Chapter 70 The Princess and the Frog
1469words
The foul smell of mold lingered in my nostrils, and I felt my eyes struggle to flutter open. I could feel the bile creeping up my throat from the potent wet smell and the grogginess I was experiencing. I tried to move my arms, but no matter how hard I fought, I couldn't. My eyes drifted downward, and I wondered if I was dead, my mind scrambled as I remembered how someone had attacked me in my own bedroom—my private refuge, the only safe place I'd ever had.
I must be dead. Why was it so hard to move? I remembered my mate; he must know I was missing by now. Fuck, my parents. My father needed me. What if he thought I had just left him there to die alone? I tried to make sense of the situation, but my thoughts were scattered—the whys, hows, and whos made me feel like I was losing my sanity.
It took a few blinks for my eyesight to adjust. Thank the Moon Goddess for shifter genes. Taking in my surroundings, I couldn't recognize where I was. Yep. This must be hell. The area was dark and dimly lit, with only a flickering candle on a small table on the other side. I'd been left on the cold concrete floor in what seemed to be a basement.
I felt a hammering pain and began to sit up, then glanced down at the silver shackles attached to my wrists.
Of course, I was restrained with silver shackles. I must have been captured by human werewolf hunters—if I was still alive. Torturing a werewolf with silver was particularly brutal. They could have ripped my throat out. Why were they keeping me alive to torture? What use could I be to anyone?
Silver is specifically harmful to werewolves; it restrains the wolf from coming forward and weakens the shifter. Prolonged exposure to silver can also cause metal poisoning, which is apparently the most gruesome way for a shifter to die. The thought of my body being gutted from the inside out made me shiver.
I could visibly see the purple and black marks surrounding the silver shackles. It wouldn't be long before the silver seeped into my blood through my skin. I mentally started to prepare myself for the gruesome pain to come.
I summoned every bit of energy I had to try to mind-link Alpha Jaxon, but all I got was radio silence. Then I struggled to mind-link Beta Don—again, nothing. Mom? Dad? Leah? ANYONE? Still, complete silence came through the mind link, as if I was too far away, or it had been turned off.
Heavy footsteps pounded down the wooden staircase. Fuck, someone was coming. Maybe I wasn't dead after all.
A sudden fluorescent bolt of light flickered on, somehow reminding me of every horror movie I'd ever seen—with those bright industrial lights. What appeared down the stairs was a shifter wearing a black ski mask. I picked up a familiar scent—definitely a man, though I couldn't quite place where I'd smelled it before. My wolf struggled to tell me it was a scent we knew from somewhere. But where?
He wore a black ski mask, a black sweatshirt, and sweatpants. He looked like he belonged in special ops. He was tall and built, though not quite as much as Alpha Jaxon.
I watched him intently as he moved closer, towering over me with a glass of clear liquid in his hand. "Drink," he demanded. I shook my head from side to side, my body refusing to ingest whatever he tried to give me.
"It's water. Calm the fuck down," he replied and grasped my face with his other hand, forcing me to drink from the glass.
My lips were as dry as sand in the Sahara Desert. As the water hit them, I realized how dehydrated I must have been. After I swallowed, I stared into his eyes. I rushed through my thoughts, trying to place those eyes and that scent. I knew my kidnapper from somewhere. That gaze was burned into my memory.
"Why... why are you doing this?" I stammered, choking on my voice. My words sounded more like a beg than a question. He cupped the side of my face tenderly, his eyes scanning me like he was trying to organize his own thoughts.
He shook his head and took a step back. "Because your destiny was never set to be Luna. But you refused to understand that. If you had just rejected Alpha Jaxon from the beginning, neither of us would be here."
I watched his posture straighten as another set of footsteps barged down the stairs. He seemed to fear whoever was coming next. It was clear he wasn't the brains of this operation.
A sadistic laugh caught my attention at the bottom of the stairs.
"My, oh my, look who's finally awake. I was beginning to think you were weaker than I originally thought," Beverly said. She took off her denim coat and hung it on the stair railing. Goddamn bitch. I should have known she'd come after me sooner or later.
"Your obsession with Alpha Jaxon is borderline creepy," I said and tried my best to spit at her. She watched as my spit hit the floor, clearly amused.
She rolled her eyes as if I'd just said the most outrageous thing ever, taking her time to tie her fiery red hair in a messy bun atop her head. She wore a black long-sleeve shirt, black leggings, and, of course, black heeled boots. I swear she must have slept in heels; it was all she ever wore. Looks like she was preparing for her own special ops mission, too.
"Oh, sweetheart, Alpha Jaxon is just a leech in the way. I'll be Luna soon enough. You know, there was a time I considered enduring him as my mate and rejecting the mate given to me by the Moon Goddess. But that was before he tossed me aside like I didn't devote my entire life to him and the pack," Beverly replied confidently.
"You're never going to be his Luna. Even if you kill me right now, he'll never take you as his mate," I told her, gritting my teeth. My jealousy was on full display, and I didn't care.
A smile tugged at the corner of her lips. "Don't you worry about that pretty little face of yours," she taunted, biting her bottom lip. "Once I become Luna, wouldn't it be tragic if something happened to the Alpha? Oh, I don't know—maybe one of the kitchen staff poisons him? Or maybe he falls down the stairs and onto a stake of silver? Really, the options are endless."
My eyes went glassy at the thought that something could happen to my mate. He had become a part of me. I now couldn't imagine life without him. I would give away my life right now if it meant he'd be safe.
I swallowed hard, wishing I could form a sentence, but I was speechless. She wanted to kill the Alpha of Midnight Moon—was she insane? He wouldn't show mercy to anyone who tried to kill him, ex-girlfriend or not.
"Once he's six feet under, then as reigning Luna, I'll be able to take my mate as Alpha. It's about time Midnight Moon had some new management, don't cha think?" she said, winking at me. Her actions were so cold it sent a shiver down my spine.
She stalked toward the tall man in the black mask, her fingers gripping the cotton material roughly and pulling his mask off. Then she gripped the back of his neck in a long, affectionate kiss. The passion between them reminded me of Alpha Jaxon and how much I missed him now—the mate bond was surely a powerful thing. Although the sight of Beverly's tongue sliding deep into someone's mouth repulsed me.
Beverly raked her hand through Asher's dark hair. "There's no reason to hide, baby. In twelve hours, she'll be long gone anyway."
When they pulled away and broke apart, the man locked eyes with me. "Surprised yet?" he said, stifling a low laugh.
My blood ran cold. My pulse quickened, and I could hear my heart pounding like it was outside my chest. I stared between the two of them, nothing could have prepared me for this surprise.
"ASHER?" I shrieked. "YOU'RE FUCKING MATED TO ASHER?!"
The pieces of the puzzle finally fit. The gaps suddenly made sense. I remembered how strange it was that Asher was sitting outside my house like he was stalking me on the day of the coronation, or when I was attacked by the rogue—I sensed him hesitate before deciding to help get the marbled-colored rogue that almost ended my life off me.
