Chapter Twenty Three

Inside a luxurious receiving room, Alex was sitting across the general and Thea.

The general had been formal and polite but Alex would never forget the look in this man's eyes every time this exalted general turned his gaze on him when Alex was still young, until before he left the empire. Like all of the other high-ranking officials, this man was another thick-skinned hypocrite who only knew how to judge based on outward appearances and political gains.

Time had gone by and yet, the general was still babbling on about things Alex did not even care about. Anyone could tell that the robust and huge general was beating around the bush, perhaps trying to appeal to the prince's good side or elicit a positive reaction from him before finally landing on his real purpose. But Alex never spoke. He looked as if almost all expressions were wiped off from his good-looking face. Except for that cold expression his men knew so well – the adamantine one that meant it was easier to move a mountain or kill a dragon than to change his mind about something.

Elijah had just entered the room when finally, the general stopped beating around the bush.

"Prince Alex, I came to speak with you about your engagement with my daughter, Thea. You are the most intelligent young man I have ever met so I believe I need not state the very obvious reasons why I intend to hasten your wedding with my daughter. Even though you had just married the other day…" the general continued speaking, not knowing that his words had already turned into a background noise to Alex the instant Elijah entered the room.

The prince had met Elijah' eyes and his first question was to ask him whether or not Elijah had escorted his wife back to her chambers. When Elijah told him that the Lady insisted to continue hunting a bird in the little forest, Alex's face darkened.

"So, you're telling me she's still there until now?" he asked the butler through their eyes and when Elijah nodded, the prince abruptly rose, causing the General be a little startled and to stop talking.

Alex's gaze fell outside the window and when he saw that it was almost twilight, he grabbed his jacket and without a word, he stormed out of the room as if nobody and nothing else mattered, leaving the general dumbfounded, with his mouth hanging open.

"Your Highness, where are you going? Did you even hear what the general had just said?" It was Zolan who had chased after him. "You can't just leave the general like that. He'd be a huge help to you. What you need most right now is an ally …"

Zolan let out a defeated sigh because as soon as they reached a window, the prince jumped down and disappeared without a word. It seems like his only choice now was to go back and entertain the general until Alex finishes whatever was it that caused him to rush off like that. Although, at the back of his mind, he is almost a hundred percent certain that it could only be her.

…

Meanwhile, at that very moment, in the little forest, Julie was on the ground, frozen in utter horror. Something filthy and cold and dark had been splashed on her pale skin and hair and over her dress. Her already marble-like pale face became even whiter as if all her blood was drained from her face.

The beast had been shot precisely in its left eye. Her arrow flew strong and was now buried deep in its eye socket as some dark viscous liquid that appeared to be its blood was gushing out as the beast growled thunderously while shaking its large head violently in front of her, hoping that the movements would make the arrow dislodge and fall out on its own. The bone-chilling sound, the bloodied beast, and the dark blood splashing everywhere… Julie had never experienced such primal fear.

She felt as though her lungs had stopped working and her breathing was on a strike since that moment the beast leapt towards her. Her whole frame was shaking, as if there was no part of her body that was under her control now.

If it was a normal wolf, it should have been dead by now, and yet, it was still standing. It somehow seems as if it was going to heal itself soon – not dissimilar on how Aliens heal themselves whenever they get wounded. Julie's instinct and adrenaline kicked in not a second later, despite the fear that had consumed her. As her trembling body moved and crawled blindly on the ground, she could not even bring herself to open her mouth to scream.

Julie's pounding heart and the sounds of the beast in pain was all she could hear now, still unable to take her eyes off away from it. Her body seemed to know that the moment she turned her back to run, the beast would attack her from behind. When her pale trembling hand had touched one of the many arrows she had taken with her, Julie frantically prepared her weapon and lifted it again, aiming for a crucial spot on the beast.

It was as if the beast had sensed another source of danger, it suddenly stilled, and its one remaining eye burned darkly as it looked at her. Julie felt as though she was staring at the gates of hell. The terror that ran through her was too much for her to handle.

Another arrow flew without warning and because of the uncontrollable tremors, the arrow hit the beast's legs instead of hitting the mark at the middle of its forehead. Julie frantically picked another arrow without taking her eyes off the beast but before she could even get it notched on her bow, the beast snarled in anger and it leaped. Towards her.

Her heart froze as though fully encased in a block of ice. The next thing she knew, she was looking up at the huge beast airborne and about to land a killing blow on her. She did not know how possible was it that she could still move but she felt her hands clasped the arrow in the event she get the chance to stab it into the beast once it reached her. That probably was a futile move, but she was out of other options.

Funnily enough, the beast didn't seem to land when she expected it to. The wolf had been hit by what seemed to be a sword that had been used as a spear mid-air and disappeared in a blur from her sight. There was then sound of a tree falling coming from the direction where the wolf's flying body disappeared to.

Before she could wrap her head around what had happened and another heartbeat had passed, she was firmly lifted up from the cold ground that she was sitting on. Something solid, warm, and exuding the feeling of safety held her close.

"Juliet!" she heard her name called out in a suspiciously frantic tone and when she blinked and saw Alex's worried face filling her vision, she just spaced out and stared until he called her name again. "Juliet! I'm here now, I've got you."

Her heart seemed to finally resume beating again but this time it decided to make up for the pause from earlier and started racing too hard, too fast – causing her chest to ache from the strain of her breathing. "A-Alex…"

"Yes. I'm here, wife."

"T-t-take me away from h..."

Immediately, her feet left the ground, and the feeling of being cradled and enveloped in something comfortable all at the same time. She clutched her frozen fingers into his clothes, not knowing why there was that feeling as though she was being strangled.

"Julie. You're safe now, love." his lips curving gently against the cold rim of her ear as he whispered. She didn't even realize that Alex had already lowered her down onto the grassy meadow just outside the forest as he cradled her. His hands were moving swiftly over her bodice and hastily unhooking her corset.

She felt like her lungs were about to burst and no matter how hard she breaths, she could not seem to get enough air. And then his voice suddenly sounded as if it was coming from a great distance before everything suddenly turned dark.