servant who was in her early fifties beamed.

She looked all sweaty, worn out and busy. Even her apron had some stains on it. She had been leading some servants who had drinks with them. But upon seeing the VampLord's daughter who she loved so much, she signaled the servants to proceed.

"Greetings, Amber", Masha forced a smile. She was so hard to bury every trace of sadness in her eyes.

"Greetings, to you, Amber", Terra did same.

"My sweethearts. How are you doing? Are you just leaving for the party?" The chief servant asked.

Even her words echoed how busy she was and how badly she wanted to resume duties.

"Yes. Something came up. So, we needed to..."

"I understand. I understand", she cut Terra off.

"By the way, Masha; I was waiting for you last night. You had told me you would help me out in the kitchen, but you never showed up".

Masha tensed so fast, she didn't have time to blink.

"Erm... I apologize for keeping you waiting, Amber. It was nothing of my intentions. I was just uhm... very tired by the time I got home", she applauded herself for not stuttering.

"Tired? I thought you only took a ride with Terra? How did you end up getting tired?" Amber's eyes flashed with curiousity and swiftly, Masha became nervous.

She wasn't an expert at lying or pretending. And Terra quickly noticed her friend might spill the beans.

"We played some games. That is the reason we got tired", she chipped in, her smile so perfect, it looked genuine.

"I see", Amber gave a nod. "Well, there is no problem with that. But you know, considering how you loved cooking, I was really expecting you would use all the opportunity yester-night".

"I know. Me too", Masha chuckled. "I am sorry for disappointing you, but I believe we will have more time".

"Of course, my dear. My kitchen is always yours. Um...by the way, Terra. It's a good thing I bumped into you. Could you come help me out with something? It would really go a long way".

Terra glanced at Masha. Oh no; she wasn't done impacting all the confidence she needed to impact in her.

"Um...okay, Amber", she turned to Masha. "Just be happy, okay? I will see you when I can".

"Okay".

And feebly, Masha watched them leave.

She sighed wistfully and continued down the hallway alone. In order to keep her mind off her fears, she decided to think of the collaboration party taking place - the collaboration party between them and the wolves.

Originally, the Wolves and Vampires were known to be sworn enemies. They do not dare trespass on each other's territory as the trespasser would have himself to blame. Their enemity was so severe, their names sounded like venom and it got to a point where a war had broken out.

The war was the height of it. And was the most horrific ever recorded in history. It happened six years ago. The Wolves and Vampires had unleashed themselves on each other. Lives were lost, properties were destroyed, peace was taken. Masha had actually lost a friend from it. Baski. She used to be her bestfriend and it was after her death that Terra became her bestfriend.

A lot of people lost their wives, husbands and children. And for the wolves, most of them lost their mates. There were actually ten covens before, but after the war, it dropped to seven. And the Wolves also dropped from eleven packs to nine.

It was so terrible, the bloodshed was extreme. And when the war ended, the hatred among them increased.

Tho, there was never a war between them again, but the wolves still attacked vampires whenever they saw them. And vice versa.

But a year ago, Masha's father decided to bring an end to the hate. An end to the prolonged bloodshed. He thought of having a collaboration with the Vampires so they could start working as one and have no more reason to kill themselves. He proposed the idea to the other VampLords, but they rebuffed it at once and even got angry at him for bringing up the suggestion. None of them was on his side, even when he persuaded. But Masha's father was not ready to give up.

He took the offer to the Wolves by going through their Supreme King. And after a lot of work, the offer was accepted. But since the other Covens were still adamant on their decision, Masha's coven was the only one that participated.

When the other covens heard of their involvement in the collaboration, they sent warnings and threats to Masha's father, telling him to quit. But Lord Galadriel was a stubborn man and his coven was the largest and strongest amongst the seven. He proceeded with the collaboration, hence, marking himself and his coven as friends to the Wolves. But same way he became friends with the wolves, he also became enemies with the remaining six covens. They cut off ties with him and considered him a friend to their enemies.

It was nasty and going to be tough as even some of the wolves did not like the collaboration. The reason they had to agree was because the Supreme King had approved of it. That was the reason only four Alphas were present at the party. The rest had given excuses not to attend. Well, the main collaboration had already been done. The party was just a means to mingle and know each other more.

...

Finally, Masha came out to the big open theater where the party was fully taking place. It was filled with so much people and noise, the whole thing was making her nauseous.

She had her gaze on the ground as she walked through the walkway, headed for her family's VIP table. She was not looking and was not paying attention. But when she heard the close neigh of a horse, she snapped up her head to take a look. There was a horse coming in front of her. But by then, it was too late as the rider could not control the horse in time.

"Arghhh....!" She shrieked as the hoof of the horse pushed her down but luckily did not climb on her.

The party drums stopped immediately, light gasps escaped the crowd and all eyes turned on them.

Crashed to the ground, Masha's breath came in deep ones as she looked up at the horse and it's rider. It was a young man on it, one who's face was not familiar but looked like them - the wolves.

"My lady...!" one of the servants came rushing to Masha who was still on the ground.

The man on the horse had ridden forward before climbing down. Extending a hand, the servant helped Masha from the ground and the moment she was on her feet, she turned to face the young man that had knocked her down. She had expected to find him equally staring at her and looking for a way to apologize, but surprisingly, he was heedlessly handing his horse to a guard that had come up beside him.

Another surprising aspect for Masha was the fact that it did not bother him how he had disrupted the party and kept everyone on hold. It just did not seem to bother him at all. Who did he think he was? With the way the wolf guards had rushed over to take his horse, he seemed to be someone important. Was he one of the Alphas?

When he had handed his big black horse to one of the guards, he finally turned to look at Masha. Masha wondered if it was just her, or there was actually nothing akin to remorse in his eyes. Instead, she could decipher unspoken words like: "Are you blind?" "Next time, be more careful around me".

He never said them, but somehow, she could tell those were the words in his head.

After throwing her the cold stare, he turned and began walking away - walking toward the VIP tables. As Masha watched him, she felt herself being so irritated. On a normal day, she would have stumped toward him, yank his long hair and make him pay for what he did. But staring at the man before her, she felt all her revenge motives being numbed. She could not tell, but there was something about him - something that looked scary.

"Are you alright, my lady?" The servant beside her asked as she swabbed the dirt off Masha's dress.

"Yes, I...I am fine", she blinked rapidly to get a grip of herself.

The party drums had resumed rolling. So, Masha knew she had to get off the stage. She huffed as she headed for the VIP high table. She could feel all eyes on her which was very awkward. It was something she hated a lot. So, she had to keep her eyes low as she walked all the way. But, approaching the high tables, she lifted her gaze to the Supreme King's table and found the young man that had knocked her down, occupying the empty seat beside the King. Hold on, was he the Alpha's son she had heard about?! The ruthless heir and future Supreme King?

Her stomach grumbled and somehow, she thanked her stars for not confronting him like she had planned on. Perhaps, there would have been scars on her face already.

She could see the Supreme King angrily whispering into his ears. And while he seemed angry, the son did not seem to be bothered at all. As a matter of fact, he was eating some berries from the table - although, he ate it slowly.

Masha was not interested in eavesdropping at their conversation, So she just turned to her family's table which was beside her.

"Hey, are you alright?" Her elder brother - Kona - asked when she arrived them table.

Her mother was simply throwing an angry stare at her, signifying she had been careless enough to let the accident happen.

Masha rolled her eyes and took her seat.

"Hey. Did you hear me at all?" Her brother roused her with a gentle nudge.

"Since when did you begin to care?" Her firm lips pouted in a sulk.

The discomfort rang through her body language.

"You are unbelievable. You are lucky the horse did not smash your face", he scoffed, trying to goad a reaction out of her.

But Masha ignored him as she took a careful stare at the Alpha's son. It was careful because she did not want him noticing.

She held down a clenched fist as she glared at him, the memories hitting hard at her. Now, she understood the rumours better - why everyone kept speaking of his unruly behavior. Although, Masha would not deny that he had a good physical appearance. His dark, glossy, shoulder-length hair was the longest Masha had ever seen on a man. He had such grey monolid eyes that portrayed coldness, yet danger at the same time. His body build was nothing less of what she had heard as he had a broad chest and big muscles. No one needed to be told he was a big trainer. Well, Masha wouldn't be surprised, considering he was the King of the pack. Yes, his father had the title of Supreme King, but the son was the one known to carry all the responsibilities. Still, it should never give him the right to do what he just did to her.

His young charming look was totally different from his intractable behaviour.

Our of curiosity, Masha took a peek at the rest of the family as it was her first time meeting them.

Beside the Supreme King was his wife - the Supreme Queen. Masha could attest that the rumours were true. The rumours of the Queen looking so cold and harsh.

From her face, one would think she had never smiled before. Masha was not sure, but she looked like she was irritated being there. She seemed disgusted. Her hands were folded beneath her silk and fur dress while she held her head up high, staring with irk.

Beside her was a young pretty lady. The lady's mood was a bit similar to the Queen's. Only that there was a bit of sadness in her eyes. With the way she appeared and sat next to the Queen, Masha could guess she was someone important. Perhaps, she was Sephora - the mistress to the Alpha's son.

Few days ago, Terra had told Masha the little she knew about Sephora. Sephora had become the prince's mistress after he lost his mate in the war. The loss of his mate had left him broken and created a never ending hatred for the vampires. The only reason he was at the collaboration was because he had no choice. Apparently, Sephora wanted more between her and the prince, but unfortunately, he was only making her his bedmate.

Next to the Alpha prince was a younger lady. And with the resemblance between her and the Queen, Masha could easily guess she was the Queen's daughter.

She looked warm, happier and unproblematic - unlike her mother and brother's mistress. She was equally enjoying the dance performance while tossing some berries into her mouth.

There were other tables of the other Alphas present with their families, but Masha did not take note of them.

Suddenly, the party drums stopped and Masha looked away to see what was happening. Oh! Nothing was happening. The dancers were just done performing. At last - Masha sighed.

As they exited the stage, noise emanated from the crowd. Most people were commenting and chuckling about the performance, while others used the "drumless" opportunity to say what they've wanted to say to their fellows.

Masha was getting irked by the noise, she had to keep herself calm by taking a drink. But soon, the noise began to dwindle when one of the tallest men in their coven stepped into the stage.

His name was Vader. And he was one of the coordinators of the party. On a normal day, he was known as Lord Galadriel's closest guard, personal messenger and assassin. After Lord Galadriel, he was the most feared man in the Night Nation's Coven as just his height alone was intimidating.

Everyone labeled him to be dangerous, but the few times Masha had spoken with him, he had seemed nice and friendly.

"Is it time?" Masha heard her mother ask her father. And he simply nodded.

Time? Time for what?

"A big thanks to the dancers for their wonderful performance", Vader began, his voice loud enough to go through the quiet crowd.

"I know you have already been addressed, but once again, I want to thank everyone of you for coming. We all know how important this day is to us. It is the beginning of a new dawn, the beginning of a greater friendship that has never existed. But for now, we have something more pressing to deal with", He paused and turned to some guards at a distance.

"Bring the prisoners!" He commanded and without reluctance, the three guards bowed and left.

Prisoners? Masha pondered. Oh! It suddenly dawned on her. They had captured some men from the previous night - three of them. They had come in disguise and tried assassinating her father and the Supreme King, but fortunately, they were caught and locked up. They had already confessed to who sent them - which was another VampLord - but Masha's father was not ready to face him yet.

The people mumbled amongst themselves as the guards arrived with the prisoners who were bounded with vervain ropes.

They were were made to kneel in the middle of the stage, facing the direction of the VIP tables. Once again, silence dominated the crowd.

"These three traitors over here" Vader continued. "Were sent by Lord Kylo to assassinate our dear Leader and the Supreme King, but all thanks to Absalom, they were caught just before they would carry out their evil act. Although, they've confessed and pleaded for mercy, but we show no mercy to traitors!!! And Lord Galadriel has already ordered their execution.

"So, right here", he paused and stretched out his hand toward the guards. A sword was placed on it right away. With how sheeny the sword shun, everyone could tell it was sharp enough to cut through a stone.

"I will be executing them in the presence of everyone, so a message can be passed across to everyone - that whosoever makes an attempt to fight against this collaboration, will end up just like this men!!"

A few people concurred with a "YES!".

Masha's heart gave a leap as Vader went round to stand behind the first man. Would they really be killed?

She looked at their faces and could not help but feel pity for them. They looked so scared but could not scream it out.

When Vader placed the edge of the sword on the neck of the first man, Masha flinched and looked away. For Absalom's sake! She could not watch the horrible sight.

She grimaced with her face, her heart continued thumping fast. But suddenly, a voice was heard:

"Stop."

It was not stressed, yet so loud and deep, it could be heard by everyone.

Masha arched her brows and looked up to see the Alpha's son on his feet. She was confused, and so was everyone. Why was he interrupting the execution?

All eyes danced around the Alpha's son as he walked away from the table and began heading down stage. They were totally confused and curious to know what he had in mind.

"What is he doing?" Masha's brother scoffed to her hearing.

But Masha could not give an answer to him. She wondered if he was trying to stop the execution or something akin. But, why should he care? From the story she's heard so far, he hated vampires a lot. So, why would he want to stop the execution of vampires that attempted to kill his father? Or could the rumours about him not be completely true?

Even Vader had a displeased look on his scary face. He had his eyes on the Alpha's son as he walked toward the stage, wearing that unreadable expression. Surely, Vader would never allow him stop the execution - not without a fight. But he still needed to confirm what he had in mind.

The faces of the prisoners lit with hope as they looked up to who might be their saviour. The suspense in the air had multiplied. And when Czar finally stood before Vader who had questioning eyes, he reached out for his sword and took it out of his hand.

Gasps rushed through the crowd and even Vader was beginning to lose his cool as he wondered why the Alpha's son had to snatch his sword from him. But, just when he thought of attacking him, he heard the strange words from his lips:

"I will do it".

A stunned silence hit the crowd; eyes dilated in shock and the expectations that had been running through the minds of everyone suddenly dropped.

In silence and disbelief, they watched Czar stand behind the first prisoners, positioned the sword on his throat and cut through within the twinkle of an eye.

It was done so fast, no blink of emotion, even Vader who was known as an assassin, was surprised. Never had he seen a man kill another in such hurry and without remorse.

Masha's breath was suspended as she watched the sight. Her eyes were big and shining so bright like a lamplight as the sight looked unbelievable to her. He was not trying to stop the execution, but wanted to do it himself?

Her heart beat rapidly when he budged forward to stand behind the second prisoner. Of course, if the prisoners had their way, they'd try to struggle and fight. But the vervain on their ropes made them weak.

Czar stood behind the prisoner and positioned the sword on his neck. It baffled Masha how cold his eyes were. They held no emotion - none at all - but there was something else in his eyes. She could not tell if she was mistaken, but she noticed pleasure. Yes, there was pleasure in his eyes. And it turned into a mystery for Masha. Never has she seen a man not flinch while taking the life of another. And never has she seen a man take so much pleasure in the process.

Czar slit the prisoner's neck with the sword and watched him drop dead to the ground. Masha let out a startled breath and clenched the sides of her dress. The sight was becoming unbearable for her.

He went to the third prisoner and in less than three seconds, had him dropping to the ground - dead. The sword was already dripping with blood, and to the greater awe of everyone, he rubbed it on his arms.

The people mumbled and crumpled their faces st the strange sight. Who kills another and rubs the blood on his arms?

But Czar seemed to enjoy as he did it. And not sparing a glance at anyone, he threw the sword to the ground and walked away.

"Now, it is confirmed. He truly hates vampires", Masha's brother said in a disgusted whisper, but Masha had become too traumatized to speak.

The last time she had watched a person getting killed was six years ago during the war, she had nearly forgotten what it felt like. So, re-watching it that very moment did nothing but rattle her.

She had her gaze pinned to the floor beneath her where she took in several deep breaths. She couldn't look up even when she knew when the Alpha's son returned to his seat. Hearing his footsteps alone suddenly made her heart beat faster and her throat constrict.

Some of the vampires were beginning to get drawn to the spilled blood of the prisoners. Thus, Vader and his men needed to clear them off.

In no time, it was done and some dancers were called on stage to relieve the nervous moment.

********************

AN HOUR LATER

********************

It had been a very long time. A lot of activities had been performed. Food and drinks had been served and with majority of the people eating, the tension had completely died down. Perhaps.

They were already having a good time and thinking the rest of the party would be just for eating and drinking alone. Of course, there was so much to feast on. But, Lord Galadriel proved them wrong when he stood up and signaled the drummers to stop.

The moment the drums went off and silence restored to the crowd, their attention was driven to Lord Galadriel who was still on his feet with a cup of wine in his hand.

Masha was munching on some meat and wondered what her father had to say. Probably a goodwill speech to the people before the party would come to an end - she concluded.

She paid less attention to him as he began his speech.

"Greetings to everyone of you present" he was audible enough and with how cheerful his tone sounded, it was easy for everyone to hear him.

"My beloved people of the Night Nations Coven and to every esteem member of the Wolf Pack. I know my coordinators already addressed and welcomed you, but I want to do it specially. I want to specifically thank you for making this day a reality. To be honest, I did not expect such turn up and support. You may not know it, but your presence today means the world to me..."

While he spoke, Masha noticed one of their servants had spilled drink on one of the other Alphas. The servant caught her breath in a gasp as she made to wipe it off.

"I am so sorry, Alpha...", she whispered softly.

"Have you gone blind, you fool? Or have you no use for your eyes?" The Alpha grunted in a muffled and guttural voice.

The harsh words hit the servant, but she tried to get over it in a split second.

"I...I sincerely apologize. It was an accident", she bowed and tried wiping it off with a napkin. But the Alpha was not so kind.

"Get your flimsy hands off me", he cursed. "I wonder if this is how you vampires behave". He seemed so pained and bittered.

"Hector" Another Alpha next to him suddenly called and nudged him, signalling him to stop.

Thankfully, the horrible drama could not be noticed by others. The only ones that witnessed were those on the high table - including Lord Galadriel. But he did not want to consider that a distraction, so he continued talking like he could not hear them.

Shamefully, the servant picked up her tray and left, while the angry Alpha remained there with the stain on his dress. He was actually putting on a big coat and looked so scary - his face appeared mean and bittered. Obviously, he was among those that did not like the collaboration but had no choice since their Supreme King had approved.

The Supreme King, of course, had noticed the drama but decided not to comment so he wouldn't attract attention. But from the look on his face, it was obvious he was not pleased.

"This Collaboration," Lord Galadriel was still speaking "...marks the beginning of our new friendship. Henceforth, the wolves and Night Nation's Coven will shed no more blood. We have become brothers, family. In peace, we shall live as one, visit and do business together. Now, I know it is a pity that not all vampires are participating in the collaboration, but we believe strongly that very soon, they shall see reasons to join us. But today", he paused and drank all of the wine in his cup, then poured out more from a jar.

"we shall be celebrating this new relationship. Night Nations Coven, I want to assure you all that there is nothing to be afraid of. We and the Wolves are now one. We can live together. And to prove this to everyone of you, The Supreme Alpha King and I came up with a decision", He paused again and glanced at the King with a smile before turning back to the crowd.

"In order to prove to you that we can co-exist - and not just to prove but to make an example of it- the Supreme King and I came up with a decision - one that is meant to be a happy surprise for everyone", he deliberately paused to watch the curiosity that had grown on the people's face. A surprise announcement? They never saw it coming.

Lord Galadriel continued: "The Supreme King and I have decided that my daughter will get married to his son. Hence, she will become the first vampire to begin living with them".