Stolen

Helena's screams echoed throughout the passages of the castle while Victor paced up and down outside the door. He prayed to the saints that the baby survived this time. He no longer cared if it was a boy or a girl. They had already lost three offspring so far and, after his dear wife died, he took Helena as his only concubine with the promise to his late wife that he wouldn't take another. He would be faithful to his concubine even if it was against the law for them to marry. He was the second in line to the throne after all. It wouldn't make any difference whether he had a boy or a girl.

They would never rule the kingdom.

Dimitri's sons would one day become the heirs to the throne of Ezorona. His brother had yet to find his vampire wife, but he had six concubines, which meant that one of them would probably soon be pregnant with a son. If Helena had a boy, she would not survive the birth. If it was a girl, they would both immediately be taken back to the convent where his daughter would grow up to face the dhampir trials one day. At least, he had a child then. He pulled his fingers through his hair. Their traditions had always seemed so barbaric to him, but since he was never born into the ultimate position of power, he would never be able to change any of them.

Silence fell and two seconds later he heard the cries of his child. He waited patiently for the doors to open and his heart broke the moment the midwife opened them and shook her head.

"It's a female." Her words were barely audible in the passage. Victor closed his eyes for a moment before turning to look at the waiting court and his parents.

"Lady Viktoria of Ezorona has been born." He sighed. He knew that he couldn't really call her Lady since she was a dhampir, but he hoped that he wouldn't be punished for doing this just this once. His father scowled before storming away. His mother patted the sides of his arms and whispered that there was always the next time, but Victor knew there wouldn't be. This was the only chance the saints had given him.

Viktoria's POV

Flashback

I loved my mother and she loved me. Our days at the convent consisted of prayers in the mornings after breakfast. Some time outside in the gardens in the mornings. Prayers again after lunch and then my mother had evening chores while I spent my time studying with the other children living there. I was a bit of an outcast and I never truly understood why until the night before my tenth birthday.

"My darling daughter," My mother had tears in her eyes as she took my face in her hands. "I wish I could have given you a different life. I'm so sorry."

"It's okay, momma." I wiped her cheek and she surprised me with an apple for my birthday. She told me the story of my father for the first time. How he declared me to be "Lady Viktoria" and how proud he was of me, but that he was not allowed to acknowledge me according to dhampir law. Until that night, I had never heard of the world outside of the convent. I didn't know anything about the dhampir guards, the concubines, or even the vampires. Her gift was the truth, and the apple. She asked me to be strong. For her and for my father, whom I had never met. She asked me to do my best to become a dhampir warrior and not end up in the convent. To make my father proud and do well at school. I didn't understand any of it and cried when they took me away in the early hours of the morning on my tenth birthday.

End of flashback

I put every spare second into my training. Into perfecting every battle move. From the first day I arrived, I decided I would do what I promised my mother. I would be the best dhampir warrior ever.

"Tomorrow will be your last day here. Whether you pass your tests and become guards or fail and become concubines." Our leader announced, but this time she almost seemed sad. She never seemed sad in all the years I had known her. It took us eight years to complete our training and there was just the last day left. After we were dismissed, I made my way to my room to pack the last of my things, not that I had much. We wouldn't even be allowed back into the building after our trials. I looked around and sighed. This had been my home since that fateful day they took me away from my mother. It was a simple room, just like the ones in the convent. I didn't have many friends, but I had a couple and I would miss them dearly if they failed, but if the trials proved they weren't strong enough, that was it. I had done what my mother asked and was sure I had made both my parents very proud, even if I hadn't met my father. I was at the top of my class. I received only the highest scores on all my theoretical tests and I was number one on the leaderboard for all our practical tests. It was the first step in ensuring I didn't go to the convent. That was it. There was nothing more I could do to prepare for the final day of judgment that would decide the rest of my life.

"Hey, Lady Viktoria!" I turned around to find my three friends hanging around my door, laughing and joking. What was originally meant to be an insult over the years became a pet name my friends called me. "Don't tell me you are staying here tonight!" They were clearly drunk! They must have gotten into the secret stash our leader kept in her office! "Come on! We are celebrating!" They tried to get me to leave and party with them, but tonight was too important. I needed my rest if I was to win the trials. I was hoping if I won, I would be stationed in the castle. Not that new guards ever got a position in the castle, but I had only one dream in my entire life. I wanted to meet my father. For my friends, it was just about becoming guards instead of concubines, and I sometimes wondered if they actually cared about any of it. For me, however, it was more than that. If I could win, I might actually see my father. They finally gave up and left so I could get ready for bed. None of them ever cared about their fathers. If they were truly worried about becoming warriors and guards. Life as a concubine didn't look that bad, did it? I fall asleep with the memory of my mother hugging me on the last day I saw her.

As I suspected, my friends were awfully hung over in the morning and I felt sorry for them as we took up our places in front of the stage. This would probably be the last time I would see the sunrise as it slowly turned into day. Once I became a dhampir guard, I would spend my days sleeping and my nights protecting a vampire. In the distance, I could hear our leader explain the trials one last time, but my eyes were scanning the grounds in the hopes that I would see my father. It was a silly hope since the vampires never came out during the day, but I still hoped. I wondered for a moment if it wouldn't be better for me to lose. Then I could see my mother again.

The trials consisted of a couple of challenges. Weapons skills, tactical knowledge, and finally, there was hand-to-hand combat. First up, we had to prove our skills as archers and I watched a girl cry as she was led away after the first round was over, but I had to shake it off quickly. I couldn't lose focus this early. There was still an entire day's worth of fighting left to do. The second was sword fighting, and I could feel the strain my arms took, but since that was my only weakness, I knew it would also be my only low score. We went through all the weapons one by one and our group got smaller and smaller after each test. I almost breathed a sigh of relief when we were done and I looked up to find my friends still there. Our tactical knowledge was tested with a verbal example of an old battle our people had lost and, as usual, I was the last one to be called forward. The aim was to give them a solution that would have allowed us to win the battle, and since history was one of my many favourite subjects, I was prepared for any scenario they could give me. It didn't take the council more than a couple of seconds to release my score and I fought back the urge to shout with glee.

Last up was hand-to-hand combat that would decide our ranks in the dhampir order. If you lost your fight, you could still be sent to the convent, but if you won, you would definitely be placed within the order. The day had gone by so fast that I didn't even notice the sun slowly starting to set. Just as we were about to start, the perimeter alarms sounded and people were running in all directions. Our leader was ferociously giving orders and as soon as she saw me, she shouted my name. I was to go to the wall with the highest-ranked guards and defend our land as one of them!

Since we had an agreement with the humans to stay behind our walls, there was only one enemy that I knew of that would attack us. The beasts! Horrible, malformed wolves that were created by the first of the ancients. The first king. They were once the protectors of our kingdom. In the days before the new laws, In the days before, humans and vampires existed in peace. Long before the kingdom was built or the walls went up. Before the first dhampir on record was born. Werewolves! I didn't have any more time to dwell on our history when one of them came flying over the wall, barring his canines. His feet hardly touched the ground before he stormed one of my friends. Within seconds, more came over the wall and I heard their howls as our warriors took their lives. There was the odd scream from a dhampir when a wolf actually killed one of us. I fought my way past a couple of them and was just in time to see the larger-than-life wolf come over the wall. He was larger than the rest and his aura was filled with power. Our eyes met and I froze in place as an electrical shock ran right through my entire body. My split-second hesitation was enough for him to close the gap between us, and as his powerful hands gripped my throat, I wondered if this was it. Was this to be the last day of my life? Would my life really be snuffed out by a beast? After all that training? My training kicked in and I fought back, but he was stronger than anyone I knew.

Viktoria's POV

My eyes grew wide as he pulled me closer to the wall and I fought back even harder, but he was too strong. I slipped out of his grip just as he was about to drag me over the wall with him, but his grip found its way around my waist and before I could so much as scream, we were on the other side of the wall and moving at an incredibly fast pace through the thick forest. That was it! My life is over! I couldn't understand why he hadn't killed me, but if my leader found out that I had been taken by the beasts, they would never take me back! He may just as well have killed me! We reached the end of the forest and he put me down, but before I could see more than a pair of abs, someone pulled a bag over my head and everything went black!

Fynn's POV

I knew that dhampirs were beautiful, and I had been warned that this one was right at the top of that list, but I never expected her to take my breath away. I watched her fight but she was so damn fast that I didn't have much time before I realized it was almost over. When it became clear that not a single one of my guys was going to make it out of this fight alive, I had to grab her and get out of there. What none of those bloodsuckers realized was that we were there for her. We had been looking at the castle for many years. Studied the vampires and their little toy warriors. She was the only heir to the throne of Ezorona. Her father was second in line to the throne, but his brother, after many years of trying, hadn't yet produced an heir. It wasn't that strange for vampires, but one would think that if you had that many concubines, at least one of them would fall pregnant at some damn point! I signaled for my Beta to load her into the truck so we could get out of there.

The night was falling and soon the woods would be crawling with nightwalkers. We could take on a small group of them like we did tonight, but if we were forced to fight more, I wasn't sure if we would survive. Our numbers were slowly growing, but it was just as tough for us to conceive as it was for them.

Viktoria's POV

I could tell we were in some kind of vehicle, but unfortunately for me, they had it sealed up nice and tight and I couldn't hear a thing. I tried to keep track of the direction we were going in, but without being able to use all my senses, I had a hard time determining how far away we were from the castle. Besides, I had never been outside the wall, so if they dropped me off somewhere, I would have no idea which direction I needed to go in to get back home. Besides, I would have to bring them something to show them that I fought and won. Life had suddenly become incredibly complicated when it was meant to be incredibly simple!

I could feel the vehicle stop and pretend that I was asleep. I learned something very important in training. Sometimes, if you played dead just for a little while, you got enough information to get out of any and every situation. I heard the doors open and that same pair of strong arms grabbed hold of me and I felt myself being thrown through the air and landing on something really hard. Did he really just throw me over his damn shoulder as if I was a bag of beans?!

The bag was so thick that I couldn't smell a thing, which was weird because I could actually breathe. Whoever they were, they sure as hell knew what they were doing because I hadn't heard so much as a peep out of any of them! All I could hear was a pair of boots walking until I felt myself being lifted up and over and the pressure on my stomach released. His hands were gripping my waist before I felt the cold steel of what I could only guess was a chair underneath my bottom. I knew he would have to say something at some point, and I didn't have to wait much longer.

"Welcome to my territory, princess Viktoria." His voice didn't match the beast I remembered from earlier. He almost sounded regal and when he pulled the bag from my head I was surprised. The man standing in front of me looked and sounded nothing like the beast that grabbed me, but his aura was the same. It had to be him! Each dhampir was born with powers. The saints must have decided to bless us with something since we weren't born male vampires. My powers were healing, visions of the future, and, lastly, the power I never thought meant much, but it turned out it was one of the rarest of them all. I could read auras. I could see what people were through their aura. This man was the alpha. He was the same one that grabbed me. "Those beautiful eyes are telling me that you are trying to calculate your escape, but let me warn you. There will be no escaping from here, princess."

"Stop calling me princess!" The words hissed out of my mouth before I could do anything to stop myself. I had to calm down! I couldn't afford to lose it right now, but I also had to get out of there as soon as possible or it would be too late.

"Well, you are the only heir to the throne, aren't you?" He looked amused and a little surprised.

"I am not! You know I thought you beasts were stupid, but I never realized the extent of your stupidity." I laughed. I was pushing the envelope, but I seriously had to get out of there. If I told him I was a nobody, he would just kill me. If I told him I was somebody, my life would definitely get more complicated. Why did this have to happen now? My life was finally going somewhere. What I found strange was that we were never taught that they could shift form. That I found interesting enough that I would have liked to know more. "I am a dhampir. A warrior and guard of the vampires. NOT a princess." I hoped that my answer showed that I was strong, but not important. Just enough for them to cut me loose so I could grab one on my way out.

"Okay," He laughed and it sounded nice. "Viktoria, I am Fynn. I know that you've probably already figured out that I'm the Alpha. I want to take you on a tour, but if you run, I can't promise your safety." I thought about it for a moment. If I could bring back intel on the wolves, they might just let me back in. If I could tell them enough about the beasts that we could finally wipe them out, they might just let me back in. I will definitely not get out of it lightly. I know that whatever punishment they will think up for me will be brutal, but if I could bring them actual reliable intel. I looked up and nodded.

"I'll behave." I sighed and he smiled. That strange something inside me stirred again and when he touched me to remove my bounds it felt as if I had been woken from a dream.

As we stepped outside, I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised to find people talking and laughing as they moved around what seemed like a square of some kind. I turned to look at the place we had just left and it was a fairly primitive building, but it was beautiful. Fynn explained that they were a simple group of people. Farmers mostly, which was pretty weird since I knew they were beasts. I knew he was the leader but people spoke to him as if he was just one of them. One of the first things I noticed was that they had no weapons that I could see. I would have hidden it from my enemies if I were them, but even the ones walking around looking like some kind of guard didn't carry a single weapon. It dawned on me that everything I had learned about the beasts was wrong.

Our history books depict them as beasts. Dumb creatures that knew how to fight and looked as if they were dragged up from the underworld. These were people. Humans. Families. I stopped myself the instant the emotion started making its way out. I couldn't afford to see them as anything other than beasts! I had to get back to my people!

Fynn's POV

I knew that one tour and one conversation weren't going to change anything, and this definitely wasn't what the council agreed to do, but this dhampir was my mate. I didn't understand why or how, and I wanted to know more before ... Before we started phase two of our plan. I could see that incredible mind of hers working as we walked and could only hope that she wouldn't run. I knew everything I was showing her wasn't what she was taught about us. I couldn't believe that this creature was the creature meant to love me. I had never heard of a vampire feeling a mate bond and it didn't seem as if she was feeling it, but at least she wasn't running yet.

I knew that she would eventually try, but for now, she was actually behaving. When my tour was over, we walked back to my cabin where they had dinner ready for us. I didn't want my lovely guest to see everything, now did I?

Viktoria's POV

"How old are you?" The question just popped out and I knew that I looked just as amazed when I asked it as he did. We sat down and I carefully sniffed the food. It would be sad if they tried to poison me. That would just be cowardly! As if reading my mind, Fynn grabbed one of the pieces of steak and popped it into his mouth. He smiled and then dug into his own food. I had to admit that I was pretty hungry and as we ate it in silence, I wondered if any of my people would even look for me. Was the fact that I was the number one in the class even enough for them to send someone over the wall to rescue me or did they just accept that I was gone for good?

"I'm twenty-three." His answer interrupted my thoughts and I frowned. "Your question?" He tilted his head to one side. "And if my information is correct, you turned eighteen today." He smiled even more, which made me frown and then nod. He could try all the tricks in the book. I wasn't going to fall for any of them! I wasn't going to make small talk and tell him all our secrets! "Ah, come on, princess." My frown turned into a glare at the mere mention of the title. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," He laughed. "We always referred to you as the princess. I've known about you since the day you were born." He shrugged as if reading my mind and answering all the questions that ran through them. "Viktoria, let's make a pact here and now. Let's not tell each other any lies, okay?" I burst out laughing and was glad that I had just swallowed the food in my mouth or it would have looked pretty ridiculous!

"Why would I tell you anything?" I hissed. I had enough of this ridiculous game. That was why I didn't specialize in intelligence! I didn't have the patience for it! "You kidnapped me. Admitted that you have been stealing information from my home, and what? All so you could do what? Kill my family?! My people!" I was up on my feet by now, screaming at the top of my lungs. My eyes darted back and forth to look for any possible exits. He might be strong, but I knew I could be faster if I just knew which way to go!

Viktoria's POV

I was shocked when he burst out laughing. I was being serious and he was laughing at me!

"I'm so fucking glad that you think my family dying is funny!" I screamed and stormed off. I had no idea where I was going, just as long as it was away from him, but he caught up to me, unfortunately.

"I'm sorry, Viktoria." He grabbed the sides of my arms and turned me to look at him. "You are right. I shouldn't have laughed, but you haven't given me a chance to explain anything. We are actually peaceful people." I looked away. I didn't want to look into his eyes and see that he was telling the truth. I didn't want to believe him.

"Could have fooled me." I huffed and he sighed.

"Okay, so I kidnapped you, but have I hurt you in any way?" He took my chin between his thumb and forefinger and I realized for the first time how incredibly warm his skin was. It was the complete opposite of my family. They were all cold. I shook my head as I looked into his eyes. "Well, then? Don't you think you at least owe me the opportunity to explain?" He was frowning and it didn't look good on that beautiful face. How on earth could beasts have such beautiful faces?! "Come on. I have something to show you." He hooked my arm in his and we walked back inside.

Turning into the first door, I gasped. The entire room felt like home! The walls were covered in paintings and tapestries of wars where the beasts were fighting right beside the vampires and, sadly, vampires were fighting each other. The art was exquisite and I wasn't surprised when Fynn explained that it all came from the castle. Apparently, it was thrown out centuries ago and the beasts somehow got their hands on it. As we moved through the room, I saw books that looked very old and Fynn explained that those books contained what he called "the true history of what happened". I wasn't so sure about that. I would have loved to just curl up and read through all of them, but I sure as hell wasn't going to show him that I was interested in their history. I knew what the history books said! I believed in what my teachers taught us. These beasts could have written anything in there. Made up some sort of ...

"Careful!" Fynn caught me just as I was about to fall flat on my damn face. I was so busy thinking that I wasn't looking where I was going and I tripped over something! A shock ran through my entire body as I tried to push him away. Angry at myself for being so damn stupid. "I know you won't believe me now, but in time, I'm sure you will see the truth for yourself." I couldn't stop the sarcastic little giggle from escaping and he looked amused. After our little stroll through history, he took me to a room in the back and I nearly burst out laughing again.

"Am I going to be locked away and forgotten?" It wasn't very funny, I know. My teachers were always telling me not to try and make jokes but he actually laughed!

"I will never be able to forget you." He winked. "But I will be locking your door for the night and there will be a guard for your own safety."

"See! I was right!" I huffed. The room was beautiful. Rustic and not to my taste, but beautiful. "I am your prisoner!" He didn't say anything as he closed the door and I heard it lock. I looked around the room and noticed two doors. Quickly rushing over to find an escape, I found a closet and a bathroom. I checked the windows, but they had bars in front of them. There was no way out. I decided that I needed a shower and was surprised to find clean clothes in the closet in my size. Although, I shouldn't have been surprised since he told me they knew everything about me. It was clear from the satin nightshirt and pants.

When I looked into the mirror, I noticed the embroidery on the lapel! "VR" Seriously! I told them I wasn't a damn royal! That just showed you! They knew absolutely nothing about the vampires and dhampirs. Only male vampires were royal! It was such an insult in my mind, that I quickly took off the shirt and tried to look for something to undo the "R" but there was nothing in the room. I ended up scratching at it with my nail until I finally got it off. I left the "V" behind because I liked it. Putting my shirt back on, I made myself comfortable in bed, thinking I would probably be up all night.

I was wondering about the castle and what could be happening there tonight. The vampires would wake to yet another attack on the wall, but as long as none of them were hurt, it wouldn't be a problem for them. I wondered if my father would even ask about me. Would he even realize I was gone? I yawned and soon after I was asleep.

Victor's POV

"WHERE THE FUCK IS MY DAUGHTER?!" I couldn't believe that I hadn't been notified the second she was taken!

"Brother, she's just a dhampir." Dimitri laughed as he bit into one of the young women who was holding out her neck so willingly. I watched as a smile started to form on her face and it made me nauseous to think that he could eat at a time like this.

"She's also the only heir to the throne, my dear son." My mother walked into the dining room and kissed both my cheeks before going to greet my brother. She couldn't resist using each opportunity to remind my brother that he still hadn't produced a son.

"SHE'S NOT A VAMPIRE!" He hissed and my mother rolled her eyes. This exchange between them was so damn old that I didn't even want to talk about it anymore.

"Yes, my darling boy, but she might one day produce one which at this moment means she is the only heir to the throne." My mother waved her favourite blood bag closer and I stormed out of the dining room just in time to meet up with my father.

"You don't have to say it." He held up his hand as we made our way to the security office. "She has to be found and brought back safely." He hissed. Viktoria might just be a dhampir, but she had not yet reached the age of twenty-one. There was an ancient prophecy that said a royal daughter would shift at the age of twenty-one and for the past eighteen years we had all been hoping it was Viktoria. At least, my parents and I had. If a female vampire had been born and not created, it would have far-reaching repercussions for our kind.

We would for the first time be able to think of the possibility of finding love in our own ranks. We wouldn't have to keep concubines to breed. It opened the doors to so many possibilities. The human female wasn't built to carry a vampire baby. If Viktoria turned on her twenty-first birthday, she might be the first female vampire who could have a vampire child.

Fynn's POV

A vampire daughter as my mate. I couldn't stop thinking about it. The elders weren't going to be happy when I told them. If I told them. If I took her as my mate. My mind was all over the place as I tried to figure this out. One thing was clear. She didn't feel the bond like I did. We knew that vampires didn't have destined mates as we did, but I had always thought it was just because they couldn't produce female vampires.

Their chemistry always fascinated me and I would have loved to get some blood samples from Viktoria, but it was too soon to start prodding her for blood! I needed to figure out how I was going to keep my hands off her first. My beast side was howling to just grab her and make her mine! Nobody knew that I put the guard at her door to keep her safe from me, and it had to stay that way until I could figure out how I was going to deal with this.

Would she even be affected if I rejected her? Since she couldn't feel the bond.

"AAHHHH!" I screamed in frustration and my Beta stormed through the door.

"Alpha?" He frowned.

"I'm fine." I sighed. "What is it?" He wouldn't be hanging around outside my door for no reason.

"They are here!" We were expecting the vampire guards to come for their princess and they were here a lot faster than anticipated.