Chapter 50: Mary

My head is pounding, it feels like someone is banging against my skull continuously with a hammer. All I can hear is “*thump, *thump, *thump*” the sound of my brain pounding. I am terrified to open my eyes with how swollen they feel. What the hell happened to me, why was I feeling this way?

The last thing I can remember is reliving Nikolai’s past with Draq, Dru, and Nevaeh. Had my trip to the past really taken such a toll on my body? I knew I needed to get up and talk to Nikolai. I needed to tell him that I would be alright during today’s summit, and that he had nothing to worried about. As long as I was by his side. I would be safe.

It took every ounce of willpower I had left to open my eyes. Once I was finally able to open them I took in my surroundings, where I was it was pitch black. I could tell that I was in a room of some sort, as I was lying in a bed. The bed I was lying in was lumpy and was nothing like the mattress I shared with Nikolai. The blankets that were covering my body were scratchy reminding me of my blanket that I used back in my village. I could only feel the blanket on my legs, thighs, and arms, letting me know that I had a least a large shirt on. I reached under the blanket and felt around, yes a large shirt, that fit me like a dress. Since I didn’t have my sight, I pulled the dress up to my nose, trying to use my other senses to guide me on my whereabouts. While the smell was similar, a woodsy scent, it was repugnant to me, making me want to hurl.

I reached out blindly trying to feel for a bedside table with a lamp on it, or at least a light switch on the wall. I was met with air. I couldn’t even feel a wall behind me, which made me wonder if the bed was placed in the middle of a room. I tried to throw my legs over the side of the bed, but any attempt I made at lifting my legs was unsuccessful. I felt like I was paralyzed from the waist down, except I could feel my legs when I touched them and I felt pain when I pinched them. I give up on any futile attempt I’ve made so far on trying to get up and I close my eyes as I try to recall what exactly happened after I came back from the past.

I was hit with an overwhelming sense of dread as a memory hit me. I was in a small house, with. a boy I had never met. His mother had died. He wanted me to help her, but there was nothing I could do. It was too late. The boy took off running, and I followed him. Draq was there. He was badly injured. He had a head wound, there was blood pouring down his face, the left side of his body looked like he’d been attacked by a pack of dogs, it was covered in bite marks, pieces of his flesh were torn from his upper torso, the flesh looking like it had been shredded. He looked like he had been to hell and back, but still he used the last of his strength to send a message to Nikolai to let him know that I was in danger.

His bite marks, they weren’t from a pack of dogs. My heart race increased, beating harder and faster than it should. My mouth was dry, making it difficult to swallow. I felt like my chest and windpipe were closing in on me as I tried to breathe through the panic. Draq hadn’t been attacked by a pack of dogs, the bites that covered his body were made by wolves. He had been attacked by werewolves and there had been enough of them present to take down a dragon shifter.

As if on cue, there is a scratching noise from in front of me. The sound of a key turning in a lock sends a chill down my spine. I hear a door knob turning, the door creaks at is pushed wide open. The room is still pitch black, except for a pair of golden orbs that are staring straight at me. I take a deep swallow, as I try to slow my racing heart. My captor was standing in front of me. Would they turn on the light and let me see their face.

“Who are you?” I ask, my voice raspy.

The intruder makes no noise, as they walk further into the room, their golden orbs coming closer to me with each step.

“Stay back.” I shout, trying to keep the quiver from my voice, “If you ta..touch me, the king will tear you to pieces.”

The intruder chuckles, the sound sending a chill down my spine. “Your king can’t protect you. He is dead.” The intruder states his voice vaguely familiar.

“I would be able to tell if my mate was dead.” I hiss feeling my anger rise. I flex my foot, trying to see if I’ve regained strength in my legs. I can feel my calves stretching as my foot points downwards. I lift my foot slowly, making sure not to lift to high. I an not sure how well my captor can see in the dark, but they seem to be moving with ease, and I don’t want them to know that I am gaining strength.

“Mate.” My capture hisses, “People call the mate bond a gift from the Goddess Selene, but I find it to be more of a nuisance as well as a weakness. Without a mate, you have nothing to care about but yourself. Once you have a mate you have someone else you have to worry about. A being who holds thother half of your heart and soul. Without them near you, your body begins to weaken, you begin to lose your mind with worry. The only thing you’re able to concentrate on is your mate and their well being, leaving you distracted and an easy target.”

The orbs are getting closer now. The smell coming from my intruder is the same scent that comes from my shirt. Whoever he was, he was trying to mark me as his. I wanted nothing more than to tear his shirt from my body, but I resisted the urge. I needed something to keep my body covered, and the shirt, provided me with a thin layer of protection.

“If it was for you distracting him, King Nikolai may have been able to sense the danger before the bomb exploded. He may have discovered the truth behind the series of murders, if he wasn’t concentrated on how to gain your love and trust. You, dear Mary, were the perfect weapon in Nikolai’s ultimate destruction.”

He is standing right in front of me now. I can feel the heat radiating off of his body. It takes the chill from my own but I can still feel the goosebumps that litter my body.

“Ignis.” My captor whispers, a small fire igniting in his palm, outlining his face.

We were standing face to face and I was looking into the eyes of Alpha Ash. Alpha Ash who shouldn't have the ability to cast an Fae enchantment.