Sold To The Alpha
A Lost Princess Chapter 21

Stepping out of the bar, Riley and Daniel waited whilst Sebastian had a quiet word with his men, telling them that he had a lead on Rowan and was going to tag along with the two warriors to follow it up.

'Stay back here, keep in contact with the council and when I know where he is I'll let you know so we can take him down' Sebastian growled as his men nodded their understanding, eyeing Riley and Daniel warily as they nursed their injuries. Turning back to the boys, Sebastian motioned for them to follow him, leading the way through the streets until they reached a small motel toward the north of the town. Walking over to a beat up silver car, he popped the trunk open and lifted the carpeting to reveal a large collection of knives and guns, grabbing a small bag from the back seat he proceeded to fill it with various weapons before slamming the trunk back down and turning round.

Seeing the two warriors watching him, Sebastian shrugged nonplussed, 'some of us can't turn into wolves when s**t gets real so we need a bit of hardware to protect us' he offered with a grin. 'Don't worry, I won't use any of it on you two, this is for Rowan just in case he decides he doesn't want to come quietly!

Shouldering the bag, Sebastian led the way as they walked out of the town and into the surrounding countryside, talking amicably as they made their way northwards toward a distant village and hopefully a new lead on Rowan and where he may be hiding. There trek was slow now that the warriors had to stay in human form but Sebastian's connections to Rowan's world were already proving useful. Stepping into the village, he made his way to a small tavern, the walls whitewashed with a sign hanging above them reading 'The Anchor'. Pushing the heavy oak door open, Sebastian made his way inside, the patrons looked up momentarily to see who was entering before returning to their conversations again. Walking over to the bar, Sebastian waved over a busty brunette who was leaning over the bar talking to one of the drinkers as she handed him a scotch.

Spotting the collector, the brunette swayed her way over, leaning on the polished wood as she gave a small smile. 'Seb, long time no see, what drags your sexy face into this neck of the woods?' she asked winking.

'Dara, I'm after some info, my friends here have lost someone, seems she's being hidden, what would you know about it?' he asked with a seductive smile, reaching over to grasp her hands in his.

Giving a look of mock surprise, Dara raised her eyebrows at the trio, 'Seb! You know I'm not in that game any more, I'm a straight laced lady, working hard, keeping clean, you know me.' she gushed, smiling widely.

'oh I know you're out of the game Dara, course I do, but come on, this is you, nothing gets past you, does it?' Sebastian crooned, watching as she preened under his compliments.

'Well I do like to keep my ear to the ground' Dara admitted, 'you never know when a bit of information might do you a good turn do you?' she added meaningfully.

Reaching into his back pocket, Sebastian pulled out his wallet, opening it carefully and pulling a one hundred dollar bill out, sliding it across the bar as he asked, 'So if Benjamin here was looking for a new home, what would he be able to learn from you?' Placing her hand on top of the note, Dara lent forward, her voice low as she looked around to make sure no-one was listening.

'Obviously you never heard a word from me, I don't need trouble at my door Seb' she started, glaring at him as he used his finger to cross his heart.

'Lips are sealed Dara, you know that babe'

'There was talk about a man who was after a girl, seems she's pretty important, he had been asking around for a collector, as you know, no collector gets involved in human's but I did hear that maybe an old friends name got mentioned to him!' she said, her eyes fixed on Sebastian's.

'Rowan' he replied with a grunt.

'That's what was said' Dara agreed, 'seems he was looking for a few helpers to get her, found them too!

Sebastian lent slightly closer, 'do we have a name for this mystery man?' he asked quietly.

'Goes by the name of 'G', he has a scar running down his cheek, seems he had a run in with some unsavoury types that took exception to him.'

Nodding his head, Sebastian asked, 'so do you have any idea where this 'G' might be hiding himself?'

Biting her lip nervously, Dara swept her eyes around the room before muttering, 'I don't know if it has anything to do with him mind, but I did hear that Rowan was last seen in the bar called 'The Pilot' which is in a small town called Durango, it's about four days march from here, maybe a visit there will get you some answers'

Nodding his head, Sebastian patted her hand before standing up straight and leading the way back outside.

'Right, we need to get to Durango' he muttered as they made their way out of the village, moving deep into the surrounding woods before sitting down on some logs, Sebastian pulling a wrinkled map out of his bag and spreading it out in from of them. Tracing the tip of his finger over the paper, Sebastian finally tapped a specific place murmuring, 'This is where we are boys' before his eyes searched across the page for a few minutes before alighting on the word Durango. 'This is where we are going' he added, tapping again, before tracing the roads and pulling out a compass to get a direction.

'it's a fair trek lads' he added, pushing his hair away from his face as he looked up at them.

'We're used to that' Daniel replied shrugging his shoulders, 'sure you can keep up with us?' he asked with a slight smirk as Sebastian chuckled,

'Hey, I may not be a teen any more boy but I can still put one foot in front of the other till I get where I need to be'.

Noting down the towns that were between them and their destination, Sebastian packed away the map before scrambling to his feet and leading the way through the trees setting off in search of Durango and hopefully further information on what Rowan had been doing and where he had gone.

After hours of walking, the trio decided to make camp for the night, picking out a small clearing within the forest that gave a view of the night sky above them, collecting up some firewood, Sebastian soon had a warm fire going, the three crowding close to make the most of the warmth radiating from the crackling flames.

'So what do we think we are going to replace at this new place?' Daniel asked, looking toward Sebastian who was busily rummaging in the bottom of his bag before triumphantly pulling out a tin of hot dog sausages and a small tin opener. Cutting a hole in the lid, he carefully placed the tin in the embers of the fire to allow the hot dogs to be warmed through in their brine.

Riley grinned and mused, 'Not camped with werewolves before then Seb?' as the collector glanced up at him confused. 'Daniel, go get us some meat' Riley added laughing.

Jumping to his feet, Daniel stripped out of his clothes and quickly shifted into his wolf form before bounding silently into the trees, returning fifteen minutes later with two rabbits hanging from his mouth. Dropping them at Sebastian's feet, he walked over to his clothes, shifted back and got dressed, dropping down into his original spot and picking up a stick to nonchalantly poke at the fire.

'OK' Sebastian breathed, grabbing his knife and poking the tin out of the fire before picking up a rabbit and deftly skinning it, before using a few sticks to make a makeshift support that he suspended the meat from, repeating with the second carcass. Lifting his head up as he wiped the blood from his knife, Sebastian speared a hot dog out of the tin as he studied the teens sat across from him. 'So, we won't be going hungry then' he muttered as the two men grinned at him. 'Nope, we are pretty self sufficient' Riley replied

'Though we never say no to a good fried breakfast' Daniel interjected with a chuckle.

As they waited for the rabbits to cook, the trio lay on the ground around the fire discussing what Dara had told them about Isabella's kidnapper.

'So who is this girl then?' Sebastian asked

Looking over to Daniel nervously, not sure how much to tell their new companion, Riley cleared his throat, 'umm, well she's a really close friend of mine' he said evasively.

Meeting the young man's eye, Sebastian hoisted himself up onto one elbow, 'Riley, if you and I are going to work together you are going to have to trust me. I am not interested in hurting your friend or stopping you getting to her, my only goal is to obtain Rowan and return him to the council and the best way for me to do that is to help you.' he said sternly.

Considering his words carefully, Riley finally made his mind up, sitting up, he maintained the collectors eye contact as he said, 'Her name is Isabella, she is the next in line to be Alpha to one of the biggest packs in our territory, she is also my best friend. I have known her my entire life, our mothers are best friends before us. She is the nicest most caring girl in the world and she doesn't deserve to be in the hands of some psycho who doesn't even have a proper name. I need to replace her and bring her back to take her place as the first female Alpha.

Sebastian nodded his head slowly, absorbing the information, 'are you sure that's the whole story Riley?' he asked quietly.

'What do you mean? Of course it is' Riley fired back annoyed.

Smiling lightly, Sebastian lay back down, resting his head against the hard ground. 'If you say so Riley, if you say so' he replied smirking.

'What is that supposed to mean?' Riley growled as Daniel placed a calming hand on his arm.

Sitting up and checking the meat, Sebastian grinned over at the future Alpha, 'Nothing mate, just a hunch, but forget it OK, meat is cooked, lets eat!