"We've arrived, your highness." The servant, whose name turned out to be Jonathan, stated.
In some ways, I enjoyed the ride with Jonathan, as he wouldn't stop talking about the wonders in their land and the events that occurred.
Through him, I got to know that the Kingdom of Edessa kept the death of their daughter a secret because of an alliance with their neighbouring kingdom, Latvera. It dawned on me that the queen found a person with little to no resemblance to their daughter and decided to send her off to Edessa just because she possessed the unique features of their daughter.
It was amusing to figure out how Edessa had managed to sustain their kingdom since the death of the only powerful person in the kingdom.
"I have a lot of places to show you in this lake; do you want to start the tour now, your highness?" He asked. That's when I realized I'd been staring out the window, lost in my thoughts, without realizing it.
"Yes, let's go," I answered, and with that, he got off the driver's seat of the car, took a turn to where I was seated, and opened the car door for me with a slight bow.
Truly, the scenery was beautiful to watch from the inside of the car, but the moment he opened the car door for me to get off, a huge wind blew past me, causing me to close my eyes, but by the time my eyes would open, I found myself awestruck.
"What was that?" I asked myself, stepping even further from the car, but my mind still lingered on the familiar fresh scent that was brought to my nose by the wind.
The blood in my veins pumped as my heart throbbed even faster. Slowly, I heaved in the air around me in fear and panic, but it only confirmed my suspicion.
"What scent is this?" I asked myself again, in disbelief, as my gaze slowly shifted to Jonathan, who stood in front of me in confusion with a perplexed look of concern on his face.
"Your highness, is everything alright?" He asked, keeping some distance between us out of fear.
"Do you also smell this?" I asked, my breath quickening as the scent around me thickened. It can't be coincidental, and there's no way I won't recognize something I've been longing for for a very long time.
For months now, I've gone about searching for this particular scent but found nothing. In fear of forgetting how she would smell, I made sure to keep everything in her room intact. Nothing was touched neither was anything tampered with.
Every night, I'd walk into her room to inhale as much of her scent that I could in hopes that one day I would have to smell her heavenly scent while hugging her in my arms.
I made sure to keep her hair band, which never left my side and was always a part of my outfit, close to me to keep me sane in hopes that one day I'll tie her hair with this same band that I've held on to for so long.
This scent wasn't coming from the band; it was stronger, thicker, and intensifying. It feels as if she's right here with me.
With my burdened heart, I dug my hand into the pocket of my suit pant, bringing out the little pink hair band in it; it still held a few strands of hair that I never dared to pluck out. Slowly, I brought the band to my nose, deeply inhaling her scent, but this only confirmed what I was feeling.
I was definitely perceiving none other than Lenora's scent in the air, and on confirming my suspicion, my beast became wild as it fought to be released. It wants nothing more than to run wild in search of where her scent is coming from.
"What smell, your highness?" Jonathan asked. I turned to look at his face, but it didn't take more than a few seconds for my gaze to shift away from his face and for my beast to take over, instantly transforming into my huge beast as I ran past every obstacle in my way in search of the source of the scent.
I can feel it in my bones; I'm getting closer to seeing her after all this time of sorrow and despair, after all this time of agony and restlessness.
Running as fast as my paws could carry me, I trampled upon every rock and piece of wood in my way, running and jumping past little streams of water. Nothing was going to stop me from having Lenora in my arms, not this time.
I've never felt so close to finding her for months now, but this time I know I'm not just close; I have finally found her.
"Your highness, is everything alright?" I could hear Jonathan screaming from behind me while running to catch up with me in his wolf form.
"Mine," my beast exclaimed, stopping on its track, and before me was someone truly mine, standing beside a car with people surrounding her. It felt like a long-term war was finally over as I heaved a sigh of relief while my tensed muscles relaxed.
A growl escaped my lips before I realized it came from me the moment my eyes fell on the boy who was standing by the car with her. There is something strange about him, and my beast wasn't having it with him. Why is he standing so close to her? My relaxed muscles suddenly became tensed once again as my beast slowly brought a paw forward in an attempt to pounce on the strange boy. His aura was contaminated and confusing, but whatever he is, I don't want him near Lenora.
The moment I took a step forward, my nose caught a whiff of danger ahead, causing me to halt my steps.
My eyes rapidly moved around the lake, scanning for any possible threat that was sending me danger signals, but I was unable to figure out anything. The moment I decided to ignore the threat and reach for Lenora, a loud popping sound resonated in my ears as my iris narrowed at the sight in front of me.
It wasn't Lenora but one of her accomplices; she was shot dead on the floor. My eyes tracked the movement of the bullet, and I was finally able to find where it was coming from and who was shooting.
Lenora's accomplice wasn't their target, and their gun was now aimed at Lenora. I needed to stop them.
My beast picked up its pace as I swiftly sprinted to where the shooter was, but before I could lay my paws on him, he pulled the second trigger.
This time, the bullet felt so slow as it approached Lenora, who stood frozen while watching her accomplice on the floor.
"Lenora, please move," I tried to say, but words weren't leaving my mouth until the silver bullet pierced through her skin, blood shooting out from the wound, and her legs gave up on her as she fell flat on the floor with her head hitting the sandy ground of the lake, her eyes closed.
My breath seized, and my iris narrowed as my eyes squinted in grief and in an attempt to stop the atrocious ache deep inside my furred chest. I tried to steady my breath, but nothing that I did seemed to be working; the only thing that was visible to my eyes was revenge.
As fast as a lightning bolt could go, I swiftly reached for the bastard who dared to aim at my Lenora as I lifted him off the huge rock above the hill, slamming his body miles down the hill. He tried to fight back and aim the gun at me, but before he could lift a finger, I immediately twisted his wrists, breaking every bone in them, and watched him scream in pain before ripping his arm away from his body.
Blood splattered on my face, reawakening a part of my beast that I had sworn to bury, but it was too late; there was no saving this bastard right now.
His screams only aggravated me as I threw multiple punches on his face, with the last punch going into his mouth, tearing the skin around his mouth and his throat. My claws grew inside his throat, making me slice through his neck from the inside. Watching his body die so quickly made me angry.
He was going to die in no time, but I wasn't done giving him what he deserved. I immediately pulled out my claw from his neck and ripped out his other hand while decapitating his whole body before his heart finally stopped beating.
My beast was satisfied, but I wasn't. I dashed over to Lenora's side, pushing the boy aside as I knelt close to her on the floor and placed her head on my laps. She was still breathing, but her breaths were becoming faint.
Why does she have to go through all of these troubles because of me? A minute ago, I was happy to see her from afar in hopes that she wouldn't have to go through any trouble anymore because of me, but here she is with her gown soaked with her blood, laying unconsciously on my laps.
They call me the strongest beast on the land, yet I am unable to save the only woman I've ever loved. I don't think I'm strong; Lenora is the strong one here for deciding to love someone who put her through all of these troubles.
"Your highness, Princess Addison," Jonathan gasped out loud as he walked closer to where I was.
"Fucking give me the car keys!" I yelled at the driver of the car close to me. He trembled and handed over the keys to me. Gently, I placed Lenora in the back seat and immediately went into the driver's seat as I drove off at the highest speed.
I need to get to the hospital on time. I need to save my Lenora. Our story can't end here; it needs a happy ending, even if it's without me.