The She-wolf and The Prince

Ryan, an honest vampire.

CHAPTER 13

Ryan, who had called himself Alaric since his arrival in France, huffed in exasperation. It wasn't the first time this woman had courted him, but he was embarrassed every time she confessed her feelings. He observed attentively the person in front of her. Miss Sophie Devilier was not ugly, on the contrary. She was a beautiful young lady of twenty-nine, despite her slightly pointed nose. Her features were soft and her red hair like flames. She was very talkative, her sociability, her frankness, her discretion and her open-mindedness were qualities that Ryan appreciated in her. However, his heart belonged to a woman who was now inaccessible to him, so this human was only a sister to him and he lived with her as such.

- You should find a man who will love you and make you happy, not a depressed vampire like me.

She brushed off his sentence with a wave of her hand.

- I don't care about ordinary men," she said in annoyance. Marry me, please.

- That won't be possible, even in your wildest dreams.

- Oh, but I'm already dreaming.

- You are incredible. Anyway. Forget about me. You're embarrassing me with your advances. This attitude is not worthy of a lady.

- Don't tell me that beautiful as you are, none of them has ever dared to tell you before that they love you?

- Well, I...

Ryan stopped in his tracks. He remembered the day Alia had told him she loved him. He had been pleasantly surprised, having thought he had to love her on the sly with no hope that one day she would love him back. His eyes darkened when he remembered that it was only a forgotten past.

- Alaric, are you all right?

- Yes. Don't worry. Let's eat. This dinner is absolutely divine.

He had evaded the question. After that, he remained in total silence until the end of the meal. He apologized to his sister out of affection and went to start his nightly walk. Since he had set foot in this domain, he occupied his nights walking in the few woods that constituted it. The courtyard was lit by storm lamps that Ryan passed to go into the woods because only the darkness mattered to him. His eyes closed for a moment, then he opened them again to look at the sky. He wondered at that moment if Alia was looking at that same sky at that moment. His face became sadder than ever as guilt gnawed at him from within.

- I'm so sorry, Alia," he whispered.

The events of that night continued to pass before his eyes with the dull irises.

Deep in thought and realizing his own cowardice, he gave in to thirst. Every taste of blood he swallowed made him feel stronger, more powerful.

- Yes. Go ahead. Get stronger. he heard behind his back.

Hiden had left, leaving him alone. When he was satisfied, he noticed how dirty he was and went to take a shower before joining Alia. He felt strange when he came back to the room. He understood, too late, that he was losing control. His body was moving on its own and his heart broke as he began to attack the woman he loved. How many times he had prayed that she would use her strength to push him away. Alas, his prayer was not heard until it was too late. It was Hiden who came to stop him and hypnotized him to calm him down.

- Kill me," he demanded when he came to.

Hiden had then chained him up and locked him in the crypt.

He had left him there to send him to the werewolves, telling them that Ryan Harrington had killed Alia Griffin. He recalled his death after Kaul Graham drove a stake through his heart and his return to life a few minutes later.

Suddenly, there was a noise, pulling him out of his memories once again. A young boy rushed down the stairs and faced him with a smile on his face.

- You're still thinking about her, aren't you?

- We can't hide anything from you, my dear Silves.

Silves was a member of the same pack as Alia. After Ryan had decided to go on this mission, he had committed to follow him. The two had been friends since the pack; he had watched over him when he had woken up from being stabbed and the wolves had mistaken him for a spy and Alia's killer, and then held him prisoner and tortured him. He owed this to Hiden, he knew that. He had captured him and thrown him at the mercy of the wolves, to whom he had revealed that Ryan had killed Alia. As expected, he was killed, except that he came back to life as a hybrid. He had been humiliated and tortured without resisting because he felt guilty of a crime that never happened. Silves was the only one who believed in him and stood by him.

- So you plan to die a bachelor? What about the pretty lady who lives with you?

- I consider her a sister. Besides, she's a human who will die long before me. In short, whatever happens, I'll be alone.

- You could try to reconnect with Alia, couldn't you?

- After what I did to her," he quipped. She won't forgive me for sure.

- Don't be so defeatist. Try first.

- I'll try after I get even with the Harringtons.

- I hope it won't be too late to apologize, especially after killing her husband.

At the mention of Alia's marital status, Ryan couldn't contain himself and slammed his fist into an article that collapsed. His teeth were clenched and his rage sharpened.

- I don't understand how she could agree to this union. He definitely manipulated her.

- Alia is smarter than that.

- And Hiden more treacherous. You'll see, Silves, he'll pay for this. Vampire's word.

Ryan, now Alaric Devilier was determined to get rid of his elder...