Sold To The Alpha
Hated Ties That Bind Chapter 23

Walking into the village, the group gazed around themselves, taking in the much busier street that was lined with stalls that were manned by all types of creatures selling their wares. Witches, Warlocks, Crones and other magical creatures bustled around buying from the stallholders. A wizened woman bent low over a stick muttered as she passed them, 'ten dollars for ground rat tail? Is he crazy? What, there's suddenly a shortage of rats to warrant that kind of price hike?'

Making their way to the first stall, Alessia quickly rummaged in her bag as she approached a small fairy who had just finished selling one of her small bottles of gold liquid to a beautiful witch. Turning to Alessia she smiled brightly as she approached. 'Welcome, I am Dolores and I run Pivotal Potions, what are you looking for today miss? Do you require a potion of some sort?' she asked, her light voice musical as she fluttered her wings delicately behind her making her long light blue hair sway with the breeze. 'Today I have happiness, contentment, Serenity all bottled and ready to go, and I think I might also have one or two vials of inspiration behind the table.

Alessia shook her head as she held out the photo, 'I'm just after some information if that's OK' she said softly.

The Fairy nodded immediately as she took the photo, 'who is this handsome young man?' she asked curiously.

'My brother, he came through here some months ago, did you happen to see him?' the she wolf asked hopefully.

Studying the photo carefully, the fairy frowned, 'he doesn't look familiar, but then I only come here once a month for the big market' she replied regretfully.

Taking back her photo, the she wolf nodded sadly, 'Thank you anyway' she said as she went to turn away.

'Wait' the fairy called out suddenly, 'talk to Mathius, he's the troll that runs the stall situated further up the street, selling roots and plants, you can't miss him. He comes weekly to the village to sell so he might have seen your brother! Thanking the creature, the group headed further up the high street looking for the troll that they had been guided too.

A few stalls away they saw a large weathered troll, his grey leather like skin giving off the aura of invulnerability. He was talking to a young witch who stood in front of him, her hands on her hips.

'You said you would have some this month Mathias! I need blood root! How can I curse my ex-husband with haemorrhoids for running off with my skank of a sister without them?' the witch demanded as she glared down at the troll furiously. Mathias held up his hands as he replied in his deep gravely voice, 'I already told you Esme, leeches got into my garden, they destroyed my whole crop. I have more planted, I just need the full moon to ripen them so I will have some next week.' Esme stamped her foot in annoyance before picking up her basket from the floor beside her and slipping the handle over her arm.

'Fine, I shall be back, don't let me down though, I can't bear for that pond scum to be pain free any longer' she grumbled before walking off.

Shaking his head, Mathias looked up, seeing the werewolves watching him curiously. Walking over he grumbled, 'well I can tell that you are not here to buy potion supplies, so what can I do for you.'

Stepping closer, Alessia hesitantly held out the photo to the stall holder, 'this is my brother, he went missing a few months ago, he was last seen here in this village and the fairy down at the potion stall said that you might remember him?' Mathias took the photo in his thick calloused hands, studying it for a moment before nodding slowly, 'Yes, I remember him, he stopped and asked where the nearest shop was that he could buy a bottle of water. I had some spares and gave him one of mine out of my cooler, save him a few dollars, you know.. he walked up toward the square, was looking around curiously, then he bumped into a Vamp, the bloke talked to him and then led him away!

Alessia stiffened at his words, 'do you remember the Vampire's name?' she asked worriedly.

Mathias shook his head, 'sorry wolf, he wasn't a regular here and they weren't close enough for me to hear what they were saying! Pointing to his ears grimly he added, 'nothing like werewolf hearing I'm afraid.

Handing the photo back, Mathias watched as Alessia carefully placed it back in her bag, a look of defeat on her face.

Taking her hand in his, the rough skin running over her own, Mathias gave her a comforting look, 'I do remember that your brother didn't look scared when he left with the Vamp so where ever they went, he did so willingly' he rumbled.

Nodding, the she wolf gave a small smile as she thanked the troll and headed back to her waiting friends.

'Hey, don't let this get you down' Nathaniel said as he nudged her shoulder with his arm, 'we are going to see our friends, and they just happen to have detailed knowledge regarding every Vampire that exists!

Alessia turned her clouded gaze up to the warrior, her shoulders slumped, 'I'm sure your friend know a lot of Vampires Nate, but this is going to be like looking for a needle in a haystack' she sighed. Nathaniel chuckled as they set off back out of the village and headed into the stark countryside, 'you'll see Lessi' he murmured with a wink.

The journey to the castle took two days, the group stopping to camp in the shelter of trees each night, taking turns to guard the group and tend the camp fire during the hours of darkness.

Finally the group reached a deep forest, striding into it, none of the warriors seemed phased though Alessia kept close to them as her eyes darted back and forth, trying to penetrate the thick trees.

A soft whooshing sound caused the she wolf to jump slightly, her hands replaceing Nathaniel's arm as she gripped it tightly, her gaze scanning the area. 'What was that?' she asked nervously, her body instinctively trying to move closer to the warriors who looked back at her amusedly. 'Just a guard' Rowan replied with a shrug as he led the way deeper into the woods.

'You scared Lessi?' the future Alpha asked teasingly causing the she wolf to straighten up and release him.

'No, I was just surprised by the sudden noise, I'm not scared' she grumbled just as a second whoosh flew overhead making her squeak and grip onto Landen who patted her hand with his.

'We believe you little she wolf, thousands wouldn't' the Beta chuckled, earning a death stare from the young woman as she straightened up again and hurried her steps, falling into step beside Rowan who gave her a glance out of the side of his eye but said nothing. 'Why is she walking with Rowan now?' Landen asked innocently, 'are we not good enough to protect her from the big bad guards?'

Glancing over her shoulder, Alessia shrugged, 'to be fair, if we are going to get attacked, I'm pretty sure that the safest place to be is by the ex Rogue warrior who has command over Rogue wolves' she replied with a wink, making the other men growl. 'Umm, he is a warrior, WE are Alpha's and Beta's' Nathaniel grumbled in annoyance.

Alessia threw her hair over her shoulder as she smirked back at the annoyed Alpha, 'yes so you will all be busy trying to be the big man if we get attacked, Rowan on the other hand will be looking to protect us all, so I'm going to stick with him till we get out of this creepy forest.'

'Did she just attack our ability to protect people AND say that we are all big headed?' Landen asked in shock, his mouth falling open.

'Yes Landen.. yes she did' Nathaniel gritted out.

Walking silently, the only sounds to be heard were the crunching of leaves under their feet, soon they stepped out into daylight in front of an impressive castle that was surrounded by a large stone wall, two metal gates closed in front of them. Riley and Daniel walked up to the gates, rattling them, 'hello? Jason?' Riley called out.

A scuffling noise was heard to their right before a small boy of four years old walked up to the gates, eying the pair suspiciously, 'go away' he said rudely, 'you are not Vampires, you can't be here!' 'We are looking for Jason or Vallance' Riley replied, a small scowl forming on his face.

'There is no-one here called that, now go away before I bite you!' the young boy snarled, showing off his tiny white fangs.

Rowan pushed forward, standing next to the Luna and Beta who were staring at the small child wordlessly. 'Hey mate' he said fondly, drawing the young boy's attention, 'how is my favourite nephew?'

The little boy's face lit up as he clapped his hands together, 'Uncle Rowan? You came to see me! Who are these people, why are they here? They better not try to hurt my mummy, I'll bite them' he added with a knowing look toward Riley who grumbled under his breath.

Rowan laughed as he shook his head, 'these people won't hurt your mummy, this is Riley, he is Gabby's dad' he said as he waved to the Luna.

The young boy tipped his head, studying the Alpha before nodding slowly, 'he looks like Aunt Gabby, what about the others?'

Gesturing to Nathaniel, Rowan introduced him as Gabby's brother, then the two Beta's and finally Alessia who gave the child a small wave.

'Valentino? Where are you now? You better not be up that tree again! Leave the guards alone!' came a stern voice before Vaughn walked out of the front door, his face angry.

Stopping short, his gaze wandered over the group on the other side of the gate before his face broke into a huge smile.

'Daddy, Uncle Rowan is here' said Valentino unnecessarily, 'he came to play wolves and bats with me' he added as Rowan chuckled.

Waving a hand, Vaughn opened the gates, stepping forward to face his best friend who grinned back at him, 'so what are you doing here Rogue?' he asked fondly, 'I don't believe it's just to play wolves and bats with my son'

Rowan laughed, 'well obviously, wolves and bats is my favourite game, but we are actually here on business, it's to do with Nate's mate' he said quietly.

Nodding, Vaughn straightened up as he said, 'Warrior Rowan and party, you are welcomed as guests into my home, by entering you are not swearing any allegiance to the castle and are free to leave whenever you wish without repercussions!

Stepping back, Vaughn allowed the group to walk over the boundary, Alessia giving Landen a quizzical look as she stepped over, shivering slightly as a feeling of acceptance ran down her spine. 'The castle is a feeling entity, if you enter without declaration by the owner, you bind yourself to it for eternity, you can never leave again' the Beta whispered in her ear.

Rowan walked up to Vaughn, the pair hugging tightly before Rowan bent down to pick up Valentino as Vaughn greeted the rest of the group.

'Uncle Riley, Daniel, nice to see you again, how are Aunt Isabella and Vaya?' Vaughn asked as he shook both men's hands.

'Both fine, but Bella is not happy that you haven't been to visit since Valentino was a baby' Riley replied with a smile.

Vaughn laughed, 'lets just say that I now understand why my fathers stopped bringing me to visit when I was small' he replied ruefully, 'I may have been a Firestarter, but Tino is a whole other level of trouble, he definitely has his mother's temper' he said with a grin. 'Umm, are you speaking badly about me husband?' came a stern voice behind them.

Turning quickly, Vaughn strode up to his wife and kissed her, 'of course not my angel, everything about you is perfect' he replied while the men laughed at Valentino who pulled a disgusted face.

'Gross, stop sucking up to mummy' he grumbled as he held tight to Rowan's neck.

Olivia pulled away from her husband, and walked forward to greet their guests, hugging each of them in turn before reaching Nathaniel. Smiling she grabbed his hands in hers, 'did I hear that right? You found your mate?' she asked hopefully. Nathaniel nodded, 'yeah, but it's complicated' he replied.

Turning to Alessia, the she wolf's face brightened, 'well hurry up and uncomplicate it Nate because she is beautiful, just what I thought your mate would look like' Olivia gushed.