4- Red Eyes

*For picture reference: That is the Trevi Fountain in Rome, Italy.*

**I just quickly wanted to thank everyone who has read this story and brought it up to #466 in Werewolf! Please comment your thoughts as I always love to read your comments on the story and what you suggest for the future.**

Elian's POV

Italy, home of the oldest and most powerful vampire clan. It all began with the first vampire to ever walk the surface of the Earth, Ambrogio. None but Ambrogio truly knows how he first inherited the vampire characteristics, some believe that it was the Greek Gods who cursed him and others think it was a science experiment that went terribly wrong. Nonetheless, he settled in the city of Florence, Italy, and created the first clan of vampires. From there, vampires of his clan branched out to other locations of the world and created their own clans as well. Now there is an unimaginable amount of vampires roaming the Earth freely, not being acknowledged by the human race.

Since the death of my parents, shortly after the vampire incident, I knew that my parents had very few ties with the vampires. Though, the ties that we did share with them were strong and withheld any supernatural catastrophes. However, I knew that the vampire race was looked upon with shame after the horrendous human attack at the Trevi Fountain. And afterwards, they had lost lots of their friends, allies, and trusted peers. Fortunately for them, the Seelie Council and I take pity on the vampires because their consequences were based on a handful of their kind. Therefore, they shouldn't all have to suffer the same way as those who are guilty.

With that being said, my entourage and I stood before the underground doors to the chambers of the most ancient clan of vampires. The wolves were already tensed and restless as vampires were widely known as their ultimate enemies. Here, underground, it was dark and musty, undoubtedly the best conditions for vampires. I was also pleasantly surprised when I realized that I could free my wings down here, since no mortals would be residing here.

Before I made my presence known, I felt a shiver through my body, as if it was the physical way of knowing that I was indeed losing energy slowly. This morning, after the adventure of trying new foods, I contemplated on the comment that Kasey had made before he left my hotel room. Were the Alphas becoming non-resistant to the spell from unknowingly withstanding it for so long? Nowadays, I had to perform the enchantment more than once, which wasn't safe for my well-being. Though, it has to be done. I get lost in my worried thoughts before I feel a large hand on my shoulder and look up to my right to find Kaspar with a look of concern etched onto his face.

"Lord Elian, are you well?" He questioned.

I nodded with a small smile and proceeded to get this meeting done and over with.

After one swift knock on the door, it opened to a massive room with pillars leading to a line of thrones. In the center of the majestic chairs, sat the first vampire himself, Ambrogio. He stood as we reached him and raised his arms with a smile. His image was nothing that I would have imagined, in front of me was a young male that matched the height of the Alphas with dark, brown skin and mesmerizing dark, evergreen eyes.

"Welcome, Lord Elian of the Fae, Alphas of the Celestial Hala Pack, and other honored beings," he announced with a genuine tone.

The blunt, young Fae warrior, Nikolai, that was quite outspoken at the Werewolf Gathering the other night, slightly fidgeted under Ambrogio's gaze. For an odd reason, I could not come to terms with the impossible explanations as to why Nikolai was incredibly flustered at the moment. Was I not the only one?

I nodded to acknowledge his welcoming before he stalked over to my position and took his hand in my own.

You carry a heavy burden, Lord Elian. May I speak to you privately?

A mental groan came from within me as I forgot to mentally and emotionally guard myself from others, as I knew well before the meeting that vampires had the ability to fish through others' minds.

After some time, I mentally answered Ambrogio.

I apologize in advance, but I need at least two of my people or the wolves with me at all times. Safety precautions.

I heard a growl beside me as I noticed that Ambrogio hadn't released my hand from his and leaned down to place a light kiss upon it.

"Alright, I think that's fine, red eyes," Kasey's voice rung through the room with an irritated tone.

Ambrogio let go of my hand before standing back with a smirk, "I'm sorry, do you see any red eyes here? Last time I checked, even the blind could tell that the color green covered my orbs. Now, if you'll excuse Lord Elian and I, we have much to discuss in such little time."

As those last few words left his mouth, he retrieved my hand once more and sped to another room in this underground floor. When he came to a halt, my mind and vision was in a blur, I had never experienced the effects of this speed before.

"First time, eh? Sit down here and try to regain your senses quickly before your mates find us and knock the door down," he said in a foreshadowing voice as he led me to a seat in the room by a table and fireplace.

The room was dark, like the one I was recently in. Though, it was smaller than the last one, colder as well. There were dark red curtains that were draped over tall windows that were from the ceilings to the floors. I never understood why the vampires' surroundings were always stereotypical.

The sound of the word, mates, brought me back to reality as I nervously laughed for a few moments, "Mates? Ambrogio, you must be mistaken."

"Now, child, don't take me as a fool. Your parents would think that it would be most unwise."

My eyes widened as he mentioned my parents, "You knew my parents personally?"

"Yes, indeed. Great leaders they were, always looked out for their people and others. Sad to hear them pass."

I nodded and returned to the prior subject at hand, "Thank you for your condolences. Now, how did you know that the Alphas and I were mates?"

"It really wasn't a secret, Lord Elian. Your charm is wearing off and soon the oblivious Alphas will be able to tell as well. I've been around for some time to pick up some tricks on supernatural beings that carry enchantments on themselves. Not to mention that the Alphas are subconsciously becoming aware as well."

I laid my head in my hands in defeat as I didn't know what else to do in a time like this.

Ambrogio then continued his little speech, "Now, you may be wondering... How can I enable the enchantment to be as effective as it was in the early days? And the answer to that question, is you can't. You're stuck in a rotting hole of remorse."

I rose from the chair and glared, "You don't know of any other masking scent spells or liquids? If not, how long till the current spell wears off and my true scent is revealed?"

He shook his head, "I'm afraid not, at most, you will have three more days. The enchantment will not be able to perform its' job anymore. You need to come to terms on who your mates are. They're here to love and support you. As a vampire of my age, I have yet to experience the true magic of love, and you can unleash this magic at anytime of the day."

I smirked as I remembered the recent events in the hall, "Though, you can experience this love of mates now, can you not?"

Ambrogio wore an expression of shock and was quick to shake it off, "So you were able to tell as well?"

With a swift nod and a small smile I congratulated Ambrogio on finally finding his mate, "Nikolai is a young warrior of mine, very straightforward and non-censored."

"He will not be open to this destined pairing. I've already gone through the deepest parts of his mind and back again. He never pictured a male mate, and a vampire to say the least," he said with a sigh.

I rose from the chair and went over to place a hand on his shoulder in encouragement, "Patience is key. He will soon realize that he can't undo the fates and will open his arms with welcoming embrace."

"We'll see. Just remember the outcomes of your own circumstances and I'll worry about my own."

I nodded, understanding the consequences I have ahead of me. As we exited the topic of mates in our conversation, the Alphas and other means of protection furiously barged in.

"We're leaving now, Eli!" Kasey ordered as I glared at him and stood my ground.

"No, we are not. Ambrogio and I were just getting started on the many issues that we may come to discuss. You may stay or you can leave."

An angered grunt escaped Kasey's mouth as he walked over to my side and stood there with a stoic face, and Kaspar followed suit.

For the remainder of the time that was left for Ambrogio and I, we came to a list of agreements that could potentially benefit both of our kinds. He suggested we become permanent allies in which I completely agreed to show others that one can still have faith in the vampire race and not place shame upon them for eternity.

When all matters were discussed and the moon was finally present in the dark sky, I promised to visit Ambrogio on the voyage home. Surprisingly enough, his demeanor was nothing like I'd pictured. I contemplated on finding an unreasonable way to leave Nikolai behind, but none could come to mind. Perhaps on our way back home we'll figure something out together.

As we bid our farewells, we ventured into the night time with hope for this strengthened alliance. When we reached the hotel, it was still considered early for rest and the Alphas decided to come into my room and position themselves comfortably on my bed to watch whatever shows were available on this device called a television. In my realm, these time-consuming devices are not present. They simply offer distractions from the priorities and responsibilities of the Fae.

I, for one, was in between the two of them with a blanket surrounding me like the burrito I had at Chipotle and a book nestled into my lap. There was still much to learn about the customs of the mermaids and mermen of the Mediterranean Sea.

Apparently, from the book that I borrowed from the Grand Library back at home, merfolk were able to attain legs when they are on land. That would have been quite helpful when I was a young Fae with my parents and I. There were summers that came and went when my parents and I would travel to the coasts of Ireland and spend time with close friends. I remember befriending my parents' friends' child, Daniel. He would always declare that he was the Prince of the Sea, with a tail of scales that shimmered in the light. I never believed him, and he would never show me either. Now, I see that he was truly the Prince of the Sea. How foolish I was to doubt him, but in my defense I was only a young Fae then.

Hopefully, we meet when I visit his parents...

"Eli, why do you think our mate didn't show herself that night at the festival?"

As the vulnerable question came from Kasey, I froze in fear of feeding into the guilt and confessing that their mate was right beside them. Instead of answering the question, I asked a question of my own that has been bothering me since day one.

"Why do you always refer to your mate as a female? What if, maybe your mate turns out to be male? It has happened in the werewolf community before."

Kaspar cleared his throat before he replied, "I mean, Kasey and I always referred to our mate as a female because we both believed that we were straight. However, if the moon goddess paired the two of us with a male, that would be completely okay. We would fully love and cherish the one person that gives us endless strength to be the best we can be."

"Now, answer our question, Elian," Kasey pleaded.

"I think he or she might be hesitant. Perhaps taking on the role of Luna is intimidating. Maybe if it was a male, he might be apprehensive to be your mate because he knows he can never provide you with pups."

What kind of Luna would I even be if I could not provide the pack with their future Alpha? How would that seem to the people that entrusted me with the most important responsibility?

"Pups would be amazing. But, we would find other ways of having an heir to the pack."

After the Alphas unknowingly answered all of my worrying and hesitations on the topic of a male being their mate for all of eternity, I started to feel the utmost emotion of guilt.

"You know, I feel as if I am very fatigued from today. Maybe you two should distance yourselves from me, just in case I don't sicken the two of you," I suggested in poor attempt to make them leave before I have an emotional breakdown.

Instead, a number of suspicious questions were thrown at me.

"Is it because of the energy draining from your body?" Kasey asked.

I shook my head.

"Well, we spoke to Jasper earlier, and he informed us that the Fae are one of the only supernatural kinds that are impossible to be sick from anything other than the overuse of enchantments," Kaspar stated with a informational tone.

Even they could see right through me, I thought to myself as I tried to come up with a reasonable reply.

"Eli, please don't lie to us. We're here for you, always. You're one of our oldest and greatest friends. Now, what enchantments have you been performing and why? You can trust Kaspar and I," Kasey said as he begged for the truth.

I bit my lip, something that I rarely do in front of others, only alone when anxiety and nervousness comes into play.

"I need the spells, I need them to cover up..."