Chapter 4 - The wolf world.

MAX LIFTED HIS HANDS in surrender and tried his best to talk, but Alaric was furious. Alaric only let go when they were interrupted by a group of people exiting the throne room and he looked confused for a moment. He apologized profusely, saying he had no idea what the hell came over him. He would never tell Max this, but just the thought of someone else touching her drove him mad! He leaned against the wall and slid down onto the ground sighing. What the hell was he going to do?

For years he preached to his people how the blood witches were nothing but blood-hungry monsters who killed and maimed. Now he had one as his mate! There was only one thing he could do. He had to kill her, and fast. He got up and dragged Max along to make sure she didn’t use some kind of magic they didn’t know about, and as he stopped in front of the door, he took a deep breath.

For a blood witch who had been living in the forest and on the run, she sure as hell smelled nice! His wolf howled in his head and he rolled his eyes. Somehow, he knew that killing her wouldn’t be easy. He also promised the council he would bring her to the festival to face trial. He knew that their trial would also end in her death. His only option for now was to reject her. Rejecting her might be a little tougher than he thought, he realized as he opened the door.

THE ROOM WAS DARK WHEN HE WALKED IN, and it took a moment for Alaric’s eyes to adjust and find where they had placed the cage. Normally, he had very good night vision, but his mind was so clouded at the moment that he couldn’t focus properly.

It infuriated him that her mere presence could affect him like this! The young girl was sitting huddled in the middle and she didn’t even look up as the light from the passage spilled over her body. Alaric switched on the light in the room and still she didn’t look up. When she didn’t make a move, he kicked the cage to try and get some kind of reaction out of her, but he instantly felt guilty.

Still, she didn’t move! Was she injured?! He sniffed the air and he couldn’t smell the scent of her blood anywhere. Walking around the cage, he breathed in her scent and felt even more confused. Her scent was so sweet. Like nothing he had ever smelled before. With Max keeping a close eye on him, he leaned forward and looked at her.

“I reject you.” Alaric knew full well that the words he just said weren’t the right words to reject someone, but she wasn’t a wolf, so what did it matter? She didn’t look up or move and he wondered if she had even heard him, but when he twitched his ears just a little, he could hear her slow rhythmic breathing. She was a feisty one, which instantly stirred his hormones as he got up and turned to look at Max, who just shrugged.

Thinking it was over, they left the room, but as Alaric closed the door she looked up and he felt a shock run through his entire body at the sight of her incredibly sad eyes. She really was his mate and his silly attempt at rejecting her hadn’t worked! There was also something else in those eyes. Something that affected him so profoundly, it felt like a stab right to his heart. Her sad eyes were filled with hatred for him.

LENA HAD NO IDEA HOW LONG SHE HAD BEEN LOOKING AT THE DOOR when it suddenly opened again. A young girl checked around the door and Lena could almost swear the girl had sneaked in. The girl looked at Lena and pressed her tiny finger against her lips to show Lena not to say anything as she moved closer, carefully studying her.

She walked around the cage and Lena could tell that she was looking for something. Tilting her head to one side, the girl found the lock and sighed. Who was this girl and why was she there? As if the girl could read her thoughts, she whispered that she was the man called Alaric’s little sister.

The girl introduced herself as Rebecca, and she didn’t seem scared of Lena at all. She didn’t seem angry or any of the other emotions Lena had seen from the beasts over the years. In fact, she almost seemed happy to have met her. She explained that she knew Lena and Alaric were mates, and Lena quickly figured out that the Alaric the girl was referring to was in fact the king of the werewolves, which made Rebecca a princess.

Lena introduced herself and asked Rebecca what she was doing there, but before Rebecca could answer, the door was flung open and her brother stood there glaring furiously. Rebecca protested as her brother dragged her out and, as if he was trying to punish Lena, he returned and turned off the light as if to punish Lena for his own little sister’s actions.

“WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU DOING IN THERE?!” Alaric demanded as he gripped his little sister by the arm and led her back to the throne room. The second he realized his little sister wasn’t celebrating with them, he just knew where she was. She had the uncanny ability of knowing everything she wasn’t supposed to, and his fears were confirmed the moment she crossed her arms over her chest and smiled at him.

“She’s your mate, isn’t she?” Rebecca challenged him and he pulled her aside where people couldn’t hear their conversation as he tried his best to silence her. “You can’t kill her, Alaric.” She glared at him. She was the only wolf who would dare interrupt him and he was yet again reminded of her incredible abilities. He sighed and sat down, taking a long sip of his beer.

“I may have no other choice.” He shrugged. His little sister lived in a magical world where everybody got along. Alaric made sure of it the day their parents died. She only knew that the blood witches killed them, but she didn’t know any of the other details. Or so he hoped. Her eyes turned sad for a moment, but then a spark lit in them again. Sadly, she didn’t tell him what she was planning, and at the moment, he was just too tired to find out.

It had been a long and arduous war. He wanted to just take this moment and breathe and he watched as Rebecca disappeared into the crowd. Alaric mind linked Max to make sure that his little sister didn’t go anywhere near their prisoner again and his friend smiled at him from across the room.

IN THE DARKNESS, Lena’s mind played the movie that was her life over and over. If only her people fought! She felt a single tear run down her cheek. Her people should have stood and fought on that very first day and they might have won. She could have been standing in the square of her old village celebrating with her parents. Feeling the heavy iron cuffs cutting into her wrists, she tried to find a more comfortable position and eventually she fell asleep.

Lena was woken by cold water hitting her body and when she opened her eyes, she looked at a couple of men from before. She had no idea how long she had been out or what day it was. Not that it mattered anymore. She knew they would eventually kill her. Over the next couple of days, she figured out that each time she was woken with a bucket of ice water it was morning.

Nobody talked to her, but they talked about her, and they weren’t shy about openly saying what was going to happen to her. She was going to be dragged out for the entire supernatural world to see and then they were going to take her life. She knew they wouldn’t even give her the chance to try and defend herself. Oh, no, not those cowards! She would be surprised if they even told her why she was being put to death! These people were animals and she would hate them for the rest of her life!

The morning before the festival, her cage was taken outside and they all laughed as she was hosed down. She could hear the girls snickering as they huddled together and she wondered what they would think if they knew their precious king was meant to love her!

But she wouldn’t give any of them the satisfaction of saying anything. She wouldn’t show them that the water was freezing or that the wounds on her wrists were so bad she could no longer use her fingers for magic, even if she wanted to. She wouldn’t give them anything!