The Alpha's Protector

Sixteen

"Leona, you need to eat."

It had been a day or so since I came back to the castle, and I still hadn't been able to call my family. I wanted to say goodbye, but it seemed I was numb now. I stayed awake for hours upon end, never ate or drank, and barely spoke with anyone. I tried to mindlink Tyler again, but it was like I had an involuntary block on my head.

"I'm fine thank you, I don't need to eat." Damon growled at me again, slamming a plate down on the table. I wasn't exactly sure why he was so worried about me eating, I'm dying in literally three days.

Three days, fourteen hours, and 27 minutes.

I felt emotionless, and I felt bad for feeling emotionless. I just felt like I should feel something, but I didn't. And maybe that is worse than guilt.

"Leona, I set up the laptop." I looked up to my father, sending him a small smile. It seems like that was all I could muster.

I followed him into the library, the MacBook sitting in front of me. I looked at myself in the mirror, my face sunken in and pale. My hair was pushed back, my eyes lost the shimmer they once had.

I watched it connect to reveal Queen Ashe, her eyes widening as she saw me. "Lena-," she began sobbing on the screen, my eyes watering at I took her in.

"Hi mom." She began sobbing even harder as I called her that, her hands pushing her red hair away from her wet face.

"Lena, what's going on?" I smiled, taking a deep breath before I spoke.

"I'm dying in two days, please, do me a favor." She stared at me in shock, her eyes wide and her face paling.

"No, you can't die in two days!"

"Please mom, make Tyler mate with someone besides me. I need him to live." She shook her head as she pushed away from the desk, leaving the frame of the camera.

She returned wit Xander, his eyes red rimmed as he clutched onto Ashe. "Hi dad."

He shut his eyes, leaning onto Ashe. "Please, come home Lena."

I shook my head, wiping away at the stray tears on my cheeks. "It isn't that simple. I either die, or I rule there kingdo-"

"Then rule their kingdom! You don't have to die!" Ashe shouted, leaning forward.

"I messed up, I did something bad." I pressed my lips together to repress a sob from leaving me.

"There isn't a thing you could have done to deserve deaths!" I looked back to Xander, his eyes shining with pain.

"My blood lust, ruined me. I slaughtered an entire pack without even knowing it. I blacked out, and killed them, drained them of their blood." Ashe and Xander sat in silence, my eyes downcast as I cried. I squeezed my eyes shut, reaching up to exit the camera. "I'm sorry."

"Wait!" I looked to Ashe, her eyes boring into me.

"Please, say something to Ethan, to Tyler. They've been a mess since they saw you last. Tyler can't sleep, Ethan blames himself, please let me go get them." I shook my head, wiping at my cheeks again.

"They shouldn't see me like this." Ashe got off Xander's lap, leaving me to stare at him.

"King Xander-"

"You can still call me dad. Just because you did something you couldn't control, doesn't mean you're still not my daughter." I rested my head on the desk as I sobbed, their eyes flashing through me again. I felt my heart ripping in two, all I could see was their blood.

"Lena." Someone breathed out, my head pulling up reluctantly from the table.

Ethan and Tyler looked a mess. Their hair was greasy, and they looked pale and sunken in.

Just like me.

"Hi." I gave him a smile, a wave of relaxation washing over him. I looked back to his parents, rolling my lip between my teeth. "I see they didn't tell you."

Tyler furrowed his eyebrows, inching closer to the camera. "Tell me what?"

"Go get something to eat, and go shower. Both of you, I'll still be here."

"Bu-"

I shook my head, settling back into my seat as I grabbed a book. "No buts, shower, eat, then we talk."

They both nodded as they stood up, walking different ways. I smiled back at Ashes blinding smile and Xander's somber one, their pity shining through even the computer webcam. I settled back and opened my book, smiling at my choice.

Wüthering Heights.

I was halfway through before I heard shuffling in the speakers again, looking up to find a shirtless Tyler eating an apple. I cocked my eyebrow, even him seeing me made him look more alive.

"I guess I can talk to you partially since Ethan isn't back yet. Shouldn't you go get more food that that?" He rolled his eyes, walking in the direction of the kitchen.

He finally came back with three sandwiches and two bags of chips. He gave me a look, as if to say 'happy?' And I was.

"Eat." I waited till he finished his second sandwich, my eyes taking him in. I tried to memorize every line on his face, every contour of his body. Which really was hard, especially with how shitty this camera was.

"Okay, I need you to mark someone new, and fall in love with someone new." He stopped mid bite, his eyebrows furrowing as he looked at me.

"What?"

I sighed, shutting my eyes as I tried to hold in my tears. It seems like that's all I've been doing lately, crying and swimming in my own pool of guilt.

"They're killing me in three days."

"What!?" He roared, slamming closer to the camera. I saw the pain in his eyes, the tears falling down them.

"I'm sorry, I did something bad during my blood lust." He looked at me, his jaw clenched.

"There isn't anything you could have done to deserve death."

"I slaughtered an entire pack Tyler! Woman, children, the elderly, I killed them all and bathed in their fucking blood!" He looked dead, his mouth hanging agape as he stared at me. He slowly shook his head, shutting his eyes.

"You couldn't have done that, your aren't a-"

"Aren't what? A monster? Because I am Tyler! I am a monster, and I deserve everything!" A son broke through my lips, my hands covering my face. He was silent, not uttering a word to me. "Say something Tyler."

"I, I don't know what to say." I breathed out a shuddering breath, my fists clenching on my lap.

"That's more than enough. Tell Ethan I'm sorry."

"Lena I-" I shut the laptop, picking it up and throwing it against the wall. I screamed, crumpling onto the floor in a sobbing mess.

I felt the one still within me, tearing and falling apart. It seemed no matter how much I clawed at my chest, I couldn't rip it out of me. No matter how much I cried, this damn bond was still inside of me. Tormenting me, mocking me, saying that he doesn't love me by choice.

The bond is forcing him.

I climbed my way to my bed, laying down with silence surrounding me. I'm sure everyone heard my cries, my screams, the way I sobbed his name. It was pathetic, but I was pathetic.

I decided, I was going to leave.

I was going to be the monster that I knew I was, and I was going to kill everyone.

Everyone except him.