Ch2. Monsters that Crawl in the Night

Damien's POV

They had been running for hours. He planned on reaching the North Woods pack by nightfall. The sooner this visit was done, the better. This had been the fifth pack they had visited in the past week.

The North Woods pack was notorious for disobedient members. Almost as if they had free range over everything. An inexcusable behavior for any werewolf.

Damien's father, King Xavier, had instructed he visit the nearby packs to do a routine report. There had been suspicious disappearances and murders among the packs and his father wanted to put an end to it. So he decided to send Damien.

"It will help you gain experience for when you take over." His father claimed. Although, he could tell this was all his mother's doing. She had insisted on him finding his mate and settling down with a litter of pups for her to spoil.

He internally rolled his eyes at his mother's attempts at meddling. He had been the eldest of three. Both his brother, Evan, and sister, Aurelia, were already mated. Evan, at age 18, had two pups while his sister,17, was expecting her first. All that was left was Damien, who remained mateless.

He wasn't against the idea of it. In fact, both he and his wolf were quite eager to meet their mate, the one who would complete him. His wolf had become a bit restless over the past five years after not finding his soulmate. He remembered the night he turned 16 and the hurt he felt when he had to fall asleep alone in a cold empty bed.

"I want our mate." He heard his wolf growl.

"Patience. We'll find her when the time is right." Damien reassured him. His wolf grumbled in defeat, not liking the answer.

He shrugged off the thought as he ran beside his best friend and future Beta, Gavril. Both their large wolf bodies raced against the wooded forest. Damien's black coat blended in with the darkness as Gavril's grey coat shimmered when moonlight hit it.

His breathing quickened as he saw the North Woods pack border line up ahead. Two older male wolves approached them, not looking happy. Damien and Gavril shifted behind a tree, taking the extra clothes.

"What are you doing here?" One grumbled.

"We're here to do a status update." Damien spoke.

"Who's orders?" The other spat. Damien growled loudly. These wolves needed to be taught a lesson.

"King Xavier." Damien growled menacingly. They both took a step back in fear.

"Good." His wolf grunted.

"Where is your Alpha?" He demanded. The two had wide eyes as the stumbled up the hill. Gavril and Damien followed the two stooges. The faster this was done, the faster they could leave.

They led them to a giant old rundown pack house. The paint had nearly chipped off all the way. At first glance, it looked to be abandoned.

"Go and observe the pack members. I'll meet with the Alpha. My father is not going to like this. Gather as much information as you can." Damien said to Gavril before taking off.

They brought him to a large wooden door that led into a spacious office. Papers and folders were all over the floor. Cracked pictures has been tossed recklessly. A layer of dust coated the desk. The light didn't turn on as he saw the bulbs had busted. It doesn't look as if anyone had been in the room in ages.

"When was the last time your Alpha was in this room?" Damien asked annoyed.

"5. No maybe 7." One stuttered.

"No. It's been 12." The other chimed in.

"12 days?" Damien questioned.

"12 years." They simultaneously stared.

12 years. Damien has never heard such a thing. What kind of Alpha carelessly runs a pack without planning and monitoring?

"Where is your Alpha now?"

"Home, sir." He one slightly bowed his head.

"Take me there." The two looked hesitant at first. "NOW!" He demanded. He very rarely used his alpha tone, but when he needed it, he was not afraid to use it. The two took off into the woods. They probably walked a good mile before seeing a wooden cabin in the distance. There was a light on in one room as the TV played.

Damien noticed that the two refused to take another step forward. Their faces were pale white and sweat dripped from their foreheads. His wolf growled and was on edge.

"What's wrong?"

"I don't know. Something is not right. I smell fear and a whole lot of it." His wolf commented as he paced back and forth, anxious about something.

Damien took a deep breath and picked up on what his wolf was saying, but there was one scent he picked up that had him shaking his head. It smelled of sweet honey. No...it couldn't be. He pushed the thought away and approached the house.

It was dead silent aside from the TV. He slowly opened the door and took in his surroundings. He used his heightened vision and could see nothing out of the ordinary. There was a table with an oven and cabinets across the wall.

Going into the next room, he found the supposed Alpha passed out in a rocking chair. Empty beer cans littered the floor. The smell was overpowering to the point Damien had to clamp his nostrils shut. This Alpha was a disgrace to the werewolf species. No responsibility. No authority. Nothing.

Damien decided to snoop around the house and find anything useful to bring back to his father. This pack was in ruins. He thought.

He was about to leave the house when he heard a low hiss come from the basement. Vampire. The thought had him and his wolf on high alert. Slowly descending down into the dark basement, the scent of fear grew stronger and stronger as did the honey. It made Damien hesitant, yet he had to investigate.

The room had been in complete dismay. Shelves were knocked down as mud and dirt coated the floor. It must have been years since it was last cleaned. However, what caught his attention was the hunched over body sucking on an unconscious figure. Apparently, the vampire had not heard Damien's presences and continued to feed.

A low painful gasp came from the figure laying on the ground. It was music to Damien's ears. Even if he wanted to stop, he couldn't. His wolf had taken control and was now digging his claws into the vampire's neck.

"N-no. Stop. Let me go." It hissed. Damien only pressed harder on its neck, causing him to cough up blood, his mate's blood. How dare this leech feed on his mate?! His wolf was outraged. All he saw was red.

He dug his claws into the vampire's eyes as his other hand crushed the neck. The body stopped moving and Damien delivered the final blow as he snapped the head off. His breathing was heavy. The overwhelming feelings he had were intense. Never before had he felt like that.

He turned his attention to his mate, who still laid on the ground motionless. Slowly, he scooped her up into his arms. Immediately, he felt shocks course through his body. It put his wolf slightly at ease knowing he was close to his mate.

"Angel. Can you hear me?" He asked, hoping she would respond. Nothing. "No. No. No." He lifted her from the ground and raced out.

Though they had just met, their bond had been strong. As future king, it was even stronger. He could still feel her, but she was fading fast. Her body was loosing heat fast yet he could hear the pounding of her heart work overtime. It kept ringing in his ears pushing him even faster. Damien wasn't a doctor but he knew that it was not a good sign.

"Hurry!" His wolf demanded. He was frantic of loosing their mate that they had just met. Damien would not accept it. He couldn't. He picked up his pace and ran faster than he had ever run before. A cold wind left his skin cool as he embraced his mate in a firm hold trying to protect her from the breeze.

Seconds felt like an eternity yet he pushed his legs faster. Adrenaline pushed him further and further into the forest. Just hang on.

The kingdom came into view. Lights adorned the windows as friendly chatter echoed throughout the hallways. There were warriors on patrol as people talked and partied within the castle walls. None of that mattered though. The only thing he cared about was his mate.

Her face was a deadly white as blood seeped out of the wound on her neck. It sickened him to think that a vampire had put his vile mouth on her and drank her blood.

"CARLOS!!" Damien yelled as he ran inside the pack mansion. A few members gave him unusual stares but dare not say anything. He ignored them as he made his way to the medical department. "CARLOS!!" He screamed again.

Carlos and a few nurses came in to see what the commotion was about. Their eyes went wide when they saw the frail girl in his arms.

"Take her to ER now!" Carlos instructed the nurses. Without hesitation, the female nurses brought a stretcher out. His wolf did not want to let go of his mate but he argued that it was for the best. He gently laid her on the stretcher. She was too still causing his heart to race.

Carlos quickly examined her and from his look, it was not good. "She's going into hypovolemic shock. Start blood transfusion and IV fluids." The nurses whisked her away.

"We will take good care of her." Carlos reassured him before running away. As if that would ease him and his wolf.

Damien was left in the waiting room. He fell to his knees as he did not know what else to do. All he could do was stare at his hands. He had been covered in his mate's blood and it was sickening.

The repetitive ticking from the clock and sound of blood dripping filled the room. He clenched his fist and punched the floor out of anger, but most of all sadness.

For his mate, their future. All of it seemed to quickly disappear before his eyes and there was nothing he could do.

"I didn't even get to know her name." He whispered before breaking down.