"Um, already?" I asked, scratching my cheek. Uncle Andros grasped my hand and kissed it, then pressed it to his chest.

Briar, Angel, and Gavin had their fair share of cuddles with me today before Uncle Andros arrived, so they (and everyone else who had gotten plenty of kisses and hugs) were happy to just watch me with my uncle.

Yes, I still call him my uncle, even though he has no blood relation to me. Uncle Andros is Uncle Andros. It's as simple as that.

Ambrose nodded his head rather stiffly. "They have just arrived, my dear wolf."

Uncle Andros, having been informed of my current title as the king of vampires, decided to ask what my oldest lover was talking about. I tucked my head down and gave my uncle a quick kiss on the lips before peppering Ambrose's face with kisses. His silver eyes gleamed and then flashed crimson. Daviel was clearly pleased by my affection as well.

"Vampires have arrived to curry favor with their king and to negotiate the inheritance from the previous king."

"What is there to negotiate?" I asked, materializing the sword I inherited from the now deceased king.

My lovers were a bit shocked by that action, so they bored holes into my back as I put the sword away in another dimension. I glanced back at them and nodded, basically telling them that I would answer their questions later.

Ambrose sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Despite the fall of the kingdom, there are still inheritances such as land, powers of authority, and the responsibilities of governing the vampires, so there will be corrupt vampires lusting over the positions closest to the king."

"Ah," I mumbled, then rested my left cheek on my uncle's corresponding shoulder. "They probably think I'm naive and stupid because I look like a child, don't they?"

Ambrose's face tightened and his jaw clenched, but he managed a simple nod. I pushed my lips out for a kiss and he leaned down a bit to press his lips to mine. I smiled happily and my precious vampire relaxed.

"Should I go remind them why I was chosen, Rose?"

Ambrose's lips curled in a smirk. "It would please me greatly if you do remind them, my little wolf."

"Ooh, wow." breathed Waltz, amazement in his eyes. "I don't think I've ever seen Ambrose with a smirk on his face."

I giggled. "Well, I have had the pleasure of watching his expressions change."

Waltz laughed and waved his hand, dropping it back down. He was sitting on Dian's lap with his legs stretched out and his arms draped over Dian's shoulders. Dian was happily snuggling his lover, who was unusually quiet and calm today. It was probably because of our cuddle and kissy time earlier, though. Waltz's green, blue, and black-accented gossamer butterfly-like wings fluttered in and out of existence with each gentle kiss from Dian and met gaze from me. Uncle Andros was a bit fascinated by that exchange.

Ambrose smiled warmly and petted my head, which made me grin and had my tail wagging. The chuckles, giggles, and happy smiles made me feel warm and fuzzy. Ambrose played with my ears to hear my laughter, then waited for my uncle to kiss me. Once Uncle Andros had done so, he handed my form over to Ambrose and everyone crowded around any available window to see what was about to happen—if anything at all.

Russet was here too, surprisingly. I hadn't seen much of him lately, but he looked genuinely happy and healthy, so I wasn't concerned. I locked eyes with him before Ambrose stepped outside. His russet-brown eyes gleamed and he grinned at me, leaning into Angel's side. I chuckled and wiggled my fingers at him. Russet waved his lop ears with his fingers at me.

Ambrose hummed and nuzzled my left human ear, so I tucked my nose down and snuggled into his arms. My tail wiggled again, which made my ancient vampire chuckle as he petted it. He carried me into the meadow and stopped directly before the barrier.

I slowly straightened and turned in Ambrose's embrace, since most of my weight was supported by his left forearm. And I finally understood why Ambrose was irritated. There were eight delegates—six men and two women, as far as I could see. And all eight of them could not get through my barrier, which meant they all had bad intentions.

"Welcome," I said coldly, my smile far from warm. "Did you have a safe journey?"

The oldest in appearance of the eight vampires in front of Ambrose and me was an elderly man that bowed low, to the point of exaggeration and mockery. I kept my annoyance hidden and decided to play the role of a little kid that didn't know what was going on. Although, that'd only work if the delegators hadn't paid attention to my cold smile earlier.

"Rose, what's going on? Why's that old man acting like that?" I asked cutely, pouting at him and hugging his neck.

Ambrose tensed, but he relaxed when I spoke into his mind: "I'm just acting, Rose. I want them to let their guards down and let their friendly personas crack."

"All right, little wolf." he said into my mind, then a deep, rumbly chuckle burst free. I giggled and kissed his cheeks, my tail whirling like a fan on high.

"That old vampire is bowing to you because you are the king now, my dear wolf."

I frowned and then hummed, peeking at the vampires who were watching us closely. "Ooh, okay. So you're kinda like my queen?"

Ambrose inhaled sharply and began to cough, then he laughed. My heart pounded and I squeezed his shoulders, nuzzling and kissing his face while my tail was a blur behind me. And while Ambrose was having a hard time trying to calm himself down, I was actually paying attention to the delegates.

They were starting to get annoyed because I was ignoring them. So, instead of calling them out on it, I petted Ambrose's head and looked at them again.

"What's your name, mister?" I asked sweetly, my tail still wiggling from hearing Ambrose's continued amusement.

The elderly vampire chuckled with a sinister tone, although it had been disguised as amusement. "My name is Matthew. Matthew Jackal, at your service, my liege lord."

"J-Jackal," I tested, then tilted my head. "Like a dog?"

Ambrose heard me and snickered, which made the elderly vampire's face twitch. "Silence, you damned cur!" he shouted, then slammed his claws on the barrier with fury in his voice.

When he noticed my icy cold glare, he backed off with a pale-faced expression. I relaxed and kissed my lover's head, who was now much calmer while he nosed and kissed the right side of my face, head, and neck. The other vampires were a bit more wary now, which made me sigh. My acting stint failed. I might as well do it the way I want to since "acting" just wasn't my thing.

"Well," I said through a sharp exhale, "shall we get down to business, Matthew?"

Matthew's attention snapped back to me as my cold expression returned. "My liege lord?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Your lack of respect because of your assumptions are astounding me, Matthew. Just because I appear to be a child does not mean I am one."

Matthew suddenly seemed to realize that his plan (whatever it may be) was not going as he had hoped. My lips curled in a pleased smirk. My gaze roved over the young and middle-aged faces of the other vampires. Their eyes flashed crimson when they noticed the dark aura that I was purposefully emitting.

"Do you know what is surrounding my home? What its purpose is for it to be there?" I asked in a slow croon, gesturing to the invisible wall that was keeping the bad vampires out.

Since seven of eight vampires seemed too wary to answer my question, the youngest vampire (appearance-wise) decided to respond to it. She replied, "No, I don't know what it is or why it's surrounding your home."

I smiled with my lips closed, then chuckled darkly. The delegates were tense and that is just the way I wanted them. Ambrose had his nose tucked against my jaw, just breathing while he held me close to his chest. I rested more on my right arm, which went around the back of my ancient vampire's neck and my hand was draped over his right shoulder. I pressed my nose to Ambrose's loose midnight-black locks and kissed his head, then rested my right cheek on it.

My gaze suddenly hardened and my eyes met each of the vampires' impatient, irritated, and somewhat frightened faces. I grinned brightly and that caught them off-guard.

"Well," I began, "the invisible wall you feel is a barrier. One that I remade and enforced with my own magic and stipulations for its use for the protection of those inside the barrier."

"Protection? From what?" responded the same young vampire.

"People with terrible intentions—intent to commit crimes. Whether it be fraud, murder, assault, assassination, and so on, all people—nonhuman and human—cannot enter this barrier." I stated, watching their faces drain to white. Anxiety sparked in their body language and breathing,

I smiled warmly this time and barked a laugh before saying, "So you traveled all this way with a plan to undermine my authority and usurp me, believing I was just a naive, powerless child based off the two vampires aside from my Rose who first came to know the truth."

Matthew went to deny, but I continued, "How do you think I earned this title, you foolish creatures?" I asked with a soft giggle. "Did you think your former ruler merely handed it to me because I asked?"

"N-no, Sire—!"

"Silence, you imbecile!" I growled, and his mouth snapped shut. "Do you not remember the creature with Ambrose Savage that night?"

The delegate vampires' eyes widened dramatically as I suddenly shifted and slammed my talons near their bodies. I snapped my jaws and shook out my fur, stretching my wings as I stared down at the small vampires below. I cackled and quickly released my screeching howl, which had deep undertones of a dragon's rumble.

I had made sure Ambrose was behind my neck, so he was surprised but pleased to ride me again. Although when I teasingly nudged him through telepathy, Ambrose was thoroughly embarrassed but turned on. Daviel was up for it, of course, but he wanted me to scare the delegates a bit more.

I stepped inside and outside the barrier as I walked several full circles around the frozen vampires while I talked to them.

"Terrifying, isn't it? To know that the one you deemed naive, powerless, and a perfect tool is actually one that can slaughter you without mercy if you'd planned to deceive me and hurt my family. It really is such a shame that you planned to use Rose against me or the opposite if the former didn't work, then you would have me sign documents that forked over the kingdom to you and your corrupt clans. Greed and envy will be your downfall, you foolish bloodsuckers."

One of the middle-aged vampires grabbed onto my fur as I stepped through the barrier again, but I snickered when his body slammed against the barrier and then the barrier flung him away. I settled back on my haunches and curled my fluffy tail around my paws. I flicked my ears when I noticed the other female vampire rush to the unconscious male's side about a hundred feet away since he had hit a tree pretty hard.

I folded my wings and smiled to myself when I felt Ambrose move his body closer and clutch onto my fur a bit tighter. Then I noticed Matthew move. I swung my ears forward and I was a bit shocked to see the elderly vampire prostrate himself before me.

"Matthew!" cried another male. "Get up!"

"No, you get down!" shouted Matthew. "You really are foolish, Nadir!"

Nadir bristled, then glared at me. He materialized a battle-axe and I watched a crystal that was embedded into the weapon suddenly shine, then the male vampire swung hard and slammed the edge of his weapon into the barrier. His expression of shock when his axe shattered was priceless.

"Do you see now, Nadir?" hissed Matthew. "This creature is beyond us in power. It spared us, you fool! It could have eaten us, but it chose not to."

Nadir swallowed thickly and slowly lifted his gaze to my left eye. I stared back with no emotion, and Nadir suddenly shrank down. He dropped to his knees and bowed his head.

Soon, all seven conscious vampires had recognized me as a superior being. I honestly didn't want to become the king of vampires, but if this meant I could create an opportunity for universal respect, I might be able to end the feud between vampires and werewolves. I mean, I am half wolf and half dragon, not to mention an Emerged wolf.

Before I could shift back and ask the delegates to get up, I heard furious mooing. I turned my head to see Matteo thundering towards us in his bull form, his horns pointing down and his hooves reaching further than before. I have no idea what got into him, so I sat back and let it happen.

Matteo burst out of the barrier and trampled every single delegate that was either kneeling or prostrating themselves. Their cries of pain came as no shock, but I feel like they deserved it with what they came here to do. I would heal them later, but for now, I happily watched Matteo stomp on them.

My tail thumped on the ground when he trotted up to me. I curled down and nosed his dark brown sides, gently grooming his hide. Matteo mooed again and licked my muzzle.

"What was that about, Mattie?" I asked, laughter on my lips.

Matteo proudly lifted his head and licked my nose. "No one gets to kneel like that before you other than me, Master."

My eyes widened and I began to laugh, but I laid down and continued to groom my possessive bull. Ambrose slid off me and greeted Matteo, who sniffed and licked his hand, then asked for more attention from me. Ambrose looked between me and the gouged vampires.

Daviel came forward, his crimson eyes gleaming with pleasure. "That was quite amusing, my little wolf."

"Yes, Matteo and I were happy to provide your entertainment. But I will heal them shortly. This was merely a punishment."

Daviel hummed, then smirked. "Are you still up for this 'riding' that you mentioned briefly?"

I blushed under my fur. "Mmhm, but it will have to be later, love."

"Then the plan has been made."

I nodded, then continued to groom my sleepy bull. He sat down between my talons and snuggled against my chest. I had a hard time comfortably reaching Matteo because of his positioning, so I rested my head down on the ground. Matteo, comfortably settled, lowered his head and released a short sigh.

It was Ambrose who chuckled and petted my face a moment later. He was happy, too.