Be My Mate

Chapter 24- I Smell Blood

Sabrina's POV This text is property of Nô/velD/rama.Org.

"You know we have more pressing matters than looking pretty?" I ask my sister and mother, as they run around finding different dresses and shoes to try on.

See, I don't enjoy it as much as they do but today, I was not enjoying the dressing up at all. In fact, I picked the first dress that they showed me and wore it.

"Sabrina, really. Would it hurt you to try and also enjoy the day?" Mother stops running around to ask me.

"How can I? I can feel the energy in the realm and it is not a joyous one!" I say very loudly, startling her.

"You can take the volume down a notch and have you ever considered that the very energy you talk about that's not so joyous is coming from you? You put it out there and as much as this ball of yours is about finding out who wants to go against us, it is also about your ascension as the moon goddess. That is an important role, it is more important than this vendetta you and your father are on. This is where people will feel your energy and your wolf. Tonight is all about you and the people need to meet the new goddess and as much as we don't need their approval, you need more people on your side than the resistance. Try a little harder, we can't outshine you on your night." My mother lectures me, actually hitting the mark and yes, I know she's right.

I roll my eyes to pretend that she didn't just make sense but I stand up, stomping my way to the rack of dresses on the other side of the dressing room.

"I think you should wear green. We need someone to symbolize tranquility.." Josey suggests and I scoff.

"What of envy and jealousy?" I ask, eyeing her up and down.

"Oh don't be a party pooper. Stop the negativity!! My goddess do you need liquor? Because you're no ray of sunshine right now." She says to me.

"No. I need to be in the right mind today." I say. My mother grunts as she is pulled side to side by one of girls here to help us get dressed.

"A corset mother! Really? What year is this?" Josey shouts out. My mother ignores her, slipping on her shoes.

I decide to stay in my original white ball gown, with Crystals, long sleeves and a high neck. Matched with my silver strap shoes.

"I'm gonna go check on Aiden." I say.

"Yeah you do that. Since he's not on a leash, there's no telling what he could be doing." My mother says and I fake laugh as I walk out.

I know my family want me to mark him but I just can't. My intentions wouldn't be pure and when he finds out, what would he say?

I mean I know he also marked me out of fear and anger, but he had to. Marking him now, would just open up a can of worms I am not ready to deal with.

"Hey.." I say walking in to my bedroom. Aiden looks up, sitting down on the bed putting his shoes on.

He stands up and pulls me in for a hug.

"How are you?" He asks.

"Nervous." I say..

"Don't worry. We will get to the bottom of this and after all of this drama, I want to focus on us." He tells me and that makes me smile.

"I'd like that." I say before pulling away.

Aiden watches me step back.

"You stand by me at all times, while I feel out the whole room. I will mind link the rest of my family if I pick up anything. I need you by my side at all times because I don't know what will happen at this event and I need you to be my voice of reason." I say, Alden nods his head at me.

"Of course babe." He says to me and I smile before walking up to him and kissing his cheek.

He takes my hand and we walk out of my bedroom together.

I open a group link.

"Is everyone ready? We are headed out and I can't be the first and only person to walk in." I say.

I hear Josey groan, my mother mutter some words but Anthony screeching 'finally' was too loud to actually hear my mother and sister.

We all meet just outside the doors, all of us except for Cj and Arianna.

"Where's our king?" Anthony asks and I try to link him but I can't get through to him.

"I can't link him. It's as if he is still sleeping?" I say. Looking at Hunter,

"Dad, weren't you supposed to fetch them from earth?" I ask.

"I got them yesterday. They should all be here already." He tells me.

"Maybe they're inside? After all this waiting, who could blame them?" Anthony says and we all nod our heads.

The doors open and we all walk in together. Aiden takes my hand, holding on tightly as the crowd turns to watch us all walk in. Everyone was here because as big as this room is with it's high ceiling, there was not enough room to gracefully walk past without literally rubbing a few shoulders and chests.

We walk past all of them, the scent of blood never evading my nostrils. I choose to ignore it because wolves hunt when they feel like it and I can't judge, at least not yet. The walk is long, with way too much friction from rubbing on all the materials and bare skin, which aids moving my quest to feel for anything out of the ordinary and I don't feel anything as yet, just some mischief here and there, a little envy somewhere but nothing to suggest they would stand against us.

We finally get to our assigned seats, a little stage with a golden chair in the middle just for me. Aiden stands behind me as I sit down and my family standing around me.

Normally, we would have had Evan announce our arrival and then some drinks would be flowing before I'm asked to stand and share my vows to the crowd. I would me marrying the throne, til death I would have to bow to honor it and serve until my last breath.

The crowd will cheer and glasses will clink before Hunter and I share a dance, the first family setting the tone for the night and other families joining.

I will then ascend the stage again, have thr elders say the traditional words of wisdom passed down from one goddess to another and then given the staff of power. It's like a cane, that centers my energy so I can do my job better, heal faster and let the public know, I have taken my rightful place as the moon goddess.

Although as soon as we got on the stage, what stood before us had every one of those plans take a back seat as I watch Luka holding my brother by the neck.

Cj was on his knees, a silver collar around his neck. Right next to Luka was his mate Leslie, his mother and father both sharing ear to ear grins. Jane was not with them this time.

I hear my father growl, shaking the whole room, having the oblivious crowd turn to see what was happening.

Cj was wearing a white shirt that was covered in blood, he looked battered and bruised but that was not his blood so I quickly scan the room for Arianna, losing hope as I scan through the same faces.

I could feel Athena rise above, I could feel anger seep through me and change everything.

In natural order, my father would've torn Aiden's father apart by now. I'm sure by now, we could all smell the blood on Cj had Arianna's scent.

"We have what's yours, well what is left of it. Give us what we want and we will spare him." Luka says, showing us his shiny teeth too.

"What do you want?" I ask.

"We want the vampire dead and burned." Luka says to me but looking at Josey. Glasses shatter all over the room, in people's hands, on the tables and trays.

Luka eyes me for a second, shaking his head at me.

"You'll have to come get me yourself." Josey responds to Luka, who growls at Josey.

"Now now, we did not go through all this trouble just to have one of you dead. We want more than that. I want our family compensated for doing a fine job as the reigning family while you all hid on earth for whatever reason. We don't care about the moon goddess doing her job because we don't have control

over that, she's the only one fit for the job but your son Anthony will not be taking over from you, Hunter. In fact, this family will no longer be known as the First Family." Aiden's father says to us.

Hunter chuckles as he takes off his jacket and lays it properly on one of the chairs.

"Kill him. Go ahead, you will not leave this room alive to rule this realm." Hunter says.

Luka looks around us, not one of us flinching when Hunter utters the words that they can kill Cj.

"Brother?" Luka calls out to Aiden, who remains behind me, ignoring his brother's call.

"Yes, we already killed his mate who tried to use witchery on us and I guess what's one more earthling? We do this for sport anyway." Luka jokes as I watch his claws come out.

"You're stalling." I say, shocking the family of how nonchalant we were all being but in truth, we were fuming inside.

Athena is furious, fighting to be unleashed and to make every one of them bow to us. Which we said we would do if they forced our hand and that is what they were doing but also, this could be a ploy.

To have the public see us as violent and not care about the lives of the people here, which they think mean more than the earthlings. As much as Cj is my brother, he was an earthling to them and this realm did not care about earthlings, family or not. They took them as toys, weaker beings who had no business in being alive.

"This is your brother Sabrina." Luka taunts as he uses his nail to cut through CJ's skin on his face, blood coming out.

I wanted to play it safe, fight the battle a different way but Athena quickly reminded me of who I am by showing me why I'm here in the first place. Cj is my brother but he is also the kind I protect.

"Yes he is. That is my brother, I was there when he was born. I know the man you have collared, who you have on his knees. He is more than my brother you see." I say, slowly walking towards the family that wishes to see my family grovel on the ground.

"He is also my child. See, you forget I am the moon goddess which makes every one of those wolves on earth my children. He is the king of the werewolves and by killing him, you are destroying my earth and the plans I have for it. By killing him or anyone on earth for that matter, is going against me. So, tell me Luka and family, is this your way of going against The First Family? Against me, the moon goddess?" I ask looking at each one of them.

I feel Cj waking up, as he begins to stir. Luka pulls on the collar and it shuts him down again. Anthony growls, joined by Hunter and Josey.

Luka laughs loudly at their obvious anger from what he did to Christopher. Never stopping, just laughing at us as if he could the misery building inside each one of us at the thought of Arianna, at how Cj would react to the news of his mate. As if he could feel the anger among us, that wanted to take over and have his head.

He continues to laugh as we watch him.

Enjoying it a little too much, his family joining in and confusing the crowd. Were they winning? No way would we let them take over like this. Who were we to allow this? Allowing conflicting views to hinder us from acting out, which was our primal way of things.

How was I glued to the floor right now, unmoving and allowing this? I didn't even need to move to hurt them. No, I had the powers to do the most damage by just a flick of the wrist.

'Allow me.' Athena voices out loud for everyone to hear.

I feel two lives die, within seconds as I feel their souls depart from their bodies. Their life essence whips through me in to the after life and it takes me a second to gather myself before Luka and his father fall to their deaths, on top of Cj.

Loud gasps are heard around the room, Leslie and Eleanor's screams overtaking the crowd as they watch their loves fall to the ground and standing right by the bodies, the one I never thought I'd see today, or any time soon. Covered in blood from the hole caused in the two fallen bodies, his claws out and ready to attack.

"Xander?" I whisper out before I feel Aiden's rage, ripping through him as he runs past me towards the one in front of me but what everyone failed to see is me, holding the two hearts in each hand as they beat slower and slower until they finally stop.