Book 5: Chapter 49 – Imprisoned!
Book 5: Chapter 49 – Imprisoned!
Cerelia’s POV
“Why don’t you freshen up for lunch, Cerelia? Come, I’ll show you to your room. Your luggage is already there.” I smiled at my aunt Elena. She was a true silver wolf and my uncle Alarik’s mate. Alpha Alarik was my dad’s older brother and the ruling leader of the Silvermane Warriors. Even my grandpa didn’t interfere with his rules. His twin sons, Nikos and Alekos, were five years older but kind to me.
I met everyone here, yet my eyes sought my mate. Where was he? What was the holdup? What was my grandpa discussing with him?
“Umm, I’ll just check on Alexandrios, my mate. He’s the one who brought me here.” I walked out of the living room, but four guards blocked my path.
“Alpha Cassius has gone out, miss. You cannot go to his study in his absence.”
I gave them a bewildered look. Wasn’t this my father’s house? Who were they to stop me? It seemed I was a prisoner in my house.
“I’m not interested in his study. I just want to know about my mate, Dr. Alexandrios Vasiliou. He was with my grandpa. Have you seen him?” I watched the hesitant look on their faces with confusion. What was wrong with them?
“Why don’t you go to your room, Cerelia? I’m sure he’s waiting for you there,” said my uncle, alpha Viktor. He was the next after my dad and his oldest son, Kostakis, was a year older than me.
“I’ll come with you,” offered Nikos, the friendliest of the lot.
He led me down the never-ending corridor towards a room at the far end. Strangely, I couldn’t get any scent of Xandrios after having the welcome drink my aunt Elena offered. Neither could I connect with him through the mind link. How could it be possible? After we mated, our connection had strengthened manifold.
Realization hit me, and I gasped with surprise. Did they drug me? But why would they do that?
“This is your room, Cerelia.” Nikos led me to a room with no opening but a tiny window. I turned to face him, only to find the four guards tailing me. I felt like a prisoner already when I had been here for only thirty minutes.
I walked inside and looked around. Just as I had thought, there was no sign of Alexandrios. “Where is my mate, Nikos? Please, can you take me to the reception room where I left him with Grandpa?” I grabbed his hand as tears of desperation pooled in my eyes. I couldn’t stop the feeling of dread from filling my heart and mind. What did my grandpa do with my mate?
“Yes, let’s go there and check.” However, before I could leave the room, the guards blocked my way out.
“You can’t leave this room without Alpha Cassius’s permission, miss. We have strict orders to detain you here.”
“Why? She isn’t a prisoner,” Nikos fought for me.
“She isn’t, but Alpha Cassius wants her to stay in until his next orders. I’m sorry, I have to lock you in this room.” Before I could protest, the guard closed the door to my face and locked it from outside.
Panic coursed through my body and settled in my heart. I banged on the door loudly in desperate hope to get out. “Open the door. You can’t lock me here. I’m not here to live with you forever. I’ve just come to meet you before going to my home in Lucania. It’s my mate’s home and mine, too. Please open the door. Xandrios! Xandrios! Where are you? I need you,” I yelled with all my might, banging incessantly on the thick door that refused to give way. Tears cascaded down my cheeks, drenching my clothes.
My voice echoed all around, but no one came to my rescue. Fear gripped my heart. Where was Xandrios? If he were here, he would have surely come to my rescue. He wasn’t here. Then where was he? Did my grandpa harm him?
I yelled and banged on the door, using my body this time. “Open the damn door. I hate to call you my family. No wonder my dad left you. If only he had warned me against you. Let me go, Alpha Cassius. I’m ashamed to call you my grandfather. I wish you die soon for separating me from my mate.”
I hated them all, especially my evil grandfather. Why couldn’t I see through him? Why did I ever agree to come here?
I broke down completely, feeling devoid of energy. The welcome drink surely was spiked with something to drain my energy and reduce my powers. I sagged onto the floor, repenting, hurting my mate. He had repeatedly asked me to return with him to Lucania. I should have listened to him. I missed the safety and warmth of his penthouse.
Now I realized my mate’s home was the only haven for me. Why didn’t I listen to him? Why did I insist on finding my family? If my dad and Uncle Erik had left such a family, surely it was a huge red flag. I should have paid heed to my mate’s intuitions. He had been uncommunicative from the moment I considered coming here. Although he never declined, I knew he wasn’t happy with my decision.
More tears fell from my eyes as I curled up into a ball. My head felt dizzy, and I knew I wouldn’t hold up much longer. They had drugged me and locked me up, away from my mate.
“Please, my kind goddess, help me. I’m sorry for hurting my mate, for being selfish. I’ve learned my lesson now. Please help me reunite with my mate.”
The door opened, and I raised my head in hope. Did the Moon Goddess grant my prayers? Was it Xandrios?
No, it was Nikos with some food. I tried to raise myself to run out through the open door, but couldn’t. My body refused to budge. “What happened, Cerelia? Are you sick?” He helped me to the bed and propped some pillows behind my back for support.
“Yes, Aunt Elena spiked my drink and I’m feeling drained. I can’t connect with my mate even.” I knew she was Nikos’ mom, but I couldn’t hide the truth from him. “What’s going on, Nikos? Did you find out about my mate?”
He looked down at his hands with remorse. “Your mate has left Pieria, Cerelia. That’s what Grandpa told me.”
My mouth hung open with shock. How could Xandrios leave without informing me? No, I couldn’t believe that.
“No. I’m sure Grandpa has harmed him. My mate can never leave without informing me. Please, can you find out the truth, Nikos? What has Grandpa done to him?” I cried with all my strength, trying to get down.
Nikos held me with an upset look on his face. I knew he was the only one who wanted to help. “Eat something and try to get some rest, Cerelia. I want you to regain your strength. Don’t worry, this food isn’t spiked. In the meantime, I’ll find out the truth and seek your mate. Do you trust me?”
I nodded at my older brother. We might not be siblings, but he was almost like my own. “Yes, bro. Thank you.”
He handed me the plate of food and water and rose to leave. “Don’t thank me, Cerelia. I hate what Grandpa is doing to you. He still thinks silver wolves can’t mate with ordinary shifters. He won’t ever change his rules, despite losing two sons for the same cause.”
I gaped at him with wide eyes. “Is that why my dad left home?”
“Yes, he loved an ordinary shifter. She was your mother, Celia. It was the same with Uncle Erik as well. My dad and Uncle Viktor had to mate with silver wolves to please him. I hate his rules.”
“But he can’t stop a wolf from choosing his fated mate. It’s the goddess’ will.”
Nikos nodded sadly. “You can’t convince grandpa. Your mom proved him right by betraying your father’s trust and choosing Alpha Artemis instead. They stole the famed Fabergé eggs, too. The day she gave birth to you, Uncle Cedrik found out and killed her. It was the same with Uncle Erik’s mate. Grandpa hates shifters and nothing can change his views.”
I gaped at him, too choked to speak. Now all the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle fit in. The answers I was looking for were right there. But at the cost of my mate. I had lost the only one who was the dearest to me. My mate. I should have known this.
My grandpa separated us because Xandrios wasn’t a Silver Wolf like me. If only he knew what a special wolf he was. He was a savior of lives, a doctor who treated all creatures equally: rich or poor, young or old, alphas or omegas, everyone.
Tears formed in my eyes and I pushed the food away. I couldn’t eat without getting an update on my mate. A strange fear crept into my heart.
Was Xandrios alive even?
What would I do if my grandpa killed him?