I woke up feeling as though I was punched in the face repeatedly. Blood was dripping from my features and pooling on the cold concrete ground around me. I was no longer chained from my neck, neck, and legs, but my arms were still cuffed.I struggled to sit up and gather my surroundings. I was in a concrete cage-like cell; the area smelled of mildew and feet. It kind of reminded me of the dungeon in the Roessler manor, but more open and less wet.Kamala was staring at me from the corner of the cell; her body was trembling as she sat with her knees pressed against her chest. She had tears running down her features and she had some bruising along her jawline.There were no windows, so I had no idea the time of day and I wasn’t sure how long we were here. But from the looks of Kamala’s fair complexion and thinned body, I could say we were down here for a while.“I thought you were going to die…” she whispered as I adjusted my eyes to the darkened lighting.“Can’t take me out that easily,”
Deonna was gone; the kingdom was nearly destroyed. Thousands of slaves had gotten their fatal ending and some of Marlon’s men also met their fates. The war lasted for over 72 hours; it got to a point where he didn’t think it would ever end.The duke was dead at the hands of Marlon. As soon as he got wind that Deonna and Mateo were taken, he knew it was because of the duke and he needed to do what he could to avenge Deonna. He wasn’t thinking much about it when he attacked the duke. He fought a fair battle but, in the end, Marlon was still stronger.The king had finally called for a cease war and the troops retreated to where they came from. Some of the commoners that survived were left to clean up the bodies of the slaves that fought. To Marlon’s surprise, there were a couple of survivors. But not enough to battle again if needed.Marlon made his way back to the manor once he killed the duke. He stumbled upon Bob who was just waking up from being knocked unconscious. He had a nasty ga
It’s been about two days since we were prisoned in the king’s jail. There was still no word on what was going on out in the kingdom, other than the fact that thousands of slaves and commoners have died in battle. I still felt sick thinking about it.They’ve been feeding us scraps of food and dirty water, as though we were back on the slave farm. I wasn’t sure why they were keeping us alive, but part of me was glad that I wasn’t alone. As terrible as the conditions were, I was glad to have Kamala with me.Once we started adapting to the change of environment, she started becoming more herself again. Well, as “herself” as she could be. She was still frightened and skeptical of everything around her, but she wasn’t coiling in the corner anymore. She was the voice of the region and kept me calm when it mattered the most.We spoke to the queen once when we first arrived, and she was the most intimidating woman I have ever met. Yet, she was also the most beautiful. I was able to stand my gr
I haven’t been to my childhood home since I was a young girl. My last memory of this place was when the king’s army rampaged through the town and scavenged up the dark-furred wolves. They ripped the children from the comfort of their homes and brought them to the slave farm where they were beaten, raped, and tortured until the day they turned 18. Then, they were thrown into the homes of nobles and royals to work as slaves until they died.I was one of those children.There weren’t many dark-furred wolves in this village, but I remembered them accepting us to the best of their abilities. We were allowed to take part in their schools and obtain an education. That was my favorite part of the village. The commoners didn’t mess with us and allowed us to live in peace and work under them. However, we weren’t always safe; my family still worried for my safety if I were to stray too far from home.My parents adopted me when I was only 3 years old; I’m not sure what happened to my birth parent
It’s been months since Deonna left. Marlon couldn’t handle not being around her, but he knew it was the best decision for them all. Surprisingly enough, the king hasn’t sent anyone to the manor to search for Deonna and Mateo. He figured that the queen must have convinced him otherwise and he was thankful to her for that.Despite all the workers Marlon had, the manor seemed so empty and quiet without Deonna and Mateo. He felt the tugging and pained sensation of his wolf crying out to her nearly every night. He missed holding her and having sex with her and kissing her. He missed the feeling of her body entangled with his. Her dark features were radiantly beautiful; something he used to despise he now couldn’t get enough of.He hasn’t spoken to anyone about Deonna and Mateo since they left. He can see how workers around the manor look at him; they are starting to lack respect for him. Winston eyes Marlon like he was worried that Marlon might fall off the wagon at any moment. Beatrice an
“Deonna?” Kamala said, standing at the doorway of my bedroom.She kept her voice hushed because Mateo was still asleep across the hall. It was nearing morning; We could see the faint sunlight rising through the distance between the fabrics that blocked the window. I hadn’t been able to sleep since we arrived at the village a few months ago, so it wasn’t odd that she knew I was awake.I was holding one of the books that Marlon had given me during my time at the manor; this was the third time I read this book. I still couldn’t put it down. My tear-stained features looked up from the book and at Kamala who was looking at me with such concern in her eyes,She was beginning to adapt well to the village. She began working at one of the clothing markets. She made a couple of good friends. I could also see her life returning to her; it was a good look for her, and I couldn’t be happier. However, I was having trouble adapting, as was Mateo.“You’ve been acting weird since we got here,” Kamala
It didn’t take long to get back to the manor; I never thought I would ever step foot back on the Roessler grounds. The guards stared at me like I had 8 heads on my shoulders as we approached the gate. I didn’t think they were going to allow us through.“What business do you have here, slave?” One of the guards asked, sizing me up and his eyes scanning Mateo curiously and suspiciously.“I need to speak with Marlon,” I told them.They looked amongst each other for a long while. Kamala stepped to my side.“He’s going to want to see her; if he finds out you denied her access, it’ll be your heads on the stake,” she warned them.Surprisingly enough, they started to look worried. They looked her over carefully to find any signs of bluffing. When they saw none, they finally nodded and stepped aside.“Thank you,” I told them all as I rushed past them and through the yards of the manor.I saw some glimpses of the maids in the gardens staring at me. They had their mouths hanging open; I’m sure t
Deonna laid sleepily in his arms; her naked body still pressed against him. He traced his fingers down the spine of her back and she wiggled as it ticked her. Her dark hair fell messily around her face and dampened from her sweat. He used his other hand to move the hair from her features and bring her face up to him so he could gaze into her light brown eyes.He kissed her soft lips and breathed in her musky and gorgeous scent. She was mesmerizing to him. Her body was so soft, and he couldn’t get enough of her. He wanted more of her but he knew they needed to spend some time talking.He held her close, not ever wanting to let her go.He couldn’t believe she was actually there; when he first saw her standing in the foyer, he was worried something had happened that caused her to need to show up there. But his wolf told him that she just missed him and wanted to see him. Now that she was here, he didn’t want to let her go again. It would destroy him if she left again.“We should talk,” h
My water broke right in the middle of Marlon’s proposal to me. It couldn’t have come at the worst time, but the contractions were awful and gut-wrenching. Pain coursed through my body, and I screamed as I tumbled onto the bed.It felt like the baby was about to break out of my stomach at any moment. I could feel the sweat trickling down my features and rolling down the nape of my neck. My breathing had come to rasp and my body trembled uncontrollably.Marlon tried to get me to lie all the way down in the bed.“Aaaahhhhhh!” I screamed as more pain went through my body like an electronic shock.I wished more than anything that I could have Kamala by my side, but she was still unconscious. I held onto Marlon’s arm tightly as the pain went through my body, nearly paralyzing me. I couldn’t believe this was happening right now. It was too early to be having this baby; I wasn’t due for another few weeks.“I have Dr. Lovewitt on the way,” Marlon assured me as he placed a warm cloth over my he
Bob carried Kamala back to the manor, and Deonna and Marlon walked beside them. As they returned, the maids were scurrying around the foyer, looking shocked and Winston also looked worried. Bob said nothing as he passed them to the grand stairs to bring Kamala to bed. She still hadn’t woken up and it was worrisome.Marlon felt complete to blame for that. He couldn’t believe he didn’t realize that her magic was no longer light and that she was using dark magic. Then again, how would he have known unless they told him?None of this made sense to him and he felt a knot in his stomach. He knew Deonna was upset with him for making Kamala come here to use her powers. Especially considering it nearly killed her the first time she used them. But at the time, Marlon felt like there was no other choice. There wasn’t any proof that they had won; though from what Marlon could tell, almost everyone including the king was dead.He hadn’t seen Alex’s body though, so he wasn’t sure if his other son w
I ducked and covered as the battleground exploded. Bits and pieces of the king’s ground flew all over the place; smoke filled the air so I couldn’t see if there were any survivors. I was lucky enough to be a distance away, so I wasn’t hit or hurt, but the ringing in my ears was surreal.I couldn’t hear anything, and I could hardly see anything. The smoke filled my lungs quickly and coughed to try to remove it from my lungs. I pushed my way through the smoke and stumbled across some bodies of the dead. I grimaced at the blood as I came across these bodies; they all looked burned to a crisp and blood soaking through the dirt that surrounded us.My breathing grew shaky as I continued walking through the battlegrounds; praying that I could find some survivors.As my hearing started returning, I heard some screams of the injured and some screams of terror from some others.I screamed out for Marlon.I screamed out for Kamala.She was in the air a moment ago, and now she was completely gone
The gunshots and the yelling were getting louder as Kamala left the forest and entered the town of Mooncrest. The battle was nearing as she ran closer toward them; she wasn’t sure what her game plan was, but Bob and Marlon seemed so sure that she would be able to stop the battle by using her magic.Though they didn’t know how deep her magic goes and how different it was. She wasn’t sure she was going to be able to control it once it started working. Once she came into view of the battle, she turned back into her human form.Or more like her body rejected her wolf form. She wasn’t sure which it was, but it was unsettling.The battle was going on around her; as she walked through the fighting, it was almost as if nobody could see her. None of them paid much attention to her; she realized that nothing was able to touch her.It was amazing; she was wrapped in a bubble of different energy. She couldn’t believe it. It seemed as though the dark magic was working around her without her tellin
I couldn’t believe she had just left. We discovered that her powers are darker than what meets the eye. I’m starting to think it wasn’t Nyx who had this plan; maybe she planned to give Kamala the power to use it for good and not drain her of her wolf and life. But maybe whatever dark magic Petra used was what took that light magic from Kamala and started to fill her with its dark magic.I feared that when she arrived and used those powers to stop the battle, it was going to do worse than good.I couldn’t just stand around and watch my friend and everyone I know, and love meet a fatal end. I had to somehow stop it from happening; I told her I was going to let her go alone. I made a promise that I would stay behind and get some rest, get Mateo in the morning, and wait around for Kamala to send me word. But I couldn’t just do that; I had to go back to Mooncrest to help them.But first, I couldn’t just leave here without seeing my son. This might be the last time I see him, and I needed h
“He wants what?!” Deonna asked, staring at Kamala with wide and worried eyes.Kamala sat at the edge of Deonna’s bed, playing with her fingers nervously. She felt the urge to cry but no tears would leave her eyes. She wasn’t sure what to do or what to think. She couldn’t believe that Bob was asking her to do such a thing. Especially after knowing what happened to her the first time when she used this power.Bob didn’t even know the extent of it, and he was wanting her to return to Mooncrest and defeat the king’s army using the light magic that Nyx had given her. He had no idea that her light magic was gone, and it was only replaced with the dark magic the castle’s shield had soaked into her.She was like a sponge, and she wasn’t sure she could handle such a task.It would put everybody in danger and probably kill her in the process.“I have to,” Kamala said softly, looking at Deonna. “I must help with this battle. If there’s a way to defeat the king’s army and fight for our freedom, t
Marlon was taking cover; he remained in his wolf form, but he feared no good would come from that. the king’s army decided to fight dirty and was using firearms. He managed to get a glimpse of Deonna and Kamala running toward the forest and it didn’t seem as if anyone was following her.Alex’s eyes never left her though he was growling as he too remained in his wolf form. He was obviously furious that she had gotten away but with one wrong move and he would have gotten shot so he couldn’t go after her.It pleased Marlon to watch Deonna escape and once she disappeared into the forest completely, he knew she was going to make it to the village and make it back to Mateo.He refused to die here though; he wasn’t going to let Deonna give birth to their second child without him. He couldn’t bear the thought of her raising their children alone. She wouldn’t have the proper resources needed to raise these children on her own.However, there was no doubt in his mind that she would manage just
I nearly dropped the letter as I continued reading it; it was a letter from my birth mother, Elianna, to my adoptive mother. it was all here; every bit of truth about what happened the night I was born. It was Frederick that told the duke about Elianna giving birth to me. It was Frederick that basically caused the manhunt for my birth father Robert and caused him to either die or run away.I wasn’t expecting the duke to forgive Elianna so easily though after she had an affair and a child with Robert. But he forgave her until she was sent my information and then she was never trusted again.Considering the journal entries were no more and this seemed to be the last letter that I know about; there was no doubt in my mind that the duke had his wife killed because of my birth.What hurt more than knowing about my actual past, was knowing that my adoptive mother knew about it. Everything was written out for her; I’m not sure when she received this letter, but she received it and read it. S
I wanted to write this letter because you have something that belonged to me a long time ago. I have lost everything, and I continue to lose so much even as I write this. I don’t know how much more time I have before they find me. But if nothing else, I want you to at least know the truth about Deonna. I know you adopted her in an orphanage up North. I know this because I was the one who put her there, and you might be wondering who I am and why I would give up such a beautiful child, placing her in a location as cruel as that orphanage. It’s because where I come from, I couldn’t take her with me. It’s not that I didn’t want to, it’s that I couldn’t. if she were to be found out, I would be put to death. But I made some miscalculations, and it seems I will be put to death anyway. Her existence is known, and I only have myself to blame. I’m sorry for writing this in a letter and I’m sorry you adopted her without knowing the truth about her. She will grow to always have a target on her