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I didn’t ask the head of the table for permission to stand. Everyone looked at me when I stared at Alexandar firmly, struggling to not leap and rip every one of his teeth out. My voice came out cold:

“What do you think she is? A toy? A fucking breeder?”

“Balthazar...” my father began, but I continued:

“Lioara is a strong, determined she-wolf, self-possessed. She is the daughter of a powerful alpha, from a lineage of supremes. She would never accept this, much less your family! Unless you want to start a war with the wolves.”

“Who talked about war? Everything would be based on friendship, the same one that made her accept your invitation and come here.” He kept smiling, hateful. “And with her permission. I think she’d like to visit the Balkans.”

“Let’s take it step by step.” Romanov spoke. “Alexandar, return to your seat. Balthazar, you may sit. We’ll open the vote to see if the Severus acted in bad faith by sheltering the she-wolf without our knowledge. The question is: should the Severus Clan be punished for this?”

Alexandar went back to his seat, I settled down. Nervous, irritated. My father giving me hard stares.

“Raise your right hand if you vote yes.”

We looked around. Alexandar was the Draganov representative and raised his hand. His brother Dimitar couldn’t vote. Only the thirteen could.

Mordric, Kuang, and Skaigan also raised theirs. No one else. This time, it was Antares who smiled slowly, victorious.

Alexandar barely disguised his anger, furious at the lack of support. He shot us a hateful glare.

“Very well, let’s move to the next topic. Balthazar Severus, did you intend to impregnate Lioara Constantini to try creating a more evolved species when you became involved with her?”

I fixed my gaze on the Russian, speaking coldly and dryly:

“No.”

“Do you intend to break your engagement with Kassandra Draganov to be with the she-wolf? Remember, the punishment for a pureblood who breaks a commitment with another pureblood, to mix with a being of another species, is to be put to sleep for 199 years, in desiccation. One year before reaching 200, which is equivalent to death.”

I felt all eyes on me, as if they were piercing my skin. The most intense was my father’s, demanding and anxious.

Everything inside me twisted. I would be condemned, treated like an outcast, despised. I would betray my family and everything I was taught to believe in and follow. I would take Lio with me to the pit.

I knew I lost her there. When I chose to honor my clan, my father, my word.

“Balthazar, do you intend to break your engagement with Kassandra Draganov to be with the she-wolf?” Romanov repeated.

“No.” My voice was sharp and hard.

Alexandar leaned back, satisfied. Watching me. My father relieved, giving me a nod of approval.

My heart began to beat slower, turning cold, losing its life. It hurt, and I didn’t even know where, everywhere. For I saw the centuries ahead of me turning into millennia. Without Lio. In the aridity I thought I desired, but that now tortured me.

“As the chairperson of today’s meeting, I open the second vote. I suggest that your marriage to Kassandra be moved forward, to avoid further stress or risk. Who here is in favor of the Draganov-Severus union being held in just three months, here in this same Temple?”

All thirteen hands went up, as I knew they would. No one wanted problems or to lose the opportunity to have new generations of purebloods.

“I believe that every leader and representative present today agrees with the decision that was made. Alexandar, do you wish to make any further accusations?”

“No, Viktor. But I would like to make a request, to be voted on here and now.”

I looked at him, my heartbeat quickening again, that bad and sad feeling that devoured me taking on the contours of fury. I knew what he would say.

“I request permission to invite the supreme she-wolf to spend some time with my family in Bulgaria. Only as friends. If it evolves, if she agrees to something more, I promise to inform everyone. For now, just the permission to study the possibilities.”

My finger joints turned white from how tightly I clenched them. Even breathing became an effort, and my mind focused on her, on the memories piled up: fighting in the forest beside me against the Infantry, looking at me intensely when we swam at the waterfall, sitting on my lap when she lost her virginity.

The feeling of being inside her, being the first, feeling that she was also the first for me. For before, I didn’t live, I was someone else. Who no longer existed, who was there struggling to be strong and honored, to not betray an entire clan. Not even to put her in danger, leading her to a condemned life.

With a rising desperation, I watched the hands go up. Who agreed with this madness: several, including my father. I couldn’t believe it, furious. It was he who created the plan and wanted her there. Now he threw her into the Draganovs’ lap. So he wouldn’t be accused of anything, to push her away from me once and for all.

Only Thorn, Vilar, and four others kept their arms down. My friend by my side, regardless of everything. Not my father.

It was seven votes against six. Alexandar smiled satisfied and stood up, beginning to say his goodbyes. He walked out victorious, and I stood up, burning with rage, about to lose my mind.

“Calm down.” Thorn stepped in front of me, concerned. He knew me well, reading the entire situation, without me needing to say anything. “He only got permission to invite her. That doesn’t mean she will accept.”

I stared at him, out of control, as other vampires left the room, talking, unaware of the storm forming in my chest.

I tried to hold onto my friend’s words, to believe I shouldn’t care, that the choice was Lio’s. Just like I made mine.

“It’s better this way.” My father came close. “Everything will go back to normal.”

The voices faded. I only connected to Lio, a dreadful fear eating me from the inside, a silent rage ruining my judgment. Her image came so intensely in my mind that I saw her coming down the stairs, wearing the coat from that night.

My heart beat faster, and I spoke to myself, as if it were to her:

“Say no. Don’t go with him.”

I felt her energy at full force, as if she were standing before me. Even her scent. Then her surprised voice came into my mind:

“Balthazar?”

I froze, it felt too real.

“Can you hear me?”

“Yes!”

For a moment, the voices silenced. Everything went into a vacuum, lost, without real understanding. Somehow, we were communicating through telepathy. I couldn’t even explain how, but I seized the opportunity:

“I need to talk to you. Now.”

“And say what?” Even from afar, I felt her emotional aura, nervous.

“That you chose your path? Your clan?”

“Lio...”

“Forget me!”

It was a scream of anger, silencing the conversation, cutting the connection. I panicked and rushed for the door, losing control. Thorn followed me, tense:

“What are you going to do, Balthazar? You need to calm down, or they’ll open a new vote.”

“I’m just going to talk.”

“Balthazar!” My father followed me too, alert. “Stop now!”

I ignored them, the storm intensifying as other sensations came. Lio running. Her anger, her disappointment. The feelings throbbing. And Alexandar intercepting her.

Words spoken, promises, invitations. The final explosion in my chest, making a hollow, bitter sound escape from me, uncontrollable.

I didn’t hear anyone or anything else. I practically flew down the stairs.