Shattered splitters of glass slid through Lolita's hair as the petite brunette stirred, gaining consciousness only to find herself engulfed in threatening darkness. Her head pounded against a harsh surface, the contact altering her of the confined space she had been thrown in.
Gasps of light glimmered through a crack above her, dancing on Lolita's ghostly features. Painfully craning her head upward, the scent of worn leather enveloped in heat wafted to her nose, the sight of car seats indeed confirming that she had been confined in the back trunk of an unfamiliar vehicle.
Not taking a second to comprehend her predicament, her small frame began clambering through the gap, wiggling and squirming as she became aware of the restraints which captured her arms together. Her struggle increased as she attempted to shove herself through the small opening in the car until her body landed ungracefully with a flop on the cool leather.
Rapidly, her hands reached towards the car handle, she pulled against the metal intensely, a loud snapping sound breaking Lolita's flustered silence before the door swung open. Clambering out of the car, her legs developed a mind of their own, retreating towards the towering mansion at an astonishing pace; the rush of adrenaline only furthered from the low growl which resounded behind her.
Heart plummeting in her chest, Lolita's legs began pumping faster, to a potential speed she did not know she carried, the thundering behind dulling the ache in her chest, the wheezing girl flung herself through the rusty gates into the gothic garden before collapsing on the concrete ground, her petite body weighing her down, vision nothing but a blur, bile rising in her throat.
Taking a moment to recover, vision still a haze, Lolita painfully rose, knees wobbly she paced towards the oak door to warn the others only to find this open a jar, an eerie silence causing the girl to grow weary. A large hand clamped against her mouth, pulling her into an unwelcomingly harsh body.
"So we meet again, my little Lolita" A strange voice murmured, something strangely off about his tone, his captive's voice stiffening in response. "Oh dear" He continued noticing her wrapped hands. "Let's get you out of those" with his free hand, the figure began undoing the shackles, an icy rush tickling Lolita's spine as his lifeless fingers grazed against her skin. She whimpered, causing the man's hold to loosen before both his hands had a hold of the shaking girl's shoulders. Confused, Lolita could not understand the effect this man had on her, there was something absolutely terrifying about his presence yet Lolita did not run. Deep inside her, something held her down, she did not want to anger the strange man, her motives deeper than fear which only terrified her more.
Lolita refused to face the creature as he tugged against her shoulders forcing her to turn. Sighing he spoke, his voice oozing with forced gentleness. "Don't worry. I'm here to save you, to return you to where you rightfully belong" He began nudging her shoulders again, the shock of his words resulting in the helpless girl's compliance. As soon as she became face to face with his empty orbs, Lolita felt as she had been caught in an earthquake, like a death eater he sucked the soul out of her body as the realisation dawned upon her, this had been the man her mind kept lingering back to. The vampire king.
"Don't be afraid" He mused, a small smile flickers across his thin lips at her instinctive reaction, he lived off this, thrived on the fear of his prey.
"She has no need to be" A deadly voice stated causing both to snap their heads in the direction of the feral Alpha, both held captive under his unforgiving glare as his lean legs took large, graceful strides towards the statue-like pair. Bewitched by the darkening storm brewing in his orbs, the arms around her body instantly felt heavy, her squirming frame wanted nothing more than to free herself from this disgusting hold, to launch herself towards her true mate, all traces of her compulsion fading into nothing more but a relic.
Snapping out of his trance state, the vampire threateningly tightened his hold on Lolita's porcelain neck, his voice nothing but a sinister murmur. "I'd hate to paint any wounds on her dainty little neck" His growing gaze met the approaching figure. "Stand down"
A flicker of conflict creaked through Damien's stoic features before he let out a sinister chuckle. "I'm warning you Damien" The vampire continued, tightening his hold. A small gasp escaped Lolita's dry lips causing both men to flinch.
"Lolita, don't be afraid" Damien cooed, "The weather's pleasant. Doesn't this remind you of our stroll in the woods" His eyes held pleading desperation. "Just relax, as you did in the woods" Realisation sunk into Lolita's features, she did anything but relax, her face scrunching into concentration.
"What-what have you done to her?" The vampire stammered appalled at her state which further melted into fear as the ground began shaking beneath him.
"Run" Damien simply muttered in return before swiftly dashing away.
Bewildered, the vicious predator loosened his hold on his prey, however, he refused to part from her. What kind of trick was this? Why had the notorious wolf not yet attempted to murder him? Before these unanswered questions could linger in his troubled mind a moment longer, a sharp blast separated him from the girl, his limp body crashing against the iron gate denting the rusty bars as his lifeless body rolled onto the floor.
A blur of black caught frazzled girl's attention before the shade took form into Damien's signature leather jacket. "Atta girl" He murmured through a toothy grin which instantly faded upon meeting his mate's startled state. "Hey" he whispered attempting to capture Lolita who simply dodged his opened arms, stumbling towards the fresh corpse, she fell to her knees shaking, her thoughts churning sickly in her head. Had she done this? is she really capable of murder? Now that she had gotten rid of him, she expected a heavyweight to be lifted from her shoulders, her mate, completely capable of dealing with the situation himself had given her the power to help herself, insure she was not the damsel in distress, she could fight her own battles. She crushed her own monsters, instead of feeling relief, a boulder of guilt and fear of her own capability heavily settled onto her shoulders causing her to collapse from the pressure.
But her body never met the uninviting gravel on the ground, instead, she was bundled into a pair of warm arms, the sparks elicited unconsciously consoling her trembling figure. "I killed him" Lolita muttered to herself, she turned to face her mate, concern and guilt plastered across his features. "I killed someone, Damien"
"No, no, no. Don't cry, little wolf" Damien stammered, taken aback from the situation. "It wasn't your fault, i didn't take into account how innocent you were, a pure heart. I didn't stop to consider the consequences of this, i just wanted you to understand how powerful you really are"
This only caused the girl to sob harder. The alpha helplessly wrapped his arms around his mate, cocooning her in his woodsy scent. He was no stranger to murder, having ended the lives of more people than he could recall, discussing his next victims casually over a cup of coffee and being surrounded by like-minded lethal beasts his whole life, this situation was completely foreign to him. His mind only now comprehended the severity of murder, flickers of his younger self glimmering in his mind as he bitterly recalled the first time he had gotten his own hands bloody. He had grown accustomed to the sinful act now like it was in his nature, however, at this moment he vowed the same would not happen to his mate.
A loud barking broke him out of his thoughts, a strange dog circling him and his mate, "Hades" he murmured, his body stiffening as his the creature increased the amplitude of his voice in response. "Hades" He firmly stated, eyes flashing red. Before he could interrogate the strange behaviour any longer, the voice of Daniel broke the strange atmosphere.
"He's here"
"Who's here?" Damien wearily responded.
"Isaac didn't tell you?"
"Now Daniel, i would not be asking you if your useless son had told me, would i? Irritation and anger evidently laced in his tone.
"Demitri" The previously quiet Lolita now gasped. "Vivian mentioned something" She furthered upon meeting Damien's expression. He chuckled slightly in response.
"I'll deal with him" He irritably responded, rubbing circles on Lolita's shoulders.
"No Damien, you don't understand. He's not alone" The other alpha muttered. "Go, go as far away as you possibly can, and take Lolita with you, it's no longer safe here"
"Daniel, when is it ever safe here?" Damien heavily spoke, his remark cut short from the flash of lightning which attacked the gothic building. "Oh," he stammered, realisation sinking into his features from the thunderous growl of the night.