Atticus

"You have three months until the wedding Atticus." My mother's voice rings across the throne room, seconds after I travel into the cold empty room. A shimmer of air next to my leg, tells me that one of my familiars followed me back. I look down at Mags grey eyes and run a hand over her head.

"Excuse me? You’re joking right?" I ask her. Mags pushes against my side in comfort. I look down at Mags, as she is currently in her true form. Mags look kind of like a white tiger but two large pronounced teeth that drop from her mouth and a tail full of spikes. I remember telling Winter about my two cats, they do look like big cats when they are wearing their glamour’s. All powerful witches have a familiar; I’m the first to have two. I didn't lie about how I found Mags; she really was dumped into a load of magazines as new-born. Familiars are a type of sub-demon and come out of the underworld when they sense their owner needs them. 

"I'm not marrying anyone, I found the girl. The girl from the,"

She cuts me off and shouts,

"I don't believe that rubbish, where was the Goddess when all the new-born royal males died in our arms until you! Where was the Goddess when the angels attacked us?" 

"We have a truce with them now and she cannot change everything," I mutter. 

"A truce I made! Not her! Your Goddess didn't save your father’s life when an angel took his head." She says and I see the tears this time. With a sigh, I go over to her and pull her into a hug.

"I know you don't believe in her anymore, but I do and marrying someone else won't give us a true future," I tell her as she sobs. My mother is a powerful woman who rules on her own. When my father died, they expected her to stand down and let one of my male second cousins to take the throne until I'm of age. They have no royal blood but they are married into our family so they could have been accepted. My mother scoffed at the idea and held an arena fight. I was only one at the time and she fought twenty heirs to keep the throne. No one challenged her again and when she got a truce with the angels, the witches respected her. My mother never remarried, despite our council trying to demand that she does, I know she didn’t because she loved my father. They were that couple that stories are written about.

"It's just a marriage; the dark witch’s queen is young and very beautiful. You can still mate permanently with someone else." She says, offering a different deal.

"I don't want that mother. I love you but don't make me choose." I tell her.

"I can delay the wedding but I can't stop it. The witches want us to all work together. Having two different leaders isn't working anymore. We share this earth; we can't risk a war against our own kind." She tells me.

She pulls away from my hug and walks to one of the large windows, which overlook our secret city. My mother looks every bit the queen in her long green dress and circular black crown on her head of blonde hair. Surprisingly the dark witches have a white crown that they made, as well as a fake queen to wear it. The crown my mother wears was rumoured to have been made for the witches by the Goddess. The vampires, angels and wolves also have crowns that make the true owner stronger. I've only ever seen my mothers and the vampire kings crown. They look similar but ours has twirls that hold up the four black stones around the crown. The vampire king is a dark red colour and has deep red stones instead. Their crown is made of thorns.

"I do everything I can to protect you Atticus. I fear there is something far worse coming for our kind. We won't make it out of this new threat without being united. I won't lose you, my son." She says. 

"Is it the vampire king?" I ask her, moving closer to her side.

"Yes, he has started something he can't stop. He is a foolish, evil man and he will regret his actions in the end." She whispers to the window.

"What has he done?" I demand. 

"I cannot tell you." She tells me firmly and walks towards the doors that open for her without being touched.

"I have a wedding to postpone; I believe you have a mate to chase. If there is a Goddess around, we need her help for what will come. I don't wish you unhappy son." She says, her words echoing around the throne room before she walks out. I stand next to the two gold thrones in the empty room for a long time. The wide windows don't feel as open as they did when I got here, in fact, I feel like someone is trying to suffocate me. I call my power and imagine Wyatt’s living room, it takes a second for me to feel my body disappearing and reappearing in front of the fake fireplace.

"Oh god Drake," I hear from behind me and I turn to see Drake, thankfully full clothed, feeding on Alex's neck on the sofa. Alex's eyes meet mine and she screams. 

"Shit I didn't mean to interrupt; I swear I'm not into watching people," I say and close my eyes.

"Get out," Drake says and I open my eyes to see them both sitting up on the sofa. Alex is bright red and I'm trying not to laugh.

"No can do. As much as Drake doesn’t turn me on, I need to stay and see Wyatt." I say and Alex chuckles into Drakes shoulder as she holds him back from trying to hit me.

"Wyatt is feeding in the kitchen," Drake growls and I laugh; I walk out before he actually decides to hit me. 

Wyatt’s apartment is one of those new shiny places that he is anal about being clean. I don't like things being messy but every time I'm here I can't help myself by moving stuff around. I chuckle when I see his bedroom and I slip inside. 

I find his box of stupidly expensive watches that he loves and I move them into his en suite, I use my magic to hang each one on the curtain rail. After a chuckle, I leave to find Wyatt. The small things really piss him off, like the time that it took him a month to find his expensive wine collection. I moved them all into his garage and he said they were all one of a kind. I left them inside his spare car and I really didn't think it would take him so long to find them. It was a funny month of him trying to kill me.

Wyatt is drinking a bag of blood when I come in, his eyes doing that weird thing where they turn all silver. 

"The silver is creepy dude," I tell him as I open his fridge, grabbing a bottle of orange juice out and drinking it. Most vampires’ eyes are dark brown all the time and change red when they feed. Wyatt is weird. 

"Atti, what do I owe the pleasure?" He asks when he is finished and throws the empty bag in the bin. I ignore him to go through his cupboards until I find his Oreo’s. 

"Don't be a prick, not those," Wyatt says behind me and I watch in amusement as he knocks me out the way and takes his Oreo’s back.

"You’re holding them like they’re your babies, you have a problem, Wyatt." I tell him. 

"Whatever." He glares at me and punches me on the arm as he puts his Oreo’s back and stands in front of the cupboard.

"Mother is planning my wedding, she said she would postpone it but I think we need to tell Winter everything. I need a mate to get out of this or at least take Winter to my city and," 

"I know, believe me, I get it. She isn't ready to hear everything yet." He interrupts.

"I can't marry a dark witch; I think it's stupid to keep her in the dark about us. About what she is." I tell him, trying to make him see.

"Soon Atti, I will tell her soon about me and then sort everything else. I know she has been around wolves a lot recently. I want to see if she can change Jaxson’s mind." Wyatt says.

"I think she already has. He hasn't hurt her." I tell him.

"Not yet," Wyatt replies gently.

“I heard from a little birdy that he is still planning his mating with that wolf,” I tell Wyatt.

“It was one of your witches that said they should be together.” He replies, a slightly distasteful look in my direction.
“It’s a load of bull, that wolf’s parents must have paid a pretty penny for them to say that. Mating with Jaxson would be most wolves dream come true for their child.” I tell him.

“Let’s hope he realises what he is doing, sooner rather than later.”  He says.

“He will,” I say. Well, I hope he will.