We stopped off so I could feed my mate, feeding her like I used to so she was presentable to be seen in public and full enough to behave, before taking her to a small hole in the wall bar so if she lost her shit, it wasn't all that big of a deal. I could simply burn it to the ground and no one would be the wiser.

We were there for about an hour before the scent of another vampire caressed my nose. Before I had the chance to react to it, Izzy beat me to it, whirling around with a squeal of elation and pouncing on him.

I, being nearly three sheets to the wind, was a little slower than I normally would have been in turning and greeting him as well. Extending my hand, I smirked at the group that I didn't notice as I shook hands with the front runner. Once I let go, I took the shot that was on the bar top and chuckled, "Welcome to Hell, Aro; where Satan's a cunt and demons are babies."

He just chuckled a little as he once again had to disentangle himself from my mate, taking a moment to prod her memories and see what exactly was going on. Once he was done with that, he handed her back to me where I pulled her between my legs and held her back from doing that shit again. I was pretty drunk and the scent of another male on her might end badly for someone; be it him or me I wasn't all that sure of at the moment.

When a song that Izzy recognized from my iPod came on she started bouncing, trying to get me to dance with her. When I shook my head and she pouted, Aro chose then to speak, "Why do you not go dance with Heidi, Stella, and allow me and the Captain to have a word."

Izzy looked over at the aforementioned female, taking in her warm smile and excited eyes before turning begging ones on me, prompting me to smile at her and nod my head. Leading in, I kissed her nose and pushed her towards the guard, "go have fun Sugar." She giggled and let Heidi pull her to the dance floor, me watching after her a moment before looking back at Aro and picking up my beer, "Shit just got serious. Want a drink, I'm buyin'."

He took Izzy's stool and waved to his guard to leave us and go keep an eye on my girl, ordering, to my absolute shock, a beer when the bartender asked him if he wanted anything before turning to me, "I saw that neither you nor the Major have sired any newborns yet."

I took a healthy chug from my beer and shook my head, "that won't happen until after we weed out the worthless little bastards tomorrow. However many we kill we will be expected to replace though. No way around that shit that I know of."

He just nodded, thanking the human for his drink before drinking half of it in one go. Never took him for boozer but Jesus, the guy could drink. As he swallowed he hummed in his throat, "This is certainly a fucked up little situation you found yourself in, is it not, Captain?"

I growled a little, "hadn't figured that out yet so thank you so fucking much for pointing that shit out. I am fucked either way it goes. Either I don't play my part with the Cunt Master General and Izzy suffers or I do and Izzy suffers." Turning to look at him, I pointed a finger at him, "The biggest fucker though, is I still don't know the reason the fucking veggie vamps pulled this shit in the first fucking place. What the hell did they have to gain out of involving Maria in this little stunt? I know that Jasper told them about the bitch but they still went right to her for whatever fucking reason. They have to know that she's gonna sell 'em out first chance she gets to save her own ass. That little whore would sell out her own dead mother if she thought for a second it would do something." I shook my head and took another drink. "I just don't get it."

I pulled a cigarette out and lit it, playing with my zippo a little before clicking it closed and taking a lung filling hit and slowly blowing it out of my nose. "Then, not only do they involve the one bitch they should have stayed the fuck away from, they put ME into a fucking corner with no exit. I honestly think they just want to die because once I get my fucking hands on 'em, they will wish they were never fucking reborn. I don't give a fuck one way or the other if I'm back in the army or serving a life contract on the Royal guard, shit ain't gonna bother me none. It's what they did, and continue to do, to my mate."

I turned and nodded her direction, drawing his attention to her as well, the light hitting her perfectly to show off quite a few of the bite scars she acquired over the last week, "I was forced to hurt my girl, to scar her for the rest of her life because they decided to make a deal with the devil, and I don't even know what the fucking deal was."

"She is still well, is she not?" I turned back to look at him, both eyebrows in my bangs in disbelief of the question. Before I could comment on that, he spoke again, "So she bears the scars of this life. It was an inevitability when you agreed to the terms you didn't have a choice in, and there is not a mated male on the planet that would not have done the same. Had I been put in the position you were, I would too have agreed to whatever I had to, to keep my mate safe; something that cannot be held against you. Everything that you do between now and whenever the overall picture comes to light is nothing less than what you must to protect your mate, Peter. I cannot punish you for doing what is necessary to ensure your mate's survival, nor will I."

I just blinked at him, shocked as shit and to fuck and back. I wasn't even sure what I was more shocked about, the speech or him actually calling me by my name. I blinked again as half of my top lip curled a little, "So you're sayin', that you are not going to give a fuck about my part in creating an army that is being trained to stand against you?

He smirked at me before taking another drink of his beer before answering, "I am saying that I will not give a fuck about your part in creating an army being trained to stand against me. I actually look forward to it. It has been so dreadfully boring back home as of late. There are no new guard members that matter enough to oversee training for, my mate has been on an extended vacation for just about a month with the other sisters and for the first time in nearly a century, the vampiric race is behaving properly. I would take just about any form of entertainment at the moment."

There was a giggle behind me pulling my attention to my shitfaced mate as she leaned forward and pecked my nose, "told ya you were over thinking shit, Captain. Maybe someday you'll learn to listen to me. God damn but you can get a stick up your ass. For a guy that is supposed to just knows shit, you can be really fucking stupid sometimes." Then she leaned around me and grabbed my beer, chugging the rest of it before smacking a loud kiss to my cheek, whirling around and skipping back to the dance floor where she was scooped up by Demetri, laughing her ass off at being twirled in a circle.

I just chuckled and shook my head before ordering another beer for both myself and Aro.

Over the next couple of hours, I learned that the 'king' of our race was actually a cool ass mother fucker. He had nearly as nasty of a sense of humor as I did and could drop a perfectly timed one liner that had the group of us in near hysterics making every single vampire present extremely grateful we could no longer piss ourselves. I knew that this was not normal practice for Aro, hence the reason that he only had three guards with him, that he himself was the sire of, so that this shit didn't get back to anyone it shouldn't.

I turned my attention to my mate when she kicked me under the table, a light glare on my face, "god damn it woman knock it off. That shit hurts."

She just giggled again, like she had been doing at my expense all fucking night before cocking her head to the side, "I was just curious if you had any pointers for me for when I fight Jasper in the morning since you said the nuts were always off limits."

At that I snorted, "Not against the Major, Sugar. Tomorrow is no holds barred. He gonna be taken plenty of nut shots tomorrow, one more ain't gonna hurt him none."

Demetri blinked a little, "You're fighting in the elimination fights, Miss Izzy?"

She snorted a little and nodded, "Yes I am Mr. Demetri, because the Mistress is a carpet munching old hag that likes to see the Captain here suffer. She thought that he would go too easy on me so decided that I have to face off with Jasper instead."

I pointed a finger in my mate's face, "she ain't your fucking Mistress, Sugar. Don't you ever let me hear you call her that again, ya hear?"

Again with the giggles, only this time she added a smartass two finger salute, "Sir, yes sir."

The lone waitress brought the next round to the table so I had to cut the growl short, but the glare was still in place when I pulled my wallet out to pay the tab since it was closing time.

While I was able to cut my growl down to under human hearing levels, Izzy almost couldn't when the poor waitress leaned across her to gather the empties. She was across from me next to Heidi so when she heard her, she tossed an arm over her shoulder and covered her nose and mouth to keep her from smelling the blood literally right under her nose before pulling her to her feet, a small smile on her face when she looked at the confused human, "She had a little too much to drink tonight." Then she looked at me, "I'll take her outside for some fresh air while you finish your drink."

Best thing about Heidi is her scent was where her power was, calming both humans and vampires, both male and female, and makes them do her bidding. It was why she was the one responsible for gathering the humans for the guards and brothers. It wasn't going to do anything for my mate's thirst but it would get her to go with Heidi outside for some fresh air until I took her hunting.

Once my mate was outside, the four of us guys chugged the beers and took the shots that were bought, Aro dropping some cash on the table to tip the woman that very nearly died before we followed after the girls, finding them around the corner with Heidi's hand still over my mate's nose as she spoke quietly to her, trying to distract her from the scent that was in the area.

Izzy turned her black eyes to me and I just cocked a brow at her, "don't be lookin' at me like that. If you were getting hungry you should have said something Sugar. Every one of us has been in your shoes and ain't a one of us gonna hold having to leave a bar early against you. That burn ain't no one's fault but yours, Youngin."

She just whimpered what had to be the most pitiful sound I have ever heard making me feel bad for the attitude. I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned to look at Aro and a not happy with me look on his face. "She is not even a full six weeks old, Captain. Cut the young lady a little slack." Wonderful, the fucking ruler of the vampire race has appeared to have developed a soft spot for my mate.

Be that shit as it may however, I cocked a brow at him, "True, but how is she ever gonna learn anythin' if she isn't taught a lesson for doin' somethin' wrong? I ain't got no plans on making my mate suffer and starve, but I also ain't got no plans on her never learning to have to deal the burn of thirst either. I take plenty good care of my girl and taken care of someone entails teachin' them the harder lessons of life. Once the assessment shit is over and the real training begins, meals are fewer and farther between. This is fact and somethin' that, as shitty as it is, she will have to get used to."

He blinked at me, the shock of the last statement clear in his eyes. "Why would you subject your mate to such horrors as that?"

I snarled at him as I knocked his hand away, "You think I fuckin' want to? Hell no I don't. I would rather be just about any fucking where on the planet than where we are, but as we discussed before, I don't really have a fuckin' choice. I got strung up by the balls in this one and the only way out of it is to play the part of the fucking southern Captain that I gave up a century ago. There are no other options that don't end with a worse closing than her dealing with a sore throat.

"I would much rather that than the alternative and I know that Marcus would agree. You want my mate to have the kind of bullshit life he has? Because THAT is what will happen if I don't play my fucking part. The bitch ain't threatening me with her in the sense that she'll kill my mate like you been thinkin'. She is threatening to kill me so my mate suffers until the day she dies, somethin' that I also have no plans on happenin'. Six weeks ago I could have burned and not given a damn, now that shit actually affects someone that I give a fuck about so don't talk to me like I'm in the fuckin' wrong when all I am tryin' to do is take care of my mate to the best of my fuckin' ability in the worst of fucked up circumstances."

To my utter shock, even in the depths of my boiling rage, Aro took a half step back and held his hands up, palms facing me to show that he was backing down from the fight that I was just about ready to have, his ass being a fucking king or not. "My apologies, Captain. It was not my intention to overstep my bounds on you caring for your mate. It was a misunderstanding on my part of the seriousness of the situation." Then he glanced at Heidi and my mate a moment before looking back at me but talking to his guards, "Demetri, Heidi, take Mrs. Whitlock to feed. The Captain and I are going to have a little chat. See to it that she eats until she cannot drink another drop. You will know where to find us once she has had her fill."

I snarled at him and Felix, the huge ass bastard, got behind me and put his forearm in front of me and locked his arm around my head once I accidentally sank my teeth into his arm. Aro waved his guards away as Felix literally dragged my ass the opposite direction.

Once we got out of the city, Felix let me go and I turned and watched as Aro shrugged out of his jacket, tossing it off to the side and rolling up his sleeves, the bite from my mate nearly glowing in the moonlight. As he was doing that, he waved off Felix and smirked at me, "Seems you have been bottling up quite a bit of hostility over the past few days, Captain. No matter how good of a reason you have for the anger, it does you no good keeping it in. I cannot imagine being in your position, having to watch as your mate gets harmed and not being able to lift a finger to stop it. It is truly torture, I am sure, to have no choices. But, you will do the young lady no favors if you continue going as you are. You will explode eventually and nothing good could possibly come from that. So, let's go, Captain; show me what you got."

I just blinked at him, jaw on the ground and big 'ol wide eyes for a moment before a cocked a brow at him, speaking slowly, "you're joking… right?"

He shook his head as he caught a pair of gloves that Felix tossed to him so when he touched skin, he didn't see anything. "I am not. Back at the bar, when we shook hands, I noticed that your… gift has not been working properly and I can only assume that is because you are so focused on the young lady and every last nerve you have is on edge. I do believe that if you can get some of this pent up aggression out and calm under your own power and not the Major's, whatever blockade that stands between you and your 'voices' will lift and you can see the light at the end of the very long tunnel you found yourself in. Remember Captain; nothing ventured, nothing gained. At the very least, it is worth a shot. If this doesn't work, we will find something that does. However, for the time being, you needn't worry about your mate. She is perfectly safe with my guards. It is time, Peter, that you worried about yourself."

And with that last piece of parting advice, he flashed a toothy grin before darting right at me, giving me only enough reaction time to block the attack before he jumped back and came at me again.

My eyes narrowed and I growled low, blocking the next attack before lunging into the fight and forcing him on defense. Fists and feet were flying, some hitting and some not, but all of them pushing him further back into the trees. Aro and I tangoed one on one for about ten minutes before I got him off his feet, prompting Felix to join the spar, my weight shifting to the right in perfect timing to avoid the sneak attack and with a well-placed kick to his back, he became very well acquainted with a tree.

It was when I was facing off with both of them that my mate and the other guards rejoined us, Izzy freaking the fuck out because she had no idea what was going on. Heidi tried to talk to her to get her to understand that this wasn't what it looked like and that everything was just fine, but my Sugar wasn't having it. It took both Heidi and Demetri to hold her back so I could finish this little exercise that was, actually, doing me a world of fucking good.

The first to be taken out was Felix. I had jumped over his head and landed on his back, hands on either side of his head, dipping mine down pressing teeth to his throat whispering, "You're done bitch" before flipping off backwards and shoving him with my feet to the ground. I twisted in the air and landed in a crouch across the clearing from Aro, eyes narrowed and teeth bared. I chuckled deep in my throat when I heard Felix growl something to the effect of 'little fucker', but never took my eyes off Aro as he too crouched down and prepared for the next round.

Aro and I stared at each other for a moment before we both shot forward. He went low and I leapt up and flipped over, diving at him the moment that my feet touched ground, tackling him to his back when he twisted around to face me. We tumbled across the ground a few times before we separated, my arm burning a little from the graze of his teeth but nothing to distract me from rolling to my feet and once again getting the upper hand on the ruler of our world and getting the mock decapitation.

By the time the mock battle was over, I was breathing hard, even though it was completely unnecessary to do so, and ran completely ragged, but I felt better than I have in a long fucking time. As my unneeded breaths slowed and my body relaxed, every ounce of pent up anger and aggression melted away leaving behind nothing but calm. I no longer felt like I was standing on a knife's edge, no longer felt like I was in an impossible situation with no way out. I looked over at my girl and saw her looking back at me with a bright smile and glowing red eyes. Those guards really did stuff her ass silly, didn't they?

Demetri let her go as Felix helped Aro to his feet and she darted to me, leaping into my arms and wrapping hers around my neck, her legs kicked up behind her as she did her damnedest to strangle me, giggling in my ear making me chuckle a little.

After a moment she pulled back, a gleam in her eyes that went right to my dick, "You HAVE to teach me some of those moves, Peter."

I smiled down at her and nodded, "Your wish is my command, Sugar."

With the calmness obtained I was seeing things with crystal clear clarity. It was like kicking Aro's ass cleansed me of my demons and suddenly I knew it all, knew everything I had to do to get out of this fucked up situation. I was given so much information on the coming days that I was left blinking and shaking my head a little.

When I looked back at Izzy, she was looking at me with a face full of concern, "Are you alright?"

I grinned at her, "perfect, Sugar; ain't ever been better."

I glanced up over her head when I heard a throat clear, cocking a brow at Aro as he dusted himself off, a small smirk on his face, "I must say, Captain, that I am quite impressed. Had this been an actual battle, it would have been the first one I lost in over 3000 years." Then he chuckled a little, "and poor Felix will probably never be the same again after this." Raising a brow at me, "but I trust that you will keep this indignity to yourself."

I snorted, "Fuck no; I kicked the shit of you and the strongest fighter on your guard, at the same fucking time. I ain't gonna lie here man, I'm tellin' everyone." Then I sighed as I pulled my mate closer to me, setting my chin on the top of her head when she buried her face in my chest, "Thanks."

He just shrugged a little, "it is my job to ensure that my subjects are properly cared for, even if that means that I have to eat dirt to do that job. Might I give you a small piece of advice, young man?" I nodded and a small smile lifted the corner of his mouth, "While our mates will always be our top priority, you cannot properly care for them if you do not also take care of yourself in the process. You need to keep in mind that her safety and survival depends on you and yours. Your gift of intuition, as annoying as it is at times, is part of you and if it is not working properly, nor will you. She needs you in top form, to be at your very best right now, and if you are so focused on her and let yourself get lost in anger and negativity, she will be the one that suffers the consequences. She is completely innocent in this and does not deserve to know the pain she will if you let the situation get out of your control."

I nodded at that, taking in the advice and once again deciding that 'Master' Aro wasn't all that bad once you got past the fact that he was the one person on the planet that holds every single vampiric life in his hands. Once you got passed that, he was just a regular guy; an asshole, but a normal guy.

He shrugged on his jacket and was turning away when he paused and glanced over his shoulder, "One more thing, Captain. The terms to which you agreed were only to regain lost territory. Any contract entered under false pretense is not binding in my court of law." Then he smirked at me, letting his eyes shift to my mate a moment before looking back at me, "You hold more cards than you think. I will be in touch, Captain."