The Half-Blood Mate

Chapter Thirty

I've been avoiding Edward for days now. School was out for Fall and Thanksgiving break now. I couldn't avoid him for much longer, especially since he called a meeting. 

I was still undecided about whether I should tell him all that I knew about Romulus and Night Walkers. If I did tell him, it would mean putting Amelia at risk. There's no way Edward wouldn't inform the emperor about her being a half-blood. Not telling him, however, could mean insubordination on Edward's behalf. He could easily be stripped of his title because of me not telling him. 

I couldn't put him in that position. I understood what being alpha meant. Reporting directly to the emperor was one of those things. Yet, I refused to lose my mate, but then again, I wasn't in an alpha's role. 

Approaching the conference room, I turned the knob and entered. The first person I see is Edward. He was sitting at the head of the table as usual. On both sides of him sat a man. I didn't see my kid brother though. He was usually forced to attend most meetings as Edward's way of keeping an eye on him. 

What's more, why were there only the five of us? This information couldn't be that sensitive. I wonder what this is about. 

"The Kid not joining us?" I looked at Edward. 

"No. Jace and the other warriors don't need to be involved in what will be discussed here." Edward was calm, but I could sense a seriousness in his tone. 

For Jace not to be included, this meeting must be something too strong or too sensitive. My kid brother was a hot headed, impulsive kind of guy. He acted recklessly without someone around to keep him in line. "What are we discussing?"

"Have a seat first." He gestured to a chair. 

As I took a seat beside Axe, second in command to Edward, I recognized the faces of two others in the conference room: Zeeb, the lead warrior, and Ralph, the spymaster. 

Once I was seated, Edward looked ahead. "This meeting will cover Asphodel, current leader of that vampire clan and Colette Stone." 

"Who is Colette Stone?" I didn't know the name, and I knew a good many supernatural beings. 

Edward glanced my way. "Jace's current infatuation. A human girl who has attracted Asphodel's attention."

"And that's why Jace isn't here." I breathed out, slowly shaking my head. "He's going to get one of us killed. Well, saving a human is part of the hunters' duties."

"That's the problem." Edward closed his eyes. "They haven't made a move, and it won't be long before Jace gets wind of this. I want to do something about it before he does." 

"She might not be human." Zeeb arched an eyebrow. "The hunters don't save any supernatural beings unless they need them."

I wondered if she was like Amelia in the way that she appeared to be human. "So she's a supernatural being then. I guess the question is: what is she?"

Edward leaned forward. "We can bring her back here and ask her, but first, we need to free her. I don't need a raging Jace. Not when we are so close to making our move on Night Walkers." 

"Going after her could mean dealing with that bloodsucker." Axe was looking at his alpha. 

"Miller hasn't made a move on the land as far as my spies know," Ralph said. 

My brother looked at his spymaster. "Still I want to make the first move before Miller does."

It looks like Edward was still preoccupied with Miller. I didn't blame him. Miller is a pain that needs to be dealt with. Since Edward had his hands full, I suppose there was no other way. 

"I'll go and get the girl," I looked at Ralph. "Any idea where Asphodel has her?"

Ralph nodded his head. "Yeah. The vampires like to bring their victims to a mansion on the west side. They tend to take them up there under the cover of a party. Here, I'll text you the details." 

As he texted, I reached into my pocket and pulled out my phone. When my screen lit up with the notification, I rose to my feet. 

"Are you sure you don't want backup?" Edward watched me. There was a glint of concern in his eyes.

"Going in with backup will mean I have more to worry about. I'll do this sole. Hopefully I can get in and out without making too much of a fuss." Turning, I moved toward the door.

"Lucian," Edward called after me. "I know you've been avoiding me. After this is over, we are going to talk, Little Brother."

"You're too worried. Get Rieka to give you a message." I moved to the door. "Tell her I said hi while you're at it."

"I'll do that," his voice came as I walked out.

Eventually, I'll have to give him some kind of excuse. He suspects something is up. I refuse to put my mate in danger, but I couldn't put Edward at risk either. I can worry about it later. Right now, I do need to focus on this task. 

I wonder what Amelia is doing. 

As I made my way toward my cabin, I was reminded of Romulus's suggestion. It was right after Amelia's partial shift. The time I found out she was born from an alpha and human. At the time, I didn't expect him to ask such a thing. 

We were sitting on the back porch of Amelia's house. Amelia had been put to bed and was being watched over by her mother. Romulus had asked to talk with me for a moment.

As he sat beside me, I watched him from the corner of my eyes. He looked exhausted, but he went on to explain himself. "I made an agreement with Ringer to ensure Amelia would inherit the pack and for her own protection in case I didn't come back." 

I looked ahead. "Just what were you trying to accomplish on your own?"

"Gustin, my beta, had gone feral. I had to track him down and destroy him before he became a bigger problem." 

Turning my head to look at him, I could sense the sorrow in him."Oh. That was noble of you."

"In a way it was." He sighed. "I gave my friend a peaceful burial. Something that wouldn't have been done for him, but I was gone too long. On top of it, he left a lot of damage control for me to clean up. I guess I could basically be considered dead."

"Being alpha isn't an easy life." I looked up toward the nightly sky. "You protected your pack and family."

"At the same time, I lost my family in the process." He looked at me, causing me to look back. "Tell me, Lucian, do you intend to be a fugitive? Because a life with my half-blood daughter is one that will go against the Emperor's rule."

I averted my gaze as I thought about his question. "Honestly, I haven't thought that far along."

"You should consider taking her far away. To an uncharted island, maybe. It won't be an easy life, but she will be safe and free." 

Take Amelia far away, so that even the emperor's rule couldn't affect her.

It sounded like a good idea, but with the appearance of the emperor's hound, I don't know if that would be good enough. I needed to speak with Romulus. Who knows when that letter would come.