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

Chapter 6

Not one of the five Alphas look upon me with ease. My sudden appearance on their land undoubtedly has caused them quite the headache.

"Alvena, how did you end up here?" Rowan, the youngest alpha, asks curiously.

"I jumped from the Border and fell into the river. Then I woke up next to Ralphie."

Murmurs circled about the room.

"From what we know, the Bloodsuckers keep vigil at the Border to prevent humans from crossing over to our side," Alpha Rowan summarizes. "How did you pass them?"

"A good friend sacrificed herself to become my guide."

"What kind of friend?" another Alpha questions sternly.

"A vampire," I reply, already expecting disapproval. "She's family to me."

The questioning Alpha shoots me a death glare, obviously highlighting the fact that he despises vampires and everything associated with that race.

Luckily, Rowan seems less prejudice. "Why did you escape?"

"I didn't want to be their prisoner forever."

Just thinking about it makes my heart ache. I was so stupidly naïve back then, blindly believing that everything would be alright as long as I obeyed their wishes. And at the end, nothing changed.

Rowan appears to sympathize with me, but he is the only one. The other interrogators keep neutrality.

The auburn-haired alpha, Simon—Ralphie's pack's alpha—finally speaks. "We cannot break our treaty with the Bloodsuckers. You are to be sent back right away."

I nod compliantly. "Thank you for allowing me to stay all this time."

Simon grunts, sorry that he couldn't do anymore. I'm sure Ralphie has told him about me when I arrived, but he already turned a blind eye once.

"Abram will escort you back immediately," Simon states and a Lycan opens the tent flap on cue.

"About Ralphie, can I-"

"It's best if you don't meet him," the oldest alpha interrupts, seeming to know what I wanted to ask.

I nod reluctantly as I quietly walk out into the harsh cold.

Though I've only known Ralphie for a short time, it was harder to part than I anticipated.

I'll miss his quirky confidence and boyish grin and how he makes even the most boring subjects amusing. I'll miss how he calls me his mate and gets angry when I say otherwise. I'll even miss how he dresses me up like a clump of fur each time we go outside.

I'll miss him a whole lot more than I initially decided I would.

But I sincerely hope he doesn't miss me too much.

"Do you want another minute?" Abram asks out of sheer courtesy as he traces my gaze.

I shake my head, afraid I'll end up crying before I cross the river. With one swift motion, Abram lifts me onto his silver-lined back.

Sitting on top of a wolf who was a man not too long ago is awkward to say the least, but it's stranger that I could feel his breathing and body heat right underneath me. I can only guess how much of me he could feel.

Right before my mind wandered anymore, Abram takes off and for the life of me, I held on to the little I had to hold on to.

"Abram I'm losing my grip," I yell through the snow, afraid he couldn't sense that I was almost falling off his back. "Can you slow down?"

He ignored me and before I had the nerve to ask again, I found the reason why.

"ALVENA!"

*****

A/n: hello my sweet readers! Thank you so much for your generous votes and comments!

The chapters are short compared to Master's Vampire (Outcaste), but I intentionally made it this way. If you prefer longer chapters, let me know, otherwise I'm going ahead with this consistent length.