The atmosphere shifted, and a chilling silence settled over the alley. The men leered and jeered, their words laced with malice. Fear pricked at the edges of Eliana's and Georgina's consciousness.
"Look, we don't want any trouble. Why don't we part our ways in peace?" Eliana tried to reason with the strangers, holding Georgina tightly on her side. If only she had her powers as a vampire. It was also unclear if these men were human or werewolves because if they were the latter, they literally had no chance to overpower them.
The three men started to stroll, surrounding them. "But where would the fun be in doing that? You two are beautiful, and we are three handsome men searching for love and care. Won't you give us what we need?"
"We said we are uninterested, so get the message and leave us be!" This time Georgina tried her luck with a little bit more demanding tone.
Unfortunately, that only fuelled the man's ill intent, and he harshly grabbed her left arm and drew her closer while one of the other men pulled Eliana away from Georgina. The girls started to scream and kick, making it difficult for the men to hold them tight, but they still were more powerful, and suddenly the girls were pinned against the wall. "If you two play along, trust me, it won't hurt as much." The stranger said, picking up Eliana's skirt and lifting it. When he whispered into her ear, "I will have you first because I have never seen such a beautiful face like yours.", Eliana almost threw up and was about to use her free hand to punch him when a scary noise made her halter.
A low growl echoed through the air, shivering the girls' spines. The whole group looked toward the growl, anticipating what creature made such a sound. Above their heads, Damian stood on the roof of one of the buildings, tall and commanding. His eyes burned with an unwavering determination, ready to protect those he cherished, and jumped down, graciously landing on his feet.
Recognizing who stood before them, it dawned on the men that they had made a grave mistake. Damien lunged at the three men without a word, his primal instincts taking over. His fists blurred with swift strikes, while his agility and strength were unmatched. The alley became a battleground, echoing with the clash of fists and grunts of exertion.
Damien fought with a fierce desire to safeguard his mate and her friend. With each blow he landed, he shielded them from harm. He hadn't given the men the time to turn into their wolf form, so he didn't turn himself either. They were not worthy to fight him at full strength anyway.
As the struggle reached its crescendo, the three men lay on the floor, bloodied and beaten. The guards who patrolled this area had gotten wind of a fight going on in the alley and had rushed here in the meantime. By Damien's orders, they took the three men away, and with the threat vanquished, the alley returned to an uneasy calm.
The minute the men had been thrown off Eliana and Georgina, they had embraced each other tightly and were now standing there looking at Damien, their eyes gleaming with gratitude. Damien, his feral intensity subsiding, approached them with gentle reassurance.
"You two are safe now. I will accompany you back to the palace," he said, offering a steady hand to guide them back into the safety of the city streets.
Together, the three walked away from the dark alley, leaving behind the remnants of fear and adversity. "Thank you for saving us," Eliana said in a small voice. They were still shaken up and didn't want to imagine what would have happened if Damien hadn't shown up in time.
"You don't have to thank me, but I must apologize to you two. I should have gone with you or organized guards to protect you. But let me promise you, something like this will never happen again."
His sincerity greatly moved Eliana, but she was not in the mood to converse. The rest of the way, they walked in silence. The girls were exhausted from the eventful day and rested in their rooms. Damien had offered to let them eat dinner in their rooms which they gratefully accepted. Damien, on the other hand, was not tired at all. On the contrary, he felt too much energy surging through his veins, wanting to hurt those bastards more. Only one thing could quench his thirst: Confronting the criminals.
Walking down the stairs to the depths of the ancient castle lay the foreboding prison cells. These dim and claustrophobic chambers were designed to strip away all hope and keep their occupants confined in a state of perpetual despair. The temperature dropped, and the air grew thick with dampness and the scent of decay. The stone walls, rough and weathered, whispered stories of past torment and anguish. Flickering torches provided a feeble, flickering light, casting eerie shadows that danced upon the cold, gray surfaces. His slow and steady steps echoed through the halls, sending a shudder down the prisoner's spines.
Arriving at his destination, he stood close to the heavy iron bars separating him from his prey. The floors were littered with dirt, grime, and the remnants of previous inhabitants' suffering. The only furniture was a meager straw pallet in one corner, offering little respite from the cold, hard ground. There was barely space for one, making the space even more cramped with three grown men sitting there.
"So, you three thought you could harm my woman?"
Their eyes grew wide in fear. What had they done? "Sire, we are so sorry. If we had known she was your bride-to-be, then-"
"Then you would have assaulted another woman? Hmm, is that what you meant to say?" Damien interrupted him.
"It has been a hard life, sire; we haven't been able to gain any favors from anybody, let alone women. We were only trying to have some fun."
"I see. Well, are you having fun?"
There was nothing they could say that would give them redemption. "It seems you aren't, so let's have some fun." Damien's evil grin signaled to them that it would most definitely not be fun for them.
Entering the cell, Damien broke the silence in the dungeon with desperate cries and melancholic moans coming from the three culprits, whose voices were filled with anguish, longing, and shattered dreams.
--
There was a knock on Georgina's door, which was odd because it was too early for her dinner to arrive. Nonetheless, she opened it and found a little box before the entrance, but nobody was there.
"Hmm, what is this?" She murmured to herself, looking left and right, taking it inside. Sitting on the bed, she opened the small box to find the necklace she had looked at in the market. It was a beautiful silver pendant with flower carvings, holding a green stone, which reminded her of Simon's eyes.
Why was she thinking of him again? When she and Eliana returned to the castle, she asked her friend to be alone and deal with everything that had happened. To her dismay, she kept thinking of the awful situation and got angry again. The same was regarding the thoughts of Simon. That useless prince was not worth thinking of even for a second.
A small note was attached to the box saying: "Please forgive my outburst in the temple. I heard what happened on the way back, and I also apologize for not being present to protect you." – there was no name at the end of the note, but Georgina knew it was from Simon. It was astonishing for him to apologize like that, especially with the necklace she had looked at during their visit to the market. Did he pay such close attention to her? Why though? And why was he so mean to her if he somehow also cared for her?
It was truly a gorgeous necklace. Putting it around her neck, she stopped having negative thoughts and found enough peace to spend the rest of the evening less agitated and fell asleep quickly. However, the situation for Eliana was different. She couldn't sleep at all.