The Alpha Princes Duty

Chapter 8

Una

The doors practically crash off of the walls and startle me from my reverie. In surprise I move much too quickly to turn and see what has caused the disturbance.

Aldous fills the doorway his usual calm composure is gone. I can see the very thing I have been dreading written all over his features. There is a shadow behind him and just before I go to speak I realise it is my mate.

I shrink back into my seat and the words I was about to say die on my lips even now in crisis I must maintain the illusion for everyone’s safety.

“Crone my apologies for the disturbance, we have had sightings of vampires at our borders, we must move you to safety immediately. I have assembled a protection unit we are leaving now for the Royal pack!”

Under the veil I raise an eyebrow at him, coincidentally this protection unit comprises my mate who I have been trying to keep a distance from.

He is the very one that barrels past Aldous to grip the handles of my wheelchair. I close my eyes waiting for the words that I don’t want to hear but when they don’t come I finally let my breath out. The amulet has worked even at this proximity.

He turns the chair sharply and then freezes in place. I follow his line of sight and he is staring at the portrait of a younger me, looking how I did the day we met by the lake in a deep forest green dress. He seems entranced by the image and that dread builds in my stomach.

“Cormac!” Aldous seems to break the spell with his sharp tongue and he shakes his head moving forward again to the doors.

As we move rapidly through the house and outside I notice a convoy of eight Land Rover Defenders waiting, engines running all but one rammed full with warriors and my nurse Alba the only occupant of the empty one.

It takes seconds to reach it and I can’t say I am unaffected as my mate scoops me up and settles me in the back seat. His scent and power are an intoxicating elixir as he reaches over me to buckle me in.

My heart drops slightly realising he is completely unaffected by me, simply performing a duty. I have to shake myself at my foolishness this was my own doing. What I had wanted. Still it hurts being so close to him, feeling everything and having him feel nothing.

Moments later he’s in the front passenger seat and Aldous is in the drivers seat, I can see he is barking orders through their mind link and suddenly the vehicles are tearing away. I catch his eyes in the rear view mirror and I see the genuine concern in them. Whatever he found out it is bad and because of this stupid disguise I will be in the dark for far too long. I could scream.

The terrain down the mountain is rough and can barely even be called a road. At some points I’m certain that not all the wheels are on the road. Still the vehicles move at speed the terrain seeming like nothing to them. I marvel at how the technology had advanced.

As we finally reach the bottom of the mountain trail hours later I begin to relax. The roads are real now carving their way through hillsides but they feel like we are in civilisation. We should be safe here.

Yet the speed only picks up of the convoy, there is no relaxation. I notice Alba has her eyes closed whispering prayers to her goddess. It feels like we carry on this way for an eternity.

Then it happens the lead car flips up into the air and bounces once, twice, three times in the air. Miraculously it’s still in one piece as it finally settles. The full convoy screeches to a stop and the doors are flung open warriors piling out eyes trained on the surrounding terrain.

The stillness of the waining evening light is shattered by a mass of attacking vampires launching themselves from the brush. My eyes try to take them in but there are too many to count.

There’s more than a hundred and we are a convoy of eight cars. The wolves won’t stand a chance. I watch them start to transform but that won’t be enough. Without thought I dive out of the car, jumping deftly down from its height and assessing the attackers from the ground.

They are already diving at each other but it looks about ten vampires to every wolf this will be a slaughter. I call on my connection to my witches and pull once again on our collective power, I create a wind that lifts every vampire off the ground and captures them into an individual tornado immobilising them.

I see the confusion in the wolves “quick take their heads or their hearts!” I yell galvanising them into action. They need no further encouragement as they begin to tear through them eviscerating every last one of them.

It takes moments to complete their task and as I hear Aldous take control and order them to gather the bodies in a clearing to the side of the road for burning, I attempt to quietly retreat to my seat.

I slide into the car beside Alba who gives me a knowing smile and appreciative nod. I have long suspected the old wolf didn’t quite buy the disguise but I know she is loyal.

As I pull the door closed behind me I notice the enormous brown wolf just standing rooted to the spot staring at me.

Well damn! I know without a shadow of a doubt it’s Cormac’s wolf. He’s regal and powerful yet somehow graceful. He c***s his head to the side his eyes intense as he stares at me. My breath catches in my throat as I can’t look away from him.