A Sight For Sore Eyes (sequel to The Alpha's Princess)

Prologue

(8 years ago)

The cold nighttime desert air whips up sand that blows past the windows, making it hard to see. Lena, my sister, shivers in fear and cold. I put a small arm around her, trying to make her feel better and warm her up. Unlike me and Uncle August, she hasn't reached puberty yet, the time where the cold no longer affects us. "I'm not scared, just cold." She whispers petulantly.

"Of course not, Len. It's going to be fine."

We get a glimpse of the meeting outside as the wind clears the window. Uncle stands with a red-eyed wolf, fangs out. I distract Lena by poking her until the view gets covered up again. She scowls at me, her tiny petite fangs poking out in annoyance.

"Daddy set this up, didn't he?" She whispers after a second. "He wants us gone."

"Of course not! He's a little miffed, but he'd never hurt us. Uncle promised, remember?"

I try to sound confident, but I can only do so much. She's right to be worried. We messed up and when father gets angry, it doesn't go well, and we more made more than a little mistake.

Now we're out in the middle of a desert, miles away from civilization. It had started last week, a month after the incident. Father had been debating on what to do with us and every time he walked into a room, it seemed to get colder. We hadn't been on speaking terms until last week.

We were having dinner – a nice bloody seat with a side of baked vegetables and mashed potatoes. We were sitting as far away from father as we could without being at the other end of the table. The other end of the table opposite him was either for the mistress of the house or honored guests. We were neither. It was tense before the wolves came in through the windows.

There was a flurry of activity. Glass broke, Lena screamed, and I'd pushed her under the table. After a point I hurried her out of the dining hall, hoping to find safety somewhere. Instead we ended up bumping into the tall man with red eyes. I'd leaped in front of her, prepared to fight to the death. Me, an eleven-year-old vamp, against a full grown wolf. I didn't exactly plan to survive. That's when the picture fell out of his pocket, floating to the ground almost in slow motion. It's one of those moments, like the moment when you're hanging in midair, floating, waiting for the painful drop that comes after. It crystallizes in your mind, to permanent to ever change in the intervening years. Its then that I saw her for the first time, smiling and riding on a tall man's shoulders. Everything else seemed to slow down, melting into the background.

That's when the drop came, the drop being the man's constipated and panicked expression when he picked it up. I thought for sure we were goners, he did not look happy. Instead he stalked off into the dining hall, shouting something about kids and inappropriate timing, and we had a chance to flee. I grabbed my sister and hid us in a closet. That's where father found us after everyone left, cowering in a closet. He only gave us a disgusted grunt before walking away. Three days later Uncle August comes to pick us up, and here we are now, meeting with those same wolves in the middle of the desert.

What are we doing here?

I rub Lena's back.

"It'll be alright, Len. Uncle August is here. He won't let us get hurt."

She tries to give me an exasperated look, like of course he won't Alex, I'm not stupid, but she still has the look of a cornered animal in her eyes. "Well duh. Uncle August did promise." She gulps and looks back out the window.

"What do you think they're talking about? Why are we here? That man with the red eyes doesn't look happy."

I look around her head and freeze. Right outside was the man with the picture. The man in the picture, now that I think about it. His red eyes, filled with anger, flick to us. "Len, don't make eye contact. He'll see it as a challenge. Just... Focus on a sand dune." Her eyes flick away from his but mine don't. I'll fight him if he wants, but not my sister, never my sister.

The man with the red eyes looks away and back to Uncle August. Words are exchanged and Uncle August sighs before turning around to get a glance at us. "I don't know what they're discussing, but it can't be too bad, can it? Uncle wouldn't let them do anything to us."

Uncle August is the king of the vampires. His protections aren't something to laugh at, so when he comes to get us I'm not too nervous. He opens the door and smiles tiredly at us, his dark brown hair – normally oiled – and suit covered in sand. "Hey kids, how you doing?" He pats Lena on the back and ruffles my hair. "I have good news. There's been a truce between the werewolves and the vampires to prevent little..." He glances behind him and his expression turns a little sour for a second before his smile returns, "Incidents like a few days ago."

"That's great. Why are we here?" I ask cautiously. "Father just said we were going on a trip."

"Ah, yes. As a pact between our two... Honorable species." He sniffs at the word honorable. "Your father has agreed to something I strongly oppose. You two are to go with them as goodwill ambassadors for an undetermined time."

"What?" My voice rings out in the empty desert. The wolves whip around, alert for any danger. I make myself tone it down and take a deep breath. "That's it, he wants us dead. This is a suicide mission!"

"No, you're father loves you! We trust the wolves enough to protect you for a little while. It'll be perfectly safe, I swear. It's just until we can find more solid reassurances and we're already on it." He tries to sound soothing but ends up sounding more nervous. "Now you're going to go with them for a little bit, okay?"

"How about no?" I cross my arms. "We didn't discuss this. If father wants to broker a peace, he can throw himself to the wolves. Lena and I will be staying right here."

His eyes darken. "Alexandru, I don't want to do it but I will drag you and your sister to that car if I have to. You're a young man now, I quite thought you outgrew temper tantrums. You won't be staying there forever. Think of it as a vacation. Now you can walk over there with your dignity intact..." He pauses. Lena backs into me a little. "Or you can embarrass us all with your childish displays. I wouldn't have agreed to this if I didn't know you'd be safe."

I consider embarrassing him for the sake of it, but Lena's freaked out enough and he is our king. I grit my teeth. "Fine. But we won't like it."

He pats our heads again. "I'm sorry, but it's necessary. We'll talk soon."

And that's how we ended up with the wolves for an "undetermined" time. Years, to be specific.

(OOOOOOHHHH SNAP, LOOK WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW SON!)