There's a New Vampire King. I Am So Screwed.

~Tyler's POV~

My head was pounding, overloaded with this information i just learned. I mean, he had always been power hungry, but... I must have severely underestimated him. It took a hell of a lot of raw power to be able to do something like that. He had never shown the potential to do anything truly powerful. He had always been a strategizer. Though... I suppose it had been twenty years since I last saw him. People change. My brother was proof of that.

I had searched the entire palace and Allissa and Luke were nowhere to be seen. My fingers curled into a tight fist as I tried to calm myself down. Freaking out would only make it easier for him. He was ruthless, and any weakness that anyone currently in the palace showed would only make him show less inclination towards mercy. if he had to, he would kill us all for the throne. I knew that.

After pacing for a few minutes and chewing my nails until they were almost nonexistent (a nasty habit that I rarely indulged in), Allissa and Luke waltzed into the palace, hands conjoined, grins on their faces, and dripping wet. My eyes narrowed at Luke, wondering hat the hell compelled him to be so careless when everyone else was on high alert. I had to admit, though, that it was nice to see an honest smile on Allissa's face for once. "Luke," my voice came out as a dangerously low growl. His eyes met mine defiantly, a daringly nonchalant expression on his face.

"I could have protected her from any danger that crossed our paths. she's smiling right now. Don't ruin that," he whispered back, kissing Allissa's cheek and telling her to go hang out in their room and he would be right back. "She's in one piece, so stop hissing and growling." I rolled my eyes and gripped his wrist, dragging him behind me to the sound proof strategy room. My eyes darted from side to side to make sure nobody saw us enter before slamming it shut behind me. I let out the long sigh I had been holding for a long time and at in a chair, gesturing for Luke to sit across from me. He rose his eyebrow inquisitively, but sat down nonetheless. he knew I would only ever drag him here for something truly important.

"Seth has escaped the dungeons." He immediaely started muttering obscenities under his breath. When he had found out about Seth trying to kill Allissa, he almost tried to storm the vampire palace to find the basatdr himself. It was only by the power of fifty guards that he remained out of the path of certain death. "Seth is the general. It is stated that, in cases like this, the general has the first claim to the mate and the throne. He knows that, and the moment we least expect it, he'll strike and take Allissa."

"But we expect it at every moment. It'll be hard for him to catch us off guard."

"He's probably watching the palace right now, under our noses. He's attentive and he's clever, and apparently has become much more pwoerful since I last saw him as well. He's a general, Luke. He's used to strategies and observing an enemy's weak points and strong points. He has an incredible way of not only exploiting a person's weak points, but turning their strong points against them until they have nothing left to fight back with. He'll do that to Alissa without any problems." Luke's expression crumbled into one as worried as mine and he started pacing, still muttering under his breath.

"How long do you think we have before he figures something out?"

"Honestly?"

"No, I want a lie. OF COURSE HONESTLY!" I ignored the attempt to deafen me and instead lowered my head slightly, fearing for the complicated beauty who had both of our hearts.

"It wouldn't surprise me if he had something in his mind already, and is just waiting until he has everything set up." That didn't make Luke feel any better. He picked up the nearest chair and threw it against the wall, making a loud clang resound through the room. Thank goodness it was sound proof. "Look, the best thing we can do is up our guard. And absolutely NO midnight excursions to the lake. She needs to be protected at all times. He's not dumb. Tell your general about the situation, but be careful if you try to tell Allissa. She's already fragile as it is." He wordlessly nodded and we both made our way out of the room, both uncharacteristically silent.

~Allissa's POV~

I really shouldn't have been alone, I knew that very well, but I wanted to be able to gather my thoughts on my own for once. Screw the danger. I was in danger every moment of my life, it just happened to be increased recently.

My hand immediately gravitated to my stomach, as it always seemed to do lately. I wondered when it would be safe enough to try again. Probably never. I wasn't stupid. I knew that no matter what they did, all they could do was prolong the wait until the vampires got their hands on me. Luke and tyler kept saying it was all going to be fine, but I knew it wouldn't be. Soon, most likely sooner than I ever predicted, they would get me and when there as a new king, he would probably decide to throw me in the dungeon forever. Darren and Tyler were the only vampires out there that didn't want me dead.

"It's probably not wise to be out of the palace. Especially alone." A chill ran down my spine as I spun around to come face to face ith Seth.

"Y-you. You're supposed to be-"

"I know, but I'm not anymore. Besides, it's not like now that Darren's gone, you've got any vampires who will deny me the pleasure of killing you. But first, of course, I need the throne. It's a shame that I'll have to mate with you for it, even if only for a moment," he sneered, making me back away until my back hit a tree. he was immediately in front of me to make sure I couldn't move anymore.

"Don't worry," he chuckled darkly. "I'm not taking you right now. Everythings not ready for you yet. but it will be soon. You can fight all you want, but in the end, I will become king. And then you will die. Now go on. Run desperately to tyler and Luke and tell them all about this little encounter. Having them scramble around will only make it that much more fun." And with another dark chuckle, he abruptly let me go and walked casually away, disappearing into the shadows. My hand reached to touch my throart, remembering how painful it had been when his hands squeezed it, choking me with that cold, wild look in his eyes.

Tears stung at my eyes and I immediately bolted to the palace, looking for Tyler and Luke.