The Werewolf and Vampire's Princess

Chapter Four: Planning

For the remainder of their journey to her new home, Aleida avoided the Alpha. She was beginning to wonder if following her “mate” had been such a good idea in the first place. Especially when her mate used offensive language towards her kind.

Blood sucker was a term coined by some of the original werewolves, before the war even began. It was when the werewolves were trapping the vampires outside during the daylight, to watch them burn. Vampires don’t burn right away, but where a human would receive an irritating burn, a vampire would sustain third degree burns. It’s more common for a vampire to die from dehydration than burning under the sun - the light, the situation, it all has to be exact. The werewolves figured this out, and it became almost an artform for them during the war.

Aleida wasn’t going to lie down while Conley insulted her and her people - she was going to show him she wouldn’t tolerate it.

For now, while travelling from the mountains to Broad Arrow, she was plotting her revenge. She knew Conley had realised his mistake, and she’d heard Beta’s comment about vampires apologizing differently to wolves, so she was seeking a different kind of revenge.

Conley had announced that by sun up they would arrive at their new community, Camberwell. The vampires who needed the day to rest, or simply avoid the sun, were welcome to stay in pre-arranged rooms in the main house. Any vampires who wanted to go straight to their new homes would be shown the way by Beta.

The journey from her old home, the vampires’ Rovi Castle, to her new community, Camberwell, was two days and nights of non-stop walking. For a vampire, who didn’t require sleep every single night, this was an easy feat, if they didn’t feel like stopping during the day. But wolves needed to sleep at night. To Conley’s credit, once he realised the vampires didn’t need to sleep during the journey, he and Beta decided they would alter their sleeping schedule for this one trip. Wolves needed six or eight hours sleep over two nights, so it simply meant once home the two would probably need a long, uninterrupted sleep.

But Aleida was going to make sure that every waking moment was going to be torture for Conley. She couldn’t stop thinking of that moment in her little cottage, how Conley had pressed her against the door ...

‘I want to enjoy you first.’ He breathed into Aleida’s ear, sending shivers of anticipation throughout her body, before kissing her deeply again. His free hand snaked its way under her dress, caressing her thighs. His fingers found her panties, growling with satisfaction when he found them already wet. Aleida couldn’t stop the whimper escaping her lips as he lightly, too lightly, ran his fingers along the outside of her panties.

Conley stopped kissing her, gazing into her eyes again, as his fingers slid underneath the fabric. He cupped her with his palm, feeling how wet she was, and Aleida couldn’t stop the instinctive grind of her hips against his calloused hand.’

‘Rein it in, girl.’ Beth-Marie pulled Aleida out of her thoughts with a playful nudge. ‘We can all smell you.’

‘Oh, I’m sorry.’ Aleida blushed, but the Marie sisters laughed.

‘To find ones’ mate is a blessing, sweetheart. I’m surprised you aren’t glued to his side.’ Anne-Marie commented quietly. It wasn’t a gossip seeking question, it was more of a question a mother might ask her daughter when she realised something was wrong.

Aleida just shrugged.

‘He nearly called up blood suckers earlier.’

‘I heard that too, darling, but you know what else I heard?’ Carly-Marie said gently, from Beth-Marie’s other side. Aleida shook her head, frowning.

‘I heard him stop. I heard him consciously make the decision not to follow through. And everyone heard him apologise to you, darling.’ the other two sisters nodded encouragingly.

‘You had an Alpha apologise to you. That is no small moment to throw away.’

‘I haven’t forgotten. He bowed his head, and I didn’t realise-’

‘We’re all going to have some … cultural adaptations with this move. Patience and communication are what we are all going to need.’ Anne-Marie spoke to Aleida gently, but seemed to be glaring rather pointedly at Beth-Marie. The red-head stuck her tongue out at her sister.

Aleida’s nerves were building as their group made their way past Broad Arrow - the twenty people town that served as the humans docks - and past the second row of hills. The human’s settlement, Trangie, sat in the middle of a mountain range that was shaped like a sideways ‘U’, with Broad Arrow sitting at the open end of the ‘U’ in the west. The werewolf lands were in the south of this ‘U’, while Rovi castle - and the vampires - resided in the north.

Once they passed the second mountain range, Camberwell, Aleida’s new home, would only be a mere half a days’ walk. Aleida wasn’t sure if she was excited or nervous. The thoughts of what Conley had done to her against the cottage door certainly hadn’t ceased, which wasn’t helping her nerves in the slightest.

‘Aleida.’ Conley’s strong voice wafted over to her. He appeared in front of her, holding out his hand. ‘We’re about to enter our lands and I’d like you with me, as Luna.’

The Marie sisters tittered with excitement, Anne-Marie draped her shawl over Aleida’s face to protect her from the morning sun, but Aleida barely noticed. She could feel Conley’s pride for his - their - lands in her mind. It was so strong it swelled into her heart, too. She took his hand, walking next to him to the front of their group … or were they a pack now?

As they passed the watchtower that marked the werewolves territory, the sun began to rise in the east. At first all Aleida could see was a forest with trees so tall they had to be generations old.

But there was a break in the trees, where Conley seemed to be leading them, and Aleida felt the moment they stepped onto their lands. Conley’s entire body seemed to relax, and her own limbs felt lighter. Conley led the group past a neat row of houses, each with plenty of land surrounding their home, so no neighbours were close to one another. At the end of the row sat a welcoming looking inn.

‘The Camberwell Crust.’ Conley announced proudly, loudly enough for all the vampires to hear him. ‘The only inn in town, and they make the best pies!’

‘You only say that because I’m your favourite.’ a beautiful woman stepped out of the inn. She was taller than Conley and shared his piercing hazel eyes and black hair. She kissed his cheek and Aleida couldn’t stop the wave of jealousy that crashed over her. A low growl built in her throat, which died as soon as the woman spoke.

‘I am Khy, Alpha Conley’s sister. I run the inn, any questions about working there, or about the town in general, please don’t hesitate to ask.’ She gave the group a dazzling smile before glancing once at Aleida and Conley’s intertwined hands with a raised eyebrow, and heading back inside her inn.

‘Behind the inn is our library. My brother, Eric, and his best friend, Max, keep it running smoothly. But they are not early risers, so I’m afraid you’ll all have to wait for that treat.’ Conley gestured for the group to follow him, away from the inn and the library.

And there, right in front of her, was the huge, beautiful water fountain Conley had somehow shown Aleida in her mind. It was bigger than a house, with ten layers to it and water cascading down, one layer at a time. The ground level layer was barely ankle deep, and as they drew closer Aleida could see coins shimmering up at her.

‘This fountain was the first thing I commissioned as Alpha.’ Conley told everyone, sounding sheepish. ‘I admit, I went a little overboard,’ giggles rippled through the vampires, ‘But I promise, this is the most … ostentatious I’ve ever been.’

Beta snorted, but didn’t say anything. Aleida didn’t miss the playful glare Conley shot him.

‘All right.’ Conley let go of Aleida’s hand and jumped up onto the marble edge of the fountain, addressing the vampires. ‘Anyone who would like to explore, or be shown to their new home, please make your way to Beta. Anyone who feels the need to rest, decompress, eat, drink, you’ll come with me to the pack house.’

There was silence amongst the vampires for a moment, until someone finally spoke up. ‘Pack house?’

Conley blinked. ‘The main house. I live there, but so do some pack members.’

‘Pack house.’ Aleida whispered to her mate. Conley’s eyes glowed with understanding.

‘Right. Ok. Well…’ he thought for a moment, before speaking up again. ‘Pack is a word I grew up using to refer to my family. It is recognised as a wolf term, but tomorrow we will have a town day where everyone can discuss … labels and names and even our pack - community, name.’

The vampires made noises of satisfaction before splitting up. Aleida wasn’t surprised to find that only the Marie sisters made their way over to herself and Conley while everyone else headed to Beta.

‘Wanna send Carter over to help?’ Beta asked Conley, who nodded. His eyes seemed to go hazy for a moment, but they cleared as he glanced at Aleida and the sisters.

‘Alright ladies, want to see the pack house?’ he asked eagerly. All three women nodded, the sisters linking arms while Aleida took Conley’s hand once again, after he’d gracefully hopped off the fountains’ edge.

Circling the fountain was a cobblestone path that melded into the grass as naturally as the trees around them did. The path wrapped the entirety of the fountain, then had one path leading away. The path appeared to be the equivalent of Rovi castle’s main roadway, leading through the centre of the town with a large mansion at the end.

The five of them were around halfway down the path when a broad shouldered warrior came tearing down the path.

‘You’re early!’ the warrior roared, tackling Conley to the ground. The pair rolled around on the cobblestone path for a few moments, playful growls coming from both of them. Eventually they stood up, seemingly still wrestling, but Conley shoved the warrior aside and gestured to Aleida.

‘Carter, this is Aleida, my mate.’ Conley’s smile was huge and his chest seemed to puff out. ‘Aleida, this is our Captain and trainer of our warriors, Carter Cline.’

Carter gave Aleida a low bow. ‘It is an honour to meet you, my Luna.’

‘Please, it’s just Aleida.’ Aleida fluttered her hands, nudging Carter’s shoulders so he would stand. ‘I haven’t earned Luna yet, I’m just Aleida, in a new home.’

Carter tilted his head to her in respect, which earned him an eye roll from Aleida.

‘CARTER.’ A voice seemed to resonate within Aleida’s head, and she winced, wanting to cover both her ears and her head. Conley and Carter both sighed.

‘Get going and help out Beta, would you?’ Conley said, using a tone of voice Aleida could only assume was his Alpha tone. Carter nodded, bowing his head to Aleida once again, then winking at the Marie sisters before racing off along the cobblestone path.

‘Shall we continue?’ Conley asked, using his free arm (he had taken hold of Aleida’s hand again) to gesture towards the main house. The four girls nodded and followed him the rest of the way to the mansion at the end of the path.