8. Bloody temptation

Aleida’s POV

It’s tough not to feel tempted by the liquid gold in his hands; the scent of the blood makes my mouth water with want. I’ve tried to get the bag for quite some time now, but Blake moves at an incredible speed.

“How come that you’re faster than me? I’m the strongest creature alive!” I breathe out, tired of all the chasing.

“You’re unfocused because you smell the blood. That’s what we’re trying to learn to ignore. Since you’ve just tasted human blood for the first time, you’ll want more in the future if you don’t learn to control the urges. My job is to teach you not to feel those urges, to learn to disregard, and focus on what matters,” Blake says, smirking.

“If you knew this was going to happen, why did you give it to me?” I hiss in annoyance.

“Because it’s better that you taste it at least once and learn how to control it, instead of not trying and losing control later on. This is much safer not just for you but for all other creatures around you. Vampires don’t only drink blood from animals or humans; werewolf blood, witch blood, fairy blood, etc., works too. The only blood we don’t drink is from another vampire; it’s cannibalism,” he explains, and it annoys me to admit that he’s right.

“So, what am I supposed to do?”

“Focus on something else; it doesn’t matter what it is as long as it isn’t the taste or smell of the blood. Remember a strong memory, or use your senses to listen to something far away, things like that.”

The smell of the blood bag in his hands calls for me like a compulsion; it’s hard to focus on something else, but I know I can do it. Slowly I inhale and close my eyes. I open up my senses and focus my hearing until I hear a deer at a long distance. How do I know it’s a deer? From the noise level judging by the hooves, it’s a deer. The blood cravings disappear as my focus is elsewhere. Instead of staying behind, I race after the deer; the predator instincts kick in. Elisa and I are united; together, we sneak up on the unknowing animal before attacking its jugular. Gracefully as a ballet dancer, we end the life of this poor unsuspecting deer, and we’re delighted with our efforts. Elisa howls, and it makes me feel like a puppy that has been successful for the first time. Blake and one of the other vampires walk into the clearing with smiles on their faces. I walk up to them on all four paws and push them lightly with my muzzle to show that I want to share my catch. They look at me in amazement, and I immediately understand why. Vampires don’t share their prey, they’re incredibly selfish when it comes to their food, but I want to share as a thank you.

“Are you sure?” Blake asks in surprise.

I nod my big head and give them a wolfy smile before walking back to the deer. I’m not very hungry; a leg or two will be enough for me. They let me pick my pieces before they begin to eat; apparently, vampires don’t only drink the blood; they enjoy the raw meat as well. With my sharp fangs, I tear into the meat and finish in no time. I lick myself clean around my mouth and then lie down, waiting for them to eat. My thoughts slip to my puppies and mates; What are they doing now? Do they miss me as much as I yearn for them? I feel the need to open my mindlink to them, but at the same time, I hesitate. Because my mates may begin to hope for my return, and I’m not even close to that yet. Someday I will, but that won’t be any time soon. Thankfully, Blake interrupts my inner battle.

“Thank you, Aleida. That was very diplomatic of you; we appreciate it,” he says and wipes his mouth.

I bark as an answer, which he laughs at, and pet my head. Elisa loves when someone’s stroking us, and that makes us purr from satisfaction. The other vampire looks like he wants to pet us too but is hesitant to do so. Blake looks at his friend and laughs.

“She won’t bite. If you want to pet her, she’s going to allow it.”

“Are you sure? She’s so big...” the vampire says, which earns him a growl coming from me, and he takes a step back.

“Yeah, don’t comment on her size. It’s not polite to do that towards a superior or a lady in general,” Blake chuckles.

The vampire continues to hesitate. I roll my eyes before rising and walk up to him. His hand slowly moves towards my head, and it takes too long; I push my head into his hand the last few inches. He smiles and scratches behind my ear. When my tongue falls out of my mouth, I feel like a dog.

“See? She’s a big lapdog when you get to know her,” Blake says, chuckling.

“I’m Vincent, by the way,” the unknown vampire says, and I lick his hand as a ‘hello.’

“You’re truly disgusting,” Blake says with his nose scrunched.

“I know,” I answer, smirking after I shift back.

“I’ll never get used to this whole nude-thing you werewolves have going on,” Blake sighs and rubs his temples.

“You get used to it; most werewolves get comfortable with it when they’re pups. Just like you guys get used to seeing others drink blood in your presence,” I answer with a shrug and begin my walk back towards the packhouse.

Luis is standing in the backyard, waiting for me with a t-shirt in his hands. He knows the drill; when I leave to run in the forest, I always shred my clothes unless they’re extra expensive or beautiful. Well, okay, I do that too if it’s an emergency, of course.

“Put this on before you give that poor young man a heart attack,” he sighs and points at Vincent, who’s watching my ass.

“Yes, sir!”

“How did it go?”

“She did remarkably good for being a first-timer!” Blake announces proudly. “A few hundred more times, and she’ll be good to go.”

“Hundred times!?” I exclaim in surprise.

“Yeah, you might only need half of that, considering you have admirable self-control.”

“So much for making progress,” I grumble for myself.

“Alpha, there’s also another matter to attend to,” Luis says nervously.

“Luis, what is it?” I ask with my eyes narrowed, already knowing that I’m not going to like what he’s going to tell.

“We found Michael.”

My heartbeat increases by hearing that the warriors found my best friend! But I’m also nervous since that simply can’t be all there is to say about the subject. I process the information, not sure if I’m going to feel revealed or scared about it.

“It doesn’t look good, Aleida. He’s in alliance with witches, dark ones,” Luis continues while looking into my eyes.

“Is he forced?” I ask, holding onto the small piece of hope I have left.

“No,” Luis answers with a sad look, and my tears fall.

Michael, my best friend, has betrayed me. He’s in alliances with dark forces to do only the goddess knows what. I clutch my heart, trying to breathe normally while falling to my knees. Aleida, no! Don’t break; we can’t do weakness right now!

“Who’s Michael?” Blake asks in confusion.

“That’s Aleida’s beta and best friend,” Luis answers sadly, which the vampires growl at. “He also pledged a blood alliance to her, to protect her until his last breath.”

The silence is deafening, and all I hear is Luis’s words chant in my head, “he’s having an alliance with witches, dark ones.” I breathe in deeply before standing up, my alpha face on, claws squeezing into my palms. I call my pack members to the lawn, and after a few minutes, they’re there.

“Members of the Blood fang pack and new visitors,” I begin and look at the vampires who just arrived. “We’ve found your beta, Michael, and it’s time to take action.”

“What are the orders, alpha?” someone asks.

“Find him and bring him here by all means necessary.”

“What will you do once we get him here?”

“I’ll kill him myself,” I answer with a cold voice and walk away from there. “You’re all dismissed!”

Traitors don’t live long in any packs, especially not in the queen’s personal one. Michael is dead, no matter what. If he can betray me once, he can easily do it again. He’s untrustable, and I can’t ever forgive him for what he’s done. Since he disappeared quickly after he spoke about his feelings for me, I can only conclude that those witches are supposed to help him get me. That might make me egocentric, but I don’t know what else to get out of this fucked up situation. I don’t know what to do. My mind and heart are having a battle against each other. The heart is hurting for my friend, while the brain is telling me to choke him with my bare hands. I need to talk to someone, and the only ones I can speak to are my mates; I pick up the office phone and dial the number.

“Alpha Kian speaking.”

My heart is somersaulting in my chest, and tears prickle my eyes just by hearing his voice. I stay silent, not knowing how to answer him. What do I even say? I’ve ignored them for weeks, keeping them at bay with blocking the mindlink.

“Kian?” I sniffle, not able to hold my feelings inside anymore.

“Baby! Baby, why are you crying?” he asks worriedly.

“They found Michael,” I sob. “He, he betrayed me. He’s a fucking traitor working with the dark witches!”

The line goes quiet while I sob like a little girl who just lost her mom at the mall. Good goddess, get a grip! You’re an alpha and a queen, for fuck’s sake! I breathe in and out, slowly regaining my bearings. I begin to tell him what the warriors found—Kian is growling during my story.

“I knew that little shit wasn’t worthy of your trust! But baby, how are you holding up?”

“I’m not sure, Kian. I’ve tried human blood today for the first time, and I successfully resist drinking more. Thankfully, Blake and Vincent are helping me.”

“Who’s Blake and Vincent?” he growls.

“Are you jealous, big bad alpha?” I coo and giggle at him.

“It’s amazing to hear you giggle again; it feels like ages ago... We miss you very much.”

“I miss you too, more than you can understand. But I’m still dangerous to be around; I promise to work hard on learning control so I can get home to you soon.”

“I know you’re doing your best, lepa. It’s just hard here without you... The puppies miss you.”

“And I miss them. Can you kiss them from me?”

“Of course, honey. I’ll talk to you soon.”

“I love you, bye!”

We hang up, and I feel more at ease than before. Somehow I’m going back to my babies; I just hope this control thing doesn’t take too long...