3. Speechless

"Thank you for coming."

Everyone who hears the soft voice of a woman with loose brown hair thinks it sounds like a melody. She doesn't forget that she always greets people at the cafe with a friendly smile on her beautiful face.

A woman with her hair in a ponytail asked, "How many humans do you want today?"

The woman with brown hair rolled her eyes. "I am not a psychopath. People will misunderstand what you say." She was just killing time by counting the coins in the cashier's drawer.

"Sorry. Are you mad?"

"No, just annoyed."

The woman with her hair in a ponytail chuckled.

"Arva! Noisy, you know."

Arva pursed her lips. "Don't glare. It's scary, you know!"

Noura rolled her eyes lazily. If she had the power to silence others or if she could deafen her ears so she wouldn't hear the noise. Since she no longer drinks human blood, her ability sense of hearing has decreased. She can no longer hear voices clearly, but if someone speaks loud enough and shouts right next to her, she gets distracted

Say, she is not grateful because she can still hear. If the effects of not drinking human blood left her completely can't hear, she doesn't know what she would do. Maybe she will be forced to drink human blood.

"Thank you for treating me."

The sound made Noura look for the source of the sound. Right in the corner, she saw two human women chatting together. Looks familiar and full of warmth. Noura was stunned. She remembrance being with her twin sister who had passed away. Her gaze was fixed on the two human women whose faces looked similar, maybe sisters.

"Lucia, let's practice using the sword. Remember, you are the princess. Come here, let me teach you."

Noura was silent. When memories with her twin sister flashed through her mind, it was the last day she had spent time with her twin. Unknowingly, a smile appeared on her face.

Her brown irises moved the other way. Right in front of the two human women, there was a mother with her child; they were talking while occasionally laughing. She won't know what they're talking about to make them laugh like that. Noura didn't care. Noura just stared closely at the mother's eyes, which seemed to love her daughter.

Again she remembered her mother, who also left her.

"Don't bother your sister. I don't want to hear any more breaking things in this room."

Noura smiled. It was also the last day. The mother advised her. It had been hundreds of years since her parents and twin sister had left her and her older brother, King Carlen.

"Noura, what do you think?" asked Arva while showing a bag that she wanted to buy on a shopping app.

Noura woke up from her daydream. Why is her life always melancholy like this? It's been hundreds of years, and she still feels sad when she remembers her time with her parents and twin sister.

***

"Three more days of the full moon," Arva said after confirming that Noura had finished receiving the call from her brother. "So, as usual. Tomorrow I won't come to the cafe, let no one will suspect me. Because every full moon I don't come?" Arva whispered.

Noura nodded. The full moon is very valuable to the werewolf clan.

"Why did King Carlen call?" asked Arva. She was curious. Carlen rarely called in the middle of working hours. Usually, he will call when the cafe has closed.

Noura took a deep breath out. "Today, there is a meeting of vampires in the palace hall. The schedule changes the human slaves."

Arva nodded.

Every ten years, the schedule for changing human slaves will be held. Humans who want their blood to be drunk by vampires will come to the palace. They have to pass many tests and health tests. They must not have a disease that could spread to their master.

Humans who worked for vampires as slaves would be freed after ten years, but they couldn't work for vampires again. Humans that have become vampire slaves will not die from having their blood drunk because they are fed nourishing food.

The pay is very high, so many people want to work there. Especially to be a slave to royalty. They can buy a house and a nice car in their first year of work.

"You should come. Respect the others."

"Yes, I have to come, or else I will become the gossip of the citizens." Noura is often in the spotlight. Due to not participating in several events. While she is a princess, one of the successors to the royal throne.

"You are the princess. Of course, all your actions never go unnoticed by them," said Arva.

"Irritating." Noura put her chin on the palm. Lazy to attack her, she is always lazy when it comes to events held by the kingdom.

"Princess Noura, I want to tell you a story."

"What is that?"

"In the past few days, we found a lot of werewolf corpses in the Redwood Forest. We're looking into what caused them to die." Arva stared blankly ahead.

"Werewolf corpse?" Noura was surprised.

Arva nodded slowly. Suddenly Arva smelled fresh blood. Typical vampire. Her gaze turned to the door of the cafe. A handsome blond-haired man was standing there, looking for something.

Noura also smelled an unpleasant smell—human blood. Noura blinked in surprise. “Crown Prince Vander?” She stood up.

"Princess Noura." Vander walked towards Noura.

Arva furrowed her brow.

"What are you doing here? Are you following me?" Noura accuses. Vander liked to follow her and was always curious about what she was doing.

Vander shook his head. Carlen commanded him, but Carlen asked him to keep it a secret.

"No. I had a pretty long break today, and I haven't been here in a while," said Vander.

Noura hesitates at Vander's words.

Vander sat himself down in the empty chair right next to Noura. "Long time no see, Arva."

"Ya, it's been a long time." Arva smiled politely. "Do you still drink human blood?" Arva immediately covered her mouth. Cursed is this mouth that cannot be braked.

Vander laughed, not offended.

"No, he's the same as me, but he still can't control his lust for human blood. That's why I never brought him into the human world." Noura explained.

Arva nodded in understanding.

"I've always been curious. When did you two meet after the second war?" asked Vander questioningly.

"Seven years ago?" Arva answered doubtfully.

"Possible." Noura shrugged her shoulders.

Vander was surprised. It had been a long time since Noura and Arva had met. "Werewolf smell." Vander smelled the intense werewolf scent. Twice more concentrated than Arva's scent. He glanced around the cafe.

Noura was also looking for a werewolf who had this thick scent.

***

"Had reached." Dafa parked the car in the parking lot.

"So fast, less than two hours," said Orlan.

"Isn't the sooner, the better?" Dafa looked at the cafe, which was quite busy.

"You wait here." Orlan got out of the car. Suddenly his body stiffened. He smelled the scent of a vampire and also a very fragrant scent of a mixture of lavender and jasmine.

"Orlan, that's our mate's fragrant scent. It looks like our mate is in the cafe. We found her, we found her! Hurry up, Orlan. Go inside and find her!" Jay cheered. He was happy; finally, they could meet their mate.

"Who are our mates? Human? Or a vampire? The smell of vampires is strong here." Orlan is stricken with anxiety.

"I don't care. Hurry up, find her!" Jay shouted in annoyance.

Dafa frowned. He decided to approach his silent Alpha.

"What happens, Alpha?" Dafa patted Orlan's shoulder lightly.

Orlan woke up from his daydream, and he turned his head. "Mate ...."

Dafa digested his Alpha words. Instantly a smile spread across his face. "Have you found your mate?"

Orlan nodded, but this fragrant scent was mixed with the scent of human blood. Who's the real mate?

"Come on in, Alpha. I'll accompany you." Just as he was about to take a step, the scent of human blood engulfed Dafa's sense of smell. "Are there vampires?" Dafa turned to Orlan.

Orlan shrugged his shoulders. "Come in." Daphne followed behind.

***

"Big brother!" shouted Arva, when a man entered the cafe.

Noura and Vander turned their heads. Their defensive instincts popped up, and they almost let out their fangs. Their eyes bulged when they saw who the werewolf was coming to.

Orlan and Dafa's eyes widened. Very shocked. They had not seen Noura and Vander in a long time; they had frequent encounters with Aaron—King Carlen's bodyguard. Vander is the crown prince of the Hamakua Kingdom; maybe Vander is on business here?

"Sit here," Arva told them to sit down. She dragged an empty chair in the back.

Orlan and Dafa walked towards Arva. Noura and Vander's gazes were still on the two who had just arrived. The two of them sat beside Arva, opposite Noura and Vander.

“Glad to meet you, Princess Noura, Crown Prince Vander.” Dafa greeted them with a friendly smile.

"Nice to meet you too, Alpha Orlan, Beta Dafa." Vander smiled politely.

Noura blinked. It had been a long time since she had seen the two higher-ups of the Redwood Pack. Dafa once picked up Arva, the last time Noura met Dafa was three months ago. “Nice to meet you too, Alpha Orlan, Beta Dafa.” Noura joined the small talk.

Orlan had no intention of speaking. He is not arrogant, but he is like that.

The atmosphere became a bit awkward.

"Oh, Moon Goddess. That's our mate, Orlan! Princess Noura, our mate. The prophecy proved to be true. Oh, our mate is very beautiful, Orlan!" Jay exclaimed excitedly in Orlan's mind.

Orlan stiffened when he learned that the source of this fragrant scent was from princess Noura.

"It's a coincidence, we can meet here." Dafa killed the silence that fell on the five of them.

"Yes. What a coincidence," said Vander.

Dafa turned to his Alpha, who was staring intently at Noura, who was chatting with Arva. Then Dafa looked at Noura. He remembered the witches prophecies, and he looked back at Orlan. Earlier the Alpha said there was a mate here? Could it be that Princess Noura is his Alpha mate?

The five of them discussed many things while waiting for the cafe to close.

Orlan did not focus; his eyes continued to stare at Noura sharply. Noura didn't notice the intense stare he was giving her. The scent of lavender and jasmine made him feel calm and comfortable, and so did Jay. But Orlan still couldn't believe the fate that befell him. How could that be?

"My mate, vampire? How's this? Are you not mistaken, Jay?" Orlan asked the wolf.

"You feel it too. Why ask me? What's wrong if she's a vampire? Realize, Orlan. She's a mate who was destined only for us. Put all your ego aside."

"But Jay-"

"Come on, don't be selfish. We've been waiting for hundreds of years, and once you find it, will you reject it? You want to live without a mate?"

Orlan let out a long breath. He massages the bridge of his nose. Jay is correct, but why does his mate have to be a vampire?

"Okay, I also don't want to be selfish. We have to think about the relationship between the werewolf and vampire clans. Let's think of a way out, how we can meet our mate," said Jay.

"I'll think about it."

Jay smiled happily.

From earlier, Noura felt that someone was staring at her intensely, and her gaze seemed to stab right into her head. She looks around. Vander and Dafa were chatting. Then Orlan closed his eyes. Maybe it's just her feeling.