The Fall Ball
Chapter 71

(Ash)

It was taking a long time for the participants to find Rose. She must have done a good job mixing her scent with the others that went into the woods to confuse those that would be looking for her. I watched as her dad came out of the woods with a smile on his face. He walked over to my dad and the two of them talked a little bit as my dad laughed and patted him on the back.

I continued to watch the woods as more and more participants came out. Craig never came out. He was still in the woods looking for Rose. I linked with Rose to check in with her and be sure that she was doing okay. I also let her know that Craig was still in the woods looking for her.

Shortly after talking with her, I watched a few more participants come out while shaking their heads.

Then a scent I don’t care for caught my nose. Vampires are close by,but Raymond and his group are in their camp. They were told to wait in their camp until the hunt was over, so that way the participants didn’t have any confusion.

“Dad, can you send someone to make sure the vampires are still in their camp? I can smell one near by.” I link my dad.

“I don’t like this,” Aspen tells me.

“Me neither.” I say to him.

“Yeah, I will send someone to go check it out.” My dad links back to me.

I walk around and try to link with Rose, but she doesn’t answer.

Craig comes running out of the woods with the other participants.

“I found her. As she went to come down the tree to me, a vampire came out of nowhere and took her.” He yells at me.

I shift instantly, Aspen letting out a howl so loud that the pack members around me jumped back in fear.

“Lets go get her before they get away.” Aspen says, taking off into the woods following the scent of death.

We run after the vampire. It is an unknown vampire. He is not part of Raymond’s group. He looks back at us and smiles as he jumps from the tree. But he doesn’t hit the ground, he jumps into a portal.

By the time we get to the portal, it has closed. Aspen paces in circles while growling out.

“We lost her. I knew this was a bad idea. How did he get in past the guards?” Aspen yells at me.

“The portal. Magic is involved.” I say to him.

“Dad, I need you here and Rose’s Dad. Also, send someone to get Raymond and bring him here as well.” I send to him through the link.

“We are on our way,” he says to me.

Craig appears in the clearing beside us.

“I am so sorry, I came to get you as soon as she was taken,” he says to me while looking around. “Where are they?” He asks

“Magic, just wait and I will tell you when the others get here.” I say to him after shifting back.

We sit in silence while we wait. Soon we hear the others walking up towards us. We turn and look at them.

“Where is she?” Mac asks me.

“Gone.” I say while looking at my father.

I tell them about the portal and how they just disappeared. We all walk around the area where the portal was. There is no trace of it ever being there.

Soon, Raymond is escorted into the clearing. He is looking at the ground and looks uncomfortable.

“Do you know something about this?” I ask him.

“I’m sorry Ash, but yes I do. It was the only way.” He tells us.

“You better explain yourself now!” Mac yells at him.

“She is safe and in no danger. We knew that you would not allow our King here to come and talk to you. And he has something important to talk to Rose about. Once he has talked to her, she will be sent back here.” Raymond tells us all.

“How can you be sure that they won’t hurt her?” I ask him.

“Because we need her. When she gets back she can talk to you about it. I do not want to give you information until she is here to talk to you about it. That way you can trust what she has to say.” He tells us.

“You better go there now and be sure she is safe.” I tell him.

“I can do that. I will bring her back to you as well.” He says to us.

We all walk back to the palace. I watch as the crowd gathers around us. They are talking about the intrusion and Rose going missing.

“Looks like we need to have a quick meeting,” Aspen says to me.

“But what do we tell them?” I ask him.

“I don’t know. We don’t want to scare them, but we want them to have the information. Maybe Dad will speak to them for us.” I say to Aspen.

“Dad, do you think you can deal with this for me?” I ask him.

“Ya I can do that.” He tells me.

“Settle down. Settle down.” Dad says to the crowd.

They quiet down and stand watching him.

“So, as you know, we had a vampire come into the woods during the hunt. That vampire was here without permission. And he found Rose and took her.” Dad says to them all.

“However, she is safe. It seems that the vampire King requested a personal meeting with Rose. Once he has finished his meeting with Rose, Raymond will bring her back. So, in the mean time, the festivities are being held off. Once Rose is returned, we will have the ball.” Dad tells them.

“Also, I understand that some of the visiting Alphas may want to leave and head back to their packs. That is okay. I appreciate you all being here. And will keep you all updated on all the things that are going on here,” Dad says to them.

The crowd turns and they all start to walk away…

“Now Raymond, go bring our future Queen back.” My dad tells him and turns and walks away.