Chapter 131 : The Ambassador

*Lena*

Xander planted a rough, hungry kiss on my lips and any shyness or apprehension vanished in an instant.

“I missed you," he said into my neck as I continued to clutch him against me, my fingers curling into the fabric of his shirt.

“How long have you been in Mirage?" I asked when I finally pulled away to look up at him. He was clean-shaven and dressed in casual trousers and a button-down shirt, with a white undershirt beneath. He looked more like a random resident of Mirage than an Alpha King, but I was more than okay with that. I reached up involuntarily and ran my fingers through his black curls, which were brushed back away from his face. He'd gotten a haircut since the last time I saw him. He looked.... Well, he looked so much healthier, and happier, since we'd parted ways after the war.

“Only a few hours," he replied, leaning down to press a kiss to my forehead. “I'm on my way to meet with someone, actually–"

“Meet with someone?" I laughed, pushing away from him. “Was that someone not me?"

“Well, I had to meet with them first, and they're on my way to the castle," he smiled with a shrug. “I didn't expect to run into you, but I'm glad I did. I think you should go with me."

He took my hand and began to lead me away, drinking deeply from the lemonade I'd bought for Mom.

“Who is it?" I asked.

“The ambassador for the vampires who are settling in the east," he replied. I halted, an uneasy feeling settling in my stomach.

“What?"

He turned to face me again, and I could tell by the look in his eyes that he totally understood my hesitation.

“There are a lot of them," he began, “and some, especially the families with children, have expressed the desire to spread out. There were four kingdoms of lower vampires, and they don't all get along, as well as those who had been enslaved by the king for… centuries. There's just not enough room in Crimson Creek for all of them, and your dad is planning on relocating some of the families to Mirage."

“My dad? You saw him?"

“I did," he said, blowing out his breath. “He doesn't like me very much, but I told him I'd check in on the ambassador. The vampires will start arriving at the end of the summer, from what I've been told. Winter Forest has also offered to accept at least three dozen families…"

continued to talk as we started walking again. How hadn't I known this was

idea that vampires would be living close by. The lower vampires were a totally different type of people compared

was nagging at me as we

hanging near the doorframe. A bistro table and chairs sat outside, basking in the shade that was filtering through the

drawn behind the windows, to keep the light

It opened a crack, and whoever was behind it paused for a moment before opening the door wide enough for us to

mouth popped open, and I closed it immediately, raising my eyebrows at the tall vampire

nodded at me, a

***

the corner. They were sitting in the snug kitchen at a breakfast table, and every once in a while I heard the sound

couch were sitting on. I looked down at the baby she'd placed in my arms, his cheek resting against the curve of my stomach as he made little suckling motions with his mouth in his sleep. He was beautiful, fat and healthy with a healthy head of dark hair. Carly sighed

was my father's name," she smiled weakly, meeting my eyes. “My mom says he looks

living with them in the cottage but was out running errands. I could see the sadness behind Carly's eyes when she mentioned her father, and my heart squeezed

what happened, right?" she said, meeting my

my arms and settled into a comfortable position on the

her lips. “So I assume you know why I was in Crimson Creek in the

could read the conflicting emotions playing across my

students in the village. We went out to the bar one night, and a man approached us, telling us about a party at one of the estates. They

“Why?"

well, strange things had been happening since I arrived. I felt like I was being watched. We were testing the soil in the village one day and had traveled out past the village to

I said, and her eyes shot to mine as she

anything about it in the texts available in the library. But I found one mention of something matching its description in the archives, but the book itself wasn't available to check out from the library. I had to get approval

check it out as well," I added, “but it was

darkened at the mention of his

nodded, a look of understanding passing between us. “Useless, right? That's why I began to ask questions. Our soil samples and the samples of blood root we'd sent back to Morhan for testing were lost, and when my partners and I asked about it, the university had no idea what we were talking

the foyer of the hotel, which felt like a safer place than where we were staying. But when I stepped out onto the street I felt this… pull. I can't explain it. I remember turning to hills and hearing… voices. It sounded like my parents, and then like my boyfriend back at Morhan, like they were calling out

in her breath. I could sense Lincoln staring at us, and I turned my head to look through the doorway to the sitting room and across the hall into the kitchen. Lincoln's face

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