𝐃𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐔𝐒 ♣🜲
I watched her chest rise and fall, small snores erupting from her throat. She had finally fallen asleep in my arms. She was so distorted and all she did was cry, it made my heart clench to see his hand prints on her skin. Even worse to see what that bastard had caused the love of my life.
I was so stupid. I should have known it was a trap to lure me out of the castle. I should have been smarter, Vandal had always been vengeful but this- this was too far. He had hurt the one I loved, the only one who was not meant to get caught up in all this vengeance and power struggle. His fight was with me but now he had declared his graveyard by coming for her and I will make sure he got what he deserved.
Pushing myself to my feet I leaned down and placed a lingering kiss to her forehead before turning away and strolling out of the room. Quietly I shut the door behind me, careful not to wake her.
"Tell me" I spoke immediately I spotted Ryker. We began our walk down the hallway towards the cells.
"There wasn't much damage done My Lord. The guards have been released from the cells and as for the princess's ladies most of them were unharmed, although--" he paused, making him turn to look at him. Ryker had this disturbed look on his face as he frowned down at the ground before he realised my stare and continued with a straight expression, "Anaise sustained some injuries inflicted by Griffon. She is in the infirmary currently getting her wounds cleaned"
"The elders have requested an audience with you when you're free of course" We stopped in front of the stairs that lead to the torture cell. We began our decent in silence but I could feel Ryker had something to say but he kept it to himself. I preferred the silence, there were so many things running through my mind, like how Vandal knew the exact moment I had left the castle. I intended to dig through the entire ambush and get all the information I needed from him whether he lived or not. I hated this, I hated her being in so much pain because of me. Because I wasn't smart enough to realise the danger. I wasn't a good mate.
"Is.. Is the princess alright? " Ryker asked finally breaking the long silence. His question was a cautious one, he was careful trying to see if it would set me off.
I shut my eyes, willing myself to keep calm for I needed all the rage in the next few minutes for what I was going to be doing. "She is fine Ryker. Terrified but fine" I kept it short and simple, it was important it stayed that way for currently even I was unaware of how she truly was. Before she'd fallen asleep in my arms out of exhaustion she had cried her eyes out, not saying a word she just held onto me and cried. It broke my heart, I didn't want to talk about it because I was a failure. I failed her, everyone. If I could go back and fix it all I would, I would stop it from happening but I couldn't so now I would do what I could; I will make sure the man responsible would suffer dearly for what he did to the love of my life
He would die and the last thing he would see before his death would be my face. Only mine.
"Maximus is in front of my chamber doors correct?"
"Yes" Ryker answered before pushing the metal doors open for me. I walked in, my shoes echoing through the room, the sound bouncing off the walls. It smelt like debris and rotten skin. A single candle was lit, hanging off to the side just illuminating the room enough to see the person who sat in the wooden chair bound by ropes and chains. Half of his face could be seen, the half that wasn't bleeding out. He had his head hung low as drops of blood dribbled down his skin and tainted the tiles.
His body leaned forward, his arms bound behind him with chains laced with wolfsbane. Wolfsbane was illegal in Bludhäven. It was the one thing that could bring all wolves to their knees even I- although it would take a very large amount but I had recovered gallons of the illegal liquid from the Silver Moon pack. Originally I had thought to dispose of it as soon as I learnt of its presence in the castle but now I was thankful I hadn't for it would serve as a very useful tool to teach this bastard a lesson.
His bare chest was littered in cuts and deep gashes, no doubt Maximus' doing. He was good with knives that one, it was a skill that many people feared but I embrace. No one would know from his calm put together exterior that he fancied blades so much. His naked form was almost lifeless, almost. I would enjoy draining the last specs of life out of him. Drawing my chair closer I gestured for Ryker to place all the tools I needed on the ground along with a bucket of wolfsbane- it would be perfect for reigning in and slowly killing his wolf.
Ryker obliged, taking a curt bow and walking out of the room. I turned to my guest, keeping my eyes on him as I grabbed the small dagger and brought it up to his cheek. Digging into the skin I made an upward slit, receiving a loud scream in response as his eyes snapped open.
"Good, you're awake" I wiped off the blood from the blade of the dagger, keeping it in my hand as I watched the blood leak out of his new wound. His ragged breathing and wails filled the room, irritating me to my bone.
It was not often I felt this hungry for blood and I knew if I didn't take him out this way I would go on a rampage and the carnage would be devastating. The darkness was slowly slipping in through the cracks of my rage and she was the only one who could calm me down but I couldn't be near her when I was like this. When the sight of blood brought a sick sense of satisfaction to my dark abyss of a soul and when the sounds of his screams as I began to leisurely cut through all the fingers of his made me satisfied. She couldn't see me like this, for the dark monster that I was. I would have to dispell the rage before I would hurt her but right now I needed it. I welcomed it whole heartedly without any resistance whatsoever.
"You thought yourself such a man. You wanted to defile my mate in my castle Vandal. How stupid of you to think you would succeed and have that which is mine" I growled, cutting through another layer of his flesh.
Blood oozed onto the floor as I proceeded to dip my dagger into the bucket of wolfsbane only enough so the liquid didn't come in contact with my skin. I didn't need her worrying about me. Bringing it up to his chest I made sure a generous amount had coated the blade before I began to draw over his flesh. His guttural scream filled my ears and brought a sinister smile to my lips.
"P-please!! " he yelled out only managing to annoy me further. I dragged the tip of the blade down to his abdomen, ripping his skin open. I could see him begin to loose consciousness. He was dying. It should have happened a lot sooner but he kept trying to shift, to save his flesh from so much pain. It was a reflex but he was only killing himself the more and providing me more time to torture him.
Only a few wolves could attain half of their wolves form but never the full fur. Never could they attain such level of intimacy with their other half for it was never granted onto us. No one except I could do it, but when I did it was too dangerous to sustain because giving way to my primal form opened the gateway for the darkness to seep through and take full control because then I would be but a fragment of a consciousness in my own mind thereby rendering me weak.
I watched on in pure amusement as fur began to rise from the pores of his skin and his ears began to protrude. He began shaking furiously coupled with his ear piercing screams. His nose formed, changing from his flesh to fur and repeating the motion. I knew it was about a matter of time before he would die, his body was already at a loss of what was buckets of blood and now he exerted himself by shifting or at least trying to shift. The wolfsbane served as the icing on the cake, it continued to poison him as well as his other form so the more he tried to shift the more poison he consumes into his body.
His agony and painful screeching was like music to my ears but I knew if he continued it would attract someone down here and that was the last thing I wanted. Deciding to put him out of his misery I clenched the the blade in my hand and got up, walking to the back of where he sat I gripped onto his forehead and placed the blade against his throat.
Leaning down to whisper in his ear I made sure to stress every word "Your lands will be given away and I want you to die knowing you lost. You lost to me. This is what happens when you go after what is mine "
"Oro te anima mea ardet" {I pray your soul burns} with that I pierced through his skin, drawing the blade right through his throat. Steping back I walked in front of him, watching as he chocked on his own blood, it's red liquids splurging everywhere and staining me as well.
He convulsed for a while before finally stilling. The door was pulled open and a voice followed
"She's awake My Lord"
I turned sharply, discarding the dagger to the side and sauntering out of the room. Waiting for me at the entrance was Ryker holding a bucket of water and a cloth. Rinsing my hands I made sure no blood was left on me before drying myself off.
"Take care of the body" Ryker nodded and I made my way up the stairs.
On approaching my doors I yanked at my shirt, taking it off my head. Pulling open the wood doors the sight in front of me had me rushing towards my little one in time to hold onto her before she fell to the side. I completely discarded my bloodied shirt to the side, all my attention fully on the one who was in my hands at the moment. Once my skin came in contact with hers it was like just her scent made me feel a lot lighter, as if the grasp of the darkness that had gripped me so tightly were loose just from being this close to her.
"Are you okay? " I asked softly, trying my best to speak in a low nurturing tone as I cupped her face in my palms. I studied her, checking for any signs that she had been hurt.
She shook her head, her big dark eyes gazing into mine. They glistened with unshed tears of hurt, pain and something else I couldn't understand. She wrapped her hands around me, burying her face into my chest. Her tears began to soak my undershirt but I couldn't care less about the easily replaceable garment, she was the only one I cared about now, she was irreplaceable. I gathered her form in my arms, gently stroking her hair and placing kisses on the crown of her head
"W-where did you go? " her quiet voice came, muffled slightly by my shirt. She pulled back, tears smeared all over her pink flushed cheeks. The sight broke my heart into little pieces.
"It doesn't matter baby. I'm here now, I swear I wont go anywhere again" I promise, using the pad of my thumb to wipe at the tears that stained her sweet cheeks. She looked exhausted, my sweet baby was so scared I could see it in the rings of her dark eyes that she was frightened. She didn't want me leaving out of fear that Vandal would come back. I hated that she was scared, I hated she was in pain. I wanted to go back and kill that bastard all over again.
"Are you hurt? Did h-his men hurt you?" She asker, her voice quiet and small, concern and fear filling her dark orbs.
"I'm fine baby. Nothing happened to me" I reassured her with a bent smile on my face. I hated how worried she was for me when she was the one that had to go through...that. If I had gotten there even a minute later then it would have been a lot worse, he would have penetrated her and taking her by force.
I had no idea how she was able to look at me and still care for a mate who had failed her.
"H-how did you get here so fast? I thought that you would have been hurt o-or captured" her gaze was casted down as her soft broken voice spoke out to me, her fears pouring out like a broken dam and I knew this was all that had gone through the walls of her mind when I wasn't here.
"I know it's stupid, b-but I thought they would hurt you. But you're okay and you came" she sniffles, swiping at her running nose. Goddess she was so perfect "You came and y-you saved me again" a sob escaped her lips and the waterworks began. Her shoulders shook with each sob that escaped her throat.
I wrapped my arms around her shoulders, pulling her closer to my warmth. I held her face to my chest letting her know she could cry and it was alright, conveying all the things I couldn't possibly begin to put into words. I whispered sweet words into her ear while stroking her hair softly.
"I'll always be there love. You'll never be alone, I swear Audrey" I murmured into her hair, planting a kiss to the spot I continued to hold onto her till she was done crying.
She pulled back, her eyes red and swollen, her nose and cheeks flushed with trails of dried tears. Her eyes widened and a small gasp left her lips, her eyes immediately began to dart aimlessly around the room, a panicked expression on her face. "M-my ladies. Are they okay, the elders? " she asked, starting to panick but I was quick enough to grab hold of her face in my hands, making sure she was looking at me.
"Nothing happened" I shook my head to lay emphasis. "They are all okay. Anaise just needed to get a wound cleaned and that's all". I stepped closer to her, placing my calloused palms on her small cheeks, raising her face so I could gaze at the beauty I had fallen so deeply in love with. I was so entranced by her that it was impossible to gaze at another
"Don't worry baby, stop with the tears" I demanded, swiping at the reminant of tears that slicked down her cheeks. Gosh those tears, they were so precious. I watched her eyes drift behind me, fixated on something behind me. Her eyes noticeably largened as fear and worry burned in her dark shards.
She walked forward, passing me and when I turned around to look at what she was about approaching my face fell, knowing exactly what she was about to see.
Hiii piccolas!! ♡
Dropping this before I go back into hibernation>3
Almost done with my exams!
When I'm done I'll update three extra chapter pinky swear!
Thanks so much for the support
Please comment, don't be shy!
I actually just realise this plot has 18 chapters!
Yay!
Dw I'm still going to write a chapter of Darius's origin story after this plot
But the cliff hanger will be a big one so watch out;)
Lots of kisses, hugs xoxo