His words had taken me by surprise, even if they weren’t altogether unexpected.
“Yes.” I managed to squeal out before my body was overtaken by emotions.
A smile broke out on my face, and two streams erupted from my eyes. Sniffing back my running nose, laughing as I tried to wipe away the tears falling. I must have looked a state, but Alexander didn’t seem to care. He swept me up into his arms, kissing my wet face and nose before landing his lips on mine.
The kiss was sweet and tender, filled with emotions and happiness. When he eventually pulled away, I found myself breathless and high on life. I had never felt so happy as I did in that moment.
Since the age of seventeen my greatest wish was that I would find my mate, marry him and live a happy life filled with joy and children. And in recent years, it had felt that all of that was an impossibility for me. But now, now everything had changed. And here before me was my mate. The man who offered me ever
As promised, Alexander made love to me once more. Unlike our previous steamy encounters, he took his time, relishing in the new connection between us. Along with the mind-linking that our now completed bond had given us, we were also more attuned to each other on an emotional level. It was not just seeing the depth of his feeling in his body language and eyes anymore; I could literally feel him. And right now, the only feeling that I could feel, the one that seemed to overpower anything else that might be lingering there, was the burning love he felt for me. Mixed in with my own happiness, it was consuming. We had managed to wrap ourselves in a little bubble, and to be honest, one I didn’t want to emerge from. Especially when I knew what was waiting at the end of it. When the clock did strike eight, I didnt want to leave. And suddenly realisation came crashing down on me. No matter how happy I was in the moment before, the time had come where I would have to
With all the business being finished, there was nothing left but to prepare to leave. By the time we made our way outside, the majority of the wagons had been loaded with luggage. Everyone being asked to leave behind anything that they didn’t absolutely need for their stay at Wolfridge. For me in meant one trunk of clothes. The content of the castle’s vaults were also being transferred to Wolfridge, just in case of the castle being taken over. Alexander had insisted that the crown jewels remain with the Queen, both of which were to remain heavily guarded until I was back at his side. I had been told that Wolfridge was already outfitted throughout with furniture and was as it was left when the Black family used it is as a holiday home through the summers when Alex was younger, meaning that it would be more like a hotel than moving home completely. The majority of the party were children and elderly. Few women decided to join their children, deciding to
Getting into the carriage and allowing the groom to pull away was the hardest thing that I have ever had to do. Leaving the future was out of my control and had happened before I even knew what was going on. This time, I was leaving willingly. And although it wasn’t as final as the first time, it still broke my heart. I held onto Alexanders bulky form until the very last moment, desperately trying to soak every minute of his woody scent and warmth in that I could. The rest of my travel companions already seated and waiting patiently. “I don’t know if I can do this Alex.” I whimper into his chest truthfully. “You can Rosalie, because you must. Both of us must do this. I can’t keep you safe while I’m dealing with my uncle. I need you away so that I don’t have to worry about you.” He repeated the words that I he had told me over and over. I understood the reasoning, I really did. And I knew I sounded like a petulant child begging. But I couldn’t help it.
The journey was long and arduous. And by the time we finally arrived at the coast, the sun was breaking over the horizon casting the world into a red haze. A bad omen, it was whispered amongst the travellers. I had tried to sleep during the journey as we jostled down the narrow country lanes, but sleep didn’t find me. And for the second night I was unable to find any rest. I was running purely off of adrenaline at this point. My eyes tired, my head aching, and my heart broken. But I knew that for the sake of everyone that was with me I had to do my best to push through and be seen to lead with a level head. It was now me that they were all relying on to lead them. And I refused to let everyone down by being weak. Wolfridge was nothing like what I expected, yet still a spectacular sight to behold. The Castle was much more a manor house than a castle. The Tudor style property sat on the edge of a cliff, the sea its backdrop. A large ship could be seen of
Alexander Watching Rosalie’s carriage disappear from sight was harder than I had ever thought it would be. How Arthur did this which such regularity was beyond me. If it wasn’t for the fact that I knew having her in the castle whilst I mounted an attack left her vulnerable and in danger, I would not have allowed her to leave. And I know that once this was all over, if I survived, she would never be allowed to leave myside ever again. It took everything in me to stop Silas from running after her and dragging her back. Her grief-stricken face haunted my vision, etched into the back of my eye lids every time I closed my eyes, and haunted my dreams like a plague. I hated seeing her so upset. Leaving was as hard for her as it was for me to watch her go. But I couldn’t dwell on it. If I wanted to bring Rosalie back to me, then I had to deal with my uncle swiftly and with a clear head. Setting the image of Rosalie to
Learning about the vampire contingent was a blow, but not one that changed anything that greatly. My warriors would have to be given a crash course in how to kill one, but it only delayed us by hours. Hours, granted, that could mean the difference between winning or losing the war, but a necessary delay to ensure that the outcome would be in our favour. There were two ways to kill a vampire. Firstly, a stake through the heart made from the wood of an ancient scarlet oak tree. Or secondly, decapitation. In the absence of having any scarlet oak stakes lying around, a species that was all but eradicated in this country, then decapitation would have to do. Something that was harder to do than it sounded. Vampires are strong, and fast. And even the crossbreeds are a tough match to most werewolves. Luckily, we had men amongst the rank that had already come across vampire armies and were able to lend their expertise to help train the warriors. Arthur and I i
The morning came around quickly. And the warriors gathered waiting for their orders. A wave of excitement going around the camp as the adrenaline of what was to come began to pump around everyone’s veins. As the hour struck, signally for us to move out. The excitement turned into something more primal. Most of the warriors had decided to shift into their wolf forms so as to be ready to attack at a moment’s notice, whilst other remains as their human selves until the fighting began. I shifted, knowing that this way my senses were at their most alert, and I was better able to communicate with the warriors under my care. We kept an open line of communication with Arthur. Creeping forward into the forest line and heading in the direction of the rogue camp. The camp was eerily silent, the sun barely showing its first rays as we neared the permitter. Only a few men could be seen wondering around the makeshift town. All supposedly on guard duty and not one of them a
I stood my ground, my feet shoulders width apart as I take in the scene around me. All about me was carnage. Bodies flung lifeless across the battle ground, their life force weeping out from mortal wounds onto the frozen ground. The sound of battle cries echoed through the forest ringing in my ears. Screamed of pain and fear. I was pleased to see that the majority that were scattered around me were rogues and not the men and women of my own people. As much as Silas craved bloodshed, I took no enjoyment out of war, and if there was a way that this could have been avoided, I would much rather take that path. But at the same time my duty remained to my kingdom, and I refused to step aside and allow a dictator to take over. My uncle stood across from me. He chest heaving with each breath he took. His bare chest covered in blood and dirt. I wasn’t sure if the blood was his own or not, but I dearly hoped that it was. “So, Uncle, you have what you came for.