Chapter 48: CHAPTER FORTY EIGHT - SHAUN'S CLAIM

MONA’S POV

I backed away in shock, holding my breath.

“You are my mate, Mona,” the man repeated like I hadn’t heard him the first time and I couldn’t bring myself to believe him, even when everything else showed that he was telling the truth.

I wasn’t sure how a mate bond was supposed to feel but as I stared at this man, a feral feeling rose in my chest. I could feel everything about him, the way his chest moved as he inhaled, to the sweat dripping down his neck. I felt hypersensitive to him in a way I had never felt before.

I turned to face my father, wanting an explanation. I needed him to help me understand why I was reacting like this to this stranger.

He never told me who this man was and yet the man seemed to know everything about me.

But my father didn’t look at me.

“Dad? What is going on? What does he mean by that?” I asked but he stayed silent, glaring at the man in front of us.

“Tell her Caspian!!” the man yelled at him angrily. “Tell her why you lied to her, why you tried to keep her from me!!!”

“Shut the hell up, Shaun! My daughter will never be yours!” My father yelled, his voice ringing through the air as he drew out his claws.

Shaun tilted his head to the side, with his lips twisting into a wicked grin. “We will see about that won’t we?” he replied cooly, shifting into a fighting stance.

“Guards!! Get Mona out of here!!!” he yelled angrily and before I could react, two guards were already gripping my arms.

“No I am not leaving here without an explanation,” I cried out, struggling against the guards.

“You need to tell me what is going on!!” I screamed, but no one was listening.

“You must keep her safe,” Luka ordered, giving me one last soft look before turning to face the intruders. Aster was already in a fight. I wanted to reach him, to see his face one last time, but I was yanked back.

Just then, Shaun lunged at my father, with his claws headed right for his neck. “Leave him alone!!”

I screamed out desperately, but my voice seemed to drown in the screams.

“Let me go!!” I shouted, struggling to free myself and rush towards my father but the guards were too strong.

“The Alpha would be fine,” one of the guards said, dragging me towards the exit. “But you need to stay alive.”

Behind us, chaos erupted in full. Blades clashed against one another, bodies were being slammed into the walls, some of the guests were crouched in corners, screaming for help.

I wanted to try to find Vera, but the guard dragged me out into the hallway, while the other one fought off the attackers following us. As we reached the corridor, we were ambushed— three of Shaun’s men blocked our path.

“We are sorry Princess,” one of them sneered cruelly. “But you are going to have to come with us.”

Immediately, the second guard stepped forward. “You guys should go ahead, I will hold them off!!”

Without wasting a second, the first guard tightened his grip on my arm, pulling me into a sprint as the fight broke out.

As we ran up to my father’s study, I couldn’t help but think that all that happened was my fault.

That Shaun guy had shown up here because of me, I had put all these lives in danger

My heart was racing by the time we got into my father’s study. I stood by the door, with my hands on my ears, trying to block out the screams of pain that echoed from the ballroom.

I didn’t know if my father was still alive, if Aster and Luka had been hurt because of me.

I didn’t even know how Vera was doing.

Suddenly, the guard grabbed a large table and shoved it to the door, barricading it shut. Then he rushed to my father’s largest bookshelf, grabbed a book and pressed a button until the shelf started to move, revealing a hidden chamber behind the shelves.

“Get in here now!” he instructed and I rushed in immediately.

Then he began to close the door of the hidden room, leaving me alone.

“Wait, what are you doing?” I asked, confused, why he wasn’t getting in with me?

“You have to stay alive,” he said, with a look of resignation in his eyes. “Promise me that no matter what you hear, you won’t come outside.”

Tears filled my eyes as I stared at him, a guard that I barely knew so willing to give his life for me.

“I promise,” I nodded at him and he gave me one last smile before the door slammed shut.

I sank to the floor immediately, pulling my legs close to my chest and pressing my hands over my ears in an effort to drown out all the chaos happening outside.

This wasn’t how today was supposed to go.

It was supposed to be my birthday for chrissakes, I thought as tears fell down my eyes.

Why couldn’t I just have one good thing?

It’s because you are a jinx Mona, you jinxed your mother so badly that she died, now your father is going to die and it will be all your fault.

I wanted to scream. I wanted to deny all the accusations my head was screaming at me, but I couldn’t because deep down, I knew they were right.

I was a jinx, who destroyed everything she touched.

The only way for me to stop jinxing everyone would be for me to disappear forever to a faraway place where no one could ever get hurt because of me again.

Just then, a loud bang cut through my thoughts

I heard the door fall to the ground and my self pity turned back to fear immediately.

“Where is Mona?” I heard Shaun ask the guard from outside.

“You will have to go through me to get to her,” the guard replied shakily.

“We both know that that won’t be a problem,” Shaun replied and before I could inhale, I heard the guard’s body fall to the ground in a loud thump.

I didn’t have to see him to know that he was dead.

I had caused the death of another innocent person and if I continued to hide in here, more people were going to die.

I remembered the promise I had made to the guard as I stood up.  “I am sorry,” I whispered like he could hear me somehow. “I am going to have to break that promise.

“Mona?!” Shaun shouted from outside, his voice getting nearer and nearer. “I know you are here. You had better come out already, before you cost your pack even more lives.”

Sighing deeply, I pushed the door open, revealing myself.

Shaun paused in the middle of the room. His eyes were even more unnerving than before, his long black hair was tied to his back and his face was streaked with blood.

The blood of your pack mates.

He smiled as he stepped closer to me, seeming to take me in. “You really are a vision,” he sighed, reaching to touch my face.

“What do you want with me?” I asked, stepping back.

Shaun's smile seemed to grow crueler. “I am here to take you back with me, so you can take your position as my Luna.”

My eyes widened at his words. “There must be a mistake somewhere, I can’t be your Luna, I have a mate already—”

His eyes darkened. “He isn’t your real mate, none of those boys are. Now you have a choice, you can either follow me willingly and no other member of your pack will die or you can decide to test me and choose force.”

I gulped at his words, looking down at the body of the dead guard.

Could I really afford to test this man?

“Fine,” I sighed. “But you have to keep your promise and leave my people alone.”

Shaun smirked at my response, revealing a pair of perfect white teeth. “You have made a good choice, my Luna.”

Suddenly, his arms wrapped around my waist and he lifted me over his shoulder.

“Wh–what are you doing?!” I asked as he carried me out of the room.

“What we agreed on, I am taking you back with me,” he replied calmly.

“I can walk by myself,” I countered, trying to free myself, hating how self conscious his grasp made me.

“I would prefer not to give you the chance to make foolish decisions,” He replied, carrying me down the stairs.

I stayed put until we reached the ballroom.

And then whatever was left of my world fell apart.

The once nicely decorated hall was filled with blood and unmoving bodies and in the centre of the room lay my father with a knife sticking out of his chest.