It's a day late, but it is still a new chapter!!!! I hope you enjoy it. - Megan
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{UNEDITED}
Esla struggled to release her bound hands from the hook hanging above her head in the car, wanting to run back to Axel’s injured body. Seeing him weak, and lying flat out on his back completely vulnerable.
She watched as the King’s Beta leant down to Axel crumpled body, grabbing his underarms and began to drag him into the forest away from her. Having no idea what he was doing, she increased her struggling, smashing her body against the car door, desperate to get to Axel.
Esla felt herself slump forward after a few minutes, her entire body tired and sore. Closing her eyes, Esla began to feel the overflow of emotions filter through her body. Fear, fatigue, panic and worry washed through her and she fought to keep breathing.
Just as the emotions began to be too much, Esla felt a surge of warmth enter her heart, right before a deep and beautiful voice entered her head.
Breathe, love.
Esla felt hypnotized by the voice, and took a giant breath, feeling her lungs expand and her eyes cleared.
Wh-who are you? How’d you know I needed help?
We will meet soon enough, and you will be MINE.
With a shiver, Esla realized that she must be talking with the King Alpha’s wolf, meaning she really was his mate. She never thought that this brutal beast of a man could possess such a calming voice, one that made her heart race and her body tingle with the sensations left from his words.
I must go. My human wants to change back.
Esla heart picked up again and she felt a sudden sense of loss at the idea of his wolf leaving her.
Please. Don’t go.
I won’t be far; I will never leave you.
Feeling comforted, Esla felt his presence slip from her mind, and she felt her own mind slip into unconsciousness.
Axel’s entire body was engulfed in a painful burning sensation.
He felt trapped, and his mind struggled to escape his dying body. It was too late for him to survive, and even if he did he would be weak and on bed rest for months.
His mind suddenly wandered to Esla and how she had struggled against her captors to get to his side. Feeling a sudden boost of energy, Axel’s eyes snapped open and made contact with one of the few men he loathed.
His Beta.
“Don’t glare at me, I’m trying to help you, as per my Queen Luna’s demands.” His voice was void of emotion until he spoke of Esla, where it then became coated in awe and reverence to her.
Axel’s tight control over his wolf snapped, and in a flash Axel was sitting up and snarling in the face of the startled and wary Beta.
“Do not call her that. You are sending her to her death when you place that title upon her shoulders.”
The Beta’s face went from worrisome to triumphant when he heard Axel’s empty threat.
“She willingly gave herself up to my Alpha. If it is some form of a consolation for you, she did it to save your life, which I am attempting to do for her now.”
Axel’s face was wiped of emotion as he realized that the woman he loved gave herself up to save his life. Releasing a dejected and half-hearted snarl he allowed his body to slump into the Beta’s arms.
“For her, only for her.” Were his final words before he was dragged further into the forest and away from his one love.
Esla had no idea where she was when she finally woke, but the one thing she noticed was the fact that her body was stretched out across a vehicles seat.
Her attempt to sit up caused her to flip over and fall on her face, her shoulders protesting as they were jerked up and away from her body. Looking up groggily, Esla took in the fact that her silver handcuffs were attached to an overhanging loop, destroying any chance of escape.
Groaning loudly, Esla felt her shoulders begin to throb into a harsh and painful tempo. Lifting her head towards the front she pulled herself up, tears streaming as her body protested the pressure.
The Beta’s head whipped around and she watched as his eyes widened. Slamming the car to a stop, he jumped out and swung open the back door.
Esla couldn’t contain her shriek of pain as her body dropped even lower, stretching her arms higher behind her back. Brian, the Beta, quickly grasped her behind the shoulders and hoisted her up onto the seat.
“Oh god, oh god, oh god. Queen Luna? Queen Luna, please say something.” Brian was panicking at the thought that she was seriously injured. Also the idea that the King Alpha was going to kill him if she was so much as over tired.
“My-my shoulders hurt so bad, please, do something.” Esla cried, feeling pain ripple up and down her now unclenched back.
“Shit, shit okay. I’m going to inject you with a drug that’s going to knock you out cold.” Brian whipped out the hidden needle, grimacing as he pulled her sore arm towards him. Plunging the tip into her skin, he felt her body slump, an immediate reaction to the drugs circulating through her bloodstream.
Sighing in relief, Esla eyes fluttered close. “Thank you.” She whispered before allowing herself to succumb to the darkness flickering on the corner of her mind.
Esla was becoming increasingly annoyed at the fact that she had to continue muddling her way out of a drugged haze. Forcing herself to sit up, she first took note of the fact that her bindings were gone and her shoulders felt better than they’ve felt in the past year.
The next thing she noticed was that she was not in a vehicle anymore. She was, in fact, on a bed in a very spacious room.
Standing up on her wobbly legs, Esla used the King-sized bed to support her as she then began to search around the room for where in the hell she was.
The room was definitely masculine, with dark green accents and light green walls. The room seemed to centered around the forest and its scenery. Crossing the room, Esla peered into a half open doorway, and felt her jaw drop.
She happened to have opened the door to the most beautiful bathroom she had ever seen. The walls were covered by paintings of the forest and wolves that obviously were ancestors of whichever pack she was at, most likely the highly regarded Royal pack.
Stepping closer, she came to the most recent looking painting in the room. It displayed a tall, broadshouldered man with a wide stance and a harsh face. It dark, cocoa looking skin shone in the sunlight as he stood facing a forest, his cold black eyes taking in every detail around him.
Esla, now curious to see who the man was, looked at the small golden plaque under the frame.
Frederick Tyzon. Former King Alpha. Killed during battle.
With a gasp, Esla stumbled back. Her shaking hands cupped her mouth in shock as she realized that this must be the King Alpha’s, her mate’s, father.
“Hello there, darling.”
With a small shriek Esla spun around, her hand on her chest and her heart in her throat. Looking through her hair, she saw an older woman standing in the doorway of the bathroom.
She was tall and willowy, but it was apparent that she carried serious muscle mass from the way her arms twitched and flexed as she moved closer to Esla frozen form. Her dark green eyes connected with Esla’s deep blue ones, and widened.
“Oh! I know who you are! You are my son’s beautiful mate! I’m terribly excited to meet you. Please excuse me frightening you earlier, my name is Freya.”
Esla felt herself calming down when she heard the lilting voice of this beautiful dark skinned woman. She couldn’t help feeling envious as her own pale skin seemed even more pasty and white next to this woman.
“I am aware that no one appears to know who you are. Can I ask your name, sweetie?”
Esla blushed at the endearment and affection that her mate’s mother already had for her and stuttered out her name.
“Es-Esla Fanning, ma’am.”
For some odd reason, Esla felt the need to curtsy to the woman and shrunk behind her curtain of hair once more.
“You don’t need to be wary of me, maybe my son, but never me. On that note, I have been requested to take you to him right now.” Freya watched as Esla’s eyes widened and her pupils constrict, signifying her apprehension of meeting Freya’s son.
Feeling the need to comfort the small beauty, Freya wrapped her into her arms and began to guide out of the room. Heading down the hallway, Esla felt her heartbeat increase the further they were from the room. Reaching a set of tall, mahogany doors set into the wall, Esla attempted to squash down the urge to throw up on Freya, and focused on her failed attempt to control her breathing.
The King Alpha was known throughout the world as a fierce and angry man, having a difficult time controlling his emotions. He was a strong man, who wasn’t afraid to use force and terror to get what he wants. Esla had never heard of the King Alpha showing any emotions besides anger. She heard tall tales of his extensive wrath and the damage that his wolf could do to any forest or pack.
The King Alpha’s job is an isolated one, and the only one who has any chance of getting close to the King Alpha is his Queen Luna. The Beta can only tell the King Alpha about news and carry out his orders. No one was permitted to discuss or give suggestions to the King Alpha, except his Luna.
Esla felt her body begin to shake at the prospect of being put under the scrutiny of this enraged King Alpha. Mate or not, she knew there could be a large chance that he will be angry and removed from her once she was placed in front of him.
There was nothing but doubts present in her mind, and Esla paled at the thought that she would be nothing but a disappointment to her mate, and be rejected. She had no idea which was better, being the mate to the most volatile male, or being rejected by the most volatile male.
Knowing she had to go in there to find out her future, she slowly stretched her arm out to the curved wooden handle.
“You’ll be fine, my son may be tough on the outside but he’s been looking for you ever since he came to power. He’ll love you no matter what, sweetie.”
With those final, slightly reassuring words, Freya turned and walked down the hallway they just came from, leaving Esla to face her now unstable and uncertain future. Praying that her son would make the right choice and realize how much he needed her to survive, Freya walked out of the castle and into the forest.
Esla faced the door and blew out a loud breath. She knew she needed to get this over with, but something was causing her to hesitate. Realizing that this was her future on the line, she gathered her courage and stepped up to the door.
Esla was going to meet her mate.