The White Wolf ||A Paranormal Romance Novel||

Vali

I think she was starting to feel it now, me playing in her mind. There wasn’t anything I had done yet that would bend her to my will, but if she decided to be uncooperative then there was nothing she could do to stop me from doing so.

“I hear you worked in the castle.” I said, looking at her. Unfortunately her eyes were on Jackson instead of me. That would have to change. “I’m the one talking to you, not him. I’m the one in charge, not him. He might be the easier option, but his methods take time. Time that I do not have.” Her eyes finally landed on me again.

“Yes, I worked in the castle.” She said, and I nodded.

“You were one of Marioara’s maids, yes?” I confirmed, she sighed and I felt a push of power from her. Cute. I tightened the rope I had tied around her mind, making it squeeze her very soul. “Yeah, you won’t be attacking any of us today.”

“Mind power… also very rare.” Antanasia said, grimacing at the noose I had tied for her. At the pull and the threat of what I could do with it. “Is that because you’re the White Wolf or did you get lucky?”

“I don’t think you’re understanding the dynamic of an interrogation,” I said. I squatted in front of her and stared into her eyes. “You’re the prisoner, you answer my questions, not the other way around.”

“So it’s because you’re the White Wolf. Interesting. I never knew the Chosen had a power passed down from one to the next. Although, it does make sense. The moon controls your people, so the leader having more control than that…” Fuck. It wasn’t that easy to put together, was it? Well, I guess there wasn’t much point in lying about it. She was trapped here, and it could be a way for me to gain her trust.

“Well done, you now know our best kept secret.” I tilted my head to the side as she smirked. “Do you want me to use it against you? I’ve done it before, and I’ve found the more people struggle against my will the more it hurts.”

“No need. I understand you wanting to keep me here, you wanting to keep a thread of your power on me to make sure I’m telling the truth. But you won’t need to constrict me like a boa to get what you want.” She shuffled to cross her legs in front of herself.

“Why the sudden change of heart?”

“The others, they would never trust me. No matter what I would tell them, they would never let me go or allow me to help. It is fair they act that way, our people have never played well with each other after all.” I studied her, watching each minute movement on her face. “You’re different. You will listen.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Your scent.” What? I furrowed my brow, realising too late that I let my surprise show. Jackson would not be happy with me right now; good thing he was behind me and couldn’t see my reaction. “And also your proximity to Romania. You’re here for a reason, and to be this close to vampires implies you’re either starting a war or you have someone on the inside.”

“And which do you think it is?” I asked, she smirked.

“Both.”

I sat down, mirroring her crossed legs and hands rested in her lap. I copied her calm and noted her expression. Excitement. There was a reason she had gone after so many wolves at once. She was exactly where she wanted to be.

“You were aware of the protocol, for wolves to walk in threes after dark. You wanted to be captured, why?” There was a playful glint in her eyes, which I didn’t like.

“Because, I knew you would come here eventually, you would have to. You are the first female White Wolf, the prophecy is nigh.” So she knew of the prophecy? Strange, I thought the wolves were the only ones who knew of it. The blatant sweet ignorance of it by Traian and Mircea Dracula seemed to prove my guess. “Not all vampires know, Chosen. There are a group of us who do, it is only shared with those we trust.”

“A group? Where did you get the prophecy from? How do you know?” I asked, probably showing my desperation for knowledge far too much. I could practically hear Jackson shaking his head behind me in bitter disappointment.

“Nicolae Dracula was an academic, and upon his research of the fall out of the wolves from the rest of the supernatural world he stumbled upon it. He realised the importance of it, and kept the information close for reference.” Antanasia explained. I tried to keep focused, but she had mentioned someone I didn’t know.

“Nicolae?” I asked, her smirk fell.

“Traian’s younger brother, and Marioara’s mate.” She said, my heart was hammering in my chest. Mate? Then why was she married to Traian? A mating bond is something that should never be ignored, and even if you try it comes back to hit you in the face. “Marioara was highly sought after because of her beauty, it was an arranged marriage and the three of them hadn’t met until the wedding. Her parents had decided to keep her sheltered from the world, to keep her safe from any threats, so she never left their castle until the wedding day.”

I could hardly imagine that; being held captive all my life only to be thrown into another cell with prettier bars. To turn up to my wedding blind, and realise that the man standing to the side was the one I was destined to be with instead of the one at the centre.

“He was killed the same night that Marioara was, by Traian as well. Nicolae tried to protect his mate, but he failed. Traian was too strong.” She said, her pale eyes on her nimble fingers. This was raising more questions than answers.

“Why didn’t we know about his existence?”

“He was swept under the rug. It was a deal he made with his brother, lead a quiet life in academics and he could live. Traian saw him as a threat to his throne.”

“And why were Nicolae and Marioara murdered?” There was a moment of silence, and I could see the pain on her face. The guilt. I assumed they were having an affair, that maybe Antanasia helped them do it quietly.

“They had been in love for years, had been having an affair from the first day of the marriage. I helped them, helped my Queen follow her heart. And Traian has slowly been losing control of his rage for a few decades now, that night he was set off because he found out everything.” Her eyes lifted to meet mine, this wasn’t just about the affair. No, this was much worse.

“Traian first found out that Marioara and Nicolae had been leading a rebel movement because of a prophecy. This was a handful of months after you were chosen. The prophecy was revealed to Traian, so he went to confront Marioara and Nicolae only to find them entangled in bed.” She took a shaky breath, tears sitting in her eyes. “I… it might be best if you watch my memory of this instead of me try to explain it.”

“Are you sure?” I asked, she nodded and so I delved into her mind.

I was running through the dark hallways of Bran Castle, air unable to reach my lungs as I sprinted towards the screams I’d heard. The screams that had hit me in my chest harder than they should have. I knew it was Marioara, knew that everything we had feared was coming to fruition.

When I reached the door I found Mircea standing in the opening, frozen with shock, and I didn’t understand exactly why until I looked into the bedroom. Marioara’s bedroom.

Nicolae was already on the floor, blood pooled around him from what was left of his throat.

“Mir, you don’t have to see this. Go.” I whispered, he shook his head. It seemed that was all he would be capable of doing. I should have told him to go once more, it could have saved him from Traian’s wrath.

“What about our son?” Traian asked, his hand gripping Marioara’s throat as he lifted her off of the ground. “Is he the one destined to betray me?” His power was leaking from his body in waves of heat. Flames danced along the floor, reflected in Marioara’s eyes as she stared down at Traian.

“Mircea…” Marioara whispered through the grip on her throat. “He isn’t your son.”

The flames roared through the room, and I had to pull Mircea away to keep him from burning. Once we were far enough away I looked into the terrified eyes of my Prince. I didn’t know how long he had been standing there for, didn’t know how much he might have heard or what he knew.

“Did he see you?” I asked him, all he could do once more was shake his head. “Then run back to your room. Pretend you were never here, if he finds out you saw he will burn you to ash.”

“My mother…”

“She’s gone, Mir. Now go before you join her.” I warned, he still seemed to be stuck in shock.

“My father…” He trailed off, and all I felt was a sense of pity for him.

“Go, now.”

I opened my eyes and looked into Antanasia’s pale blue irises. Everything I just saw…

“I thought the royal power was telekinetics?” I asked, she shook her head.

“There was an argument that Nicolae was meant to have the crown, those rumours were quashed after Traian took control.” She explained. I nodded slowly. So Traian wasn’t supposed to be king in the first place and would do anything including kill his brother and wife to protect his control.

“Shit…” I whispered.

“What?” Jackson asked, I looked over my shoulder to lock eyes with him. The weight of what the situation was hit me like a truck.

“Mircea isn’t Traian’s son, and if he stays in Bran Castle he is entirely screwed.”