"What kind of idea is it?"
Hank's eyes lit up at Alex's words, staring at him with anticipation.
"Yeah, Alex, what is it?" Raven also looked straight at him, her gaze full of curiosity.
But Alex just shook his head, refusing to elaborate.
There wasn't even a shadow of a plan yet—what was the point of talking about it and getting everyone's hopes up?
Founding a nation… to most people, that sounded like a complete fantasy.
"Supreme One."
Just as they were chatting, Selena approached respectfully and spoke up. "The elders are ready. Shall we go?"
A few days ago, Kraven had approached Alex about awakening the other two elders and confirming the allegiance of the clan. Alex had readily agreed.
Now that they were ready, he wasn't going to flake on them.
"Let's go."
Alex stood up and waved at Selena.
Since this was more of a personal matter, he didn't bring any other mutants along. After a quick goodbye to the others, he followed Selena out the door.
Selena drove them personally, and about an hour later, Alex once again arrived at the ancient, eerie-looking castle.
---
"Marcus, the time we agreed on with the Supreme One is almost here. What are you planning to do?"
Alex's super hearing picked up Viktor's voice the moment they stepped into the courtyard.
It sounded like they were talking about him.
Without hesitation, Alex activated his x-ray vision, peering toward the direction of the voices.
In a lavish chamber reserved exclusively for the elders, Amelia, Viktor, and Marcus were seated together.
But the atmosphere seemed far from harmonious.
"What am I planning to do?" Marcus's voice was as cold and oppressive as his expression. "Not a single Supreme One has been turned into one of us. What do you think I'm planning to do?"
He cast a cold glare at Amelia. "Do we even need a Supreme One in our clan? Alexander abandoned us for years, and we survived just fine! Amelia, you really took matters into your own hands."
"I… Marcus, I—"
Amelia, usually commanding and revered among the clan, suddenly looked nervous and stammered under Marcus's harsh questioning.
And for good reason—Marcus was that strong.
Not only that, but he was also the son of a former Supreme One.
His power had already surpassed Alexander's. The other two elders, Amelia and Viktor, were both turned by him.
"Marcus, Amelia meant well," Viktor said, trying to mediate. "She said the new Supreme has the Founder's Ring. The Founder never passed that ring to anyone. Ever."
"Exactly, Marcus," Amelia quickly added, seizing the chance. "If Alex possesses Lord Dracula's ring, it proves their connection. Having him as our Supreme would only strengthen the clan!"
"And so… you want us to bow to a human? Let him order us around?" Marcus's tone turned sharper, his eyes boring into Amelia. "Is that what you're saying?"
"No, no! You misunderstood, Marcus!" Amelia shook her head rapidly, visibly panicked. "I swear on the Founder's name, I'm only thinking of what's best for our clan!"
She was genuinely upset.
Sure, Alex was still technically a human—but so what?
The key was that ring! Dracula's ring!
With that, they would be considered the Founder's personal guard! The benefits were immeasurable.
She thought she had delivered a tremendous gift to Marcus, that he'd be thrilled.
But instead, he was furious!
What the hell was going on in Marcus's mind?
Amelia couldn't figure it out for the life of her.
---
"Enough, Marcus. This isn't the time to argue. The Supreme One is almost here. What do you plan to do?"
Viktor spoke again, his voice low and firm.
He had a vague idea why Marcus was truly angry. All those reasons he listed? Excuses.
Viktor knew Marcus understood full well: the one who bore the Founder's Ring had every right to lead them—even if they were human.
That wasn't the issue.
Marcus was thinking about William—his brother.
William had been imprisoned for centuries, but Marcus had never stopped searching for him.
The only reason he hadn't acted was because he had to remain in control of the clan.
Because William… was a werewolf.
A werewolf Supreme, no less.
And vampires and werewolves were mortal enemies.
If a new Supreme was allowed to rise, do you think they'd allow the retrieval of a werewolf?
Would they ever tolerate a vampire elder searching for a werewolf Supreme?
It was ridiculous.
That was the real reason Marcus was against Alex.
Sure, he had a deal with Viktor not to release William, but they both knew Viktor had no power to stop him.
Bringing William back was only a matter of time.
But with another Supreme in the picture? That was a different story.
Unfortunately, Amelia was too simple-minded to grasp the deeper layers.
---
"What to do?" Marcus's voice was icy. "When the Supreme arrives, neither of you say a word. Let me handle everything."
Viktor instantly understood what that meant.
Marcus intended to deal with the new Supreme.
And really, he had the clout to do it. As the son of the former Supreme, Marcus had even once considered killing Alexander.
So ignoring this so-called new Supreme? Not that surprising.
---
"Wait… Marcus is actually planning to screw me over?"
Watching everything through his vision, Alex was stunned.
He thought that with the authority of a Supreme, the vampires would be scrambling to kneel before him.
Especially with how much Amelia had been licking his boots.
He never expected Marcus would be plotting against him!
For 60 advanced chapters, visit my Patreon:
https://patreon.com/Twilight_scribe1
If you're enjoying the story, please consider supporting me with Power Stones!
For every 50 Power Stones, I'll release 2 bonus chapters as a thank-you!
Your support means the world to me and keeps me motivated to write more.
So please—don't forget to drop those Power Stones!
And if you have a moment, leave a review too!
I'd love to hear what you think about the novel so far.