Free Web NovelChapter 215: Traitor (1)
"Graham, what brought you to our palace when you just visited us yesterday? I told you not to make your visits too regular. This better be important," Charles King, current vampire king, said from his throne.
Beside him was his wife Elizabeth King and their only child, Xavier King.
"Big news you would like to hear, King Charles. As of this morning, my nephew is no more. My community is without an alpha."
"Really?" Charles sat up excited by the news. Vincent Lawerence had always been a thorn in his side. "That is good news. I applaud you for coming to us right away."
"He’s only here because he wants something from us. What is it?" Xavier asked in a bored tone. He saw right through Graham, unlike his careless father. The wolf was only here for himself and it wouldn’t be long before he tried to betray them now that Vincent was dead.
"Silence son," Charles started becoming annoyed with his son. Only the king should speak when there is an audience. "Outside of your nephew’s death-"
"How certain are you that he is even dead?" Xavier jumped in again. He had been face to face with Vincent before and found it highly unlikely the man was alive and well one moment but then suddenly dead. "I find it hard to believe that you were able to kill him. Specifically you."
Graham wanted to smack the young prince for ruining this moment but he remained calm as it was only him and the two men he brought along up against an entire palace of vampires. "I had him poisoned with wolfsbane and verified his death with my own eyes. I would not have traveled here if not for being certain."
"Graham is not stupid son. He knows not to bring me lies or I will have him killed and hang his body up as a warning to all wolves. Now tell me, what is it that you want? I can smell your nervousness," Charles grinned, revealing his sharp fangs.
He now had not much of a use for Graham but wanted to entertain the man a bit more.
"The community, it is to belong to me but I will allow you access whenever you wish to visit. That was our deal in the beginning," Graham said, referring to when they first met.
"Deal? You were in the middle of a war with my people and we had you outnumbered. You told me to kill your brother and you would remain my servant forever. You then led your brother and his wife into a trap for us to ambush them and in the end, you got to live. I never made a deal with you. I saved you which meant you were in my debt," said Charles.
He would never make a deal with a werewolf when he hated the creatures and viewed them to be beneath him.
"I have told you the community would be mine for my service to you-"
"That service was you paying off the debt you owe me, Graham. What do you not understand? I never said the community would or would not belong to you. I laughed each time you brought it up. Why are you making things so difficult when we should be celebrating? Someone get me a drink," Charles pointed to a group of guards.
Graham felt like a child with the way Charles was speaking to him. He made it clear from day one that the werewolves would be under his command but now Charles was singing a different tune.
"Why do you look so defeated Graham? You know, I like you," Charles said out of the blue. "To kill your own brother in order to become the alpha, your heart must be just like a demon or vampire. I like people who do anything to get what they want," he glanced at his wife.
Elizabeth King rolled her eyes already annoyed with her husband. If he talked about their relationship there would be no stopping Xavier from embarrassing Charles. "Quit it while you’re ahead Charles."
"Please take her advice," Xavier glared at his father.
"The two of you are no fun," Charles decided to back down. "We have more pressing matters to deal with anyway. I will send my army to the community after you become the new leader. I expect the gates to be wide open when they get there and they aren’t attacked."
Seeing Graham was awfully quiet Charles decided to give him a treat. "Fine, fine. I will let you be the leader but there will be one of my people there that you would have to report to. That’s fair, isn’t it? Given the history between my people and your people, you can’t expect me to trust you."
"I understand," Graham bowed his head. He knew he couldn’t trust these bloodsuckers which is why he would get rid of them soon. "To celebrate this victory I will throw a festival for you and put on a show. I hope you attend it."
"Of course-"
"My king," a voice interrupted Charles.
"Do none of you have an ounce of respect for your king?" Charles smacked his hand down on the arm of his throne. "Percy? What on earth are you doing here? I thought you went away to live away from us. Why are you here now when I have guests?"
"Your guest is the reason why I am here. I had an interesting conversation with an old friend concerning this Graham man before you. We cannot trust a word he says," said Percy. He came and stood next to Graham not caring if the man was now glaring at him. ƒrēewebnovel.com
"What on earth are you talking about? What about me that cannot be trusted?" Graham questioned the man he had never seen before. He was clearly not a vampire royal or guard due to his clothes so why hadn’t Charles thrown him out?
"You allowed your brother to be killed and are now celebrating your nephew’s death with your enemy. Why would anyone trust you after this? Charles, I would not return to this place for anything. You know that."
Charles thought about it for a moment. Percy had left his home in the palace to live what he called a peaceful life elsewhere. He had not returned home for nearly twenty years. "Tell me what you have heard," Charles decided to let Percy speak much to Graham’s dismay.
"He isn’t going to hold up his end of the bargain and let your men enter that community-"
"You and I have never spoken for you to know that!" Graham shot down the claim. He never met this man a day in his life nor did he tell anyone of his plans to get rid of the vampires as yet. This man was bluffing and Charles seemed to be believing it.
"Silence! Allow him to speak without any interruptions, Graham. He is family and I will not allow you to disrespect him. This is your first and only warning."
Graham huffed and kept his mouth shut. He didn’t know who this Percy person was and didn’t understand why he was so against believing he was loyal to Charles even though he wasn’t. Graham always put up the perfect act of being Charles’ servant.
"A source came to me and enlightened me of the fact that Vincent Lawerence is not actually dead and if you march your men to that community they will be ambushed and killed by Vincent himself. Do not be fooled by this man." Percy was adding the things he heard Charles and Graham speak of to what Aurora told him to make it more believable.
"Graham, is Vincent dead or not?" Charles looked to Graham. Graham was their only way of knowing if Vincent was dead or alive as he was their inside man. However, if Percy had a spy of his own who could testify otherwise then this was not good for Graham.
"My nephew and I went there this morning to see for ourselves if Vincent was truly dead. The poison I used drained the life out of him and there wasn’t a sign of any heartbeat. I would-"
"Many creatures have developed the skill to make their heart stop for a brief moment. To make sure that he was indeed dead, I would have stabbed him in the heart and ripped him limb from limb but that’s just me," Xavier revealed his fangs not trusting Graham. He preferred to kill the man and leave the werewolves alone rather than enter their homes.
"I cannot let the people there know that I was the one to kill him-" freeweɓnovel.cøm
"Who cares? We have reached the point where you no longer need to care what those people think of you. With Vincent gone they would have to bow to you. I agree that you should have stabbed him in the heart and ripped him up to make sure that he is dead. I’m starting to doubt you, Graham," said Charles.
"I swear to you-"
"My king! Werewolves have been spotted. They are being led by their alpha!" A guard yelled to alert the royals.
