Chapter 242

• He soothed his mate gently and took up the tale. "They ruled wisely for millennia," he said quietly. "In those days being Ancient was a given, not the rare commodity it is now. The peace appeared absolute so Anakatrine decided our people had evolved enough that there was no more need for a royal hierarchy. She formed the very first Vampire Council in a bid to retire from power, to allow our kind to rule themselves in wisdom. None of them had any idea of the rot that was hiding underneath the surface of our people. It was only when the first Vampire/Were mating occurred that it became obvious."
• Gard stood up and paced to the desk coming to stand beside them and turning to meet the wolf's sceptical gaze. "Three thousand years ago the first hybrid child was born," he continued when Caleb stopped speaking. "She was viewed as an abomination by the vampire nation. The Council ordered the death of the child and her parents. Anakatrine tried to stop it but her voice was no longer being heard by the corrupt vampires. She managed to rescue the child but at great expense to her magical energy. She gave the child to The Guardian and entrusted him to hide her safely while she conjured a false image of the infant to fool our people."
• Rafe couldn't help the loud snort that erupted out of him, shaking his head in disbelief. "Magic?" he interjected moving further into the room. "Kings and Queens? Guardians and magic? You really expect me to believe this shit?" He couldn't believe Caleb and Annie were doing this. He stared at them as if he'd never seen them before. Did the stranger hold them in his thrall somehow? Everything he was hearing was totally preposterous.