The Vampire and the Alpha's Son

A Pleasant Surprise

David’s POV

In the span of a few short seconds, she was gone, and I was left alone with my thoughts. I sat naked in the chilly water as it lapped softly against my legs. I slumped my face into my hands and my body began to shake uncontrollably as the realization began to sink in of everything that had just happened.

I had already kind of left my home, but now there really was no going back. That vampire knew my scent now, which meant that if I ever tried to go back to the packhouse I would be putting everyone in danger. There was nowhere to go now except forward, and I was almost completely alone. All I had was a vampire mate who I barely knew. Regardless, I was still happy to be with her, but it would be an arduous journey for someone such as myself who had grown up surrounded by hundreds of pack members.

The way I saw it, I only had three real options: wander the countryside until we find a pack that accepts rogues and vampires, find somewhere to start a pack of our own, or just stay a rogue and travel the lands alongside my vagabond mate. I was trying desperately to distract myself with these plans for the future so that I wouldn’t have to face the reality of having left my mother and best friend to a possibly terrible fate. Even though the wolves outnumbered the vampires, there was still a chance that some or all of them could be severely injured, or even dead.

Despite my best efforts, I couldn’t block the images that flooded my brain. Images of their bloody and mangled bodies lying in the damp grass, stained red by their blood, flashed through my mind like some horrific picture show.

I stood abruptly, and began to pace the riverbank. This part of the river was far away from any form of civilization, thankfully, so at least I didn’t have to worry about being seen. I opened and closed my fists rapidly and took long, deep breaths to try to calm myself, but I desperately wished my mate was with me. The only thing that could calm me now was her presence and soothing scent. I needed her smooth, icy touch to cool off the angry heat that threatened to engulf me.

I whipped my head in all directions, looking around in a panic. It had only been a few minutes, but she should still be back by now. Any source of clothes was probably miles away, but she was superbly fast. It shouldn’t take her very long. I sighed impatiently.

I was about to go sit back down, for lack of something better to do, when I heard the sound of someone or something approaching from down the river, from the direction we had come. Caldus and I were instantly on alert, bracing for whatever might come at us now. At the same time, I was suddenly aware of Caldus’ recent absence in my mind, from the time I changed back until just now.

Where have you been? I asked begrudgingly. He wouldn't answer, so I left it alone for now.

The scent of the approaching figure hit me before they rounded the bend, and I immediately let my guard down. A moment later, a large, light brown wolf came into view. He shifted back into human form as he reached me, and I was now staring into the pale blue eyes of my beta with shocked surprise.

“At last… I found you…” he panted, stopping a few feet in front of me. He bent over and placed his hands against his thighs as he struggled to catch his breath. “Dude, I’m severely out of shape. I should’ve trained with you more instead of playing video games.”

I ignored his little quip as my relief at seeing him turned into indignant anger.

“Why are you here?” I harshly demanded of him, “You should be back there, helping my mom and the others!”

“Your mom forced me to go after you!” he defended himself, “They had things pretty well handled, anyway.”

“She forced you?” I scoffed, “You know Lunas don’t have that kind of power.”

“Yeah, well, she’s still my Luna, and I couldn’t exactly defy a direct order from her,” he explained defensively. He quietly added, “She didn’t want you to go without your beta.”

I sighed, defeated. I couldn’t deny that I was happy to have him here. Ultimately, all one really needs in life is their mate, but it was comforting to have my best friend and beta join our numbers. With a beta, it was looking much more possible to eventually find a place to settle down and start a new pack. Maybe we could pick up a few rogues on the way.

“I’m glad you’re here,” I finally said, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

“Oh my, two naked men,” Liz said teasingly as she suddenly appeared in front of us, making us jump.

She had approached two werewolves without either of us noticing her, which was a frightening thought. I should have known she was there, due to the presence of her enticing, yet calming scent, but I had been too engaged in the moment for it to properly register. If a single vampire could arrive unnoticed when she wasn’t even trying, I could only imagine what would happen if a werewolf pack was ever actually under attack from a group of vampires. I shuddered at the thought.

“Liz, you’re back,” I greeted her with relief, turning away from Bate.

“Good thing I brought extra clothes,” she commented, motioning to the backpack that hung on her shoulder.

It looked like the kind that hikers used. I was mildly curious where she had got it from, but decided I really didn’t want to know.

“You must be my Alpha’s mate,” Bate interjected amiably, turning to look at Liz as well.

I felt a certain satisfaction at being referred to as Alpha. It felt good. It felt… right.

“I am. And you are...?” she asked him, raising one eyebrow.

I noticed she was very careful to look only at his face, even though she had been unashamed to look at my entire body before. Though nudity is fairly common among wolf packs, because sometimes it’s just easier that way, I was still pleased that she didn’t seem keen about looking at another man’s naked body.

“This is Beethoven, my best friend and Beta,” I introduced them. Until now, I would have introduced him as my future Beta, but as he had called me his Alpha, rather than his future Alpha, I felt it only right to do the same.

“You can call me Bate, for short,” he added as he reached out his hand and grinned at her. It was the wide grin of a man who feels like he is meeting his new best friend.

“My name is Elizabeth, but you can call me Liz for short,” she replied, taking and shaking his hand, “It’s very nice to meet you.”

I felt a radiating warmth in my chest as I watched them greet each other. It’s very rare for a vampire and werewolf to be able to trust each other so quickly, especially when a mate bond is not part of the equation. However, the warmth is short-lived as a chilly breeze blows in from the east, reminding me that I am unclothed. I am unable to suppress a shiver and Liz turns back to me quickly.

“Oh, s**t, sorry guys,” she laughed.

She took the backpack off and started handing us the clothes from inside as we stepped out of the water. She handed us each a pair of cargo shorts and a t-shirt, then politely turned away as we dressed. Judging mostly by the cargo shorts, I’m pretty sure these used to belong to some poor camper. I merely shrugged and put them on. There’s not much I can do about it now.