UNEDITED
The blood from the small animals he had killed in the forest dripped down his hair, down his open torso, and even onto the floor, making him appear scarier than he was.
Even with rage coursing through his veins and his beast tugging at the chain he'd crafted in his mind to control him, the look on his mate's face broke him.
The fear in her big brown eyes was shattering his heart. He was aware that she was afraid of him, but this time it was different, she stared at him as if he were a monster.
He knew he was, but seeing his mate look at him like that saddened him.
He was beside her as soon as her eyes closed. Alexa, her friend, began to scream and shake her, but she did not wake up.
It broke Alexa's heart to see her best friend pass out in front of her two eyes for the first time. Seeing the girl who had never received love from her parents, who had struggled but succeeded, passed out in her arms caused her heart to ache so badly that she forgot where she was.
"You bastard!" The King was yelled at by Alexa. The King was not surprised; in fact, he expected it. He ignored her and reached for the girl, but Alexa yanked her away.
"Don't touch her." The King growled, his beast raging inside his head, breaking the chain gradually. Alexa's eyes were filled with fear, and something told her to let Isabella go, but her protective side refused.
Sam, who had regained consciousness, was startled to see herself so close to the door. She hadn't even realized she'd left her hiding place.
Sam's only memory was hearing Isabella pant, followed by darkness, but she was awake. Something inside her trembled when she heard the King growl. She was perplexed and began to panic; this had never happened to her before.
"I told you not to touch her." She heard Alexa scream at the King once more, but this time something inside her became enraged, and she made a sound she had no idea she could make.
All eyes turned to Sam, who was in shock herself. Something inside her paced, glaring down at Alexa, ready to strike at any moment. A sudden pain shot through her body as she looked at her hands with wide eyes. She screamed and fell to the ground.
Alexa was stunned and unsure of what to do. Her best friend was unconscious in her arms, The King was in front of her, and Sam was screaming. She drew Isabella closer and tried to relax, her earlier confidence gone.
Callum, who had already begun running towards the room after hearing his King's growl, came to a halt when he heard the second growl. His brow furrowed in confusion, and then a thought occurred to him.
'What if he marked her?' he thought as he resumed his run. He wasn't prepared to lose his queen because his friend couldn't keep his beast under control.
As he approached the room, he heard a scream. His beast whimpered when he saw his queen unconscious. The King was standing there, but his gaze was drawn to a woman on her knees beside the door rather than his mate.
She was screaming in agony and clutching her chest. It didn't take him long to figure out what was going on with the scent inside the room.
He cursed in his head and wondered how they hadn't noticed she was one of them before. His beast wished he could be with their Queen, but he knew he had to help this pup.
"Take her to the main hospital and prepare a room for me," the King said through their mind link. Callum nodded and carried the girl in a bridal style. The heat emitted by her body was enough to make him sweat. He exited the room, leaving Alexa, the King, and an unconscious Isabella behind.
The King's gaze returned to Alexa, who was still where Callum had just left. His beast hadn't calmed down, and he knew that if he didn't do something to get his mate in his arms, there would be bloodshed and his mate would despise him even more.
He pinched the bridge of his nose and decided to speak, even though he knew it wouldn't help right now.
"Give her to me," he said, and his voice sounded exactly like two deep voices overlapping.
Alexa became more terrified. The blood and the voice weren't making anything better.
"You may come along if you wish to," the King said, hoping that this would prompt her to calm down and hand over his mate.
His beast's chain was about to snap, and he was running out of time.
Alexa calmed down after hearing his words and gradually let Isabella go. The King immediately picked her up and placed his head on her neck, taking deep breaths.
His uncovered torso came in contact with her skin and he felt the unfamiliar sparks spread. He let out a breath, his nostrils dancing after taking in her scent.
His beast gradually relaxed and drew back, savouring the delicious smell of their mate. Alexa knew she would have died if she hadn't let go of Isabella as the King sniffed her.
He began to walk out of the room once he and his beast had calmed down. Alexa quickly rose to her feet and trailed behind the King, struggling to keep up with his long strides.
The King led Isabella out of the palace in his arms. The beasts around the palace all bowed and looked worriedly at their Queen.
They surprised Alexa because she knew that when Isabella was awake, they didn't treat her well despite knowing who she was.
The King turned to face the human behind him. He could tell she disliked the beasts by the look on her face as she stared at them. The King was well aware that his decision to make humans slaves was wrong, but he did not want his subjects to question his authority.
They arrived at the massive hospital after what felt like hours of walking for Alexa. The King walked in, effortlessly pushing the glass doors open. Everyone in the building turned to their King, whose presence was felt even before he entered.
For the females, the sight of their king shirtless and covered in blood made their bodies react. They ogled him like he was an ice cream Sunday. The king noticed their reactions but ignored them.
A nurse approached them and led them to the room that Callum had prepared for him. He slowed his pace so his human companion could catch up. He questioned himself for allowing her to accompany him, but he knew that if he wanted his mate's love and forgiveness, he had to be good to her friend.
Sam lay unconscious on a bed on another side of the hospital. She had gone unconscious due to both the shock and pain. Outside the room, Callum asked the doctor why they hadn't realized who she was earlier.
"Her beast was asleep for a long time and without another beast strong enough to awaken her, her scent had changed" the doctor explained to Callum, who nodded in understanding
Callum ran a hand down his face and thanked the doctor. His beast was pacing around, worried about their Queen and Khalid, who was still in the palace, making it difficult for him to concentrate. He mind-linked a guard and instructed him to bring Khalid to the hospital. Khalid arrived at the hospital in less than ten minutes, confused. He had no idea why Callum had asked that he be brought here.
Earlier, he had gone to Callum's room as usual after Isabella left the room. They were on their way to second base when he heard the growl and felt the building shake.
Callum instructed him to remain in the room and not leave until he returned. He'd been waiting for him for so long that he wanted to leave the room and look around. When the guard arrived and brought him to the hospital, he became even more concerned about what might happen to Callum.
His gaze landed on Callum, and all of his anxiety flew out of his body. He dashed over to him, wrapping his arms around him. Callum, who was stressed because of everything that was going on, found comfort in feeling his mate in his arms. He sighed and kissed him on the lips.
Khalid blushed, secretly enjoying the fact that Callum didn't care they were outside. They moved away from each other, both feeling much better than before.
"Hi, babe," Callum said, and Khalid replied,
"Hi, babe," Callum said, and Khalid replied, what happened?" Callum sighed
"Isabella and Sam are both unconscious." his eyes wide with concern, this time for his friends.
"Where are they?"
"Isabella is with the King, and Sam is in that room," he said, motioning to the door next to them. Khalid quickly pulled away and went inside to see his friend.
Callum's beast was dissatisfied but he did not complain. Callum trailed behind and told Khalid what had happened and what the doctor had said.
The new information was difficult for Khalid to swallow, but he knew he had to be there for his friend, so he agreed to stay so Callum could do something else.
Callum exited the room and the hospital after one more kiss.
Back in the other hospital, Isabella was now on the bed and being tested by the doctors, who were doing their best to remain calm.
They could feel the anger radiating from his body, which made them fearful. They were well aware that if they made even the slightest mistake, they would die.
Alexa sat in one of the chairs, her right leg trembling with anxiety. She was worried and didn't know what to expect.
They informed the King after their tests that she had a panic attack and would be waking up soon. Alexa sighed when she heard that.
She was relieved that Isabella would be fine.
Alexa and the King both remained in the room with the unconscious girl, fearful that something would happen if they left. Alexa sighed as she stared at her best friend, unsure what to do or say to him.
If she were in Isabella's shoes, she'd understand why she panicked, and her body was weak and unable to handle it well due to the lack of proper anything in this place.
"You know she hasn't eaten anything for days," she said to the King. She didn't turn to look at him because she knew his expression would irritate her.
The King's eyes widened as he heard the information given to him. He had no idea she hadn't eaten in that long, which explained why her body was so weak. When he looked at the girl, he finally noticed some visible changes.
It was incredible how much weight she had lost in just a few weeks. He knew he needed to act, but he didn't, and now his mate may perish as a result of his foolishness. He looked down and pondered whether he should let her go.
His beast growled in response to the thought. They'd finally found their mate, and he wasn't about to let anything or anyone take her away from them. Eros, too, knew he couldn't let her go; he knew he had to beg her forgiveness for as long as it took.
Alexa turned to face him and almost gasped when she saw his determined expression. She wanted to throw him off with her newfound courage, but she couldn't because she was both afraid of what he would do and curious about what he would do.
"Human," the king said. Alexa frowned.
"Alexa," she corrected him. Leaning against the wall, the king rolled his eyes and folded his arms. His grey eyes pierced hers as he turned to face her.
"Tell me about her." He tilted his head towards Isabella. Alexa had no idea why he was suddenly interested in Isabella; it was strange that, after everything, he wanted to get to know her. She could see the black swirling inside his eyes as he stared into hers. She had no idea what that meant, and she didn't want to find out.
She began to speak, telling the King everything Isabella liked and disliked, from her favourite things to her least favourite, everything there was to know about the girl in that short amount of time, and the King listened attentively, mentally taking notes of what to do and what not to do.
He felt better now that he knew more about his mate. He felt like this was his last chance to make amends with her and win her over. He knew he had a lot of work to do to make anything happen, and he was prepared to do it all.
But in the mind of the sleeping beauty, she was tired of everything that was going on and decided the best thing to do was either leave or die. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>