Chapter 36 - Tingles

**Lily**

The screams are drowned by the wind that surrounds us. The hands holding mine turn cold as the surroundings turn darker and morphe into gold and white. The throne room. It looks different, the earlier decorations are gone and all you can see are the dark corners in the massive room.

I march up to Keely and shake her by the shoulders, trying to control my angry expression. "Take us back." My voice comes out harsher than I intended it to. A sad look crosses her eyes but all she does is look away.

She has no right to transport us without permission. My boyfriend is somewhere in this damn castle fighting for his life and she decides, by *herself*, to transport us to another place.

"I don't think we're alone." Megan rubs her arms from top to bottom, teeth grinding against each other.

"No." Keely shudders. "We aren't..." I follow her line of sight. "Uncle." Her voice is hard.

"Ah." My uncle claps his hands, his leg folded over the other as he sits on the chair of the King. "The twins and her friends are here. Marvelous."

"Where Is My Mom?!" Keely charges toward him but Megan and Alexis hold her back. Keely stuggles out their grip.

"He has friends," Alexis whispers.

My hands itch to wrap around his throat. My insides tingle with hate, impatience, and a sudden urge to kill anything in my way. "Where's the Queen?" My hands shake in anger when the corner of his lips quirk up in excitement. "She - She wasn't with us in the cell." I angerly bite my lip.

It's taking all my willpower to keep my anger inside.

"You know what?" My uncle places his hands on his chin, rubbing a circle around it. "I don't think I have to tell you. I placed her wherever." He waves his hand off.

Keely growls, her feet taking a step closer to him. "Wait." Alexis places her hand in front of Keely and inhales, eyes turning dark. "It smells really bad in here."

It takes me a minute to identify the smell. My insides churn as soon as my eyes see feet sticking out from under the throne. "Whose - " I place my fist in front of my mouth, feeling lightheaded. "Who the hell is that?!" Alexis gasps, her figure cowering behind me.

"What's what?" A sinister smile plays at his lips.

I point to the figure covered in blood, teeth grinding. "That." My voice is full of fear. Alexis gags, fingers gripping my shirt tightly from behind.

"Jeremy."

My heart stops and a sudden cold feeling washes over me.

"My men took him out first." He grins. "What a weakling."

I try to process his words carefully and try to find a trace of humor in his voice.

I find none.

I let out a painful scream and crumble to the floor. Blurry figures shake my shoulders but I can't hear them. All I see are their mouth moving up and down. Eyes full of fear and horror. And it makes it all the more *real*.

I scream again but this time, I can't hear myself.

**Chase**

I groan as a sudden throbbing appears in my head. I try to bring my hand up but feel a sudden restriction in movement. Prying my eyes open is painful, like they are being forced to stay shut.

"Turn down the sun."

That voice...

"Lily?" My mouth is dry. I think it's her but I have so much dried blood in my nose. After several attempts, I find myself starting at Lily and the ropes tied around her waist and chair. Looking down at myself, I realize I am also tied up. I try moving my shoulders and waist but it feels like it's getting tighter.

"Chase?" Lily opens her eyes. "What are you doing here?" Her eyes widen after she notices the ropes around her. "Where's Jeremy?!" She panics, frantically looking around.

My heart pangs as I realize how much she's hurting right now. I just wish it were for me.

"I don't know," I pause and try to rack my brain for an answer. "How the hell did we get here?" From looking around, all I get is that we are in a large, dark room.

She gulps. "I hope Jeremy's okay." Her eyes tear up.

I'm silent after that. I have no idea how I got here. All I remember is fighting a massive wolf, getting held back by another, and it goes blank from there. From the corner of my eye, I can tell Lily's thinking about Jeremy. Her hair is tangled with some twigs and leaves, a few scratches on her arms but the girl still looks beautiful.

I open my mouth to speak. I want to make her feel better about Jeremy but I can't. All the air is knocked out of me when her brown eyes connect with mine. My hands tingle and urge me to grab her into my arms. If only she knew what she does to me.

"I'm sorry." I mutter, looking away from my eyes. I can't believe I can't protect her. She's not crying but I feel how hurt and scared she is.

"For what?" Her voice is gentle and soft but I think she knows what I'm talking about.

"Rejecting you. Everything." I sigh. "You wouldn't have left if I had accepted you. You would have been mine, all mine." I clench my fists, angry with myself.

"Chase, it's not your fault. Trust me." Her eyes fall to the floor. "I was planning on leaving for a long time. I just needed the motivation." Her eyes are on mine again.

I hang my head. "And I was that *damn* motivation."

Lily dryly chuckles. "Don't flatter yourself. I had a lot of other crap going on." She sniffles. "Debra's parents were huge pains in the ass." She looks up at the ceiling.

My eyes widen, "What?!" I'm furious.

A sad smile forms on her lips. "I used to cry because they would make me work and help with the bills but now, it's just a ridiculous thing. You know, I thought having the oldest clothes from all my classmates was the worst thing ever but, I think this tops it all." Her voice quivers and a tear sildes down her cheek.

I would reach and clean it away if I wasn't restrained.

"I knew something was wrong but with everything, I didn't want to admit how miserable I was in the Red Dawn Pack." She smiles. "Just don't blame yourself. Life sucks."

I nod in agreement. "I'm just sorry you're in pain." I don't feel better at all. She's nice enough to try but I think we all know I was out of line. I just wish I could have helped her out sooner. "About the bullying..." I trail off, the guilt stopping me.

I used to see her around the school but I never did anything. She wasn't ugly, she was chubby and awkward. I didn't want to stand out so I never thought about stopping it. I forgot, as the future alpha, I can get people to do anything for me. Wrong or not, I could have stopped them.

"It's over." She shrugs, her teeth biting her lower lip. "I don't care about what people say anymore. I'm worried about the life of my friends and mine, so not worried." Her lips lift at the corner.

God, I'm dying.

"Lily." My voice squeaks. "I need to say this before it's kills me." Sensing the urgency in my voice, Lily looks up. "Lily, you mean so much to me. Rejecting you was the biggest mistake of my life." I inhale, "I'm sorry."

She gulps, shaking her head. "Don't say it please."

The fact that she knows what I'm going to say and doesn't want to hear it, hurts me but I have to. "I'm sorry Lily, I have to," Pain fills my chest. "I love you, so so much."

She freezes in place.

**Lily**

He said it.

He freakin' said it even though I told him not to.

I shake my head, pain and tingles running inside my body

I hate it, now I don't know what to do.

"Bravo! Romantic but pathetic." My uncle venomously spits, staring me down from the other side of the room.

"Let Us Go!" Chase exclaims, moving his body and grunting in pain.

"Chase, I thought you were better than that." He taunts, his feet walking towards us.

"He isn't, just in bed." Debra?

I snap my head to the direction, her figure is pressing against the wall behind Chase but she's not alone. Her parents are beside her, the same careless expressions on their faces.

Chase scoffs. "You're horrible in bed."

'

I close my eyes, trying to calm down my wolf. I hate to admit it but it's becoming harder. I can't keep going against her anymore, it's making it harder for me to stay in control.

"You got unlucky in the mate department," My uncle comments with a smirk.

"So did your mate." I smirk.

He clenches his fists and snares, dangerously.

So that's what sets him off.

I grin innocently, "By the way, Debra, where's Alexis?"

Debra's smile drops and hurt crosses her eyes. "You whore, you stole her from me!" Debra tries to punch me but her parent's restrain her.

"I didn't, she came to me." My words only anger Debra more.

Debra spits, "At least Jeremy is dead!"

What is the word that describes the feeling of total terror?

"What?" I try to look calm but I know they can hear my rapidly beating heart.

"You forgot? Such a shame, huh? That boy really loved you, even willing to die for you." My uncle crosses his arms, a couple feet away.

"You're lying." I try to sound confident but my voice betrays me.

"You're right." My uncle pauses. "You have a stubborn daughter." Debra's parents nod in agreement, their faces full of excitement.

Tears start forming at the corner of my eyes.

"He's not dead." Chase looks at me. "If he's dead then why aren't the others dead. We know Lily would suffer more if the others were dead as well." He adverts his eyes from mine. "So he's not dead."

"Smart mate you got there, Lily." My uncle places his hand on my knee. Chase growls, his shoulders roughly moving on his seat. "He's not dead, yet. He's with the others. I'm trying to decide how to torture them, what do you think?" His hand on my thigh tightens.

"If you think you can get away with it, you're crazy." I growl, the fire inside me burns. "I will get you. And it doesn't matter how." I promise that.

"Now, Lily." Debra grins. "I think it's time for you to sleep." She stands in front of me with a huge needle on her hand.

The courage leaves my body.

"Don't you dare!" Chase rages across from me, frantically moving around as an attempt to escape.

My mouth goes dry. "You wouldn't." I gulp. "The queen, your sister, would never forgive you." Don't cry, Lily. Don't cry.

My uncle chuckles. "I know. That's why Debra is doing it instead."

I open my mouth to speak but I don't get to say anything else. I scream as Debra jams the needle on my thigh, above where my uncle is gripping it tightly.

I close my eyes.