Chapter 13

Christian

I observed Dominic's back as he continued looking out of the window. His posture was rigid and I could feel the rage radiating off him. But he remained silent. His beast was something else. Different from everyone else. He wasn't your ordinary werewolf. Well, neither one of us was since we were royalty, but his was something else. And that is the only reason he keeps him at bay and only lets him come out when things need to be dealt with, in his own way. And his way is definitely not a good way. And he has taught me to follow his footsteps. So, yes, I follow his ways. And man do I enjoy them! Call me sick, but yep, torturing your enemies in the worst possible ways that people could hardly even imagine was pleasing to our sight. We had grown up with it.

But right now, the situation is very grave. I was scared. For Mia. She sided with the enemy. That was my only fucking job. To make her feel enough to know that we were the ones who were wronged. Not them. And now I don't know what Dominic is planning to do next. All I know is that his enemies don't live for long. And Mia currently was on the enemy list. I felt a pang in my heart, knowing the betrayal. My wolf couldn't let her die. No matter how much I wanted to scream at her, punish her for what she did, I couldn't help but still feel it was a set up. Bathazer had to be behind it. If she comes to me right now and claims she was forced to do that or she didn't have a choice or even if she just said that she was sorry and realized what she did was a mistake, I would fucking go crawling back to her like a puppy. That's what this mate bond did to us. Sweet pain.

"I knew," my head whipped towards Dominic's back once again when he finally decided to break the silence. "I knew she was going to betray us. I saw it coming all along."

"Then why didn't you send me with her? Why the guards?" He remained quiet to my question. This man seriously needs to speak more for my sanity. That man could not show a hint of emotion other than anger. I hadn't seen him smile since, like forever. And to top that, he speaks only when he wants, and while doing that he remembers to leave important chunks of information out to annoy the hell out of the person opposite to him.

"I want her to bring them to us," he said simply.

"But why? It could be dangerous!" He finally decided to turn and grace me with his face.

"I never said it wouldn't be."

"Then why Dominic?"

"Something important was discovered at the meeting with the council. Andrew has a suspicion." Alpha Andrew? What does he have to do with it? What I did know was that his next words would be a bombshell for me. And they proved to be nothing, but that.

Mia

I was on my way to sneak the book back into dad's office. This was the perfect time; 2 am, when everyone is deep in their slumber. I tiptoed my way through the quiet eerie corridor that led to his office, making sure not to make even a simple squeaking sound. The guards here have been extra vigilant nowadays for some weird reason.

I released a quiet sigh, the book tucked under my shirt, secured in my pants waistband, as I was about to place my hand on the knob to twist it when soft murmurs caught my ears. I frowned, pressing my ear into the closed door. It was 2 in the morning? Who was up at this moment? I pressed closer to hear two people talking.

"The full moon is going to be in two weeks," I heard Anthony.

"Perfect. We have everything ready." Dad was up?

"What about her sire?" I heard dad scoff and laugh in a humorless way. It almost sounded evil. Her who? Who were they talking about?

"She isn't fucking strong enough to survive this. Any of this."

"But what if she does?"

"Don't worry, I'll make sure she doesn't. She won't be of any use to us after we are done with the war. I'll have everything and she will just be an obstacle, a reminder of those pathetic creatures who've made my life miserable." What was dad talking about? What on earth was happening?

"Hahaha, I really love how she thinks sometimes, like she knows it all. The delusion charm did good." My heart sank as the words reached my ears.

"And what about the prisoner?" Were they talking about Anastasia?

"She'll be our bait. The one who will get us into the pack. Once we are in, she dies. And, of course, with my so-called daughter playing her part in our perfect plan, nothing will beat us this time. Nothing." My heart twisted, writhing in a newly discovered pain I had never felt before. The sting of betrayal struck me like a knife twisting in my heart, a suffocating sense of disbelief and abandonment, as if the ground beneath me had crumbled away, leaving me suspended in a void of shattered trust and profound hurt.

Not all is as it seems like. This is what she meant. My fist clenched in a newly found rage and angered, threatening to bubble out of me. After everything, all my hard work, all the torture I suffered, all my sacrifices just to prove to him that despite not being a witch, I was equally as devoted and powerful as each one of them, this is how he repaid me? I put in everything I had in me, to prove to him my worth, suffered all the painful training just to not disappoint him. And all he created out of me was a weapon. A weapon he could use for his own benefit. But why me?

"You know initially, even I thought you were wasting your time on that pathetic being. The whole drama of making her your daughter and maintaining the father-daughter duo. Honestly, it was so funny watching her slip so easily into the trap. I must say, you did make good use of her, Balthazer," the leech snickered, feeling they had conquered the world after their heinous act.

"Bitch really thought she could hide the fact she had found her mate. And a royal on that." I controlled the gasp that was ready to escape my lips.

"How'd you know?"

"She had his scent all over her. His wolf had marked her with his scent, claiming her as his for others to stay away. That's their dog-ish way of laying their claims over their possessions." Balthazar snickered. He knew? So he was just pretending all this time?

My breathing got heavier as I felt the wetness fill my eyes. My mind clouded with so many emotions all at once, not able to comprehend any in particular. Anger, grief, disgust, sadness, frustration, everything! It was too overwhelming. No Mia! You won't cry! You are strong. Stronger than these pathetic, loathsome creatures. Not here. Not now.

Not waiting to hear further, I rushed back to my room with one hand clamped over my mouth to not let my cries slip out. Slamming the door shut, I rested against it, slumping down on the floor and finally letting the dam break free.