Sold To The Alpha
A Lost Princess Chapter 32

As Sebastian removed the meat from the fire, Riley addressed the young girl, 'Why don't you tell us your story' he invited, 'we might as well get to know each other as we eat.

Clearing her throat, Vaya crossed her legs and leaned her elbows onto her knees, accepting the hot piece of deer meat that Sebastian held out to her and taking a bite before speaking. 'As I said, my name is Vaya, I am the daughter of Vanya, Dryad of the Cedar Tree that grows in the far north. My mother raised me alone, her tree protecting both of us and we protected it in turn. 'A Dryad?' Daniel said surprised, 'are they not evil?'

Throwing a disgusted look over her shoulder toward the Beta, Vaya span her head around to face him aggressively, 'no they are not, they are just fiercely protective when some d**k with an axe comes to try and chop down their life source and in the process killing them' she spat angrily.

Flinching at her ire, Daniel shrunk back into himself shutting his mouth, turning back to the fire, Vaya continued.

'My mother always told me that my father was a one night stand, someone who came to her needing help and was gone the next day, leaving her pregnant and alone. It was only within the last few years that she told me the whole truth. It seems that my father arrived by her cabin one night near death, he stumbled up the small path that led to her front door, collapsing against my mothers tree that grows outside. Cedar alerted her to his presence and she came out, picking him up and carrying him inside. As most people know, the closer a Dryad is to their tree the stronger they become so carrying him was easy. Well she nursed the stranger through the night, cooling his brow as a fever coursed through his body, tending to the deep wounds that covered his skin. Over time as he recuperated, she fell in love with him and him with her, but after a few months together, he told her he had to leave. He said that the people who had hurt him were still out there looking for him and that as long as he stayed with her that she would be in danger. Then he left, and after he was gone she found out she was pregnant with me, she raised me alone, her tree caring for me as it did her. She soon realised that I was not tied to a seed of the earth as she was, I was free to roam as far as I wanted without losing strength, I could run faster than any animal in our forest, smell things that were far away. She started to train me in defence, all Dryads are warriors, they have to be to defend their trees from others. She trained me to protect myself and others, saying it was important to our survival.

When I reached sixteen she told me that I should try to replace my father as his blood was obviously strong within me, that is when she told me that he was a werewolf.

Once I reached my eighteenth birthday and was legally an adult, I set out in search of him and that is how I came to be here.' she finished.

'You are a werewolf, Dryad hybrid' Daniel breathed in awe.

'Seems so' Vaya replied shrugging.

'What's with the bow and arrows?' Riley asked, 'a bit primitive for defence.'

Wordlessly, Vaya stood up and pulled a knife from a sheath attached to her belt, walking to one of the trees she carved a small mark before stepping back to the other side of grove, knocking an arrow onto the string, she pulled back her arm and let the arrow fly, the point burying itself in the centre of her mark. Walking back she pulled the arrow from the tree and placed it back in its carrier, before sitting down and glaring at Riley who's mouth fell open stunned.

'Most of our weapons are provided by our trees' she said simply, 'this bow is made from my mothers tree, if anything should attack her or it, I will feel it as the wood is still connected to its origin. Staring around at the men Vaya raised her eyebrows, 'so now you know all about me, how about you fill me in on why you are camping out in the middle of nowhere' she said pointedly.

Riley filled the young girl in on how Isabella had been kidnapped and her importance within the werewolf community, Vaya listened wordlessly, taking in every detail as he spoke.

'So we are on our way to try and replace a house in a forest that may or may not hold my best friend and the bastards that took her' Riley finished.

Contemplating for a minute, Vaya met the despondent gaze of the Alpha, shifting slightly as she seemed to have an internal struggle. Finally sighing quietly, Vaya said, 'How about I come along with you? I'm a pretty good tracker and I know trees so I could help you replace your girl. In return, you will help me replace information on my father as you obviously have connections in your world that can help me!' she offered before giving a side glance to the beaming Beta, 'plus I have all of.. this' she waved toward Daniel, 'to try and sort out and I have a feeling that if I leave, he'll be following me like a lost puppy anyway! she grumbled.

Chuckling despite himself Riley nodded, 'umm yeah, we're a bit.. um shall we say protective? Of our mates. We're also completely at the mercy of our she wolves, not that any werewolf will actually admit that too his mate, but its true', he replied. Looking around at the other two men, Riley silently asked what they thought. Daniel was nodding immediately, smiling like a maniac, Sebastian gave a slow nod of agreement as well. Turning back to Vaya he smiled, 'we would love for you to join us Vaya and it would be my honour to help you replace your father.' he added.

'Mine too! I'll do anything for you' Daniel interjected, his eyes big and round like a puppy dog waiting to be praised.

Rolling her eyes, Vaya looked toward Riley, 'Will he be like this all the time?' she asked jerking her head in Daniel's direction.

Shaking his head laughing, Riley replied, 'umm no, we tend to calm down once we are mated'

'Mated?' Vaya asked uncertainly, 'why does that sound like..'

'When we get physical' Riley responded, laughing at her horrified face.

Glaring over at the Beta beside her, Vaya groaned, 'ugh, it's a good job I'm a dog person' she muttered

'I should warn you that though we stop being all.. well like that' Riley said waving at Daniel, 'we never ever stop being ridiculously over protective of our mates, it drives most of the She wolves crazy if I'm completely honest with you!

'I can imagine' Vaya muttered dryly.

Shrugging, Riley replied, 'Hey it's not our fault, our mate is literally our life, if anything happens to them we can feel it as if its our own pain and if they die.. ' he stopped sadly.

'It kills you?' Vaya asked shocked.

'Not always' Riley said softly, 'a werewolf can live through his mates death especially if they have pups, but they are never the same, and in some cases it can send him mad, it's would actually be kinder in those cases for them to have died with their mate than live without them.' 'Is that why my heart hurt when Daniel thought I was rejecting him?' Vaya asked quietly.

Nodding in agreement, Riley met her gaze, 'You each feel the others pain, its part of the bond and it only gets stronger.' he said solemnly before grinning, 'On the upside, no matter how much he annoys you, I can promise you that nothing in this world, not even me, and I'm his Alpha, is as important to him than your happiness is!

Laughing Vaya gave the Beta a small grin, causing him to whimper slightly as he fought not to move closer too her.

'Your killing him by the way' Riley confided with a smirk. 'Figuratively that is, do you even know how awful it is for a werewolf to be told to stay away from his mate?' he asked, 'not that I am complaining, it's nice to see that colossal pain in my a*s put in his place' he grinned as Daniel scowled at him angrily.

Giggling, Vaya reached over and took Daniel's hand gently in her own, smiling as his scowl was replaced with a look of pure happiness that spread across his face at her touch.

'Hmm, I suppose it's not so bad having a mate' she mused, 'i just need to train him a bit I think' he added as Daniel's two friends laughed heartily, eager to see what the lovesick wolf had coming.

'Ok, now explain what the heck an Alpha is, because it obviously means something important' she demanded, glaring round the group.

The rest of the evening was spent explaining werewolf leadership to their new friend and how packs worked, Vaya couldn't hide her surprise to know that her mate was destined to be second in command. Looking at the muscular warrior who was acting like a love sick puppy she had to admit that he didn't instill a belief of danger.

Chuckling Riley replied, 'Trust me, if your life is ever in danger, you will see a side of him that you never knew existed' he promised,, 'no-one messes with a werewolf's mate, they will regret it'

As the embers from the fire settled into a soft glow, the four travelers settled down to sleep, Daniel laying down as close to Vaya as he could without her telling him to back off. Rolling over so she was looking at him, Vaya watched his chest rise and fall steadily as he slept, a small smile playing around her lips as he shifted slightly in his sleep, his hand reaching out and clasping hers. A sigh of contentment left his lips at the contact, deep within herself she felt a calmness overcome her from his touch. Keeping her hand underneath his, she closed her eyes, falling into a light sleep, her mind still alert to any threat that may stumble upon them.