Midnight Pleasure [THE PLEASURE SERIES BOOK 1]

Chapter Fourteen - Drystan

Drystan ran his hands through his hair for the thousandth time that night. He recognized the spot from Melora's mental image. The problem was that this was the last image before the castle that she had sent him.

"Does anyone have the scent of the fucking bastards that took her yet?" he spun around, glaring at his two friends.

Draco gave him a long, pointed look before answering. "We aren't smelling her, but we have the scent of the wolfmen with her."

Dante nodded beside his brother. "These have to be the men that are with her, Drystan. This is the location that she sent you, correct?"

Drystan nodded as he turned back around, looking at his surroundings. The woods were starting to get thicker around them. Even though it was already night, the woods seemed darker. They were quieter here. There was no sound around them except for their voices and breathing. No animals roamed through these woods. No birds sang in the trees. Not even the tiniest bug made a noise.

"It's creepy here," Draco whispered beside him. "They brought her through here?"

"She was asleep," Drystan gritted.

Dante came up beside Drystan and clasped his hand on his shoulder. "We're going to find her, Drystan." He pointed down the dark path ahead of them. "They had to go that way."

Draco crossed his arms. "If the snow hadn't fallen heavy the night before we would be able to follow them better."

"The bastard's scents are still strong," Drystan growled. He moved forward in the direction of the disgusting scent of the wolfmen. "I'm going to rip each one of their heads off." The crunching of the snow was drowned out by the silence.

They traveled for a couple more hours before they stopped short. The trail that they were following stopped. Drystan growled as he spun around, sniffing the air. He tried hard to find one of the wolfmen's scents, but couldn't find it. His heart dropped in his chest.

He wasn't going to find her. He was trying to get in contact with her, but she wasn't answering him. Nothing. Her beautiful voice never flowed through his head.

"Drystan," Dante's voice pierced through the air. He gripped Drystan's shoulders, stopping him from spinning around again. "You need to calm down."

"I've got to find her," Drystan's voice broke. He was becoming desperate. He didn't know which direction to go.

Dante's grip tightened on his shoulders. "We're going to find her. You've got to clear your head first, Drystan." He paused, watching Drystan before he continued, "Where were you supposed to take her?"

"Who did her father make a deal with?" Draco stepped up beside his brother.

Drystan looked between the two brothers before taking a deep breath. He forced himself to calm down. "Alathic."

Drystan didn't miss the flash of fear that went through Dante's eyes before disappearing. "Her father made a deal to give his only daughter to Alathic?" Dante's voice was controlled as he asked.

"How?" Draco questioned. "Why?"

Drystan looked down. "I don't know. Since the drought, he had been different. Chieftain Ba Coford changed drastically when the drought hit. It didn't help that his daughter came of age at the same time." He pushed Dante's hands off of his shoulders and took a step back. He turned and started back in the direction that they were heading, hoping that they would run across anything that could help them. "I tried to tell him who Alathic was, but he wouldn't listen."

Dante and Draco followed close behind him. "Does he know what you are?" Draco asked him.

Drystan nodded. "Yes. That is why he had hired me to protect Melora." He turned his head to look at them for a moment before turning forward again. "I'm hard to kill. I was the perfect person - or thing - to protect his daughter."

Dante scoffed. "Why didn't Chieftain Ba Coford listen to you when you told him what Alathic was? He had to have heard his reputation before."

Drystan shook his head. "Any news that wasn't in his clan, he didn't know about. He refused to listen to any news of outside clans. The only thing he cared about was selling his daughter off to someone who had power and resources for him to keep his throne." He took a deep breath and ran his hands through his hair. "I told him what Alathic was and what his reputation was. He wouldn't listen. He sold Melora off to a vampire who's known to-" Drystan couldn't finish. Images of Melora underneath the vampire master drove him feral. His fangs lengthened as his hands curled into fists.

"Drystan," Draco called out to him. "We're going to find her before anything happens to her."

Drystan calmed himself down as he nodded. "I know. We have to. I will never forgive myself if Melora is subjected to him."

They went quiet. Nothing was said for a long time. Drystan kept mental images of where they were and what they passed. He knew that he was just walking, but he was hoping that the direction that they were going in was going to lead them to Alathic's castle.

"Drystan," Dante called out.

"Yes?"

"He'll know you're alive."

Drystan turned around quickly. "What are you talking about?"

Dante looked over at Draco before he continued. "He'll know that you're alive when he smells her. If you were dead, your scent would have started to fade from her by now."

Drystan groaned. "He's going to kill her."

"No, he's not."

Drystan snapped his head over at Draco. "He's not?"

Draco slowly shook his head. "He's going to want you."

"We're going to have to figure out another way to save her without risking your life, Drystan," Dante continued to explain. "If you're dead, you can't save your mate."

Drystan couldn't help the growl coming from his throat. "I'm going into that castle any way to be able to save my mate. I can't risk losing her even if that means I have to risk my life to save her." He started to walk back in the direction again. "If he wants to fight me, he's going to get a fucking fight."