Sold To The Alpha
A Lost Princess Chapter 34

In the morning the four started to pack up their stuff to start their search, looking up from his packing Sebastian cleared his throat, 'Do we think we should split up into two groups so that we can cover more ground?' he asked.

Riley looked at the man uncomfortably, 'I'm not sure if that is a good idea' he began hesitantly.

'If we split up we could replace Isabella quicker' Daniel cut across giving the Alpha a pointed look, 'You could go with Seb and search the south of the forest, and I could go with Vaya and search the north, that way we can keep in contact with each other through the mind link'. Vaya gave Daniel a disgruntled look, 'why can't I go with Riley and you go with Sebastian' she grumbled as Daniel growled angrily at her words.

Smirking Riley shook his head amused, 'Ahh that won't work, Daniel needs to go with you so you can keep him out of trouble, you are the only one who has the ability to keep him in check.

Daniel muttered under his breath as Vaya sniggered before reluctantly agreeing.

'Fine, I'll go with stalker but if he starts to annoy me I cannot guarantee that he won't come back to you with arrow holes in him' she replied as she grabbed her bag and stood up, tapping her foot as Daniel rushed to pack the remainder of his things, scrambling to his feet and started to follow her into the trees.

'We'll meet back here in Five hours, mind link every hour or so, so that everyone knows that nothing is wrong with the other party! Riley called after them, 'Mark a trail in case your scents get distorted, so you don't get lost.

Vaya turned and quirked her eyebrow, 'I do not need a trail or my scent to replace this camp,' she huffed, 'I've spent my life living in the wilderness' she added pointedly before spinning on her heel and marching off into the undergrowth. Sebastian eyed the Alpha, 'You sure that girl isn't going to be too much for your Beta?' he asked.

Laughing lightly, Riley shook his head, 'Nah, Daniel will be OK, he could do with spending some time with someone who can take care of themselves and doesn't think the world shines out of his a*s.

Standing up, the two men threw their bags onto their backs and made their way into the south side of the forest, Sebastian making small nicks in tree trunks as they passed so they could replace their way back again.

'So what are you going to do when you replace Isabella?' Sebastian asked conversationally as they marched through the woods, looking for signs of a human or wolf having been there.

'Kill the people who have her and take her home' Riley replied with a non-committal shrug.

'As much as I admire the sentiment, can I ask that you don't kill Rowan, by all means incapacitate him if you get to him before me but keep in mind that if I don't take him back alive I shall not be in the good books of my bosses!

Laughing Riley nodded, 'Yeah no worries mate, Rowan remains alive, it may be barely but he'll be alive, anyone else there is fair game though. No-one takes my best friend away from her home and family and lives' he growled, his eyes blackening slightly before he shook his head returning his eyes to their usual brown.

Continuing silently, the pair prowled through the trees, scouring the area for anything that would lead them too Isabella, after two hours they had to admit defeat and return to the camp site.

******

'Seriously, can you be any more noisy' Vaya hissed as Daniel stood on yet another twig causing a resounding crack to echo through the trees. 'How the heck are you a werewolf? Are you sure there's no giant blood in there or just plain imbecile?' she grumped furiously.

'Sorry' Daniel muttered for the umpteenth time, crouching down behind her as she peered through the trees checking the area before continuing forward.

'So glad I'm not counting on you to protect me' she grumbled annoyed.

'I'd protect you with my life' Daniel argued flustered.

Turning to him, Vaya glared at him, 'That's what worries me, you'd get yourself killed because you're too damn stupid not too' she raged.

Sighing at the Beta's crestfallen face, Vaya raised her hand to his cheek, forcing him to look at her, his eyes softening under her gaze.

'Can you just understand that this whole mate thing is new to me, I am used to looking after myself, worrying about myself and fighting for myself. Suddenly there is this crazy man following me around everywhere and I'm more damn worried about him getting hurt than I am about myself. If something happened too you I think it might actually kill me' she confessed, brushing his cheek with her thumb as he put his arms around her waist instinctively.

'I know' Daniel whispered, placing his forehead on hers, 'that is what it is like for me too, I am terrified something will happen to you and I only just found you, I want to protect you even though I know you don't need me too.

Smiling shyly, Vaya reached up and pressed her lips to his, melting slightly as his arms tightened around her before pulling slowly away and looking into his eyes.

'I don't mean to snap at you, I'm just trying to figure out what is happening here' she said quietly.

'But you do like me?' he asked hopefully with a small grin.

Rolling her eyes, Vaya muttered, 'You are a huge pain in the a*s who annoys the s**t out of me but yes, I like you stalker.'

Ginning widely Daniel released her, stepping back, 'that's good enough for me.' he said happily.

Groaning Vaya tried to cover up her smile as she returned to the task in hand.

Making her way forward, she stayed low to the ground, using the surrounding greenery to camouflage herself, her ears tuned into the sounds around them as she listened for any abnormalities.

Stepping through the ground cover careful of where she put her feet to minimise the sound of her footsteps, Vaya's gaze pierced through the surrounding bushes before alighting on one particular shrub. Holding up her fist to signal Daniel to stop, she pointed toward it, singling out a broken twig half way down that looked as if it had been snapped by a force.

Creeping forward, she scouted around until she saw a patch of disturbed leaves, as if someone or something had ran through at great speed.

Tapping her shoulder to get her attention from the trail, Daniel silently touched his wrist to let her know it was time to return to camp.

Nodding wordlessly, Vaya turned without a sound and led the way back, scanning the trees and bushes as they passed them, her eyes following a line that Daniel could not see. Though his senses could pick up their scent here and there, the over laying of other animals who had crossed their path in the time they had been out made it impossible to track.

Walking back, Vaya suddenly stopped, dropping to her knees in the dry mud, an arrow knocked in her bow as she trained the point between the trees. Letting the string go, she quickly grabbed a second arrow then a third, letting each one fly. The pair watched as the missile streaked its way through the brush, a small thud showing that it had hit it's target.

Standing up, Vaya dusted off her trousers before marching into the shrubbery, walking out with three hares hanging from her fist.

'Lunch' she said airily before walking past the stunned Beta and continuing to lead the way back to the camp.

As they pushed through the final tree branches and moved into the small opening that they had camped in, they found themselves alone. Grabbing sticks and moss, they built a small fire, placing the meat onto some wooden skewers to cook as they waited for the rest of their group to return.

Twenty minutes later, Sebastian and Riley burst through the tree line, taking a seat by the fire, their dejected looks telling the others that they had found nothing.

'No sign?' Daniel asked sympathetically.

'Nothing' Riley muttered, throwing a twig at the fire in frustration.

'We found something' Vaya remarked as she turned the meat skewer over.

'What? What did you replace?' Riley asked, his face hopeful as he gave the dryad his full attention.

'We found signs of an animal passing through.' she said simply.

His shoulders dropping, Riley dragged his fingers through his hair distractedly. 'That could have been any animal, how do you know it's important?' he asked in a flat tone.

Raising her eyes in mild surprise, Vaya replied, 'Because the broken twig was too high for a rabbit or hare, there are no deer here as there was no deer droppings anywhere in the vicinity and the movement of the leaves on the ground showed speed but was not close enough together for a small animal. Those marks were from something big, fast and strong, most likely a wolf!

Gaping at the confident woman in front of them, the three warriors were silent as she sat idly checking the meat, oblivious to their stares.

'How do you know all that?' Daniel asked finally.

Closing her eyes momentarily in exasperation she opened them again and glared at the men surrounding her. 'I grew up in the woods, my mother and I had to know how to track and spot a predator's approach to protect her tree, it's really not that hard to comprehend.' she muttered.

'You really are amazing aren't you' Daniel uttered impressed.

Shrugging slightly, Vaya went a slight pink at his complement, 'not really, I was just taught by a great teacher.' she replied.

'Right, I suggest we hole up here for the night, get an early start in the morning and follow Vaya's trail, see if it leads us to the wolves we are looking for! Sebastian said, looking around for the agreement of his companions. Nodding reluctantly, Riley agreed to Sebastian's idea, though he was desperate to replace Isabella, he knew that going into the unknown tired and hungry was not going to help her.

Eating the piping hot meat, the group silently decided to avoid the subject of Isabella and the trail, instead making small talk, teaching Vaya more about the werewolf lifestyle, she in turn filling them in about dryad's and their trees. As they fell asleep in a small circle, Daniel reached out and sleepily clasped Vaya's hand gently in his, his eyes closed as the tension left his face and he released a soft sigh. Feeling her own worries melt away at his touch, Vaya tightened her grip slightly, enjoying the warm tingles that ran up her arm as her eyes slowly closed, her last view being Daniel's sleeping face lit up by the fire.