Wolfblood: The Price of Loss Ch. 03

"What happened next, honey?" Lyn asked as she soothingly stroked Valery's hand, ignoring Richard's reaction.

"Well, I ran out. The emotions I felt were too much and my wolf was struggling to break to the surface, something that had never happened before," Valery said, tears starting to slide down her face as she kept her voice low, trying to control it. "I couldn't believe it; couldn't bear it and when I realized I'd left my purse and keys in his office, I shifted and ran out of there."

They waited again for her to steady herself as she reached for her cup and finished the coffee, leaving the sandwich untouched.

"I thought my emotions would reduce if I shifted but they just increased and the wolf was screaming in my head...I-I could feel it trying to take over, Richard. It was terrifying!" she continued before taking a deep breath. "I fought against it but it was so...forceful, so wild and when I tried to shift back, I couldn't. that's when I lost consciousness and came to in the middle of the woods, smeared in rabbit's blood with the remains around me. So I walked towards my cabin, scared to shift again and that's when I met you guys."

Her tone had become flat towards the end and she'd spoken fast, no doubt wanting to finish narrating the entire ordeal.

"Oh, honey," Lyn let out in devastation as she stood up to go and hug Valery. Richard could feel waves of worry flowing down their bond and knew she'd come to the same conclusion he had.

"I'm so sorry sweetie," Lyn said as Valery sniffed, trying to get her tears under control. "But this is not the end."

"What do you mean it's not the end? It obviously is...it has to be," Valery let out, her voice once again strong but her tears not subsiding.

"She means, you have to try and track down your vampire again. You don't have to do it any time soon but-"

"No!" Valery cut him short, glaring at him, the effect slightly ruined by an errant tear sliding down her face.

"Valery, sweetie, I know you're hurting right now, but we need to be reasonable about this."

"No, Lyn; No!" she said, sounding more resolute as she took Lyn's arms from around her neck and got up to move away from both of them. "I don't want this anymore. I don't want to be mated, least of all to somebody who doesn't want me and finds me revolting. You can't ask me to try this again."

"There's no other choice here, Val, the consequences are much worse than going through a little pain before you two are mated," Richard tried to reason with her.

"A little pain?! Richard, you can't possibly fathom how I feel right now, it's like my entire world has ended and all this for a man I met just 2 days ago. I'm losing control of my wolf and the grief I feel at his rejection is more than I can bear, I don't want to go through that again!"

"You're right honey, we can't understand what you're going through right now...Richard and I are both wolves, it was much simpler for us but if you don't do this, then you'll go rogue. Your wolf will go insane and you'll go rogue and die, Valery," Lyn countered, desperation starting to enter her tone and Richard fidgeted at the distress and despair he felt coming from her.

"Well death is seeming pretty good at this moment," Valery said, fresh tears sliding down her face.

That was it!

Without thinking, Richard strode towards Valery with all the speed he was used to using as a Beta, grabbed her by her shoulders and shook her a little, making her look up in surprise at him

"Don't utter such stupidity!" Richard hissed in anger. "We've trained you better than that, Valery and stop this pity party!"

"Richard," Lyn called in warning but he ignored her.

"From the beginning, I told you this ridiculous arrangement you claim to have with your wolf would come to an end and that day is here. You've suppressed the animal inside you so much that now when instincts that you can't suppress have popped up, you're losing control and letting the beast take over. Get ahold of yourself Valery," he let out, anger rising as he gave her another little shake.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Valery said, tears sitting in her eyes as she tried to wriggle out of his grip.

"Your wolf, Valery, she thinks your mate has rejected both of you and is starting to go insane, that's why you blacked out, her instincts are overwhelming you" Lyn said, walking up to Richard and placing a hand on his arm, making him relax slightly.

"Exactly," Richard ground out. "You don't understand this because you've been suppressing the wolf for so long but if you don't get a handle on things, convince the beast that its life-mate is not actually lost to her, then you'll lose all your humanity and be bound in wolf form as it takes over in its rage and agony before even the wolf itself dies. Is that what you want?"

"Baby, don't be so hard on her."

Richard let out a sigh and stared again at Valery, noting with some relief that she was not afraid of him despite his aggressive display.

"How much time do I have?" she asked.

"I don't know, it depends on your control, Val. Maybe a month or so seeing as how the process has already begun," Richard responded, letting her go and heading back to the kitchen table, finally sitting down.

"So, so, I'll have to track him down again? But...but he doesn't want me," she practically whispered, shaking her head in helplessness.

"That's not true," Richard said. "Vampires are...very particular and one as old as your mate must have specific...tastes. They don't just feed from someone during the heights of sexual passion, from what I know, it gives them awareness of the person they've bitten. It's not an exact science and I don't have all the details but if he did lose control enough to bite you, he must have been overwhelmed by the moment as well. He can feel you now, to a certain extent and I don't think he'd have let himself do that if he despised you as much as you think he does."

"What do you mean 'feel her?'" Lyn asked.

"Well, like I said, I'm not very sure but I think he gets a faint sense of your feelings and your whereabouts...I don't know. It seems to be a personal thing, I couldn't get much out of the vampire who'd told me this."

"Who was it?" Valery asked, her voice stable and the tears having stopped.

Richard smiled weakly, "It doesn't matter, Val."

"How about we go back for dinner at home and forget some of this for a while?" Lyn asked, cutting short the staring contest that had begun between the two stopping Valery from insisting.

"But it's past midnight," Valery responded, looking at the other woman incredulously.

"I remember you being a late-night eater," Lyn responded. "Come, we'll walk towards the estate, no running tonight."

Valery paused, looking to Richard who smiled at her and she nodded her head.

"Perfect, let's get going. It's a full moon tonight and I want to enjoy its beauty." Lyn said, ushering them out of the kitchen as for the second night in a row, Valery headed over to the house she'd called a home since her transformation.

****

Valery stared at her reflection in the mirror, liking the way her eye-liner and heavy mascara hid some of the tiredness that had begun to show around her eyes since her encounter with the vampire. She sighed as she smoothed out the lines on her dress around her hips.

"Vincent," she whispered and felt a slight shiver go through her.

She wasn't going to lie to herself that she didn't enjoy thinking about him and saying his name, she couldn't just refer to him as 'the vampire,' but still she tried, hoping it would alienate him a little in her mind. A week had passed since she'd met him in his office and she had since then spent the days at Richard and Lyn's house, working out some control issues with her wolf, having applied for work-leave and been granted 2 weeks off. Nicholas had tried to find out what had happened but Valery didn't want to discuss her situation with anyone else and told him nothing more than that her meeting with Vincent hadn't gone well. He hadn't insisted much after that but had shown up to every training session she had since then, willing her his silent support.

Richard had been tough and unrelenting on her during her training, not taking her excuses and insisting she do the exercises again and again until she got them right. Finally, she'd gotten her wolf under control, as it stopped snarling and racing off every time she shifted, in an attempt to get away. She'd been terrified throughout the whole ordeal, thinking she just might get trapped inside the animal again but Richard had been with her every step of the way, ready to subdue her should she get too wild and the wolf had responded to his superiority, listening and bonding with her until they'd been of one mind to try again with Vincent in a few days' time.

That would be later though because that night, she was going out and planned to have some fun. She was back in her cabin and well aware of the risks of moving at night, Richard having drilled it in her again, that there were rogue Weres hunting turned wolves but she would not be alone, she'd have protection that came in the form of one of her oldest friends; Hector. He was back in town after months of being away and couldn't have come at a better time; the last time he'd been around, her time with him was spent visiting various restaurants and watching all the movies in the cinema line-up; that she'd grown fond of him would be an understatement.

As much as Hector was a vampire and she a wolf, they never really spoke about that and their friendship had lightened over the years after he'd charmed her phone number out of her about a decade ago but she'd adamantly refused to let things go any further with him until he'd settled into having light conversations with her that had persisted over the years. Theirs was not a close friendship but she was grateful for that, not wanting him to know about her personal business and content in not knowing his.

Hector had called the day before, on her home cellphone, asking her if she'd accompany him to an evening out and she'd agreed eagerly, needing a distraction from her recent activities and asking him to pick her up at the usual spot just outside pack lands. She looked over her reflection, admitting that the deep purple dress she wore looked good on her, stopping slightly above her knees and plunging with a deep V, showing off a bit more of her cleavage than she was used to. She'd twisted her locks up in a knot and had put on a light sheen of lip gloss, letting her earrings compliment the exquisite little dress. She'd gotten it with Lyn and Annet, hoping to wear it to an evening out with Vincent but since that wasn't going to happen any time soon, she might as well use it. Slipping into her heels, she picked up her purse and headed out of the door, keeping the key after she'd locked the door and heading towards the path that led out of the clearing and onto the main road.

Sure enough, just like the other times, there was a black SUV parked just next to the end of the path and she grinned as Hector got out of the driver's seat and headed towards her.

"My word, don't you look even more amazing since we last met," he let out, his accent clipped. She never could place it and had long since given up trying to.

"I could say the same for you," she let out, looking up at the tall man, his physique trim and fitting quite deliciously in his tux. The universal beauty old vampires seemed to morph into was evident on his every feature and a pang ran through her as it reminded her of Vincent.

Hector looked at her questioningly and she smiled at him, leaning up to give him a hug. "It's been a crazy week," she whispered.

"Hmm, well, let's try to make you forget that tonight, shall we?" he chuckled, his voice reverberating through his chest to hers and she let him guide her to the car, slipping in as he opened the door for her.

"Where are we headed anyway, somewhere fancy?" she asked, looking over to admire how perfect he looked, once more, his dark hair cut just below his shoulders, looking soft and giving her the urge to run her fingers through it.

Why had she rejected him in the first place, again? Perhaps if he'd whisked her off to his European destinations, she never would have met Vincent in the first place and wouldn't be in the predicament she was in. That thought made her sadder than she thought it could and she quickly placed it at the back of her mind, reminding herself that like most vampires, Hector had been looking for a quick romp in the sheets that night.

"Well, you certainly are fun tonight," he let out, snapping her out of reverie.

"Sorry, sorry...it's just been-"

"A long week, I know, you said before," he cut her off as he turned the car around and headed to the main road. "I won't press you for details though," he said with a little frown, his deep voice filling the silence.

"So, where are we headed?" Valery asked again, hoping to act more normal; needing it more than anything else at that moment.

"There's an exclusive cocktail party I set up to celebrate us taking over the Holton cafes. We've been working out the details for weeks now but concluded it a few days ago, so we're celebrating."

"Holton? You mean the coffee shops? I thought they were doing well, why did you take over?" Valery asked.

"Uh...well, it's a little hard to explain. They're old friends and we'd discussed this years ago."

"huh...so not hostile, then?"

Hector chuckled as he glanced at her. "No, not hostile."

She smiled then, looking forward to the evening. She hadn't been expecting a formal setting but hoped that perhaps she could mix and mingle and forget her whole week for a while, after all, it had been some time since she'd let her hair down and had some fun.

They settled into light conversation after that, heading for comfortable territory and she slid her questions about vampires and biting during sex far from her mind, deciding to not let her recently complicated life make him uncomfortable.

He eventually stopped at a large black gate, hooting once before it automatically opened, letting them in and they entered into a large drive way leading them through some beautifully lit gardens before he parked close to the entrance of what looked like a large mansion. Valery was well aware of some of the properties outside the city that the rich and powerful owned and she was not surprised to find that Hector had a house there. He was an old vampire after all and must have accumulated quite a bit of money over the years.

They got out of the SUV and he linked her arm in his as they headed towards the entrance, humans milling about, dressed up and chattering excitedly. She could not scent any supernatural creatures and turned to Hector, an eyebrow raised in question.

"We sometimes prefer it this way...less conspicuous especially in this area where everyone seems to be looking for a reason to start hunting us again. You wolves are not very discreet, you know," he said, grinning at her as he watched her frown at his comment.

Leaning in to kiss her forehead, he guided them towards the entrance, unhooking her arm to grab a couple of champagne glasses and handing her one. She smiled and followed him through the large entrance doors, heading through the corridor they opened to, her heels clicking on the marble floors and finding herself in a large open area with numerous well-dressed people about and caterers weaving through them with platters of food. Hector turned to grin at her surprised expression and hooked his arm in hers again, leading her through a various number of people, headed towards a spot, no doubt to introduce her to some of his friends.

She felt a sudden reluctance to continue walking however, as a faint scent, wafted towards her, diminishing every other smell in the room and as occasional as it was, it still was all too familiar. Her heart started pounding and she swallowed; Vincent was in the house, somewhere.

Hector tugged slightly at her arm, turning back to her questioningly before his expression changed to one of concern, no doubt after he'd seen the terrified look on her face. She was scared and wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible, ignoring the fact that her wolf had woken up and was growling, urging her to go find their mate.

She wasn't ready to face him again, oh God, she wasn't ready. Hector opened his mouth to say something just before a caterer tapped him on the shoulder and leaned in to say something she couldn't hear. She didn't care; she wasn't paying attention anyway.

"Not now," she heard Hector let out in frustration, a frown marring his beautiful face before he huffed in frustration and held her shoulders. "Stay here, I'll be right back."

She nodded slightly in acknowledgement before his grip tightened slightly on her. "Valery, stay here, I'm coming back," he said again, firmer this time.

Her eyes focused on him again and she nodded a little more obviously before he grunted in satisfaction and made his way out of the crowd, opening one of the many doors leading away from the open area and disappearing through it.

Her eyes scanned over the crowd but whatever hope she'd had of interacting with new people was gone and all she wanted was to get out of there. Her wolf was not very aggressive at the moment and she was grateful for that but she didn't want to aggravate it. She made her way through the crowd, heading for one of the empty couches she saw at the end of the room, fully intent on following Hector's instructions. Perhaps he'd return shortly and get her out of there; she had no way of doing so unless she shifted and she was not going to do that.

Heading towards the chair, she was stopped with a tap on her shoulder and turned around to find a caterer with a tray holding the purse she'd left in Vincent's office.

"Excuse me miss, I've been instructed to hand this to you," the short man said and she swallowed again, suddenly feeling like the air was not enough for her.

In one swig, she drank all the champagne and placed the glass on the tray, picking up her purse instead before muttering a small thank you to the staff and fingering her old purse with shaky fingers, fully aware of how strong Vincent's scent was on it.

Making a quick decision, she turned around and picked up his scent in the room again, following it slowly as she tracked him down. No matter what happened, she was going to face that bastard today and they'd sort their issues out a little better than they did before. Her wolf growled in agreement and she let her irritation with the fact that he'd sent the purse over instead of handing it to her himself, give her the carriage she needed to open one of the doors and go up the flight of stairs it opened to.

Moving slowly, her heart pounded harder and the adrenaline rushed through her as his scent got stronger, making a thin sheen of sweat break out on her forehead in nervousness. The pushed herself forward, reaching the top of the stairs and stepping onto a carpeted floor, her heels suddenly silenced and squaring her shoulders, she purposely walked through the corridor, following the very strong scent of her mate.

Valery paused for a second when she scented the unmistakable musk of a woman's arousal fill the air, wafting towards her from the bend in the corridor and her heart sank painfully as her wolf growled suddenly, pushing closer to the surface. She started to run, hoping she wouldn't find what she expected but was heavily disappointed as she rounded the corner and found Vincent pinning a woman against the wall, ramming into her with his unzipped pants hanging loosely against his hips, her legs wrapped around his waist and breasts exposed. One hand was pinning her hands above her head and the other was grabbing her ass as he thrust into her repeatedly, making her cry out with each movement, her head resting against the wall with her eyes closed.