Chapter 26 Daevir has gone mad!
Amarien’s POV
Daevir peeled through my clothes relentlessly, stripping me to shreds.
“Y…your highness…your h-highness….please!” I whimpered, tears welling in my eyes.
But he couldn't hear me. All he did was feel me. All he did was sniff, taking in my scent as it pulled him into a world of darkness.
He didn't let go, not with my pleadings, not with my tears, not with the blood flowing through my skin. He only growled with desire as he held on to my neck, licking it long and hard.
At this point, the gentle knocks on the door turned to violent slams.
“Open the door!” The emperor’s Entourage screeched in anger
As my gaze darted from the door to Daevir, and only then did I see the extent of hell I was in. Daevir's claws had not just extended longer than ever; his silver fur was out, and he had broken into his wolf while mounting over me.
“Open this door, or we'll break it down!”
“Guards, get the key master of the quarters and get the door open now!” That was Emperor Darian’s voice.
He was pissed!
Oh no!
I felt my breath cling to my chest. Daevir held me so tight I couldn't even manage to breathe. It's like he wants to consume me whole.
At this point, I could hear keys turning through the lock. They'll be in any second!
“D…Daevir…” I managed a breath, and suddenly his bloodshot eyes whipped at me.
Suddenly, he threw his head back and gave out a loud guttural howl that made the room tremble.
“What's that?!”
“Is that a wolf in the palace?!”
The door twisted open.
Daevir whipped his head from the door and back to me.
I took a look into his eye for the last time and realised.
No.
This isn't Daevir.
This is something worse.
The door swung open
But in a quick flash, his jaws closed around the back of my gown. The air disappeared from my lungs as he yanked me clean off my feet. Cold night wind slammed into me as he burst out of the palace, muscles bunching like boulders under his dark silver pelt.
I clawed at him, my fingers slipping through the coarse fur as he sprinted into the darkness.
“Where is she?!” I heard Emperor Darian growl in protest as he stormed into my room with his entourage.
But his voice only faded into the whistle of night air that stung my skin.
What is happening to Daevir?!
What has his wolf done to him?!
“Daevir…stop! Daevir!” I gasped, but the wolf didn’t even flinch.
He didn’t hear me.
He doesn't even know me!
The forest swallowed us whole. Moonlight fractured over his back as he barreled between the trees, paws pounding the earth hard enough to shake my bones. My heart thrashed wildly against my ribs.
He finally skidded to a halt in a clearing, releasing me with a violent shove. I staggered, falling to my hands and knees, breath trembling.
He towered over me: massive, monstrous, a wolf far bigger than I could imagine. His fur bristled like a storm about to break, his eyes pools of molten crimson, unfocused and trembling with barely-contained violence.
“Your Highness,” I whispered carefully, raising my palms in surrender. “It’s me… It’s Amarien. Look at me. Please.”
For a heartbeat, he did.
His nostrils flared, trembling as though my scent punched straight through him. His claws dug trenches into the moss, his entire frame shaking. I could hear a sound beneath the growl. A strangled, tortured sound. Like he was fighting something inside himself. Like he was drowning.
“You’re losing control,” I said softly. “Let me help you. Let me…”
The snarl tore out of him so violently that it shook the trees.
Before I could react, he lunged.
I didn't wait for it.
I bolted like a coward.
Branches whipped my face, roots tore at my feet, but I didn’t stop. Didn’t dare. Behind me, I heard him crash through the foliage with terrifying speed, his breath ragged, desperate, maddened by my scent.
Before I could whip my gaze back to where I was going, he lunged again, catching me.
His weight slammed into me, knocking the breath from my lungs. His teeth grazed my shoulder like a warning swipe. But then something snapped. His jaws clamped down, fangs piercing my skin.
White-hot agony ripped through me as my scream sliced the night open.
“Dae—vir—!” I choked, trying to push him off.
But he wasn’t there anymore. The man I knew had drowned beneath this beast!
My blood hit the air, and it only made him wilder.
I shoved him with every ounce of strength left in me. He stumbled back.
His growl deepened, thick with hunger and torment. He shook his head.
Pain lit my nerves on fire, warm blood rushed down her arm, but adrenaline kicked in. She scrambled to her feet, backing away slowly.
He advanced.
Stalking. Hunting.
He was going to kill me.
“Daevir…,” I whispered, realisation chilling my blood more than the night air.
The wolf snarled…and then a light flickered.
I gasped in pain as I watched his wolf claw and claw itself, struggling for freedom against itself.
It was Daevir. It was fighting back.
In what looked like a quick switch, his giant claw began to recede, the silver fur disappeared into his skin, and the Daevir was back, coughing and trembling on the field.
I stood there, frozen, shaken, bleeding, watching him.
Slowly, I watched him get up to his feet; his eyes were weary and dizzy, as if he wasn't sure where he was. When he saw me, he froze. His eyes lowered to my bleeding arm.
“Who did that to you?” He bolted towards me, but I sprang back in fear.
Tears rolled down my cheeks.
His eyes widen. The realisation dawned on him. Tears rolled down his face.
“I did this?”
I nodded, fighting back tears and the pain that gnawed my skin.
His shoulders dropped, his body suspended in shock, and tears pooled in his eyes. “I'm a monster…” he spat.