by G. Bailey
Everyone will be. My king told me time and time again how worthless I was, and how I only caused trouble for everyone. For years I tried to ignore him and pretend he was just lying to me to try and make me feel bad, but what if he was right? What if I am this monster that does nothing but destroys everything around me? I don’t want to be that to anyone, but how can I stay when it means nothing but war for the men I love and their family? I know their family will support our love, and that means war—people dying for me when they really don’t need to do.
I wipe my cheeks and grab my cloak resting on a chair by the door before opening the door. I don't look back at Tiryn, knowing I can't risk seeing him once more and feeling like I have to say goodbye. If I said goodbye, he would never let me leave. Neither would Jath, and I hate that the last time I saw him would be that meal and how I threw him across the room. I shouldn’t have done that. I run down the corridor, using my senses to find the direction of the horses. It takes me a few wrong turns and hiding from a few more guards before I get outside near the stables, but I'm not alone.
"This horse is quick and young. It will last you a good few years. The guards have been instructed to let you pass through the town and out of the open gates," Alpha states, coming out of the shadows with a saddled horse, a normal one and not a dead horse. I see where Tiryn gets his sneakiness from. I’m glad this horse is one I can actually ride, and it is silver, much like the horse I once had as a girl. I learned more about riding on my way here anyway.
"You want me to leave?" I ask, gulping as he comes closer to me and towers over me. He hands me the reins with a frown.
"I want my sons at peace. They will never be that with you around," he points out. “It is nothing personal.”
"I don't want to hurt them," I admit, tightening my hands in the reins as I look back up at the castle.
"I know that. I would have killed you if I thought you planned to hurt them," he tells me, and I don’t doubt it. “My mate has taught me to try other methods than breaking necks to deal with issues. You may thank her if you ever see her again.”
"Do you think I should leave?" I ask him, trying to ignore the very creepy statement about Elodie.
"While you still hold many secrets and refuse to tell us all the truth, then yes," he replies, stepping around me. "If can you tell them the truth, tell them you will fight your demons and theirs together, then you should stay."
"If I tell them what I did, they—"
"Arilee, my sons love you. We both know you will not tell them because it's dangerous," Alpha replies. "Love changed my life, but it was not without cost. I gave up much for it, and I have never regretted doing so, but if I thought for a second that my love for Elodie was going to get her killed, I would have left. I would never risk her."
"My past is going to come for me one day, and they should mate with the Dark Paw leader to save your pack," I reply gulping down the bitter taste in my mouth at the idea of either of them mating with anyone else.
"Life is cruel at times," Alpha states, before nodding once at me and walking away into the shadows of the castle without even a goodbye. I grip the reins tightly in my hand. Alpha is right, life is cruel, but it doesn't have to be the end for Jath and Tiryn.
I remember what Tiryn said about the ship being in the water, just as a white bundle runs out of the shadows of the castle, and I smile as I pick up Snow from the ground. I know I should send her back but as I look into her eyes, I know I can’t send her away.
"Do you want to see a ship, Snow? We can go somewhere else, and hopefully it will only be my heart that is broken." Of course, Snow doesn't reply, she simply purrs in happiness ,and I turn around, opening the bag on the saddle and slide her inside and see the food, water, and other things I will need in the bags. I carefully pull myself up on the horse and take a deep breath.
I've run once before from everything I've ever known, but this time it hurts so much more to leave.
Chapter 18
Jath
"Is Arilee here? Or Snow?" Tiryn asks as he comes into the dining room as we sit around having an awkward breakfast with the Dark Paw twins, who I can never remember the names of, and our parents. I know she was with Tiryn last night, so I don't understand why he would be asking me where she is. I hoped he would have talked enough to her so that when I see her today, she won’t throw me across the room. I deserved it, but I would like to be able to talk to her normally. I love her, and this is just a hiccup in the road.
"You spent the night with her, you tell me?" I ask with a frown.
"Arilee left late last night," Alpha says, and I sharply turn my head to him, dropping my fork and knife as I stand up. “I made sure she had enough supplies and was let out safety.”
"Why the fuck didn't you stop her or come to get us?" Tiryn asks before I can say anything and he sounds furious. If I wasn't sure my brother was in love with Arilee, I know it now.
"He didn't because I told him not to," Mother says, standing up and walking around the table to stand in the middle of us.
"This got a little more interesting," the Dark Paw woman says, and I ignore her as she laughs with her brother.
"How could you do that?" I ask my mother, feeling more than betrayed. We spent last night talking in the dining room, and I told her how much I loved Arilee and wanted a future with her. A real one, much like what my mother has. Their love wasn’t easy, not from the stories I’ve heard, so how could she send away Arilee?
"Arilee is not strong enough to be your mate, and she is not a wolf. Even despite that, you both know nothing about her. You don't know where she came from, why she ran away, and what scares her. She is a closed book; how could you truly love her?" Mother asks me, her hands on her hips. “For all we know, she killed a million people, and she was banished from her home. We do not know her, and you two were in love with her beauty, nothing more.”
"That wasn't your choice to make. I do love her, and her past means nothing to me," I shout, smacking my fist on the table. “I know her heart, and she is good. She is a good person who was treated like shit. I may not know the details, but I trust her.”
"You can’t know that. She hasn’t told you the truth," Alaric points out, and I can see all my parents are on the same side on this.
"Arilee is not weak. Whatever she ran from, scares her deeply, and I know she has had a life of nothing but pain. Much like you did as a no claim, Mother. I wanted to give her time to relax and know she is safe before asking her to tell us her past," Tiryn points out, and I see guilt in my mother’s eyes for a second.
"Jath," Mother tries to grab my arm, but I push her away and walk to Tiryn, who nods once at me. We don't need to discuss what we are going to do next.
"If she is hurt or gone too far that we can never get her back, it will be you we blame," Tiryn growls at Mother, who starts to cry as he storms out. I take a deep breath, trying to calm how panicked I am before looking at her.
"I know you were trying to protect us, but all you did was hurt us with this," I explain to her. “You know what it is like to find someone you can’t live without. Arilee is that for us, there is no one else.”
"I didn't mean to," she says, but I look at the Dark Paw twins, who seem very amused.
"Make a new demand because the alpha brothers are taken. If you start a war, your heads will be removed and thrown at your parents’ feet before the war is over. Be careful of your demands." The moment I finish talking, two of their guards run at me, shifting in moments. I jump over them, grabbing the one around the neck and snapping it easily as the other jumps at me. As its teeth bite into my arm, I shift, and in seconds, my teeth are ripping into his neck, hot blood pouring into my mouth as he dies. The woman screams, and her brother moves in front to protect her from me.
"We will deal with this. Go," Mother says, lifting her head high and nodding at me as I drop the dead wolf on the floor.
My wolf lifts its head high and howls before turning and running out of the castle, joining Tiryn
as we leave the town, following Arilee's scent. We have to find her because if we don't, we won't ever stop.
Arilee belongs with us, and under all the fear, she knows it too.
Chapter 19
My legs ache as I finally get through the forest and come out on a beach, seeing the island in the distance. I must have fallen asleep when I was riding as one moment there was snow falling from the sky, and the next it was warm. I believe it's been a day since I woke up and stopped to feed Snow and let her have a walk around. The horse happily canters all the way to the island, its shiny silver fur reflecting off the sunlight. As I get to the bridge, I see the tips of the sail over the side of the island and frown because I don't remember the ship having that tall of a pole. I get more nervous when I notice there isn't anyone guarding the bridge and the town is silent as we get closer. I turn my horse down the side path toward the beach, only to stop dead in my tracks when I see not one but two ships in the water. The second ship makes me feel sick from the pure fear as I see the red flags with a black crown on them.
It's the royal ship.
I scream when I see the lines of dead men on the beach, some in wolf form and others not, but each of their throats is cut open. There are no children or women in the pile, which doesn't make sense. There are three small boats on the beach, pulled up on the sand and their black painted wood standing out. Everything in me freezes as three hooded figures walk out of the pathway in the distance, and they just stop, staring at me. Waiting. I gulp and slide off the horse, going into my bag and pulling out Snow. I place her on the ground and pull my eyes from the hooded figures who I know who they are.
"Go and find food, Snow. You have to go." Snow does as I ask, running into the trees like she can understand me. I highly doubt she can, but at least she is gone. I hold my head high as I walk up to the hooded figures, only to pause when I'm a few feet away, scenting someone I shouldn't.
"Did you miss me, my sweet queen?" my king says, pushing his hood down, and I shake my head in denial, stepping back as he grins at me.
"You-u a-are dead!" I shout, thick tears streaming down my cheeks. His sons push down their cloaks, revealing their dark eyes like their father and their dark red hair.
"Come here, my queen," my king asks, holding a hand out. "Don't make me force you."
"You forced me into everything else in my life, and somehow you made me think it was right. It was normal, but it wasn't. You are a truly evil monster who couldn't possibly know how to love anyone. I found love, I found something real, and I will never go back to the life you forced me into before!" I shout at him, standing up tall even as my hands shake. This man caused me so much pain, so much anger, and I know I cannot let him do that to me anymore. I turn and start running away, only to not get far before someone slams into me and knocks me onto the floor, banging my chin hard. I scream and try to fight my king as he holds me down and places his head next to mine.
"I love when you struggle, when you fight me. Shame about all the death surrounding us or I would have you right here," he pushes his hard cock into me to make a point, and I scream again, trying to fight him off me, but he is too heavy. He leans back and roughly turns me over, before sitting up on his knees, looking down at me with his crystal red crown on his head—my father's crown.
"I will never be yours again. You—" I don't get to finish my sentence as he lifts his massive fist and punches me hard in the face, making the world turn into nothing but pain and darkness.
Chapter 20
"Time to wake up, Arilee. I want you to watch your small island home disappear as I take back to where you belong, my queen," I hear his voice whisper into my ear, his lips brushing against them, and it makes me feel sick. I ignore him, keeping my eyes shut and focusing in on the pain in my cheek, the pain all over my body from where he has beaten me. I make the mistake of crying out as he lifts me up by my hair, and I open my eyes to see the island in the distance. The three boats are gone, the bodies line the shore, and the towers stand so tall. I will miss this place, but I will miss them more.
"Did you love the men you let fuck you, my queen?" my king asks me, turning me to look at him.
"Yes," I answer, truthfully. “But it was love. Something you know nothing off.”
"Then you deserve everything I have planned to do to you. I'm going to make you suffer for everything you did," he tells me, leaning in close. "Shame you didn't point that dagger a little bit higher, and then I would be dead. You just stunned me before, and I will never give you a chance to do that again." He moves his other hand and slides it down my body, and I shake with disgust.
"Fuck you," I say before spitting at him, and he drops me onto the floor. I hide my head in my arms as he lifts his big booted foot and goes to kick me just as two wolves, soaking wet, jump onto the ship from the other side. One black and one white wolf, side by side, and their growls directed at one person—my king. I smile with relief as I look at them, but then I feel nothing but worry as my king laughs.
"You've been sleeping with dogs? How pathetic, my queen," he says, still laughing as he pulls out his sword and looks to Tiryn and Jath. "Come on then, pups. Let's see what you can do." Jath attacks first, slamming into my king and knocking him to the ground with his pure strength, sending my king's sword flying away across the deck. I try to pull myself up as Jath bites hard on my king's arm, and in a moment, he rips his arm off his shoulder. Blood sprays everywhere as my king screams. With his other hand, slams a dagger straight into Jath's side as Jath drops the arm on the deck. The world seems to freeze as Jath shifts back into his human form, still with the dagger sticking out of his chest.
"NO!" I cry out, pulling myself up as Jath falls to the deck, his eyes fixed on me as they lose the light in them. No, no, no, no. I can’t let him die. I hear Tiryn's roar as I crawl to Jath, placing my hand on his cheek. I look up to see Tiryn being cornered by my king's sons, who look more than happy to kill him. I eye my king on the floor, grabbing what is left of his arm as blood pours from his shoulder as it tries to heal itself and how he doesn't look my way at all.
"Run, Arilee! Don't you dare let him die for nothing!" Tiryn screams at me, and I look at him to see he has shifted back and is fighting the sons with the sword my king dropped. Only he is being backed toward the edge of the ship with every swing.
I can't run, and I can't let Jath die. There is only one thing that might work, but it's a big risk. I pull Jath's head onto my lap, and bite into my wrist, wincing at the pain. I open Jath's mouth and hold my wrist over it, letting him drink my blood as I place my other hand on his forehead.
"I shall hold you through the eternal night. I shall embrace your soul as mine. For now, and forever, we are entwined." As the final mating words leave my lips, I feel the connection burn into my soul, changing just about everything even though Jath is still.
He will awake as my mate and our lives linked forever. I hope. I don't know how shifters fair with being turned into a vampire. I cry out as my king grabs me by my hair and throws me out of the way. I roll across the deck, and everything hurts as I watch him drag Jath's body the gap in the deck and hold him over the edge.
"Stop, sons," my king demands, and his sons do stop. Tiryn pauses and looks at me, holding the sword at his side. "You have a choice, pup. You can jump into the sea after your brother's dead body, or you fight for Arilee and die. She is my queen, and I will not let her ever leave me."
"You're a queen?" Tiryn asks me, and I can't do anything but stare as tears fall down my cheeks. I mouth the word jump to him, making sure he knows what I want him to do. He must go after Jath and leave. He can’t fight all these vampires on his own.
"She is a liar and a terrible person. Trust me, you do not want to fight for her," my king says. "Now make your choice." My king throws Jath overboard, and I can't do anything. I couldn't swim if I tried. In the blink of an eye, Tiryn throws the sword down and doesn't look back at me as he jumps in the sea after Jath.
They will have each other
at least. It could be like I never even existed in their lives, and I can remember what real love was like to get me through the cold nights.
"Take her to her room and make sure it's locked. We have a long journey ahead of us." I keep my eyes closed as his sons pick me up and carry me into the ship.
At least when I close my eyes, I can remember.
I can remember what it was like to be in love.
Chapter 21
Jath
A light humming noise wakes me up, it's so quiet and far away that I don't know why it would, and there is the sound of crashing waves not far away too. As soon as I realise I'm awake, every single noise and smell floods into my mind so quickly that I find it hard to focus on any single one of them. That is until one of them stands out far more than the others do. The sweet scent of something near, and it's different than anything I've smelled before. Everything is so different. I feel hungry, a hunger that burns my throat, and my wolf is howling in my mind like something is so wrong.
"Jath?" Tiryn asks, leaning over me on the bed and looking down at me. I don't see my brother, though, I see only his neck. His pulse. I run my tongue over my teeth as they ache, and I feel two sharp points. "Here. I saw the fangs yesterday, so I found you blood just in case." Tiryn holds up a metal bottle and pops the lid open. Before I say a word, I snatch the bottle out of his hand and drink it all as fast as I can. Tiryn offers me another bottle, and then another and on the fourth bottle, I finally feel like I can breathe without the hunger.
"What happened?" I groggily ask, wiping a hand across my mouth, and it surprises me to see the blood smear on the back of my hand.
"What do you remember?" he asks me, resting back in the seat he was sitting on. I glance around my bedroom of the ship, which rocks in the sea. Are we at sea? I see Arilee's red dress hanging on the back of a chair as everything comes back to me. We followed her and found her on a ship with a man beating her up. I got stabbed. I push the white sheet down and look at my pale skin on my stomach, where there is no mark. "That healed within two days and yesterday your fangs came up. I guess you are a vampire wolf mix now. Confusing huh?"