Thirty eight

N A T A L I A.

I stormed towards the indoor garden, as soon as I got there, I saw Rowland sitting on the floor, he looked so shocked when he saw me. But nevertheless, a smile immediately spread across his face. But as soon as he noticed the state I was in, he raised his brow in question.

“When did you both arrive? Did you find your brother?” He asked, I busted into tears.

“He is dead! Rome killed him.” I said, I walked over to where he was sitting and sat down next to him.

“What do you mean? You found him and he killed him?” He asked and I nodded.

“That bastard, I’m so going to…” He tried to get up but I held him.

“Don’t, you know how powerful he is, he will hurt you.” I said, he calmed down a bit and sat down.

“What are you going to do now?” He asked.

“I want to go far away from here, very far away.” I said, he nodded his head.

“Go to your room and go get your bags, I’ll take you to the pack house,” He said, I nodded and got up. He caught my arm.

“You don’t deserve to suffer Natalia, be mine, I’ll keep you safe.” He said, I smiled calmly.

“I’ll go get my bags, I can’t breathe over here.” I said. He nodded, I opened the door and walked out, but first, I needed to see Hazel. I need to speak to her one last time before I leave here, I should have never stayed here this long. It was a mistake on my side to love a man like Rome Lethal, I can never love him again. He’s a very bad person and I hate him for what he did to my brother.

I knocked on Hazel's door and it was opened by Dimitri, he stared at me in shock, I knew I looked like a walking dead. “Queen Natalia, when did you guys come back?” Dimitri asked, I smiled tiredly at him.

“Where is Hazel?” I asked. He opened the door and I walked in to find her holding a baby in her arms while she sat down watching television.

“Oh my God! Hazel you gave birth, I can’t believe I missed it.” I said, she smiled happily when she saw me, when she had fully accessed my state, she scowled her face in shock.

“What happened to you? Where is Rome?” She sounded very worried.

“He is fine, I came to say goodbye.” I said, she raised a brow.

“Goodbye? Where are you going? You found your brother? Are you going to leave with him?” She asked happily, I couldn’t help the tears that began to cascade down my eyes.

“What happened?” She asked. I laid my head on her shoulder slowly and fiddled with her baby's hair. Her baby was very beautiful

“What is her name?” I asked, I didn’t want to talk about what Rome had done, it hurt me to think about how my brother had died.

“Jasmine, I named her.” She said happily.

“She’s beautiful.” I said.

“What happened Natalia? You don’t look happy, you smell like smoke and there are burns on your clothes.” She said, I smiled calmly.

“That is a story for another time Hazel, I’ll miss you so much, I have to leave, I can’t keep staying here.” I sniffed, I was trying my best not to cry out loud.

“What happened? Where is your brother?” She asked.

“He is dead Hazel, I have to leave.” I said, I got up slowly from her shoulder and she brushed my hair calmly.

“Where are you going to?” She asked.

“Rowland’s pack, I will be staying there from now on.” I said, she nodded.

“Okay, I’m sure he’ll keep you safe, I’ll come see you tomorrow okay?” She said, I nodded.

“I’ll miss you so much!” I hugged her tightly and graced my palm on her daughter's face before getting on my feet.

“I’m sorry for whatever Rome might have done to you, he is not a bad person, his wolf and demon are very dangerous.” She said, I closed my eyes and shortly opened it, I nodded before walking out of her room. I could see the sadness in her eyes as I walked out, Dimitri was not in the room, I had wanted to also say goodbye to him.

I walked in a fast pace over to my room, I twisted the door knob open slowly and walked in. “Gianna,” I called while switching the light. Turning around, I saw Rome sitting on my bed, he stared at me with so much emotion in his eyes, my heart skipped a beat.

“What do you want?” I asked. He didn’t say a thing and got up, he snapped his finger and I was before him in less than a second.

“I’m not going to let you leave!” He said firmly, he held onto my arm tightly.

“I’m going and there is nothing you can do to stop me, let go of me!” I yanked my arm away from his grip, but in a swift motion, he seized my lips immediately, he kissed me hungrily. I tried to pull away from him but somehow, he was stronger.

“You’re MINE!” He said as soon as he broke the kiss, without any warning, he synced his fangs into my chest and a shrill scream escaped my lips as his fangs synced In deeply. I didn’t understand what was going on, but I suddenly found myself slumping and him catching me, he carried me bridal style and laid me on the bed.

“Now, everyone will know you are their Queen!” He said. Tears streamed down my eyes, he had just marked me.

“Why did you do this? Why did you mark me?” Words slurred out of my lips, I was very weak.

“Because you are mine! I’ll never let you be with Rowland or anyone, now you can’t leave!” He said, that was where he was very wrong.

“I’m going to leave, there’s nothing you can do. This has made me hate you even more!” I said, he smiled.

“I’m used to being hated, I told you, I’m cursed.” He said, I tried getting up but I was very weak.

“Don’t fight it, you are weak right now.” He said, tears slowly cascaded down my eyes. The sight of him before me was very irritating, the fact that he had killed my brother in cold blood couldn’t leave my mind.

“Let me go! I don’t wanna stay here, I hate you.” Words slurred out of my mouth as though I was drunk.

“Sleep, you need it.” He said, I didn’t know what was happening, but I found my eyes closing up. Sleep slowly took hold of me. The only thing I could feel was a clothe being laid upon me, and a warm arm brushing my hair calmly.

~

Opening my eyes, the ray of sun that shone in the room was much. I looked around to find myself in a different room from mine, I wasn’t in the castle, but in somewhere else. I got up immediately and placed my arm on the spot Rome had marked me last night. I saw a mirror standing in the white room and I ran over there immediately, staring at my reflection, Rome’s mark was clearly showing. It was a wolf tattoo.

“I see, you are awake.” I heard Rowland’s voice, I turned over to where the voice was coming from to find him smiling at me.

“Where am I? How the hell did I get here?” I asked.

“You’re in hell!” He said, suddenly he started transforming. My heart began beating frantically, I felt myself standing up from the bed, only to discover that I was having a dream and I was still in Rome's castle.

“Natalia, were you having a dream?” I heard Gianna say, I turned around to find her staring at me.

“Yeah, I was having a dream. Where were you last night?” I asked, her eyes widened when they fell on my chest.

“The Lethal King marked you!” She said. I rolled my eyes, the mark was the least of my problems.

“Where is Rowland?” I asked instead.

“He is in his room.” She said, I raised a brow.

“How exactly do you know where he is at the moment?” I asked, she chuckled nervously.

“I saw him enter into it yesterday.” She said, I knew there has been something she had been hiding from me, but I didn’t want to push it. I got up and headed into the bathroom, I took a very hot bath and came out with my towel around my chest. Stepping out, I saw Rome seated on my bed just like he was seated yesterday.

“What do you want again? My heart?” I snapped at him the moment our eyes met. He scanned me from head to toe, he took in a deep breath, his eyes landed on the spot where he had marked.

“My mark looks very nice on you” He said, I felt like slapping him hard across the face.

“Get out! I’m leaving!” I said.

“You are mine now! Do you think you’ll be free to roam around the werewolf territory with my mark, in another Alpha’s pack and no one will question?” He said, I rolled my eyes, to me, all he was spewing was gibberish.

“I don’t care what people think, you’ve hurt me a lot. I don’t know why you wanna keep me here, but all I can say, is that you are very wicked Rome, you’re selfish and I hate you.” I said, his eyes looked very hurt.

“I’m not letting you leave!” He said firmly.

“Why? Why won’t you let me leave? What do you want? You wanna kill the last Royal dragon? Okay, go on, kill me.” I said, I was crying hysterically. He buried his face and his palm and lifted his head to stare at me.

“I love you, Natalia, I can’t afford to lose you.” He said, I laughed.

“Love? You’re a beast, you can’t love. The word love doesn’t sound good coming from you, I’m leaving no matter what you say.” I said, he magically teleported before me and grabbed my arm.

“I won’t let you go, you’re MINE!” He placed emphasis on the last word. I yanked my arm away from his grip.

“I’m not yours! If you truly loved me, you’d let me go, that is the only way I’ll ever feel happiness, far away from a mess like you.” My words were harsh, I could see the impact they were making on him, he took in a deep breath.

“Is that truly what you want?” He asked and I nodded.

“Then you may leave!” He said very softly. “I’m sorry about how I treated you in the past, I hope you’ll find it in you to forgive me.” He said, I didn’t respond to him and when he noticed I wasn’t going to say anything he teleported.

I slumped on the floor, tears filled my eyes, I couldn’t believe I had just lost him. I knew what he did was bad but then, I had to let him go, I was tired of the pain he was causing me, it was high time I let him go. I got up and walked towards my closet, I picked up a dress and wore it, I didn’t mind what I was wearing because I wasn’t in the mood. All I wanted was to go far away from here, never to be seen again. I didn’t want to breathe this air any longer, The pain that came with being here was much, It reminded me so much about him.

After arranging my bag, I picked it up and walked outside. I headed toward Rowland’s room, I knocked on the door and he opened it immediately. As soon as he saw me, a smile spread across his face.

“Good morning, Oh my God, he marked you.” He said, he looked really shocked.

“Can we leave? I’m tired of staying here.” I said and he nodded, He looked very confused though. He stepped out of his room, he locked the door and helped me with my bag. From the corner of my eye, I could see him staring at me with so much sadness, I knew he felt bad for what was happening to me. But he could do nothing, I was certain the mate bond we shared was broken, which clearly explained his grief.

We walked towards the exit of the palace, I looked back one more time, all the memories of what had happened came flooding back, they weren’t good memories at all and I wanted to forget everything. I wanted to forget Rome, I needed to start my life up afresh. Rowland and I walked over to his car, he opened the front door for me and I sat inside immediately. He walked over to the other side of the car, He opened the door and walked in, he put on his seatbelt and so did I.

“We can’t go to my packhouse,” He said, I raised my left eyebrow.

“It’s not that I don’t want you there, if my pack members see you, they’ll feel your aura and will question your character.” He said.

“What do I do now? Where do I go to? I can’t go out in the woods, the vampires are looking for me.”I said, he drove out of the palace.

“I won’t ever let you go into the woods, I have a house in the human world, it’s secured with magic, you can stay there” He said, a smile immediately spread across my face. The thought of moving to the human world made me very happy, I would love to interact with them, I would love to make human friends.

“I love the idea, I’d love to stay there.” I said and he smiled happily, he drove towards the border, it reminded me of how I and Rome had driven past here. I pushed the thought of him behind me, I hate him, and I never want to think about him.

Rowland was a very fast driver, he had already reached the human world and I could see cars passing by. A smile immediately appeared on my face when I saw the buildings, they looked just like I had last seen them. He drove toward a mansion that stood in the middle of countless buildings, I knew it was his house because his name was encrypted on a plate that was placed before it.

“This is your house?” I asked, and he nodded.

“It is your house now, Rome doesn’t know about it, and I’m certain no supernatural power can located here, my father personally helped me secure it with magic, and if you go in, the magic will rub off on you as well.” He explained to me, and my mouth literally fell, it was very beautiful.

“Is there anyone in there?” I asked and he nodded.

“Sophie leaves here, you’ll love her, she’s a human and she knows everything about the supernatural world.” He said.

“A human? OMG I’m so excited to meet her.” Before I could even try to open my door, a pretty blonde lady walked over to the car and Knocked on Rowland’s part of the window. As soon as I saw her, from the way she was smiling, I knew she was Sophie.

We came out of the car and she immediately hugged Rowland, he introduced us both and from the way she behaved, I knew we would get along really well.