Sold To The Alpha
Hated Ties That Bind Chapter 30

The group continued to walk, their march only broken for them to sleep and eat. Dropping to the ground exhausted, Alessia wiped her arm across her sweating brow as Nate pulled a bottle of water out of his bag and handing it to her. The she wolf took it gratefully, 'Thank you' she gasped out when she finally pulled the bottle from her lips.

twisting off the top and taking a few huge gulps.

Nathaniel smiled down at her, 'no worries Lessi' he replied, 'you looked like you needed it!

Alessia laughed, 'yeah, I'm not used to this kind of rigorous exercise' she muttered, 'some of us didn't train to be leaders' she added ruefully.

'I thought being a horse wrangler, you'd be proper buff Lessi' Landen called out with a wink.

The she wolf laughed, 'yeah, see the thing is, we put them in pens so they can't run away, and they respond really well to bribes so I've yet to have to chase one down' she replied.

Riley walked over to the trio, crouching down beside where Nathaniel had sprawled on the grass. 'The town that we are looking for should be over that hill, Rowan has gone ahead to scout the area, but we need to plan how we are going to get the locals to tell us where the Vamps are holed up!'

Sitting quietly, the group pulled out the last of their supplies as they waited for the warrior to return.

An hour later, Rowan appeared from between the hedges that edges the field that they were sat in. Jogging up to the group, the ex-Rogue grabbed the bottle of water from out of Alessia's hand and drained the remainder greedily.

Handing the empty bottle back, he muttered, 'thanks!

'You are welcome?' Alessia replied bemusedly as she dropped the bottle into her bag.

'What did you replace Ro?' Riley asked as he met the warrior's gaze.

Everyone around them stopped moving as four heads swivelled toward the Luna who was waiting expectantly for Rowan to reply.

'Did you just call him Ro?' Landen asked in surprised.

Riley shrugged, 'that's his name isn't it?' he asked gruffly, his cheeks flushing slightly.

Clearing his throat, Rowan schooled his features as he sat down, getting comfortable before he spoke. 'The town of Fletchling is over the hill, roughly half an hours march from our current location. The town has a tavern, a store and a bakery, the good news is that the town is neatly structured, there are very few rabbit warrens, most roads are wide and easily accessible.

'What's the bad news' Daniel asked astutely as he sat down next to the Luna, a sandwich in his hand.

Rubbing his temple, Rowan gave Alessia a grateful look as she held a wrapped pasty out to him, ripping off the cellophane and taking a huge bite, his eyes rolling back in relief as he swallowed. 'The bad news is that the entire town is human' he replied, 'I walked through the streets as far as I could and didn't get the scent of a single supernatural being!

Nathaniel frowned, 'how is a brood of Vampires living in a town of humans and not leaving a single scent of themselves?' he asked confusedly, 'it's not like their smell is faint to a wolf.

The ex-Rogue shrugged, 'not a clue, but it throws up the problem of how we ask around about them when it's very likely they have no idea that their neighbours drink blood.'

Landen sighed as he nodded, 'yeah, It's not like we can go in there and say "hey, don't suppose you've seen a family of Vamps nearby, could you give us directions to their hideout? Much appreciated.'

Riley growled as he ran his hand down his face, 'we're just going to have to poke around and see what we can come up with' he muttered, 'even if they moved on and didn't inform Vallance, their old hideout will still be there and hopefully give us some clues! Rowan shook his head immediately, 'they are still here' he replied determinedly, 'Val's blood runs through them, he can sense every Vamp in existence, he wouldn't have sent us here without checking that one of the brood was still living in the area. Daniel nodded, 'he's right Riles, no Vamp can hide from their King, remember? Vallance's father, Viktor, could sense nearby covens when he was out with Justin trying to save Vallance when he got poisoned. The King has a unique bond with all of his subjects, if Val says that they are here, then they are here, we just need to replace them.

Scrambling to their feet, the group dusted themselves off before heading toward the distant town. When they entered the area, they were greeted with tarmacked roads that were lined by nondescript houses. The paint was peeling from windows and doors, gardens overgrown with weeds that gave the entire place a feeling of abandonment.

Walking through the empty street, the group remained on guard, their gazes swivelling back and forth as they slowly made their way toward the centre where an ornate clock tower stood.

Reaching the brick structure, they noticed that each side held a clock face that showed a different time. The most curious part was that each face seemed to move at a different speed, the first one taking at least five minutes for the second hand to complete a rotation, the fastest taking less than thirty seconds.

Raising an eyebrow in query, Daniel pointed silently up to the faces, as the others shrugged in confusion.

Looking around them at the desolate streets, Rowan suddenly nudged Riley's shoulder, getting his attention before he pointed covertly to one of the houses where the lace curtain was moving slightly as if it had just been dropped back into place. Gazing around the group, Riley gave them a questioning look, each of his companions nodding silently before he stepped away from the clock toward the small, terraced house and placed his hand on the broken wooden gate. Pushing gently, he cringed as it squealed in protest to the movement, once open, the group filed through, and made their way to the front door.

Reaching up, Riley hesitated for a second before knocking tentatively on the door. Waiting, they heard a squeak of fear and a scurrying of feet before silence hit them again.

'Hello?' Riley called out loudly, 'is anyone home? We would just like to ask you for some directions.'

Knocking again, louder, the Luna called out again until they heard the sound of a bolt scraping back and a crack appeared in the door. 'Go away' a young woman's voice hissed desperately, fear laced into her words. 'Ma-am, we mean you no harm' Riley replied quickly, 'please, we just need directions!

'No, you need to leave town, please for you own safety, you need to go' the female said as she went to shut the door again.

Growling in annoyance, Rowan pushed to the front and raised his foot, kicking against the door, forcing it to fly open, sending a red headed woman backwards into the wall.

Striding inside, Rowan beckoned for the others to follow as the young lady scrambled up, terror in her face as she rushed back to the door and tried to shut it quickly, her hands fumbling with the locks.

Placing a calming hand onto the young girl's arm, Alessia slowly moved her out of the way before shutting the door securely and sliding the dead bolt into place.

'Rowan! You can't just barge into people's houses' the she wolf hissed angrily as she gave the worried human an apologetic look.

'She was being cagey' the warrior replied in annoyance, 'something is going on here and I was fed up of standing in the street like some sort of target.

'Are you not being a tad dramatic?' Landen asked as he rolled his eyes.

Meeting the warrior's gaze, Rowan replied, 'did you not notice that the streets were deserted mate? There wasn't a homeless person, child or old granny out doing their weekly shop, when was the last time you saw a town like this?' he demanded.

Daniel paled slightly, 'with Clarissa' he mumbled, 'when they were being picked off by a Vamp'. Spinning to the cowering young woman, the older Beta walked over to her and pulled her gently into the lounge, helping her to sit down before he crouched in front of her and spoke gently. 'Ma-am, can you tell me your name?' he asked.

The red head looked around at the group fearfully before forcing out, 'Terri.' Swallowing hard, she added, 'are you with them?'

'With whom?' Landen asked as he knelt next to his father, and took the young girl's hand in his own, patting it comfortingly.

'The night walkers' she whispered, her eyes widening.

The warriors looked around at each other concerned, 'what are night walkers?' Alessia asked nervously.

'They come at night, when the four clocks all point to twelve at the same time, they walk through the streets and...' she shuddered as her voice failed her.

'And what?' Nathaniel pushed immediately.

'They take people' the young girl replied, her whole body shaking as she placed her arms around herself protectively.

'When did this start?' the Alpha asked worriedly.

Shutting her eyes momentarily, Terri took a deep shuddering breath before replying, 'just over thirty years ago!

Rowan turned his gaze to the human woman, his heart starting to race, 'just over thirty years ago? Before then they never came here?' he demanded harshly. Raising her eyes to the warrior's, Terri nodded slowly, 'yes, why?'

Rowan closed his eyes as he exhaled heavily, 'it was a few years after I dealt with Vincenzo, it looks like they have found themselves a new feeding ground' he sighed.

Alessia's eyes widened at his words, 'my brother' she whimpered, 'he was taken by one of them wasn't he? They took and fed off my brother? Oh my Goddess! No, no, no!' she shouted, her voice becoming hysterical.

Nathaniel grabbed the she wolf and pulled her tightly into his arms, holding her steady as she shook, 'it's OK Lessi, we don't know anything yet' he soothed as he stroked her hair. 'Lets not jump to conclusions OK, I promised to help you replace him and I will.' Alessia leaned into him as her sobs wracked her body, her voice muffled in his shirt but still understandable as she whispered, 'but you never said alive.'