"Vampires who have destroyed our homes and brought nothing but chaos, want us to let them go freely?" He said, obviously not directing it to me but to his pack. "Alpha, I think we should kill the men and keep the pretty human lady." One of the wolves said, making me feel disgusted. "That isn't a bad idea," the Alpha said, looking at me intently. Max immediately wrapped his hands around me, as if trying to stop them from doing what they were planning. Josh didn't say a word, because there was nothing to say, we were out numbered. even though vampires seem a bit at the top in the whole creatures hierarchy, there is no way we will be able to deal with this. "Don't blame us for what we weren't part of" I said, and I could see the questioning look on both josh's and Max's faces. "We are also victims here, and all we want is to get to our destination safely, please," I added and I could see the Alpha trying to reason with my pleas. "Nonsense, we have wasted enough time, playing with these demons, we await your command Alpha and we will rip them into pieces." One of the werewolves said. "Too bad vampire blood doesn't have good taste." The Alpha said, in a tone that didn't reveal whether he would let us go or feed on us. "Please, I said, this time stretching my hands forward so I could touch him. He raised his head and after staring at me for what felt like forever, he let out a deep sigh and then raised his hands, signaling his pack to let us leave. " Thank you," I said with a smile on my face. . "Well, that worked," Max said after a while. we were riding fast and were already far from the, territory. "I'm as shocked as you bro, werewolves," Josh said. "It's not that hard, people like it when others show humbleness. this whole pride and ego vampires have is the only reason they hate you. I think the wolf guy isn't a bad person." I said, trying to prove to them that a little act of humbleness wouldn't hurt. "Well, I think he just likes you!" Max barked. Which was kind of unexpected. I mean, he is a hot Werewolf Alpha, why on earth would he like me, "Oh come on max! Don't you have anything better to say?" I said trying to end the weirdly awkward conversation. "Oh yeah, as if we all didn't see how he was flirting with you using his eyes!." He added, sounding a bit annoyed. "You saw it too Joshua right?" He asked Josh who just raised his hands in a _keep me out of this_ way. Max kept complaining about the Alpha and how he was flirting with me. It kind of made me feel as if he was jealous but then, why would he be jealous, we are cousins, he's just being the protective older brother. . "We stay here for the night," Josh said. I jumped off the horse, gay that I was going to be able to stretch my body. Sitting on a horse for a whole day is no comfy. Max made a fire _without actually making one_ since he just used his powers. "What are we going to do if we don't find the stone at my place." I asked curiously. "Then our journey will get a lot more interesting. We will have to go look for it in the white coven empire." Josh said with a huge smile on his face. "What happened to the white coven empire?" I asked, even though I knew the answer clearly. But then, I'm not sure I do, if the white coven empire was destroyed a long time ago, then what will we find if we go there? "It was destroyed by you know who." He replied while giving Max a cold look. "But according to what we heard, the castle is still there intact. Nothing can destroy it." He added this time turning his gaze to me. "And if the stone wasn't really with aunt Amber, then it'll be in the castle where it belongs," Max said. . "Rise and shine pretty face," Josh said, reminding me of the first day we met. Even though since then things haven't been going well, he still finds a way to put a smile on our faces. "Good morning Josh," I said yawning. "Good morning Max," I added. "What's it with the greetings and respect," Max asked with a smile on his face. I gotta admit, Max is also kind of fun, he's not cheeky and playful like Josh, and he's definitely not like Nathan, but he has this unique trait of his, one that makes me have butterflies. "Someone is excited to see home again!" Josh said making me let go of the smile I have been trying to hide. "I just can't believe that I'm going home, I'm super excited," I said. I know it's empty and will only remind me of how my mom died, but I still am glad and grateful I will be able to see it again. I didn't think I would have the privilege to see it, since we were supposed to be hiding from the vampires and stuff. But hey, this mission came up and I'm glad I am a part of it. "Alright then, we need to start our journey if you really want to see home anytime soon," Max said helping me up. We packed our things and mounted our horses. "How far are we from the city?" I asked when we started riding. "About 40 hours ride." Max said from behind me. He was so close that I could feel his breath on my ears. "Yeah, but I know a short cut that can take us there before sunset." Josh said in a holler. He was riding faster than us so he was way in front. Max was being slow and careful because I wasn't used to the whole riding thing. "There's no way in hell I'm going to trust you or your short cuts anymore." Max said sternly. "Oh come on Maxie, you aren't scared of little wolves are you. " josh said in a mocking tone, which made max mad. they kept bantering all day, and I just watched in amusement. Who would believe that there was over 200 years of age gap between them? . "Kara, kara, wake up." Max's voice woke me up. I didn't know when I fell asleep. We are still on the horse but we aren't moving, I was laying on max, my back facing him. The sky was dark and lit scantly with stars. "We are here." He said, my eyes opened wide and it was like I was never asleep. We descended the horses and I ran straight to the main doors pushing them with all the force I could. The doors opened and we moved in. everything looked the same, the living room where mom's body lay that night was empty, I know that max said she would turn to ashes by the next morning but the blood was also gone. The house is empty, even the security men weren't at the gates. All the workers must have left after the incident. "Let's rest for the night and start with aunt Ambers' room tomorrow," Max said and we all approved, we are all tired from the journey. I ran upstairs to my room, leaving max and josh in the living room. My bed was laid, just as I left it. I jumped on it with a lot of force and the feeling of happiness hit me. Life isn't so easy or normal right now, but no matter how rough things get, I'm sure of one thing. _it could be worse_ "Kara? are you in there, are you okay?" Max's voice echoed from the other side of the room. I wonder why he was asking all that and why he sounds so worried. "Max?" I asked as I head to the door, opening it, I gave him a questioning look. "O thank goodness you are okay," he said, sighing in relief. "What's wrong?" "Josh and I heard movements, someone is in here." What? Someone is in here, but who on earth would come here, we don't have any relatives that would like to claim the house after our sudden disappearance. I hope they are just imagining things. But what if the Prince's men are still here, what will we do then. I'm not ready for any drama today. "Come, you need to stay close, I don't want anything wrong happening to you." Max said holding my hands. It made me feel warm and happy, happy I had someone who cares about my safety this much. He held my hands and we walked to where josh was. "Shhhh" was all josh said, putting his ears on the walls of the room next to us. It was the servant's quarters, where all the maids stay. Max and josh stood in position, ready to fight. Then opened the door slowly startling the people that were waiting behind it. . "Tracy?" I asked surprised to see her and I know she felt the same way. She ran to where I was and gave me a hug. "Miss kara! You are alright!" She said "What are you still doing here? Why haven't you left?" I asked "Well, nana said we should stay back and wait for you to return. All the servants left after your mysterious disappearance miss." Tracy said. "Kara, I'm glad you are fine. You had us worried." Tracy's grand mother, Helen said. She is the head maid, but for mom, she was more than that, she was like a mother to her and a grandmother to me and Kendra. I can't believe they stayed back to wait for our return. "Where's Kendra and your mother, and who are these men?." She asked and my heart almost skipped a beat. So she doesn't know what happened to mom. I remember all the servants were on break on the night of the attack. That means they didn't see mom's body. "Yes miss kara, when we got back to work, we saw a lot of blood spilled on the floor, but the police said they were not trace of the body, so we didn't know where it came from," Tracy said in a way that sound like a question as if she wanted to know if I had any idea.