Captured By A Ruthless Vampire King
|11|~We're not in Kansas anymore~

Unedited.

Embry POV.

My heart pounds louder with every step I take. I feel like I’m in a dream walking down a yellow brick road, on the path to a magical land filled with unlimited possibilities.

I’m afraid and excited all in one. The sound of a twig snapping for what seems like the millionth time makes my heart skip a beat.

“Hello,” I call out as my eyes scan my surroundings. Once, again I’m greeted with nothing but silence. “Come out! Come out, whoever you are,” I pretend to be brave. Voice tone is everything, remember. Maybe the low tone of my voice will scare whatever animal it is away. It has to be an animal following me.

I know it is and how do I know this. Well, because it’s simple. It’s called the process of elimination.

For starters, if it was a vampire I would have long dead. A vampire would have attacked without asking any questions. If that’s not enough persuasion the key fact that werewolves are able to detect vampire’s presence plunged my theory. All wolves can feel a vampire presence even if we can’t pinpoint their exact location.

Werewolves are also predators. We know how to sense a threat.

Unless the vampire is a strong one and the last time I checked the strongest vampire in this continent happens to be my mate. It’s no way that he would have allowed me to make it this far if he was following or watching me. No way! So, for now, a lurking vampire is crossed off my which dangerous predator is following Embry list. Keyword, For Now!

Next up on my which dangerous predator is following Embry list would have to be a rapid rogue... A rabid rogue is a mentally ill wolf who has completely lost its human way.

Rogues wolves are all animals. They are considered to be stray wolves who roam the forest, constantly searching for their next victim. They are not! I repeat not anything like a regular rogue werewolf.

Rapid rouges are considered to be extremely dangerous. Pack wolves are taught to steer clear of all rogues in general and handle any outside wolf with caution. However, our superiors stretch the fact that if we stumble upon a stray rogue alone that we do one thing and one thing only. We are taught to run as fast as we can manage and not to fight unless it’s our last resort. Everyone knows that if you have to fight a rogue wolf the fight will be to the death.

There are no exceptions! Not even for a Wilde Wolf.

With that being said, I believe it’s safe to say that I could cross a rapid rogue following me off my list as well!

Finally, on my which dangerous predator is following Embry list would have to be a werewolf who’s lost inside of their own wolf. A lost wolf!

This happens if a werewolf denies their inner beast the opportunity to shift when need be. Their wolves will fight for control and if the human loses. We’re lost forever.

A lost wolf is the most dangerous predator in the entire world.

A lost wolf only can see, hear, smell, and feel one thing and that’s to kill. That’s it! That’s all! No one knows how a wolf becomes a lost wolf. It’s an extremely rare situation. All I know is that there have even been cases when the wolf took full control of their human form for the rest of their lives.

If a lost wolf was following me, I wouldn’t be here making a list at all. I’ll be dead. No one is strong enough to take on a lost wolf. No one.

My eyes scan the area again while my sensitive ears detect another sound of movement on my left. I take a deep whiff of the fresh winter’s air. My follower is a small animal. It must be a rabbit or another small creature.

That’s the only animal that would absentmindedly roam freely in an area full of lurking predators. I take another deep breath, deciding to continue to ignore the sound and carry one.

" Keep calm, Embry,” I tell myself out loud. “Keep calm and carry on.” I’m only a couple of minutes away from the city’s gates at this point anyway. I’m on my way to safety.

Out of nowhere a deep thick and white fur, round body shaped, short nose, short legs, and fluffy ears animal crosses my path.

Oh, My Goddess! I almost, scream. Oh, My Goddess, it’s no way. In front of me stands an arctic fox staring right at me with its big and bright honey brown eyes.

Arctic foxes are extremely rare and super cute. Super, super cute!

“Hello there, cutie,” I call out to the mysterious little creature. This is the first time that I’ve laid eyes on this beauty. “What are you doing so close to civilization,” I question the Fox. “It’s not safe here.”

Of course, the super-duper cute and extremely adorable baby fox doesn’t respond. He just stands in place and stares at me.

I watch the baby fox is pure fascination. I still can’t believe the mysterious creature crossed my path. Typically, these little creatures steer clear of werewolves. It is said that that they can sense that we are a threat to their kind.

In all honesty, some of us are. We stand in silence, watching each other for what seems like an eternity. I’m watching him. I can tell it’s a boy by his size. Anyway, I watch him with the look of pure fascination and he watches me with pure curiosity.

I move with caution closer to the baby fox. Still, he stands in place. “Hello,” I tell the furry little fella. “Are you lost, little fella?” I question, lowering myself down to the adorable little creatures level.

Surprisingly, he takes a step forward and licks my face. My heart swells. He likes me. I pick him up off the forest ground and tuck him into the security of my arms. He rubs his head against my chest. “As soon as the sun rises, I’ll take you back to safety,” I promise. “Into then you can come with me.”

I don’t want to risk placing the both of us in danger and that’s exactly what will happen if we continue to roam the first this time of night. The adorable little creature purrs in approval, and then climbs into my dress, settling right inside of my bra completely catching me off guard. “I take that as a yes,” I giggle and continue my walk into the city.

Being a pack wolf makes it easy to forget that the outside world is a scary place. A really scary place!

I replace myself reminded how scary the world really is as the arctic fox and I walk through the Northern City of Montreal.

Life on pack territory is civilized for the most part.

Pups run freely playing hide and go hunt, or other wolf games like chasing tails. Every pack member has a job to do.

Elder she-wolves typically spend their time in the kitchen, cooking and chatting away, mostly gossiping about who’s mated to who. The elder male-wolves job is to sit back, drink wolf-ale, talk smack, and watch us younger were-people grow. Each elder wolf, male, and female possess a wisdom soaked brain and a well-spoken tongue, which allows their words to flow. They all have a way with words.

The elder pack wolf’s main job is to provide wisdom. We depend on them to lead the way. We are taught to respect our elders, take heave to their advice, and follow their instructions. Our elders have roamed this world for a long while. It takes a wolf about fifteen centuries to start to age.

The pack elder’s main task consists of teaching.

The younger she-wolves jobs revolve around planting, weaving, studying, training and mating. Most of us are teen-wolf crazy, full of raging hormones. The first few centuries of us she-wolves lives is typically where we replace our place in the world of the wolves.

We are expected to learn how to play the role of a werewolf mate and secure our positions in the world of werewolves. She-wolves are the backbones of each household, no matter what direction we take.

A she-wolf can take the path of warrior, healer, cook, plant or teach. However, our number one task will always consist of taking care of our pups. We are expected to work as one when it comes to raising our young. No pup is left behind.

We are taught that it takes a village to raise our children. We are expected to aspire to union. We are expected to base our life choices, always keeping in mind that union and raising pups is the ultimate goal.

The pack she-wolf main task consists of nurturing pups and taking care of werewolf men.

The younger male-wolves or werewolf’s jobs revolve around hunting, building, training, and protecting us all. Now, don’t get me wrong all wolves are expected to train, but male wolves are expected to train harder. A male wolf will always be the first line of defense in the world of the wolves. Always.

They are taught to place their lives on the line to protect elders, she-wolves, and pups. They are expected to train all wolves in the craft of self-defiance. They are expected to protect their mates, young, and neighbors. They are taught how to hunt and protect.

The pack male-wolf main task consists of providing.

An Alpha is a father to us all. The Luna is mother to us all. The Beta position is basically, the pack's big brother or big sister, depending on the beta’s sex. The pack life is family life.

The pack way of life is the only way of life that I’ve known. Strolling through the city, I can easily see that the pack way of life doesn’t apply in the rogue wolf world.

“We’re not in Kansas anymore,” I whisper to my furry friend inside of my dress.

Everyone here appears to abide by their own rules. They are doing their own thing. Living how they see fit. I’ve witnessed more than one, elder wolf carrying bags of vegetables, fish, and grains without expecting a younger wolf to grab the bags out of their hands.

I can practically hear my dad’s voice in my head begging me to help the elders out. I have to stop myself several times from taking the load off their shoulders, walking them to their home and cooking them a decent meal. I’ve even tried to start a conversation with many of them. Each and every one of them releases a warning growl with big and scary yellow eyes.

One of them even shouted at me, saying that I was, “A deranged bitch!” He told me that he would love to knock some sanity into me by, “Shoving his penis down my throat and making me choke on his seed,” His words caused the arctic wolf to growl inside of my bra and made me puke. That’s right, I puked. I released the contents of my stomach into a fuel smelling waste bend.

Let me just say that chili hot chocolate and throw up is not a good smell. Plus, it tastes disgusting inside of my mouth.

I just spend the last 5 minutes searching for freshwater and a mint stick to clean my mouth. I’m too afraid to ask someone else for direction. They may say something similar to what I’ve just experienced or worse. They may actually act out on their words.

On the other hand, the she-wolves here appear to be a little approachable. The problem is I don’t have the slightest clue on how to approach them. Most of them are walking around with absolutely no clothes on. They are naked and bare like they are pups fresh out of their mother litter. Were-people typically don’t have any problem with being around other wolves while nude, due to the shifting process.

However, we don’t just walk around naked, and wave our hands to come inside of a place that has a neon green sign in front of the building that reads, “Brothel!”

My wolf, my furry friend, and I all agreed that any place with a name like that surrounded by naked she-wolves and attracting drunken male wolves, which seem to be unable to keep their paws to themselves is not the place to be asking anyone for help.

I mean the she-wolves overall do appear to be friendly enough, maybe too friendly. My brother and dad's voices are screaming inside of my head that I need to bypass places like the brothel.

I place my furry friend in the security of my bra and continue to walk through the city with my head held down, and my fox tucked away. My eyes scan over an orange spray-painted sentence that reads, “This a dog eat dog world,” When the Northern City of Montreal comes to mind. I can’t help but agree.

Everything here is so different, foreign even. I feel like I step into another universe. This city feels like a faraway land. It’s polluted with smoke, wolves are all over the sidewalks, barely dressed, and even the pups around here are roaming free without a she-wolf trailing behind their every step.

So far, I’ve only encountered a total of one pup. He appears to be walking around unsupervised. My hooded eyes are following his every step. He has been walking beside me for a while now. I decide to follow him towards one of the markets.

Maybe, he can point me to some water, mint and maybe a person who would be pleased to help a Wilde Wolf. I can even offer to pay him for his assistance, or even persuade my uncle to allow him to return to the Northern Pack as payment for his services.

The poor thing is wearing a thin white t-shirt and a pair of light blue jeans that are covered in food stains. He doesn’t have on a jacket, hat, mittens or a pair of shoes. Surely, if his mother was around she would at least make sure he has a decent pair of shoes.

When a werewolf is a pup was not immune to human-like diseases. Pups can get sick, really sick. That’s one of the reasons why pack wolves are extremely overprotected of our young. They are vulnerable until their first shift. We must provide, protect, guide, teach and shelter them no matter what. Pack wolves believe that our pups are our future.

I have to contain my urges to reach out touch his hand and pull him into the safety of my arms. His broken green eyes seem to be filled with century’s worth of hurt. His skin is rough and appears to be worn out. His tiny frame is tenses and his face expression wears a permanent frown. I wish he would smile, or even muster up a half of smile.

Just one would be enough reassurance for me that this pup shall be okay.

My hooded eyes follow his every move. I hate how he appears to be walking over egg-shelves. He appears to be so fragile. So broken. So lost. I hate this city for not protecting his innocence.

I quickly, come to the decision that I am going to approach him. I’m just about to touch his shoulder. But I come to a complete halt as his broken green eyes look left and then right. Before, he snatches a bunch of carrots from the stand and then breaks off in a full-fledged run.

I’m shocked, “No! You don’t have to do that,” I absentmindedly shout, gain the attention of every wolf present around this market, and making my little furry friend head pop out from my bra.

“A come back here, thief,” An elder she-wolf growls from behind the market stand. The tough and deep animalistic sound of her voice sends chills down my spine. Her growl can be compared to an alpha growl, extremely threatening.

My eyes nearly pop out of the socket as she shifts into a humongous rusty brown wolf. She is the size of an Alpha, which is bigger than Big! Her claws resemble sharp metal like scissors, sharper than sharp. Her wolf fur is matted and rough. Her canines are longer than her snout. She looks vicious. Wild and deadly.

Extremely, deadly and the red ring around her dark eyes adds a gruesome effect. I’ve never seen an elder wolf shift. Never. It’s forbidden in pack life. The leaders of our pack claims it’s for the elder’s safety.

They don’t want to risk one of our elders hurting themselves, or at least that’s what they told us was the reason.

As I stand, here and watch the scene unfold I’m not so sure if that was the real reason.

This elder certainly knows how to take care of herself and she darn sure doesn’t look as if she is at risk to herself. She looks like she is a threat towards the pup if anything and her deadly looks are only the start of things.

My eyes grow wider as she begins to chase after the pup.

She is hawking him down with ease, despite her age and the other wolves in the city aren’t doing anything to stop it. They just move out of there. Oh, my Goddess! She is going to kill him.

Without thinking, I secure my furry friend, tucking him back in and take off running behind them. I would never be able to live with myself if anything happens to the pup all because I decided to open my big mouth.

I should have just minded my manners and minded my business. I know better!

I follow them through the busy streets of the city, take a sharp right and then enter a dark alley. The sound of gun shoots enters my sensitive ears, draining the blood out of my face. I make a sharp left, run a little further down the narrow alleyway and then suddenly come to a complete halt.

My heart skips several beats as my eyes come into contact with three things. Bodies, blood and my......