Chapter 2

 Ember's POV:

I stationed Sophie behind the bush outside the castle and made my way over to the guards. They got suspicious but before they could warn others through the mindlink, I was up to them and breathing down their necks. As soon as our eyes met, the game was over for them.

Once my hypnotizing power kicked in, I inquired, "Where the prisoners from the South are kept?"

Just as good little puppets they were, they responded in unison, "In the dungeons."

Stashing that crucial piece of information, I then asked about the way toward the dungeons and how many more guards would I encounter on my sweet way to the said dungeons.

Taking Sophie with me, I stepped inside the castle and took a quick sweep. Sticking to what the guard had told me, I started walking toward the left. Reaching the end of the corridor, I stopped at the edge of the staircase leading downward where everything was engulfed by the eerie darkness.

I kept my mindlink open and tried to reach out to the prisoners that belonged to my pack. I was unable to connect to them which indicated that I was still far away from the dungeons.

My heart was thudding erratically in my chest. I needed to be so very careful because if caught, there would be no way back ever.

Planting a hand on the stone wall, I started climbing down the stairs. My main focus was to keep my breathing and heartbeat at the normal rate in order to prevent any unwanted attention.

Sophie followed me as we descended the stairs leading to the basement below. Just as the earlier guards informed me, I came face to face with two guards pacing at the landing. I made a sudden appearance and took them by surprise. As soon as their eyes dilated and they were about to take action, I took control of their senses and ordered them, "Just keep pacing and don't talk to anyone."

After hypnotizing five people, I was starting to feel a dent in my energy reservoir. Without paying it any heed, I kept moving deeper into the dimly lit corridor. Reaching its end, I pressed my back to the wall and peeked around the corner.

A hint of a smile played on my lips as I saw the huge wooden gates leading into the dungeon. It was chained and two guards were stationed outside.

I knew it would be a bit difficult for me to hypnotize both of them at once so, I planned to take them down one by one. Rushing back to the guard I had just hypnotized, I ordered him to mindlink the one standing outside the dungeon and ask him to come over.

A moment later, heavy footsteps started approaching in our direction. Rounding the corner, he bit out, "What now, Mark?"

He was taken aback at seeing me standing beside Mark. Quickly composing himself, he started running to where I was standing. His eyes were already on his target and that was all I needed.

Towering over me, he raised his sharp talons to attack me but before the damage could be done, he stopped dead in his tracks. His eyes blackened as his shoulders slouched.

My nostrils flared as I walked around him and started moving to where his companion was standing. Hypnotizing him, I asked him to open the gates. He did as he was told and the chains on the gates came apart.

Grabbing Sophie's hand, I ordered the guard to follow me inside. Stepping inside, I spotted five guards pacing outside the cells. I wasn't surprised because I was already expecting that.

I could hypnotize the remaining five but then I would be completely deprived of my energy. I slashed my gaze to the guard and ordered him to take down his own companions.

I was running out of time, I knew that. Any of the five guards might have already mind linked others and informed them about the intrusion. I quickly weighed my options. I could snatch the keys, unlock the two prisoners of my pack, and leave. But that way, we wouldn't be able to leave the castle without getting caught as the warriors must be making their way here.

The wheels churned inside my head. What I needed to make it out of there alive was chaos. Too much chaos actually. My gaze traveled around the dungeons and I took in the blood-thirsty prisoners inside the cells. They were looking at me with hope. I needed them as much as they needed me.

The decision was made. Snatching the bunch of keys from the guard, I ran to the last two cells and unlocked them. As soon as Jordan and Elijah were out, I divided the keys among ourselves and ordered them to unlock the rest of the cells.

Soon, the whole place became a chaotic mess of uproar from the deadly and angry prisoners. They were thrashing against the walls, screaming at the top of their lungs, lunging at anyone inside the dungeons.

I knew that by now, the whole security system of the castle must have become aware of the invasion. Opening the mindlink, I accessed the minds of my packmates and urged them to leave the place as soon as possible.

With one last look over my shoulder, I left the chaos behind and rushed toward the gates where guards and prisoners bwere involved in a brutal fight.

Ducking my head low and body away from the prying hands, I jumped out of the gate with my packmates following closely. More guards were pouring in through the left, so we automatically headed toward the right.

Tapping our feet on the stone floor, we kept our pace fast and steady while passing through the dark and gloomy corridor. Up ahead, I could see the corridor splitting into two ways; left and right.

I gritted my teeth as the approaching footsteps echoed somewhere in the right passage. I linked my packmates to head toward the left as it would lead us to the back entrance of the castle from where I broke in.

Heeding my command, they turned sharply to the left. Whoever was in the corridor, he was close. He could obviously see my packmates making an exit. That explained the quickening of his pace.

Heaving a deep breath, I made a deft turn to the left but it was late. Too late.

A hand lunged out and wrapped around my belly, capturing me in a tight hold. My skin seared at the touch, my heartbeat quickened, and my breathing became ragged. The moment that I had been dreading my whole life was here now, laughing at my face, mocking me, insulting me.

My wolf let out a cheering howl in my mind, relishing in the discovery.

No. No no no no. It was the only thing chanting in my head. The denial was coursing through my veins, absorbing into my very being.

I swallowed hard, refusing to let that intoxicating scent of pine and earth mess with my senses. My stomach twisted into a tight knot as I was jerked around in his hold.

I sucked in a deep breath as I took in the most handsome man in the entire history of mankind. I was 5'8" but he was still looming over me, making me feel like a small kid.

He was wide with a body fully packed with muscles. His broad shoulders were wider than my whole frame. Sleek nose, sharp jawline, full lips, and...fuck...his eyes.

Those black orbs were darker than the shadows, indicating the demons lurking somewhere inside them. Those pitch-black eyes should have been enough of a reason to run the hell away from him but why were they only drawing me deeper into them? What the hell was wrong with me?

I took in a shuddering breath and grabbed the reins of my numb senses. My jaw tightened. I was angry at the way my body was reacting to his closeness. I reminded myself firmly that he was an enemy. And I refused to accept anything but that. My wolf hissed in my head but I shut her out, making my intentions clear.

Composing myself, I looked deeper into his eyes, challenging those demons inside. My heart was beating erratically, going on a war against my mind. But I would gladly cut it out of my fucking chest if it won't stop acting like a wounded puppy.

I let my hypnotizing power channel out of me in strong waves. For some reason, it felt like I was having no affect on him. The more I stared into those dark pools of blackness, the more I was drawing near the edge of sanity.

All this time, he kept standing there with a frown deepening between his brows and muscles rigid as a rock. He was shocked. But why? There was no way he could have recognized me since I was covered in perfume specially designed to mask my scent from my mate.

Was he taken aback at finding an enemy strolling in the heavily guarded castle? I shook my head, deciding to leave it all for later to ponder over.

Once I was sure that he was hypnotized, I jerked my hand out of his hold and quickly turned around. Sprinting into the corridor, I stopped dead in my tracks as I heard someone referring to him as "Alpha Nicholus."

My whole world crashed down at the brutal revelation that the blood-sworn enemy was actually my fated mate. Shaking my head in denial, I ran toward the huge window facing the woods.

I forced myself not to but for some stupid reason, my head turned over my shoulder. I looked at him still standing there with ragged breathing and an intimidating look on his face.

His eyes stared deep into mine with so many dangerous warnings swirling in them. Swallowing the lump in my throat, I jumped down the window, determined to put miles and miles of distance between us.

But little did I know that fate had indeed something else in store for me.