How dare they?
Both of them were just standing there.
And Fang!
How fucking dare he be gone for so many months and then out of the blue he turns up?
How many times did my daughter call out for him and he wasn't there for her?
How many times did she call his name asking for help in the maze and no help showed up?
How. Fucking. Dare. He.
I clenched my fists by my side and gnash my teeth together in anger.
And Ari!
He promised to watch her.
He promised to be there for her.
He promised he wouldn't leave her side and keep her safe.
He promised to protect her.
When she called out for his name, he wasn't there.
I watched as my daughter gave up all hope. I watched how she died inside, and then I watched that little girl grow up and do what she had to do to survive.
And it was fucking ruthless.
I have never been more proud of my daughter.
They all got what they deserved.
I take a deep breath in, and I take a deep breath out.
Presumably, I still look pissed as fuck.
I want to murder them.
I stalk over and push Fang into the door of the infirmary and growl in his face.
"Where the fuck have you been? It has been months and I have not seen or heard a word from you. Boy, you better have a great explanation as to why you weren't there for my daughter." I thunder out.
His lips turn down in a sneer but he doesn't push me off like I'm sure he wants to. Within a matter of seconds his face goes blank.
"Forgive me, your highness. I had some urgent matters that I needed to take care of. You need to understand that I have a whole kingdom that I am responsible for. Your daughter may be my mate, but she is not my 24/7 priority. Isn't that why you brought Ari into the picture? To have extra security?" He says in monotone.
Normally, when Fang talks to me, he has emotion but his face is blank, and his voice has no emotion. I have no idea what's going on in his head or what he could possibly be thinking.
I glare into his fire orange eyes, and they stare back at me with no emotions attached.
" Next time you leave for an extended amount of time have the courtesy to include me with that knowledge." I growl out as I shove him into the door again before I back off.
Composing myself a little, I sternly look at both of them and let out a heavy breath.
"Now, what you are about to see is going to be a bit rough. Me and her mother looked through her memories and saw everything that she went through. I'm not going to lie, if she doesn't pull through this, I will kill both of you." I say savagely.
I wave my hand signaling for them to open the door and walk inside. As soon as Ari is in the room, he takes in a gasp of breath and stills where he's standing.
"Luna..." he quivers out with disbelief in his voice.
Fang, however, says nothing. He just stands there assessing her and then he promptly walks out of the room without a glance back.
Regardless, my conversation has nothing to do with him as much as it has to do with Ari.
" Your Majesty, ...I...I... what happened." he stammers out.
Without a word, I grabbed him by his shoulder, turn him around and backhand him so hard that he flies across the room.
"You were supposed to be watching her, keep her safe, regardless of your feelings. But what do I find?" I shout incredulously.
Ari slowly picks himself up with tears running down his face and what looks to be a broken arm.
" I just wanted her to choose me." he whimpers.
" But she said that she was going to be like you and your wife with Prince Romeo. That they were going to have many kids and live in a big house." he said, his voice going hoarse with emotion.
I stare at him with rage.
"So is that why I found my daughter half fucking dead? Because you were throwing a tantrum!?" I say, eerily calm at first and ending with a yell.
He doesn't look at me; just stares at the floor.
"Ari Constantine, as of today I strip you of your betrothal to my daughter Princess Midnight Luna Moonlight."
His head shoots up real fast and he starts yammering on in disbelief about my decision.
"Furthermore," I boom out talking over him.
"Your services are no longer needed. Please proceed to your room and pack up your stuff. You're no longer welcome here." I say with authority.
He quiets down and looks at me defiantly with tears streaming down his small face.
"No." He says with a broken voice. He disappears and reappears again at my daughter's bedside.
I start towards them and he brazenly speaks up again.
"I refuse to give her up and I refuse your revoking of our betrothal." He says straightening his back.
His turquoise blue hair slowly starts turning a dark brown and his eyes turn lavender before he swipes her up and they both blink out of existence.
I swipe at thin air of where my daughter was laying down and in frustration I roar out and shift into my majestic black and grey wolf.
I run through the hallways and enter every room sniffing and clawing to find her.
When I get my hands on him!!!
I mind link his parents and they too join in the search for Ari and my daughter. They apologized profusely for his actions and began their search.
I let out a massive howl and alert the entire kingdom of Ari kidnapping Midnight.
'FIND HER!'
I command the whole kingdom.
He won't get off easy at all.
Then I mind link Fang but get no answer.
How dare he ignore me!
I'll make both of those assholes pay!
I think with a snarl.
.
.
.
Ari POV
Luna...what happened to you?
I look at her in despair and regret fills me.
I was angry with her but I didn't want to take her to the maze. I was going to lead her past the maze to the massive tree behind it.
I was going to pour my heart out to her and beg her to choose me. We may be young but we grew up together.
I just wanted to be selfish for one moment but she took off running into the maze and no matter what I did, the maze wouldn't open.
I was about to teleport into the maze when something hit the back of my head and darkness took over.
By the time I woke up, I had no clue what happened to Luna or if she was even ok.
I was tied up and gagged and my wings were bound tightly to my body. I felt completely helpless like the child I truly am.
I felt ashamed when hot tears started to fall down my face.
I have to use the bathroom really bad and I'm so thirsty too.
I try to talk but all that comes out is muffled sounds and squeaks.
'Luna! Please answer me! Are you ok? Where are you?'
No matter how much I try to get ahold of her through telepathy, it was like a block was put over her mind.
I know I've been distant with her lately but I had to take a step back and not let my feelings get in the way.
I had to do my job and be a protector.
A deep cynical laugh fills the room and I struggle to see who it is but come up short.
Then a sultry and velvety voice speaks. A male.
"You guys coddle her too much. She's absolutely powerful and she doesn't even know just the extent of how her power works. She doesn't know how to protect herself or anything. This will be a learning experience for her. Trust me."
I wiggle around groaning and making squeaks, anything to try to get myself out of this situation so I can get back to my Luna.
Dammit!
I can't move. I can't even move an inch.
Why?
Why?!
Why is this fucking happening?!
I'm kicked in the stomach and everything that I was holding in comes flooding down my legs.
My eyes rolled back with the pain, but even more I feel humiliated now that I've used the bathroom on myself; I begin to cry.
I'm kicked again and again but I still don't see who it is.
I try to scream out for him to stop but the kicks continue and I loose absolute control over not only my bowels but I vomit as well, the gag stopping it from spilling out entirely.
I'm covered in my own filth and all I want is to find Luna and make sure she's safe.
What kind of protector am I?
I can't even protect myself.
My turquoise hair falls into my eyes and I make the decision to loose my fuckin humanity. Just for a half hour.
I must protect myself first before I can protect Luna.
I scream into the gag and allow myself to let go. My eyes flash lavender but my hair stays turquoise. My wings finally tear themselves free from the restraints I'm in and I tear myself free from everything including that humiliating gag.
I roar out my rage and notice my wings look like that of a bats.
What happened to my feathers?
No time to think about it!
To my left peripheral, I see him zooming in at an astonishing speed and I'm flung back with a strangled gasp of pain.
I crash through the wall of where I've been taken and I get up dusting myself off.
"I will not allow you to keep me from my duty! I will find and protect my Luna!" I boldly state.
Silence is all I receive.
I scan the room and then teleport all throughout trying to find any sign of him.
Nothing.
Suddenly, hands wrap around me and I'm yanked backwards and a sickening feeling overtakes me. Disoriented, I look around and see nothing but shadows.
Shadows...
"Shadow!" I quiver out realization dawning on me.
"Took you long enough Ari." I hear him say from behind me. I whip around and finally get a good look at him; Luna wasn't lying when she said Romeo's twin was identical to him.
She said she preferred him over Fang because he was more sweet and attentive.
Yea right!
" What do you want?" I ask with resignation.
"It's simple really. Fang pulled some pretty fucked up shit a few months ago and it didn't sit right with me. It still doesn't. Every time I think about it, it makes me sick." he says not going into too much detail, but he doesn't have to because I have a feeling I already know what it's about. Luna was all too giddy to tell me about her trip to her mates homeland when he had kidnapped her.
How she discovered another mate over there, one who looked just like Fang but was completely different than him. Who gave her compliments and treated her like a woman and asked if she was okay with stuff before anything was done.
She told me how she was sad when I came to get her and how she wished she had more time with him.
She told me how she missed his gentle touch, unlike Fang who was always rough with her unless he thought she was sleeping.
Not going to lie, it made me very jealous hearing her talk about them.
"So what do you need me to do then?"
He smiles and gestures for me to sit down, I comply to his request.
" I just need you to stay right here until the king starts calling."
.
.
.
Sure enough the king called multiple times but I wasn't able to answer at first because Shadow had a block up making it where I couldn't answer.
With every moment that passed that I couldn't answer him the king got more and more mad, but here I am now standing in front of Luna, wondering what the fuck even happened to her.
"Shadow, I have her and I don't know what to do. I didn't think it would be this bad."
I got no answer for what felt like forever, but then I watched him walk out of the darkest corner of the room.
"I didn't think she'd get this banged up. Let's take a look and see what happened and help her with whatever she needs help with to ensure something like this never happens again."
Next time? They'll be no next time.
I think to myself.
Next time I will protect her, even if it means I'm not there. I'll have to protect without her knowing.
Me and Shadow went through the motions and he projected everything like it was playing on a TV.
Rage fills me and then pride at her ruthlessness.
I continue to watch.
.
.
.
A few days pass that we kept Luna hidden. Me and Shadow tended to her wounds and every now and then she would wake up. We would give her water or whatever she asked for and then she'd go out like a light again.
The whole kingdom has been trying to find us, but it's like we fell off the face of Slymethius.
Shadow told me that Fang showed up to the kingdom looking for Luna and the King lost it.
Shadow told me that he was hiding in plain sight when Fang approached the king and got slammed into a wall and almost arrested.
He said that Fang had to prove that he was in his homeland, tied up and gagged, and that his twin brother was the one who was here.
When that was said, the king had gone pale in the whole kingdom, went into a frenzy.
A small cough filled the room and I rushed over to Luna only to find Shadow already there.
"Hey kid. How are you feeling?" He gently asks her while holding a cup of water for her.
She eyes the cup and her eyes roll back just a bit but come back into focus seconds later.
I take a deep breath in and continue my way to her and I kneel down at her bedside.
"Midnight, you're safe now, I promise." Shadow quietly says to her. He holds her head and puts the cup to her lips and she starts drinking gulp after gulp.
"Slowly now, princess. You don't want to choke." He gently says as some of the water sputters from her mouth.
"My throat..." She whispers out hoarsely.
"I..." Luna begins to cry and Shadow picks her up and holds her. She reaches out for me and I get up and I climb in the bed and as soon as I'm near, she wraps her arms around me and Shadow.
Unlike Fang, Shadow doesn't grit his teeth at my contact or nearness. He welcomes me onto his lap as well and holds us both.
It...it feels nice.
I can't remember the last time I was held like a child. I was just forced to be an adult.
'Don't get used to this Ari. It's only for Midnights sake I'm doing this. She needs this.'
Shadow telepaths to me and I discretely nod my head.
"Midnight. I need to make you aware of some things that you'd rather not hear but is necessary." Shadow says ominously.
My head shoots up and I look at him with slight horror and relief.
She sniffles and rubs her face all over his shirt and he chuckles and rubs the top of her head.
"You're so adorable." He says in awe but then straightens himself out.
Without hesitation, he gets straight to the point.
"You were born to marry into four different kingdoms and have their future heirs."
She goes pale and gasps.