"I can't believe we just did that!" Tristan's father cried out.
"What are you complaining about? I was the one who was forced to suffer the indignity of telling that little bitch about the so called 'honor' we are bestowing upon her," The shape shifter complained while folding his arms as swift as a switchblade.
"The worst part is," The vampire leader interjected, "We have to make good on our offer or our people will see us as liars."
"So?" One of the alpha wolves spat out.
The vampire groaned before explaining. "So our people will lose faith in us and not support us in our actions. In other words, they won't do what we tell them to do!"
The alpha nodded with sudden understanding.
The middle alpha wolf, however, still bore a countenance of irritability. "But," he said, "If we actually give her power and influence over the hidden of Salem we will basically be relinquishing some of our own. Power that she has basically been able to achieve in only three years time while we have slaved for over God only knows how many years to acquire!"
"I know! I know!" The shape-shifter shouted, "But what can we do?"
The table fell silent until Roy's alpha spoke, "You know her having influence might not be such a bad thing. After all, she did help to protect my niece."
"Yes well," Tristan's father sneered, "Who asked you?"
Roy's alpha scowled and then opened his mouth to argue.
The vampire leader decided to end the argument by slamming both hands on the table and shouting, "Look! What's done is done. We have proposed a deal to Aradia the last witch. It is up to her now how things turn out."
"So basically," Tristan's father said as he rose to leave. "Our fate now rests in the hands of a seventeen year old girl. Swell!"
Nodding grimly to King Rian's words, the council shuffled out of the lodge except the vampire leader who hung back.
He waited until the others had clearly left before saying aloud, "They are gone, my lord."
Keon jumped down from the rafters where he had hidden and watched.
The vampires' leader nodded as he turned to face him. "I have done as you have commanded,"
Keon nodded as well before saying, "Although it pains me to do so having the last witch being granted power is the only sure-fire way into provoking the Sovereign to realizing what a threat she is."
"And," he added, "What a pain in the ass she is as well."
"It was hard you know convincing the others to give her a title and position especially making sure none of them realize I was manipulating all of them to agree to it," the vampire leader grumbled.
"Yes well," Keon shrugged, "Nothing in life is ever easy is it?"
The vampire merely grumbled and for a while neither one of them spoke.
Until finally the vampire leader dared to ask Keon, "Are you sure doing this will help motivate the Sovereign into killing the girl?"
Keon nodded and said, "You kidding? A mere child, a survivor of a slaughtered race, that was raised by the humans being elected to a position of power in the amount of time it takes to snap your fingers? He will be furious! Best of all, if we play our cards right we can both get big promotions out of alerting the Sovereign of what a threat the last witch is."
"What if she rallies an army behind her?" The vampire leader inquired.
"So what?" Keon said shrugging, "Everyone fears the Sovereign of all vampires! The fact that he is the youngest Sovereign of them all to ascend to such a position in itself is reason enough for everyone else to fear him! Most of all, do not forget that Salem is just one city in a world where the Sovereign rules all! If she were to rally an army it would be nothing in comparison to what the Sovereign could muster in mere seconds."
"What if she discovers our plans?" the vampire leader dared to ask.
"Then we finally decide to stop beating around the bush and kill her!" Keon snapped.
"The Sovereign may be pissed that I acted on my own," He also admitted reluctantly, "But if I bring him back the severed head and blood of the last witch that will definitely exonerate me!"
"Why not just kill her now?"
"Because," Keon argued, "I want the privilege of killing the last witch to be reserved strictly for the Sovereign. It is an act that would be most sweet, and who better to savor such sweetness than the Sovereign of all vampires himself?"