Claim Me

Chapter 1

"Lydia...what the hell did you just say?" Blaire—one of my closest followers—nearly shouted as he asked that question.

"I'm getting married." I replied calmly. "Or at least, that's what the plan is."

Blaire cursed under his breath before hissing, "Whose plan?"

"People neither we nor Lydia can go against. The Elders." Ji-Sun, another of my close followers, spoke as she raised her hand which held a coal black parchment. It was the letter which had completely turned my world upside down in a matter of seconds—and that was just from reading it.

The others in the room were Zachariah and Abraham. Together with the other two, the four of them were my most loyal followers and closest friends. I had many others followers as I was the head of the Vincenti, a lineage of vampires who were feared and respected as one of the most powerful in the world.

"Let me see the letter." Abraham held out his hand towards Ji-Sun and she gave it to him. He stared down at it with raised brows as he read it aloud.

To Lydia Vincent, current head of the Vincenti lineage,

The Elders have deemed it time that vampires and werewolves stop this war between themselves. Too many incidents of their rivalry threaten Underworld and Overworld. We have chosen you to be one of the many who will help us achieve this goal of peace.

You, Lydia of the Vincenti, will act as one of the leading roles in this new movement. Your blood mate is from the Hidden Moon Pack, the werewolf pack which borders your territory. He is the strongest amongst the werewolves.

Become one with him in marriage and child a Halfling to show the world that it is possible for werewolves and vampires to coexist in peace—just as they did before.

~ The Elder Council of Underworld

Blaire turned to me with a face flushed from anger and shock. "You didn't mention the part about the baby! The Halfling baby!"

"It's not like I could've hided it if I wanted to." I said with a roll of my eye. "Now calm down, Blaire. It's not like you're the one the Elders arranged into a marriage."

"That doesn't matter! I'm not letting you get married to someone else! No less, a werewolf!"

"It's like Ji-Sun said." Abraham tossed the letter onto the coffee table. "We can't deny the Elders. Their words are absolute. No one can go against them but the Demon King himself. And even then, for them to have done this, they must've already gotten his approval."

Blaire's lips sealed into a thin line because he knew that Abraham's words were true. The Elders only directed orders that were approved by the Demon King and for some strange reason, the Demon King had decided that now of all times was when he wanted vampire and werewolves to get along once more. Why?

For millenniums, werewolves and vampires had been at a cold war with each other. They weren't friends or allies, and there was so much resentment and disgust with each other that the feeling would almost feel tangible if someone were to stand in the same room as one of each species.

However, as the letter noted, vampires and werewolves weren't always hostile with each other. There were those who were so ignorant that they would actually say it was in their blood to hate each other just from sight and smell. But no, the explanation was even more ridiculous than that.

It all started with a necklace.

One day in Underworld, a powerful vampire lineage was celebrating the marriage of their first born son. During the celebration, the father would pass down to his son an heirloom—a very valuable heirloom.