Under the vampire Lord's protection-Chapter 119: A lone messenger

"Worry not,"

Silas was more concerned with the look of terror in Arabella’s face than the fact that a member of the wolf folk howled on their property.

The young woman did not seem all that relieved and slowly pushed her weight off her chair, mirroring his action.

"We are in no danger. The wolf folk are merely responding to an invitation my family has sent their way," he added, "They too prefer to deal by night,"

Hand clutching her pendant, she looked between Silas and one of the windows in the library. Although the howl echoed from every direction, Arabella had the inkling its origin stood at the front side of the manor.

"I’ll leave you to it then," he nodded towards the open book facing her, "I must handle this matter,"

"Of course,"

She curtsied and remained still until Silas exited the library. He walked right past the butler that bowed in the halfway, getting ready to speak, "Master, I-"

"I know,"

With that, his feet led him closer to the main entrance of the manor where his and Lady Persephone’s paths crossed.

"Sending a messenger instead of barging in like they usually do," the vampiress had her hands together, down against the skirt of her gown, "Cynric will never cease to surprise me," she sighed.

"Won’t you stay to hear his response?"

Seeing that his mother headed for the first-floor stairs and not the opposite way, Silas did not hesitate to ask.

"It is nearly dawn," she stopped, addressing him without turning around at first, "I trust you can handle this one without me," at that sentence, Persephone did glance back, "Besides, Liriel brought this matter to your attention and not mine,"

"Had I not visited the valley the other day, she would’ve null doubt wrote to you, mother,"

She hummed, narrowing her eyes slightly, which along with her smirk, earned her a bit of a playful air, "Somehow, I doubt that," the Lady shook her head very slowly.

Silas did not question her decision any further, making his way to the door while she climbed the stairs.

Two guards stood outside, ready to greet him as though expecting his arrival. Then again, they were vampires...

"There are no others aside from the messenger himself," one of them said.

"He’s asked to speak with the owners and refuses to cross the gates, Master,"

In response, Silas showed complete indifference, "That is to be expected," he paused very momentarily, "Stay here," he ordered them before flashing towards the main gates, producing a cold breeze in his wake.

In no time, the vampire stood in front of the metal doors, facing the strange man behind it.

He was quite tall and on the bigger side. Despite the thick hair covering his body, his incredible shape remained visible. The definition of his muscles put the most meticulous of stone sculptures to shame.

"I come bearing a message from alpha Cynric," his gruff voice would’ve made the weaks’ hearts rumble, but Silas wasn’t one of those.

"Won’t you come inside first?"

At those words, the front gates split down the middle seemingly of their own accord, allowing both men a perfect look at each other.

"I was given the explicit order of delivering the message and return," his hair, although soft, seemed unkempt and was long enough to cover his ears.

"Very well," Silas started, "What is it you have for me?"

"Alpha Cynric has agreed to see you in your home as per your suggestion," the messenger’s skin nearly glowed under the remaining spark of the moonlight.

"I am delighted to hear that, and what are his conditions?"

"None," the wolfman simply stared back at Silas, "He’ll be coming this month on the night of the full moon. You’ll know it’s us when a thousand howls rise,"

Upon hearing the first word, a twitch overtook Silas’ eyebrow, but only shortly, "Message received,"

It started with dozens of little snaps, like twigs succumbing under a crushing weight then the cracks got louder, more violent, visceral.

Silas watched the wolfman gradually twist and bend out of shape as every bone in his being shattered, from the tips of his fingers to his entire appendages, ending with his core. More hair grew, saturating the surface of his body, effectively blocking the view to his skin.

In the blink of an eye, the messenger leapt away in his full wolf form and darted towards the forest without another word.

Silas took a moment to register the message, then turned around and marched back to the manor.

An alpha werewolf, especially one as old as Cynric, that accepted a vampire’s invitation without putting conditions of his own was quite the interesting phenomenon.

Lady Persephone had been right, sending a lone messenger instead of barging in was the impressive deed.

"Do we need to carry any cautions, Master?" one of the guards that had stayed by the entrance asked.

"No," he stopped between them, "Return to your positions,"

The full moon was in three days from then, so there was ample time to prepare what was there to handle.

He’d sent a word out for Cynric the morning after his talk with Liriel and hadn’t expected such a quick turnaround from the wolf folk, but while Silas was a little taken aback, his wooden features were barely affected.

By the time the vampire returned to the library, Arabella had already left the place. Pricking his ears up, he was relieved to note that the young woman was in Katherine’s company, heading back to her room.

Silas did his best to tune their conversation out after that. It had to do with wolf folk and some of their most prominent traits and behaviors, but although the words were never uttered out loud, he did, sort of promise his eavesdropping tendency was a product of the blood withdrawal experienced after a two-week period without feeding.

For some time, he ambled the hallways until the echoes died down as the sun dispatched its very first rays. His next stop was his own room yet on the way there, something or... Someone caused him to freeze in his spot.