The wolves descend

Chapter sixteen

It has been a whole day of riding my horse, and I'm fairly certain that I am going in the wrong direction. I came to this conclusion when I stumbled across a random tavern in the midst of the woods. There were no roads leading here but upon further inspection it seemed to be packed with all manner of people. Getting off my horse and tying her to a nearby tree, I begin to make my way to the tavern entrance. Opening the wooden door I walk inside, upon entering the once lively tavern goes completely silent. Wiping away the nervous sweat on my upper lip, I proceed to the bar hoping to secure a map. Sitting on the bar stool a tall slender lady appears, her tattered dress is cut low and seductive with a corset synching in her already skinny frame. She was beautiful with big blue eyes and red lips, "What can I get you?" She asked leaning her head on her hand making her long blonde hair cascade onto the bar itself. "Do you have a map I can buy?" I questioned, I had secured a decent amount of money from Opal. She had given me the money, not wanting me to come back under any circumstances.

"Also, if you have a change of clothes I would like to buy that as well." I said with a polite smile trying to seem casual, "You're in luck we actually have all of that, would you like to buy a meal as well? Our beef stew is popular." She tried to persuade me and to her luck it was working, I hadn't eaten today making my stomach grumble in pain. "I'll take some beef stew then, and some ale." I said with confidence, I knew ordering wine would look suspicious, that drink was only reserved for rich wolves. Glancing around the tavern I was confused, wolves and humans alike were here talking, laughing, and some even dancing together. I had never seen such a sight, I couldn't help but wonder if I had stumbled into a fairy tale. But I knew not to be fooled, perhaps these humans were just the wolves mates. Shrugging off my curiosity, I turn back towards the blonde women, she set my bowl of stew down and handed me some bread and ale. After devouring my food, I grab my drink, sniffing it in suspicion. I have never tried ale before, at least I do not think I have, thinking back to Ambrose's drink I try to determine if this is the same thing. Surly not, Ambrose is a royal wolf, he would never ingest something meant for poor or middle class.

Shaking all thoughts of Ambrose away, I take a sip of my drink. To my surprise it tastes wonderful, I begin to chug the liquid until it is all gone. Scooting my food and drink towards the blonde beauty I try to stand, after almost falling from my stool I stand on my feet swaying back and forth. I knew I couldn't be drunk, I had only had one cup. With clouded eyes, I attempt to ask the women for my map and clothes, but my tongue feels thick in my mouth and my words come out as mere sounds rather than a coherent sentence. Before I can take one step, I feel my legs give way, drool starts to spill out of my mouth uncontrollably. The laughter in the room seems to intensify, leading me to believe I was poisoned. Black spots littered my sight before my body went numb and my vision completely black.

The first thing I felt was pain, from my head all the way to my toes. A throbbing pain was pounding in my head, making me groan. My eyes were still heavy even though I was awake, it seems the tavern was a front for some sort of nefarious activity. Forcing my eyes open I am met with pitch-black, after a few minutes of my eyes adjusting to the dark surroundings I can make out that I am in a cage of some sort. Looking around, I notice there is only one other cage apart from mine. There is a small figure in the cage, it seemed to be a girl with her head laying on her knees. Small whimpers could be heard from her, "psst, where are we?" I questioned confused, her whimpers seized, she gave me a hard glare that I could barely make out in the darkness, "Shut up, or you're going to get us in trouble with master." She stated firmly, leaving me with only more questions.

They obviously had to sell me in some sort of slavery, considering I was stuck in a cage and not forced to do hard labor, I was scared. If they wanted to beat me and force me to work, they could, but there was one thing that was much worse than that. Sex slavery was fairly common, humans were forced to do unspeakable things all to survive. Taking a deep sigh, I finally let down my wall that I had built for Ambrose. But to my surprise nothing happened, I was completely alone drowning in my thoughts. Was I too far away from him? Perhaps after a certain distance the bond is basically broken. Instead of feeling relief, this only brought me dread, no one knew of my location and if the bond was broken, then Ambrose couldn't find me and probably wouldn't want to either. Hot tears trailed down my cheeks, choking back my sobs, I feel my heart shatter within me. It was my own decisions that lead to this moment, I had already been a slave, was leaving really worth going through this a second time? The answer was no, I loved my mother, but I would rather not be a slave and I doubt she would want that for me either.

After hours of crying, I could hear footsteps leading into the room we were being held in. Light started to illuminate the dark room, forcing my eyes to adjust. Peering around I could see we were in some sort of cave, by the time I came to this realization a man appeared in front of my cage, causing the small girl across the room to cower. The man in question was undoubtedly beautiful, with long white hair and porcelain pale skin, he wore fine satin clothing almost like something I would imagine a king wearing. His jaw was sharp and his monolid eyes scrutinized me, they were a beautiful golden color his eyes rivaled that of the sun causing chills to travel up my spine. He was the only other man I had seen who could rival Ambrose in his Beauty. After staring at me intently he started to smile, "You will do quite nicely, my little dove." Realization dawned on me as his teeth came into view, they were long and sharp with his canines protruding above the rest. Peeking over towards the small girl, I gasped, she had bite marks littering her skin. Her short brown hair seemed dull, and her eyes hallow, the man standing in front of me was a vampire.

I had heard tales and legends of vampires, but no one believed they actually existed. But if a man that can turn into a wolf exist, why not an immortal human who feeds off others? I chastised myself, the man opened the door, he was extremely tall, towering over my small figure. Without thinking, I immanently tried to run past him, but sadly, I just ran into his grasp. "Eager are we?" He mockingly questioned, letting out an enchanting laugh. Shooting a glare towards him, he began to drag me away from the cages, looking back one last time at the other girl, I could see her rocking back and forth with a blank stare. Gulping, I begin to regret every decision leading up to this moment.