35

Our lips slowly parted and I looked deep into his brown eyes while he protectively wrapped his jacket around me, enclosing me in his delicious scent. "I don't want you showing yourself off in front of others in your underwear anymore," he ordered in a voice that conveyed no joy at all, rather oppression and power, as if our kiss hadn't just happened.

"I have to go," I stuttered, too confused to keep being that close. I ran quickly past the lake, along the bridge and met Camilla at the gate, shaking with anger. "Get out of my way," I ordered angrily. I just missed her. The chaos going on inside me was cruel enough, tossing me back and forth, and then she said she had to catch me.

A sharp pain suddenly appeared in my head, which was not caused by sapphire, because she was perfectly happy since my lips met our mate's. "You have no idea who you're dealing with. If I were you, I'd disappear," she whispered in my ear, grinning. I was conscious of her herbal scent, which made me wrinkle my nose in disgust. "If I'm leaving, it will be of my own free will, not because you tell me to."

Without looking her in the face again, I ran past her and went to my room in a panic. As soon as the door closed, I started shaking and fell onto the bed. I wasn't even quiet for a second, because now Saphir also said she had to start a discussion with me.

"You have to get rid of her." "No, we're going to leave. Let her and Damien be happy." I really meant it, although on the one hand it hurt me too. The connection to him was just there and through the kiss he even strengthened it. Like being dependent on something that is destroying you. "You can't run away. We'll die without him!"

I opted out, not because she got on my last nerve, but because I knew she was right. Once you find your mate, you must stay close to them to survive. Otherwise the inner wolf would perish first, then you yourself.

I angrily threw his jacket in the corner and ripped a white dress out of the closet. When it suddenly knocked after putting it on, I didn't move anymore. I had run out of strength for further talks. I nervously looked at the door, hoping it wouldn't open, but unfortunately I wasn't that lucky.

"Sorry for the disturbance. Can we have a chat?" Nero stood in the doorway, looking at me sympathetically, which didn't sit well with him. Annoyed by his appearance, I sat on the edge of the bed and looked into his eyes while he quietly closed the door and took a few steps towards me. "I know it's not easy what I ask of you, but my son is my only descendant with royal blood. Camilla has been his girlfriend for a long time, but she will never make him happy, you will. Fight for him. Give him Don't stop. You can't let our bloodline die out."

I looked at him confused. Was he about to tell me to have children with Damien. Apparently he was only worried about his kingdom. His thoughts weren't about me, or Damien, just about power, and winning the war against the humans. "Of course, send him over. Then we can get started right away." I threw at him cheekily and rolled my eyes in bewilderment. Apparently everyone here had lost their minds. "You'll understand that I don't mean that in a bad way. It's your destiny." He turned away from me and disappeared out the door, hopefully far away from me. I didn't want to see him, Damien, or Camilla ever again.

It wasn't even evening, but I was as exhausted as if I'd been running all day. My stomach was growling, but I wouldn't leave my room again today, I was too torn between extremes for that. Love and hate, so different, yet so close together. Nobody knew that better than a werewolf whose mate was an arrogant asshole. How could someone who seemed so cold have such warm lips. How could it be that I wanted to run away, but wanted to be near him at the same time.

My fingers glided over my full lips, a tender memory of the kiss crossing my senses. I quickly got up and looked for something to distract myself immediately. Somehow I had to get Damien out of my head, otherwise he would completely conquer me, I would never let that happen.

Just as I was about to go to the bathroom to wash my head with cold water, there was another knock. All day long all this pounding was starting to piss me off. Couldn't they just leave me alone. Taking a deep breath, chest out, belly in, I walked to the door with my head held high, with the small, unwitting hope that Damien would be standing in front of it.

"I brought you something to eat." Emma smiled like the sweetest angel. The food she was holding didn't look that appetizing on the plate, but with my hunger at the moment I could eat anything unless it came from Damien. With him I would decline with thanks, simply out of defiance and vanity.

I pulled the door a little further so that she could pass me with her delicate body, at the same time I looked into the large hallway to rule out that someone would knock again soon.

We sat down on the bed together. She carefully handed me the plate and quickly began to tell all the news. "Aiden was super nice to me today. We ate together and he even tried to teach me to read. Oh, and he got me this new dress as well. Mine was all wet." She slowly stood up and turned in a circle in front of me, just as elegantly as I did in front of her this morning. "You look beautiful Emma." I smiled and turned back to my food. "What's wrong with you?" she suddenly asked, her smile fading. I would have loved to have talked to someone about how I feel, what was going on inside me, but I could do it on my own. Besides, Emma had her own problems. " Nothing I'm just a little tired from swimming. Everything's fine.", I reassured her and put the plate aside to give her hand a gentle squeeze. Now she was beaming again. It was really good for her to be away from that farmer in the village. She was blossoming more and more, huh just made me happy, and for a moment I didn't have to think about Damien.

I watched Emma brush her fine hair while sitting on the bed and then disappeared into the bathroom to change into my sleepwear. A simple white t-shirt and gray pajama bottoms. Plain and cozy. For a while I looked at myself in the mirror, brushed my teeth and removed the little hair clips.

Emma was already asleep in bed when I came back into the room and I sat down next to her tiredly, switched off the little night light and tried to put it all aside. I closed my heavy lids, heard Emma's deep breathing next to me and slowly slipped into dreamland.

A knock on the door startled me. Not quite awake yet, I looked sleepily over to the door, briefly thinking it was a dream, until there was another loud knock. I sat up, annoyed, and looked out the window. It must have been the middle of the night. Emma was still lying behind me, sleeping peacefully, luckily didn't notice the knocking.

Before there was another knock, I tiptoed to the door, but no one was there. Frowning, I took a few steps out into the aisle to be sure, and then just as I thought it was just a dream, someone suddenly grabbed me from behind and covered my mouth.

I threw myself around in panic, trying to scratch the attacker, but a second one came up and tied my hands behind my back. My heart would give up right away, it was beating so fast, I could even feel my pulse in my throat.

I couldn't see anything through the blindfold. I blindly tried to orient myself, but I didn't know my way around here anyway. The only thing I noticed was running down the stairs in the yard.

My thoughts revolved around Emma, whether they took her too, and the guards, who should actually have noticed something about my kidnapping. Unless, of course, the king arranged my kidnapping, or Damien himself.

One last time I tried to free myself with all my might. But the guys didn't give up on me, didn't let go of me, kept holding me.

We walked so long, the castle must be miles away by now, and that's what scared me to death. A sudden pain in my back made me inhale the smell of the forest. They had finally let go of me, albeit a little too hard.

I still couldn't see anything, my arms were still tied, but that wasn't going to stop me. With difficulty I stood up and just started running, hoping not to run straight into a tree. After many hesitant steps, a smile came to my lips. They didn't follow me, I noted with delight, until I heard a voice that made me wince.

"Stop struggling, how many times do I have to tell you that?" Not a breath from me, not a movement. I stood frozen in the middle of the forest. Tied up and at the mercy of the nightmare that had found me, that would make me feel all its fury.

Calvin ripped off my blindfold and stood right in front of me, giving me a dirty grin, and even though his hands weren't over my mouth, I couldn't get a word out. I ran trembling in the other direction, desperately looking for an exit from the dense forest. But everything looked the same, only big trees and darkness surrounded me.

I screamed at Saphir in my head, wanted to transform, but she wouldn't let it, couldn't help me. It was gone, retreating whimpering into the depths of my subconscious and lying there broken. My dismissive way towards Damien, my repressing her thoughts, all this has added to her and now I was alone again, at his mercy.

When I stopped and turned to face him, he was smiling so triumphantly that the anger in my stomach overcame my fear with ease. "Untie me immediately!" I hissed at him. My sanity slowly returned. The certainty that I always knew how to deal with him suddenly came back. I just had to let my charm do the talking. Even though our last evening almost ended in my downfall, Calvin loved me in his own way. In addition, he wasn't the smartest candle on the cake. I had the gift of manipulating him, pretending to make him believe me.

I slowly walked up to him, gave him a soft kiss on the cheek, just to make it look like that, and looked into his eyes seductively. "I'm glad you're here." I breathed as sweetly as I could and his expression changed. I didn't avoid his gaze, a miracle he didn't start drooling, and finally I had what I wanted. He untied my bonds and took me in his arms.

Standing in his arms, I scanned the area. Something had to help me, some direction would lead me back to the castle, but which only.

"We go home." He broke away and took my hand. I ran alongside him smiling, trying to come up with a plan in a panic, because no matter how happy he was to see me, I couldn't play the whole fuss for him for a long time, I was too proud for that.

As I walked through the darkness, I realized one thing. When I got home he would punish me and I would probably never be free again, never be able to go into hiding again.

I dropped, pretending to hurt myself, holding my ankle, whimpering, and waiting for him to crouch in front of me. A grip on the forest floor next to me, a targeted look, and I hit him in the head with a stone with all my might. My breathing hitched, my heart pounding as he screamed and clutched his head and fell to the side.

I stared at him briefly, wide-eyed, unable to tear myself away from the sight. The stone in my trembling hand fell beside him, and just as I thought I'd killed him, he groaned softly. That was my sign.

RUN! That was my only thought, so I just ran in any direction. On and on. Small branches scratch the skin on my arms, but I no longer felt any pain. The cold forest floor felt uncomfortable under my feet, hurting me with every step, with its small stones and bumps, but I no longer noticed that either.

I ran for hours without a break. Stitches in the side were the only thing that made me stop every now and then to calm my breathing. It was slowly getting lighter and brighter in the forest, but despite the light I didn't see the end. If I had walked in the right direction, I should have arrived at the castle a long time ago. In desperation, I just kept running, the main thing was far away from him.