As soon as Nicklaus stepped forward a long bridge appeared, he walked towards the other end of the bridge, the golden mountain. Ophelia stiffly stayed in the man's arms not daring to open her eyes or hold him. Her left ear which was right beside the man's heart was tormented by the man's steady, powerful heartbeat which was like an enchanting rhythm and she became stiffer, not daring to move. The man smiled. It was genuine. Not his usual sarcastic smirk or evil smile but the stiff Ophelia didn't see or she would want to cuss.
At the end of the bridge, Nicklaus put the girl down.
"We are here. Let's keep moving."
"Okay"
Surprised, Nicklaus stopped. "You're talking to me now"
"Would you rather I stay mute." Said the girl rolling her eyes.
"It's okay."
The girl didn't respond. They continued walking. The nearer they got to the castle, the more impressed they were by the architecture of the place. They realised that the castle could reflect because it was made of glass. The window frames were also of thick glass.
"Even the staircase is made of glass?" she couldn't help but exclaim. Seeing her excitement, Nicklaus smiled even more. When they reached the door it opened inwards itself.
Contrary to their expectations, it was not a waiting room nor was it a living room but a ballroom. It was empty. The sound of their boots resonated into their ears. At the centre of the hall was a single chandelier dangling from the ceiling.
"Hello" said Ophelia but all that came back was the heavy resonance of her voice. She looked around her but realised that she was the only one in the hall now. Nicklaus.. was gone. She had a very calm personality to begin with so after a while of observation, she muttered "illusion".
Ophelia was now in an illusion. She turned around again and found a staircase made of ice. Light radiated from the it. She looked up and saw the a circular ceiling lamp. It looked like the moon and the silvery glow was suiting. She went up the stairs. After what seems like forever, she reached a balcony and stopped. She had several voices whispering and blacked out...
Nicklaus looked ahead and realised that Ophelia was gone. He was worried.
"Ophelia!" he shouted, his voice resonating. He waited for a while but heard nothing. He became even more worried. He searched all the rooms that he could find but nothing. Ophelia was gone, as if she never existed, as if she was never there.
Bamm... he banged the wall so hard that his knuckles were bleeding, yet he didn't feel it. He kept searching but nothing. When he had reached his limit, a gentle and serene voice called out.
"Are you usually this not composed?" asked the voice.
"You are a king after all". It was obvious that the voice was mocking him but he didn't mind.
"Were is she!". He shouted. His voice shaking the building. He was really anxious.
"She is where she ought to be. AHH AHH AHH. She didn't even call for you at all. I mean she didn't care whether you were dead or alive. AHH AHHH AHHH". The voice seemed to be enjoying the drama.
"So, the demon Alpha king of the Lycanthropes knows fear." The voice laughed again. The voice teasing any listener's ears.
Suddenly the space around Nicklaus twisted, the temperature kept decreasing until ice shards formed around him. He growled. His growl sounding like a roar. His muscles were bulging at a very fast rate. He grew a few metres high. He raised his hands and swung it, his sharp claws drawing deep marks in the air. The laughter was replaced with a low scream and a figure dropped down. Nicklaus bent down, picked the figure up and screamed "WERE IS SHE!". He raised his head to see the figure. His expression changed. He released the hand around her neck and brought her into his arms mumbling "no, no, no, no, no, no, no,no,no,no, no, no..."
The woman in his arms was his Ophelia covered in blood.On her body were three ghastly deep marks made by his claws. One cut across her chest, broken ribs puking out of it as he held her. The other two marks were on her belly. Her organs were in the open, especially her intestines and stomach. He placed her on the floor and tried to put the organs back into her stomach. Her pale skin and white dress made the blood more vivid.
'Weren't they just flirting moments ago. She was fine then, why, why, why, why....'
"Ophelia!". He growled. The castle started shaking. Piece after piece of glass flew in different directions. His growl was so powerful that a whirlpool had already formed.
"He lifted her carefully and ran out of the castle his down jacket flustering in the wind, avoiding every piece of glass. Just as he was about to reach the bridge, he saw his pack. They had all changed to there Werewolf form and were coming in his direction. Although he was still very worried and unsettled, he felt a little relieved when he saw his pack approaching.
"Alpha Nicklaus!" shouted one of them.
"Delaney, this is a conspiracy. The Alkals have a mole amongst them or maybe one of our enemies have gotten wind of this matter. The girl is injured severely. I'll take her back. You guys search around for clues. Some of you will also come with me to the Alkals. She is in a critical condition now." said Nicklaus in an anger. He was truly pissed. Who did they take him, Nicklaus for; conspiring against him and his woman like this. He held the small frame in his hands more gently, afraid that his movements would cause more blood loss. He walked forward. That when he realised that his people were not moving at all.
"Are you f*ckin deaf!". No one replied. The felt even more angry and stomped his foot on the ground causing cracks to appear. The werewolves didn't move. Instead, they had surrounded him.
Delaney spoke again, "Alpha Nicklaus, I think you still don't understand the situation now. The girl in your arms is probably dead. You killed her yourself and her people are just as pissed as we are now. We are here on the orders of your father, the grandalpha of the pack. He asked that you be taken back and imprisoned after reaching a consensus with the Alkals, who want to burn you alive. You've been holding on to her like this for two days now, so her elder is here to bring her back." As he finished speaking, some werewolves made way and Mona Galia walked slowly towards him.
"Don't come any closer! I'm not giving her to anyone of you. Where is her guardian?"
"She commited suicide when she heard the news. She blamed herself for allowing her poor ward accept the marriage alliance."
Nicklaus moved backwards, away from Mona Galia.
"I'm not going to hand her over to anyone. You'll have to kill me to get her."
As he spoke ice shards flew towards the werewolves piercing through them. They all fell. Only Mona Galia and Delaney were left. Standing on the bridge. Just as they moved forward to fight him, the bridge under them broke and they both fell to their death. Seeing that everyone was dead. He carried the lifeless body in his arms and turned back towards the half destroyed castle.
In the castle, he put the girl down and layed beside her. He groaned in pain and then turned over. An ice shards, long and frightening cold was protruding from his right chest. It turned out that he had also pierced himself when he pierced the others. He cuddled the girl and that both slowing turned into ice....