The Rejected Werewolf Princess by Didiadeyemi

Chapter 95 CAMILLA'S PO.V The library was amazing. The shelves were as high as the ceiling which was more than three times my height. It was chilly and | assumed that was because the books weren’t exactly books, they were scrolls and bound parchments. | was almost scared to touch anything because everything looked ancient like it was going to fall apart if handled wrongly. | couldn’t fault Ryker for losing track of time here, | would have too.

It was lit up by torches on either side and all the windows were closed but there was still a breeze blowing through. The walls were pure cement and there were only two tables that | could see. The crest of the kingdom was etched on each shelf and on the walls. | couldn't help but wonder how many people actually knew about it.

He led me with a hand on my lower back to a table where papers were arranged in a neat pile. | could tell that was where he sat because it still had his faint scent around it. As we got closer, | noticed some of the drawings and writings on the texts and | realized that he was reading about vampires. | turned to him with a raised brow and all he did was shrug as if it were no big deal.

“Were you able to find out anything?‘ | asked and he sighed.

“Not exactly. Vampires aren't like us, they’re immortal and they can have one king for a millennium. It is unusual for them to document about their leaders so that others don’t realize who they are. | tried going as far back as the last war but | couldn’t find anything about his identity. I'll keep searching but | doubt we will find anything here about them.” “Have there been any vampires so far who have done things like this in the past?‘ | asked and he shook his head.

“None that | have found,” he ran his hand thrugh his hair in frustration. “Our best bet is to find the vampire king and request a meeting with him. He is the only one who can keep his subjects in line.” | bit my bottom lip as | debated what to say. All we could do was keep searching because fighting vampires was bad enough, but fighting vampires that we knew nothing about was even worse. | picked up the closest text to me and stuffed it under my arm, “| hope we can take them out,” | murmured. “This place is too stuffy for me to stay in all day.’ The corner of his lips tilted up. “You're the Queen, you can do whatever you want.”

We picked out a few books that we thought would help and returned to our room to ensure they were kept safely before making our way to the dining room to spend time with our daughters. When Christine saw me, she must have immediately known that Ryker had told me about the library because she offered me a small apologetic smile. | narrowed my eyes at her playfully and she laughed.

Dinner was long and fun. | hoped after dinner he would forget about practicing but Ryker was nothing if not disciplined. | tried to argue that we had to read about the vampires but he was adamant that it could wait. Audrey joined us this time and we spent our exact hour outside and despite my protests, | ended up having fun. Audrey made demands and she squealed whenever | got it right. It felt relieving to not have the burden of powers on my shoulders and to be able to use it for something as miniscule as entertaining my daughter.

While we were packing up to leave, | felt a cool breeze at the back of my neck. | straightened instantly and turned towards the woods behind us but it was too dark to make out anything. | couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was watching us and | started in that direction but Ryker’s hand wrapped around my wrist pulling me to a stop and snapping me out of my thoughts.

“What’s wrong?” he asked and | glanced towards the woods but Ryker grabbed my chin and turned me to face him. “Look at me, what are looking at?” “Nothing, | just thought-" | began in that direction again but Ryker wouldn't let me go. | couldn’t pull my eyes away from the woods. | knew there was something there and | could have sworn that | saw a flash of red in the trees.

“Camilla!” Ryker rarely said my name unless it was important. “Where do you want to go?” “l don’t know,” | admitted. “I thought | felt something there. | felt it that day with Damien and Riley.” Ryker frowned. “Take Audrey and go inside.” | opened my mouth to protest but he cut me off. “Just do as | said. I'll see you when I’m back, | promise.’ | would have stayed there to argue if Audrey didn’t yawn loudly. | picked her up and reluctantly walked towards the palace. She clung to me like a spider and buried her face into my neck. | led her to her room and helped her change into her pajamas before tucking her into bed.

“Where is daddy?” she yawned and | kissed her forehead.

“He had to work on something. He’ll be here tomorrow morning, okay?” | whispered and | doubted she heard me because her eyes were already drooping. “I love you, baby.” “| love you too, mummy.” | pulled her blanket up to her chin and walked out of the room.

| waited in our room for Ryker anxiously. | debated just going into the woods to find him myself but | knew was more likely to get lost. | paced around the room for what felt like hours but in reality was just thirty minutes. When he walked in, he looked exhausted. It wasn’t in his face but in the way he moved. He ran his hands through his hair in frustration and shut the door behind him.

‘Did you find anything?‘ | asked and he shook his head.

“The woods were empty,” he whispered and | froze in my place. “Well, it was empty of vampires.” “What do you mean?” “There was another body,” his words dropped like a bombshell and there was a ringing in my ears. | blinked twice wondering if | heard wrong but by the pensive look on his face, | knew | hadn’t. “The physician has taken in the body to analyze but | figure it is going to be the same.” “We have to figure out something.” “We will,” Ryker assured me as he grabbed my palm and squeezed. ‘Just forget about it for tonight. You should rest.” “What about you?” | knew he had no plans of resting. “Well then, | guess we can get through the material faster if we both read.” “You don’t have to.” “You're always reminding me how I'am queen. Don’t you think it is time | started acting like it?” | fell asleep sometime during the early hours of the morning and by the time | woke up, | was in my night gown and already lying in bed. Ryker was still hunched over the desk and | knew he hadn't slept. | slowly made my way out and placed a hand on his shoulder. He jumped slightly but relaxed when he noticed that | was the one standing there.

| placed a kiss on his cheek. “You need to rest, Ryker. Today is going to be a very busy day and you know it. We have to see the elders and the physician.” He smiled softly. “I'm fine, baby. If I'm tired, | will rest.” “I don’t like this.” He stood to his feet and placed his hands on my waist. He pulled me into him and kissed my lips softly. He was obviously tired but he was trying to put up a brave face for me. | knew there was nothing | could do save for drugging him and in that moment, | was honestly contemplating it. He didn’t give me the chance to say anything because he just side stepped me and began bringing out clothes for the day. i sighed and just got ready.

Like | predicted, the first thing we had to do was meet with the elders. They were in a more agreeable mood since yesterday and | knew it had more to do with Ryker’s presence than anything. It was obvious that this was out of their league because no one knew what to do. Apparently, the body that had been found belonged to a family in the lower town and they were already searching for their son. News was beginning to spread and | knew it was only a matter of time before we would have to tell them that he was found.

All we could do was double down on the curfew and try and blame his death on the elements. | knew it would be a hard sell considering werewolves rarely got cold but it was the best that we could do at that point. The elders were not too happy about having to break the news to the people but they went to do it either way. Our next stop was the physician and there was nothing new for him to tell us. He died in the same manner as the last person and had only been dead for a few hours before we found him. He offered to cover up the bite marks so the family didn’t see it and | was quick to agree. As we left his office, | turned to Ryker.

“How long has the boy been missing for?” | wanted to fact check something.

“According to the elders- two days.” “If he only died last night then that means that they are being held before they die. The question is why? What does he gain out of holding them captive for days? Is it a fear tactic?” “It could be but somehow | doubt it. If it were that then they should have signs of torture but there is nothing. | have a feeling there’s more to this than we realize.” | knew he was right but it was so frustrating to think about. | couldn’t help but wonder why us? Why were we the ones to be targeted? There were thousands of werewolves and hundreds of packs all over the world so why were we the target? “You're the Queen,” Ryker began and | realized | had spoken out loud. “There is no greater show of strength than being able to overthrow the werewolf monarchy. Everything goes through you. If you fall then they all fall with you.”

Chapter 96 CAMILLA’'S PO.V | didn’t realize how much pressure was on me until Ryker said those words. | don’t think he meant for me to worry but | couldn’ help it. | spent the entire morning thinking about his words. Loris had to cut training short because my mind seemed to be everywhere else but present. | almost hit him in the face with a stream of water while | was meant to move it from one stream to another.

The bodies were returned to the families today and | couldn’t bring myself to see them. | watched from a pillar while they sobbed into the bodies of their sons. My heart ached for them and | wanted nothing more than to comfort them but my feet couldn’t move. | couldn’t imagine how | would react if | lost a child.

| felt a hand on my shoulder and | relaxed considerably when | realized it was Ryker. His scent crowded my space and | heaved a small sigh. His arms wrapped around my shoulders and he placed his chin on the center of my head. | could feel his eyes on me instead of the family.

“| feel bad,” | admitted. “It is our job to protect them and we failed.” “This isn’t your fault. It isn’t even theirs. The fault resides with the vampire who killed them.” “He won't stop,” | whispered and he didn’t respond. There was no need for him to, he knew | was right. “We have to stop him before he kills anyone else.” “We will, it’s just taking a little longer than we thought,” he pulled back from me. “One of us should be there to comfort them.” Before | could say anything, he brushed past me and walked over to the family. The mother sobbed into his arms and | watched as Ryker comforted her. He wasn’t supposed to touch them and | knew the elders would have a field day if they saw him but | couldn’t help but smile softly. One thing | loved most about Ryker was his ability to be so empathetic without saying a word. He deserved to be king much more than | deserved to be Queen. He would have found a way to sort this thing out. | only wished the vampire king were half the man he was. If he was, he would have known that his subjects were stepping out of line and he would have handled them.

As soon as that thought landed, | gasped. All this time, we had been chasing the wrong lead. There was no way that we were going to find the vampire who was doing this, we needed to find the king. | wanted to inform Ryker but he was too busy with the family so | made my way to the secret library alone. If | was going to find anything on him, it was going to be there.

| pulled out every single book | could find on vampires and put my wall firmly in place so | wouldn’t be disturbed. | couldn't tell how long | sat there flipping through books and trying to figure out who the infamous king was. There were so many texts on him but none of them mentioned his name or even what he loked like. | knew finding him was going to be hard but | never realized it was going to be this hard.

It was around evening when Ryker found me with my head buried in the books. | was so lost in my reading that | didn’t realize he was close until he spoke.

“This is where you've been,” he mused and | jumped. He had to place a hand at the back of my chair to prevent it from tipping over. “We've been scouring the entire palace for you. Is this payback vrom when | made you worry?” | couldn’t help but smile. “Maybe, maybe not. At least now you know how it feels.” He peered over my shoulder at the books opened in front of me. “What are we searching for today? Did you find something?” | explained my theory to him and he listened intently while | spoke. By the time | was done, he had a wary look on his face and | immediately knew that there were going to be complaints.

“This is brilliant but we are working on the assumption that the vampire king is someone who can be reasoned with,” he ran his hand down his jaw. “This man could be over a thousand years old. He might not be willing to listen or even care about what is happening.” Chapter 96 “He’s the king, he has to,” my brows furrowed. “No one wants a war. If he is up to a thousand years old then he must have seen first-hand the war.” “Why don’t we handle this tomorrow?” he asked and | wanted to refute but my stomach chose that exact moment to rumble.

“Come on baby, let's get some food into you.” “Can | get some books first?” | asked and he nodded.

| gathered my books and just as | was about to leave, | got an idea. He mentioned something about the vampire king and the war so | grabbed the books | could see on the war. It was a far stretch but it was one worth looking into.

“Are you ready?’ he asked and | nodded. He grabbed the books from my hand and gestured for me to walk ahead of him. This time, | didn’t hesitate before moving.

| had plans to read after eating but | was so tired that | didn’t even realize when | passed out from exhaustion. The next thing | realized was that | was waking up in bed during the early hours of the morning. Ryker was already up and out of bed at the time and | rushed to get in line with my duties.

The morning seemed to go like any other until we were told during breakfast that there were bodies. It felt like the weight of the world had crashed on me especially since we had planned to spend the day with the girls. Ryker decided that it would be best if he goes to check the bodies while | stay with the girls so as not to arouse suspicion. | wasn’t entirely on board with it but he didn’t give me much of a chance to protest.

| didn’t want to be idle so while | at with Audrey in her room, | was flipping through the books | had brought back. | decided to start with the ones on the war and to say there were unhelpful would have been an understatement. Most of them spoke about casualties and how the werewolves won the war but that wasn’t what | wanted.

| was about to give up when | noticed another passage that seemed to be about the vampires. | decided to keep reading and although it didn’t give much, it spoke about how the vampire king didn’t live in the Northern mountains like the rest of them.

Although it was a speculation, some believed that he lived in the mountains close to the palace to mirror the lives of the werewolves.

As soon as-I-read that, | tried to mind link Ryker but his wall was up. | mind linked Christine next and she was quick to rush into the room. | showed her what | had found and she pored over it for far longer than necessary. After what felt like minutes, she looked up at me.

“| think we should wait for Ryker,” she said and | frowned. “If this is true, you could be walking into an ambush. It is best if you go with guards.” “That would look like a declaration of war. | just want to talk to him. | can take a few guards with me but if | carry an entire army which is what Ryker is going to do then the conversation will end befor eit even starts.” She sighed knowing she couldn’t win with me. “What do you propose then?” “I need you to watch the kids,” she opened her mouth to refute but | cut her off. “Ryker is busy right now and | am not going to make him leave whatever he is doing to come to me. I'll just take two guards and go on horses.” She still didn’t look convinced but she reluctantly nodded. | grabbed her hands and gave her a small smile.

“Just be safe,” she whispered. “Take some of the best guards.” “l will. Can you arrange some for me? You know them better than | do.”

She left to organize the guards and | secretly hoped that Ryker would return before she did but he didn’t. | was terribly anxious to go alone but | was the Queen and Ryker was right | needed to start acting like it. Audrey demanded to walk with me to the horses and | couldn't refuse her. She didn’t want to let me go and if | were smarter, | would have taken that as a sign to stay back.

—“I'll be back soon,” | promised and she frowned. “When I'm back we can play house again, okay?” She hesitated before nodding and pulling me into a hug. Christine had to hold her back while | mounted the horse. | explained to the guards where we were going. | was kept in the middle for security reasons and we began the journey. We had estimated a few hours for the journey and | knew that if all went as planned then we would leave by nightfall.

| The journey was quiet but | could feel the tension emanating. We were just four in number and | hoped that it wouldn’t be seen as too much. We went deeper into the woods than | had ever gone before and the further we went, the colder it got. was grateful for the coat that Christine had made me pack. Even if it didn’t completely protect me from the cold, it did a better job than my dress would have.

“Your majesty, do you know exactly what we are looking for? We are almost at the mountains.” “Just keep going. You'll know it when you see it.” We kept going for a few minutes when | felt eyes on me. | couldn’t see them but | knew they were there so | immediately ordered everyone to stop. The guards must have sensed the urgency in my voice because they immediately formed a protective circle around me.

“We can turn back now,” one of them began but | shook my head.

“You're a long way from home, Camilla,” | heard someone drawl from the woods and | looked to see bright glowing red eyes staring back at me.

Chapter 97 CAMILLA’'S PO.V “I mean no harm,” | called out but the vampire made no move to step out. “I just want to see your king.” He laughed maniacally. “Not many people live to see that request. Our king does not like visitors neither does he tolerate them.” The guards tightened their circle around me.

“My name is Camilla and | am the Queen of the wolves. | believe he should want to see me. | would not come here unless it was important.” There was silence for a minute and | honestly thought he wasn’t going to respond until he spoke. “I know who you are. He has been expecting you but we didn’t know you would come with guards of your own.” “Did you expect me to walk into unknown territory unprotected?” He finally stepped out of the woods. His hair was cropped short and close to his head. He looked like a normal person except for the unusual paleness of his skin. It was patchy and white like snow. | figured it was expected considering they were practically dead and lived in the cold of the mountains. He smiled and | saw a hint of his fangs.

Although | had never seen him, | recognized him from his eyes alone. “You were the one watching me in the woods, weren't you?” He smiled. “Maybe. Come, Camilla, the king awaits.” The guards with me hesitated but | figured that we were already here and if he wanted to hurt me then he would have done so already. He walked ahead of us unbothered about his bare feet touching the rough plain. | figured not much bothered the undead. We got to the mouth of a cave and the guards in front of me stopped.

“Your majesty,” one of them began. “Are you sure this is a good idea? We don’t know if there is an army in there. We are walking in blind.” “| can assure you that there is no army,” the vampire said from in front of me. We turned to him in confusion and he tapped his ears. “We have better hearing than you guys. To answer your question, there is no army. We don’t need one. | can assure you that there are less than five people, including me.”

The guards still didn’t look convinced so | knew | would have to make the first move. | slowly got off my horse and glanced up at the guards to assure them that it was fine. They dismounted too and we allowed the vampire lead us into the cave. It was pitch black and it took longer than usual for me to get adjusted to the light. The distinct smell of blood filled the air and unease threatened to choke me. “Forgive the smell,” he said off handedly. “We do have to feed sooner or later. I'm sure you understand.” If the vampire realized that we were uncomfortable, he didn’t let on. He just walked further in until we got to what | assumed was the center of the cave. There was an opening at the top that allowed light filter inwards. Right in the center of that opening was a throne carved from stone. It was massive and seated atop it was a man who looked no older than mid-forties but | knew better than to judge him based off his looks. When he saw me, he sat up straighter.

His hair was long and reached past his shoulders. His eyes held wisdom that | couldn’t even begin to fathom. Even though he was seated, | could tell that he was a tall man. There was blood at the corner of his lips and he made a show of wiping it away with his thumb.

“Camilla,” he practically purred my name. “You don’t know how long | have waited to get your attention. Welcome to my abode.

It might not be anything much but it is something.” The guards were still surrounding me so | broke out of their circle and stepped forward. One of them reached out in an attempt to grab me but | shot him a hard look before turning to face the king. He was looking at us with an amused expression on his face.

“Forgive the mess, it has been a while since we had visitors. If you had come in an hour ago, | doubt you would have been able to withstand the sight.” | knew he was trying to push my buttons to see what made me tick but | had no time to spare on the conversation. | came with a mission in mind, | wanted to do it and get back home before anyone realized that | was missing.

“You're the king,” | said more to confirm than anything and he nodded.

“I have gone by many names in my lifetime some of which are not very nice but you can refer to me as Alastair, it is the name | was given after | had turned.” He spoke like he expected me to recognize the name but | had never heard it before. | thought long and hard in case it was something | had buried down in my mind but there was nothing.

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Alastair.” He frowned when there was no recognition on my face. “It is customary for people to bow when they see a king.” “The same way people ought to bow when they see a Queen,” | quipped back and the corner of his lips tipped upwards. “Let us not hold each other to standards that we do not hold ourselves, okay?” “As you wish,” he made a dramatic show of hands and sat up straighter. “What brings you here, Camilla? Wolves do not wander here by accident. | could see it as a breach of our peace treaty because you came to my dwelling place.” “Considering that you broke the treaty first when he watched me, I'm not quite worried about that,” | jerked my thumb in the direction of the vampire who led us. “| am not here to fight. | have a problem that | think you would like to hear about.” “| think | already know what it is. The vampire who keeps murdering your wolves,” when he saw the surprise on my face, he laughed. “News travels fast, Camilla. Did you really think that a vampire would be out of line and | wouldn’t know?” | heaved a sigh of relief knowing that if he was aware, it would be handled soon. “I hope this means that you are working on it and the culprit will be apprehended soon?” “Not quite,” my brows scrunched in confusion.

He turned to one of the others and nodded and | saw a large crate being dragged in. inside that crate were two werewolves.

They were bound and gagged and although they were alive, they had been beaten and looked malnourished. Alastair watched my face intently as he stood to his feet and | couldn’t help but take a subconscious step backwards. The guards were forming a protective ring around me but so were the vampires.

“It sure is a bother to find new wolves every day. | always like to have some in backup,” he smirked and nodded once more.

This time, his vampires moved.

It was a perfectly evened out fight- three against three- but we were at a disadvantage. This was their home. It took less than five minutes for all the guards to drop dead by my side. It didn’t take a genius to realize that | was screwed. | was standing alone in a room with four vampires who were older than | could ever imagine.

“What do you want?” | asked feigning bravery. If he was going to kill me then | wasn’t going to die while cowering. “Was the killing your way of getting my attention?”

“Yes and no,” he shrugged and leaned closer into the chair. “Living for a thousand years gets boring sometimes. | just wanted to be entertained but now that you are here, | think we can talk.” One of the vampires moved so fast that he was practically a blur. He grabbed my shoulders and pulled me down into a stone carved chair that wasn’t there a second ago.

He walked towards me and curled a strand of my hair around his fingers. | stayed completely still while he moved. | knew it would be foolish to try to attack him when | was outnumbered so | kept my eyes fixated on the ground and tried to get to Ryker or Christine via mind link but | couldn't. it felt like there was something blocking the connection.

“Don’t bother trying,” Alastair suddenly said. “When you have lived as long as | have, you will make friends n high places. | had a witch spell the cave so no one can mind link inside of it. You are completely on your own.” The gravity of the situation hit me at once and | couldn’t help but wish | had just stayed at home with the girls like Christine had suggested. | was going to die in the mountains with no one knowing the truth. | knew | had to stall. | looked around thinking of hat | could ask and my eyes fell on the men in the cage.

“Why did you start attacking the wolves?” | asked and he froze behind me. “We had a wonderful peace treaty going on. You were probably alive when it was made. You chose to break it, why? What could have been worth it?” “There is a lot you don’t know, Camilla. You werewolves are practically blind to the grand scheme of eternity. Do you know what it means to live for eons? To see centuries rise and fall while you remain. | believe it is both a blessing and a curse,” he walked over so he could stand in front of me. “War is inevitable, Camilla, the quicker you realize that, the better.” “That doesn’t answer my question.” “You have something that | want,” he said suddenly and my brows scrunched, “and you are going to give it to me.” “| will never help you.” “| thought you would say that,” he stood to his feet. “Look around you, Camilla, you aren’t getting out of here without giving me what | want. Do us both a favor and end this right now.” “| don’t know what you want but | can promise that | will not be giving it to you,” | spat and his lips curled downwards.

“| never wanted it to come to this but you leave me no choice.”

“What are you even talking about?” He didn’t respond.

Chapter 98 RYKER’S POV When | was told that there was another body, | was expecting to see a scene similar to the last ones. When | got there, | was suddenly thankful that | asked Camilla to stay back. It was so graphic that one of the guards threw up on sight. The smell of blood hung in the air and it was so messy that | didn’t even know where to stand. It was clear that unlike the others, this man was killed in the forest.

His head was completely severed off and there was blood everywhere- on the grass and on the trees. There was no way we could hide this one even if we tried. | muttered a curse and ran my hands through my hair as | thought of what we could do. The guards were most definitely going to talk and the family of the boy were not going to accept any bullsh it explanations.

“Your majesty,” one of the guards spoke snapping me out of my thoughts. “What do we do with the body.” “Right now, leave it. Get the physician here. We can’t risk transporting it back to the palace.” He nodded and left to do as | asked. While we waited for the physician, | spoke to the guards who had found him. They were lured by the scent of blood and discovered the scene. No one recognized him yet and | was grateful for that. It was easier to deal with the victim as a stranger than someone’s child or father.

It took twenty minutes for the physician to arrive with his son and | saw him flinch when he took in the scene. He muttered something under his breath and went to work analyzing the body. His son looked a little green and if it were another day, | would have suggested that he sat it out but | needed to get to the bottom of things as soon as possible.

“It is the same as the others,” he said as he stood to his feet.

| didn’t want to risk the others overhearing us so | turned to the guards. “Wrap up the body and take it back to the palace.

Ensure it is cleaned and made presentable then find out who he is and if he has any family.” While they scrambled to do as | asked, | led the physician to a corner of the woods away from prying ears. | didn’t know what he wanted to say but | had a feeling that | was not going to like it. He looked around to be sure that no one was listening before he spoke.

“| think it was the same vampire that did this,” he whispered. “It looks more disorganized and the scene is made to look like he lost control and ripped the head off but | don’t think that’s what happened. It was a clean cut. It wasn’t ripped out using teeth because if it was then it would have jagged edges like ripped skin.”

“What are you saying essentially?” “I'm saying that whoever this is has to be exceptionally brilliant. They know what they’re doing. This is a game your majesty, | just don’t know what the rules are.” | sighed. “Thank you for your help.” He nodded and | watched him walk away. | waited until the guards finished clearing the scene before | got into the carriage to leave. | just wanted to sit with my mate and forget everything that happened. | couldn’t remember the last time | felt this exhausted and it wasn’t a physical thing.

As soon as | got to the palace however, | knew something was wrong. It wasn’t as if anything stood out, there was just an unease in my chest. | tried to mind link Camilla but her wall was up. | decided to go looking for her but | saw Christine with the girls.

“Where is Camilla?” | asked making all of them turn to me. Audrey ran into my arms but | could barely focus on her, my attention was on Christine and the guilty expression on her face. “Where did she go?” “She took some guards to follow up a lead on the vampire king. | tried to convince her to wait for you but she said she would be back soon. I'm sorry.” | cursed and rushed out of the room. | knew Camilla made impulsive decisions but this topped the cake. | immediately up the guards while Christine told me where she went. If it wasn’t so frowned on | would have considered just rallied permanently locking Camilla up in a room so she wouldn't make crazy decisions sand give me a heart attack before 40.

No words were spoken as we took off. | was burning with anxiety and fear. | kept trying to reach Camilla through her mind link but it was almost as if something was blocking it. | couldn’t get to her no matter how hard | tried. The sun was setting and | was getting increasingly paranoid. The night was their domain and | didn’t want her out while there was a crazed vampire on the loose.

We got to the mountains and | didn’t know where we were going but | trusted that we were going the right way. When | found the horses tied up and abandoned, | let out a sigh of relief. Even though Camilla was not with them, it filled me with a sense of relief that we were going the right way. | decided to continue on foot since we were already at the base of the mountain.

| could feel the curiosity from the guards with me. The sun had almost set completely and we were still nowhere close to finding them. The logical thing to do would have been to call off the search until morning but li had zero plans of leaving Camilla out alone. There were only two choices- return with her or do not return at all.

“Your majesty, | found something,” | immediately rushed towards the sound of the guard’s voice. | didn’t know what | was expecting but it definitely was not the severed body of one of our guards at the mouth of the cave.

It was an obvious taunt and | knew that we could be walking into a potential ambush but | was determined to go along with it regardless. | had two guards stay outside and keep watch while the rest of us went into the cave. It was eerily quiet and cold. | could have sworn there was no sign of life on the inside.

The guards kept close to me while we moved further inside. It was pitch black and | couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. | thought we were going in circles until | heard a sound. It sounded like cackling and it was a few feet away. | decided to follow it until | came to the center of the cave.

There was blood all over the floors and it was empty save for a man seated in the center of the room. He had Camilla standing in front of him and she looked exhausted. There was a slight sheen of sweat on her face and her lips were tinged blue.

The man had his head down and when he looked up, | was taken aback by how red his eyes were. They were the color of freshly spilled blood and there was blood on his face and teeth as he smiled.

“| was wondering how long it would take for you to show up,” he drawled. “I expected you to be here earlier. Do you know how taxing it has been to wait for you? | even had to put out a welcome gift so you could find your way. | would have put the others but my men wanted snacks.” | could tell that he was deranged.

“Let her go,” | kept my voice cool although on the inside, | was a raging storm.

“Do you are “that’s rude. You didn’t even ask my name first. | would have thought that you wolves had better manners. | know dogs but you don’t have to act like it, | growled and took a step forward but he quickly produced a dagger. “Do not take a step closer. She is still in my arms.” The vampire simply smiled when | froze.

“To answer your demand, | will let her go. | don’t particularly like girls. They taste different. You on the other hand, you're more my type,” Igrowled and he laughed. “I should be the last thing on your radar, Ryker. Have you taken a good look at your mate?” “What are you talking about?” | had barely finished asking when he pushed Camilla forward.

| didn’t think as | rushed to grab her. She collapsed in my arms and | realized just how cold she was. She was shivering and she tried to speak but no words would come out. | looked up to see the vampire on the other end of the room.

“What did you do to her?” the guards started moving forward but he held up a hand and clicked his tongue.

“Let me give you a little insight on vampires that might not be present in your history books. We can bite for three reasons,” he paused for dramatic effect and began counting off his fingers. “One is to feed, the second is to turn and the third is to kill. Our venom has poison.” | immediately realized what he was saying and | gently turned Camilla’s neck only to see two fang marks in her throat directly over her mark.

“If | were you, | would get that checked as soon as possible. After all, there is no cure.” “You ba stard,” | looked up only to see that he had disappeared. | let out a roar of frustration and gently but quickly lifted Camilla in my arms. “Get the horses ready and make sure the physician is on standby by the time we arrive.” “Do you want some of us to go after him?” one of the guards asked but | shook my head.

“We will see again, sooner or later. My bet is on sooner.”

Chapter 99 RYKER’S PO.V We rushed home with Camilla. | could barely remember the ride back, the only thought on my mind was her. | checked on her almost every second to ensure she was breathing. Her eyes were closed and her lips were still blue but each time | saw her chest rise and fall, it filled me with a sense of hope.

When we got to the palace, the physician’s son was already waiting outside with Christine. They had done me a favor and cleared out the back entrance to the palace and for that, | was grateful. | already knew the news would spread but all | could ask for was one day of peace and quiet where no one asked me st upid questions about her.

We rushed her into the physician’s room which was thankfully devoid of dead bodies. She was placed gently on the bed and he immediately went to work looking over her. | stood by the door so as not to get in their way but to have a good view of what was happening. Christine stood by my side and | could see her hesitating between reaching out to me or staying on her own. At the end of the day, she decided to stand beside me in silence.

“What happened to her?” the physician asked and | swallowed deeply before responding.

“The vampire there said she was bitten,” it took everything in me to keep my voice even as | spoke. “He said it was a bite to poison and kill” The physician froze and turned to me. “Are you sure?” | nodded. “Is something wrong? Talk to me.” “If that is what he said and he meant it then there are two things at play here. For starters, whoever that vampire was has to be almost as old as time itself. Most vampires don’t learn how to poison until they are centuries old and even then, it isn’t something they do often because not everyone masters the skill. Whoever you met has to be someone of a high ranking or vast importance.” “The king,” Christine whispered and | turned to her. “Camilla told me she found something about the vampire king living in the mountains close to the palace. That’s what she wanted to investigate. What if the man is the king?” “It would make a lot of sense,” the physician mumbled more to himself than anyone.

He continued mumbling to himself and while | wouldn’t have minded on another day, there was something more important | needed to know.

“What is the second thing?” he looked confused so | explained. “You said there were two things at play but only mentioned one. What is the second?” A dark look crossed his face and this time he didn’t speak. He opened his mouth but no words would come out and | knew that whatever he would say, there was a very high possibility that | would not like it.

“Don’t waste my time,” | growled and he swallowed.

“There is no known cure for vampire venom. | am sorry, your majesty.” He began speaking about the bite but | couldn’t hear him. There was blood rushing through my ears and | couldn't figure out if | was upset with Camilla or with the situation. All she had to do was wait for me and all of this would have been avoided. The more | thought of it, the more annoyed | got. | knew | was a second away from losing my cool so | forced deep breaths out of my lungs. When the vampire said it, | didn’t want to believe it but hearing it again was like a wakeup call.

There was a pained gasp and it took me a second to realize it came from Christine. She had a hand over her mouth and | could see tears swimming in her eyes. | wanted to comfort her but | didn’t know how so | did the next best thing and opened my arms to her. She wasted no time in wrapping her arms around me as so bs wracked through her body.

In a way, she reminded me of Riley. They both cared too much although she had a harder time showing it. They also liked to pretend to be stronger than they actually were. | held her by her shoulders and allowed her cry while | turned to face the physician who was watching me intently.

“You don’t look surprised,” he began and | shrugged.

“| already knew,” it felt like torture having to keep a straight face when my entire insides were burning.

Camilla had already gone through so much and now this. | knew from a young age that the world wasn’t kind but if there was anyone who deserved kindness from the world, it was her. Despite everything, she never failed to be a good person and all she got nothing but pain in return.

“Do everything you can,” | told the physician and he opened his mouth to speak but | cut him off. “| don’t care what happens but my mate must not die. Check your history books, hell, | don’t even care if you have to find vampires and get answers out of them. | want her alive and healthy.”

“Your majesty,” his voice was soft. “Thousands before me have tried to get a cure. The venom is strong. Nothing seems to work against it.” “There’s always a first time for everything."” He swallowed once he realized how serious | was and nodded. Once | was sure he understood what | was asking, | turned to Christine who had calmed down. “Come, we need to figure out what to tell Audrey. | don’t want her seeing her mother like this again.” We ended up telling Audrey that Camilla would be gone for a few days without any other explanation. She asked a lot of questions but if there was one thing | was good at, it was avoiding questions. | left her with Christine while | went to speak with the guards. | knew there was no way to avoid telling the public about the vampires now especially since all the guards that Camilla took with her were dead but | wanted to control the narrative.

| found one of them outside feeding the horses and ordered for the others to be brought to me. It took almost fifteen minutes to get them all assembled. They were al trying to keep brave faces but there were varying levels of hurt on their faces.

“l know you lost friends and brothers today,” | began and a few of their masks cracked, “and for that, you have my sincerest apologies. Lives were lost today and they will forever be remembered as having a great sacrifice. | know we cannot cover up their deaths but discretion is needed when talking about it.” | watched their expressions before continuing.

“If people know where and who was responsible for their deaths, they might want to go there for vengeance and more lives will be lost,” | was bluffing but | hoped it would be enough to convince them. “As of right now, all that needs to be said is that vampires are responsible for what happened. Do not give more information than necessary. Am | understood ?”.

They all nodded and there was a flurry of yes, your majesty. | started to leave when someone cleared their throat behind me. | turned to see one of the younger guards. He looked hesitant as he walked out of the line up.

“Will they be avenged at all?” he asked. “My brother was one of the men who died. | haven't found his body yet. Will there be any retribution? Will their attacker go free?” “| promise you that the responsible parties will die slow and painful deaths.” He was shocked by my words, they all were. It was rare for me to be anything but stoic in public. | waited to ensure that my

words had sunk in before | walked out. | all but ran to the room | shared with Camilla and the moment | was within the safety of the four walls, | allowed myself to feel.

It wasn’t until | saw her messy side of the bed and the books stacked up non her bedside table that everything hit me all at once. It felt like a band was being wrapped around my chest and it was getting tighter with every passing second. The reality that there was a possibility she would never be fine came crashing down on me. | couldn’t accept it. It didn’t matter if | had to go to every vampire den on my own to find out a solution, | was going to do it.

| walked over to her side of the bed and inhaled her scent. It did little to calm me down but it felt like getting a warm hug from her. | could clearly see her lying there and smiling at me. | could feel her skin beneath my fingers.

“She isn’t dead, stop acting like she is,” my wolf nagged. “She is going to come back. We will find a way.” | realized he was right but | couldn’t shake the sense of foreboding doom. | lay down on her side of the bed and just inhaled her scent. | knew | was replacing her scent with mine by lying there but | couldn’t bring myself to care in that moment. | just wanted to be close to Camilla without having to see her looking sickly pale.

| managed to get five minutes of silence before someone knocked on the door. | tried to ignore it but then | heard Christine's voice.

“Ryker, they need you, | don’t know what it is but they were asking for Camilla and she isn’t,” there was a cr ack in her voice and | sighed deeply.

| reluctantly stood to my feet and exhaled deeply. When | was sure that | was relaxed and there was no trace of my emotions on my face, | pulled the door open.

Christine stood there. “I'm so-" “Take me to it,” | said immediately. Duty waited for no man.