Bite or Howl

Chapter 14

Chase POV

"Are you sure he's going to be okay?" Phoebe asks me, standing against the door frame of Lupus's bedroom. He's laying down on the patient's bed with a mask over his mouth that feeds him oxygen. He's unconscious. But alive. A few nurses squeeze past her and enter the room to assist him. I watch as they take syringes and medication from their tray and slowly inject them into Lupus's arm. "He'll be fine. The nurses will take care of him." I whisper into her hair.

"I feel so terrible." I hear her mumble. "He shouldn't have gotten hurt. It should've been me. He had nothing to do with it." I squeeze her arm and pull her closer to me, laying her head on my chest as I lean against the doorframe. "That just shows how much Lupus cares for you. He'd take a punch for his princess." She slightly chuckles, playing with the hem of her red dress. "That's exactly what he told me."

"Then that means great minds think alike."

"I just can't believe Felix would do that." She sighs. "That wasn't my brother that kicked me out."

Nick approaches us from the other side of the hallway, pacing forward with two guards behind him. "Your majesties, the court is ready to see you." He tells us before peeking through the doorway and checking on Lupus.

"Are you ready?" I ask Phoebe, looking down at her. My arm that's circled around her waist loosens while she twists around to face me. She looks down at herself then back up to my eyes.

"Are you sure they'll like me?" I hear her whisper. "I mean, I'm a werewolf, not a vampire. What if they don't accept me?"

"Phoebe, I think you have a very wrong approach to us vampires. I'm quite offended actually. I see Catherine hasn't been teaching you properly." I joke with her. "I used to think you couldn't go out in the sunlight." She says quite proudly. "We have a lot to teach you, my darling. A lot to teach you." I laugh, gripping her side again and walking her down the hall.

Behind those hall doors are a hundred royal guests, anxious to meet their future queen as of tonight. Most of them are members of the royal court and extended family, wanting to take the throne.

The two guards that were following Nick had backed off from their duties and started to follow us, standing about two metres behind us. I walk Phoebe through the doors to the hall but just before the guards on either side of the door open it, I turn around to face Phoebe. I lean closer towards her and slowly brush my lips against her soft ones, deflowering all her thoughts and concerns. Just as I break away, I whisper, "They'll love you."

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When the doors open, the guests inside all quiet down and look our way. Phoebe tenses beside me, gripping onto my hand harder. Nick appears on the other side of the hall, ready to greet us.

"Ladies and gentleman, Prince Chase Ashgray and his mistress, Phoebe Wolf." As soon as Phoebe's name slips through Nick's mouth, murmurs and gasps fill the room in an instant, attracting everyone's attention to her last name.

She looks at me with worried eyes. 'It's okay, they're just shocked.' I reassure her. 'Get me out of here.' Her voice echoes in her head.

I look around the room then contemplate on dragging her with me towards the centre of the hall. The table at the very centre had been prepared for her. Nick and Catherine were already there waiting for us. "Hey." Catherine whispers. "Everyone's been waiting." Phoebe sits down while I feel everyone's gaze on her, watching her every move. "They're just excited. Don't mind them." Catherine tells her, leaning over her chair and placing her hand on her shoulder.

These two got close.

About halfway through the dinner, I decided to break the news and announce Phoebe. I give Nick a quick head nod and he stands up and gathers everyone's attention. "What's going on?" Phoebe asks me, tugging on my shirt as I stand up. I look down and give her a reassuring smile. 'You're going to formally meet your people.'

"As you all may know, your new queen is of a different kind. The news hasn't been officially spoken out to the public but after tonight, I will be introducing Phoebe Wolf, soon to be Ashgray, as our new queen." I start. A few applauds and claps can be heard throughout the room and Phoebe smiles.

"A question that I'm continuously being asked is, are you going to turn her? I've been thinking about it, actually. But my answer is no. My intentions are to keep Phoebe the way she is. I fell in love with her like this, and that's not changing. Vampire or werewolf, she's still going to be an amazing queen."

"There is going to be a lot of backlash on my decisions, I know that. But we have bigger problems to face. And I want all of you to accept her the way we did. Ladies and gentlemen, your queen as of tonight, Phoebe Wolf."

Well said, Chase. Well said. The royal court stands up and applauds for Phoebe. The smile on her face doesn't leave the entire night.

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Catherine takes Phoebe around the hall, introducing her to a few of the members of the royal court while I sit down at my table, playing with my fork and plate. "It is a mess in the kitchen right now." Nick tells me, dropping down on Phoebe's chair beside me. I continue pushing the leftover broccoli on my plate with my fork, making it run circles through the small pool of soup that still covers the surface of the plate. "One of the chefs in training dropped an entire bowl of bleach on the floor. Good thing there wasn't any food around." He explains.

I watch Phoebe from afar, seeing how much she's getting along with the other vampires. Her laughter is faint from here, but her smile is genuine. When my cousins kneel down to kiss her hand, I don't feel jealous. I'm just happy she's fitting in.

"And like, why would there even be bleach in the kitchen?" Nick's voice echoes behind my thoughts. "Either way, at least the place will be clean, get it? Cause you know, bleach?" I turn back to him and shake my head. "Now I know why you can't get a girlfriend. Your humour sucks." I say. He scrunches his face. "She'll come. One day." He replies. "What does it feel like? Driving me around everywhere and doing whatever someone tells you?" I ask him, setting my glass on the table.

"I got used to it. I mean, not like I can do anything else. I was born into this." He replies. "But what if you did? What would you want to do with your life?" I ask him, eagerly. He laughs and shakes his head. "I'd want to be king. A leader." I smile at him. He'd make a great king. I'd know it.

I put my hand on his shoulder but he only shakes his head. "But I like where I am now, you know? Being able to serve you and being your companion is all I could ask for." He reassures me. Just before I could reply a thank you, a guard steps from behind him and taps him on the shoulder, telling him he is needed.

"My son, the end is near. Only you can stop it." Her voice echoes through my head. Every time.

"I am proud of you, my son." My mother tells me. "You're always proud of me." I whisper. But the one person I wanted to make proud never told me that. I always ever did try to impress him. I just wanted my father to be proud of me. "You did a great job announcing Phoebe to the court. I'll be watching you tonight. I wish I was there to walk her down the aisle." She tells me. I smile at her through my vision. "Oh and son," She starts. "He's proud too."