Daphne had been right. The first person she saw after leaving their room the day after their wedding had been Mamie. The woman had given her a knowing and teasing look and Daphne had nearly burst into flames with embarrassment. She had survived lunch and escaped the room, hoping to find something to occupy her time. She spent some time talking with the head maid and Tom about the duties expected of her and Arthur.
Her duties seemed to revolve around supporting Arthur in his duties. She hadn’t known how important that would be until she sat in on the first meeting. Two remote packs were in conflict with one another about water and land rights.
Daphne thought it made sense to share the resources, exchanging one for the other or working out some other arrangement, but the two alphas just wanted to maintain control and exclusive rights over each other or merge their packs under one leadership.
“I’m older and my family has been leading my pack since
Blade’s shoulders slumped with helplessness and grief. He knew Jake for a long time. He’d been a strong man and a skilled warrior. Few could cross paths with him and manage to do so much damage.His gasping words echoed through Blade’s mind.Vampire, he’d gasped, choking on his blood as he collapsed in the foyer. D-Droves of them. Sharp Armor. Help!He didn’t know how much was left of Sharp Armor to save given Jake’s state when he arrived. It didn’t seem that Jake had been bitten, but the jagged gashed through his chest spoke to the danger they faced. It had been at least two decades since any werewolf had faced a vampire. From what he remembered of the stories, it was a lot different than facing a rogue.Would Arthur’s strength be enough for them to come out victorious? Would any of their strength be enough?“He’s gone,” Blade said softly, pulling his bloody hands
Daphne urged the horses to run faster around another bend in the road and her heart lurched as a large, fallen tree trunk came into view. She might have been able to clear it if she were riding the horse alone, but the cart wouldn’t be able to make the jump.She looked for some reason to drop the cart and found nothing when she heard Arthur call out.“Daphne! Turn back!”Daphne heard his voice, relieved, and urged the horse to slow down. She stopped and looked back down the path as Arthur trotted to her. The creatures were gone, likely dead or escaped. He was covered with injuries, blood, and dirt, but he wasn’t bleeding profusely.It was a small comfort.Again, those creatures had tried to kidnap her, seemingly determined to take her to wherever they had planned, but they didn’t seem to want to harm her. It was nothing like when Owen kidnapped her, but it only made her more anxious.What could they possibly wan
Rex stumbled and collapsed against the side of the building, barely remaining standing, near slipping in a patch of mud. He’d been doing the last check after Jake went running to the castle to deliver the news of the vampire’s attack. Rex had ordered two others to leave the village to notify nearby packs as well, but he hadn’t been sure if any of them had made it.The attack had been swift and brutal, more like guerilla warfare than a siege. It had been too long since any werewolf had fought a vampire. No one was trained to handle their agility, so Rex could only blame the passage of time and complacency for the number of casualties.Tom, however, had a different opinion on the matter.These vampires are more skillful than the ones from the days of the war…His voice had been grim as Rex had slumped against a wall, trying to catch his breath and staunch the bleeding wound in his side with a rough bandage.He didn’t k
Tom had watched Arthur grow into his role as king with a deep sense of pride, but he had never seen this deeply pensive and suspicious look on Arthur’s face until today.“Your Majesty?” Tom asked. “You seem pensive.”“We never found Owen’s body,” Arthur said.“What are you getting at?”“Who else would know enough about the werewolf kingdom, and where Sharp Armor is? Who else would have a reason to give such information to the vampires?” Arthur thought back to their battle and how determined Owen had been to prove that he was stronger than Arthur no matter what. He’d wanted Arthur to be just like him. “If there was anyone I suspect to be behind why the vampires attacked where they did, it would be him.”Based on what Owen knew about Arthur and the feud that had left them both orphans, Arthur was willing to bet he knew a bit about the vampires.Tom frowne
Daphne and Arthur shared dinner in a warm quiet, neither intruding on each other’s quiet thoughts. It was nice to sit together. For a little while, it felt as though they were back in Sharp Armor. They changed for bed and climbed in to cuddle close together in the center of the bed.Arthur sighed, “I really like this bed.”Daphne laughed, “It is really nice not to be crammed together.”“I love you, Daphne.” Arthur kissed her head and stroked her hair gently, “I promise I’ll keep you safe. Just like always.”“I know.” She smiled, shifting a bit closer to him, “I love you too, Arthur.”She sighed, slipping into sleep as quickly as she could manage. She drifted into the darkness of sleep until a woman’s weeping started drawing her out of it.Who was crying?She opened her eyes and looked up into a face she had only seen in portrait, crying softl
Arthur couldn’t believe what he’d heard. He glanced at Daphne and found her frozen in shock as well. He looked back at Blade who looked pensive and troubled.“I’ve talked with the other members of the patrol, and we all think it’s a trap.”Arthur thought that much was obvious, but he was more interested in what their goal was. At least with Owen, he knew the man just wanted to kill him, but what did the vampires want? Maybe it wasn't a trap, but an opportunity.He didn't know enough about vampires to know for sure, but his instincts said they weren't trying to trick them.“Have you told anyone else?”“No, Your Majesty.”Arthur sighed and stood, “Call a meeting in the hall about this.”Blade nodded, bowed and left. Arthur looked at Daphne.“Once this is done we’ll go back to lunch.”Daphne gave him a tight smile. She had a feel
Arthur left the castle early the next morning, headed towards the ruins of Sharp Armor. They had rebuilt some of the main structures, but the homes that had been burned down or destroyed had remained piles of broken wood. He wondered how long it would take to rebuild Sharp Armor and if they ever would.Maybe they could relocate everyone and turn Sharp Armor into a military outpost. It was the closest village to the border and there was plenty of land to establish a new settlement.Arthur put it on his long mental list of things to try to complete. The list seemed to be growing by the day and alongside it came frustration. He’d barely been educated while in Brown Valley as a child. All the alphas that sat at the table with him and bickered for hours were older than him by at least half a decade.Why had no one ever thought about organizing everyone? Were they all just that weak or that selfish? He found himself coming back to those questions more and more o
Arthur frowned, confused. Why would the queen of the vampires be in the werewolf kingdom? More importantly, why would she think he knew where she was? He’d never even met a vampire until he went with Daphne to Brown Valley.“What are you talking about?”“We don’t have your queen,” Tom hissed. “Don’t blame us for her disappearance.”“Shut the old man’s mouth,” she said, sharply.Arthur’s heart lurched at the snap of her voice through the air. It was an order, but he didn’t know who it had been issued to.The air stirred as if a gust had rushed past him.“I’d like to—”Tom flinched as a vampire appeared in front of him, his dagger pressed to his neck. He froze looking up into the cold eyes of the vampire looking down at him. There was no malice or anger. His gaze was placid like a lake.He was just like all the other vampir