Chapter 4: Phoenix

I stepped into my bedroom and went straight for the shower. After I dropped Selene off at her room I came straight home to rest. That beautiful hybrid has my nerves and thoughts all over the place and it drives me crazy, the good kind mostly but every now and again the bad kind. I stood in the shower letting the water run down my body, washing away almost every stressful thing from my mind. I washed up and got out. Once I had some pants on, I started looking for the nicest suit I owned for the ball tomorrow night; I’m Selene’s fiance and that means that I need to make a good impression, which I planned to do. I’m not about to embarrass her. Picking a traditional black suit, I placed it on the hook on the outside of my closet and grabbed a pair of dress shoes, placed them in the chair right next to the closet, then climbed into bed and dozed off thinking about Selene.

I woke up around six when my father knocked and came into my room, “Hello, son, are you about to get ready for the ball?” He asked, I groaned and threw the blankets off of me, sitting up as I sat on the edge of the bed.

“Yeah,” I answered, “I’m still in shock of everything that happened yesterday.” He nodded and smiled as he went for the dresser where I kept my ties. He pulled out the dark red colored one and set it beside my shoes, along with a pair of black socks, then turned back to me,

“Phoenix, you went from gone for years, to engaged within a night of you being home.” I thought while he said this, “You have a right to be stressed out.” 

“Didn’t exactly help that you and Nick didn’t tell me or Selene about any of it,” I stated, “especially it was our union you two were planning.” He shrugged and smiled, 

“Can you blame me?” He asked, “I’m getting old, Phoenix, and once I’m gone, the covens and everything about our world falls on your shoulders. I just wanted to make it easier on you. Besides, Nick has been wanting an alliance with us for a while, this just adds extra security.” I gave him a look, but not much else. Dad gave me a weak smile as he went to the door to leave, “I love you, Phoenix. And your mother would be very proud of you.” I smiled then looked at him,

“I love you too.” With that, he left me to get dressed. 

I laced my shoes up then went to the mirror to fight with the tie. It was a death trap but I was going to wear it, no matter what. To my surprise, I managed to tie it; I sprayed a bit of cologne then put my jacket on, fixed the cuff of my sleeve, then took a look at myself in the mirror. I slicked my red hair back and did a final check, “Not too shabby.” I said to myself. Grabbing Selene’s birthday present, I headed towards the castle. 

Guests were arriving already, I walked in with my father and the precursor announced our arrival. Aiday and Nick came up to us, shaking our hands, “Welcome, we’re so happy you were able to attend!” Nick said; father and I bowed to them, Aiday leaned closer to me, 

“Selene is almost ready, you’ll meet her at the bottom of the stairs for the first dance.” I nodded,

“Thank you, your majesty.” She nodded, “And may I just say that you look beautiful tonight; I see where my bride gets her ravishing beauty.” Aiday smiled and blushed at my comment, then turned to my father,

“Mr. Mackenzie, you’ve taught your son well. He is quite the charmer.” Dad chuckled while patting my back,

“He gets it from his mother; she was the social butterfly in our relationship.” Aiday nodded, 

“May the late Mistress rest in peace.” She said; father nodded his thanks, then turned to me, 

“Go wait for your bride; I’ll stay here and talk to the in-laws for a while.” I nodded then bowed to Aiday and Nick before walking over to the stairs. 

After a little bit, Amber and Chris walked down the stairs together, Amber smiled and hugged me, “Welcome home, Phoenix.” Amber told me, I smiled, 

“Thank you, and congratulations to the two of you. You look great together.” Amber smiled and clutched Chris' arm,

“I hear congratulations are in order for you as well.” Chis says while he shook my hand, “Marrying my cousin, are you asking for a death wish?” I chuckled, shaking my head, 

“Not at all.” I replied. Truth was, I’ve loved Selene, but after losing my mother and moving away, I didn’t think I’d want to be with someone. Everything changed the second I saw her; Selene was kind of nerdy and awkward, but in the most adorable way and the moment I saw her in the garden...my heart nearly lept out of my chest. I was brought out of my thoughts when the precursor began an announcement,

“Ladies and gentlemen, may I present, her highness, Princess Selene Serkan.” The double doors opened and there she was, stepping into the ballroom; my heart nearly stopped beating the second I saw Selene. The dress she wore was a ballgown style, strapless; I smirked when I noticed the color and saw my dad amongst the crowd and nodded to him, he just smiled as we all watched Selene come down the stairs. When she was close enough, I extended my hand for hers and she took it with a giant smile on her face. I bowed and kissed her hand, and to my delight, she was wearing her engagement ring. I then escorted her to the dancefloor just as the music began, I smiled, realizing the song, and the look on Selenes’ face said that she knew it too. 

“Could it be, you and I, never imagined,” I started singing to her, making her blush,

“Could it be, suddenly, I’m falling for you,” She sang along; we sang the song to each other; I twirled her and dipped her lightly the second the song came to an end and kissed her gently; the crowd of people clapped their hands and soon joined in on the dance. 

After a while of dancing, I pulled Selene off to the side and handed her a box, “What’s this?” She asked, I smiled, 

“A birthday present.” I told her, she smiled and opened the box, 

“You didn’t have to get me anything.” I chuckled; her hand went straight to her mouth when she saw the necklace in the box, with a sapphire embedded in it, “Phoenix...this is gorgeous.” She said; I took it out of the box and she turned around. I placed the necklace on her and she turned back to me; it hung right at her heart, 

“You’re so beautiful.” I told her, leaning in for a sweet kiss. 

Before long, we heard screaming and everyone shouting. The crowds of people running towards the door; Amber, Chris and the others ran to us, “What’s happening?” I asked, Amber had terror all over her face. 

“Our grandmother.” She said, looking at Selene, her face reading pure terror as well, “She’s escaped.” Selene started running towards her parents. Dad grabbed my arm,

“Phoenix, you need to get as many people that you can out of here. Most importantly, you need to get Selene out of here.” I nodded and turned to Amber, 

“Can you get whoever you can out? I need to get Selene; we’ll meet at the Old Samuels house, it’s five miles away. Go by foot, get anything you can, clothes, food, anything.” Amber nods as I run off to find Selene. But it didn’t take me long when I saw her standing over her mother, 

“Mom!” She screamed; I ran to her, she was crying “Mom!” Selene was shaking Aiday’s lifeless body; I couldn’t bring myself to pull her away but I needed to get her out of here. I heard a shout of pain and saw Nick collapse to the ground; I run over to him, he clutched my hand,

“Protect...protect her...she’s our only hope now…” The grip he had on me loosened to nothing as all the life in his eyes left his body. I ran back to Selene and started pulling her,

“We have to go!” I told her sternly, 

“Dad! Where is he?” She asked, but the look on my face gave her her answer. I pulled her away but before we made it out of the ballroom a woman stopped in front of us,

“You must be Selene, my, my, you look just like your whore of a mother.” She said to Selene, 

“How dare you speak to her!” I snapped, the woman looked to me,

“I don’t believe we’ve had the pleasure, Mara Serkan, Queen of the Vampires.” 

“You’re NOT the queen! My mother was, and you killed her.” Selene snapped, I could feel a powerful energy coming off of her, 

“Same uncontrollable tongue, I see.” She stated, “Now then, should I kill you slowly or perhaps have mercy and make it a quick death?” I stood in front of Selene, 

“I’ve already killed your family, Selene, why not join them?” Within a second, I was shoved behind Selene, her hand clasped around Mara’s throat. 

“Shut the hell up, you fucking bitch!” Selene screamed at her, the energy around her growing darker,

“Hmm, you have purple eyes…” Selene tightened her grip,

“I said to shut the fuck up!” I needed to do something; Selene was blinded by her anger that she didn’t see the people that began to surround us. I grabbed Selene’s arm and she released Mara, which allowed me to warp us somewhere else before anything more could happen.