Chapter 5 - Enemies Everywhere

Please Note - An asterisk before the dialogue means the words are being said in another language.

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She trembled, her eyes begging.

A monster.

A Monster!

A beast that would kill her!

Her mind repeated over and over again.

There were claw marks on his face, deep painful lines engraved into his skin, and his eyes... they looked wildly different. There was blood, so much blood.

Why was he covered in all that blood?!

Tingling feelings spread where his hand met her skin, but her fear was overpowering. It was all she could feel.

His eyes seemed to communicate with her and she gave jerky nods to assure him that she would stay silent.

He pulled his hand away from her and the first word that slipped out of her lips was a whisper.

"My son—" she begged, keeping her eyes fixed on him while she spread her hands around her in a desperate search for Arlo.

Her hand touched something —no, someone on the bed.

Her son!

She pulled Arlo into her arms quickly, pressed him to her chest securely, and with a strength she didn't even know she had, she jumped to her feet. His eyes followed her every movement, his actions, or rather, his inaction, terrified her.

There were so many things that she couldn't remember, like how she got here. All she could remember was being in pain from him biting down on her neck like she was a prey he was ready to devour. Then there was the immediate darkness and even more pain. It felt like she was being yanked in different directions repeatedly and rapidly, with a force that was ripping her skin apart and destroying her bones.

Right now, though, she could feel the pain no more.

All she felt was fear and something else.

Something strange.

Something she couldn't quite put a finger on.

It was confusing, overwhelming, warm, and deceptive.

It made her heart beat in a strange way.

By Ignas, this was dangerous!

Whatever this creature had done to her was affecting her, it was probably affecting the Ringer in her too, although she couldn't feel the heavy presence in her chest as she used to.

What she was worried about the most, though, was Arlo's health.

Her son was hot in her arms. Her heart raced with fear that her child was now sick. She didn't know where this creature had brought her, but one thing she was certain of was that she had to escape.

This place was bad for her and her child.

She had to go back.

Aniya backed away slowly, unsure if the door was anywhere near because her gaze was still fixed on him.

She didn't even know where the door was, but it would be a very stupid thing to look away from the enemy in search of it.

He stood up as she backed away, rising to a height and broadness that immediately rendered her plan of escape useless.

She couldn't run from this, he would certainly catch her.

She must find another way.

"Take me back." The words slipped past her lips. "I want to go home."

When he took a step closer, she clutched Arlo closer to her chest and his weak cry slipped into her ears.

"Home," Ikrus said, his deep voice rough around the edges, the word sounding foreign on his tongue. "With me."

Rage flowed through her veins.

"My son is sick! I want to go home, Zesika will take care of my child!"

Ikrus frowned, and he raised his hand to touch the boy.

"Don't touch him!" Aniya yelled, slamming her back into the wall in an attempt to keep Arlo out of his reach. Tears flowed down her cheeks, but she refused to attend to it. "You did this to him! Take us back home, please! My sister will give you all the gold you want!" She slipped to her knees and begged.

"Please, for my son. My son—"

The door slammed shut, the bang so loud that it felt deafening. It silenced Aniya's crying, and it was only then that she realized she was far from the door.

She ran to the door, banging her hand against it while she demanded for him to return and take them back to Inaymi.

Her cries brought no response.

Worried that her son was dying from starvation, she tried to breastfeed him, but there was only so much that her body could give.

Some moments later, there was a knock at the door.

Aniya crawled away from the door.

Two maids stepped in with platters of food. Aniya paid them no attention, she regarded not their snickering, nor their obvious hateful comments about her face as they pointed out her defeats and laughed. All she knew was that her son was starving. If she ate something, she could feed him.

She grabbed a jug of milk and she drank as much as she could.

*"Is this what our Gamma has brought home as a mate? A starving beggar. Even I would make a better mate for the future Alpha." She laughed.

*"Ugly dirt. Look at her face, Ulima. It will give me nightmares." The other responded while Ulima laughed and faked a polite smile as she picked up another jug of milk to pour the "starving beggar" a cup.

The only thing was that this milk was hot and with an intentional move, she spilled it on Aniya's shoulder.