Chapter 118 Chapter 117
Evelyn.
The wicked determination in his voice told me he wouldn't hesitate to kill his brother if he was given the chance and I couldn't let that happen. Kieran, still bound, met my gaze with a mixture of apology and determination. The struggle against the chains intensified, a physical manifestation of the Alpha King's unwilling captivity.
I tried to speak but no words would make it past the sobs racking my throat. My face crumpled in anguish, and there was no suppressing the tears that were bubbling up in my soul. "I can't..." I finally managed after a long moment of crying. The faces of people I cared about flashed in my mind, but most importantly, the image of Kieran refused to leave me alone. I had already promised I wouldn't do anything to hurt him after he had opened up to me, and this... This was unspeakable. "I can't do it!"
"Then be prepared to watch him die in the most gruesome...." Callahan responded in a chilling tone.
"No..." I croaked, crumbling to the ground as more tears poured out of my eyes and splattered to the ground. Keiran dying would spell disaster on everyone of us, and there was no telling what Callahan had in store for us. There has to be a way out of this. There just has to!
I turned my gaze back to Kieran in the midst of the chaos, his bloodied body, the pain in his eyes and the disaster that loomed over us like a dark cloud. We already marked and knotted, surely there had to be a way to bypass this. Callahan strided towards Kieran, he unsheathed his sword, raising it high and I screamed just as he was about to swing it down.
"Stop!!!!!" I yelled, watching as Callahan's hands froze mid-air, his gaze directed towards me. Everyone paused, their gazes on me as they waited for what I had to say.
"Yes, changed your mind so quickly? Seems you didn't love him as much you thought you did." Callahan taunted but I could barely hear anything past the breaking of my heart. My gaze still trained in on Kieran, I took several calming breaths, communicating to him through the mind-link. "I'm sorry for what about I'm about to do but just know we'll find a way out of this. I love you so much and I can't let you die like this." I stated, blinking away the tears from my eyes. Kieran stared at me with a puzzled look on his face but I already redirected my gaze back to Callahan.
"I'll do what you asked me to do. I'll reject Kieran." I said, my voice shaky. I didn't think it would cause any effect since we already knotted since I've never heard anything of that sort before. Returning my gaze back to Kieran, I began with the calmest voice I could muster. "I, princess Evelyn Nightshade, reject you, Alpha King Kieran as my mate. Please accept my rejection."
For a long time, nobody spoke. Nobody even did anything. Then, something unspeakable happened. Kieran smashed his forehead to the ground, his body trembling so viciously I feared he was convulsing. Then a foreign howl emanated from his mouth and the chains that were wrapped around so tightly began to splinter as Alpha king's muscular torso began to grow larger, the sickening sound of bones cracking filling the courtyard. It took me a moment to realize what was happening and by the time I did. It was almost too late.
Alpha king keiran had gone rogue.
His transformation was swift, almost immediate, as Kieran's massive wolf form emerged with a ferocity that sent tremors through the courtyard. Everyone scampered around, too afraid to be near the rogue Alpha king's wrath and even Callahan seemed a little shocked like he wasn't expecting this transformation.
The air thickened with tension as Kieran, once a symbol of strength and authority, became an embodiment of unchecked power. His primal instincts took hold, and with a feral howl, he unleashed devastation upon everything in his path. Callahan's men, initially attempting to restrain him, soon found themselves overwhelmed by the sheer force of Kieran's unleashed wrath.
I watched in horror as Kieran tore through Callahan's soldiers with a ruthless efficiency that sent shivers down my spine. The once grand palace, a place of stability, now trembled under the weight of destruction wrought by the rogue Alpha king. The courtyard, once a place of assembly and unity, became a battlefield of chaos and despair.
I, a mere spectator to this descent into chaos, struggled to comprehend the magnitude of what had just occurred. Kieran's eyes, a wellspring of emotion and conflict, met mine one last time. The anguish etched across his wolfish features conveyed a depth of pain that transcended words. It was a glance that seared into my soul, a silent farewell that reverberated with a profound sorrow.
With a final heartbreaking gaze in my direction, Kieran sprinted out of the crumbling palace, leaving behind a void of disbelief and despair. The once-mighty ruler, now a rogue force, disappeared into the night, his departure leaving the courtyard cloaked in a haunting silence. The shock among Callahan's men mirrored the devastation etched across my face.
"Follow after him!" Callahan roared, pointing at the route Kieran just took. "Make sure to bring him back alive!" He bellowed and his men immediately followed suit, a few soldiers changing into their rogue form as they chased after Kieran.
Callahan, seizing control of the fractured scene, swiftly shifted his attention back to me. The effects of the rejection, like a tidal wave of pain, coursed through my body. I crumpled to my knees, the overwhelming agony threatening to consume me. Yet, there was no sense of a real breaking of the bond. It was as if the connection persisted, as there was no severing of the connection that has bound us.
Callahan, approached me with a malevolent smirk, his eyes blazing with fire and madness. His words, dripping with taunts, clawed at the remnants of my composure. "You should be proud of yourself," he sneered, relishing in the chaos he orchestrated. "You've ruined him, broken him beyond repair. Quite the accomplishment, princess. Are you happy now?"
I could only whimper, my gaze still fixed on the spot where Kieran had just exited, tears blinding my vision. The pain, both physical and emotional, rendered me vulnerable to his cruelty. He grabbed me by my chin, turning me to face him as he bored into my eyes, his gaze filled with nothing but cruel intent. "It'll be so much fun to deal with you, with him gone. I would have killed you immediately but you still need to entertain me first," he said, before throwing me to the ground with a thud, my body hurting at the impact. A gasp escaped my lips as pain paralysed me, the world around me blurring as I teetered on the precipice of consciousness. His laughter, a cruel melody, accompanied my descent into unconsciousness, the darkness swallowing me whole.