My eyes snapped open with a jerk. My heart was a million miles in a minute. Arthur was here to save me.
I parted my lips to say something. But I felt a cloth tied around my mouth, my ankles and hands were also bound. I blinked but I could only see dark. It terrified me. My heart thundered seeing the dark around me. I couldn't see anything. It wasn't making much difference with open eyes. I closed them again. There was only one person who could help me.
My throat felt tight and the awful sensation of burning in my eyes caused tears. I was kidnapped and know who did this.
"Darkice?" I tried to speak but a muffled tone reached my ears. My eyes stayed closed. 'Darkice?' I said in my head, trying not to cry. The tension in my guts coiled together when I didn't hear a thing.
"Trying to reach your mate?" I heard a low, husky tone.
Terror coursed through me and set my heart beating loud in my chest. How does he know? I tried to hear footsteps, the door closing or shutting. But there was nothing. I parted my lips to ask him but my mouth was tied.
"You must be wondering who I am. Well, I won't keep you in the dark for long. I'm going to be your mate." He said
Fear strangled me. I felt the desire to shout at him and scream for help. I screamed though my voice was muffled, I struggled against the ropes around my wrists.
Tears were soaked by the blindfold. I shook my head clearly telling him. I would die but I would never be his, I'm Darkice', only his.
Abruptly, I felt my mouth free. "Darkice, " I shouted his name.
I heard a loud laugh echoing around me. I felt goosebumps on my entire body. Whoever he was, he was an evil person.
'Darkice! Daddy! Brothers!" I shouted in terror.
His laughter grew louder. I felt a hot wind around me. It didn't seem familiar. I pushed myself back.
"Dastien!" I shouted out of my lungs as loud as I could. My voice was holding pain and horror. My wrists never stopped struggling to get free.
I was breathing heavily. The air changed around me. It became familiar.
'Syn,' His voice wasn't solid in my head. But I didn't care. He reached for me.
"Darkice, It's the same guy from the alley. He kidnapped me. I don't know where I am. But a lunatic person saying I'm going to be his mate. Please, take me away from here. I'm terrified." I shouted.
I waited for the response which I didn't get.
"Darkice! Darkice! Please?" I sobbed. The room was still dark, as if I was blind.
An ear-piercing squeal tore through my throat when I felt something hot hitting my side hard. It burnt like hell.
"Call Dastien's name again. I'll cut you into pieces." A strong hand clenched my jaw painfully. I was yanked away immediately and hit the ground hard.
Then I recalled momma's words. His real name is Dastien, the Dark King. I'm his mate. He answered in my head only when I addressed him with his old name. The pain was killing me. I was burnt. I shouted his name again, having faith that he would answer me.
If I would think about the pain, or let him intimate me, I would die before actually dying.
'Syn, open your eyes.' It was stronger than before.
I opened my eyes. I could see a slight glow from the burning skin of the side of my waist.
'Did he hit you?' I heard his menacing snarl in my head.
"Yes," I said between my sobs.
I felt immense anger as it didn't know any limit. But it wasn't mine. My eyes blinked against my wish. In a second, I could see everything in the dark.
The pain from the burning mark started to fade. I perceived as someone threw me in the back seat of my body and took the steering wheel.
My eyes rested on a dark figure. I couldn't believe that I could see in the dark. He was the same person who attacked me in the alley and he's the one who kidnapped me. I didn't know him and his motivation. He looks more menacing.
"You touched my mate! You hit her!" My lips moved against my will. The voice wasn't mine. It was the most dangerous voice I have ever heard. The rage was clear from his voice. Dastien, it's him.
"It's impossible." He yelled in anger.
Dastien moved my body at the speed of a blink and curled my hand around his neck. He propelled him away with impossible strength. "I'll make you regret every single breath you inhaled around my mate."
Dastien jumped on him before he could gain his strength. His dark eyes were shining in the dark, making him horrible. My inside cringed in dread. My body wasn't mine at that moment. His hand wrapped around his neck and I felt burning heat rushing through my hand. My hand glowed red and amber burned him.
With this, I was dropped again behind the wheel. I pushed away from him. My feet stumbled. My gaze stayed on him. He wasn't moving.
"Dastien?" I shouted his name again. "Please, don't leave me here." There was a dead body. Or he was unconscious, I didn't check.
'I won't, La Reina de mi Corazón.' I heard him in my head. With this, he was gone. I felt alone and scared without him.
I heard his loud shouts of defeat. I pushed myself away from him. "I will kill you. Kill you, Dastien." His voice was low and not clear.
Suddenly, I felt the earth moving rapidly under my feet. I screamed in fear and closed my eyes. It felt like I was sitting on a rollercoaster.
"No! No! You can't do this. You can't." I heard a gurgling voice filling the air.
I cracked my eyes open. There was nothing visible to me, only I was feeling the earth moving. I was rolling on the ground like a ball. I pressed my hands to stop it.
My heart was pounding in fear. I was feeling better after talking to my mate. But I'm terrified, I didn't want to be here.
Horror boomed in my chest. When I saw a whip that was burnt by fire. I could see a hand lifting it up.
Then I realized he hit me with it before. I braced myself for the unbearable pain. I swallowed hard, shaking my head. But if he would be a good man he wouldn't have kidnapped me, and hurt me.
He struck me with it. My eyes squeezed shut again. The earth was still shaking under me. I opened my eyes when I didn't feel any pain.
It wasn't dark anymore. A blast of fire engulfed him. The wall collapsed behind him and he was thrown on the piles of debris, dead. The whip was still in his hand. I could see the burning mark on his body. He was dead. His face was burnt.
A booming laugh caught my attention. My head jerked in the direction. Anger coursed through me. Did he bring me here, my kidnapper?
I forwarded my steps to hit him in the face. Everything bad happened to me because of him.
"Sister-in-law," He said between his loud laughter and bowed his head.
I stopped, shocked in my tracks. The earth stopped shaking and moving. I stared at him in daze.
Is he his brother? Why would he do this to his family? And who was he? I looked at the dead person.
"You must be wondering what's happening?" He glanced at the dead body, his smile dropped a little and his eyes turned to me.
I could only nod my head when his eyes didn't peel away from me.
"For his death, it was compulsory for you to be here." He glared at the man who was going to whip me.
"But he's already dead."
"I'm not talking about him. "
Whatever he was talking about, I didn't know a thing. "I don't have any power. I'm not from the royal family." From the book, I found out that only the royal family is blessed with powers from the ancestors. The king will always get a human mate so he could see all his people with the same eyes and understand them.
"Yes, sister-in-law. Don't forget you're the Queen. You must be wondering. If you wanna know everything. Come with me before my father knows this." He gestured at the dead body.
"Who's he?"
"Someone he trusted, his son and my brother." He chuckled."I can't believe he died." He muttered to himself, smiling.
"What?" I squeaked in shock and stared at his laid body in terror.
I heard a weak voice of my mate in my head which forced my feet to move.
He bowed his head and held out his arm. Hesitant, I forwarded my arm and curled it around his strong arm. The uneasy feeling never goes away.
The hallway was carpeted, the walls were of stones and the ceiling was painted white. The fire lamps were mounted on either side of the stone walls.
Terror didn't leave me for a second. It was clutching my heart. It started to beat double every time I looked over my shoulder, staring at the path we came from.
"By the way, happy birthday."
My head yanked and my eyes peered at him in confusion. "It's not my birthday." My voice was betraying me. I couldn't hide my fear, no matter how hard I tried. Nagging feelings ran down my spine. I looked around to run away.
He smiled softly at me. "What do you think this earthquake was for?" He seemed not bothered about anything.
"I don't understand." My breath caught as I looked over my shoulder again. I saw some people in dark clothes running their way to where I was captured.
"Don't worry about him. He won't be able to hurt you now." He flattened his lips, following my gaze. His eyes flared with anger. But they were replaced with softness again as they rested on me.
"I don't understand." I repeated it. His brother was dead. No doubt. the magical fire that poured through my hands killed him. I shouldn't expect help from him. He would seek revenge. An uncomfortable feeling settled in the pit of my stomach. "Dastien, he moved the time ahead. You're not seventeen anymore. You're eighteen." He smiled.
My lips parted in shock. My heart doubled the beat. I shouldn't trust anything he said.
But why couldn't I feel anything but an intense earthquake? I couldn't ask, still stuck in my shock. A chill crept up my spine. My mate was giving me shock after shock.
"There's a reason behind this doing. My father won't be able to hurt you, touch you, and most importantly, your half-ceremony is stronger than before. No one could break it. That was the only reason to keep you safe here. Don't take it as negativity." His eyes are the only feature that betrayed the smile and calm over his face.
"Why are you helping me when you're the one to put me here?" I blurted out. The thought of him putting me in this mess infuriated me. I am panicked, terrified.
"Good question. You have a strong grip on your emotions except for fear. I could understand. You can take the load of the knowledge. He killed my mother when I was ten. He would have killed me that day if my mother hadn't cursed him."
I felt sorry for him. I'm glad that I'm blessed with loving mothers. "I'm sorry for your loss." I didn't know her but tears pooled in my eyes again. He nodded sadly. I needed to know everything so it could help me to get out of this mess. "What was the curse?"
"That if he would kill me, he would lose his whole powers, he won't even be a shifter."
Surprisingly, the male of the Royal families are very powerful but the females always hold the upper hand.
"That's good." I muttered. But I could kill him if he's not good. I shivered at my thoughts. It's not me. Darkice killed him, I reminded myself.
He laughed. I didn't notice where he was taking me but we were in a beautiful castle now, instead of a stone house. The luxury of the entire world was maintained in keeping the beauty of it.
"Yes, that's good." If he is helping me he shouldn't bring me here.
"Why aren't you taking me out of here?" I asked, dreading.
"Dastien is on his way. You can't tell this to anyone. He'll be here soon with his army to kill my father." He said, darkly. A dark smile played on his features.
"What do you mean by the army? Is there going to be a war?" I asked with big eyes. His father? I didn't even know a thing. I haven't seen his father. How could I trust him that he's not lying?
"His death is the only way to end his cruelty. It's him who's attacking with his dark creatures. If we didn't end him soon. You're going to die and be reborn until he gets you as your mate?"
Fear licked way up my spine hearing him. I heard his brother, I haven't even seen his father. Panic slithered through me. "What do you mean by that?"
Instead, he said. "You need to rest. "
I shook my head. I wanted to know things.
"You just need to understand one thing that he is the reason for all your pain." He halted, making me stop also.
I stared at him with a pounding heart and disbelief. It would be hard to find a way out.
"This is your chamber, sister-in-law." He motioned to the twenty feet high wooden door that was painted white.
"You're a light wolf?" I asked. It reminded me of my mother. She liked white things a lot in her life.
He chuckled and nodded. "They're my pack's members. He's my beta, Caleb, and my Gamma, Brandan."
"Queen," They bowed their heads.
I looked at them awkwardly. I opened my mouth to say something.
"He won't come to this part of the palace. My mother's soul guards me and where I stay." He was looking certain. A darker shadow flashed in his eyes. Shouldn't his eyes flash silver instead of black color? He couldn't be a light wolf.
"He would try hard to send you away then," I told him.
"You're capable of saving yourself. Trust your mate." He smiled.
That's why I'm not crying, yelling, and kicking to get out of here. I kept it to myself. I needed to be alone so I could get back home.
Caleb opened the giant wooden door easily. They were wolves. It'd be like lifting a dead leaf to them
"You should rest. I need to go somewhere." He said.
He didn't need to mention his Father's name. The hatred in his eyes explained it pretty well. I nodded my head. "Thank you, Caleb," I said to him as he was holding the door for me.
He looked at me with round eyes and darted his eyes to his alpha for help. He just nodded his head. Then I remembered I didn't know his name.
"I don't know your name," I asked him.
"Eamonn King, Queen Emersyn." He bowed his head again and turned on his heels. Caleb followed him. Brandan stayed behind. Two more muscular men joined him.
They bowed their heads to me. I nodded my head and turned. Hurriedly to get away from the awkward situation. They closed the door. I couldn't even open the door without their permission.
I was kidnapped and captured, placed in a pitch-dark room. His uncle, he must be his uncle. Uncle, Father! I didn't know the whole family story. They're dangerous, including Eamonn.
Oh! I forgot. Happy birthday to me. My eyes rested on my palm. my mark wasn't looking like magma anymore but it was a soft pink line on my palm. So could it be that he moved the time and I'm eighteen now?
My thundering heart returns to a normal beat. I called his name in my head. But I got nothing. I started to panic. My eyes burn and my throat tightens painfully. I have to get out of here.