Sold To The Alpha
A Lost Princess Chapter 27

The fallen leaves and broken bark crunched under their feet as the boys made their way along the enclosed path, the darkness around them increasing as the trees around them became denser. The branches creaked and the smell of damp wood filling their nostrils as they made their way deeper into the forest. Stepping into a small opening, Daniel stopped, raising his head, sniffing intently as his eyes narrowed on a particular spot hidden within the greenery. Growling quietly, he drew the warriors attention, Sebastian making his way around the guarded wolf and pulling back the branches and vines to reveal a small cave opening behind.

Stepping back, he allowed the Werewolves to lead the way, holding the branches wide so that they could pass through before following close behind, letting the branches drop behind him, his grip tightening on his dagger as they crept slowly through the darkness, the only visible light coming from Daniel's gaze as he swept his eyes backwards periodically to check on his companions whilst leading the way into the murky depths of the Vampire's lair.

Inching along the carved stone corridor, a soft glow came into view, enticing us forward. Advancing into the light we were presented with the view of a large open area, animal skin rugs covering the hard stone floor, a small fire burning it a pit, the smoke curling upwards and through a small hole in the ceiling. Beautiful ornate furniture was placed around the room, a large coffee table in the centre that held a crystal cut glass that from the smell of it, had held scotch.

Striding into the room, Riley called out loudly 'Valdar? Show your face you blood sucking, rot smelling piece of the undead'

A soft rustling from the back of the cave that was cloaked in shadows could be heard before the tall, thin frame of the Vampire stepped into view.

'Werewolves.. at my door? How honoured am I? Though I swear I requested two pure human sacrifices not the dirty blood of two mongrels and a creature killer.' Valdar mused quietly, making his way over to one of the sofa's and lowering himself into the plush seat, leaning back unconcerned.

Growling angrily, Riley replied, 'Yeah, well unfortunately your meal ticket just expired so you can move along voluntarily or die, either choice works for me.' he shrugged nonchalantly.

Staring at the young warrior, Valdar smirked as he appraised the youth, 'Ahh, Alpha blood I can see, but not quite ready for the throne are we Wolf?' he asked lightly as Daniel growled menacingly at his Alpha's side.

'Watch your puppy there future Alpha' Valdar continued, eyeing the teeth that were bared toward him. 'We wouldn't want anything to mar our friendly conversation now would we? Now why don't you and your comrade take a seat, your guard dog is welcome to replace a comfy bit of floor to curl up on. I apologise to him but I have a bit of a thing about hair on my furniture'

Taking a seat, Riley glared across at the composed Vampire in front of him, 'No conversation or bloodshed needed if you pack up and move along Vamp' Riley replied easily.

Valdar chuckled mirthlessly, 'Ahh unfortunately I cannot do that for you Wolf, you see I am well fed here and as you can see, I have myself a nice home set up, not as nice as some of the mansions the clans of my kin folk live in, but as a lone Vampire it certainly pleases me' he said smiling calmly.

'Why not go join one of your death clans then?' Riley spat back angrily.

A look of fake shock crossed the Vampires face as he held his hand to his chest in mock horror, 'What? Join a Vampire clan and have to slaughter hundreds of souls to feed my brethren? Werewolf, what kind of animal do you take me for? I eat only what I need to sustain me and in return my neighbours get the knowledge of their guaranteed survival! I feel I am being extremely fair to my food supply' Valdar remarked airily.

'Hmmpf, hardly fair Vamp' Riley growled back, 'you don't need to drain them and you know it, you can survive on a few drops, no Vamp needs to drain a body!

Raising his eyebrows, Valdar waved his hand dismissively, 'True, true, but if I didn't give them a feeling of slight fear they may decide to rebel against me and then I would have to slaughter them all! This way, they are protected but are unlikely to choose the path of annihilation. A win win for all parties don't you agree?'

Riley cracked his knuckles angrily, his gaze unwavering as he glared at the confident immortal across from him. 'No I don't agree, those people are not your food supply, you can hunt rabbits and eat them for all I care but the humans are off your menu. He ordered, his eyes taking on a black hue as his Wolf pushed forward trying to take control.

Sighing deeply, Valdar rose to his feet, walking over to a small tray that held crystal decanters of various brown liquids. Pouring himself a generous measure he turned to the visitors, holding up the glass, 'Would you care for one?' he asked, 'Obviously the alcohol does nothing to my kind but I admit I have developed quite a taste for the beverage, you should all try it, its a 25 year old malt.' Seeing their stony faces, he shrugged, 'your choice gentlemen but I will tell you that you are missing out on quite a treat' he added, as he placed the stopper back into the decanter and made his way back to the sofa, arranging himself comfortably before taking a sip of the amber liquid.

'So you refuse to leave?' Riley asked, watching the Vampire sip from his glass, indifferent to the Werewolves anger.

'I'm afraid so Future Alpha, as much as I would like to remain on good terms with the Werewolf community, I just cannot allow you to interfere with my food supply, so I am, with great sorrow, going to have to refuse your request. Valdar replied, placing his glass onto the table carefully and reaching under his robe. Pulling his hand out from the black cloak that shrouded his body, the glint of a silver dagger appeared in his hand, throwing it toward Daniel who was not quite fast enough to move. The wolf howled in pain as the knife pierced his back leg, using his teeth to pull the blade from his skin as Valdar shifted into his bat form and disappeared into the shadows that decorated the edges of the room.

Sebastian rushed to Daniel's side, checking the wound quickly and ripping a piece of his t'shirt to tie a tourniquet around the cut to try and stem the blood that was flowing out of the werewolf's leg.

Riley roared in fury, his clothes shredding from his body as he shifted into his large brown Wolf form. His acute eyesight piercing the dark corners of the room, searching for the small bat that was hiding from them.

As his eye's scoured the ceiling, he saw the small black mammal crawling across the carved stone, using the minute crevasses and cracks to make it's way toward the hole for the fire's smoke.

Growling loudly, Riley, jumped onto the coffee table, using the wood as a board to pounce toward the bat, his teeth snapping at it's wings as it chittered and took flight. Chasing the flying appetizer around the room, Riley's teeth repeatedly snapped on thin air as Valdar evaded his strikes. Suddenly Riley let out a yelp as his paw came down in a small bear trap that was hidden on the floor underneath a small rug. Lading lightly in front of him, Valdar grinned into the future Alpha's pained face. 'Sorry mutt, no hard feelings but I needed to take out the most dangerous of you first, it'll take you a while to chew your own leg off to get out of that so please excuse me whilst I go and kill your comrades. Don't worry though, i'll be back in a few minutes, so don't get too lonely. Valdar whispered as he pulled another silver knife and some sort of grenade from within his clothing. Quickly placing some ear plugs into his ears as he set off across the room toward Sebastian and Daniel who were each charging toward him. Pulling the pin,, Valdar threw the grenade toward the two approaching attackers, eyes widening, Sebastian changed course and threw himself at the Wolf's side, sending the two barrelling over each other as the grenade exploded, letting out an ear shattering noise that caused the three friends to cover their ears, screaming in pain.

Charging toward the confusion of limbs that were Sebastian and Daniel, Valdar raised the dagger, preparing to force it down into his opposition.

Having seen the Vampire aiming for them, Sebastian had managed to lift his own dagger, meeting the attack, his blade connected with the silver blade stopping it from piercing the already injured wolf beneath him.

Wriggling out from underneath, Daniel had grabbed hold of the Vampire's leg in his teeth, biting down until a loud snap was heard and Valdar cried out in agony.

Twisting his hand, Valdar sent Sebastian's blade flying across the room with his own, grabbing the Collectors neck and throwing him effortlessly into the wall before kneeling onto the wolf that was holding on to him, extending his fangs as he readied himself to bite Daniel's neck.

Howling in fury, Riley made the only decision he could, shifting into his human form, he screamed as the bear trap cut further into his softer human skin.

Gritting his teeth he placed a hand on each side of the trap and pulled with everything he had. Forcing the clamp apart until it was wide enough for him to slip his ankle out, he released his grip and allowed the teeth to crash back together as he shifted back into his wolf, ignoring the pain searing through his leg and raced over to the fight that was happening on the opposite side of the room.

Ploughing his body into the Vampire, he sent Valdar flying off of his Beta and crashing into a chair, splintering it beneath his weight. Launching himself forward, he landed on the thin torso, growling as the violet eyes glared at him, Valdar's hand scrabbling for the silver knife that had landed a few feet away from where he lay pinned to the floor. His desperate fingers finally curling around the handle, Valdar lifted it and plunged it into Riley's side, drawing a scream from the Alpha as his eyes grew wide with shock as he started to slump over the Vampire's body.