Louisa's POV
My shoulder blades and knees were still dislocated, but that was OK.
One of my eyes was still impaired. The buzzing sound was still present in my ears. I didn't have time for that, either.
My man was being tortured by someone else and he couldn't fight back.
That, I wouldn't allow.
"Stop... hurting... him..." I gasped in the air and said, falling down to the ground and trying to get back to my feet.
Someone lifted me up in his arms. I lifted my head up to see who he was.
To my disappointment, it was Alpha Zackery.
"Little girl, why did you do this to yourself?" He whispered and said.
"Lucas..." I stretched out my arm at the blurry image standing in the distance.
Alpha Zackery held my arm down and said, "Don't move, little girl. You're hurting yourself."
The other eye regained sight. I managed to see the surroundings clearly.
I saw Lucas' back.
He was walking away from me.
He was leaving me with this horrible man, who was hurting him.
I saw a long blood trail along the way he was walking. The blood dissolved in the water on the street and disappeared into the darkness.
"Lucas... Don't..." I started to cough blood.
"Louisa! Louisa!" I heard Will's voice.
I lifted my head and saw Will standing in front of me, holding Snow in his hand.
Snow was bleeding badly from her leg. Some glass must have scratched her while I was throwing myself out of the window.
"Come here... Will..." I stretched out my arms.
Will crouched down, got into my arms, and curled up.
I placed my hand on Snow's wound, trying to stop the bleeding, but there was just too much blood.
Her body was shivering and she was slowly turning frigid.
"No..." I coughed out more blood.
"Don't worry, little girl. I'll save your little friend," Alpha Zackery said. He tore down some cloth from his shirt and tied her tiny leg as a tourniquet.
"Everything will be fine. You're with me right now," Alpha Zackery said in a tender voice. "I won't let anything happen to you. I won't let anyone hurt you."
I closed my eyes and adjusted my breath.
I heard the clicking sound coming from my bones.
My shoulder blade and knees were restored back to their original positions.
I felt that my airway was cleared and I could breathe again.
I shook my head and opened my eyes.
Will looked up at me and exclaimed, "Louisa, your eyes!"
I looked down at him and said, "What's wrong with my eyes, Will?"
"The color of your eyes has changed! They're golden now!" Will said with excitement. "You've become more like a vampire now!"
I looked around. It was a transcendental feeling. I could see even the slightest movement of the leaves of the birch tree even though they were submerged in complete darkness. I could zoom in to see people far away from me clearly. As I zoomed out and looked at Alpha Zackery, I could see his veins underneath his skin and the blood flowing inside.
I licked my chapped lips and felt amazed.
"Are you going to bite me now, little girl?" He looked down at me and smiled.
I shook my head.
"You can bite me if you want, but only for this time because I kissed you without your permission just now," he said. There was something very soft, sweet, and seductive in his words.
I struggled to press down my impulse of chewing on his neck, draining his blood.
"I don't want to bite you," I lowered my head and said. "But you shouldn't torture Lucas like that."
Alpha Zackery frowned and said, "Why do you always take his side? He has done nothing except torturing you and abandoning you. He wanted to reject you, little girl. Can't you see that he's just using you?"
I sighed, "He can't use me if I'm completely useless. I mean, I can cook, clean, and wash for him. Maybe I will bear his babies in the future. But other than this, what else can I do for him?"
Alpha Zackery stared at me silently for a while and eventually said, "I understand you, little girl, I really do."
Then, he helped me to stand up and covered me up with his cape.
"Let's get out of here," Alpha Zackery said. "I'll let Jarfar do a thorough check-up on you."
"I can't go with you," I lowered my voice and said.
"I will not allow you to go back to Lucas. You stay with me from now on," Alpha Zackery said.
"But he's my mate!" I protested. "You can't just take me away and..."
"Yes, I can," Alpha Zackery held me up in his arms and said, "I'm going to take you away from him and he can't do anything about it. That's called power, little girl."
"But what about me? What about how I feel? What if I don't want to go away with you?" I struggled and asked.
"You don't know what you want. You haven't met a lot of men and I'm afraid to say that all of them are toxic. Your father, stepbrother, Lucas, Lucian, and that warlock. All of them have had a bad influence on you and I can't stand by and see you being manipulated." He said decisively while wrapping me around like a ball with his cape, so I couldn't struggle anymore.
"But why do you care?! I mean, you're a Lycan. You're the stepbrother of the King and I'm nothing. Why do you have to interfere with my life?" I asked.
"I have my reasons," Alpha Zackery said and turned his head away from me.
Will jumped up and down around Alpha Zackery and said, "Give Louisa back to me!"
Alpha Zackery lowered his head, looked at him, and said, "I won't give her back to you, little bat. But I'll take you with me."
Then, he picked Will up and held him in his arms.
Will placed his head over my shoulder while holding Snow in his arms. He was surprisingly tamed in Alpha Zackery's arms.
"My father invites you and Louisa to pay him a visit to our castle tomorrow," Will said to Alpha Zackery. "He said you've got lots of questions to ask him."
Alpha Zackery looked a bit surprised and said, "Well, I guess I have to take Count Swans' invitation, because I was about to visit him. But you have to promise that you won't bite anyone tonight."
"If you dare kiss Louisa again, I'll bite your nose. Other than that, we're good." Will looked up at Alpha Zackery and yawned.
Then, after a few minutes, he fell soundly asleep against my shoulder.