KIERAN
My life flashed across my eyes as I crashed into the first wall. The force which I landed with was enough to send me out of this world, but somehow, I was still breathing and still had my sight. The growl of the beast sounding like a hum, dancing in the air surrounding the room.
I found my feet, staggering away from the wall as I stared into his piercing red eyes. They were as red as blood and yet, still expelled some sort of darkness.
"Alpha Shaun, it's me…your mate," I stuttered, foolishly believing that, that was enough to stop him or take him out of whatever spell he was under.
For that moment, I thought it worked. His eyes descended to his long, black-veined hands, examining them like a gym rat checking out his muscles. The next time his eyes shot back to me, I knew I was doomed.
I made a quick dive for the desk, crawling my way into the library after he launched himself at me. His heavy footsteps made my heart scramble for a safe space in my chest. But of what use would it be once he finds me?
If the rumors of the Night beast were true, then I definitely wasn't leaving that room alive.
Stories were told of the cursed prince who morphs into a rageful beast at midnight to steal the hearts of wolves…just for pleasure.
When the incidents ceased, a second rumor spread throughout the city. One that was gossiped in the shadows—that Alpha Shaun was the beast, and his father had him locked up and pretended to have killed the beast in the woods.
There was only one way to know what the truth was. And that meant I needed to stay alive and leave this room the same way I came in. I crawled my way silently through the pathways between the shelves until I found a perfect spot.
Dark, congested and tight. I covered my mouth with my palm to bring my labored breathing to a halt. Even in that state, I could still hear my heart hammering in my chest. His footsteps approached my sector, loud and slow.
He halted, his breathing heavy and loud. I shut my eyes, praying that for some sort of miracle. When I opened my eyes, he was gone. I waited for a minute before crawling out of my space. I clutched my chest, trying to get hold of my breathing and my trembling body.
"He's… gone," I muttered with a broken voice. I took my first step forward when I heard the growl right behind me. My blood ran cold, my stomach dropped, and with every breath left in me, I made a slow turn.
Maybe this was it—the end of my pain. Maybe this was how the moon goddess wanted to save me from this cruel world. His form wasn't one I could behold for long, so I shut my eyes, opening my hands as I embraced death.
Seconds past, yet I was still breathing. I opened my eyes to confirm he was still standing before me, and he was. But something was different. Something about his eyes. The red was fluctuating. More like his natural iris was picking a fight with the red color.
The large veins which covered almost every part of his body were reducing in size, most of them disappearing. He took a step forward, and to my surprise I didn't move. His hand stretched out, his index projecting over other fingers as he pointed at my shoulder.
Just when I thought he wanted to grab arm, he fell stomach flat at my feet. My hardened windpipe softened, letting my breath flow freely. But I guess it was just too much.
The fright, the pain, the chase and most of all, the thought of my mate as a monster. My eyes felt heavy, and soon the room was spinning above me. I fell to my knees, feeling as light as ever. I tried fighting it, but I was subdued and my world went blank.
*******
When I opened my eyes, the white light overhead made me squint. My head was heavy, my body felt sore, and every muscle in me protested as I tried to sit upright.
My ears picked up indistinct chatters around me.
I blinked my eyes to get a clearer vision. When I did, I found alpha Dante and his son, Shaun, standing at the foot of my bed. Their heads turned towards me simultaneously, and I wondered why they were the ones here with me.
"She's awake," the doctor said, approaching my bed.
"Good," Shaun blurted. "Can we go ahead now?" He asked.
"Go ahead?" I breathed, looking at the doctor like I was expecting some type of explanation from her. From her expression, I knew she didn't want them in there at that time. My body needed rest, I could tell.
And with the way Shaun sounded, I knew whatever they wanted to go ahead with was opposite from the rest I needed. With a sigh, the doctor took a few steps away from my bed and bowed.
"She still needs more rest. I would have adviced you to come back after…"
"We've waited a whole week for her to wake up," Alpha Dante interrupted her. A whole week? What did he mean by a whole week? I mustered all the strength in me to sit up so i would be able to glance at the E-calendar.
"24th?" I muttered as my brain began the maths. The festival was on the 17th of April. He was right. I've been this way for a week. I let out a breath, stealing a glance at Shaun. His gaze was as fixed on me, making it uncomfortable for me to breath properly.
"Excuse us, doctor," Shaun dismissed her. After she left, he walked passed his father, got to the head of my bed and reached for my arm again. I flinched as he touched the gown, making him to halt.
"I'm…I'm sorry," I apologized with a whisper. He went ahead to pull down the left hand of my gown. A cold chill ran down my spine as his index circled a particular area just above my left breast. My breath tightened, and for a second I thought he enjoyed seeing me that way with the way he looked.
"What do you recall?" He asked, pulling away.
"Huh?"
"What do you recall from seven nights ago?" He hammered, his voice taking a higher pitch which made my blood run cold. I glanced at his father, sitting with legs crossed and a cold stare. With the way he looked,
I feared he was waiting to end me the moment I confess to seeing the prince in that state seven nights ago. I swallowed, shaking my head sideways.
"I remember nothing?"
"Lies!" alpha Dante sprang from his chair and menacingly approached mine. He grasped my shoulders and leaned his face closer to mine. "What do you remember? And why do you have that symbol? Answer me!" He yelled.
"What symbol?" I burst into tears. His hands tightened with every passing second. He kept pushing me back and forth, causing my heart to race. The heart monitor started singing like a bird freed from its captor, alerting the nurses and the doctor.
The door burst open and the doctor ran in.
"Answer him so this could end here and now, mate," Shaun said.
"Alpha Dante, stop. Please!" The doctor tried to pull him away. But he was too strong for her.
"Alpha Dante stop! You're hurting the baby," she dropped, sending in a wave of silence.