The She-wolf and The Prince

I'm not on Hiden Harrington's side.

CHAPTER 16

April 17, 1812 Paris

Alaric Devilier left his house very early for his appointment at eight in the morning. Indeed, he had to go to his publisher in the street of the olive trees and as a punctual man, he liked to arrive in advance in order to avoid any hitch. Elegant in his black suit, a hat of the same color on his head, a soft and fine face and a half-long hair as white as snow but also graceful in his straight walk. He knew how to attract the eyes of the ladies and damsels of the fashion capital. Nobody in the street of the olive trees could not recognize the handsome young man with a blue handkerchief in his jacket pocket. Blue had been his favorite color from the moment he had immersed himself in the irises of the one he loved; he could not dress without a touch of blue on him.

The vampire took a shortcut after a few meters in the city; he avoided as much as possible the too frequented places. His manuscript in his bag slung over his shoulder, he stood in front of the door of the publishing house. He looked at the inscriptions and entered. The smell of paper and ink tickled his nostrils. Alaric greeted the people at the entrance and then walked to the office of his editor. The latter was sitting in front of his desk and hurriedly went towards him.

- Hello, Mr. Alaric. How are you?

- I'm doing fine. I'm fine, thank you.

- I'm glad to hear it. I assume your next piece is ready.

- Yes, it is. The...

Alaric suddenly felt a presence but also a smell that was not foreign to him. He didn't know who it was, but he felt the almost vital need to meet her. Without waiting, he ran after the aura that attracted him and to which he felt linked. In the streets, men and women were walking in great numbers; it was crowded at that hour. He walked following his instincts, avoiding, of course, jostling the honest passers-by. His heart was beating at a frantic pace and shivers ran down his skin.

"What is this?" he asked himself in his search.

He was confused and lost. Suddenly, a silver hair appeared briefly in his field of vision. Dumbfounded, he believed at first in a hallucination, because for him, Alia was in England and could not be in these places. Moreover, she was not the kind to catch hair in strict bun according to his memories. All the same, he continued to follow his senses and a few meters away from him, the silver hair reappeared with her, deep blue eyes. He couldn't believe his eyes when he recognized Alia through the crowd.

Their eyes met for barely ten seconds before she disappeared again. He decided to follow the essence of the young woman but alas, she had vanished into one of the alleys and he said she was already far from him. His eyes then turned to the sky and he said to himself:

- She has returned. She has returned, my blue bird.

He was happy, but the question of her coming to France brought him back to reality. He wondered what the purpose of her trip was and if she had come alone.

"Logic would dictate that she be accompanied by her husband or a delegation since she is now the queen," he thought.

He was apprehensive about Alia's sudden presence and wondered if she hadn't come to take revenge on him for almost killing her. His heart sank at the thought. Was it possible that she was only in this kingdom to hurt him or was it just a coincidence?

Deep in thought, the handsome writer only later recalled that he had let his editor crash without giving her any explanation. Ashamed of his behavior, he went back to the man and apologized.

- It's okay," he said. You are a very serious person and there must have been some reason for you to leave so quickly.

- Thank you for understanding. It won't happen again.

- Coming from you, I believe it. Let me read your story. I will give you my opinion tomorrow.

- Thank you, Charles.

- You are welcome, Alaric. Have a nice day.

- The same as you.

Alaric then left the building with the hope of seeing and feeling the one he had always loved, but his wish was not granted. Chagrined and happy at the same time, he went to the municipal library for his mission. He had an appointment with some clan leaders to get their support in case a war broke out. He entered the huge building, walked to a secluded corner among the shelves and pressed a button behind one of the books. A trap door opened and he rushed into the room behind it. Three wolves were already waiting for him. They looked at him suspiciously. He suspected they were wondering if they could trust a half-vampire and promised to convince them.

- Good morning, gentlemen.

- Good morning," they said in unison.

- I hope I haven't kept you waiting too long.

- No need for so many courtesies. Let's begin. Intervened Kaldor, a stocky old man with greying hair.

They sat down around a round table and the debate began.

- Why should we interfere in your war?" asked a bearded man with brown hair. It's not our business.

- Simply, my dear Zack, because wolves protect each other.

- Only when they're in the same territory," replied the third man, who was probably the youngest of the three leaders.

He seemed to be a man who was not inclined to help others. His name was Sillas.

- I understand your point of view. However, do you think Hiden Harrington would stop at the wolves of England if he happened to win? No. You will be next, especially since your situation is no different than that of the wolves on English soil.

- I thought you were a hybrid strong enough to help your packs defeat that devil of a king," commented Sillas.

- A fight can only be won if we converge our forces. It's not just King Hiden we have to fight. We must dissolve the vampires' power over the werewolves in its entirety.

- And to do that, you are asking us to rebel," Silas said.

Silas was the youngest clan leader in the kingdom. By his jaded, almost mocking demeanor, Ryan could tell that he was an egomaniac and narcissist, but not lacking in common sense, let alone insight. This man was already infuriating him. He was the kind of person who preferred to sit on a throne and not try to find out what was going on down there; as long as he was comfortable, nothing mattered to him.

- All I ask is that you move to free the wolves.

- You're a born vampire, so why listen to you? What makes you think you won't join the hybrid with the king?

- Simply because I'm not on Hiden Harrington's side. The man is one of the worst vampires England has ever seen. Speaking of the hybrid, I can handle him.

One of them laughs yellow...