The Sanction by Reeyce Smythe Wilder

horse and the heavy
gasps the Hunters sucked in. Graeme had no idea why he said what he
said. Then again, maybe a part of him knew all along that he would
offer her an option. This decision had ridden him for two long,
antagonizing days. What happened to the ruthless leader of the
horde who wanted her to be a stench in the Covens’ nostrils, he did
not know. All he knew for certain was somewhere between hating her
because she was a vampire, and utterly detesting the fact that he
was mated to her, Graeme somehow developed a tenderness toward her.
That tender part of his heart could not bear the thought of her
being tortured – or the seed he had planted in her womb ripped
away.
     
    Amongst the elite of the scouts, he had
hand-picked the few who now accompanied him on this mission – Weres
who trusted his word as law, Weres who would not question whatever
decision he made. Weres whose trust he desperately needed to see
his plan succeed.
    And it all depended upon her
reply.
    He tilted his head to the left to get a
glimpse of her stricken expression. Eyes wide, she was now as pale
as the glow of the moon above.
    “ You are senile,” her father
forced out of his constricted throat. “I will die before I let her
return to you!”
    A series of throaty growls rumbled at
his back. Graeme’s eyes lowered a fraction. “Do not be so hasty to
speak, old man. I may yet grant you that request. Let her decide
what she will.”
    “ Let her decide?” the man
ranted uncontrollably. “Let my naive daughter who believes herself
mated to a dog decide? Every Coven across the land shall hear about
your impertinence, and you will be tortured and impaled for
dishonoring her!”
    “ She is my mate. According
to our law, I can kill you for holding her against her will if that
is what you intend to do.” Graeme lifted a hand and gestured to the
Weres behind him. Slowly, slowly, they started to fan out and blend
into the surrounding trees. The Hunters backed into each other,
eyes and ears alert for the coming attack. “Let her
decide.”
    There was nothing but blood-lust on her
father’s face, but Graeme did not care. He had seen the fear in the
depths of her eyes the moment the confession of their union fell
from her lips. The threats her father promised in retribution
proved too much. He would not have her beaten – he would not risk
her life, or that of their unborn child.
    “ According to vampire law,
she cannot be mated to a Were!”
    “ You forget; you are not on
vampire territory. Our law holds sway here.”
    “ The law of
animals!”
    His left eye ticked. “You will be
butchered long before you make it to your horses, and I will string
your innards around the borderlands as a warning to those who may
try to venture.” Graeme felt his patience slip with each word he
spoke. Features contorting, he could withhold the change no longer.
Much procrastination was done – but not anymore. Either they
allowed her to choose, or he would give the order, and kill them
all.
    “ Then a butcher it shall be,
beast!”
    “ Papa please!” Amarinda’s
voice was panicked and high-pitched. She lunged forward, trying to
escape her brother’s grasp.
    “ Get her out of here!” her
father continued, snarling. The Hunters scanned the surrounding
trees, looking for an exit. Graeme felt his teeth elongate, felt
the layer of hair on his flesh lengthen, and reveled in the
uninhibited tremors that raked his form. He stretched his neck back
and heard a crack, then focused his now amber eyes on the livid
vampire before him. Her father brought his sword at eye level, his
hand steady.
    “ We are surrounded on all
sides,” the flaxen-haired Hunter said.
    “ Find a way out!” he
bellowed.
    “ We will be killed!” A young
Hunter with flaming blue eyes backed closer to her father’s
stationary form. “Even if we do break the circle, we will never
make it home alive. It is a lost cause.”
    “ I will not leave her with
him,” he said tremulously.