Sold To The Alpha
A Love spoken Chapter 15

A knock at the door roused Vallance from his work, sitting straight he called out 'come in' and waited as Greyson entered the room.

'Why are you away from your post Greyson?' Vallance asked, immediately on the alert. The Vampire never left his station unless there was an issue or to accompany Vaughn on his spurious runs into the woods. 'Apologies Your Majesty, but there is a visitor stood just outside of the gate, he is asking for you specifically' Greyson replied with a bow.

Letting out a sigh of exasperation, the Vampire King, leaned back in his chair, 'do you know what they want?' he asked, his tone already saying he knew the answer.

'No my King, I did try to ascertain his intentions but he has refused to divulge his business to anyone but yourself' the Vampire replied.

Groaning in annoyance, Vallance lifted himself out of his chair and walked around the desk, Greyson opening the door for him and then following him out of the room, closing the office door smartly behind him.

Sweeping down the stairs, Greyson close behind him, Vallance sent a mind link to Jason, thankful for this ability that his mate had shared with him upon their marking. Moments later Jason appeared at the bottom of the staircase just as Vallance reached the foyer. 'Do we know who it is? What they want? Is it this friend that the High Priestess spoke of?' Jason murmured to his mate anxiously, making quote marks in the air with his fingers as he said 'friend'.

'I don't know, but we are going to replace out before they get any closer to Vaughn' Vallance replied stubbornly.

Making their way outside of the front door, Vallance and Jason stood just inside of the boundary, Greyson standing to the side at a respectful distance.

Just outside of the gate a tall hooded male stood, watching the occupants of the castle with interest.

'How did you replace us?' Vallance demanded, the castle had long been hidden, people could only replace it once brought here by an occupant, it was rare to stumble upon it so deeply set in the forests.

'I have my ways Vampire King' the man replied evenly.

'Drop your hood so that we can know who we are dealing with' Vallance demanded.

The man raised his hand slowly and pulled back the hood to reveal his face, the pair were surprised to replace him so young, guessing at mid twenties, his deep brown eyes swept across the pair, holding a darkness that had grown from a lifetime of bad sights. 'Who are you' Vallance asked edgily.

The Man smiled slowly, 'I am the Ghost, I am here to collect the person you have dedicated to the mission of the High Priestess.

Vallance snorted derisively, 'you make it sound like we had a choice' he bit back, watching as the Ghost features turned to one of mild surprise.

'I take it that you are in debt to the High Priestess' he replied evenly as Vallance scowled at him.

'In a manner of speaking' he replied angrily.

Nodding the Ghost, stood silently, his body language at ease as he waited.

Turning to Greyson, Vallance muttered, 'go and get Vaughn, tell him to pack quickly, I don't want this friend of the witches Coven inside our boundary' he muttered.

Bowing in acknowledgement, Greyson turned and hurried back into the castle, his footsteps rapidly quietening as he made his way through the castle toward the Prince's room.

The trio stood waiting in silence, the two fathers watching the visitor who seemed in no desperation to carry on their conversation.

Finally in frustration, Jason broke the quietness, 'where are you going after this?' he asked, trying to stop himself from sounding worried.

The Ghost shrugged non-committally, 'I don't know, we will wander until we replace signs of our target' he replied keeping his eyes averted.

Soon enough Vaughn appeared, the Ghost's eyebrows raised as he acknowledged the similarities between the young man and the two men that stood either side of him in a protective stance.

'Your son I presume Vampire King?' he asked softly, his voice masked of emotion.

Vallance nodded tersely, 'yes, it will be our son with you on your trip, and trust me if so much as a hair gets pulled from his head, I will..' he started to raise his voice until Jason's calming hand found his arm.

The Ghost held up his hand, 'nothing will happen to your son as long as he follows my directions Vampire King, if he strays onto his own path away from my lead, then I'm afraid anything that happens to him will be of his own doing!

Vallance tensed noticeably at the Ghost's words but didn't speak further as Jason removed his hand and pulled his son into his embrace, 'be careful Vaughn, trust no-one and keep your identity to yourself and your..uh.. companion' he muttered as the young Vampire prince nodded, hugging him back.

Next Vallance, placed his arms around his son's strong frame, holding him tightly as he whispered to him to be careful, before swallowing hard as he forced himself to let the young man go.

Turning back to the gates, Vaughn slung the bag that had been hanging from his grip, over his shoulder and stood straight, facing straight ahead.

'I swear my oath to these grounds that I will return to their protection' he said loudly before stepping over the boundary and standing next to the Ghost who looked at him curiously.

Turning back, the prince gave a tight smile before straightening his shoulders and indicating for the Ghost to lead the way.

Without a backwards glance, the Ghost marched forward into the trees, Vaughn close behind him, the two soon swallowed up by the greenery. Walking silently they made their way to the edge of the forest where the Ghost turned to the prince and looked at him keenly, 'can you shift?' he enquired.

Vaughn met his gaze sullenly, 'yes' he replied.

The Ghost nodded, his gaze still held some intrigue, 'what way can you shift?' he asked, as they continued to walk.

Vaughn gave the man a confused look, 'what do you mean which way?' he demanded.

The Ghost rolled his eyes, 'I mean can you shift to a bat like the Vampire King or a werewolf like your other parent' he replied slowly.

'Both' Vaughn growled back.

'Both' Vaughn growled back.

'Interesting' the Ghost replied musingly, 'maybe we'll keep that piece of information to ourselves, for the moment, if we shift, you always shift into your wolf form' he ordered.

Vaughn made to argue but decided against it, he had no idea who this man was or what he was capable of, he decided to learn about him before antagonising him.

'So who are you?' Vaughn asked, striding beside the man who seemed happy to walk in silence.

'They call me the Ghost' the man replied.

Vaughn snorted with laughter, 'you want me to call you the Ghost?' he spluttered.

The Ghost stopped abruptly and turned to face the sniggering Vampire, 'I don't recall asking you to call me anything' he replied coolly, his gaze holding the young prince's glare until he was forced to look away. 'You said that is what people call you' Vaughn replied defensively as he looked away.

'Yes, it is what they call me, not what my name is' the man replied evenly.

'Well what is your name then?' Vaughn asked impatiently, this Ghost person was already getting on his nerves.

'My name is Rowan' the Ghost replied, 'but not many people remember it any more' he added with a slight sadness.

Vaughn nodded, his own interest in this mysterious man piquing, 'OK Rowan, well my name is Vaughn, though my parents would rather I kept that between us due to who they are, you might as well know it as we are going to be stuck together until this mission is over' he said as he looked around them at the terrain. 'Do you even know who we are looking for?' he asked, hoping that the person beside him could shed some light on what they were after.

Rowan shook his head, 'I do not know who they are, only that they are marked'

Vaughn nodded, 'yeah, something about a crescent moon birth mark?' he asked as Rowan nodded, his eyes constantly sweeping the area around them, his stance alert as they put more and more distance between themselves and the castle, 'I wonder what the High Priestess wants her for' he muttered more to himself than his companion.

Sighing deeply, Rowan turned to face the young Vampire, studying him closely as if sizing him up, finally he uttered, 'one thing you should know about our employer Vaughn, she is a very powerful witch, do not think that because she smiled at you or spoke your name softly that she isn't a cobra waiting to strike. Do not question why we are collecting this person, do not even think about the Coven's reasons as it will only lead to pain for yourself and your family!

Vaughn glanced at the warrior who strode along at his side, and realised that though the man was only a few years older than himself, he held the gaze of someone who had seen an eternity of suffering, nodding silently, he allowed the Ghost to set their course, the pair lapsing into silence as they continued their journey.