CHAPTER TWO

-ROYCE-

For so long I have been on my own, wallowing in my eternal misery. My mind drifted to my beautiful wife and the son that I lost all those years ago, wondering if they were at peace wherever they were. The horrific images of that fateful night flashed before my eyes, causing my heart to accelerate and my senses to heighten. I swallowed the bile that rose in my throat and took a deep breath, fighting for control against the beast inside of me. I looked down at my hands, realising that I had pulverised the cup that I was holding.

“Sebastian?!”, I called out. “Yes sire”, he answered, poking his head around the door. “Fetch me another cup please, I’m afraid this one is quite useless now”, I ordered then dismissed him with a wave of my hand. Sebastian nodded hastily and then pulled the door closed. My servants came in handy most of the time, although at times I wished that I had someone to talk to, someone to share my life with. I thought of my wife again, imagining a vibrant smile on her stunning face; Oh, how I missed her.

A stray tear rolled down my cheek as Sebastian entered, holding the third cup I had sent him to fetch today. I wiped the small droplet with the back of my hand and then thanked him. He smiled and bowed, “Sir, Mrs Potter asked me to inform you that we have a guest staying with us”, he said quietly, avoiding any eye contact with me.

I felt a wave of anger surge through me, “Why the hell would she bring a guest here?! She knows that we cannot risk having anyone find out about us!”, I bellowed. Sebastian took a step backwards, no doubt trying to get to the door before I lost control. “She said that it was a young girl that needed her assistance, sire. I heard that she was in a bad way when Mrs Potter found her in Redwood last night.” His voice wobbled with anxiety as he spoke. I scowled at him and told him to get out of my sight. As soon as the door closed behind him, I threw the cup at the wall, watching it break into a million pieces, then let out a frustrated roar.

Later that evening I was walking the halls, unable to sleep with my memories playing havoc on my mind once again, when I passed by the infirmary and saw Mrs Potter talking with the head healer. I remembered Sebastian telling me about our guest and felt the familiar anger growing within me once again. This was exactly the reason that I had my territory cloaked from the outside world, why I only allowed the staff of my choice to leave and fetch supplies once a year. If we started taking pity on every creature that begged for our help, the place would be overrun with untrustworthy scum, just like the people that killed my family.

I stormed over to Mrs Potter and grasped her arm, “I need to talk with you,” I growled. She frowned at me, then excused herself from her conversation, and followed me out into the hallway. I released her arm when we were on our own, “Remind me of the rules that I set in place and why.”

She lowered her eyes, looking at the ground rather than looking at me, “We aren’t meant to let outsiders enter our lands because nobody can be trusted, sir. But as much as I respect you, I just couldn’t leave the poor girl in the street to die. She was badly beaten and without any clothing, in this weather”, she said quickly, trying to reason with me. “I am the one that makes the decisions around here Mrs Potter, unless you are challenging my authority”, I said, letting my anger seep into my tone. She cowered and shook her head quickly, “I would never, sire”. “Good, you’re dismissed”, I said and she hurried away, looking over her shoulder every few steps.

I entered the infirmary and approached the healer, “What do we know about the girl?”, I asked, needing as much information as I could before deciding the stranger’s fate. “Well, sire, she seems to be between the age of sixteen and nineteen, so only young. She was completely naked when Mrs Potter found her and from what I have seen, she was raped and beaten badly. Whoever did this to her is a monster”, he said, looking over the papers he was holding.

“Has she spoken to you yet?”, I asked. “No, she hasn’t awoken since the ordeal. I don’t know when she will; she’s in a very bad way, sire.” I thanked him and then walked towards the room that he pointed to as hers. As I pushed the door open, my breath caught in my throat. This girl, even covered in black and blue bruises, was absolutely stunning. I felt an anger building inside me again, instead this time it wasn’t because of her, it was because of what had been done to her. I walked over and stood by her bedside, “I will find whoever did this to you, I promise”, I whispered.

I stormed through the halls, heading towards my office. I mind-linked a message out to the entirety of the guard, telling them that I expected them all in the training quarters by seven in the morning. My head of security replied quickly, telling me that they would all be there. When I entered my office, I immediately pulled out a map, detailing every square inch of the Redwood township.

I called out for Sebastian to fetch Mrs Potter or Percy, I needed one of them to tell me the exact place that they found the girl. That is where I would start my search for the vile creature that dared do what he had done to her. Percy knocked and entered at my invite, before bowing, “Sire, you called for me?”, he stated. “Yes, I chose you to accompany Mrs Potter into the town of Redwood yesterday, I need to know where you found the young girl that you brought back with you”, I said, gesturing towards the map that covered my entire desk.

Percy walked over, still keeping his head down. He looked over the map quickly and then placed his finger on a small alleyway between the town bakery and blacksmiths shop. “Was she awake when you found her Percy?”. “Her eyes were open but she didn’t respond to Mrs Potter. Though she was unconscious when I lifted her into the wagon, sire”, he answered. “Thank you, Percy, that will be all.”

The next morning, I awoke alert and ready to finalise the details with the guard; and hoped that I would have the despicable vermin caught and jailed by dinner time tonight. Sebastian informed me that the girl still hadn’t woken yet, but that the healer was mixing up a new remedy that should help to heal her injuries faster.

The head of the guard, Helena, assured me that they would do everything in their power to locate the man in question. I hated having my people out in the open where they were more susceptible to attack, but for some reason I felt a strong need to protect and avenge this girl that I didn’t even know. I gave Helena one of the shreds of the girls’ clothing, the piece with the strongest scent, and then left her to give instructions to the guard. The plan was to find the monster first and then I would be alerted to his whereabouts and bring him in myself. My blood boiled at the thought of coming face to face with this man, but the beast, on the other hand, was howling inside of me, eager to take revenge on the monster that made him look like a saint.

I spent the afternoon pacing my office, waiting impatiently for Helena to connect through mind-l**k. Everything was dead silent on her end, and I began to worry that something had gone wrong. I wandered down to the infirmary, intent on just checking in on the girl and leaving, but when I opened the door to her room, she was sitting up in the bed, her legs crossed, supporting a rather large book. Her eyes glanced up as I entered and I stopped in my tracks with the hold that her aura demanded from me. I bl**ked a few times, feeling more and more like a fool the longer I stood frozen. “Are you alright?”, she asked quietly, her voice resembling that of an angel. My mind couldn’t form a coherent sentence so I nodded my head like a crazy fool.

Her eyes were a mesmerising emerald green; although the paleness of her skin would usually be accompanied by blue eyes. I was stuck in her gaze, unable to speak or move until she allowed. “Would you like to take a seat?”, she offered, pointing to the small chair in the corner of the room. I took three hurried steps and lowered myself down onto the seat, still keeping my eyes locked on hers.

Her face was still covered in different shades of blues and I could see pain in the back of her eyes. Her long hair was matted with dirt and dried blood, but I could see that it was a beautiful deep blonde colour. She lowered her eyes at my stare making my stomach flip, and I found myself hoping that I hadn’t made her feel uncomfortable. “What is your name?”, I whispered, frightened that my voice would break if I spoke any louder. She looked up at me again, “Arabella.”

“Is there anyone that you would like me to send for?”, I asked, but regretted when I began thinking about her with any other man. “No, that’s quite alright. My father is the only family that I have, and I dare say that he wouldn’t care if he never saw me again”, she said very matter of fact. I held back the rage that her answer caused. How could a parent not care for their own child? My father was a ruthless leader to my pack, and even then, he still found time to be a good father. He not only taught me how to be a leader, but he also taught me how to be the type of man that took care of his family; he showed me what it meant to be the Alpha.

“I..”, I didn’t want to leave her, but I had to if I was going to keep my promise, “I need to go, but I will come and visit later, if that’s alright with you”, I said quietly. I let out a sigh of relief when the sweetest smile appeared on her lips, “I think I would like that.”

This unique and mysterious girl, as much as I didn’t want her to, had completely taken over my mind in the short time that she had been here. For the first time in six years I have something else on my mind that isn’t the devouring sadness that has been crippling me all this time. I had encountered so many women in that time, some were beyond compare in their beauty, but for some reason this one girl was different, she held me in a way that I had never been held before.