Chapter Five

It's been five years since Arayah was taken into the Sterling family, she could still remember it like it were yesterday, so fresh in her memory, the loving smile Dave's wife gave her when she saw her. They treated her like she was one of their own, the child they could never have. They made her feel so loved that she forgot her parents ever died, she felt like they were her parents incarnate and she loved them so much more..

***

FLASHBACK...

"How did you find me?" Arayah asked in a meek voice as she followed Dave into the house. She watched as his muscles rippled beneath his shirt as he walked, he had gray hair peeking out of his midnight black hair, he was really built and strong even at his age.

"You were washed offshore, lying unconsciously on the ground,pale, you seemed dead" he said softly, raking his hair with his hand.

"I was surprised to see you attacked me" He chuckled softly as he stared at her, his gray eyes raking her face.

"You're a werewolf" Arayah stated sniffing the air deeply, the smell of wet dog stung her nostrils making her cringe.

"And you're a Vampire" he stated with a tight smile, Arayah stood guarded as she stared at him, monitoring and counting when he would attack but all he did was take a seat on one of the dining chairs.

"I would never hurt a child no matter the breed," he said softly.

"Why would I take you in and heal you just to take you back to the king?" he asked with raised eyebrows waiting to see if she would speak but all she did was fold her hands and stare at him with an inquisitive look.

"I would always protect you like you're one of my pups" Dave said in a caring tone, he wasn't blessed with a child of his own and seeing Arayah being washed offshore, almost at the brink of death he couldn't let her die, he wanted to experience how it feels to be called father.

From the moment he set his eyes on her his wolf accepted them as his and he would do anything to keep her safe.

"Honey!" A meak soft feminine voice called from the doorstep alerting Arayah, she walked into the house with a bag of groceries unaware of Arayah presence.

"Calm down it's just my wife" he said with a wide smile standing up to take the groceries from his wife's hands, he hugs her pecking her on the lips before placing the bags on the table.

Dave's wife finally notices Arayah's presence and is curious as to why she was here.

"Who's this beautiful young girl Dave?" She asked with raised brows, she quickly sniffs the air and catches her vampire scent, her eyes flickered a red color, her wolf fighting to come out, her aura intensifying.

Arayah quickly stood to defend herself, hissing loudly, her fangs elongating, she didn't care if she was Dave's wife, her protection instinct kicking in.

"Calm down you two!" Dave yelled his aura threateningly, making his wife back down but Arayah wasn't affected by either his tone or aura.

"Arayah" he warned, making her hiss in return, he heaved a sigh and stared at her. They could feel the fear sipping out of her and so did the wife.

"Arayah, calm down she won't hurt you" he said in a more calmer tone, trying to calm her nerves, he took two steps towards her while staring into her eyes, two more steps and his was an inch away from her, he patted her head softly, muttering reassuring words to her making her calm as her fangs retreated, he pulled her into a warm hug which she reciprocated burying her face into his shirt.

Arayah finally pulls away after a long while with a tight smile on her face as she takes two steps back, away from them.

"Honey this is Arayah," Dave said softly, introducing her to his wife.

"I'm so sorry for the way I acted dear you must have escaped from the war between the vampires and wolves" she said in a soft tone, trailing to where she stood she took her by the hand and walked her to the dinning table making her sit in the chair.

"I know it is hard to trust the kind that ended your family but we promise to protect you no matter what, henceforth you are considered my daughter" she said with teary eyes her lips quivering,taking a huge gulp of air she continued.

"I will always protect you from every harm, you'll consider us your parents and even if you don't we would still protect you for you are like the child we never had" A lone tear fell from her left eyes as she rubbed the back of Arayah's palm.

Dave stood behind his wife rubbing her shoulders to calm her down. He felt her pain from their mate bond and knew how much not being able to mother a child hurt her deeply. He always tried to get her mind off it but it still wandered in that direction and he could only hope that Arayah would not crush the hope she had.

Arayah felt pity for her as she stared at her, she could see and smell the pain seeping through her pores, her words touched her deeply, she felt every word as she spoke, her words sending chills down her spine.

She wondered the type of pain they felt not having a child to call them mother and father, she felt bad for them and wondered why fate always made those with a good heart lack the good things.

Arayah wiped the tears on her face with a reassuring smile. It wouldn't be a bad idea to give them a try, she thought. She decided to trust them and be the child they crave for if not for anything else but as an appreciation of not killing her on sight.

"Of course I'll be the daughter you never had and protect you from every possible harm mum" the word mum felt foreign in her mouth as she hadn't said it in a long while but she knew she would get used to it.

A wide smile spread on the two couples face as Arayah's statement kept replaying in their head, they couldn't believe she would accept to be theirs, they didn't expect it.

"Are you serious?" Dave asked with a wide smile, Arayah nodded her head in response giving a soft smile.

"Lynn we finally have a child of ours" he said in a teary voice kissing her cheeks. His wife is also overjoyed as she pulls Arayah into a huge tear of joy trailing down her eyes.

"Yes we do," she muttered.

"We really do"...

***

Beyond the vistas of the Malraux Wolf Pack hurried footsteps of different pack doctors ran to a particular room with their apparatus. They all had fear in their eyes as they rushed ready to save a life, they walked in on an old man coughing out black blood into a golden bowl with a panicked maid who held the bowl up for him.

"My king!?" One of the doctors exclaims dropping his suitcase on the table.

"What is wrong with you?" He asked in a worried tone.

"And how am I supposed to know!" He boomed, shaking the entire castle.

"Isn't that what you came here for? To find out what's wrong with...." He is cut off from his sentence by an abrupt cough which causes more dark blood to flow out of his mouth.

"What's going on?" The beta walked in dressed in the finest velvet and cotton, a golden crest on his left chest with a sword strapped on his waist.

"Why are you all standing here idol not attending to the king!?" He yelled loudly, fear sipped out of each pack doctor as they hurriedly arranged their apparatus, one of them injects the king with a very strong sedative to knock him out for a week.

They were all scared shitless, they were scared for their life and their king's life.

Different IV's were connected to the king's body as he lay somewhat lifeless on his royal bed; the only sign he was alive was the beeping heart rate machine.

Different tests were conducted on him but they just couldn't figure out the problem, the beta was really getting impatient as the doctors kept stalling the test, saying they hadn't found the problem yet.

"What is wrong with the king!?" The beta bellowed, making all the wolves in the room bow their heads in submission.

But none of them could themselves speak, they knew this was inevitable and nothing could be done about it, it was a natural cause but they feared their head would be served on a silver platter if they spoke.

"I said what's wrong with the king!?" He yelled again.

"The king is dying... He's dying of old age my Lord"