Sold To The Alpha
A Love spoken Chapter 21

'MINE!' the black wolf growled within their mind, as he stared into the she wolf's eyes, taking in her shocked expression.

Rowan suddenly lunged through the bushes to the side, growling loudly at Vaughn, nodding his head back toward their clothes before setting off at a sprint, Vaughn immediately turning tail and following the grey wolf, leaving the girls behind in the clearing. Reaching their clothes, Rowan quickly shifted and dressed, waiting for Vaughn to do the same before he spoke, 'we found her, that she wolf is the Crescent moon wolf' he said quickly as he pulled his hood over his head. Vaughn slumped to the ground, his mind reeling, ignoring the warrior's rambling voice.

'Rowan' he croaked suddenly, 'she's my mate'

The warrior dropped to the floor beside the Prince, horror etched on his own face, 'you are kidding right, please tell me that you are kidding' he muttered desperately.

Vaughn shook his head, his eyes glued to the leaves that were strewn across the forest floor, 'she's my mate' he repeated in disbelief.

'Vaughn!' suddenly came Gabriella's worried voice as she appeared nearby, now fully clothed, 'Vaughn! Are you here?' she called.

'I'm here Gabby, sorry about that' Vaughn called back from the bushes as he hastily scrambled to his feet. Stepping out he gave a weak smile, 'my guard felt something was off, we needed to check it out' he said as the Princess walked over to him, her eyes trained on the emerging warrior who's face was still covered.

'Yeah, I bet he did' she growled quietly, her gaze boring into the side of the Rogue's head as he flinched under her gaze.

'Uh, so, who was the brown wolf in the clearing?' Vaughn asked, trying to keep his voice level.

Gabriella grinned, 'That was Olivia, she went out for a run with one of the pack wolves earlier, she must have convinced him to give her a bit of time on her own, I really need to ask her how she managed that' she added under her breath.

Vaughn growled sub consciously at the thought of another male around his mate, quickly covering it with a cough as Gabriella looked at him enquiringly.

'She seemed nice, Alpha Isabella must be proud to have so many strong she wolves in her pack' Vaughn replied with a taut smile.

Gabriella laughed, 'Olivia isn't a Silver Cross member, she belongs to Oak Grove, she is Former Beta Leo's daughter' she said.

The Prince's heart sank at her words, his mate, the woman he was supposed to hand over to the Coven to save his father was the daughter of his grand father's most trusted pack member.

Vaughn could remember Beta Leo from the few times that he had met him as a child, he remembered his daughter who was a few years older than him. She hadn't paid him much attention other than to greet him politely, he had thought at the time that she was one of the most beautiful girls he had ever seen, strangely drawn to her but had pushed her to the back of his mind years ago when he was no longer allowed to visit Oak Ridge pack.

'Are you OK Vaughn?' Gabriella asked concerned, 'do you need to go back to the pack house?'

The Prince nodded weakly, he needed to get away from everyone and figure out what to do, allowing Gabriella to take his arm, he dazedly made his way back to the pack house, the princess leading him up the stairs and opening a door to one of the guest rooms. 'Gamma Darcy linked me to say this was your room' she said with concern, 'your guard is next door' she added with a scowl toward the hooded figure who remained silent, just inside the door frame.

Giving the Vampire one last comforting pat, Gabriella swept from the room and shut the door behind her. Rowan pressed his ear to the door quickly, listening intently for a few moments before stepping back and flicking the lock, removing his robe as he sat down on the edge of the Prince's bed.

'What am I going to do Rowan?' Vaughn asked horrified, his eyes glazed as his mind rushed at a mile a minute.

'We have to take her to the Coven Vaughn, we don't have a choice' Rowan replied evenly.

Spinning around to glare at the Rogue, Vaughn's eyes glowed red with anger, his Vampire genes taking dominance in his fury, 'she is my mate! I am sworn to protect her as the Moon Goddess demands' he growled. 'And you are also sworn by a blood oath to hand her to the Coven or your father dies' Rowan growled back.

Dropping to the bed, Vaughn dragged his fingers through his hair in desperation, 'I can't let my dad die' he said painfully, 'but what are the coven going to do to my mate if we hand her over?' he asked pitifully.

The warrior's shoulders sagged, 'I don't know Vaughn, but I am bound by the Council to take her to the High Priestess, with or without your help' he replied in defeat.

Vaughn grabbed the warrior's shirt in his fist, his eyes blazing, 'you will not hurt my mate' he growled, his wolf pushing to the surface, showing his dominance as Rowan struggled against the iron fist.

'I don't want to hurt her Vaughn' he gasped, trying to prize the Prince's fingers from his clothing, 'but I don't have a choice about handing her over, neither of us do' he added.

Vaughn dropped the warrior's shirt, folding back in on himself as he struggled over his impossible dilemma.

'Look we are here for a couple of days' Rowan reasoned, 'lets get to know her, she must have also felt the mate bond when she looked at you, but it's not like she's just going to pack up and come with us, so lets use the time for you to learn about her and we can try and figure out what the hell we are going to do.'

Vaughn sighed heavily as he nodded, 'yeah, OK, lets go and get some food, it must be nearly dinner time and then we'll start to learn about this Crescent moon wolf.

Standing up again, Rowan straightened his mussed clothes, putting his cloak back on and covering his face before opening the door, allowing the Prince to exit first before shutting the door behind him and following down the stairs to the dining hall.

Making their way slowly down the staircase, the pair crossed the foyer and entered the dining hall, pack members bowing respectfully as the Prince walked past them. Lining up with the rest of the members, Vaughn was suddenly engulfed with an intoxicating scent, 'cinnamon apples' he breathed softly, his eyes immediately searching the room for the source.

Moments later he found the woman, her long brown hair tied up in a braid, her face dejected as she played with the food on her plate, only half heartedly listening as Gabriella chatted away in her ear.

Vaughn's chest tightened at her broken look, his wolf urging him to go to her and wrap her in his arm until her pained look left her beautiful face. Rowan gave him a gentle push in the small of his back, causing the Prince to stumble slightly as he moved along the line, realising that whilst he had been mesmerised, the line had moved on without him.

Quickly dumping anything that was within reach onto his plate he left the line and made his way over to Gabriella's table, seating himself across from the older woman who took a deep breath in automatically before looking up at him.

Her eyes widened in surprise before her features clouded once more and she placed her cutlery on her plate, making as if to rise from her seat, Gabriella following suit as Rowan sat down next to him. 'No!' Vaughn said automatically, his voice strangled, causing her to pause, 'please, stay' he added dejectedly.

Studying his face for a moment, Olivia slowly lowered herself back down into her chair across from him, Gabriella placing a comforting hand on her back before leaving them to their conversation.

'You want to speak to me now?' she asked coldly, though her voice washed over him like a symphony, making his heart flutter.

'I uh, I had to leave' the Prince replied lamely, his cheeks flushing.

'I noticed' Olivia replied sourly.

'Can we, uh, can we start over?' Vaughn asked desperately, 'I'd like to get to know you' he added with an embarrassed smile.

Olivia stared at him for a moment before she dropped her shoulders, 'fine, what would you like to know' she replied.

Smiling, Vaughn held out his hand to her, waiting expectantly until she took it warily, electric sparks flaying up their arms at the contact causing them both to gasp. Leaning forward he brushed his lips against the back of her hand softly, closing his eyes automatically as her scent invaded every pore of his body.

'I am Prince Vaughn, son of Jason and Vallance' he said with a smile.

Olivia let out a small gasp at his words, 'the Vampire King?' she muttered to herself questioningly.

'Yes, and Alpha Halle's older brother' Vaughn added with a grin.

Pulling her hand slowly from his, Olivia straightened her shoulders as she replied, 'I am Olivia, daughter to Leo, former Beta of the Oak Ridge pack'

Vaughn nodded with a smile, 'It is a pleasure to meet you Olivia!

'It has been a long time Prince Vaughn' Olivia replied, her voice devoid of emotion.

Vaughn smiled, 'please call me Vaughn, and yes it has, the last time we saw each other, I think I was about eight years old.

Olivia nodded, 'yes, you set fire to our dining room if I remember correctly' she replied as Vaughn rolled his eyes.

'Is there anyone who does not know that story?' he groaned, dropping his head into his hands as Olivia laughed despite herself.

'You certainly leave a lasting impression' she agreed.

Vaughn chuckled before giving her a warm smile, 'I hope to leave a better impression on you this time than our first meeting' he said softly.

'We'll see' the she wolf replied, but a small smile tugged at the corners of her mouth.