Sold To The Alpha
Blood L**t Chapter 14

'What are you doing with that servant?' Vallance growled angrily as his eyes flashed in annoyance.

'We were dancing' Halle replied, straightening her back and glaring back that the Vampire, refusing to submit to him.

'She should be working, not wasting her time in the garden' Vallance hissed.

Eyeing the Vampire prince appraisingly, Halle shook her head, 'From what your father said, Iris is my maid and is to do what ever I want her to do, so if I want her to dance bare foot with me in the garden then that is her job' she replied loftily turning her back as Vallance simmered in rage.

'You are very insolent' he growled at her as she made to walk off toward an old swing that was nestled in the long grass.

'And you are rude and arrogant' Halle replied over her shoulder, her anger surfacing.

Grabbing her hand, Vallance pulled the teenager back to him, 'what did you say?' he asked dangerously.

'I said, that you are rude and arrogant' Halle replied, enunciating each word loudly as she glowered at him, pulling her hand out of his grasp.

Vallance gave her a calculating stare, a slight confusion written into his features before he turned on his heel and marched back toward the house.

'Ugh, a*s hole' Halle muttered staring after the prince before shaking back her hair and taking a seat on the small swing, checking it was still weight bearing before idly pushing herself backwards and forwards.

A slight rustling broke into her thoughts, looking up sh met Viktor's eyes, 'I hear you and my son had an altercation Miss Halle' he said with a smile.

Shrugging Halle looked over at the large rose bush that was coming into bloom nearby, 'more a disagreement regarding my maid' she replied quietly.

Looking back to Viktor's questioning gaze, she sighed, 'I understood it that I was free to ask Iris to do anything that would make me happy here, I apologise if I was mistaken!

Viktor gave her a grin, 'Iris is your maid Miss Halle and you can ask her to do whatever you want, if that means she dances in the garden for an hour then so it shall be. If that makes you happy and more comfortable here in our home, you and Iris can dance all day every day' he said simply.

Giving him a surprised look, Halle cleared her throat, 'I don't think Prince Vallance agrees with you Viktor' she said demurely.

Waving his hand, Viktor scoffed, 'what Vallance approves of is not important at the moment, he does not yet hold the title of King and until he does, my word is law. You carry on as you are Miss Halle, to be honest, we could do with a bit of fun and frivolity within these walls.' he mused as he made to make his way back toward the house.

Suddenly struck with an idea, Halle called out to the Vampire, 'Viktor? May I ask you something?'

Stopping and turning back to her, the Vampire smiled, 'obviously miss Halle, you just did, what can I do for you>' he asked jovially.

Taking a deep breath, Halle pushed on quickly, 'would it be OK if I did some baking in the kitchen?' she asked, 'I know the staff cook our meals but I took great pleasure in baking when at Oak Ridge, it is something I would love to continue and maybe the kitchen staff could help me learn some new recipes?' She gave Viktor a hopeful look as his eyes softened slightly,

'I see no reason why not Miss Halle, I shall inform Carter that you shall be joining him in the kitchen to bake, would an hours time be amenable to you? Then we could have lunch before hand' he asked with a small smile.

'Perfect, thank you so much' Halle gushed happily before jumping off the swing and accompanying Viktor back inside where they made their way toward the banquet hall.

Taking a seat, Halle gave a tentative smile toward Iris who was stood against the wall silently watching the pair as Viktor patted the young girl's hand affectionately. 'So Miss Halle, what are you thinking of baking today?' Viktor asked interested. Meeting the Vampires gaze, Halle couldn't help the happiness in her voice, 'I'm going to make Graham's famous double chocolate chip cookies of we have the ingredients' she enthused. 'Graham?' Viktor asked, his brow creasing slightly, 'who is he?'

'One of our warriors, he is an amazing cook, his mother taught him, he cooks for our pack once a month, it's the only day that literally the whole pack comes to the pack house for dinner' she giggled, 'he taught me how to make his mother's cookies because I loved them so much, I'm the only other pack member to know the recipe! Even his mate doesn't know' she added conspiratorial.

'Well I look forward to trying some of these famous cookies' Viktor replied with a smile.

Moments later the door opened and Vallance entered the room, dropping himself into his hair, his face thunderous as he glared at the table. The servants began to bring in their lunch, a large lamb joint with roast potatoes and glazed parsnips were served to each of the trio along with some of the most delicious gravy that Halle had ever tasted.

'This is amazing' Halle breathed as she savoured the flavour, 'thank you' she added to the server beside her who squeaked in surprise before bowing and hurrying from the room.

'Why did you do that?' Vallance suddenly asked, glaring at her.

'Do what?' Halle asked confused.

'Why did you thank that servant? She is below us' he stated.

Meeting the young Vampires glare with an icy stare of her own, Halle growled in a low tone, 'she is not below us, she is a living creature just like the rest of us, she has served me something and I have thanked her for doing so, it's called manners, you might like to try some. Gazing at Halle with a bemused expression, Vallance finally muttered, 'I am not a living person!

Raising her eyebrow, Halle scowled at him, 'then you have had a lot more time than the rest of us to develop a sense of decency' she retorted.

Viktor's laugh cut through the tension as he patted Halle's hand again, 'you Miss Halle are exactly the kind of fire cracker that is needed to help Vallance lead our people!' he said happily.

Vallance suddenly pushed back his chair, his face livid, 'I am not hungry, I will be in my room' he growled before storming out.

Watching the furious Vampire leave, Halle felt a sadness, 'do not worry Miss Halle, Vallance is not used to people standing up to him, I think you are going to be an excellent influence on him.' Viktor consoled, indicating for Halle to continue her meal.

Once she had eaten her fill, Viktor bid her a good afternoon and left her to make her way into the kitchen where Carter was waiting for her. Grabbing Iris' hand, Halle dragged the maid behind her as she rushed into the kitchen, skidding to a stop as Carter looked up at her in shock.

'Hi Carter!' Halle said excitedly as she looked around for an apron, 'do you have brown sugar, cocoa powder and chocolate chips?' she asked as she made her way over to the pantry. 'Yes your Highness, but I will get them for you' Carter replied flustered.

Holding up her hand to stop the server, Halle fixed him with a stern look, 'Viktor has given me permission to bake, I am under the understanding that you have been informed of this, part of baking is collecting my ingredients, making my mixture, and cleaning up after myself. You and Iris will sit your backsides down on the other side of the island and not interfere with me unless I ask you too, does everyone understand?' she demanded.

Opening and shutting his mouth for a moment, Carter finally managed to utter some words, 'yes your Highness' he stuttered before the pair perched themselves uncomfortably on two of the stools by the island.

Rummaging in the pantry, Halle soon reappeared with the ingredients she needed, placing them on the Island before grabbing a tub of butter from the fridge.

'You two need to seriously chill' she said, looking up at the awkward way the pair were sat, 'Viktor said I could do what I wish and I could order you to do as I wish, so I order you to sit in the chairs comfortably and watch me make the worlds best cookies' Relaxing slightly, the two servants watched as Halle turned on the oven, humming happily to herself as she started to measure out her ingredients, mixing the mixture together with speed, 'mix the love in' she muttered happily as she worked. Soon her mixture was ready and she lay some grease proof paper on some baking trays and started to add dollops of her cookie dough onto it.

Placing the trays into the oven, she set the timer that stood beside the oven to 15 minutes and set about putting all her utensils into the dishwasher, wiping down the island until everything was pristine.

'Who would like a cup of tea?' she asked as she looked over at Iris and Carter who had been watching her silently.

'Please your Highness, I beg of you, please let me make it' Carter said in a strained voice.

Rolling her eyes, Halle conceded, 'fine! You can make the tea, I'll stand here and watch the timer tick oh so slowly to zero' she replied with a grin.

Jumping up onto the island, Halle sat watching the timer as Carter busied himself making tea for the three of them, just as he placed the tea pot, three cups, a bowl of sugar and jug of milk onto the table, Halle's timer went off and she squealed excitedly. Jumping off the island, she pulled the oven door open and breathed in the heavenly smell of freshly baked cookies, lifting them carefully out of the oven with her mitt, she placed them on top of the hob to cool as she switched the oven back off.

Giving them five minutes to cool, she gingerly lifted them off of the paper and placed them on a plate, carrying her creation to the table where they all took a seat, Carter pouring them all a cup of tea. Handing each a cookie, Halle bit into her own letting out a moan of ecstasy, Iris took a tentative bite her eyes widening as the flavour hit her tongue. 'oh my god, these are amazing' she whispered, devouring the rest,

'Aren't they just?' Halle giggled happily as she reached for a second one.

Soon the trio were sat laughing and joking as they drank their tea, eating half the cookies that Halle had make.

'You two are so much fun' Halle said as she smiled at them both, 'I'm so glad to have you as friends'.