The Half-Blood Mate

Chapter Twenty-Four

The moment I parked the car and had gotten out, the recognizable stench filled my nose. 

Vampires. 

We ran to their sides. Romulus was quick to analyze the scene because he barked out orders in that way an alpha usually did. I did what was asked and helped Amelia onto the ground. Her mother was quickly at her side, but I had moved her back as gently as I could with a short  explanation. Being near a newly changing werewolf was not a place for a human. Going through the change was unpredictable without adding the dangers of having a human nearby. 

"Here they come," Romulus said from his position. He had placed himself in front of us. 

Looking up, I see about four, no five, vampires moving toward us. The look in their eyes revealed their current state. They were crazed. They sought blood. Any blood apparently. No sane vampire would come after a werewolf's blood. We were enemies yes, but they didn’t too much enjoy the taste of werewolf's blood unless under extreme means. But their eyes were completely red. A sure sign they had lost control over themselves. 

I could feel the concern rolling off Romulus. He had to be worried about his family right now. These vampires were unpredictable. I looked down at Amelia to see that she had her back arched. The change no doubt was beginning. We still had time though. 

"You deal with them. I'll watch Amelia and your mate." I knew Romulus had more experience than me in fighting. Being of alpha's blood too, he had heightened abilities that allowed him to take on more. 

Without a word, he shifted into his wolf. His wolf had fur that was golden in color. Sun kissed is what he would be known as among us. He ran forward, leaping into the air and biting into the shoulder of a vampire in the middle. 

The others directed their attack to him. Kicking off from the first he attacked, he rammed his body into the next. The vampires went for him. He bit at another. A few minutes in, he shifted back taking hold of another vampire, twisting its head until it's neck broke. 

"They're attacking with the sun's still up," Amelia's mother watched the scene as she stood near her daughter.

"That's easily explained, but not right now." 

Two of the five vampires branched off and were coming toward us. I rose to my feet. Looks like they lost interest in trying to bring Romulus down. Moving forward, I met them halfway. Using my right clawed hand, I threw a punch at one of them. The second held me in a lock position by grabbing me from behind, holding me under my arms. The one I had punched smirked and began sending hard punches to my gut. After the fifth punch, I got out of the hold. There was no time to give in to pain. I did get my revenge on the one holding me back though. 

Once I had taken down the last of the two, a sharp, piercing scream had me looking in Amelia mom's direction. There a vampire was standing in front of her. Her right arm was in his grasp. This must have drawn Romulus's attention as well because he flew by me so fast that I nearly missed him. Dropping the dead corpse, I ran after him. The vampire had his mouth near her neck. We were closer, but it only took seconds for a vampire to feed.

Just as his fangs were about to sink in, he was grabbed by the neck. That brought us to a stop as our gazes shifted to Amelia, who was squeezing the air from the vampire. 

"Amelia," I said, but it came out more as a whisper.

When she turned her gaze toward us, her eyes were those of her wolf. Her body was tense, but I could make out the partial changes to her body. Her curly hair was wilder. Claws had replaced her nails and her fangs peeked out from her upper lip. A growl left her. She brought the vampire away from her mother, slamming him onto the ground. It was only then she released her hold on his neck. As she went to approach the vampire, who was scooting away from her, her mother grabbed a hold of her arm.

"No, Amelia," she pleaded.

The vampire had gotten to his feet and fled, along with the one other vampire that I thought I had knocked out.

Amelia snatched her arm away, only for her mother to grab it again. I could see what she was going to do next, and so I was already moving toward her. I had taken a few steps before I was stopped. She raised her other arm in preparation to strike her mother. As she brought her clawed hand down, her wrist was caught before it delivered the blow by Romulus. 

"You are not going to hurt your mother," he said in a dominating tone. 

She snarled at her father, who didn't seem affected. A growl left her then.

Romulus released her wrist. Her lip rose in a snarl once more and she slashed at him. He stepped back before she could make contact. She attacked several more times with him dodging each blow. They were far enough away from her mother's side. Amelia looked like she was tired. I was sure Romulus was exhausted as well after taking on those vampires, but he didn't show it. When she went to slash him again, he caught her wrist, twisting it behind her back, holding her in place. Frustrated grunts and growls left her mouth. Romulus forced her onto her knees. 

"You will calm down, Amelia." The dominant tone of the alpha filled his command. He stared down at his daughter with a hard gaze. 

She glanced over her shoulder at him. Seeing his strong gaze, the anger that was consuming her seemed to fade away. She lowered her head, looking back at the ground. The revealing of one's neck was a sign of submission to the better or stronger werewolf. 

I approached Romulus. My eyes were on my mate. I didn't like that he had basically manhandled her, but I understood why. "She has alpha's blood."

He glanced at me. The alpha demeanor was replaced by a defeated look. "Yeah."

Werewolves were usually calm beings, even after shifting. They didn’t usually attack without a reason, whether that reason be provoked or out of necessity. However, children of alphas were a little different. After their first shift, they would usually attack anyone around them, including their alpha. It was the first instinct of a werewolf alpha offspring to show domination and enforce it. It's a hierarchy thing. Alpha parents are usually the ones to put their offspring in their place. After establishing who held the top authority, the child usually recognized their place. Afterwards, they act in the way a normal werewolf would. Until it was time to take over as the next alpha. 

If Amelia was his blood, that meant he mated with her mother. Romulus Trevino broke a selection rule. 

The conversation he had with Miller back in the forest came to me. They had known about Romulus and his decision. They had covered it up clearly. Edward wasn't going to like this. 

Amelia began to sway, which drew my attention. Romulus released her only to catch her before she fell to the ground. I was in front of her instantly. 

"She exhausted herself." Romulus said, placing her into my arms. He rose to turn to her mother, who had run toward us. "She's alright now." He informed her.

"Thank God." She placed a hand over her heart. 

I lifted Amelia up as I got to my feet. Her features had returned to normal. She didn't complete the transformation. She would though. Tomorrow will be the full moon, but I'm sure under her father's guidance, she will pull through it easily. 

"You know what this means?" I asked him, still looking at my perfect mate. 

"I do." Romulus sighed. "We'll talk, but let's get her home. She'll need her rest."

I nodded and followed them toward the cars. This wasn't going to over well, but I knew one thing: 

I wasn't going to lose Amelia.