Under the vampire Lord's protection-Chapter 588: Memory pockets

Remus was the first to leap out of the flock and race towards Arabella. Thankfully, he learned his lesson and halted right before collision only to very carefully wrap his hands around her middle.

She just stood there smiling down at him and petting his hair as his cheek remained glued to her stomach.

Silas did not look particularly amused but said and did nothing other than side eye him.

"Shall we go then?" Cynric’s voice made the ground beneath her feet rumble.

First in line, at the center of the wolf people that came along to greet their guests at the border of their territory he was.

"Thank you for receiving us," Persephone gave him a graceful nod.

Silas had made sure to have someone light their way up until that point once out of the carriage, but the torches they all brought helped her gemstones tell the rocks and holes on her path apart better.

It spared her poor ankles a lot of twisting and unnecessary bending.

No one said a thing all the way to the great caverns. Strangely, even Ayyura who had tagged along had ceased with the scathing glares she normally loved to cast in Arabella’s direction.

Well, it was strange until Allegra made her appearance with Cherreka standing by her side. That was when Ayyura went right back to her old habit of scrunching her nose and grinding her teeth.

However, no one paid her silent tantrum much attention as the focus was on Allegra’s outlook.

She donned a magnificent white piece of fabric, wrapped so elegantly around her, much like Cherreka did to cover her own body since her fur no longer guaranteed her full coverage.

Even her long and silky hair turned out stunning with the way half of it was put up while the other half fell on her straight back.

Her eyes were strictly on Persephone, her features refusing to push the smile she so clearly fought to put forth.

The moment was interrupted by Cherreka who went straight to pulling Arabella into a tight embrace.

"It has been a while, hasn’t it?" she cut the thick veil of tension wrapping all of them at once.

"Indeed, it has," Arabella smiled while returning the hug.

"Well, welcome back among us," she cupped the young woman’s cheeks, "Like I said, you will always find a home here,"

"See? I told you she would be back!" Remus leaped in his spot, hands still clutching at Arabella’s gown.

"Yes, you did, darling!" the older woman nodded, "Come now, let us give them a moment to speak then," she extended a hand towards the boy.

Remus pouted, looking between Arabella and Cherreka. Although eventually he relented and followed her.

Allegra guided the guests back throughout the caverns until the very last, rocky pocket. The very same Arabella had been kept in during her first visit. A visit, she did not particularly have fond memories of. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

Many eyes followed them as they moved along which was understandable. Having three vampires ambling their safe space so freely... The weight it must’ve pressed on their chests could not have been light. Especially since two of the vampires were female.

"They sit on rocks, do they?" Persephone found herself the biggest rock and put her weight upon it.

"Some do build beds using the skin and fur of animals they’ve hunted, but most don’t mind hard surfaces," Allegra too found a rock of her own.

"Are you staying in this pocket?" Arabella walked around, fingers grazing those cold and harsh walls, a reminder of once upon a day...

"Yes, the Alpha gave the pack his word that he would keep an eye on me to ensure their safety," Allegra twiddled her fingers on her lap, "I am not complaining though. I am simply grateful he allowed me to stay at all,"

"He’s been very kind," Persephone’s voice filled the cavern, her void-like eyes on the walls.

"He has," Allegra murmured.

Silas’s eyes followed Arabella’s figure as she moved by the walls. The young woman stopped to look back at them from her standing place.

Silence crept in again, with none of them seemingly finding the words to break it once more.

So, Arabella took it upon herself to make her way straight towards Allegra and set a gentle hand on her shoulder.

And after a deep breath, she finally spoke up, "You may start from the beginning,"

Allegra looked up at her, eyes glistening with the many tears she still battled to keep in, but then, her lungs huffed a deep breath of their own, "Right," the red head nodded, slowly turning back to face Persephone and Silas who waited patiently for the words to come.

"Dragomir-," her voice hitched after pronouncing his name, but she quickly cleared her throat to remedy it, "My father approached me during a gathering after an auction ceremony. He did so a few months before the arrival of Lady Arabella," her hand ascended towards the shoulder that Arabella squeezed, "We had spoken many times before that but that was the first time he ever revealed who he truly was to me,"

The vampiress paused as though waiting for someone to say something or ask a question, but no one made a peep.

"He asked for nothing but secrecy at first and I obliged," her eyes started drifting into the far away land of memories, "I thought... I held out hope,"

Of course she would have been hopeful! She had finally found one of her parents and he did not seem particularly repulsed by her. He approached her with the pretense of building a bridge that had long since been ravaged.

"The second and third time he approached me, he was quite sweet," a feeble smile appeared on her, "He even spoke to me about my mother and the kind of person she was, but then...," the smile vanished, "The next time around, he started asking questions about you," her eyes sharpened again, darting between Persephone and Silas, "Mostly questions about your businesses and the kind of people you were behind closed doors,"