Chapter 2 - Outside the walls.

Viktoria’s POV

My eyes grew wide as he pulled me closer to the wall and I fought back even harder, but he was too strong. I slipped out of his grip just as he was about to drag me over the wall with him, but his grip found its way around my waist and before I could so much as scream, we were on the other side of the wall and moving at an incredibly fast pace through the thick forest. That was it! My life is over! I couldn’t understand why he hadn’t killed me, but if my leader found out that I had been taken by the beasts, they would never take me back! He may just as well have killed me! We reached the end of the forest and he put me down, but before I could see more than a pair of abs, someone pulled a bag over my head and everything went black!

Fynn’s POV

I knew that dhampirs were beautiful, and I had been warned that this one was right at the top of that list, but I never expected her to take my breath away. I watched her fight but she was so damn fast that I didn’t have much time before I realized it was almost over. When it became clear that not a single one of my guys was going to make it out of this fight alive, I had to grab her and get out of there. What none of those bloodsuckers realized was that we were there for her. We had been looking at the castle for many years. Studied the vampires and their little toy warriors. She was the only heir to the throne of Ezorona. Her father was second in line to the throne, but his brother, after many years of trying, hadn’t yet produced an heir. It wasn’t that strange for vampires, but one would think that if you had that many concubines, at least one of them would fall pregnant at some damn point! I signaled for my Beta to load her into the truck so we could get out of there.

The night was falling and soon the woods would be crawling with nightwalkers. We could take on a small group of them like we did tonight, but if we were forced to fight more, I wasn’t sure if we would survive. Our numbers were slowly growing, but it was just as tough for us to conceive as it was for them.

Viktoria’s POV

I could tell we were in some kind of vehicle, but unfortunately for me, they had it sealed up nice and tight and I couldn’t hear a thing. I tried to keep track of the direction we were going in, but without being able to use all my senses, I had a hard time determining how far away we were from the castle. Besides, I had never been outside the wall, so if they dropped me off somewhere, I would have no idea which direction I needed to go in to get back home. Besides, I would have to bring them something to show them that I fought and won. Life had suddenly become incredibly complicated when it was meant to be incredibly simple!

I could feel the vehicle stop and pretend that I was asleep. I learned something very important in training. Sometimes, if you played dead just for a little while, you got enough information to get out of any and every situation. I heard the doors open and that same pair of strong arms grabbed hold of me and I felt myself being thrown through the air and landing on something really hard. Did he really just throw me over his damn shoulder as if I was a bag of beans?!

The bag was so thick that I couldn’t smell a thing, which was weird because I could actually breathe. Whoever they were, they sure as hell knew what they were doing because I hadn’t heard so much as a peep out of any of them! All I could hear was a pair of boots walking until I felt myself being lifted up and over and the pressure on my stomach released. His hands were gripping my waist before I felt the cold steel of what I could only guess was a chair underneath my bottom. I knew he would have to say something at some point, and I didn’t have to wait much longer.

“Welcome to my territory, princess Viktoria.” His voice didn’t match the beast I remembered from earlier. He almost sounded regal and when he pulled the bag from my head I was surprised. The man standing in front of me looked and sounded nothing like the beast that grabbed me, but his aura was the same. It had to be him! Each dhampir was born with powers. The saints must have decided to bless us with something since we weren’t born male vampires. My powers were healing, visions of the future, and, lastly, the power I never thought meant much, but it turned out it was one of the rarest of them all. I could read auras. I could see what people were through their aura. This man was the alpha. He was the same one that grabbed me. “Those beautiful eyes are telling me that you are trying to calculate your escape, but let me warn you. There will be no escaping from here, princess.”

“Stop calling me princess!” The words hissed out of my mouth before I could do anything to stop myself. I had to calm down! I couldn’t afford to lose it right now, but I also had to get out of there as soon as possible or it would be too late.

“Well, you are the only heir to the throne, aren’t you?” He looked amused and a little surprised.

“I am not! You know I thought you beasts were stupid, but I never realized the extent of your stupidity.” I laughed. I was pushing the envelope, but I seriously had to get out of there. If I told him I was a nobody, he would just kill me. If I told him I was somebody, my life would definitely get more complicated. Why did this have to happen now? My life was finally going somewhere. What I found strange was that we were never taught that they could shift form. That I found interesting enough that I would have liked to know more. “I am a dhampir. A warrior and guard of the vampires. NOT a princess.” I hoped that my answer showed that I was strong, but not important. Just enough for them to cut me loose so I could grab one on my way out.

“Okay,” He laughed and it sounded nice. “Viktoria, I am Fynn. I know that you’ve probably already figured out that I’m the Alpha. I want to take you on a tour, but if you run, I can’t promise your safety.” I thought about it for a moment. If I could bring back intel on the wolves, they might just let me back in. If I could tell them enough about the beasts that we could finally wipe them out, they might just let me back in. I will definitely not get out of it lightly. I know that whatever punishment they will think up for me will be brutal, but if I could bring them actual reliable intel. I looked up and nodded.

“I’ll behave.” I sighed and he smiled. That strange something inside me stirred again and when he touched me to remove my bounds it felt as if I had been woken from a dream.

As we stepped outside, I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised to find people talking and laughing as they moved around what seemed like a square of some kind. I turned to look at the place we had just left and it was a fairly primitive building, but it was beautiful. Fynn explained that they were a simple group of people. Farmers mostly, which was pretty weird since I knew they were beasts. I knew he was the leader but people spoke to him as if he was just one of them. One of the first things I noticed was that they had no weapons that I could see. I would have hidden it from my enemies if I were them, but even the ones walking around looking like some kind of guard didn’t carry a single weapon. It dawned on me that everything I had learned about the beasts was wrong.

Our history books depict them as beasts. Dumb creatures that knew how to fight and looked as if they were dragged up from the underworld. These were people. Humans. Families. I stopped myself the instant the emotion started making its way out. I couldn’t afford to see them as anything other than beasts! I had to get back to my people!

Fynn’s POV

I knew that one tour and one conversation weren’t going to change anything, and this definitely wasn’t what the council agreed to do, but this dhampir was my mate. I didn’t understand why or how, and I wanted to know more before … Before we started phase two of our plan. I could see that incredible mind of hers working as we walked and could only hope that she wouldn’t run. I knew everything I was showing her wasn’t what she was taught about us. I couldn’t believe that this creature was the creature meant to love me. I had never heard of a vampire feeling a mate bond and it didn’t seem as if she was feeling it, but at least she wasn’t running yet.

I knew that she would eventually try, but for now, she was actually behaving. When my tour was over, we walked back to my cabin where they had dinner ready for us. I didn’t want my lovely guest to see everything, now did I?

Viktoria’s POV

“How old are you?” The question just popped out and I knew that I looked just as amazed when I asked it as he did. We sat down and I carefully sniffed the food. It would be sad if they tried to poison me. That would just be cowardly! As if reading my mind, Fynn grabbed one of the pieces of steak and popped it into his mouth. He smiled and then dug into his own food. I had to admit that I was pretty hungry and as we ate it in silence, I wondered if any of my people would even look for me. Was the fact that I was the number one in the class even enough for them to send someone over the wall to rescue me or did they just accept that I was gone for good?

“I’m twenty-three.” His answer interrupted my thoughts and I frowned. “Your question?” He tilted his head to one side. “And if my information is correct, you turned eighteen today.” He smiled even more, which made me frown and then nod. He could try all the tricks in the book. I wasn’t going to fall for any of them! I wasn’t going to make small talk and tell him all our secrets! “Ah, come on, princess.” My frown turned into a glare at the mere mention of the title. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” He laughed. “We always referred to you as the princess. I’ve known about you since the day you were born.” He shrugged as if reading my mind and answering all the questions that ran through them. “Viktoria, let’s make a pact here and now. Let’s not tell each other any lies, okay?” I burst out laughing and was glad that I had just swallowed the food in my mouth or it would have looked pretty ridiculous!

“Why would I tell you anything?” I hissed. I had enough of this ridiculous game. That was why I didn’t specialize in intelligence! I didn’t have the patience for it! “You kidnapped me. Admitted that you have been stealing information from my home, and what? All so you could do what? Kill my family?! My people!” I was up on my feet by now, screaming at the top of my lungs. My eyes darted back and forth to look for any possible exits. He might be strong, but I knew I could be faster if I just knew which way to go!