Zedkiel
She remains silent, even when I take her back to my room. It is almost as if she’s shocked or too stunned to react. I’m not sure.
I had seen the hatred in her eyes when she saw the mark, and for a moment, I wondered if I had done something wrong. But she is mine, and if I want to mark her I can.
Her reaction still irks me, knowing that she fears and hates me. I haven’t given her a reason to be scared. I haven’t ripped her to shreds. She displays more spunk in front of others – for others. But when it comes to me, she is terrified.
“From this day on, I want your mark to be seen. Keep your hair up. I want that mark on display,” I say coldly, wondering what the Oracle meant by ‘we meet again’.
She stares back at me, unblinking. Once again, that intrigues me. How can she look me in the eye for that long and not look away?I know the effect my powers have on people. I know when people look away in fear and when it is from my powers. Back at the ball, I thought she had been rooted in fear when she saw me because, unlike everyone else, she hadn’t lowered her head to me.
“Okay,” she says quietly, looking away.
I step closer, and she moves back, making my eyes flash dangerously. If she fears me, then maybe I should really give her a reason to be terrified. I pinch her chin, snapping her head up towards me. There it is again, the stark terror in her eyes.
I don’t know what to say, so I glare into her eyes, seeing them pool with tears, and my grip tightens. “Remember, I own you,” I snarl before shoving her away.
“Yes, I won’t ever forget that,” she whispers.
I look down at her, and for a moment, she reminds me of something broken.
Did I do that? I didn’t hurt her nor did I force her… But then again, I have a talent for hurting people unintentionally.“I’ll be in my office. You are free to roam the castle. If anyone says anything to you, make sure you tell me.” Not waiting for a reply, I storm out of the room, slamming the door behind me.
Something about her draws me, but it doesn’t make sense. I unlock the office door and step inside, mulling over when I first touched her.
I know you find your mate by touch when both parties have shifted, but even though I thought I felt something, it is impossible. I couldn’t have felt anything. She doesn’t have a wolf, nor does it make sense for an omega to be my mate.
It is also practically unheard of for omegas to have mates. Of course, I’m not exactly a full Lycan or werewolf. I doubt I have a mate at all.
Pulling the chair from behind my desk, I drop into it, looking at the tall pile of reports awaiting me. I switch my computer on, raising an eyebrow at the huge number of incoming emails.
Guess people are more confident sending me a crap load of work via email rather than face-to-face.Dad likes to give us all work, and with the growing unease and the constant attacks from the rogues, there seems to be far more to do. We have to make sure we are providing security to the other packs, making sure those living at the edges are safe. Records on deaths, et cetera.
I don’t like desk work, but it comes with the position. I get to work reading and replying to emails and giving my input when needed. As for the useless emails that are of no use to me, I ignore them. I have no idea why some of this stuff was allowed to sift into my personal email. Antonio is supposed to deal with this stuff before it gets to me.
Frowning, I read another useless email and sigh. I can’t focus, not when my thoughts keep going to the way my Little Mouse behaved or her appearance.
I want her far more than she realises. If she knew the thoughts that go through my mind, she would quiver in fear. One day, and it will be soon, I will claim that pussy of hers and make her mine completely. I massage my jaw, my mind going to how her blood dripped down her neck. The way it smelt… the way it tasted…
This is wrong on so many levels. The hunger for the blood of one of our own species is taboo. I may be a hybrid, but I shouldn’t be craving her blood, yet I do.
Pushing my thoughts aside, I get back to work.
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The Blood Ritual.
Tonight is the night that I will be proclaimed as the heir to the crown. They are all confident that it will be me, and so am I. I am powerful, smart, and the most skilled. I know my name is upon that throne, unofficially, and today it will become official.
It is cold down here, and although we don’t feel the cold much, it now bites into my skin, seeping into my bones. Perhaps it was the pre-ordeal bath to cleanse myself, or just the material wrapped around my waist. Either way, I almost shiver because of it.
The door to the Chamber of Sight shuts with an ominous thud behind me, and I look ahead.
The cave is dark, the sound of water silently rippling through it. I look at the arched roof of the cavern before gazing down at the dark water of the Lake of Truth, running with the blood of our sins. The water looks almost black, but under the moonlight, it will turn blood red.
We only venture into this place once in our lifetime. On the night of our eighteenth birthday, this is where I’d shift. Alone, under the reflection of the moon. This is a place where all royal Alpha heirs come to take part in the Blood Ritual.
This Chamber has been beneath the castle for centuries, and only ones with royal blood can enter. Something that we must do. It isn’t an option but a requirement.
I walk over the jagged rocks, seeing the moonlight seeping through at the altar ahead. My silent footsteps are dangerously loud despite how carefully I am treading. Almost as if not wanting to awaken the Chamber.
I can feel its ethereal power, the bodiless entity that seems to reside in these halls. It feels like this very cave is alive. The Chamber will look into my soul.
I kneel down near the river, where the moonlight peers through, hitting the water that will soon turn red, and I wait.
Midnight will be here, and not only will I shift, but I will be given my destiny. I slice my hand on one of the sharp rocks, letting my blood pour into the lake as the moon shifts slightly, casting its ray of light down through the gap and onto me and the lake.
It is time.
I look up at the moon, waiting for it to take on the red hue, hearing the faint chimes of the castle clock ringing twelve. Any moment now.
My heart is thudding in my chest. Even if I am not a pure-blooded Lycan, I hold confidence in my beliefs and who I am. I am still my father’s son, still the most ideal for the crown, still the one who can be the Alpha of Alphas.
The last gong of the bell rings as the clock hits twelve, but instead of the moon burning a crimson red – thick, dark clouds shroud the originally bright moon, taking on a faint red edge, but then, suddenly, the cave becomes darker.
A sudden gust of howling wind rips through the Chamber, making my head snap up, my eyes flashing red as I scan my surroundings.
What is going on? This isn’t normal. Something is wrong.I look down at the lake, feeling the water ripple faster. Suddenly, a huge black smoke-like wolf appears in the water's reflection. Its golden eyes stare right back at me. I can’t move, as if whatever it is holds a fearfully powerful grip upon me.
It is huge, its eyes holding a cunningness far more powerful than an alpha wolf's. This wolf is far more… so much more… and when it speaks, its voice echoes in my mind, tearing through my head with excruciating pain. A voice not made for mortal ears.
I clutch my head, but the voice comes from within.
The darkness which is beyond the reach of the moonlight will devour every living soul; the filthy blood of the impure is like a poisoned dagger into the heart of the realm. Son of Darkness, away from my descendant, heed this omen...I double over, my hands brace on the floor. The sharp stone is biting into my hands, and the smell of blood lingers in the air, but I don’t care. Nothing beats the pain I feel within.
When the day comes that you yield to the woman with hair as dark as night, lips the shade of cherry blossoms, with eyes the colour of the bird of night, and skin like milk; when you allow her evil to bleed within you… pay heed, for then, shall you bring doom to the world.His roaring voice makes me yell out as pain envelopes me. I can no longer breathe, but then the wind stops, the moon shines on the ground again, and the reflection of the black shadowy wolf has vanished.
My heart beats violently as I scan the room, trying to understand it all.
Son of Darkness? Wasn’t I the one who was meant to continue the royal bloodline? The one fit to be king?This new reality crushes me along with my hopes and dreams ruthlessly. I felt that this had been the only way to show the world that I am Lycan enough, to show them I am just like them, but the truth is I am not like my brothers.
I am different. The haunting voice of the black wolf echoes in my mind, ‘Son of Darkness, away from my descendant…’
Yeah, I am away from the Lycan bloodline. I am a hybrid, part Lycan, part bloodsucker… born from an enemy… a monster.
‘Heed this omen.’
No, maybe this is some sort of mistake. I had never heard of anyone hearing a voice down here. We are just meant to see a vision of our future.
What should I do? I can’t hide it… Everyone will know I’m not the Chosen One. After all, I don’t bear the mark of the heir.Father had come out from his Blood Ritual bearing the mark of future Supreme Alpha.
I stand up slowly, gazing around the Chamber now bathed in darkness, refusing to believe it. I can’t accept this fate. I will prove to them all that I am more. As for this woman of darkness… there is no way that I’ll ever yield to anyone, let alone a mere woman. I’ll kill her. Before any woman even tries to become a part of my life, I will destroy them all.
The darkness in the Chamber begins spreading like a shroud, enveloping me. The fear of the unknown rising within me and making my stomach churn and-
“My Prince!”
My eyes fly open, and I grab the woman, shaking her by the neck, ready to tear her to shreds, my heart ringing shrilly in my ears. I scan my surroundings, realising I am in my office, not the Chamber.
Had I fallen asleep?“M-my Prince, are you okay?” she repeats, making my eyes snap to hers, fear and worry in her innocent eyes.
I can’t respond, my heart thumping violently as I stare at her, a woman I have already bound to myself. A woman who has already made her way into my life. A woman with hair as dark as night, lips the shade of cherry blossoms… eyes a tawny grey, like a night owl and skin… skin as pale as milk.
“Yo-you’re hurt... ing…” she chokes, my hold tightening, and I stare into those eyes.
“Little Mouse…”
The cold, chilling realisation hits me, and I am certain she is the woman from the Chamber of Truth.