SIERRA

I watch dreadfully as the witch plunges his knife in my mate's stomach and then misses to stab him in the shoulder. The pain on my mate's face pushes me and my wolf over the edge and I give into my wolf's rage, shifting over my mate's body to cover the witch's attack on his unconscious form.

I claw her face with my paws and her blood sprays in my face but I ignore the burn of her blood on my skin and quickly manoeuvre to the side to then claw at her waist where she's already bleeding. She screams and I feel immense satisfaction that I can avenge my mate.

She now falls to her knees clutching at her face and waist, her mind far away from the moonflowers and her spell. Good!

I take immense pleasure to place my teeth in her neck to rip her head off her body and then quickly spring back when the arterial blood gushes full speed over my snout. Falling back on my paws, I watch as her head lolls to the side but her body doesn't keep still. It is crawling and I watch the horrible scene of the headless body crawling towards the head.

Not knowing what to do but predicting that if the body reaches the head and attaches itself then she might be able to heal herself. I don't know how a witch's body works but quickly run back to my mate and lift the knife in my teeth thinking of a way to finish off the witch when I am interrupted with a garbled scream that echoes off behind me. I turn to see Zion burning off the head of the witch and Alpha Zac burning the body of the witch with a flaming torch.

I drop the knife from my mouth and watch the burning body with satisfaction to confirm that the witch can't harm my mate again. Turning towards my mate, I walk to where Fenris lies and whine at his still form. He doesn't wake up, doesn't even move an inch. I feel my wolf whimper again but it doesn't affect our mate. Even Fenris's wolf seems to be quiet, deadly still. The unbidden thought makes me stagger a bit and I crouch over my mate, licking at the burnt wounds to kick start the healing process but it doesn't.

"Sierra, shift back. Let us pick him up and take him to the pack infirmary," whispers Alpha Zac from beside me. I don't move, shaking my head at the Alpha. He'll wake up and then we'll go inside together. He has to wake up.

"Sierra, darling move, please." Luna Valentina's wobbly voice makes way to my ears through the quietness and I look at her. She appears to blur and that's when I realise that I am crying. She holds out a blanket for me and runs her hand over my back.

Whining in defeat, I shift back, my body trembling in fear and defeat. The Luna quickly covers my body with the blanket and I clutch it tighter to warm my body.

"His heart is not beating," I sob, unable to stop blaming myself. He used his strength to push me away instead of focusing on his healing process. It's my fault.

The Alpha quickly lifts my mate's unconscious body, I refuse to accept that he's dead. No, he can't be. How am I alive if he's dead? But I can't hear his heartbeat. Another sob escapes from my lips as I clutch on the blanket tighter and give way for the Alpha to take my mate inside.

I go to follow behind the Alpha and Zion when a slight movement from the corner of my eye catches my attention. I turn towards it and find the male who came with the witch lurking in the forest. He looks at me for a moment and then turns, walking into the woods. Should I call him or ask the Alpha to get hold of him?

I don't know what to do. The alpha's gone inside now so I ignore the male, quickly moving to follow inside the Alpha house. Nothing's more important than my mate at this moment.

Please, please let my mate be alive. I swear I'll live in a hut with him for the rest of my life if that's what it takes. But please let him be alive. I'll prove my loyalty to him for the rest of our life.

"Going somewhere, Princess?"

The voice stops me cold in my tracks and I turn to look at the owner of that voice. There he stands, the old man, Xanthos's father, Xavier, my mate's enemy, in all his cruelty. He stands upright in front of me and smirks triumphantly looking over my shoulder.

"I didn't know it was so easy to kill the Prince of wolves, otherwise I would have sent Kestrel way before he had the chance of mating you. Now, I'll have to purify you and then prepare you for my wayward son," chuckles the son of a bitch. I cringe as the meaning behind his words sink in and all the breath leaves my lungs at the thought of being separated from my mate.

"He's not dead," I mutter hopelessly to soothe myself but it doesn't help much as Xavier starts laughing loudly at my words. I take a step back towards the house to alert the Alpha.

Where are the warriors when I need them? No one's around here, I am completely alone with this awful, cruel, evil man.

"Tut-tut, darling. You can't escape me this time. I made a mistake when I let you go the last time but because of you, I found out who my nephew is so you weren't that useless. However, your perfect body will be of a lot of help to me and my plans," chortles Xavier as he walks closer. I stay rooted in my spot replaying his words in my mind.

Nephew!

He called my mate his nephew. How?

My confusion must have shown on my face as Xavier smirks at me. I barely control the quaver but Xavier comes closer to me and instinctively, finally my legs move, letting me move back. This time he doesn't let me go instead leans into my body to sniff at my neck.

Fuck! I scream at the exact moment his nose touches the junction of my neck and shoulder, at my mark, the one my Fenris gave me. The moment his nose touched it, my entire body jerks back in recoil repulsed at the touch of this evil man.

I don't know for how long I stand there, paralysed by fear but then I feel him being pushed off me. Feeling relieved that maybe Fenris came to rescue me, I turn to look at Zion, standing over Xavier, blocking my view of the rogue Alpha.

"Go back inside, Sierra," orders Zion but I am unable to move. I should help him, how, I can't think of anything.

I cry out when Xavier leaps in the air and catches Zion off-guard. The next moment, Zion falls on the ground but quickly gets up to defend himself. Xavier and Zion now engage in a brawl. Zion punches Xavier hard in the face and I hope that he wins but my hopes are easily squashed as Xavier delivers a kick to Zion's thighs making him lose balance. Xavier now stands over Zion and kicks him hard in the hips. Zion doesn't cry out but goes to stand up. Xavier beats him to it by punching him. Zion falls again and I see with terror-filled eyes as my friend's mate is subjected to repetitive punches, till he's unconscious. This time I can't help but scream, cry out for help. Where's Alpha Zac?

"No one can save you, darling. See what happened to him? Your mate is dead. Come with me or I can knock you out cold," he says kicking away Zion's body the final time before walking towards me.

"No, my mate. I want to stay with him," I feel proud of my no-nonsense voice but he just cackles with glee and with super speed runs towards me to slap me hard. The force of it makes me bend backwards and then without preamble, he growls loudly, grabbing my hair in his fist.

"He's dead," he roars in my face and I flinch at his words, jerking back at the force with which he slaps me again and this time my eyes roll in my head. Unable to fight off the rogue's hands on my body as he lifts me, I feel myself give into the shock and hope that I die to meet Fenris in the after-life.

~~~~~~~~

I wake up to the feel of intense pain in my abdomen. Immediately sitting up on the hard ground which I barely notice, I inspect the said area but the first thing I notice is that I am dressed in something, like pants and a shirt and not the blanket in which Xavier kidnapped me.

Xavier!

All the events come rushing to my mind and I whimper as my mate's blank face flashes in front of my eyes.

Oh no! Fenris!

I recall my mate's frozen form and let out a cry at the thought of living without him. Our bond was strong enough to feel each other, to know if anyone of us is dead.

Feeling a little reassured, I close my eyes and focus, trying to reach out to my mate. I don't know how long it has been since I've been brought here or if it is just the next day. I hope he's awake by now and if he is, I hope I get a feel of his health. I try to push all the stress out of my mind and focus but am unable to concentrate.

I try for a few times more but all of them end up fruitless.

Damn!

If only I had listened to Fenris when he had offered to teach me how to meditate. He had said, meditating helps maintain your focus on one thing. It would have come in handy right now.

Oh, Goddess! Please, please let my mate be alive. I won't ever take the mate bond for granted.

Blinking back tears, I look around myself and take note of my surroundings. It's all dark around, so dark that I find it difficult to see beyond a few inches. I tentatively reach out to get at least an inkling, if I am against a wall or anything.

When I stretch my hand completely, I feel a rough surface graze my fingers so I shift my hand a little towards that side. Sure enough, I feel a wall-like surface on my right side. When I go to move towards the wall, I feel intense pain in my thighs, making me stumble.

Crying out in pain, I clutch my thighs and try not to jump up to very disturbing conclusions, shifting my legs a bit. The pain doesn't feel like it's because of sexual abuse mainly because it doesn't hurt in between my legs neither do I feel any tear-like feeling inside. Still, I am no healer to be firm on this conclusion. Pushing away those thoughts, I think that I wasn't abused. No, Sierra, you weren't abused, you weren't ruined.

Good! So, no I wasn't abused. I lean against the wall to rest my aching back against it and then bring my knees closer to my chest, resting my head on the top of my knees.

I feel wetness on my cheeks and it's only then I realise that I am crying silently in this unknown place probably with my mate's enemy. I lay down on my side with my knees still clutched close to my chest and sob silently praying for the health of my mate.

Just when I start to doze off, a loud noise echoes around me and I immediately sit up, alert and scared. Is it Xavier?

The sound of footsteps grows louder and louder till it stops altogether and then a little sliver of light enters in what I think is my cell. The bright light pierces my eyes and I quickly cover them with my eyes. A shadow of a man appears before he comes to stand at the threshold of my cell and I look up to see him.

Now that there is a little light, I can see that it is none other than Xavier. I cringe back at his appearance. He looks completely different from what he looked before. Gone is the normal-looking old man, instead stands a half man-half wolf as if he's stuck in his transition state. He looks at me with red eyes instead of his blue ones and I automatically recoil from the hatred shining clear in them.

"Your whining is very loud, bitch. I can hear it in my room upstairs," he growls as he enters the cell and looms over me. Oh, Goddess! This man reeks of evil with his overgrown fur and red eyes, he looks every bit like what an evil rogue looks like. I had only heard about them in scary spooky stories told to children to get them to sleep. But looks like the story of the evil rogue is very much true and unfortunately for me, he's the one who's caught me and not the other way round.

I shrink back from him, trying to escape his stare and his reach but he quickly bends to my eye level, grabbing my leg as if it's a stick. I cry out when his touch burns me to my bones but he only chuckles, evilly.

"Let go of me, you bastard!" I scream unable to get rid of his hold on me. I kick him with my other leg but he evades it and then laughs maniacally. After what feels like an eternity but only a few minutes, his expression changes and then he looks at me silently, thinking, planning something maybe.

"Don't you remember what happened yesterday?" he asks quietly and the way he asks me, I stop flailing and pay attention to him. Peering up in his red eyes, I look at him shrewdly.

"What happened?" I ask, pulling at my leg once again. Surprisingly, he lets go of my leg and then squats down on his knees in front of me to look into my eyes with a sad expression. I shift back a little.

"You accepted my son as your mate but then you fainted when he went to mark you. You must be experiencing some pain in your thighs," he says before looking down at the junction at my thighs. I quickly bring my legs, that I can see now, closer and put my hands in my lap to obstruct his view. I think about it and flinch when the meaning behind his words sink in my mind.

"No, that's not possible. I'll never accept Xanthos as my mate. I'll never betray Fenris like that," I scream unable to accept what he's trying to tell me. He's just filling my mind with lies, I know his trick but then the pain in my thighs is so real. How did he know? Am I such a bad person? I cry at the thought but then quickly remember that I have Fenris's mark on me. Wouldn't it tingle if Fenris is alive and I am still his mate?

"Try touching it, Sierra. It won't give you the sparks like it did when you were Fenris's mate," says Xavier observing my hand which has risen to touch my mark.

I lift it and run my fingers over the place where my mark resides but don't feel any tingling in the mark.

Oh no! What have I done?

Tears roll down my cheeks and fall on the ground as I sit there and mourn the loss of my mate's connection to me. The wolf's mark was the only thing that made me feel stronger than I ever felt. The tingling of the mark made me strong and supported me when Fenris wasn't there to hold me and I gave it away? How can I do that?

Most of all, why can't I remember it? If I decided to ditch my mate then why can't I remember it? Surely, I remember the time I passed out when Xavier hit me.

"Come on. It's okay. I understand why you don't want Xanthos. Perhaps we can try it another way," he says, confusing me further. What other way is he going to try to make me accept Xanthos?

Goddess! This is so confusing. I can't trust Xavier, no.

"No, I don't want to go. I don't accept Xanthos, I don't want to," I say and scoot back a little but my back hits a wall, making me stop.

"Yes, I got it, darling. You need someone man enough to handle you right? I understand the needs of an Alpha Female. Don't worry, I'll take care of you," He says and comes closer. I plaster myself on the wall behind me not having any other options but he just comes closer and closer. I feel his bitter breath on my face and then he grips my jaw firmly, looking in my eyes. The skin on my jaw is blistering now.

Goddess! He's terrifying and I am beyond scared of his intentions.

"You are mine, now. I anyway need a mate and I know Xanthos is not capable of handling such a tough she-wolf," he laughs maniacally and then moves back.

"No, I don't want you nor do I want Xanthos, I want Fenris," I scream my mate's name trying to get it in his thick skull that I would rather die than be with him. He isn't any better than his son.

"Shut up!" he roars and the next moment I am thrown back into the wall behind me. He stands taller and walks closer to me, baring his sharp canines in a silent snarl.

"You want to stay here in this dungeon without light and food, then stay here. But remember one thing, your true mate is dead. No one's going to come for you," he threatens and then turns to leave the cell in the blanket of darkness.

After he leaves, I continue sobbing, feeling the loss of my mate's connection and unable to come to terms with it. Somehow even after the black witch's death, Xavier is still strong and has succeeded in ruining my life forever. Without my mate, I don't think I'll ever be able to move on from this horrifying accident of my life.

With those thoughts in mind, I lay down on the cold ground, once again shivering in loneliness. Like my mark, I have lost the connection with my wolf too. I can't feel her neither can I see in the dark. I don't know what's wrong with me.

As I lay there drowning in self-pity, considering ending my life, I hear something. It must be my ears; I think, ignoring the sound.

After some time, I hear it again, this time a little louder and then the sound of a human.

"Can you hear me?"

From the voice, I can make out that it's a male. I immediately turn in the direction of the voice but can't see anything. Frustrated now with the lack of vision, I make a growling noise in my throat which comes out more like a whine. I try to look in the darkness.

I watch a light like a thing flicker in the dark and then it goes off. After a few seconds, another flickering light is seen but this time it stays. Because of that small light, now I can see my cell in the dimness but it's enough for me. I can see that I am in a small cell. There is a huge metal door which traps any light from entering the cell. To the right side of my cell is a wall and to my left is the wall with a slight crack in it. That's where the flickering light is coming from.

"Please reply if you hear me," again the male speaks and it feels like he's speaking from the other side of the wall with the flickering light. I quickly shift towards that wall and touch it. Sure enough, I can smell a presence on the other side.

Maybe my wolf's just sleeping as I can still use my werewolf senses.

The smell of something non-human invades my nostrils. The smell is slightly sweet like that of the wind just before it's going to snow. It is very weird because I have never smelt this scent on some being. Not knowing what to make out of this situation, I finally decide to find out more about this person.

"I can hear you," I respond softly not trusting the voice. What if he's the enemy. Better safe than sorry! Though I don't know how much sorrier can I feel about myself in these circumstances.

"I never thought I would be meeting you like this, princess," he says from the other side and I frown at his choice of words. Does he know me?

"Who are you and how do you know me?" I ask not sure if he means "princess" in sarcasm or just as a formal way of addressing me.

"You misunderstand my words, Princess. Aren't you mate to the Prince of wolves?" he asks. I nod but quickly realise that he can't see me and neither can I, him.

Just when I open my mouth to answer, I feel unsure. Another voice inside my head, maybe my subconscious perks up. What do I have to lose? I am already kidnapped and I don't know if my mate's alive or not. Some rogue here is claiming that I've accepted his equally evil son and now wants me as his mate.

Surely nothing can go wrong if I tell him that I am indeed the prince's mate.

"Yes, I am. What do you know about him?" I ask.

"Let me introduce myself first then, Princess Sierra. I am Dominic Creighton, your mate's, Fenris Vlček's only long-lost vampire friend."

What? Vampire? My mate's friend? 

~~~~~~

Tapadh leat!

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