Guards lead us down marble stairs and down a hallway until we hit the banquet room. I pushed aside the memories of Jackson's impersonation and focused on my main target- Axel.
My fists balled at my sides as Axel rose from his table end and pulled a chair out. The same chair I had sat in the last time I had stayed here; I slightly shook my head and sat down in the plush dinning room chair.
Axel nestled down in a chair to my left while Winston and Jameson sat across from me. Axel sat at the end of the table with me at his right hand, the original royal sitting arrangement.
I cleared my throat and broke the silence. "I will ask politely only once, Axel." I warned him before continuing. "Free Chester and Penny."
Axel raised his eyebrows as his eyes scanned down my dress, which surprisingly covered my skin completely.
"Is this the only reason why my Queen has returned to her castle?" Axel inquired.
"Yes Axel, I'm only here for Chester and Penny." I stated.
Axel sighed and nodded, he motioned for the servants to place our platters in front of us. Once the servant lifted the cover of my platter, surprisingly a fresh piece of meat laid on the white porcelain plate. The steak has replaced the salad Axel had given me for dinner my last day here.
"Eat, you'll enjoy it this time." He muttered as he neatly sliced his steak into bites.
I picked up up my fork and pressed down on the steak, a crimson juice leaked out and surrounded the piece of meat. Images of Jackson's blood flashed across my eyes, my hands began to shake causing me to drop my fork.
Winston met eyes with me and noticed the trauma engraved in my eyes. I glanced down at my hands to see a strange red liquid beginning to drench them. I stared at the them in horror as the sticky liquid soaked between the cracks in my skin.
Axel glanced over at me and scowled at me wondering why the hell I was staring down at my hands. I suddenly jolted up from my seat and began to see a crimson puddle seeping out from underneath the table. The blood kissed the toes of my flats causing me to recoil quickly back.
"What the hell is wrong with you, mi pájaro?" Axel inquired as he gazed into my wild eyes.
Curious to why blood leaked out from beneath the table, I bent down on my knees and gazed straight into glossed over white eyes. A scream erupted out of me as Jackson's dead body was bestowed in front of my eyes.
His broken porcelain body laid stiffly under the table on the marble floor. Blood dripped down his awkwardly bent neck onto the floor causing the puddle of blood. Jackson's icy cold stare twisted my stomach into a knot as I was wrenched from my knees. Axel held me at arms length, holding up my melting body.
Tears stung my eyes and guilt stirred in my stomach. The murdering of a man has settled in my head and began to play tricks on my mind.
"What happened to you out there?" He asked sternly, barely making it sound like a question.
I opened my mouth however no words fumbled out, my throat swelled up as I shifted my eyes to my hands. The once sticky, red liquid had dissipated from my hands and my pale skin had replaced it.
"I-I killed a- man." I stuttered trying to get a grip on reality.
Axel sighed and pushed me back down into my chair before sitting down. He removed my platter from my view and placed it on his empty one.
"Who was he?" Axel questioned blankly.
"My mate's brother, Jackson."
"What makes him so special as to be your first kill as my Queen?"
I glared over at him. "The man killed his brother- my mate!" I leered with hatred for Jackson.
"And yet you still feel guilt for killing such a man?" Axel raised an eyebrow.
I closed my mouth and stood up again from my seat. Winston' face softened towards me as if he pitied me. A smirk crossed Jameson's lips glad that Jackson finally paid the price for murdering his own brother.
I stood up from my seat and glowered at Axel. "Where is Chester and Penny?" I gritted my teeth as I asked.
Axel reached for his wine and grasped it in his right hand. He took a few drinks before placing the quarter full glass back down.
"Open your eyes and maybe you'd notice them, sometimes I swear mi pájaro is blind when worms are dangling right in her face." He uttered as he watched my eyes move from his.
A waiter poured Winston more wine with his head down in respect, he avoided eye contact with the castle guests.
"Chester?" I wondered breathless.
He lifted his head and stared straight into my irises. His eyebrows pinched together in confusion.
"What's your name madam?" Chester inquired.
I ambled around the table, but Axel caught my arm and stood up beside me. He held me back from getting any closer to my childhood friend.
"You know me Chester, Phoenix Willings, the girl who used to tie your rollerblade laces and taught you how to swing." I told him, hoping this was all a dream.
"I don't remember you Lady Phoenix, but I must get back to my work." He stated as he finished pouring the wine then sauntered into the kitchen. My eyes widened as I watched him leave the room, Winston balled his fists however remained silent.
"What did you do to him! You bastard!" I turned to Axel and bellowed.
He leaned down and his lips caressed my ear as he spoke. "Turns out when the brain started to lose blood, the unnecessary information flies the coop. After all the only necessity is oxygen and blood flow at that point."
My eyes widened in horror, I planted my hands firmly on his chest and shoved him away. "You sick bastard! He was the only friend I had in this damned world before the werewolves torn it to shreds!"
"Phoenix calm down, maybe we should focus on the more important matter. Like how to exactly restore their memories back, if Chester has forgotten then he's done the same to my Penny." Winston spoke up.
I clenched my jaw and grasped a knife off of his steak plate. Everyone knew of my usefulness of knifes, I've stabbed Jackson quite a few times before....- the scene of the butcher's knife striking his neck flashed across my eyes. My hand shook as I dug my nails into the handle of the knife.
Axel straightened out his shoulders and smiled at me. "I'm your friend and soon to be dear husband now, Chester is your past. You've evolved since then, you have become stronger and less naive."
I felt the warmth of blood splatter my face however it was Jackson's blood. The memory felt so real, my face felt as if it was spotted in his warm blood. My hand released the knife and it clattered back down on the porcelain plate.
"There, calm down my Queen." Axel neared me however I glowered at him.
"Is there anyway to reverse the damaged memories?" I spoke through gritted teeth.
Axel shrugged. "Honestly it wasn't planned, it was the highlight of their torture after all it ended once they forgot all about you. Everyone who loves mi pájaro is dead you only have my love to accept." He smirked as he planted a hand on my shoulder and dug his nails in.
Jameson stood up abruptly knocking his chair on the ground. "Look asshole, we're still here so I suggest you release my Luna and friend and tell us how to restore the memories."
Axel's gaze slide over to Jameson. "The infamous betrayer of both packs finally decides to speak up. You never did choose a side now did you? You couldn't pick between the brothers until....-" Axel drawled as he toyed with Jameson. "...Oh yeah until you met Mi pájaro which brought you over to Xidan's side."
I shoved Axel's arm off of me and shrugged back at him. "So what, in the end Jameson chose the more moral side of the family. Besides this has nothing to do with Chester and Penny." I snapped. "Fix our friends otherwise you'll end up like Jackson, a butcher's knife to the throat." It took all my strength to threaten him with the same tactic that still haunted me. I couldn't kill again, the thought of the site of blood made my stomach curl.
Axel smirked. "I'm not afraid of my Queen, she will not undermine me."
I sucked in a deep breath and broke our stares. "Fix them!" I snapped.
Axel slid the knife in his hand and flicked the knife towards Jameson. He couldn't dodge it and it implanted itself in his thigh, he grunted out as his right hand yanked the blade out.
"You asshole!" Jameson leered at him. The kitchen knife clattered to the floor with blood splattering the marble.
Axel smiled at Jameson as Jackson flashed across my eyes once again, my vision wavered as my hands began to sweat. Blood gushed down Jameson's jeans, soaking into the thick dark blue material.
"You helped bring back her hallucinations." Axel said as he looked to Jameson's blood on the marble floor. "She'll quit with this Chester nonsense now, guards retire Winston and Jameson to a cell." Axel ordered a guard.
"No!" I snapped out of it and grabbed a knife off of Winston's steak plate. With gritted teeth I suppressed Jackson's white, glossed over dead eyes within my head and thrusted the knife into Axel's collarbone.
He yelled out and wrenched my hand off the knife before I had the chance to twist it. "Y-you....- after I'm willing to share my whole world with you?!"
I glared at him and watched him quickly yank the knife out. "You will pay Mi Pájaro for betraying me for these rogues."
He finally snapped and lurched out and grabbed my neck. Winston ran towards us however Axel shoved him down to the ground, with one blow of his left arm.
My eyes widened as he lifted me off of my feet and dangled me in from of him. I clawed his hands however he seemed unfazed.
"Suicide is one thing, but to directly stab me." He shouted at me, gazing at me like a sadistic woman.
"G-go...- ahead." I urged him on with my last breaths in my lungs. I wasn't afraid of death, death would give me peace even though I haven't completed my mission to cleanse my life of werewolves. Even with my break down in the closet....-
He released me causing my body to crash to the marble like Jell-o. I sucked in gulps of air, my aspirated lungs ate up the oxygen as I patted.
"I won't kill you Mi Pájaro, I'd rather watch you wallow in agony." He smirked as he gazed into my hatred filled eyes. "I'll kill everyone you've ever loved, watch me woman, I'll make sure you don't get anymore reprieves in life."