Claws elongated and fangs bared, as the intruding vampiress hissed loudly upon encountering a large group of vampires and their Alpha. As she steadied her stance to fight, Kai halted before the unfamiliar vampiress who lurked on his family's territory.
Briefly glancing at the stranger's ragged appearance, they noted that her dark purple medieval dress was tattered at the seams on her hips and left sleeve. Braided into a bun, her hair was matted and filthy, with mud smeared across parts of her face. Around her exposed neckline, her skin was discolored, showing visible signs of hunger. Evidently, she had been wandering around helplessly for some time.
Matters concerning her condition worsened for her when Kai and his friends discovered two small black bear cubs clinging to the frayed hem of their mother's dress. Compared to her, the four-year-old twins, Shapeshifter vampire and vampiress, were better nourished. Any food she managed to find was obviously given to them first before herself.
In her weakened state, it was only a matter of time before she would fall into detainment from starvation. Without another vampire to help provide blood for her and her offspring, she wouldn't last much longer.
Without needing to explain, Kai addressed one name, "Jack!"
Despite her frailty, the vampiress hissed defensively, positioning herself to shield her little ones behind her as Jack stepped into her view of sight. By any means necessary, she would protect her babies, even if it meant confronting an entire clan of vampires. Desperate to protect them, she would make the ultimate sacrifice, praying to give them even the smallest chance to escape. Though her efforts might end in vain, she was ready to risk it all in her final, fight to save them.
As he studied the vampiress for a brief minute, Jack deeply inhaled the air, exercising his gift. "We pose more of a threat to her than she does to us," he concluded, and Kai nodded, never taking his icy glare away from her.
"Why are you in our territory?" Kai snapped with authority, showing no signs of leniency toward her.
Even though Jack's gift confirmed that the vampiress wasn't an immediate threat, it didn't mean Kai wouldn't detain her and her babies on the spot. At the harshness in Kai's aggressive voice, the twins flinched, but their mother remained defiant despite her knees wobbling weakly. Exhaustion forbade her from standing for much longer.
"We... I wandered here by accident," she answered as her voice quavered, though she still stood with resilience.
In a sharper tone of hostility, Kai growled more harshly, "How did you get here?"
"My mate..." Her voice broke in a tremble. Sorrow filled her eyes with grief when she mentioned her husband, causing her to swallow hard. "My husband pushed me and our offspring into a portal that our Alpha opened after our planet was attacked. I'm not from this planet and didn't know whose territories I'd crossed. Had I known, I wouldn't have traveled in this direction," she muttered as her voice trailed off even lower.
Kai stood there, growling at her. Regardless of knowing that she was telling the truth, a shadow of distrust darkened across his eyes. The main problem was that he had no idea if her Coven was an enemy since he didn't recognize her.
Behind Kai's right shoulder, Rome sent a telepathic plea, "We should help her."
Kai hissed in response, causing the young twins to cower in fear behind their mother. For their sake, she stood strong, though her body trembled weaker.
"Think about how upset Victoria would be if you harmed a defenseless mother and her babies," Rome urged again through their mental link.
This time, Kai snorted softly, trying not to frighten the little ones further. "It's not like I haven't done it before," he mentally hissed to Rome in their telepathic connection.
Unaware of their telepathic conversation between them, the vampiress spoke up, "Let us pass, and I promise I'll never return."
Kai blocked Rome from his mind, fully focusing on the vampiress. His glare bore into her soul, but she remained fearless. By her body language, her stance forewarned that she was prepared to fight, even though she had no chance of winning.
However, Kai could see that if he let her go, she wouldn't last much longer. She'd either succumb to starvation or much worse. Another vampire might capture her and her daughter as future breeders to benefit their Coven, and the little vampire would likely be detained. Whichever direction she went, either outcome would likely become her fate rather quickly.
"Who attacked your home planet?" Kai intensely questioned her again.
"A Rebellion," she answered earnestly. "Not long after our planet voted to spare the life of the seventh prophecy, they came like thieves and invaded our world."
Little did she know who the Seventh Prophecy was, nor did she realize that she now stood before the doorstep of Victoria's rather dangerously protective mate.
Feeling a tug on her dress, she looked down to see that both her offspring had shifted into their human-like forms, still clutching their small hands on her dress. Like their mother, their brown hair was matted and mud streaked on their faces. Even the little vampire's velvet blue suit and his sister's matching blue dress were ragged and dirty.
Hearing the vampiress mention the Rebellion, Rome felt a sense of relief as Kai's tense muscles relaxed. They now had confirmation that she wasn't a threat to Kai's mate or their Coven.
With a change of heart, Kai offered, "I know a safe place if you're interested. Or you may leave and find your own way."
Even though she belonged to the Shapeshifter vampire species that shifted into black bears, Kai figured it was best to send her to his allies, Mitchell and his wife Elizabeth, rather than Zane, who also shifted into a black bear.
Zane was a piggish brute and would likely detain the young vampire, and then take the mother and daughter as courtesans. On the other hand, with Elizabeth being a Wing vampiress, she had softened Mitchell's rough edges over the years. Thanks to his wife, Mitchell had developed a compassionate side for those in need of help, despite him being a brown bear Shapeshifter vampire.
The vampiress studied Kai's face, searching for any hint of deception but detected no hidden agenda in his offer to help them. "I'll take your offer," she whispered.
On any other day, she would've skedaddled, but she knew she was only days away from falling prey to starvation. Without her mate's protection, she couldn't keep her twins safe, let alone keep them and herself fed.
"This way," Kai gestured, directing his hand toward the path that led the way out.
With that agreement established, three guardians carefully carried the weary mother and her twins out of the woods.
Once they reached the mansion, Mrs. Collin, Zoey, and Veronica were waiting at the door to assist the stranded mother and her babies. Beforehand, Kai had mentally reached out to them since he figured the vampiress would feel more comfortable with other females than with another male. Leaving her in his family's care, Kai and his clan left the main living room.