Sold To The Alpha
Hated Ties That Bind Chapter 26

The following morning, washed, fed and dressed, the visitors congregated in Vaughn's office, taking their seats as the guard from the previous day knocked and entered. Bowing deeply, he stood stiffly in front of them all, ready to report his replaceings. 'My King' he said solemnly, 'we asked around at the Witches Village and finally found out that the Vampire that spoke to and escorted Miss Alessia's brother was a young vamp that was recently turned.

Vallance straightened up immediately, 'was this a sanctioned turn?' he demanded, his tone hard.

The guard nodded, 'yes sir, one of the Vampiress' was his mate, she applied to the castle after he requested to be turned'

'How recently was he turned?' Jason asked interestedly.

'Forty years ago My Queen' the Vampire replied with a formal bow of his head.

'Forty years is recent?' Alessia interjected, unable to stop herself.

Jason laughed, 'my dear, when you live as long as a Vampire does, forty years is the blink of an eye' he replied as the room chuckled, the she wolf blushing.

'Continue' Vallance said as he waved his hand at the guard.

'The Vampire is called Dante, he met his mate when their Clan were on a hunt and accepted her. From the intel I received, the pair split from the coven soon after and joined a brood of Vampires that had decided to strike out alone. The group looked around at each other as Vallance nodded, 'do we know the name of the brood that they joined?' he asked quietly.

'Yes my King, I was able to procure the brood's name from a lone Vampire in the area who had interacted with the target, Dante is part of a brood from Fletchling, their leader was killed it seems and a new Vampire rose through the ranks to take his place! 'Thank you Ellic' Jason replied with a smile as the Vampire bowed and left the room.

'He got all of that in one night?' Alessia asked in surprise.

Vaughn grinned, 'the Vampire population is extremely co-operative when they are asked questions by an official guard of the Vampire King' he replied easily, 'no-one wants to piss off my dad as he can take their immortality with a click of his fingers, it's his blood that keeps them alive' he confided.

Alessia turned to Vallance in awe, 'so when they call you My King, it's like really your title? You are really the King of every Vampire in existence?' she asked faintly.

Nathaniel started to laugh, 'why did you think they called him that?' he asked.

Alessia shook her head dazedly, 'I thought it was like a respect thing, like Alpha' she replied nervously.

Jason smiled as he reached over and patted the she wolf's hand, 'it's fine, you can still call us Jason and Vallance, we don't really stand on ceremony with people we know.

'OK' the she wolf squeaked, as she sank back against the cushions of her chair in shock, 'a King' she muttered to herself, 'an actual frigging King, and I'm over here all casual like, I should have bowed at least!'

Vaughn, Nathaniel and Landen all snorted with laughter at the she wolf's mortification, Olivia growling at her husband warningly, causing the hybrid to shut his mouth immediately.

'Oooo Daddy! Mummy is going to tell you off later for laughing at the lady' Valentino hissed in horror, earning a raised eyebrow of his own from his mother. The little boy immediately shrunk back against Rowan, the warrior pulling him into a protective hug as he gave the she wolf a reproachful look.

'Ugh, you are a pain in my a*s Ro' Olivia muttered darkly, 'how am I supposed to discipline this little fireball when you always spoil him.'

'No idea what you are talking about' the warrior huffed, avoiding her gaze as he pulled a wrapped sweet out of his jacket pocket and slipped it into the child's hand.

Throwing her hands up in exasperation, the she wolf turned away from the grinning pair to focus on the rest of the group, 'so I assume you'll be leaving us' she said sadly, her eyes replaceing Alessia's who gave her a small smile in return.

Nathaniel nodded as he straightened up, 'yes, now that we know that the same brood that housed my mate also had interactions with Lessi's brother we need to get moving. The longer we wait around the more chance there is that one or both could move on to somewhere else.'

Olivia leaned against her husband, who put his arm around his wife, 'I'll miss you all' she grumbled, 'this was nowhere near long enough for a visit Silver Cross!

The men looked sheepish as they nodded, 'we'll come and visit soon Liv' Landen soothed. 'Once we have Nate's mate and Sierra has had the baby, we can all come here to see you so you can coo all over our baby and they can coo all over your swelling belly' he teased.

Olivia laughed as she wiped her eyes that were tearing, 'I'm going to hold you to that Beta, don't make me hunt you down, I have a nasty temper remember?'

Landen pretended to shudder, 'yes ma-am' he replied with a salute and a wink.

Standing up, the group filed out, Alessia falling into step beside Olivia who smiled over at her sadly, 'I can't see you losing your temper' the she wolf giggled in amusement.

'Oh you haven't seen anything until my mate gets angry' Vaughn interjected from behind them, cutting off his conversation with Nathanial.

Olivia blushed, 'I may get slightly irate sometimes, but I have much better control of it now' she muttered evasively. Alessia shrugged, still unable to envision the princess furious.

'Uncle Ro, you didn't play wolves and bats with me' Valentino pouted grabbing the warrior's face in his small hands and forcing him to look at him.

'I know buddy, I'm sorry' the warrior replied sadly, 'but I'll come back and visit soon OK? Maybe I'll bring Aunt Gabby, Ethan and the baby when Landen and Nathaniel come? You, me and Ethan can all play wolves and bats together' he offered. Letting out a long sigh, the small vampire prince nodded, 'fine, but you owe me a lolly, you didn't bring me none this time so I get two when you come back' he grumbled.

Hugging the boy tightly, Rowan chuckled, 'you got it little man, two lollies and whatever Aunt Gabby sneaks into the suitcase while I'm not looking' he added. 'What Gabby puts in, my a*s' Olivia's voice floated forward to them.

'Don't listen to her Tino, you know it's Aunt Gabby who brings you all those new toys' Rowan whispered conspiratorially.

Alessia grinned as se watched the exchange between the child and the gruff male, 'he really loves him doesn't he' she said in a low voice to the princess.

Olivia nodded as a smile crept across her face, 'as does he love Rowan' she replied. 'They have been as thick as thieves since Tino was born, I swear that boy would hold his baby hands out to Ro every time the warrior entered the castle grounds. Ro would walk up, scoop him out of my arms with a 'tea Liv, milk, three sugars' and off he would walk, my son gurgling away excitedly. The she wolf shrugged as she watched the pair, Valentino whispering something in Rowan's ear, making the warrior laugh, 'at least I always know that my son is safe' she added, 'with Rowan as his guard, no-one would dare try and hurt him. If Gabby wasn't so settled at Silver Cross, I would ask them to move here just for Tino.

'It must be nice to have such close friends' Alessia murmured, her eyes clouding slightly.

'It is, I couldn't be without Nate, Landen, Rowan, Gabby and Sierra. I don't see them as much as I would like but just to have them at the end of the phone is wonderful.

The Green Vine she wolf swallowed as she nodded, 'you are very lucky, and when Nate finally replaces Ariana, your group will grow even larger!

Olivia took the other she wolf's hand in her own, 'please, I know that you are only with the boys to replace your brother, but.. I like you, come and visit me again after you replace him.. it's been nice to have some female company, even if it was just for a night! Alessia smiled, her eyes lighting up, 'I would love that' she replied, 'oh hang on' she said as she pulled out a notepad from the inside pocket of her jacket and a pencil, scrawling a phone number before handing it to the princess. 'That is the phone number for my pack house' she said shyly, 'we are too small to have phones in everyone properties, but the Alpha has his own line and we have a phone in the foyer that members use. If you ever want to have a chat, you can ring this number and they will get me! Olivia took the phone number and carefully folded it, placing it in her pocket as she smiled over at the other woman, 'I will definitely ring you' she said happily. Reaching the foyer, the princess pulled the young she wolf into a hug, 'you be careful OK' Olivia murmured, 'I don't have a lot of female friends, I can't afford to lose you just as I found you.

Alessia laughed as she hugged the pregnant woman back, 'I promise I'll be safe' she replied, 'anyway, I'm surrounded by big burly Alphas and Betas, no-one will get anywhere near me' she added.

Releasing the she wolf, Olivia turned to Nathanial, pulling him into another hug, 'go replace your mate Nate and bring her home' she growled, 'and take care of my friend, I will hurt you if she so much as gets a scratch.

Patting Olivia's back, Nathanial smiled, 'I'll take care of her Liv, don't you worry!

Soon everyone had said goodbye, Valentino finally releasing Rowan and returning to his father's arms, his little face streaked with tears as he hid his face in Vaughn's neck.

'Every time Ro' Vaughn grumbled, 'I swear the kid loves you more than me!

Patting the little boy on the back, Rowan's voice broke as he muttered, 'I'll be back soon little man, I promise.

Turning around, the group walked out of the castle and out into the grounds, each crossing the boundary into the forest with a faint shiver. Waving one last time, the group set off into the surrounding trees with only the occasional whoosh of bat wings breaking the quiet of the forest.