46

The monotonous noise of the tires on the narrow forest path made me relax and observe nature. The surroundings looked beautiful. The trees let small rays of sun shine through, while the light wind let small leaves fall down. Autumn would come soon.

"You know we're putting ourselves in danger?" Damien asked, glancing over at me and then turning his attention back to driving. "What do you mean by danger?" I asked him confused and let my gaze rest on him. "People recognize me immediately for what I am, or rather who I am. It's like being served the son of their worst enemy on a plate," he laughed, but it wasn't until then that I realized that we really were would be in danger. I had wasted so much thought on Emma, Aleks and Camilla that the war and everything to do with it had completely disappeared from my mind.

Concerned, I turned my gaze ahead and stared into space, but Damien's hand jerked me out of my stillness as he sympathetically lowered it onto my thigh. "Don't worry. I already know how to deal with them.", he told me proudly and took both hands on the steering wheel again. I got a queasy feeling in my stomach, but I couldn't think about it for a long time, because the camp that I was allowed to get to know a few weeks ago could already be seen from afar.

Damien parked further away and got out first, apparently also the only one, because he told me to stay seated for now. "But-" I tried to persuade him to give me a ride, but he cut me off by leaning over the open convertible and pressing his soft lips firmly onto mine. A kiss that eclipsed everything, and as quickly as it came over me, he smiled and pulled away from me. With a wink, he knocked twice on the hood and ran over to the small huts, where several men were already looking at him eagerly.

I half leaned on the driver's seat and tried to spot Emma somewhere, but like last time, there were only men here, all dressed like lumberjacks.

Damien stood between them and talked to them. They all looked relaxed, and yet my heart was pounding in my throat. I was afraid for him, even if I never thought it possible to feel that way for him of all people. But that's how it was, and when I suddenly saw one of the men discreetly pull a knife from behind his back, I widened my eyes and jumped out of the car to run towards them.

"Melody?" came from someone I didn't recognize with his curly black hair and crooked nose in the middle of his face. "Is that yours?" another asked me, pointing at Damien, who gave me a confused look as I gasped next to him. "Yes, he's mine," I replied, glancing at my mate, who gave me a warm smile after my words caught on.

"You know they kidnapped and are torturing Aleks?" the tallest of them snapped at me while looking at Damien like he was about to slit open. "I don't know any Aleks!" Damien said loudly, but the big one immediately punched him in the face, which made my heart skip a beat. I stood there in shock and watched as Damien held his bleeding nose. "That was a mistake!" he growled, ready to transform, but I held his arm and stood protectively in front of him. "What makes you think he kidnapped Aleks?" I asked the big one while my heart sank. But I didn't let my fear show.

"Well, the blonde came over and asked Aleks to accompany him. He said the prince would want to talk to him and his sister would be there too, but we haven't heard from him since then, and Emma has never shown up either." An older, grey-haired man came up behind us and stood next to us, arms crossed.

I looked questioningly at Damien behind me, but he just shrugged unknowingly, his anger still not well under control. "I've never heard of an Aleks! And Emma was brought here by my Beta." He hissed, still angry.

Aiden... I thought about the blonde with wide eyes, but it never occurred to me that he had something to hide. "What was Aiden supposed to do without you? Why did you come back alone?" I turned to Damien, who still had his hands on his nose. "What do I know. What does all this have to do with this?" he mumbled between his hands and stared at the men with anger. "Don't you understand?" I whispered firmly in his ear and tugged at his sweater as if I could use it to control his thoughts.

He shook his head in disbelief and looked at me with wide eyes. "What are you talking about? I've known Aiden since I was a little boy. He would never betray or lie to me." I rolled my eyes at his naivety and pulled him by the sleeve to the car after me. He could hardly be moved, still angrily staring at the big one who had punched him in the nose.

"Where are you going?" one came after us and stood ready to attack with his blue checked shirt and long beard. "I promise you, I'll clear everything up." I turned back to the car and still pulled the wolf behind me, who was barely able to control himself. "He stays here, just as insurance.", the big one jerked Damien out of my hand. "No!" I hissed at him, but Damien just looked at me wide-eyed until I noticed myself that someone was pressing something hard against my back. "He's staying here.", the guy breathed into my ear and pressed the knife a little harder into my skin, so that it hurt a little.

"Leave her alone!" Damien yelled and started to attack him, but the men held him tight and punched him several times in the stomach, so that he only moaned in pain. "Okay! Okay! It's alright!" I screamed with tears in my eyes and tried not to fall over in shock. "We'll treat him well, princess.", the guy pushed me towards the car, but my gaze stayed on Damien, who was now lying on the ground and clutching his stomach. He could transform, sure, but there were too many and they were armed.

As soon as I got in the car, I started to cry terribly and looked at the guy, who was still staring at me indifferently with the knife in his hand, with hatred. As if the burden on my shoulders wasn't too much for a lifetime anyway, the responsibility for my mate's life was now entirely in my hands.

Not knowing what was going to happen next, I started the car, turned it, and drove at high speed back to the castle, ready to let Nero in on everything. He was my last chance for an ally.

The sun burned my skin. Tears of anger ran down my cheeks and driven by fear and hatred, I pressed my foot down on the gas pedal so hard it was starting to hurt.

Time is relative, everyone knew that, but I didn't know that a path seemed longer than it actually was, but I experienced it firsthand when the castle was still not in sight after a long drive.

I kept banging on the steering wheel, biting my lip hard, and shaking off the devastating thoughts of death. Saphir had been whimpering ever since she watched Damien get hit, and I couldn't get the images out of my head either.

When the lock in front of my eyes finally got bigger and bigger, my pulse also started to accelerate, causing pain throughout my body. It ripped me inside out knowing that Damien was probably choking on his own blood right now.

I sped up the stairs regardless of anyone getting in my way, briefly shocking myself, but everything had to happen quickly. If he died, it would get me too. We had made a promise tied to death when we made the mark, but it was slowly becoming clear to me that it wasn't just the connection that made me want him. There was more behind it, much more.

Jumping out of the car, I only had the stairs in my sights and wanted to hurry to Nero, but someone grabbed my arm, pulled me back and stood in my way, head held high. "Hello Melody." Aiden's voice sounded, sending a chill down my spine. I stood right in front of him and looked him deep in the eyes. He was not allowed to know anything about all that had happened. Neither that we found out about Emma, nor that Damien was being held captive. "Where's Damien?" he asked while I still stared at him silently. "He stayed in the forest.", I gave him back briefly and wanted to pass him, but he blocked my way again. "What is he doing alone in the forest?", he looked at me thoughtfully and slowly I started to sweat from sheer excitement. "We had a fight, can I come over now?"

I stubbornly looked past him to the stairs and crossed my arms, hoping he would believe me. "Of course.", he gave me the way in an exaggeratedly friendly way and without looking at him again, I walked extra slowly up the stairs. Inside, I almost exploded with reluctance. It couldn't be fast enough for me, but otherwise he would become suspicious and I couldn't let that happen.

Once at the top and out of sight of him, I ran around the corner towards Nero's office, but suddenly Camilla came towards me excitedly. "Melody, come with me immediately!", she pulled me by the arm into the first door we passed. It was a small storage room that we both just about fit into together. There were buckets and cleaning supplies everywhere, and that's exactly what it smelled like. "Shortly after you left with Damien, Nero disappeared!" she whispered as if she was being followed. "What do you mean disappeared?" I frowned back at her.

"Like I say! Aren't you listening!" she snapped at me with sudden anger. I didn't know why she was so interested in Nero but I knew she would help me with Damien. A part of her certainly still loved him, and she would hardly allow these people to wring his neck. "Damien's in trouble," I breathed at her, swallowing the bitter aftertaste hard. The words felt like poison in my mouth and I was glad to have someone to share them with.

"What kind of trouble?" she exclaimed loudly and immediately put her delicate hands over her mouth in shock. I gave her a thoughtful look, thought about just telling her everything, and finally decided to do it because I had nothing to lose anyway.

I told her about Calvin, about my kidnapping by him, about Aleks and the camp, about his connection to Emma and how I had seen Aleks in the dungeon and Damien was now a prisoner of woodcutters.

She looked down in shock and clutched at a shelf, shaking. Maybe I had made a mistake telling her everything. She wasn't the most stable personality. "We have to do something." She grabbed my hand abruptly and looked at me pleadingly. "It's Aiden. He gave me the key before she left and told me not to go down there alone, but to ask you to come with me. Also, he carried you here when you were found passed out after your kidnapping and-" With big ones She stared at the door and motioned for me to be quiet. But we were surrounded by wolves, who could smell us anyway, no matter how quiet we were.

My heartbeat, your heartbeat, that quiet breathing... I didn't notice any more until suddenly the door was ripped open and Camilla took my hand tightly in hers.