''Val!'' Halle''s voice echoed through the castle as she searched for the prince, ''where is that blood sucker'' she mumbled as she opened yet another door to a disused room that was covered in cobwebs and dust. ''I swear I''m going to kill you if you don''t get here now!'' she yelled at the empty space around her. ''You can''t kill someone who doesn''t have a pulse Halle'' came Vance''s taunting voice.


    ''I can if I rip your head off'' Halle replied, growling loudly.


    ''Boo!'' Vance shouted as he jumped out at the teen causing her to scream loudly.


    ''****t! I nearly had a heart attack'' she groaned as she smacked his arm.


    Since their talk, the pair had been spending more time together and over the next few days had be good friends, realising that Halle had a particr love for practical jokes after she swapped out his evening drink of blood with ketchup, he had taken to messing with the teen at every opportunity.


    ''Did I hear you call me a blood sucker?'' Vance asked arching his eyebrow,


    Feigning surprise Halle replied, ''of course not Val! When would I ever call you such a thing?.. maybe a no good, arrogant leech, but never a blood sucker'' she added with a smirk before taking to her heels as Vance growled at her and gave chase. ''I''ll get you for that Miss Halle'' he yelled as sheughed, running bare foot across the gstones into the kitchen and taking refuge behind Carter who was in the midst of preparing that evening''s dinner.


    ''Your Highnesses'' Carter moaned as he desperately tried to keep hold of the bowl he was mixing as the two dodged around him, Halle trying to stay out of Vance''s grasp. ''Please! His Majesty will be most displeased if I do not get his food ready on time.


    ''Sorry Carter'' Vance replied, stepping back so that the flushed teenager could step out safely. Since his talk with Halle, Vance had been trying to treat the staff better, talking to each person and thanking them when they did something for him. Though shocked, the servers had soon epted this new master and as such the castle was not quite so full of fear.


    Plonking herself down on one of the stools, Halle looked round, ''where''s Iris?'' she asked, surprised that the young woman was absent.


    ''His majesty has sent her on an errand your Highness, she has been taken by the guards and will be back shortly, if you need anything I can serve you until she returns'' Carter said evasively.


    ''Carter'' Halle said, fixing him with a steely gaze, ''are you keeping something from me?''


    Looking away Carter coughed, ''of course not your Highness, a good server never keeps secrets from thedy of the house.'' he replied keeping his eyes averted.


    ''Hmmf, you are so full of it'' Halle scoffed as Vance smirked, turning on him she demanded, ''do you know what is going on?''


    His cheeks colouring slightly, Vance immediately copied the werewolf, looking anywhere but at Halle, ''no idea'' he replied, shifting from foot to foot ufortably.


    ''Ugh, you two are so annoying! Carter! You are supposed to team up with me! Werewolves stick together you traitor'' she huffed as the pair started tough at her grumpy face.


    ''So what you making today Carter?'' Halle asked peeking over the edge of the counter into the bowl.


    ''Stew and home made dumplings today your Highness, it''s a bit nippy outside so a nice warm dinner will keep you toasty'' Carter replied with a smile.


    ''yum!'' Halle moaned, ''you do spoil me'' she added with a grin.


    ''Anything to see that smile your Highness'' Carter replied fondly as he ced the bowl on the ind and started to form small dumpling balls with the mixture.


    ''You old sweet talker'' Halleughed as Carter pouted,


    ''Less of the old! I''ll have you know that I was a bit of a looker in my youth your Highness'' the server grumped as Vance and Halle giggled.


    Sitting at the ind, the pair chatted away with Carter as he cooked, dipping their fingers in the mixture of the cheesecake he was making for dessert whilst the older werewolf kept trying to bat their hands away with his mixing spoon.


    The door to the kitchen suddenly opened and Iris stepped inside raising her eyebrows to Vance who quickly grabbed Halle''s hand and pulled her up from her seat, ''C''mon! Lets go see what movies we have in the cinema room'' he urged as Halle gave him a suspicious look.


    ''But I was helping Carter'' she huffed as she was dragged toward the door.


    ''Eating the cheesecake batter is not helping your Highness'' Carter called after her in amusement as she disappeared around the door. Thundering their way upstairs, Vance dragged the teenager along behind him excitedly, rushing past various rooms before they skidded to a stop in front of the cinema room. Pushing the door open, he led her to the front row of seats, pushing her in front of him before making his way over to the DVD yer and rifling through the films, calling over his shoulder, ''sit in the middle Halle! I''ll find us something actiony to watch.


    Shaking her head, Halle made her way along the row of seats, stopping short as she saw a big box ced on her seat.


    ''Val? there''s a box here'' she called out confused.


    ''Oh, what''s in it?'' Val called back, his head still in therge cupboard rummaging through the titles.


    Making her way over, she lifted the lid and gasped, inside were three pairs of denim jeans, in blue, ck and a dusky pink and some co-ordinating tops.


    ''Like them?'' Vance asked, suddenly behind her, making her jump.


    ''Where did you get these?'' she demanded, trying to stop herself from crying at his kind gesture.


    Shrugging, his eyes averted with embarrassment, Vance mumbled, ''you said you wanted jeans, so I got Iris to go and get you some from a nearby town, I knew she would know your size and she has pretty good taste so two of the guards called in some of our people and took her there this morning''.


    Grinning broadly, Halle flung her hands around the flustered Vampire and gave him a kiss on his cheek, ''Thank you! This is possibly the best present I have ever received, I need to go change!'' she added racing back along the row and up to the door. ''What about the film?'' Vance called after her,


    ''Pick something! I''ll be back in five minutes!'' she replied as she skipped out of the door and toward the stairs leading to her bedroom.


    ***********


    ''This is useless'' Jason moaned as they back tracked from yet another dead end.


    ''If you think you can do better, by all means take over'' Vaya growled at the future Alpha.


    ''Don''t do it mate'' Daniel muttered, ''act like an opossum and y dead quickly before she goes for the throat.


    Backing up slowly, Jason kept a wary eye on the agitated she wolf until she returned her gaze to the ground. ''You are doing fine babe, keep trying'' Daniel urged, trying to calm the angry dryad hybrid down.


    ''No I am not'' Vaya grumped, kicking at a tree root as if it had done her a personal injustice, ''I have never taken this long to track something, ever!'' she sighed.


    ''Babe, these Vamps have been here for god knows how many centuries, they are going to have tracks all over this forest, one of the paths will be the right one, you just got to keep following your instincts. Daniel soothed, pulling her into a hug, feeling her tight muscles rx within his embrace.


    ''Maybe we should take a break'' Justin suggested as other warriors nodded and they all made themselvesfortable on the ground, pulling out drinks and food.


    Taking the bottle of water from Daniel''s outstretched hand, Vaya twisted off the cap and took a sip, her face dejected as she ignored the banter of the warriors around her.


    ''Hey, cheer up babe'' Daniel whispered, putting his arm protectively around his mate''s shoulders.


    ''I feel like such a damn failure'' Vaya muttered, ''tracking is what I do best and I can''t even find a damn centuries old castle in a forest!'' she groaned cing her head in her hands. Giving her a sandwich, Daniel urged her to eat, watching as she took a few small bites before handing it back, her face slightly green.


    ''You OK babe?'' Daniel asked worried.


    ''Yeah I''m fine'' Vaya replied, hitching a smile on her face, ''I think I''m just a bit dehydrated, I haven''t drank a lot since we left the cars'' she admitted.


    Pushing the bottle toward her, Daniel watched as she took some big gulps, her face returning to its normal colour, not removing his eyes until the bottle was drained. ''Don''t get sick on me baby, I can''t cope on my own'' he teased as Vayaughed.


    ''Well I know that''s the truth, you''d be curled up in a heap crying without me here to protect you.'' she giggled.


    ''You got that right my little mate'' Daniel replied smiling, pulling her in so that he could ce a soft kiss on her temple before letting her go so he could finish his meal.