Blood of the Highland Moon

Chapter 2: Point

Conner's P.O.V.

"Where is she?" I roared as I stormed through the castle's great Hall.

"Paitence, my.love; they will find her," Maggie tried to sooth my temper as she held back her own tears.

"She is our daughter! The bloody princess!"

"You think I do not realise that? You think I do not wish to go out myself and bring her home? Anger will not help us now, we must have patience."

I close my eyes as my wife walked to me. She wrapped her arms around me and I held her tight. You are right, I just do not see why they have nothing to tell us after all, it has been three days."

"Excuse me your majesty, I have found something that may be a interest." As Matthew crossed the Hall to me my Queen stepped slightly away from me her face hard and drawn tight. "There is evidence of a small struggle just inside the woods; it appears the cave entrance was used recently as well."

I closed my eyes. "Catriona," I hissedmy daughter's name under my breath.

"Yes, I biev she may have been sneaking out if the castle and was taken just inside the woods."

"Can you track them?"

Matthew sighed heavily. "It appears they have headed in the direction of the werewolves."

Maggie took in a sharp breath, and I glanced at her, then back to Matthew. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, the trail disappears after a few yards, whoever took her must have covered up their tracks."

"We will go and get her." I said, my anger flaring to new heights.

"Should we not wait for them to send their demands first? I do not want them to hurt her." Maggie said in a level voice.

"Do you think the longer we wait the better it will be? Who knows what those bloody mongrels have done to her!" I yelled.

"Actually, Maggie has a point; if we go in sword drawn, they may kill her on the spot or worse," Matthew interrupted the arguing. "It takes a week to get to the werewolf castle from here, and it will take another good bit of time for them to send their demands back to us."

"So what are you saying we should do, let my only daughter stay with those mungles?"

"I say we wait two weeks time before we confront the warewolves. That would give us us time to prepare for what comes next." Matthew strategized.

"And just what do you think is coming next, a damned gift basket?" I barked, not liking the thought of waiting.

"Connor we will get her back. Catriona knows how to take care of herself." Maggie again tried to calm me.

"She will get herself killed! She thinks she can take on the world and you know it!" I shot back at my wife lashing out in anger.

"And the warewolves will find that amusing coming from the lass." Matthew reassured all of us. I think it's time we start planning and telling our troops to get ready."

Eallair's P.O.V.

"Settle down, lads. You all know why I've been gone for a week." I tried to calm the tension in the great Hall.

"Yes, and you bring back a lass in the middle of the day!" One man shouts.

"Then Alex tries telling us she's a vampire!" Another toss is out accusingly.

"I am a bloody vampire, you pig headed dogs! You should have more respect for your king, even if you are a bunch of dogs!" Catriona yelled at the lot of them.

"Catriona, sit down!" I barked the order at her and pointed to her seat. She glared at me and crossed her arms. "Lass, do not push me," I warned her.

"Or what? Your clansmen do not even listen to you, why should I?"

"Damn, she has to be a bloody vampire to talk to a werewolf like that," said somebody close by.

I rolled my eyes and pushed her down in her chair. "Stay there or I'll tie you down." She hissed at me and brushed my hands off before recrossing her arms. "Now, as I was saying, Catriona here is not just a vampire; she is the king's daughter, she is half vampire, half human."

"Are you sure she's not lying to you about the vampire part?" One of my pack members asked with narrowed eyes.

"She has the things to prove it." I looked at Catriona who was smiling smugly at me. "Any other questions before we eat?"

"Yes, I have one who gets fed to the lass?" one of my men asked in a disgusted voice.

"I wouldn't drink warewolf..." I put my hand over Catriona's mouth to stop her.

"She is like me and that. Can we eat now before the food gets cold?" They muttered their agreements and nodded their heads before digging into their own food. The rain they've been given to speak freely head ended and they knew it.

"You try that again, and I'll bite your hand off." Catriona glared at me.

"Lass, you should learn your place, and fast," I told her.

"Catriona, would you care to tell me about yourself now?" Alex jumped in before she could spit out her next retort.

She sighed, "sure."

"What all can you do, I mean, vampire-wise?" Alex inquired.

"I have all the abilities and none of the downfalls. The only down side to being half vampires that my abilities are not quite as strong as a normal vampire." She told him easily.

"What kind of abilities do you have? Anything special that other vampires do not have?" Alex pressed, keeping the conversation going.

"Not really, nothing other than being able to walk in the sunlight."

"Do not let her fool you, she can only handle small doses of direct sunlight, but she can stay in the shadows of the woods all day." I chimed in before taking a bite of my steak.

"And what abilities do you have? I mean, you are half vampire; that has to make up for some of the mutt in you." She asked me bitterly.

"He is faster than any of us, I think he gets that from his mother."

"Thank you, Alex." I gave him a hard look.

"You're welcome, I figured since your mouth was full, I might as well tell the last a detail for you." Alex said, ignoring my tone.

"Is that all you can do?" Catriona asked in an unimpressed tone.

"No, I can do that neat little hissing thing you are so fond of. It is a shame you're not like me, in that I can be in direct sunlight all day." I jabbed back.

"I do not wish to have leathery skin anyways, but you might as well continue spending time in the sun, the mutt in you will cause other skin problems anyways."

"I do not have leathery skin, lass. I think you heard wrong on that one," Alex winked her.

She looked at him for a moment then smiled. "I think you are an exception. I even bet you would have very soft fur. You look very young like you might have puppy fur."

"Why are you not that nice to me?" I asked in shock.

She shot a glance at me and waved me off. "You kidnapped me, I'm angry at you for it."

Alex began laughing. "The lass has a point."

"Be quiet pup." I smiled at Alex, who frowned at me.

"You are just jealous that I am nice to him and not you." Catriona took a sip of her wine.

"Yes, lass, it has nothing to do with the fact that I am a king and deserve respect." I said dryly.

"I am a princess and deserve respect as well, and respect, is not kidnapping someone."

"It is the only way I can get your father's attention without him trying to kill me on sight." I defended.

"And you think this is going to make things better? You do not know my father. He is boiling right now and he will still be boiling when he finds out you have me. Then he will come here to kill you."

"He will not get you back until he agrees to a peace."

"That will not happen, if you had sent a message that you wish to talk, he would have met with you and worked something out, but not now; now you are on his deathlist." She calmly popped a piece of bloody meat into her mouth.

"You really think he is going to try to kill me when I have you?"

"Yes, he will find a way, and if he does not, I will."

"Such a bonnie lass wouldn't do that, now would you?" Alex smiled at Catriona.

"Your cousin has kidnapped me; that gives me the right to retaliate."

"But to kill him? He has not tried to kill you." Alex reasoned calmly.

"Yes, but my father would kill him, so why delay it?"

"Bloody hell! I'm sitting right here!" I looked between her and Alex.

"Calm yourself, cousin, I was but talking the last out of murdering you."

"You do not need to do that, I am perfectly capable of protecting myself from a half vampire." I replied bitterly.

"Especially from one as insignificant in sizes me, he has nothing to fear." Catriona played with her knife as she looked at me. She c***ed her head to the side and looked at the knife. She tested it on the tip of her finger, drolling blood. "It's sharp." She looked back at me and sucked the blood off of her finger.

The smell of her blood had me clunching my jaw. I looked around to see that everywhere Wolf at the table had focused their attention on her. "It is not smart to cut yourself in the company of warewolves. We can smell it."

She smiled at me. "But you are the only one who hungers for it. My half human side makes my blood appetising to vampires. I can see it in your eyes."

"It's not a good idea to tease me, Catriona."

"I wonder what your blood smells like? I've never smelled warewolf blood before. It must be interesting." She still helped the knife.

"Allow me to cut your food." Alex snatched the knife for her and pulled her plate in front of him.

"How kind of view Alex, but I was actually trying to get your cousin to offer." I watched as she turned a sweet smile on Alex.

"I'll be sure your food is cut for you from now on." I glared at her. The woman hadn't been here for an entire day, and already she was getting on my nerves. I eagerly took a bite of my bloody steak, trying to forget the tantalising smell of her blood.

"So tell me what are your plans for me while I stay? Are you going to keep me locked in the tower away from everyone, or are you going to keep me chained to your side, to be sure I'm not plotting how to kill you?"

"You know, I'm not sure what I'm going to do with you. I think I'll ask my mother."

"Your mother? I thought your mother was a vampire?"

"She is. She is the nicest lady anyone will ever meet too. Aunt Madeline is the best," Alex jumped in before I could say anything. I shot him a glare.

Sometimes I wondered if he was really older than me. "She will want to see you as soon as possible. She knew what I was doing and will be itching to know everything. Of course, I'm expecting you to be on your best behaviour."

Catriona rolled her eyes. "You think I would be disrespectful to another vampire?"

I narrowed my eyes at her. "You are disrespectful to me, and I am just as much of a vampire as you are. You show more respect to my cousin than you do me."

She shrugged. "It's because I don't like you. Your cousin did not kidnap me and neither did your mother."

"Then how about I take you back to where I found you, and ask you nicely to come visit my castle while I talk to your father?" I asked sarcastically.

"I would just say no. I do not have the freedom to make such choices."

"Then you see, I had no other choice; I had to kidnap you."

"We already discussed this. You could have simply sent a message to my dad and he would have met with you to talk about things." She said dismissively.

"Lass, do you not think that was tried before? How do you think my father was killed?" She was silent at this. "He went to meet with your father, and came back near death. There was nothing we could do for him and he died before daybreak."

"My dad would not have done that. I do not know what lies you have heard, but my dad would not kill a man unless he deserved it." She defended.

"Lass, your dad is the vampire king, therefore a vampire; he kills to stay alive."

"No, he does not kill. He does not have to kill to feed, none of us do, and you should know that with your." She added with inflexion.

"He must have killed to gain his position as king." I pointed out knowing vampires lived for eternity and could not breed amongst themselves.

"I will not have you talking about my father like that." She stood up abruptly.

"Sit down, I'll not say anything else."

"I will not sit down."

"Where will you go? You will not be able to leave this room unless you wish to be escorted back to the tower." She glanced at the door, then back to me.

"I'll find my own way back to the tower." She began walking to the door. One look at Alex,and he was on his feet, bless the man.

"Catriona, allow me to escort you, it is a large castle, you could get lost."

He reached for her arm and she pulled away. "Please don't touch me," she asked in a soft voice, and Alex dropped his hand, and nodded his head.

Catriona's P.O.V.

I knew it was only a matter of time before Alex began talking to me. At least he hadn't tried touching me again since we had left the great hall. I was fuming. When I saw him take a breath to start talking, I cut him off, "what gives him the right to accuse my dad of murder?"

"We are not sure that it was your dad that killed my uncle, just that it was a vampire."

"How do you know it was a vampire? It could have been anyone or anything."

"What else drains blood through two tiny holes? What else is a werewolf allergic to, besides the bite of a vampire?"

I glanced at Alex. "It wasn't my dad."

"No one said it was. Not even my Uncle. He said it was not the vampire king, but an an assin."

"My dad would not have had him killed, either. We have been at war for so long, do you really think my dad wants it to stay that way? When we can help each other?"

"I do not know what your dad wants. I just know that this is the only way to assure that he will come to us. You see, if he has to come to us then we can simply hand you over to him, unharmed, and talk right outside our own gates."

"You think it will be that simple?" I asked incredulously.

"Yes. You are his only child, he will want you back safely. Once you are released, and tell him you've been treated well, he will listen to us."

"He'll not listen to what I have to say. He'll not even give me a second look once I'm in his possession. He will have one thing and one thing only on his mind. He may not even come himself; he may send Matthew."

"Matthew?"

"His adviser and my soon to be husband." I looked at the floor as I said this.

"The way you say his name, I do not think you like him very much."

"I do not trust him. All he wants as my father's throne, and threw me, he can have it."

"If your father sends Matthew, then you can jest convince Matthew to come to some treaty with us." Alex reasoned.

I looked at him in disbelief. "You think a man whose to-be-wife has been kidnapped by warewolves is going to be willing to make a treaty with them? He is not a light natured man. He is always out for blood and revenge. He will care even less if I am all right or not."

"Then if he comes, I'll tell Eallair to send him away, and demand to speak with your father personally."

"That will solve nothing. Matthew will talk to my father; convince him that killing all of you as the only option. Or at least killing Eallair is."

"You do not sound too happy about that, I thought you wanted Eallair dead?"

I looked at him then glanced around us. If Eallair killed, then the warewolves will only be determined to kill the vampires out completely. As it is, we only fight when we encounter each other. If Eallair killed, then the fighting will be at the castle walls."

"You are a smart lass."

"I have nothing else to do but listen in on my father's counsel. He does not know it, but I do. He will not let me out of the castle, and no one will talk to me since I'm the king's half blood daughter. They all fear saying the wrong thing."

"You have no friends?"

"No. I was the only child growing up in the castle, and I am the only one who ages."

"How old are you?"

"18, I will be 19 and about a month."

"I wonder if you will stop ageing?"

"I don't think about it. My dad hopes I can have children. I hope I cannot."

"Why?"

"They would grow up the way I have." We reached the door to the tower just then, and I reached for the handle. "Thank you for talking to me, you are not so bad for a werewolf." I smiled at him.

"I think you'll find Eallair is not so bad, either. Give him a chance and no begin to like him."

"It's too much fun for me to agitate him." I winked and walked into the room.

"Catriona." I turned and looked at Alex. He held up a key. "I need to lock you in. It's nothing personal, it's just that, well, you are a captive."

"It would be bad etiquette not to lock me up." I smiled and closed the door. I fought against my anger at being locked up. Walking to the bed, I sat down as I heard the door lock. I needed to sleep anyways. Before I knew it, I was fast asleep in the large bed.

Eallair's P.O.V.

"Thank you for taking care of that for me, Alex, I owe you." I said as Alex walked into the library with a plateful of food.

"I calmed her down for you too. I found out a few things that may interest you as well."

I arched a brow. "Really, like what?" I sat down my book and focused on him.

"She is to be wed."

"I told you that already; she does not wish to marry him either. She actually told me I was doing her a favour by getting her away from the man for a while."

"Yes, but did she tell you he is her father's adviser, and that he may be sent to retrieve her instead of the king himself?"

"No, it's not something I'll stand for either. I need the king to come not her to be husband."

"She said that if he were to come, that there would be no hope for a treaty, that he is blood thirsty." Alex informed me.

"Then I'll have to specify in the message that if the king does not come, I'll not let her go."

"Yes,well, I told her I would have you send Matthew away." Alex set around a mouthful.

"Anything else?"

"Yes did you know that she is just 18? She'll be 19 and but a month."

"Does her age matter?" I asked, aggravated.

"No, I just found it interesting, I guess. You know, she is worried that if you are killed that it will only make things worse. She said right now we only fight when we come upon one another, but if you were killed, the fight would be brought to the castle walls."

"She is a smart lass."

"Yes." He took a big bite of food.

"Why do I get the feeling you are not telling me something?"

Alex faked a look of innocence that caused me to narrow my eyes at him. He smiled and swallowed his food. "She also told me that she listens and on her father's counsel, for she has nothing else to do."

"Bloody hell, how did you get her to tell you so much?"

He shrugged. "She told me I'm not so bad for a werewolf."

I rolled my eyes. "I think she only opened up to you because she knew you would talk to me, and that it would irritate me."

"You think she is that bent on tormenting you?"

"Yes, she is not a dumb lass."

"That is very true. She did tell me that she loves irritating you."

"Did she? Maybe if I act as if she does not, she will come to show me some respect."

"I doubt it. I think if she wants to irritate you, she will find a way you cannot ignore."

I smiled. "You underestimate me, cousin. I grew up with you, remember?"

He wiggled his eyebrows, "Yes, and I know how to get under your skin, maybe I'll make this into a fun new game; how to help Catriona irritate the king; has a nice ring to it."

"Are you that desperate for entertainment, that you will help a captive vampire irritate me?"

He waved a hand. "She is harmless, and you will not hurt her, it's all a bit of fun."

"You think she sees this as a bit of fun?"

"Yes I think, in a way, she does."

I shook my head. "Eat your food. I'll take her to my mother in a few hours. Do you think she will respect her?"

"Yes, I do not think she will respect you in front of her, though. I don't think anything will cause her to do that."

I sighed. "You may be right. Maybe I should talk to her first."

"Who aunt Madeline, or Catriona?" Alex asked in amusement.

"Both?"

Alex laughed. "I wouldn't waste your breath on either. Aunt Madeline will just roll her eyes at you, and Catriona will not listen."

"I hate it when you are right."

A few hours later, Alex followed me to Catriona's room. I stopped and looked at him. "I can handle her by myself, you know."

"I know, I just want to see the look on her face when she sees you."

I rolled my eyes. "You are too easily amused."

"I take what I can get from life." When I went to open the door, Alex cleared his throat, and I looked at him questioningly."You may want to knock first. Then again, on second thought, go ahead. It will make her even more mad if you just walk on in."

I rolled my eyes and knocked on the door. When I heard no answer, I looked at Alex. "A lot of good that did me." I opened the door to find her laying on the bed atop the blankets. I walked over to her and crouched down next to the bed.

"Careful, she could have a knife under her pillow," Alex said in a sarcastic whisper.

I shot me glare and brush the hair out of her face. "Catriona, wake up." Her forehead priest and she snuggled deeper into the pillows. "Catriona, it's time to wake up."

She opened one eye part way and closed it again. "Go away," she mumbled and I sleepy voice.

"You need to wake up now."

"I don't want to." She rolled over.

I looked at Alex, who was laughing softly in the doorway. "Catriona, you didn't finish your lunch, and it's dark out now. Dinner will be ready shortly, and you must meet my mother first." When she didn't answer, I put a hand on her back and shook her lightly.

"Eallair, don't make me bite you in front of Alex," she scooted it away from me.

"Bloody hell woman! If you did not get up, then I will get you up," I growled at her.

"Great job at not letting her irritate you." Alex said from the doorway.

"Alex may can go away please."

"That is it." I stood up and scooped her up off the bed and sat her on her feet on the floor.

"You just made a mistake." She turned to hit me and I caught her hand just before it made contact with my face.

"I tried to get you up nicely." I glared back at her.

"That he did lass."

"Stay out of this Alex," I warned.

She jerked her hand free and glanced at Alex then back at me. "You tell me to be polite, and yet you talk to him like that, when he is helping you?"

"He is only doing it to irritate me."

"He is right, I do love to irritate him. It's part of being his cousin."

"Alex," I said in a harsh tone.

He held up his hands and began to back out of the doorway. "I'll leave you two to your arguing. See you at dinner m'lady." He gave a small bow then left entirely.

"Catriona, I do not wish to be mean to you. I am trying to make this as easy as possible for you."

"You have kidnapped me, locked me in a tower, and accused my father of murder." She said bluntly.

"I've not accused your father murdered. My dad said it was not the vampire king who attacked him, he said the voice was wrong."

"You did not say that when you brought it up earlier." She countered bitterly.

"I am sorry, I was but trying to explain why your idea would not work." I tried to reason with her.

"And you think yours will?" She shot back.

"Yes, once your father sees you unharmed, he will talk with me face-to-face on my own land."

"He will be p***ed."

I arched a brow at her language. "Yes, but I am hoping that with your help, he will listen to reason." I needed her cooperation for this to work.

"Do you think he will listen to what I say? He will be too angry to listen to reason."

"I will find a way to make things work, do not worry."

"Why did you come here?" She crossed her arms, obviously not wanting to talk about it anymore.

"I wanted you to meet my mother before dinner. I think it will make things easier for you."

"Really? Just because you have a vampire on your side does not mean I will be."

I sighed. "Catriona, I'm going to ask you again to be polite to my mother, and to be polite to me in front of her."

"I will not be disrespectful to your mother."

"Or me."

"I cannot promise that."

"Why do you try to anger me so?" I grated out.

"So you will let me go."

"I'll let you go as soon as your father agrees to talk to me."

She threw up her hands. "If you let me go, I'll tell him to talk to you face-to-face, I'll even come with him to be sure nothing goes wrong!"

"That's not good enough."

"Fine, we'll do it your way, but I'm going to make it as hard on you as possible."

I glared at her, then rolled my eyes. "Come." I took hold of her elbow and didn't let her pull away.

"Let go."

"Not until you ask nicely."

"Let go of me now."

"That was neither asking nor nice."

I watched as she gritted her teeth. "Please let go."

"You're getting closer, you need to be nice when you ask, lass, the way you were with Alex."

"Alex was not being rude about taking my arm either."

"I was not being rude about waking you up." I countered.

She glared at me for another moment then closed her eyes. "Would you please let go of me?" She asked in a calmer voice.

I let go of her. "Was that so hard?" She just glared at me. "Follow me. My mother is in the underground part of the castle."

"You mean you put your mother in the dungeon?" She asked in a horrified whisper.

"No, when she was bitten, my father had the dungeons redone so that they were as nice as the rest of the castle. She cannot be in the sunlight since she is a vampire."