Alpha's Mate : Daughter of the Moon (Book 2 of The Outcaste Series)

Chapter 11

As quickly as he appeared, the silver Lycan transformed back into a bare-bodied boy. His arms wrapped around and squeezed me tight, tighter than I ever could to him.

He whispered my name a few times as he ran his fingers through my hair. "You did well."

I pulled away from him a little, surprise written over my face.

"You're not going to scold me?" I ask timidly.

Ralphie only planted a kiss on my forehead. "Why would I?"

Oh right. Wolves see humans just as competent as they see themselves. There's nothing out of the ordinary if he just stood there and watched me finish the attacker myself. But still, I'm grateful for his appearance and timely assistance.

"Are you okay now?" I ask when I remembered how I got into this mess in the first place.

He nodded.

"What happened? You were heating up and I didn't know what to do. I was so scared when you didn't respond. I know you told me not to go out, but I needed to find help. You never had a fever like that. I was-"

"It's my fault," Ralphie interrupted my rambling and hugged me closer as he repeatedly apologized. "I'll explain later. First we need to see what this thing is..."

Ralphie knelt down near the headless corpse to better analyze it.

"I know there are a lot of undiscovered creatures, but I haven't ever seen something like this..." he said in utter disgust at its unnaturally pale skin and unusually bizarre attire.

"Vampire."

He froze momentarily at the sound of the word before walking to the lifeless victim drained of blood.

"Help me lift him up," he said solemnly. "His pack would want his body brought back so they can pay their respects."

After helping Ralphie secure the body, he lowers himself for me ride on his back. He lets out a low pitch howl, asking me why I'm not moving.

"Ralphie, the body..." I say as I point at the dismembered vampire.

"We'll return for the bloodsucker later."

"Vampires can regenerate if we don't burn them."

My wolf boy gives me a doubtful glance.

"I lived with them and seen enough fights to know," I assert.

"I believe you," he communicates through another tone. "I'm even more disgusted by these things now."

It wasn't that I was trying to disgust Ralphie even more when I picked up the head and hoisted the rest of the bloodsucker onto his back, but it would make sense to bring it back to the other wolves as evidence.

Ralphie whined and yipped in distaste as some of the blood smeared on his moonlit silver coat, but he too understood my intentions and couldn't disagree.

Even while carrying three bodies, Ralphie ran as fast as the wind, not once stopping from the myriad of trees separating us from the main camps. Luckily, we got there by dawn and the pack members haven't set out on their morning hunts.

If we hadn't brought the vampire specimen back, the other pack mates probably wouldn't have believed our story. At first, none dared approach. But then, everyone started gathering around like they were in a circus advertising a newfound species.

Not long later, the Alphas summoned us for a testimony.

The Alphas were obviously furious at the finding.

"How dare a vampire intrude into our territory?!" Did you see any others?" Alpha Simon questioned Ralphie.

"I didn't detect any others."

"How did you discover this one?"

"I heard a scream while I was searching for Alvena," he answered while giving me a glance.

"Why are they here?" Alpha Rowan questioned with growing worry.

The Alphas all wracked their brains at the phenomenon that a bloodsucker would appear out of nowhere.

"I might have the answer."

The room fell quiet as all eyes befell me.

"Before I left, the vampires faced a dilemma. Their blood supply was diminishing while the vampire population was growing. One of the rumored solutions was waging war with the wolves to get their humans."

The Alphas looked at me like I said something absurd. Well, I mean, who wouldn't want to believe that what I said was unreal? Even I hoped I was wrong.

"We and those bloodsuckers hate each other, but haven't broken the treaty for decades. Do you know the graveness of what you're saying?" an alpha raised his voice amidst the shocked audience.

Luckily, Ralphie was there to back me up.

"This is not their first time wandering into our territory. It happened two years ago when they took away two pack mates."

"Isn't two years ago when you arrived?" the older alpha asked while pointing at me. "Are you the reason they are suddenly showing up?"

The others suddenly change their expression towards me. I didn't like the feeling.

"That's irrational." I looked at Ralphie who stood tall and sure as always. "If not for Alvena, we wouldn't even know that a blood devil has treaded upon our soils," he defended.

"Is this how you talk to an Alpha?" someone growled.

"Calm down Dario," Alpha Simon advised. "Either way, it seems there is a rising threat. We'll have to look deeper into this matter. For now..." Simon paused and switched to communicate in their native wolf language. He let out a grumble and the rest of the Alphas seemed slightly more appeased.

Next thing I knew, Ralphie was escorting me out with a serious expression on his young face.

"We just got back. Where are you going?" I call out to him the moment we return to our winter residence.

"I'll be back soon," he assured, planting a nonchalant kiss on my cheek.

I smiled and watched him walk out and shift into a wolf and run off. And only when he fully disappeared did I drop that smile.

It didn't take a genius to guess that he was carrying out that secret order the Alphas were talking about earlier.

For some reason, it really irked me to not know what it was.

But perhaps even more irksome is the fact that it was Ralphie who they ordered to carry it out.

*****

A/N: As always, much love for your love and encouragement. 

(so it seems Wednesdays are the most probably update dates)