Sold To The Alpha
A Lost Princess Chapter 31

As the first rays of morning cut across the carpet, creeping its way toward the beds, the trio were getting themselves dressed, deciding on an early start to make some head way into their journey.

Creeping quietly down the stairs, they softly unlocked and opened the front door, slipping outside with the keys which they used to relock the door before posting them back through the small letterbox that was built into the wood not feeling that this was the kind of area one would leave a house unprotected.

Making their way eastwards, the houses started to become less shabby, showing signs of care and love. Finding a small bakery, the three walked inside, ordering a selection of bread, croissants and cakes for their ruck sacks as well as three large hot home made steak pasties that they ate straight from the paper bags as they continued their journey.

Leaving the dirt and grime of the town behind, they clambered up a steep hill that barred their way toward the countryside, Sebastian huffing slightly as they reached the summit, sending dirty looks toward the two warriors who strode up the side with ease, teasing the older man as they went.

'Come on slow poke, you can make it' Daniel called grinning as he ran down the hill again to meet him before turning round and sprinting back to the top.

'If I wasn't so tired, I swear to all that is holy that I would kick you a*s until you couldn't sit down' Sebastian growled annoyed, taking a seat in the long grass as he finally crested the top, staring down at the towns that lay below them like a painting. Pulling a bottle of water from his bag, Daniel handed it over with a grin, 'ahh don't worry old timer, we'll keep the pace slow for you, don't want you checking out halfway there'. Sebastian flicked his middle finger up at the cocky Beta as he swigged half the bottle's contents down. Wiping his mouth, he screwed the lid back on and slung it into his ruck sack, taking Daniel's hand as the Beta helped him to his feet. The three turned their backs on the view and set off across the grassy hillside, holding their hands above their eyes against the morning sun that slowly crept it's way over the sky, finally hitting its peak before gliding down behind them.

As the evening pulled in, they found a nice area, surrounded by large boulders that protected them from the chilled wind that had started to whip at their clothing. Pulling out blankets, the trio made a small camp, grabbing small stones to make a hearth before using stray twigs and moss to get a fire going. Pulling out one of the loaves they had bought earlier, they split the soft bread into three, Sebastian producing a small jar of raspberry jam that he placed between them.

'Where did you get that from?' Riley asked laughing as he dipped his bread into the preserve, raising it to his mouth and groaning in satisfaction as he chewed through the fruity goodness.

'Clarissa gave it too me before we left' Sebastian said averting his eyes.

'Oh did she?' Daniel asked with a smirk, 'did she give you anything else we don't know about?' he queried, wiggling his eyebrows seductively.

'No she didn't' Sebastian huffed, 'stop being so crude, she's a nice girl, doesn't deserve that kind of talk' he muttered glaring at the floor.

Giving a smile, Daniel raised his hands in surrender before grabbing the jam and dunking his bread into the centre before handing it back to Sebastian who did the same.

Once they had eaten their fill, and made a decent dent in the cakes they had bought, the three travelers lay down around the fire, staring up at the sky as they talked quietly among themselves before falling asleep one by one.

The next morning after more bread and jam for breakfast, they packed up and set off toward the forest they could just make out near the horizon. Striding through the long grass that waved lazily in the wind the men chatted happily, teasing each other mercilessly as the miles gave way beneath their feet.

Stopping periodically for rest and food, the boys soon found themselves at the edge of a large copse of trees. Making their way underneath the shade of the branches, they came to a halt at a small circular patch of grass and hastily made camp appreciating the cover of the trees as a light rain started to fall.

Soon a roaring fire was burning in the centre and the three men crowded around the warmth, wrapping their blankets around themselves as the chill night air set in.

'I fancy some hot food' Daniel said suddenly as he stood up, stripped his clothes and shifted, running off between the trees in search of animals, returning moments later with a small monk jack deer between his teeth.

Dropping it to the floor at Sebastian's feet, he shifted back and got dressed quickly, his eyes wandering around the surrounding trees agitated.

'What is it?' Riley asked as Daniel got up and prowled around the camp for the fourth time in as many minutes.

'Can you smell that?' Daniel asked absently, still walking around, inhaling as his eyes clouded slightly.

'No, unless you mean us, in which case yes, we all stink' Riley replied.

'No, its something else, it's Cedar wood and.. vanilla' Daniel muttered to himself stalking the smell.

Sebastian looked up from the deer that he had just finished skinning, giving a confused look to the Alpha who shrugged back at him.

Placing the deer over the fire, the air was soon filled with the smell of roasting meat distracting Daniel from his anxious pacing and drawing him back to the warmth of the flames.

As they waited for the meat to cook, the friends chatted amicably to each other, a slight crack behind them suddenly drew Riley's attention. Jumping to his feet, he marched toward where the noise had come from, circling round the trees until coming to a stop facing back toward the fire. 'You have two choices, come down of your own volition, or i'll climb up there and drag you down' he growled.

No movement could be seen between the leaves for a few minutes before a soft sigh fluttered across the breeze and a small young woman dropped cat like from within the branches, landing neatly on the soft grass. Straightening up she looked up at Riley, a quiver of arrows were slung across her back and a hand carved bow was gripped in her left hand. Her clothes were greens and browns, camouflaging her perfectly with the surrounding foliage, her long black hair tied up in a neat ponytail that swung down her back. 'Who are you and why are you spying on us?' Riley demanded, glowering at the stranger who stood unflinching in front of him.

'As far as I am aware, there is no ownership of these trees, and really the question is why did you feel the need to set up camp metres from where I was happily minding my own business' she shot back.

Riley growled at her insolent tone, 'watch yourself pup' he said angrily.

Arching her eyebrow the girl replied, 'maybe you should watch yours! I don't know you, so I don't take orders from you' she growled back, stepping forward and poking the muscular warrior in the chest. 'And don't call me pup' she added, enunciating each word with a jab at Riley's chest.

Grabbing her wrist, Riley held her tight as she pulled against him angrily, 'let me go you great oaf' she snapped.

'Not until you tell us who you are and what you are doing here' Riley replied stubbornly.

Realising that the warrior was not going to let her go and was much stronger than her she stopped squirming and pouted, throwing him a venomous look.

'Fine' she huffed, 'My name is Vaya and I am looking for my father, OK?' she asked sticking her chin in the air defiantly, 'Now who are you and why are you restraining a poor helpless innocent girl?'

Giving her a disbelieving look, Riley replied, 'My name is Riley, these are my companions Daniel and Sebastian, we are in search of a friend of ours who has gone missing! he replied evenly, 'and I very much doubt that you are helpless or innocent' he added as he released her wrist and indicated toward the fire, inviting her to join them.

Giving the Alpha a haughty look, Vaya made her way over to the dancing flames, giving a small smile to Sebastian before turning to Daniel. As their eyes met, each of them breathed in unexpectedly, 'Mate' growled Daniel excitedly, springing to his feet and advancing on the young girl who held her hands out in front of her.

'Woah there weirdy mc weirdo' she said fending the grinning werewolf off, 'I don't even know you, how about a bit of personal space?'

Completely ignoring her words, Daniel continued to try and get closer to her, encapsulating her hands within his, his breathing quickening as sparks flew up their arms.

Looking over at Riley, Vaya cleared her throat, 'Umm, does anyone want to help me out with this crazy weirdo?' she called out forcefully.

Walking behind his Beta, Riley pulled the love struck teen back, ignoring the growl of unhappiness that escaped his friends lips at the loss of contact.

'Daniel, I don't think Vaya is knowledgeable of our kind, maybe we should sit down and get to know each other?' he suggested quietly.

Nodding enthusiastically, Daniel waited until Vaya took a seat by the fire before sitting right next to her, gazing at her with a goofy smile as she looked at him out of the corner of her eye bemused.

'OK' she said inching away from Daniel, who inched closer each time she moved until she finally gave up. 'Someone needs to explain to me what the heck is going on, who you are and why I've suddenly got myself my very own stalker' she said glaring at the two men who weren't fawning all over her.

Clearing his throat, Riley smiled embarrassed, 'umm, well you see' he faltered, 'umm, well, yeah, we're werewolves' he started before Sebastian cut across him.

'Not all of us, one of us is pure bred human' he said pointing to himself.

'Yes' Riley continued glaring at Sebastian for interrupting. 'Some of us are werewolves and you see, each werewolf has a mate, an other half, kind of like the missing part of their soul. When they replace their other half, they know as soon as they look into each others eyes. We can replace them as they have a scent that only their mate can smell, Daniel could smell you which is why he was looking around but he didn't know what the smell was until he looked into your eyes!' he finished shrugging. Staring at the group, Vaya slowly digested what she had heard before slowly saying, 'sooooo, your saying that weirdo over here is my destined love?' she asked sceptically.

Nodding his head Riley replied, 'yup pretty much, he's basically bound to you now.

'Wait a minute, bound to me?' Vaya argued suddenly panicked, 'I don't even know him, do I have to be bound to him?' she asked desperately.

A pained look crossed Riley's face, 'Well no, there is a way to break the bond between you, you can reject your mate' he said sadly, 'but the force of the rejection may actually kill the rejected half, you are literally tearing their heart in half.

Daniel's eyes widened, pain shooting across his features, 'you want to reject me?' he croaked, his body shaking as he grabbed Vaya's hands in his. 'No, please don't, I love you, I'll do anything for you, please Vaya, please don't' he begged, his heart breaking in front of them.

Seeing the pain on the werewolf's face, Vaya felt his pain echoing within her, pulling a hand from his grasp she softly touched his face, smiling slightly as Daniel closed his eyes slightly, nuzzling his cheek against her skin.

'I am not rejecting you, Daniel is it?' she asked carefully as the Beta nodded, relief replacing his fear. 'I just don't know you, do you think we could like get to know each other a bit?'

Smiling widely, Daniel went to pull her into a tight hug, stopping as she held her hands up to him, 'Starting with understanding the meaning of personal space and not being creepy' she said eyeing him.

Looking sheepish, Daniel backed away slightly, dropping his hands to his lap but still staring at her lovingly as she turned back to the remaining friends who had watched the exchange silently.