Filed to story: The Rejected Werewolf Princess (Camilla & Tyson) by Didi Adeyemi >>
“Camilla, are you awake?” I quickly recognized the voice as Christine’s as I roused from sleep.
Ryker was awake too and he looked as confused as I felt. He began to rise but I waved him off and assured him that I could handle it. I grabbed the closest thing which was Ryker’s shirt and threw it over my shoulders: I pulled the door open and Christine stood there looking frantic.
“The guards have been trying to get your mind link for hours but you were both asleep. Thankfully, I was awake so they were able to get to me. I thought I could handle it because I wanted you to rest but, Camilla, this is beyond my pay grade, I have no idea what to do about this. I didn’t want to wake you but-”
“Christine,” her rambling had woken me up completely. “What is it?”
“I think you need to see it.”
I closed the door so I could get dressed. Thankfully, Ryker was already out of bed and getting dressed. I handed him his shirt and pulled on my night gown before throwing one large coat over it to give a sense of decency. I couldn’t be bothered to get into a dress at- I glanced over at the clock- one a.m.
Christine was waiting outside the door and she quickly rushed off in the direction of the front doors. A carriage was waiting and I wondered where we could be going at such an hour thatrequired a carriage. I could tell by looking at Ryker’s face that even he was curious but no one said anything. We just held onto each other’s hands and got inside. Christine was tapping her feet anxiously and she looked like she was five seconds away from throwing up.
The carriage ride took less than ten minutes and by the time we got there, I noticed that there was a huge crowd. The guards were gathered at the edge of the woods. They bowed when they saw us and it was one of the generals who crossed the line to meet us.
“We are so glad you came, your majesties,” he said. “We didn’t want to wake you this late but we didn’t know what to do. We haven’t touched anything.”
“Show us.”
He nodded and directed us to follow him. We walked for another five minutes before we came across another handful of guards. They were standing in a circle around what I realized was a b*dy as I saw the leg sticking out. They parted the way for us and it was obvious that the man was dead.
“He is a miner from one of the lower towns,” the general explained. “He went missing a few days ago and he suddenly turned up here. There are no I juries or wounds on him but he is-”
“Dead,” I deadpanned. “Why is he so pale though? He almost looks like a statue. Did he die a long time ago?”
“That has been one of our major questions but I don’t think so. His b*dy hasn’t started ton decay yet. It seemed he died a few hours ago but I have never seen anything like this. He was so cold when I touched him, almost like ice.”
“Is that unusual?”
I stepped forward but Ryker reached out a hand to stop me. He turned to the general. “Inform his family that he has been found and convince them to have him buried as quickly as possible with minimal questions.”
“Do you know what happened?” I asked but he ignored me.
“Make sure no one breathes a word of this to anyone. If they ask, he died of poisoning and that is why he is pale. Am I clear?”
The general nodded and went off to do as he asked. I turned to Ryker with my arms crossed over my chest. “Are you going to tell me what it is?”
“I will. I have a hunch but I really hope I am wrong about it.”
“Is it bad?” I asked and he nodded. “On a scale of one through ten?”
“I would say an eight,” my eyes widened. “I need to get you out of here first before I say anything else. I don’t want to risk anyone overhearing. Do you trust me?”
“Always.”
“Good, now come.”
CAMILLA’S PO.V
Ryker was acting weird but I didn’t want to push too much. Since we saw that man, he was off his game. He was quiet the entire carriage ride back and he seemed to be lost in thought. When we got back to the palace however, he led me back towards our room and locked the door. I waited patiently for him to say something but he didn’t.
“Ryker,” I began and he sighed.
“I’m thinking of the best way to say this,” he explained. “When Damien was here, he told me about a rumor that was going around of a creature who steals people in the night and returns their bodies in the middle of the woods drained of blood.”
“That sounds like a vampire.”
“That’s exactly what I said and now a b*dy turns up in the middle of the woods freezing cold and pale.”
I couldn’t help but shake my head at him and smile. He was cute when he worried but I couldn’t believe that a vampire was attacking citizens. I grabbed both of his hands and led him to the bed where I pushed him to sit down. He tried to speak but I held up a hand to stop him. Once he was quiet, I crawled up behind him and began massaging his shoulders. He looked confused but allowed me do as I wished without putting up too much of a fight. I waited until his shoulders slacked with relief before I spoke.
“We have never had any interactions with vampires prior to this,” I reminded him slowly as I kept my fingers moving on his shoulders. “I find it hard to believe that a random vampire came out of nowhere and decided to drain blood from someone in the town.”
I saw him frown. “When I heard it from Damien, I thought the same thing but now- you saw the man.”
“There’s no confirmation that a vampire killed him. It gets very cold at night and if he was wandering and unable to shift, he could have frozen to death which would explain why his skin was so cold,” I combatted. “Until we have proof that he died from a vampire attack then we shouldn’t jump to conclusion.”
His frown remained and I briefly wondered if he wanted it to be a vmpaire attack. It made no sense. If it were me, I would have taken the excuse I was giving and run with it but then again, I preferred to run from my problems while Ryker loved t face them head on.