The Alpha King and the Vampire Princess

Chapter 13

The rest of the day passed by uneventfully. I carried both the girls as we crossed streams and vast grasslands. Around midday, I offered to stop for lunch but Trish didn't want any as she claimed that riding on my back was making her sick. So we skipped lunch and I snacked on berries and fruit from trees around me. By late afternoon, I could see small mud houses on the other side of the mountain with their chimneys bellowing smoke.

As we got nearer, my heart started to thump loudly. I had come to trust Trish with Elora but I wasn't sure how her mother would react considering she hated vampires enough to create a spell that drove them insane. Would she agree to help me fix the curse or make it even worse?

I started to run into people the closer I got to the village. They all bowed at me 

 " Wolf lord" they muttered as they avoided eye contact. Nearly  everyone did a double take as they saw Elora in my arms but thankfully, they had enough common sense to keep quiet about it except a few young girls who kept muttering amongst themselves about how I had a vampire as a mate.  Some of them started following me and by the time we reached the village, we had quiet an audience tagging along with us. Trish climbed down from my back as an elderly woman with a long white braid came towards us. She wore an airy dress just like Trish with a strangely shaped pendant hanging on her chest.

She bowed as she approached us but straightened up soon after.

 "Welcome! Wolf lord, to our humble village. And thank you for bringing my daughter home safe." she said now looking at Trish who was standing next to me.

"Mother" trish went ahead and embraced her.

"My name is Anita, and I am the elder of this village" she said as she pulled away from her daughter.

"You look just like your father lord Atrix" she said as she came closer, touching the side of my face in a motherly fashion.

"You knew my father?" I asked her, surprised.

"Yes, I knew him very well. He was one of my best friends. Infact, it was I who helped him realm jump 26 years ago."

I was surprised to hear that.

" I was there when you were born. You were so tiny and wrinkly, but I knew the moment I held you I knew that you were meant to do great things one day" she sniffled, blinking the moisture from her eyes.

"To this day, I curse myself for not being there when your father took his  last breaths."

I felt a lump form in my throat.

"I never knew what happened to my real parents" I confessed  as I stared at the ground, trying to process it all. Even though the chances were slim, I had always imagined that I would one day run into my them and they would embrace me whole heartedly. I felt a pang of sadness in my heart at losing someone I had never known.

"I apologize, seeing your face reminded me of what a great man your father was. Ignore my ramblings"

Trish came up next to me, rubbing my shoulders soothingly .

"Atrix, let's go inside my house. We can talk there comfortably." She said eyeing the crowd around us that had gone quiet as well.

I hung my head low and followed Trish and Anita into a humble mud house with straw roof. The inside of the house was pretty simple with a table and two  chairs near the window and a mattress pressed up against the wall on the other side. I lowered Elora in it and straightened up. Anita was looking at her with a strange expression on her face.

"She was in a lot of pain so Trish put her to sleep" I told her

"Oh dear" Anita said as she turned to look at her daughter. 

"That must have been so exhausting for you."

"It's alright mother" Trish waved her hand dismissevly " Atrix carried me for most part so I wasn't that tired"

"She is your mate, I presume" Anita asked motioning towards elora's body

"Yes" I said

" I must warn you lord atrix, witches do not take lightly to vampires. The only reason we allow her to breath the same air as us is because she is your mate. And you are our last pure wolf."

"Mother!" Trish hissed

"No it's ok Trish, and I understand Anita. I thank you for your hospitality. But I need a favour.

Elora was effected by Negwal while crossing your forest.  Your daughter told me that you were the one who created it. So if there is something you can do to fix it, I am willing to offer anything as payment"

Anita peered at me with a fond expression. "How can I refuse when you look so much like Albus. "  She sighed   " When I created Negwal, I based it off a circular spell. Such curses have no end or beginning. They are eternally bound to the host, feeding on their spirit. "

My shoulders slumped " If you were the maker then surely you can find a loophole to destroy it as well " I argued with her, feeling hopeless.

"Give me tonight." Anita sighed as she rubbed her temples ." And I will look at the curse once again to see if I can find something.  But remember my lord, you promised me anything I want. "

"Yes" I agreed "Anything"

Anita started to walk away.

 "Wait!" I called after her " What it is my lord?" She asked turning around

I held up my wrists and showed her the ropes that were binding my wolf.

"Could you take these off?" I asked her

She frowned as she touched the ropes, running her fingers over them.

"This is dark magic, something that I do not practice" I let out a frustrated sigh

"But it's already destroyed. " She said as she tugged on my ropes lightly and they came off.

"How is it possible?" I asked frowning. I had tried numerous times to pull the ropes off while I was captured but I always failed.

"It seems that there was a time when your wolf tried to come out. The energy it gave out was too much and it burned away the magic."

I thought back to the time  I snapped Elora's neck and my wolf tried to come out and the ropes started to burn.

"Yes I remember" I told her.

She smiled at me kindly " You are powerful. That was a very strong curse. Rest tonight my lord, I have much to ponder on. Tomorrow we shall talk some more"

 She patted my arm lightly and with that she turned on her heels and left me alone with Trish and Elora.

"Seems like its us three again" Trish laughed, looking around nervously as she plopped down on the mattress next to Elora.

"Trish, could you watch over Elora for a bit while I let my wolf out for a run?" I asked hoping she would say yes. I was eager to let my wolf run in the wild and get in some exercise.

"Yes Ofcourse" she smiled at me.

I quickly left the house and walked to a tree in the backyard. I took off my only pair of shorts and left them on the ground. Then I closed my eyes and next thing I know, I was crouching on the ground on 4 paws. I felt raw power ripple through me as I flexed my back legs. I ran into the woods, feeling elated as the cold wind whipped my face. I ran around the perimeter of the village  four times before I started seeing Elora's face in my head. I missed her and turned behind  a  tree as I  put my shorts back on and headed back inside the house.

It was dark and the only light came in from the window. Full moon was two days away. I found Trish cuddled up next to Elora as they both snored softly.

I found it funny that her mother had just given me a lecture on how much they hated vampires and here her daughter was cuddling one.

I tried to squeeze myself between Elora and the wall but I was too tall and my feet kept bumping. I thought about lying next to Trish but I didn't want to be apart from Elora for the whole night. I finally nudged them both apart and squeezed myself between them. I gently lifted Elora's head, placing it over my heart as Trish rubbed her face against my shoulder.

I felt oddly at peace and soon drifted off to sleep.