I was right, my father grounded me indefinitely. I was not allowed to go over to the Wolf's house, my father was going to drive me to school and pick me up, and most importantly, I was not allowed to talk to Clawd at all. Least I fall in love with him and become a rebellious princess. I was beginning to think my father was thinking of a Romeo and Juliet scenario. Two children from rival houses falling in love, and ending up killing themselves.
There was no way that was going to happen, and I was furious with him even suggesting that. I wanted things to work out between Valentine and I, and in our anger last night, I had let the bat out of the attic, so to speak.
Before I could take back what I said or try to change his mind, he stormed out of my room. Slamming the door shut and leaving me in a deafening silence. My father had stuck true to his word and for the next few days he drove me to school and picked me up. I had seen barely anything of the Wolf family. Except for during school, where I feigned that I was super busy after school. It was better than saying that my father never wanted me to be friends with them ever again.
I knew eventually I would have to figure out how to tell my friends that and I wanted to do that outside of school. That meant I had to wait for my father to actually leave so I could go and speak to them. Thankfully, my father had just left for a date with Samantha.
Before I could leave my room to sneak out to the Wolf house, my bedroom door burst open and Clawdeen strode in. "What's going on? My dad told me what happened the other day and then suddenly your dad is not giving you a spare moment alone with me? Is it because we're werewolves or-"
I hugged her tightly and she stopped talking, when I pulled away she stared down at me with her eyebrows drawn together. "Are you okay, Lala?"
I pulled her over to my bed where we sat down, staring at the window. "You know what I was telling you the other day? About how Valentine claimed me as his mate? I didn't tell you…everything."
"Well, your Uncle said we have two hours, and then he is kicking me out," she gave me a grin, "Something about having to air out the house so your father doesn't know I was here."
My eyebrows shot up, "Uncle Vlad let you in?"
"He said, and I quote," she cleared her throat and put on a fake Transylvanian accent, "'This iz my own damn house, I vill invite whom I please into it!'"
I giggled, but the sound faded and I sighed. She rubbed my back, "What's wrong?"
"When I started to court Valentine my father wasn't exactly happy, but he told us that when we became mates we would be married and not a day sooner. I think at the time he never thought he would accept our relationship since Valentine is lower in Vampire Society. Now he wants nothing more than to see us marry, and he figured out that Valentine and I are mated," I explained quietly, avoiding saying how he found out. She didn't need to know I kissed her brother if she didn't already.
Clawdeen's hand stilled and I snuck a glance at her. A million emotions seemed to flash across her face and she stood up. She paced for a moment, "So, you're going to be married to him? I thought you didn't want to be?"
"I never said I didn't want to be," I shook my head, "I just want to be sure he loves me for who I am, not for what I am."
"What are you?"
"A princess," I stood up quickly barreling through that fact when I saw her face return to shock, "and when my father…retires, then I will become Queen and whoever I marry will become King of the Vampires. That comes with a lot of responsibility and power. How am I to know if Valentine loves me because of who I am?"
"Has he said he loves you, has he looked at you in a way that you've undoubtedly known was pure love?" Clawdeen asked, and I hesitated, "The fact that you've hesitated and the fact that you are unsure about him means that you doubt he loves you truly. I bet it also means that you have fallen out of love with him."
I didn't want to think of that, and pushed the subject on to the more important aspect, "There is one small thing though, since my dad figured out... I am going to have to go back to Romania once this school year ends."
"What?" she exclaimed, panic in her eyes. "You can't leave yet! School ends in a couple months! Isn't there anyway you can stay?"
"I could ask Gory and Bram to come and live here, but that would take so much persuasion since they love Romania. They've been living there for almost 150 years now, If I develop roots here then my father wouldn't really be able to send me back to Romania, I wouldn't be happy and that would make him super guilty," I replied, and sighed shaking my head.
"Then do it! Get those two to come to Salem, you can't leave yet," she repeated, jabbing a finger at me. "Send a message to them ASAP and don't stop pestering them until they agree to move here."
"There is one other way..." I trailed off and shook my head, "Though it is insanely impossible."
"What?"
"I have to fall in love with someone in the months I have left here, that exceeds the love towards Valentine," I said with a humourless laugh, looking at the ground. When I glanced back at her however, I saw the wheels in her head spinning.
"What if you tricked them into thinking you are in love?" she asked, tapping her fist against her open palm. A wicked grin on her face.
"How am I going to do that?"
"We get someone to play as your boyfriend! Valentine will probably come here to claim you as his mate if your father gave up trying to get you to go to Romania, right? You could just say, 'Sorry, Valentine, I found a new beau!'" she said, her face lighting up as if it was a brilliant idea. She looked so happy with her idea it pained me to poke holes in it.
"Well, he'd have to continue to be my boyfriend until he dies," I answered, "because the moment we broke up, Valentine would still claim me as a mate. In addition, there is a small problem. Males are possessive over the females."
"Which means?" Clawdeen asked, looking a little put down.
"I'm going to use a werewolf analogy. When a werewolf male and female mate, not like have sex, but as in have a undying relationship, if someone threatens one part of the relationship doesn't the other get very possessive, angry, and even like would go as far as to kill the person?" I asked, she paused and nodded. A look of dread on her face.
"That is true...if someone were to try to drive a wedge between my parents, the person trying would probably end up either dead or very hurt," she looked at me, and pressed her lips together.
"If I tried to pretend to date someone who wasn't equally strong and possessive, they would probably end up killed and I would still end up with him," I murmured looking at the bed. Clawdeen patted my shoulder.
"We'll figure something out, I'm sur-" she cut herself off mid-sentence and a slight thoughtful look appeared. I wanted to shake her and tell her to stop worrying about it. I would deal with it, but she tapped her chin and strode away. "Equally strong and possessive, you say..."
"I'm sure we won't find a vampire willing to do this for me," I looked up at her with a raise of my eyebrow. I shook my head, "It doesn't matter, and I'll figure it out." I walked over to my boudoir and pulled my hair out of my pigtails. She walked up behind me and started to run a brush through my hair. The wicked grin from earlier returning.
"Yes, but the thing is vampires and werewolves share things in common. They are possessive over their mates, strong and deadly, they are both intimidating, and they both can turn into animals," she said in a singsong voice, the wickedness of the grin fading, and it turning giddy.
"Okay...but I still don't understand where this is going," I replied chewing on my lip. I totally understood the direction of this conversation, I just didn't want to admit that to her hopefully she'd get annoyed and not say anything more about it.
"Clawd is single now," she made a circling motion with her hand, trying to get me to make the connection by myself. I twisted around in the chair.
"If Valentine doesn't kill Clawd, my father would kill him! Samantha saw me kiss Clawd's cheek-" I stopped myself, her eyebrows shot up in surprise and I quickly defended myself, "It was after he walked me home, a totes innocent kiss! I totally stepped out of line, but the fact is my father figured out about an innocent little kiss and now I'm not allowed to see you guys at all! Besides he's your brother! Don't you have any worry about his life?"
"Shh! What if your Uncle hears?" she placed a finger to her mouth and turned me back around to face the mirror. Her hands rested on clothing that had no body within it, and yet she stared at my face regardless. "A kiss on the cheek is no big deal, Lala. Besides, Clawd will someday become Alpha of the Salem pack; he's strong enough to handle himself against Valentine. Also, he's already protective over you. Probably because you're so small," she patted my shoulder and her face softened, "I'm sure to your father that could pass as love."
"Yeah? Speaking of my father. You know, the King of the Vampires, currently third oldest vampire in the entire world? Your brother wouldn't even be able to see my father coming if he figured out that Clawd was, as my father would put it, 'tainting our bloodline'," I shot back in a quiet hiss, hoping she'd get the point.
"Says the vampire who doesn't drink blood, goes to a human school, and likes to be out during the day," Clawdeen said, "Your father basically worships the ground you walk on, he'd bend rules for you. If you pretended to love Clawd enough then he'd bend, may not be happy about it, but he wouldn't kill someone who makes you truly happy."
I didn't have anything to rationally retort with. So, I shook my head and went with just denying it. "I am not pretending to love Clawd; I will not put anyone through all the trouble just so I can be a tad bit happier with my life. He's incredibly sweet, and gentle and-" I cut myself off and looked away from her gaze, "I'm old, Clawdeen. Eventually, I need to accept what I am and that means accepting the fact that I am a Princess and am not free to make choices that will make me happy. I need to think of my people-"
"You never have to accept your nature," Clawdeen said seriously, her hands squeezing my shoulders, "If Clawd figures he can help you in anyway, he'll do it. My parents used to be your father's slaves, but I can tell that they'd do anything for you, and that sense of selflessness went to my brother."
My eyes snapped up to hers, surprise flooding through me. Her parents were slaves to my father? How come they treated him decently then? My father had ordered the eradication of all werewolves that were his slaves two hundred years ago and that started the war.
"That makes me feel like a spoiled princess wanting to not follow her place in society and running off with the stable hand," I ignored the information she just dumped on me. Clawdeen's face melted away into a grin.
"But it would be awesome, you'd make an awesome girlfriend to Clawd," she added, "I can see it now, him helping you grab things, protecting you from the big bad vampires. You'd be the couple of the school," she smiled, "Best of all, if you two were to really fall in love and get married, you would be my sister."
"I don't even like Clawd," I lied through my teeth not meeting her eyes again. "Why are you already fantasizing about a wedding that will never happen?" I shook my head and rubbed my temples. "We don't need to come up with an answer right now," I muttered opening my eyes and looking at her. "Don't say anything to Clawd about this, because if you are right about him wanting to help, I don't want to have to even give him that option."
"Don't worry, I won't say anything about this to Clawd," she crossed her heart with a nail and smiled at me softly. "Though you will probably have to tell the girls soon, they deserve to know as well, and hey! Maybe they'll have some howling ideas?"
"Maybe," I said with a smile and she finished brushing my hair and styled it into a terrific up do. When she had finished my Uncle stuck his head in the door and pointed at the watch on his wrist.
"It's time for you to leave, Clawdeen," he pushed the door open further. "Dracula will be home in an hour."
Clawdeen hugged me and gave me a grin, "See you at school, Lala."
"See you," I squeezed her arm and returned the grin. She hurried out the door and my Uncle gave me a smile and winked.
"There are subtle ways to rebel against your father."
He shut the door and I turned around and stared at the mirror. I touched my hair and sighed. There were times when I wished I could see my reflection, and that wasn't the only thing I wished I could change about my life.
^v^ ^v^
Clawdeen walked into her house and took off her shoes. Her parents were at the bed and breakfast, leaving her and Clawd to take care of the triplets and Rocks. Clawnor was taken to the bed and breakfast since he was the youngest. The triplets were playing video games and Rocks was cheering them on. She watched the video game idly and walked over to the window. She saw Draculaura's light flicker off and she made up her mind.
She headed up the stairs and into her brother's room. He was doing homework and listening to music. She knew she promised not to tell Clawd, but she had too! It was her duty as Draculaura's friend to save her from living the life chosen for her instead of the one she wanted – no deserved! – to have.
"What's up little sis?" Clawd asked without turning around, "Here to bad talk Cleo some more?" his voice was bitter.
"What even happened between the two of you? You've been really irritable lately, did she really break your heart?" she asked, shaking her head, she went to continue the conversation before he could get annoyed, but he turned around and stood up.
"It was a mutual break up," he admitted, his tone hiding his anger, "Neither of us were happy in the relationship, it was affecting my game, and her cheerleading."
Clawdeen blinked in surprise. So, Cleo hadn't broken up with him after all? She hadn't hurt her brother like she thought she did. But, that was for another time, she had a mission.
"That doesn't matter-"
"Doesn't matter?" he snorted, "You've been riding my ass about it since we broke up, and now you don't care?"
"Shut up and listen. I'm here to talk about Draculaura," she said, he sighed and sat back down turning to his books.
"Dad said she got in trouble, leave it be. She's grounded."
She walked over and leaned on his desk, "It's very," she closed his books, "important."
He sighed, "Okay, fine, I'll bite. What is it?"
She told him everything that Draculaura told her, leaving out some parts to save for time. Mostly telling him the more recent events. She then told him he should pretend to date her to save her from Valentine. After she was finished he stared at her for a while. She groaned. "You need to help her, Clawd. It's the only way!"
"What if I mate with someone else while pretending to date her?" he asked, raising his eyebrows, "I know I couldn't help myself from leaving Draculaura to be with the one I was basically designed to love."
"Like that's ever going to happen," she rolled her eyes, Clawd stood up, and she shook her hands, "Sorry, I'm your sister and you know that's an automatic thing for me to do."
"I can't, besides, I don't want to be in a loveless relationship with someone," he rubbed the back of his head,"If Draculaura needed my help wouldn't she just come and ask me? Besides, that just sounds like a bad idea. A werewolf and a vampire dating?"
"Clawd, please, just woo Draculaura into loving you. That way Valentine will be able to tell she actually loves you, and since they haven't gotten married yet he can't exactly tell you to fuck off!" Clawdeen said grabbing his arm, "Besides, as the future Alpha, imagine how much control and power you would have if you were dating the Queen vampire? Our two races would be on equal playing ground and the werewolves wouldn't be treated with such crap!"
"I'm not selfish, Clawdeen, I won't do it. Not unless Draculaura herself asks me to do it. You're meddling," he said shaking his head and sat down on his bed. Clawdeen grew desperate, she was about to tell him something but then paused. Should she tell him the truth or do exactly what he thought she was doing, and make it overdramatic.
"She's in danger Clawd," she said sitting down beside him, telling a lie, "do you know what male vampire do to the female vampires? They suppress them, they are so old fashion. Draculaura will move back to Romania and be forced to be nothing more than a baby machine. "
Clawd's face filled with disgust and rage and he ran a hand through his hair and groaned. "I don't know still."
"Her father is forcing her to marry Valentine. Forcing," Clawdeen stressed, "If Draculaura wanted to marry Valentine and live in Romania, she would. But she is being forced, and that's not right."
"Alright, if it's to protect her from having to live through something like that. I don't know if I can actually ever love her, it'll be very awkward..."
"Thanks, Clawd, really. I am so relieved. Just remember don't mention anything about Valentine in front of her, because that'll spark bad emotions and he'll be able to tell. Just woo her like you would woo any other girl and then ask her out," Clawdeen said and walked out. The moment the door was closed she felt guilt build up. Draculaura wasn't going to know Clawdeen said anything and Clawd wouldn't know that it wasn't Draculaura in danger, but him.
A/N: I will be uploading a sequel about the vampire/werewolf war tomorrow! It'll have 26 chapters, and will be updated every Tuesday and Thursdays.