Beasty (A Royal's Tale Book 2)

by Jennise K

  Both Aby’s and my eyes widened, and we immediately relaxed, cancelling the counselling session we had planned.

  Quickly shaking my head, I smiled. “What are you getting your mum?”

  “A new phone. Her phone is outdated, but she still got me an iPhone for my birthday last year. I want to get her a new iPhone.”

  “How much do you still have to collect, kid?” Abigail suddenly asked him curiously then gave me an innocent look when I gave her a reprimanding one.

  “A hundred and fifty,” Michael said with a smile on his face, taking a bite of his chips while at it. “It’s all right, though. I have one more day. I’ll get it! It’s always busier in the weekends.”

  Drew suddenly popped his head from the counter and turned his head this way and that, looking for something or probably someone. Michael also noticed this and hurriedly finished his food. “I guess I’ll be off then.”

  I smiled, nodding at him. Michael was a good kid. His mother and his sister were both very lucky to have him.

  ~

  An hour later of chatting and eating with Abigail, Michael came to our table and handed us our bill. “Here’s your bill.”

  “My treat,” I told Abigail when she took her card out, putting my hand out to stop her. I pulled my wallet, and after bringing out a small piece of paper, I quickly scribbled down a note.

  Work today and tomorrow, but no more skipping school starting next week. Remember your ambition, Michael. You need to fly.

  – O

  Putting a fifty in for the bill, I quickly put in another hundred and jotted it down as tip. This was not lost on Michael as I noticed him looking away. I slipped a written note in there as well and bid my farewell.

  ~

  “What did you write in the note?” Abigail frowned as we drove towards Mr. Heirnzberg’s home, The Chillston Manor.

  “I just reminded him of his dreams,” I said and smiled at her as I took a left, noticing the sudden change in atmosphere after the turn.

  “Don’t you think you’re being a little soft on the kid?” Aby shrugged slowly as she mumbled out the question, turning away to look out of the window.

  I shook my head. “I feel a sense of kinship for him, Aby. His ambitious nature reminds me so much of Elizabeth, and I want him to succeed like I watched Elizabeth did…well…before she breathed her last.”

  “All right, fair enough, I guess. He seems like a good kid anyway.”

  “When is King Romanov going to come by?” She turned to me again, and I shrugged. Abigail’s question was one I didn’t know the answer to myself.

  “He said he’ll be there before I get there.” I sighed as I looked ahead of me, thick dense trees framing both sides of the wet black road.

  “Professor Heirnzberg sure likes to live in seclusion,” Abigail said from beside me as we finally turned left, driving through the large golden gates—which were conveniently open—decorated by flowering vines.

  The driveway cut through a vast land of beautifully pruned gardens, every topiary clipped to complement the flowers and trees in its surroundings. I continued to drive, pleasantly surprised as the beauty of Professor Heirzberg’s property continued to be highlighted in the most eloquent of manners.

  “Damn, Livy, nothing around here matches the manor’s nam—aaahhhh.” Abigail’s words died away as we rounded in front of a large building which looked almost to me like architecture’s interpretation of death. Even its surroundings looked lifeless—the trees surrounding it were bare of leaves, the ground was covered with dry foliage, and the atmosphere suddenly dark. Windows were barred. Old paint peeled away from years of neglect, and an rusty bicycle was stationed in abandonment in front of the house.

  “I take it back,” she said. For some reason, she sounded absolutely devastated.

  I gulped as I finally parked the car, turning off the ignition and turning to face Abigail. I couldn’t blame Abigail for feeling that way; the manor looked more like an old mental institute.

  “Are you okay?”

  Abigail’s wide eyes turned to mine, and she shook her head, her hand finding mine. I froze. She may be a werewolf, but against my warm hands, hers were cold right now; this was bad news. “I need to tell you something.”

  I sat up straight. This was far more serious than her admitting to me she could turn to a wolf.

  “I dropped the house I got. Requested for a new one.”

  I frowned. “What? Why?”

  “Adam. He’s trying to come out, Livy.”

  Huh?

  I frowned harder. “What Adam? The owner? Aby, isn’t he supposed to have died centuries ago?”

  “No. He was supposed to have been put into his portrait and be stuck there for eternity—until he found his key out. Now, he’s trying to come out!”

  My grip tightened on Abigail’s hand, letting out a shaky breath. I didn’t know what to believe anymore. A couple of months ago, the only things I believed in were black and white, and now, I could see all these other things lurking in the shadows. Who knew how much more was hidden between the light and the dark?

  “What happened? What did you do afterwards? What did Professor do?”

  “I saw him—in the mirror—trying to move his hand in the portrait. He had long blond hair, eyes so blue it looked almost black, and the deadliest snarl on his face. He’s real, Livy! I went straight to Prof and asked him to give me a different estate. Just in time for some other girl to come request to be switched from the alternative method to this.” Abigail frowned, trying to remember something. “What was her name again? Oh yes! Gardenia!”

  “Gardenia. As in shy, silent Gardenia?”

  Abigail nodded, suddenly getting what I was thinking of.

  “Oh no…” She gasped out under her breath, her hand coming to her lips.

  I shook my head sadly. “Poor girl. Plus, she’s only human.”

  “Professor Heirnzberg is mental!” Abigail grumbled under her breath before she finally opened the car’s door and got out.

  I sighed as I followed her, hoping Gardenia was pulling through nicely. I mean, I was sure Professor Heirnzberg wasn’t just going to assign a student to her death. Right?

  I almost laughed at that, closing the door behind me. Professor Heirnzberg had literally assigned me to my death. Edika wanted blood.

  “Hey.” A pair of arms slipped around my middle as Romanov placed a small kiss on my shoulder from behind and rested his chin there as he held me.

  “Hey.” I smiled dreamily. Immediately, all thoughts of Edika disappeared, and I placed my hands over his.

  “You two okay?” Jaydin’s voice reached us just as I lifted my eyes to see him walking towards us, his gaze moving from me to Abigail, who still stood close to the car.

  Instead of answering Jaydin, Abigail turned towards Romanov and shook her head. “It’s alive.”

  “What’s alive?” Jaydin suddenly demanded, frowning at this sudden familiar exchange between Romanov and Abigail.

  My gaze flew to Romanov’s as his flew to Abigail. She subtly shook her head so as not to give anything away to Jaydin.

  Romanov turned towards Jaydin and smiled. “The fright on your face, mate! Definitely alive!”

  Jaydin let out an exhausted laugh before moving forward and—surprising both Abigail and me—gave Romanov a playful punch on his arm.

  “Shut it and let’s get in,” Jaydin grumbled and turned around to pick up Abigail’s luggage. He then began moving towards the creepy manor.

  Abigail, Romanov, and I looked at each other before we slowly followed, my bag swinging from Romanov’s shoulder.

  ~

  “So, what’s the legend about this house?” I asked as we all sat around the kitchen island in the middle of the night, each of us having a cup of tea.

  “Nothing really, except for the tiny gossip that it sits on the centre axis of a triquetra making it a portal for all things supernatural.” Jaydin rolled his eyes as he took a sip of his tea.

  My
eyes darted to Abigail’s, and she looked away, letting her head hang low.

  Jaydin, unaware of the tension, continued. “Basically, it means this house plays playground to every ghost, demon, werewolf, and even Dracula out there.”

  “Wow,” I said out, surprised and unable to utter anything else.

  The interior of the house was nothing like the old creepy look its exterior had. Instead, the house sported a very modern design, sparing nothing with this physical change and progress. Well, except the walls. The walls still stood bare and old, with the rugged outline of the bricks giving the place a rustic touch. It seemed strange. A strange juxtaposition of the old and modern. But after a few minutes, the walls become unnoticeable and life went on to being normal. I simply got over the peculiar taste in this manor’s interior design.

  “All right, folks. I think I’ll call it a night now,” Abigail said and smiled at us, taking her cup to wash and place it on the drainer.

  “I’ll show you to your room, then!” Jaydin jumped out of his stool, catching up to her.

  I watched the two walk up the stairs with an amused Romanov beside me, his own cup empty. Finishing my tea, I turned towards my soulmate and smiled. “Call it a night, too?”

  “Let’s,” he murmured slowly, his eyes on mine.

  A soft smile shadowed on his lips as he tenderly caressed a strand of hair and tucked it behind my ear. I bathed in his loving affections because suddenly, it felt that as long as Romanov was with me, I was going to live. I was going to breathe.

  ~

  There are many reasons why one suddenly finds one’s self awake in the peaks of the darkness, when one can neither call it night nor morning. This time, I found myself stirring awake because of thirst.

  I took a glance towards my phone, and I sighed as I sunk back into bed, Romanov’s large arm around me, his nose touching the crook of my neck. Outside, it was raining. Lightning struck the dead night with its bright light, and like a loyal companion, thunder followed.

  2:33 am

  Another sigh left my lips as I shook my head and slowly slipped from Romanov’s arms. Standing up beside the bed, I looked at the sleeping man and smiled softly. Ten minutes and he’d be out in a flash to look for me; that much I was sure about.

  Shaking the thought away, I walked out of the bedroom and went down the hall towards the kitchen. My mind went back to the sleeping Romanov, and the chilled bottle of water waiting for me in the cooler.

  Turning to where I knew the kitchen would be, I turned on the lights and walked a little quicker towards the refrigerator.

  The refrigerator’s golden light flicked a bright yellow as I pulled the door open, and I quickly grabbed and opened the bottle of water in my hand, happy to finally quench my thirst.

  “Olliiiviiaaaaaaaaa.”

  The bottle dropped to the floor. My eyes suddenly went to the white fabric floating from the edge of the kitchen’s entrance as if someone was hiding behind it and trying to get inside.

  “Oliiviiiaaaaaaaa.”

  The lights went off.

  I let out a loud yelp, and with this fear, the tears suddenly began falling down on automatic.

  It was here. Death.

  Romanov! Where was Romanov?

  Lightning struck outside, illuminating the kitchen. I whimpered as the figure behind the wall moved out in that second.

  Thunder followed, and I moved back, trying to hold on to something—anything. Or to just to reach for my voice!

  “Oliiviiiaaaaaaa…”

  The harsh whisper seemed to echo all around me, her voice dripping with blood and death.

  The lightning struck again, flashing another jarring image before me: dressed in a white gown, and covered with a curtain of long, black hair, Edika advanced her way to me, her distorted body casting hideous shadows on the walls.

  Thunder boomed again just as another lightning struck somewhere close, illuminating the room again, and I saw Edika rushing towards me, her body crooked.

  A shrill scream ripped out of my lips, and I shut my eyes as I felt the sharp tip of her nails claw and dig against my neck.

  “Olli!”

  A shout tore through the room, and I was suddenly pushed aside.

  My head banged against the floor, and a sharp pain shot through the back of my head.

  The devilish scream of what could only be Edika’s echoed around the room before I heard the crunch of bones breaking and a hard thud of a body falling to the floor beside me.

  I felt my heart stop. My breath hitched in my throat as my whole body froze with chills. The scent of the body lying limply on the floor was all too familiar.

  No no no no! No!

  I didn’t even notice as the lights of the kitchen came back on and Romanov rushed towards us, Abigail running elsewhere to check if the threat was still nearby. My head turned towards Jaydin as I lay beside him, as still as he was. I couldn’t do anything but cry.

  No no no no! No no no no no!

  “Fuck! Olivia! Olivia!” Romanov reached for me and placed his hand around my waist so he could scoop me up. But I couldn’t bear it. I couldn’t hold it in.

  Shrugging Romanov away, I grabbed onto Jaydin’s limp body and cried. His neck was twisted in an unsightly angle. Jaydin…he’s broken and…dead. I looked at his beautiful, brown eyes which were still open but with the life drained out of them..

  “He’s dead! Jay’s dead, Rome! Dead!”

  Looking up desperately, I watched Abigail as she rushed back in the kitchen while Romanov stood there frozen in shock, watching me with a haunted look in his eyes.

  I shook my head again, turning my gaze back to one of my best friends.

  “He’s dead,” I whispered, broken.

  And it was all my fault.

  Chapter 20

  Another death. Another life taken before its time. Another soul wasted instead of mine. Another person’s breath lost so it could save mine.

  I just could not take it.

  I couldn’t take another loss. I couldn’t let another person go away like that.

  I couldn’t go over the process of crying and crying and crying again. I could not live through seeing the effect of life taken had on others. I couldn’t hear another round of ridiculous things from equally ridiculous people who could not find anything better than “He’s in a better place now” or “It was God’s will” to say, thinking these words would make me feel better. Because God blast it all, it wasn’t! It wasn’t God’s will, and Jaydin was not in a better place! Jaydin was dead! When he could have lived. With Abigail. With us. And God blast it all, I didn’t think anything anyone could ever say could make me feel better anymore.

  I had lost another important piece in my life. Just ripped away from my heart like that. My best friend.

  Mum, Dad, Lizzy, Garret, and now Jaydin. Another one to add to the list. Another one who went instead of me.

  The worst part was this time, I couldn’t even delude myself into moving on. This time, it was as clear as day. It was my fault.

  “Mine.”

  I froze.

  My brain was halfway numb as I blinked away the tears and glanced up at a completely destroyed Abigail, her eyes only on Jaydin.

  I sobbed harder when a loud cry wrenched out of her lips and she fell on the floor, her head on Jaydin’s belly, her hands clutching to his shirt.

  “Jay…mine…” Abigail choked out again between her sobs, and I felt my heart sink, the meaning of the word finally settling into my brain.

  My eyes widened and blurred again as I watched Abigail mourn for her soulmate.

  I felt like dying. I’d just ruined two lives in one go. This was all my fault.

  “Abigail. Move back,” Romanov suddenly spoke up, and I snapped my gaze to his, my mouth agape at his harsh tone.

  Clutching harder to Jaydin’s shirt, Abigail let out growl. It came out sounding low and weak from her crying, but one couldn’t mistake the anger in it, too. “Piss off!”

  Romanov l
et off a warning growl of his own. “Abigail, stop being so foolish in your sorrow to forget that his blood is still warm!”

  My jaw dropped even more, the underlying anger in me rising. As far as I could see, Romanov was being completely unfair. Strangely, Romanov’s words seemed to have lit a bulb in Abigail’s mind, and she suddenly tensed. Instantly, she moved back and bowed.

  “Your Majesty—p—please,” she said, pleading.

  I watched, dumbstruck, as Romanov walked over, got on his knees beside Jaydin, and ripped his shirt open, revealing Jaydin’s chest. I blinked, the numbness filling through me. I didn’t know what to think anymore.

  Romanov leaned forward and slightly paused, hesitating. He turned his until his eyes found mine. Slowly, his gaze moved back to Jaydin, and then, wrenching a scream out of me, Romanov sunk his canines straight into the middle of Jaydin’s chest!

  My whole body shook as I found myself shuffling back. For sure, the sore spots from being pushed by Edika earlier were bruises by now, but no matter. I was just shocked to my core at this sudden happening. I dragged myself against the solid wall, away from Romanov and Jaydin.

  “Call Berlin’s alpha, the royal beta, and the royal delta,” Romanov ordered as he stood back up, wiping the blood off his mouth with the back of his hand. His worried eyes found mine again, and I instantly looked back at Jay, eyeing the large wound in the middle of his chest.

  “He’s alive, Olivia,” Romanov mumbled softly, his hands stretched out in front him, reaching for me.

  I shook my head dumbly in response, my eyes still on Jaydin’s limp body, waiting for him to show me a sign, any sign—just a bloody sign that he’s still alive and this was all just a dream! But he only remained still. My eyes welled up again. I looked at Romanov and shook my head again, my vision blurring.

  “He’s not breathing! I—I killed him. Like I killed them all! It’s always my fault! It should have been mmhhhh—”

  The sudden pressure of Romanov’s hand over my mouth muffled what I was going to say. His golden eyes burned with an angry glare.

  “If something happens to you, I will set the world on fire!” Romanov moved an inch closer, loose black strands of hair escaping his baby ponytail and falling over his cheek. “I swear it.”