The memory hit Valeno like someone tackling him, filling him with fear. Jalno was mad; Jalno was dangerous, and Jalno would kill whoever he needed to get his way.
He was standing with his back to Valeno and Cassin, a little more than fifty feet away. Haydrr and Gael flanked him, their brawny manforms making Jalno look slim. But Valeno knew better. Jalno may not have been the strongest by brute force, but he had hidden strengths that the others didn't. And oh, was he cunning.
Panic flooded Valeno's veins, and he took an involuntary step back, hiding in the shadows. "H-He's here," he managed to croak out to Cassin. He who had almost killed Valeno a little over two months ago. He who most definitely wanted to kill Cassin in revenge.
"It's ok," the vampire said, perhaps sensing Valeno's terror. "He hasn't seen us yet, and he won't. We're down wind."
Valeno trembled, dread bleeding through his limbs and causing his thoughts to clash. He wanted to hide, but at the same time he wanted to jump in front of Cassin to protect him. He wanted to bow in submission, but he also wanted to roar his defiance in his uncle's face. But mostly, he wanted to run.
Run and never look back.
"Now," Valeno whispered. "Now you run. South, towards your palace. He won't find you there. He'll expect you to be with us. Go!" Valeno shoved Cassin, recovering. "Get lost, vampire!"
Cassin braced himself. "I'm not leaving you with him!" Cassin hissed, stubborn.
"No! Don't argue with me. He. Will. Kill. You! He killed my parents in front of me when I was eight!" Valeno whispered, furiously. "You blinded him. He'll be looking for revenge!"
"I won't leave you," Cassin repeated. He looked Valeno in the eye. "Run with me, Val. he would never expect that. Come live in my palace for a bit. Until things cool down."
"And leave my Pack? Cassin, things will never calm down! Until he dies, you are a target! And he's not going to die any time soon. He's a second level Warrior, the highest level next to Beta, then Alpha! Nobody will challenge him! So go! It will make me feel a little bit better to know that he can't hurt you..." Valeno paused. "You're my friend, Cassin."
"And you're mine," the vampire said fiercely. "So I. Won't. Leave. You."
"I don't belong in a palace, I'm a Wolf, not a vampire."
"I can teach you," Cassin whispered, shifting to glance at Jalno's turned back. "I'll teach you to live in the palace–it's not that hard. just...Turn your back on this fight, Valeno, this is one you can't win."
Looking into Cassin's deep, copper eyes, Valeno saw the truth of the statement. He couldn't win against his uncles. And even if he could, he couldn't protect Cassin, too.
"Ok," he said. "I'll go. There's just one thing I have to take care of first. You, go, and I'll follow."
Cassin grabbed Valeno's hand and held it in a death grip. "You promise?" he demanded, speaking softly so that none of Valeno's uncles could hear. "Do you promise me, Val?"
Valeno eased his fingers free, nodding. "I promise, Cassin, I swear."
"Ok."
And as the vampire vanished into the darkness, Valeno just realized that he had called him 'Val.'
As soon as Cassin's footsteps faded into the velvety blackness, Valeno moved. Crouching low, he crept forward and around until he could see Jalno's cruel features.
"Where is my nephew?" Jalno was asking Teriv.
"I told you, Jalno," Teriv said coldly, "He is out hunting with his little vampire slave."
"When will he return?"
"As I was saying, I am not sure. He left a little after noon and the vampire followed him."
Jalno growled, low and intimidating, causing Valeno to flatten himself further into the underbrush. "You should have never let that creature into our camp!"
Teriv growled back, the edges of the sound curling into a snarl. "And that is not up to you!" Teriv barked sharply. "Must I remind you of your place, Jalno?"
Jalno gave a rather mocking, in Valeno's opinion, bow. "No, Alpha."
So Jalno was looking for them, then. Valeno was very glad that he had sent Cassin on his way.
"If my nephew does not return before dawn, I will request a search party," Jalno said, making it clear that his "request" was all but an order.
"We shall see," was all that Teriv said, before turning and stalking back into the inner reaches of camp.
Jalno lingered outside of camp, talking to Gael and Haydrr. "When the boy comes, we'll corner him," he growled. "But I'm not waiting till morning or the scent will have been stale. In ten minutes we follow it."
"In the dark?" whined Haydrr, his voice high for such a large man.
In the dark, Jalno turned his cold gaze on Valeno's oldest uncle. "We go in ten," he said, his voice low.
Haydrr bowed his head. "Yes, Jalno," he whispered.
"We'll get the vampire first," Jalno continued. "And make my nephew watch."
"Why would he care?" Gael asked. He was the youngest of the three.
"Because the vampire defended him," Jalno said scathingly. "And it is the way of our fellow Wolves to be in debt. Plus I'm sure my nephew cares about the vampire at least a little bit–He fought for him in the challenge!"
"You're right," Gael said, nodding.
"Of course I'm right, fool!" Jalno snarled, cuffing Gael about the ears quite hard. The bigger Wolf flinched. "And then we will go for my nephew. We will rip him limb from limb and turn him inside out."
With a shudder, Valeno realized that he was far from kidding.
"If that upstart ever thought he could beat me–Well," Jalno shrugged. "He was wrong. Severely wrong. We hunt now."
Valeno backed deeper into the shadows as each of his uncles shifted, and charged away from the camp, noses locked on Valeno's faded scent-trail.
Valeno oriented himself south, ready to catch up with Cassin. He had heard enough. It seemed as if he wasn't going to get a merciful death like he had hoped. As Valeno looked back at camp, he realized that he was leaving everything he ever fought for–
–To protect a vampire. He was confident that he could hold his own against his uncles, in the shape he was in. the alphas wouldn't let the same mistake happen again. They would at least speak up for him, if not fight. But Cassin–Cassin wasn't built for fighting.
He would be ripped apart mercilessly.
And Valeno was determined to not let that happen.
Taking a last look behind him, Valeno turned his back on everything he had ever known, and headed south. South towards the vampire palace.
South towards a new life.
Valeno ran through the night, crossing a part of the Corhan river to conceal his scent. Cassin was just far enough ahead that with his speed he stayed beyond Valeno's senses. As the sun's rays peeked above the horizon, turning the sky pink and golden, Valeno crossed into his old territory. The river wound around the cliff-face where his once-home had been hidden.
Valeno was tempted to stop, but urgency drove him on. What if his uncles had caught an inkling of his scent?
Valeno ran through the day, and as the sun slid past its peak in the sky, he caught wind of Cassin. Relief swelled inside of him, making him faster and less tired.
"Cassin!"
The sun was setting as Valeno stumbled into a clearing and caught sight of a slim silhouette curled up beneath an oak tree.
"Valeno!"
Cassin stirred, standing. "How are you?"
"I just ran away from my home for a vampire," Valeno replied. "So, fine."
"Are you sure?" Cassin asked, coming to a stop in front of Valeno.
"It's ok, really. I should just warn you that I have no idea how living in a palace works," Valeno said.
"I said I'd teach you," Cassin answered. "And I will. Now let's go."
The two set off side by side, running, like so many times before. It was just the sense of urgency nipping at their heels that was new.
The vampire palace came into sight the next morning. Valeno was shocked that he had made it that far the opposite way with broken ribs.
The vampire palace sat on a ridge, her stained glass windows facing east. The rainbow hued lunette and bay chambers sparkled in the light of the new day. Her many gables pointed upwards like so many wedge-shaped parts on a crown. The palace's soft gray stone color absorbed the heat of the sun, warming the surfaces until they baked in the sun. The palace sparkled, a gem set in the boring terrain of the plains.
"Wow," Valeno said softly. The last time he had visited, he had been in too much of a rush to notice the beauty.
"Welcome to my home," Cassin replied, a pleased prideful look on his face.
A sentree met them at the drawbridge. His eyes bulged when he saw who it was. "Your Majesty," he babbled. "I-You're alive."
Your Majesty? Valeno thought. Wasn't it Your Highness?
"Of course I'm alive!" Cassin snapped, copper eyes sharp. And suddenly standing next to Valeno was not Cassin the vampire slave, nor Cassin the vampire, or even Cassin, Valeno's friend, but His Majesty, the ruler of the vampires. "Ready my chambers at once!" Cassin ordered.
"Well–But–Since the queen–" The sentree glanced at Valeno and seemed to register what he was for the first time. "Is that a captive? Where are his bonds?"
"Nonsense, he saved my life," Cassin barked. "Now say what you were going to say."
"Well–" The sentree glanced at Valeno.
"Spit it out, Coryn," Cassin said in a threatening, so unlike Cassin tone.
"Since the queen has died, shouldn't you be using her chambers?"
For the first time since returning home, Cassin seemed to deflate a little. "Oh–Yes. Of course."
"But ready my chambers for him." Cassin pointed at Valeno.
Valeno glanced at Cassin out of the corner of his eye. The queen had died? That made Cassin...king?
Coryn paled. "We held your funeral," he stammered.
"Do I look dead to you?" Cassin demanded.
"Well, no, but–We didn't know..." He trailed off lamely under Cassin's frigid glare. "I–Sound the bells!" Coryn said, changing the tactic. "The king has returned!"
"Escort me inside," Cassin ordered.
Valeno was aware of more and more vampires crowding the palace's many balconies to catch a glimpse of him and Cassin. As they were led inside a resounding cheer went up. The king of the vampires had returned home.