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Cassius Pov
Being locked in a dark cell for two days was not something Cassius was not used to. He is a prince and princes should never be treated this way. It made him angry! More than angry but furious.
How could my father do this to me ? Cassius thought.
It was bad enough Ferox killed Acacia but locking him up for defending his mate was beyond unnecessary. Cassius couldn't do anything to save his mother but he would do something to save Ana.
"Fuck! I need to get out of this cage!" he yelled pulling on the bars for the hundredth time. It was no use. These cells were built especially to keep vampires trapped inside.
"I see you've settled in nicely my prince" Raven said popping up outside his prison right before his eyes. He hated when she did that.
Raven had promised to make sure he made it to his cell "safely" after he slapped her but on the way she changed her mind and allowed the guards to bring him alone. This is the first time he's seen her or anyone else since. They hadn't even bothered to bring him blood, further adding to his irritability.
"Why are you here?" he sneered flashing his fangs. Cassius hated the witch and he wanted nothing more than to see her dead. He began forcing images of excruciating pain into her mind but she remained unmoved.
"You can stop trying to use your ability on me. It won't work. You're too weak from not feeding for the last two days" She replied with a hint of amusement.
It all made sense now. Raven didn't come when he was first imprisoned because she knew he would be too great of a threat to her at full strength. So she had him starved out to weaken him. Cassius tightened his grip on the bars and hissed viciously in her face. The witch only laughed.
"You'll pay for this bitch!" the prince screamed.
"Maybe" she shrugged "But before that day I'm going to show you why slapping a witch is never a good idea." She added in a much darker tone. "There are many ways I can make you suffer. Like this" Raven snapped her fingers and millions of large black spiders sprang up from the ground.
The tiny green eyed creatures scurried directly to Cassius crawling all over his body. He stepped on some squashing them with his expensive dress shoes. Also tried to fling off the ones already making their way up his arms, but it was just too many. They covered him completely from head to toe, entering his ears, nose and mouth.
However as quickly as it started it ended with the snap of Ravens finger. Cassius spun all around searching but every last spider was gone.
"Spiders are too messy. How about I do this" she said snapping her fingers again. This time the prince's whole body burst into bright red and orange flames.
"AHH!" Cassius screamed dropping to the ground and rolling. Not matter how much he tried the fire continued to savagely eat away his flesh. Burning was second to platinum in the killing vampires department.
Meaning it hurt like hell.
Cassius screamed and screamed as the fire grew impossibly hotter.
Raven clapped her hands together and the flames disappeared. As if they were never there to begin with. Cassius continued to put out the invisible flames and stayed on ground panting and checking his body for the burns he was certain was there. None were found.
"Fire is too boring" the witch added tapping her veiled chin "This is more fun to watch" and with another snap large snakes began to slither down the walls into his cell. Huge green, black and even red snakes of all sizes came for the prince. Cassius jumped to his feet snatching the first snake near him. He took the black creature in his hands and forcibly ripped its head off.
Again and again he ripped off more and more heads. A few were able to bite him but Cassius ignored it and continued slaying them with record speed.
"Is that all you got?!" the prince yelled with his arms wide gesturing to the dismantled bodies of the snakes.
Blood covered his hands, face and body. He looked mad. Raven didn't reply instead she pointed her thin finger to the dead reptiles. Cassius followed the movement becoming enraged by what he saw. The heads he torn off began to grow back, but what was once one became two. Every snake grew back double heads.
Raven laughed hysterically.
Cassius shook off his shock and tried to fight them off again but they bit and attacked him like the monsters they are. A huge boa wrapped around his midsection while smaller pythons and vipers wrapped around his neck, arms and legs. They rendered his attacks useless. The prince couldn't move and the strength of the boa was crushing his bones.
Just when he thought this was the worst, a tan colored rattle snake crawled around his face. It shook its tail sounding the room with a warning. Then the snake snapped and struck his face several times. With fangs nearly as sharp as his the snake easily tore through the flesh on his face. Cassius opened his mouth in a hiss but that too was a mistake. The rattler took the opportunity to dive into his open mouth cutting off his sound and choking him as it traveled down his throat.
"See my prince, there are many ways I can make you suffer. Remember that the next time you think about touching me" Raven threatened.
Slowly she walked away allowing the snakes to continue their assaults for a few more moments before finally clapping her hands together once and ending it all.
Cassius coughed and gagged uncontrollably long after the snakes were gone. It was a horrid feeling he would never forget…
"It was worth it" he spat between coughs.
Raven froze her next steps. The witch turned back to the prison cell where Cassius still lie on the ground. His words angered her. But before she could respond he sat up abruptly, eyes wide with pain. Soon after his body started to thrash violently.
"AHH!! What are you doing to me?!" he shouted. It felt as if the heart in his chest was being pulled out. A second later the back of his neck began to burn and beamed a bright red light. Raven tilted her head to the side curiously watching the prince suffer even more.
"This isn't my doing sadly. But I know exactly who's responsible for your pain now…. It's your mate" she told him enjoying the suffering he's being caused even if she wasn't the one to cause it.
"What?" Cassius questioned confused. The ache in his chest was unlike anything he'd ever felt before. As if a pair of invisible claws had a hold of it and was squeezing as hard as could be.
"Looks like little Analise made her choice and guess what? It wasn't you. Now you have a choice. Let her go or be as foolish as your grandfather Erebus. Goodnight young prince. Enjoy the heartache" she added with a shrill cackle only a witch could make. Satisfied Raven disappeared in the darkness as quickly as she appeared.
Cassius was hurt. Not in the physical way he could handle but in heartbreaking way he couldn't stand.
Ana chose someone else. The thought alone made him want to destroy everyone and everything!
"How could she do this to me? After all I risked for her!" he shouted to no one.
Ana mating just two days after escaping hurt him as much as it hurt to watch his mother die. Cassius was tired of getting screwed over by everyone; Ferox, Catalina, Raven and now Ana.
He wanted justice and one way or another he was going to get it.
So he sat in his cell and dealt with the pain with clenched fist and a black heart because Cassius knew exactly what he had to do next…
Jace Pov
"Grandmother it's been two days! We should go back for them" Jace ranted for the thousandth time. They had all made it back to Cora's small place yesterday evening.
Lily and Bobby were eating in the living room with Zara while Simon and Marie were sleeping in the guest room. Jace was in the kitchen with his grandmother and Cora trying unsuccessful to persuade them to allow him to leave. He wasn't thrilled about abandoning Ana with Seb but his grandmother reassured him she would be safe.
Helia sighed taking a sip of tea from her seat at the kitchen table "Honey, like I told you before she is fine. I projected to Seb and told him where we were going. As soon as she's healed they'll be here stop worrying" she explained to him calmly.
Jace didn't listen. He only paced the kitchen floor repeatedly doing exactly what his grandmother advised him not to do; worry. How long could it take to heal? He wondered. It's already been days, could it take weeks? Jace only grew more frustrated the more he thought about it.
"Is he still whining?" Lily asked bouncing in the kitchen. She popped the last of her sandwich into her mouth before dropping her plate in the sink.
"Shut up Lily" Jace snapped
"Whoa calm down Thompson" Bobby said entering the kitchen shortly behind Lily.
"Why are you even still here Kennedy? Kim is gone so we don't need you. No one likes you. How about I give you a running head start back to Mercy Falls" Jace hinted stepping up into his former friends face.
"If you can take me down without the magic I'll leave right now. Come on Thompson give me your best shot" Bobby replied opening his arms wide with a cocky grin.
"Children stop it, now isn't the time for petty fights. You must stick together" Cora interrupted taking the steaming teapot off the stove.
"Oh no don't stop them now, this is better than pay per view" Lily added having a seat at the table and gesturing for the boys to continue.
Jace rolled his eyes. This is not something he felt like dealing with ever. Shoving past Bobby he stormed out of the kitchen. And a few seconds later out the front door.
Once outside he kicked the dirt driveway forcefully sending tiny pebbles flying through the air. This is ridiculous! He couldn't understand why no one else was concerned for Ana. The last time he saw her she wasn't even moving. She looked dead. Sure he'd heard about werewolf venom having healing components but he didn't trust Seb to know how to use it.
He just found out he's a werewolf for goodness sake! Jace thought annoyed. If only he'd been stronger he could have saved her himself. But sadly he wasn't...yet…
"Grandson?" Helia said gently. Jace didn't even hear her come outside but she is the crone so that's not surprising.
"I would like to be alone" he snapped turning his back to her. It was rude but he didn't care. Seb being alone with Ana was all he could think about.
Helia didn't respond but he knew she was still there. If his grandmother was anything it was patient. Jace took a few breaths to calm down before turning back to her. He opened his mouth to apologize when an unspeakable pain overcame him...
Jace fell to his knees grasping his chest. His heart burned! It literally felt like it was set on fire inside him! The pain was so fast and intense he couldn't even scream. The heat then spread to the back of his neck where it was even worse.
"AHH! Wh-whats happening to me?!" he cried hunching over. From his peripheral he saw a red light but didn't know where it was coming from. Helia rushed to his aide. She pushed the hair away from the backs of his neck and sighed heavily by what she saw happening.
"Oh my dear Jacian" she said lowly.
Jace knew it was bad because no one ever called him by his actual given first name. Not even his mother. Most of his friends didn't even know "Jace" was only a nickname he'd always gone by. Helia herself even only used it when she was extremely angry at him or had devastating news. He hoped it was the former.
"What is it?!" he demanded again needing to know what was going on.
Helia sighed heavily "Your mark, that bonds you to Ana," she paused to deeply sigh again. "Is being burnt out. Erased…" she informed him.
"What? Why?" he questioned ignoring the pain and whipping his head up to see her. The look in her eyes said she didn't want to say why but he knew she would. Helia always told the truth no matter how hard it was to hear.
"This only happens when the mate of one chooses another. I'm so sorry to tell you but it seems Ana has chosen a mate. And it's not you honey" Helia spoke both sadly and softly doing her best to break the news gently. Jace just stared at her. As if her words didn't make sense like some foreign language he couldn't understand.
"No" he whispered. "NO NO NO!" he yelled when he fully realized what she meant. Jace pounded his fist on the ground so hard sparks flew.
Helia knelt beside him "I know it hurts but if you let her go the suffering will leave you too. Close your eyes and accept her choice so that you may move on peacefully" she tried coaxing him.
Jace would hear none of it. He jumped to his feet and screamed heartbrokenly up in the air. The scream itself was filled with so much grief and fury that tiny bits off steam left his mouth as well. Hot tears rolled down his cheeks and he suddenly felt nauseous.
Ana chose Seb. He thought. It was a mistake. He couldn't believe that she would actually do that especially given the state she was in.
"He forced her! That bastard took advantage of her!" Jace roared. Helia rose to her feet to calm her unstable grandson.
"A mate cannot be taken by force. It doesn't work. The mating is of free will of the heart" She explained but Jace just shook his head. He refused to listen. Helia took his face in her hands. "I know you care for her and this is hard but you must let go. You are my grandson and soon your magic will peak. Once it does you'll be such a powerful witch. If you don't let Ana go the ache you will constantly feel for her will drive you mad. And I'm afraid you'll-" Helia stopped herself short not being able to say the ill-fated words out loud.
Jace balled his fist pulling away from his grandmother. The heat he felt in them wasn't caused by Helia but the fiery rage he was trying to suppress. What his grandmother was pushing him to do felt impossible. Yes he was in pain. But it was the pain that reminded him of what's at stake; Ana. He'd vowed two years ago that if he ever found her again he wasn't going to let her go. That wasn't going to change now.
"I won't" Jace announced looking his grandmother in eye "I will accept the pain and keep my bond to Ana" he added sounding a bit crazed. Both of his fist burst into orange flames. His natural magic was leaking out due to his uncontrollable emotions.
Helia shook her head disappointed and wiped away a single tear that had fallen down her face.
"Then you have sealed a fate worse than death…" With that she walked back inside leaving Jace alone in the dark where she was afraid that figuratively speaking he would forever remain…
Ana Pov
Seb and I made love several more times through the night. It was heaven. Now we sat outside the barn watching the first glimpse of the sun rising. I sat comfortably in between his legs as he wrapped his arms around me.
"Does it feel different now that you know you're a werewolf?" I asked him gazing at the remaining bits of purple in the sky.
"Yes I feel stronger. I can hear and smell everything. The wolf side of me is more animalistic and relies on instincts when I'm in wolf form as opposed to when I'm in human form and I rely on logic" Seb explained tightening his arms. I suppose that makes sense after all a wolf is a wild animal.
"Are you hungry?" I asked randomly. We had been here for almost three days and I'm sure he must be starved. I am.
"Yes. I need to hunt. After I eat you can feed from me" He told me kissing my temple. The thought of his blood made my mouth water.
"Are you hunting as a wolf?" I questioned curiously.
"Yes. Now that we have mated changing forms should be easy." Seb said standing up. He slowly took off his ripped up shorts and I had to fight myself from jumping him. Mm his body was a work of art. And I'm not saying that because he's my mate. Seb's tanned muscled body is envied by men and desired by women.
"Do I need to touch you again?" I wonder also getting to my feet to rid myself of my dirty thoughts.
Seb shook his head no and dropped down on all fours. I watched interestedly. The first thing that changed was his eyes and teeth; they glowed yellow and his teeth sharped to deadly points. Then in one swift burst his skin literally exploded off him completely obliterating Seb than man and only Seb the wolf remained; the beautiful black wolf with the silver tail.
"Wow that was amazing. How do you feel? Oh wait you can't talk" I remember. That'll make things hard. Seb walked over to me licking my face. Even on all fours he was as tall as me.
" I can talk to you" my head whipped around at the sound of his voice because it wasn't out loud. It was in my head.
"What the hel- how did you do that?" and here I thought nothing else would surprise me.
" You're my mate Ana we have to communicate" Seb replied planting another sloppy wolf kiss on my cheek. I laughed.
"This is so cool! Can you read my thoughts too? And how do you know this stuff anyway you've been a wolf for like a day" I asked,surprised.
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#Tobecontinued