If every gossiper's tongue were to be severed, how many people would still have theirs?

The first sip of my pumpkin spice latte went the wrong way. I choked, coughing until tears welled up in my eyes. Definitely not a good start to a romantic date with my boyfriend.

"Look, it's her." The first girl whispered to her friend, gesturing at me as I sat, awaiting my boyfriend, Kylo.

The knot in my stomach tightened. The two girls sat behind me in the restaurant, whispering and gossiping about my situation.

I heard the gasp from the second girl. "Holy moonlight, it's her! The one who dares to date the Gamma's son."

"She is so stupid. Everyone knows Gamma Rhett would never allow her to marry his son. Why is she wasting her time?"

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, she's enchanted by Kylo's charm, I think. Kylo is the most good-looking guy in the pack. It's such a pity that he has such a father!"

I clenched my fists, my blood running cold. Any minute from now, I might lose my cool. Every fiber of my being screamed at me to turn around and give them a piece of my mind but I swallowed it down. Kylo wouldn't appreciate that and frankly, I didn't want to stoop to their level. "Kylo, where are you?" I muttered under my breath.

The two gossip mongers went on with their banter. "Poor girl. She's going to have her heart broken when Kylo finds his mate and the Gamma gets them married!"

"Don't call her a poor girl. She's just dumb! Even after knowing Gamma Rhett's history, she chooses to date his son still!"

"I know, I know. Can't her parents talk her out of it?"

"Didn't you know? She's an orphan! Her parents were the traitors..."

Just as I thought I'd had enough and was about to stomp to the two gossipers and put them in their places, the restaurant's door jingled, and Kylo stepped in.

Phew!

I sank into my chair, catching my breath. Only the heavens know what I'd have done had Kylo not entered.

"Hey, babe. So sorry for my lateness." Kylo grimaced apologetically as he settled in the chair in front of me.

As much as I didn't want him to see the sadness clouding my face, he noticed. My eyes were glossy as I blinked back tears. "Isleen?" Kylo groaned as awe transformed his face. "Did something happen?"

I was the type to burst into tears when being consoled. The tears streamed down my face in streaks.

Still shocked, Kylo glanced around the restaurant in search of the source of my tears until his gaze settled on the two girls behind. It was barely hard to not notice their judgmental stares directed at me.

Although they made attempts to hide it as Kylo's twilight eyes pierced them icily but it was too late – he saw them. Such was one of the many challenges we had been encountering since the beginning of our five-year relationship.

Kylo's expression darkened, his jaw clenching as he followed my tear-stained face. His protective instincts swelled within him. "Did they say something to upset you?"

I shook my head, trying to compose myself. "It's nothing," I managed to say, my voice wavering.

This was supposed to be a romantic date for us. I didn't want to ruin it.

But Kylo wasn't convinced. He leaned in closer, his eyes scanning my face. "Tell me, please. I hate seeing you like this."

"It's nothing other than the usual, Kylo. I'll be fine." I shrugged, wiping off a stray tear. "After all, that's how they always are."

Kylo buried his head in his hands for a moment, deep in thought. I saw how his shoulders raised and dropped before he returned his gaze to me. "I actually brought with me an anniversary gift but I just changed my mind." He said.

"W—what?" I stuttered, shocked and confused.

However, when Kylo smiled, all of my worries melted away. "I think the best gift I can give you right now, Isleen is to take you to my dad. We need to put an end to this menace. You deserve peace. We need peace, Isleen."

My anxieties skyrocketed.

A heavy silence reigned between us right after. I understood Kylo's concern. We'd both feared the Gamma so much that none of us had ever considered that option. It was because we saw no way in it.

"You know that's insane, Kylo. That might be a straight ticket to ending this relationship. I — I don't want to lose you." My voice broke as my eyes danced, searching Kylo's.

Kylo reached out to my hand from across the table, squeezing it tight. "Babe, do you think I want to lose you too? Hell nah. But then again, scraping the weed is useless if you aren't going to deal with it from the roots. We have to shut everyone up by first quieting the source of this problem we have."

I began to feel my energy deteriorating. I felt the love in Kylo's heart as he reassuringly squeezed my hand but facing the Gamma was another level of demanding.

Not after the man had sacrificed his youthful life to marry a sixty-seven-year-old woman when he was eighteen and had just become an adult after finding out she was his mate. All this, because he'd never go against the moon goddess's wishes and would, by all means, adhere to the pack's customs and rules.

"I fear that might be the end of us, Kylo. He has been against us from a distance. Now, if we go to him ourselves, we might as well be giving him my hands out for getting arrested." I breathed.

It was true. Our pack; The Runewood Keepers pack was the most rigid and culture-abiding pack. Had the new Alpha not abolished some of the traditions, Kylo and I would have been concluding our love stories in prison three years ago when we finally made our relationship public.

That didn't mean exceptions couldn't be made. Especially when they provoke the Gamma; the enforcer of the pack's rules himself.

"If my dad wants happiness for me, he wouldn't have a choice but to accept you. Fret not, Isleen. We are going to see Dad in two days. I'm putting an end to this madness." Kylo declared with finality and I swallowed.

It would take the end of the world for me to go see the Gamma, Kylo.

I was about to open my mouth to say the next thing that came to mind when a loud shattering sound boomed.

"Ahhhhhhh!" The scream of one of the gossipmongers blared, causing everyone in the restaurant to tremble with shock as we all turned to the girls.

Terror overtook my face at the sight in front of me. One of the two girls now had her neck gushing with fresh blood as her head thumped on the floor.

"Vampires!" Kylo hissed beside me, already shifting to his wolf form.

I could imagine what was about to go down next. The other girl could have saved herself from the attack that befell her but seeing her headless friend's body had rendered her so numb that she didn't dodge when the vampire landed on the table behind her, gnashing his teeth into her neck.

In an instant, fur replaced my skin as my body shifted into my Wolf form, ready to pounce on the vampire but Kylo beat me to it.

Growling, he charged at the vampire who instantly dropped the screaming girl but not without half of the skin on her neck in his mouth.

I ran to her instead, leaving Kylo to battle the vampire, their snarls and growls, reverberating in the restaurant.

Her entire face was covered in her dead friend's blood while her body was in her own pool of blood. As her chest heaved up and down, I shifted back to my human form and tore off my sleeve in an attempt to stop her bleeding.

"There are more!" Someone in the restaurant exclaimed and what followed was the twigging of bones as every wolf inside transformed into their Wolf form, ready to strike.

I could not join the fight because I had to save this girl even though she had gotten on my nerves previously.

"It hurts. It hurts!" She cried, her whole body wracked with pain as blood continued to seep from the wound.

Instinctively, I pressed the piece of cloth I had torn against her wound to cease the bleeding. Then, her cries heightened.

"Ahhhh! I'm going to dieeeee!" She wailed, her body shuddering along with every wail.

A vampire lunged at us and I was about to shield the wounded girl with my body – ready to take the fall when a wolf jumped on her, digging its claws into her eyes. I squinted my own eyes as the muffled thuds of their bodies broke the restaurant's glass windows and landed outside.

The shards of broken glasses scattered in the air, some making their way to my position. Like a cheetah, I picked up the wounded girl and sprinted just barely away from the mess.

I could hear the sounds of teeth snapping and werewolves howling loudly behind me. I took one last look at Kylo to make sure he was fine and heaved a sigh of relief when I saw him biting a Vampire's head off.

That's my boy; I thought with a smile, feeling so proud of him but jolted back to reality when the wounded girl whimpered in pain.

"I'm dying. I'm going to die. Make it stopppppp!" She pleaded and my heart sank in pity for her.

I began to run to find the fairy healer who had just moved to our Runewood Keepers pack. All supernatural creatures had been living in peace with some minor but not unresolved wars until now. There was a treaty forged a hundred years ago, encompassing humans and all supernatural creatures where a compromise was made that we; the supernatural creatures wouldn't hurt humans and the human hunters would stop hunting us down.

Even though supernatural creatures were more powerful than mortal humans, humans possessed resources ever since evolution that could gain them the upper hand on battlefields.

However, the vampires had been discovered to still drink human blood in secret. Now, the fey entities that had always been creatures of peace waged war against vampires for the stability of the other factions.

Our Runewood Keepers pack sheltered one of the most important and powerful fairies because of her value but that had led us to become the vampires' enemies too.

"Make it stopppp!" The injured girl's cries escalated, causing me to increase my pace as my feet pounded against the ground.

I didn't know what to say to ease her pains but, "No, you won't. You are a wolf. You'll heal. I just need to get you to the fairy quickly so that you can receive treatment that will lessen the pain."

It was as though my words were non-existent. Her screams reached a higher pitch even now, attracting all the attention of the precinct to us.

"What happened?!"

"What's going on?!" I was bombarded with questions by passersby and people who were swarming out of their houses in reaction to her cries.

"Vampires are attacking the Vientiane Restaurant!" I announced, still running and panting.

Gasps followed my declaration. "What?! How did they break into the veil?!"

Yeah, how did the vampires get in?

The fey had conjured a veil over our pack to keep the vampires out. It was an enchanted one as the fey possessed spell-casting abilities. There was no way creatures like us with no magic could have broken in.

Two elves ran to me. "We'll help you. Can you put her down?" They urged me.

Even though the fey had magic, what most of them could do was spell casting which didn't involve healing. Only Aceco – the healer fairy could use the healing power.

"I'm not sure that's a good idea." I grounded my jaw, disagreeing.

The noises of the pack's soldiers hurrying to the battle scene were booming as dust mixed with the wind on this cold night.

"Going to Aceco isn't such a good idea right now, don't you think?" One of the elves queried with such calmness that left me wondering if they ever frowned.

Wasn't this selfishness?

Frowning, "Are you trying to let this poor girl die because you want to protect Aceco?" I protested.

"No, but what's the point if you lead the vampires to Aceco now? All the others who have died to protect Aceco would die in vain should anything happen to her. For all we know, one vampire might just be around, trailing you without your knowledge." The other elf explained.

My lips drew back a groan. These sinfully beautiful creatures were getting on my nerves. "You are wrong and wasting my time. I have a special ability that can make me sense vampires at the vastest range!" I snapped.

"Well, why didn't you sense them and avoid the attack on her then?"

I exhaled, trying so hard to keep my cool. It was useless to try to explain to them that I was paranoid because of this girl and her friend as they picked on me over my boyfriend's strict dad.

I placed the girl on the floor and now understood why she had been quiet for a while. Her eyelids were shut and the cloth I tied around her wound had been drenched with blood.

"Look at her, she's lost consciousness. She'll die before you even get her to Aceco. We'll do what we can to keep her stable until it's safe to go to the healer." The taller elf pointed out as he kneeled beside her, circling his pale hands around her wound.

One thing the elves and vampires had in common was their pale skins. As for the fairies, they had skins even more pinkish than ours.

A soft glow began to circulate around the wound as the two elves worked their magic on it. I watched, anxiety chewing at me while the ongoing commotion continued to cause an uproar.

The poor girl – she came out to have a gossip date with her friend and would only end up being the center of gossip tomorrow. Irony was a bitch.

The bleeding did stop.

"It won't last for long." Said, one of the elves to me.

I could finally breathe freely now. The noise had decreased too. People were still out of their houses, murmuring and discussing.

Suddenly, "Isleen? Isleen?!" I heard Kylo's voice reverberating from behind me.

The injured girl had regained consciousness but was still immobile. I turned to find Kylo. "Over here!" I waved my hands, still kneeling beside the girl.

Kylo heard me and hurried to me. His brawny chest was bloody, his pants torn. "God! I almost ran nuts searching for you!" He blurted as he neared me.

The elves stood up and left. Kylo's gaze followed them until he got to me and embraced me.

"Who is she?" He questioned, reeking of the metallic tang of blood.

"One of the girls at the restaurant," I explained.

Kylo wore a stunned countenance as he asked, "Thought she was dead."

"Hmm, hmm. Her friend died and she was injured." I elucidated.

He shook his head. "Such a big heart you have there." He kissed my forehead as he gathered me into his arms.

Our embrace was shortened by the soldiers who came with a folding stretcher to take the injured girl away for treatment.

"Dang. I was already excited that I'd get to see Aceco today." I scrunched up my face in annoyance.

Kylo held out his hand to help me up as he stood. "You know, I can ask my dad to grant us permission to see her if you want."

"Yeah, you wish." I scoffed, taking his hand.

"Why?"

"You know Gamma Rhett would die before doing anything to help our union."

"Well, we can't hide forever!"

There was the talk about Gamma Rhett again. I didn't want to go down that lane this night anymore. Our anniversary was already ruined first by slanders and then, with blood and dead bodies.

The soldiers returned, all stained with blood. Some were carrying the injured and a few dead bodies on stretchers.

We all paved the way for them as they walked down, the air melancholic and silent. Finally, I could avoid talking about Gamma Rhett now.

.

Kylo walked me home, hand in hand. Although we discussed other things, Gamma Rhett never came up

"How many casualties did we suffer?" I asked in a bid to start a conversation before Kylo could mention his dad yet again.

He squeezed my hand. "Three dead, five injured." He said.

"And the vampires? How many were they?"

"I think there were about fifteen of them. We killed eight, captured six, and one escaped. He is being hunted down though. He couldn't have gotten far."

Two couples our age walked past us, leaning into each other and giggling as if the violence that just occurred didn't concern them.

"How did they break into the veil?" I was curious.

He sighed. "We'll know that tomorrow, I guess. Dad will work on the case, so I'm sure we'll know soon enough. The captured one would be taken for interrogation."

"I wonder what would have been of our fates had the humans not provided us with their silver bullets and guns." I glanced up at the half-moon, seeking solace in it.

"We would have just had no other choice than to kill them." Kylo shrugged.

The Fey kind was strongly against killings. They would have been winning this war with the vampires and saving a lot of their kind had they not only been fighting to injure and not kill.

"The Fey won't like that." I pointed out.

Kylo was suddenly angry. "Well, they shouldn't have started a war if they didn't desire bloodshed. Someone needs to make their blockheads understand!" He hissed.

"It's tradition." I sarcastically chuckled. "They are idiots."

"It's even so fucking annoying that Dad would support their view all because he thinks culture is everything. Any detrimental culture should be abolished!" Kylo's expression hardened as he remarked.

I understood him. Gamma Rhett's superstitious beliefs were the only reason why I had to go through slanders like tonight's.

We had gotten to the building where the apartment I shared with my gay roommate was. "He's still your dad, Kylo. Regardless, he's still your dad." I met his gaze.

Kylo kissed both of my hands affectionately. "I know, babe. It just sucks that he is trying to take my happiness away from me. Sucks that he cares more for his beliefs than for my peace."

"Don't forget that those beliefs are the only reason why you're here. What if he had rejected your late Mum because of her age when he found out she was his mate?" I reasoned.

His eyes went round. "You say this because you don't know how embarrassing it is when people gossip behind my back that my dad married an old woman at eighteen."

"I know, but if it is the reason why you are here, I am grateful to your dad for that one." I kissed him on the lips and was about to pull away when Kylo fixed me closer, kissing me harder.

My breathing seized as our tongues blended until we broke the kiss. "Goodnight, babe. You should rest now." He muttered.

I had no idea if it was just me or if intimacy with Kylo always felt like something was missing. Like there was something that we weren't doing right.

.

I entered the house to find my roommate snoring loudly in the parlor with the TV on. I switched it off, draped a blanket over him, and went into my room.

I did a lot of thinking before finally drifting off to sleep. The next morning, the buzzing of my phone woke me up.

Half awake, I chewed at nothing in my mouth and checked the caller ID. It was Kylo.

Here was me thinking he wanted to bring my anniversary gift over since we both forgot about it yesterday when he blurted...

"Hey, babe. Dad wants to see you."