Alpha Charming | Rheon

TWENTY-TWO

"How..." I swallowed as fear left me paralyzed, "How did you get here? What have you done to Edda?"

Lucine pursed her lips and strolled leisurely along the edge of the fountain, running her fingers over the concrete surface. Her eyes unsettled me; they were nothing but endless pools of darkness burning into my soul.

"Edda?" She tapped her chin sagely, "Oh, the little housekeeper? She died years ago - I've just been wearing her skin to keep an eye on the Balfours." She smirked. "And by Balfours, I mean Rheon. Lovely moment you had back there. Tell me, do his claws still come out when things get heated?"

'Don't answer that,' I said to myself. 'She's trying to get under your skin. Don't let her.'

Despite the fear she sparked within me, I tilted my chin up and looked her dead in the eyes. "If you're here for Rheon then you're too late. I've accepted the mark, you've lost."

"I've lost my interest in you, and that is very dangerous."

My feet were rooted in one place as she advanced towards me. Only when I attempted to back up, did I realize that my feet could literally not move. Lifting the hem of the dress, my stomach turned as I saw dark red tendrils of smoke slither up my legs, binding me in one place.

Lucine took pleasure in the terror on my face as she made the smoke curl around my waist, leaving no room for me to escape. "This is what's going to happen; I can't have you breaking the curse and ruining something I've been looking forward to for ten years. So, you're coming with me and we're going to have some fun."

"Rheon will find me," I seethed at her.

"Rheon doesn't have a sense of smell, and even if he did, he won't be able to track you down."

My hope faltered but I realized I had to play for time until he came back. If only I could scream for help - one of the wolves are bound to hear me. However, Lucine would kill me before I could even mutter a peep.

Just as I thought all hope was lost, a deep, throaty growl sounded behind me.

Out of the blue, a dark wolf emanated from the hedge, placing itself between me and Lucine. My body went cold with dread when I recognized its smaller shape - Clemmy. She snarled at Lucine, the fur on her neck bristling as she curled her lip back to display her fangs.

"If it isn't the youngest Balfour, still in the prime of her youth," Lucine said mockingly. "Might as well bring you along for my brother to play with."

With a single look from the half-witch, Clemmy burst out wailing in pain and dropped to the ground. I watched in horror as she writhed around, trying to cover her head with her paws to get rid of any form of torture Lucine was using on her.

"Stop it!" I thrashed against the tendrils of smoke around my arms and legs, trying desperately to break free. "Let her go! You have me so let her go!"

"Sorry." Lucine pouted. "The more the merrier. I really do hope Rheon manages to find you before it's too late. It'd be a pity if he loses both his sister and mate in one evening."

With an airy wave of her hand, the red smoke slithered upwards and consumed me whole.

Darkness.

That's all I knew while I was bound to a chair, invisible binds keeping my wrists strapped to the armrests. My feet couldn't move either, although I had no idea what was keeping them contained. The chair didn't even budge as I thrashed around, and the sickening realization dawned on me that I'm trapped with no way to escape - not blindly anyways.