Violet

(1 week later)

I was currently wading my way through Dimitri's office. Helping him to remove any and all pieces of furniture that the Rogue King had touched. We both agreed that it was time for a change. We had had discussions with both Gavin and Trevor about how we would deal with the overall running of the pack and our first combat trainings available to our women would be given the following week. I was excited for what the future may hold and since the other Alpha's, including my father and brother had returned to their home packs, it gave Dimitri and I the time we needed to invest in our own. I also found myself too busy to think about the Goddess, for which I was thankful for.

Once I was left on my own, I was drawn to thoughts about my pup and where Brie might be. She had disappeared after the day of the battle and Alec was beside himself ever since. He spent days searching the woods in his wolf form for her. I knew from my White Wolf senses that she had not strayed far. She kept her eyes on him but she wanted time to herself for reasons unbeknown to me. Not that it was any of my business. But soon, I would have to make it my business if we were ever going to plan a strategy to bring our people together. Alec and Brie were even more stubborn than me... and that was saying something.

"My Queen"?

I blinked out of my trance and locked eyes with Beta Gavin.

"Did you say something"? I asked.

His face held no humour at me having zoned out on him. In fact, he looked terrified. When did he enter the office?

"What is it"?

"Alpha Dimitri has gone out to train with our warriors and I was worried about mind linking with him. I'm afraid he won't like the news I have, so I've come to you first".

I sighed.

"Gavin, Alpha Dimitri has forgiven you since the battle. I told him you were only following my orders. You should approach him about all domestic matters relating to his pack".

He gulped.

"I understand that my Queen, but this matter is foreign and not domestic".

"What do you mean"? I asked.

Beta Gavin proceeded to hand me a piece of paper with a seal I had only ever seen once. And that was in a text book in school. Nothing else was written, only the seal in the centre of the scroll. Gold lined the edges but the ink was in red. And that red seal produced only fear within me.

A symbol.

A statement.

The ink imprint of a snake circling a fang.

"The symbol of the stars of Corbec?" I said.

He nodded.

"The Guardians are on our Eastern border. They have demanded to see the person who has 'claimed' power within this territory. Their words, not mine".

My eyes narrowed as I scrunched the parchment within my hands.

"Call our warriors and have them meet me at the border immediately".

When Gavin left the room I grabbed my father's small dagger and placed it in the band of my Jeans. I started walking to my destination as the voices of our pack increased in fear. I mind linked the pack.

Everyone return to your homes, lock your doors and be ready to defend yourself should the need arise.

I mind linked with Dimitri next to inform him of our visitors.

Do not do anything Violet! Wait till I get there do you understand me?

His voice laced with panic.

On my way to the meeting point I came across Alec. His expression filled with worry but he tried hard to quell it. He bowed in deference before walking alongside me.

"There is around 20 of them from what I gather. The largest I have ever seen. They don't usually travel in that many outside of their coven. Or, atleast they never used too. These must be guardians of the seal. They haven't stepped a single foot onto our grounds since the treaty was signed. This is unprecedented Violet". He whispered to me as our feet drew us nearer.

"None of our generation have ever met a Guardian Alec, of course its unprecedented. Infact, no one 'alive' today has ever seen one. Which only makes it the more interesting and ominous". I said.

Every wolf knew that the sight of a Guardian was a bad omen. When one was seen, many of our people usually died. Or, that's what the scriptures say from the records of our battles over the centuries. But not today. A Guardian must have a good reason to step onto our grounds without first obtaining written consent from our council. That was the terms of our species treaty. For them to break it, well, that means I have a lot of shit on my hands".

I heard the galloping of our warriors approaching behind me in their wolves and the current patrol on our borders growling low at the Guardians in front of me as we approached. A warning not to cross any further within our grounds 'uninvited'.

My eyes widened as I saw them. It was like something out of the middle ages.

All 20 of them suited and booted in old silver armour. The symbol of the star of Corbec on the breast plates of their armour. All of them looking like fierce Guardians of old. The ones we all feared. All of them were old enough to have lived for centuries but they all were at least 6 feet in height and looked in their early twenties. One, stood out against the others. Where the others wore plain silver armour with the etched outline of the Corbec seal on their chests, this one Guardian with Black raven hair wore an armour suit to match. His suit was matte black and the symbol on his chest was the same as the others, only his was red. The sign of their leader.

As I approached I felt my mate reach my side and shift into his human form just in time. Dimitri gave me a warning look and I knew what it meant.

Dont fuck this up.

Walking ahead of my warriors they stopped their growling as I stepped in front of them. Dimitri growled however, not happy with me closing the distance between the Guardians and myself. He rushed to stand beside me.

The main Guardian with devilish raven hair and pale skin like whipped cream looked anywhere but at me. He perused the line of our warriors completely unfazed by their presence. The fact he had not made eye contact with me, meant that this Guardian had already made it onto my 'shit' list.

"State your purpose for being on these grounds uninvited Guardian"!

His face was still turned away from me but he grinned and slowly turned his face towards mine. Defiance written all over him. Defiance, cockiness and a lack of respect for authority. My power hummed within me.

"I asked to speak with the one who manages your pack of dog's here. Not the maid" he grinned and revealed a glimpse of his extended fang.

"Maybe you have not heard of the change in management. Our council were disbanded and our Monarchy was restored. You are currently addressing a White Wolf and the Queen of all Werewolves here present. The only maid like duties I will be doing is cleaning your blood up from the floor once I remove your head from its shoulders. You are speaking to a Queen and you will address me as such, your disrespect will only sign your death warrant on these grounds".

Dimitri stiffened at my threat and I could feel my warriors cower at the thought of me unleashing my power.

The 'Guardians' laughed in front of me before the one in black raised his arm to silence them. His grin broadened.

"I care not for the politics of the canines, I was unaware of the 'change in management' so to speak and your position as Queen is most interesting indeed. I will be sure to update our records for any future correspondence with your kind. Although, I had thought that your own people had wiped you out centuries ago, the notorious White Wolves of old. But still, the Gods have their ways".

I scowled at his words.

"I have not come here to break the 'strong ties of peace' we acquired long before your birth my dear. I am here because I have received the most startling and troubling of reports and I came to ensure that our 'peace' remains untainted".

Dimitri looked towards me nervously.

"What is your name Guardian?" I asked, more out of interest than anything else.

"My name is of no consequence to you your Majesty" his voice dripping with disdain at using my title.

"Then speak plainly, I am bored of this conversation and your paleness is blinding me".

He nodded. His 'nice' facade dropping within an instant. His face morphing into something cruel and almost evil. His eyes glowed a bright red.

"You are unlawfully harbouring a fugitive on these lands, and in doing so, you are preventing my people from receiving the justice they deserve. You are in direct violation of the treaty between our kinds by offering them sanctuary here. So, we decided to save you the trouble of all that paper work by overseeing the handover 'personally'. Hand the traitor over to us today and the treaty will remain in tact".

....

He looked down and smiled to himself.

"Fail to comply, and you will start a war which has not been seen in almost 150 years, between Vampires and Werewolves".

The cheeky bastard had the nerve to look up to me and bear his fangs in warning. His eyes turning feral.

He stepped forward to whisper to Dimitri and I. Dimitri grabbed a hold of my wrist anxiously as he approached.

"Word on the grape vine is that your armies are not what they used to be 'Queen' of Werewolves. Will you subject your kind to a bloody war that they have no hope of winning? Your numbers have dwindled since I was last on these parts".

He observed mine and Dimitri's pack as if he were already planning a strategy of war, openly infront of us.

He was far more dangerous than I had first thought.

"We don't harbour any of your kind here" said Dimitri.

His voice remaining strong as my eyes remained fixed on the Vampire infront of me. Dimitri's hand on my arm preventing my power from surfacing.

The raven haired 'no named' Guardian sniffed the air crudely. He closed his eyes as if savouring a forbidden smell.

"I can smell you" he said before he grinned to himself.

He looked like a total maniac if you asked me and I thought I was more than enough to take down these 20 lanky shits if I had too. But before I could say anything to 'Mr sniffer' here, a new voice broke through the silence. A similar powerful one that I had not exactly heard before.

"Enough of your games Rathbourough"

Heads turned to the voice and I saw the crowd of warriors parting to make way for the new comer.

Brie.

Her red hair flew around her shoulders as the wind swished it viciously from side to side. Her shoulders and spine were straight and I noticed something else too, this was not the 'Brie' I had come to know. She was changed almost. Cold even, like her male counterpart 'Mr Sniffer' here. Just without the creepiness. Her demeanor was strong and her voice and stance screamed authority. I glanced over to an extremely confused Alec and I internally cringed.

The Guardians widened their stance in unison as she approached. All in preparation to strike her down should the need arise. Brie, walked over to the Guardians, her face etched from stone. Not even a glimmer of the shy woman from a few days ago. We all felt it. Her power.

The Guardians looked a little shaken by her presence and proceeded to retrieve a trunchen of sorts from their armour and with a touch of a button, it extended and began to buzz with Violet electric light. An electric weapon. Their faces were serious now and even that of the raven haired Guardian had turned weary and stoic. The smile wiped satisfyingly clean from his cocky face as he stared at her uneasily.

She stopped in the middle of them and the Vampires began to form a semi circle around her. Trapping her between them. Fear gracing their faces.

"I will return to Themescira with you of my own free will. On the understanding that you will not touch the werewolves". She bargained.

The Guardian whom I presumed was named 'Rathbourough' nodded. Almost completely startled by her acceptance to turn herself over to them so willingly. Not quite trusting her words.

"Brie... what are you doing"?! Hissed Alec. He had stepped forward now and Dimitri had to let go of my arm to grab a hold of him. Any attempt to stop her arrest would bring destruction to our people and Dimitri knew that.

Brie ignored Alec's question. Her eyes not moving from the lead Guardian.

"It has been a long time...." he said to her.

His voice had surprisingly turned soft and all traces of his 'evil' ways removed from his expression as if it had never been there in the first place. Making him appear almost handsome for a moment. In a creepy sort of way. Looking between them both, it was clear to see that they had history or knew one another previously. Alec too had picked up on the vampire's subtle tone and growled at the prospect of this male 'knowing' his mate.

Brie refused to answer. In fact she looked bored and ready to get this over with. Another Guardian stepped forth to place a scroll in front of Rathbourough and he read from it dejectedly.

"A proclamation from the people of the Kingdom of Vamiscerah. The accused will hear the charges brought against them for the crimes they attempted to evade, and you will today, hear the judgement passed over you....

"I will" she said.

********

"You, Brienna Alexandria Corbec, Princess of Vamiscerah and first female of her royal line have been charged with high treason for acts against her crown and country. Those acts include the total annihilation of her entire blood line.

For the murder of;

Your father, King Aylan Matthias Urealias Corbec, Bringer of light, First of his name and most beloved by the people.

Your Mother, Queen Ralia Mary Corbec.

Your Sister, Princess Feridah Rosianna Corbec

And finally your infant Brother,

Prince Xavier Matthias Urealias Corbec. Heir to Vamiscerah.

How do you plead"?

********

As we waited for Brie's reply Alec had turned a ghostly white as he stared dumbfounded at his mate. The mate he once thought to be a normal Vampire.

Not, the sole surviving heir to the Vampire throne. We waited for her to speak. She turned slowly to look at Alec before she replied. No remorse or emotion on her face whatsoever.

"Guilty"