Chapter 52: Chapter 53

Darius’s POV

I know my mate heard my growl. She swivels her head my way, watching me with a strange look on her face. Her head tilted to the side. Then she turns her head towards Polina. She sniffs the air and her nostrils flare, her black cold eyes turn sinister. Suddenly she is regarding Polina’s approach with malicious anticipation and glee. Her lips are pulled back to show her gleaming sharp teeth and canines.

The cold gleam in my mate’s eyes tells me that she can smell my scent on Polina. She stalks towards the woman with aggression and menace. For a moment I’m mesmerized. She moves without fear, like nothing can hurt her. She moves like she’s stalking her prey and that is hot as hell.

Polina reaches out to claw her but my mate sidesteps and swiftly swats her hand away. It angers Polina who strikes again. This time the woman manages to grasp my mate’s arm in a deathly grip. Polina’s sharp long nails dig deep into her skin, drawing blood but my mate seems oblivious to it. She uses the hand that holds her arm to tug Polina in as if pulling her in for a hug.

In a flash, she swoops in and sinks her teeth deeply into the back of Polina’s neck. She shakes her head wildly from side to side while the woman lets out a loud and shrill gurgling scream of pain while struggling to be free. Finally, my mate pulls back and spits out a chunk of flesh and bits of bones from her mouth. It’s the basic and the ultimate show of dominance in the world of lycans.

From my peripheral vision, I see a figure approaching fast. Robert Vitsin. He’s bloody and covered in soot. The bastard is still alive and he’s charging towards my mate. I try to intercept but my leg gives out from underneath me again. The heat in my chest intensifies until red is all I see. The vein is pulsing around my eyes.

Robert Vitsin is in his lycan form and growls loudly in warning. His warning growl seems to distract my mate’s attention from Polina for a second and the woman uses this opportunity to swipe her sharp claws onto the side of my mate’s face and neck. Deep red gashes form from the sharp long nails that rip through the skin. This only serves to make my mate angrier. She pulls back her teeth and lets out a vicious snarl. Then she rips through the other woman, biting and clawing till blood pours out of her like a fountain, bringing Polina to her knees.

Vitsin growls again and takes a big leap. Once he reaches them, Vitsin grabs my mate by the neck, pulling her roughly off his daughter. The burn in my chest is red hot as I watch, unable to use both legs. I hiss and crouch low.

My eyes stay focus on my mate whose slender neck is clutched tightly in Robert Vitsin’s dirty paw. Her feet are dangling off the ground. She might be smaller than Vitsin but she’s drawing blood, kicking and clawing at him like a wild thing. Vitsin snarls and flings her violently to the ground.

My leg is busted but there is no way I’m going to let him hurt my mate. She’s mine and I take care of what’s mine.

I pounce forward and land just a couple of feet away from them. Something snaps inside my leg when I land, causing me to stumble. The pain is sharp and intense but I straighten up and balance myself on one foot. Vitsin is once again reaching for my mate but I take him by surprise when I grab a fistful of his hair. In a flash, my mate leaps up. I quickly and roughly pull Vitsin’s head back exposing his neck. She snarls and slashes his throat open before she sinks her sharp claws into his chest. Blood spluttered out of Vitsin’s chest and neck. I then tug his head violently back until I hear a sharp crack of the bones.

Polina makes a small whimpering sound. That’s enough to draw my mate’s attention back to the woman who’s bleeding profusely at her feet. Her dark eyes gleam eerily as she bends down to finish what she’s started.

I pull Robert Vitsin up and proceed to rip him to shred. This is for all my comrades, their mates, and all those whose lives he cruelly and brutally cut short.

Killing him doesn’t bring them all back to life but it satisfies my lycan who demanded justice all these years. It would also stop further threat against my mate and send them a message that we are getting close and we’re coming for them.

I look around and see pieces of Polina’s bloody remains scattered on the ground. The snow is no longer pure white. Crimson blood bathes the land around us.

My chest is still burning. I scan the perimeter to see my mate ripping yet another one of our enemies to shreds. Rage and violence in her every movement. Polina was a fool to go charging towards my raging out of control mate. I can see that none of my men dares to go anywhere near her.

Even our pack mates, Caspian, Genesis, and Constantine stay where they are. They watch her pouring out her aggression without interfering.

“Malyshka,” I call out. Just a mere whisper but just like that, she stops and turns to bring her eyes to me. I limp towards her slowly. She stands stock still while her cold black eyes follow my every movement.

I stand five feet away from her and I feel her confusion. “Malyshka,” I call out again gently but louder, trying not to spook her. She tilts her head, sniffing the air. All of a sudden, she bounds for me. She almost knocks me off my feet as she crashes into me. Then she clutches my neck and my shoulder and roughly pulls me down to her. She places her nose and her lips to my neck and breathes in deeply. Her tight hold on me keeps me stay upright.

My beautiful mate. She lost control to her lycan yet she knows who I am.

I wrap my arms around her and pull her tightly to me. I’m never letting go. She belongs with me and I’ll kill anyone who tries to take her away from me. She’s my home. She’s my everything.

She’s mine as I am hers.

The scorching heat in my chest is gone but I sense so many feelings coming from her. She’s shaking in my arms.

“Malyska, where does it hurt?” I ask her, starting to get worried again. “Let me see you,” I try to push her back to take a good look at her but she clings to me tighter.

“I thought you’re gone. I couldn’t feel you…I thought you’re gone,” she says brokenly.

Penny’s POV

He gathers me close. The feeling of emptiness and the burning pain in my chest are gone, but I’m still shaking. I can’t shake the memory of the devastating hollowness away. I thought I’d lost him forever. I could feel the end of my world. The end of me.

“I’m here, Malyshka. I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere,” he whispers. His big strong hand is stroking my back soothingly.

“Don’t ever leave me,” I tell him. I never want to feel that way again.

“Never.” He rains tiny kisses all over my face, careful not to touch the red angry scratches on one side of my face. His arms are wrapped around me tightly and protectively like he’s never letting go.

“I smell worse than a poop sewer,” I tell him when he presses his lips to my neck and breathes in deeply.

His body shakes with silent laughter. After a while, a deep rumble of laughter escapes his lips.

He sounds happy. Actually he sounds more than happy. He sounds like he’s on top of the world.

The feeling of deep happiness and contentment flood through me.

We’re both looking very bad. We’re both injured and I know I’m bloody and probably smell like death but I’m happy to be in his arms again. Deeply and euphorically happy. I press my nose and lips to his neck and breath in his scent.

“Speaking of which…why do you have Polina’s scent all over you?” I draw back to look at him.

“Uh, about that…”

“Yes, about that,” I stare at him with narrowing eyes. He has some explaining to do.

“Glad to have you back, Malyshka,” he says suddenly, smiling widely, not looking at all guilty.

“Don’t you Malyshka me, mister. Explain, and make it good.”

It’s good to be back with my mate and my pack. It’s better than good, actually. I feel happy and complete.

It saddens me that we lost a few good men. Many are injured too. It’s a good thing that lycans recover very quickly.

I can’t help but feeling thankful that I still have my mate and all my pack mates with me even though some of us are injured.

Lazarus was caught in the blast. He suffers minor burns, bruises, and a broken leg. He’s recovering well with Serena quietly doting on him…as usual.

Genesis is fine but Constantine has a broken arm and if you thought that it would put a damper on their painting session, then you would be wrong.

Caspian has a few bruises and lost his hearing for an hour or so, otherwise, he’s fine. Too bad his hearing wasn’t gone for longer. Much much longer.

Darius had the bullet in his shoulder and broken glasses on his back removed. He has a broken ribcage and his left leg is broken in a couple of places. My poor man.

I had to have my broken arm reset…again. The scratches on my face are healing fast. I don’t know if I’m going to have scars but I don’t really care.

King Alexandros and Queen Sophia now know that I am not mated to Caspian. Caspian, Darius, Constantine, and Lazarus had a long talk with the king to explain the situation and the necessity of the deception. The recent attack on the palace helps our case. Queen Sophia didn’t seem to be at all surprised to learn that we’re not mated.

I don’t know exactly what was being said or discussed among the men, but the king doesn’t seem to be angry with me. I’m just happy not to be thrown into the dungeon. That would not have ended well for me…and the dungeon.

Because of our injuries, we’re stuck in Banehallow Palace for a little longer than we anticipated.

For some reason, Darius and I were given personal physiotherapists to help us heal and recover our motor skills faster. As if we needed it. In my opinion, it’s totally unnecessary…but hey, that’s only my opinion.

I wasn’t very happy when I saw my mate’s physiotherapist this morning. She was a beautiful lycan woman. Okay, so wasn’t happy was an understatement. I was livid! She had dark hair and dark eyes like mine. It didn’t help that she’s curvier and seemed too eager to put her hands all over my mate.

It turned out, I didn’t have to do anything about it. My mate asked for her to be replaced even before the session started. Oh, swoon! I love him so much, I swear!

The physiotherapist who was assigned to me showed up soon after. Alonzo was a gorgeous lycan hottie with a smooth mocha colored skin and a killer smile. Of course, nobody is as hot as my mate but he doesn’t need to know that. My mate took one look at Alonzo and threw a fit. He threatened to kill the poor man if he as much as lay a finger on me.

I can see Caspian’s hands in this from miles away. Oh, I can’t wait to have my revenge on that royal brat!

It’s been a week, I can see that Caspian is very impatient to leave. He’s moody in most days. I know why he’s so desperately want to be back in California again.

Queen Sophia is now more determined than ever to have Caspian mated to lady Celeste. I can see trouble brewing between Caspian and Queen Sophia in our near future.

“I wish we were back in California now,” sighs Genesis.

“The weather must be very nice there now,” adds Serena wistfully.

The weather is cold again with a dusting of snow blanketing the land around us this morning.

We’re in the media room in our wing of the palace. The main part of the palace is busy with workers cleaning up and re-constructing the ruined ballroom. From what I heard, the ballroom is going to be even grander than the last one.

“Yeah,” agrees Genesis. “We’d be by the swimming pool sipping our drinks under the blue sky without any snow…or Lady Celeste in sight.”

Lady Celeste is now walking around as if it was a sure thing that she’s going to be the next queen. She’s been following us around, pissing the crap out of me.

Caspian was ordered by the Queen to entertain Lady Celeste. We were ordered to make her feel welcomed and comfortable around us. None of us are very happy about it.

“I wish that woman would disappear soon,” I tell them as I glare at Lady Celeste who is now sitting so close to Caspian, she’s almost on his lap. I think she would’ve been siting on his lap by now if Caspian would’ve let her. So far she’s been complaining about how bored she is because we’re sitting around doing nothing. As if it’s our job to entertain her. She should go get herself a performing pet monkey. “Do you think we could all pretend to go hunting and lose her in the deep jungle of Russia? Or we could go fishing and push her off the boat in the middle of the ocean? Better still, we could feed her to the shark.”

“You seriously need help, Penny. Your violent thoughts are getting out of control,” says Genesis.

“Not that I wouldn’t help you push her off the boat. Feeding her to the shark would be too cruel…to the shark,” she adds as soon as she hears Lady Celeste whines again.

“Looking at his face, I think Caspian must be seriously considering all of those options right now,” offers Serena, sounding amused as she leans back in the sofa.

The three of us are sitting on a sofa with a movie playing on the screen in front of us but we’re not paying much attention to it right now. We’re too busy being nosy watching Lady Celeste trying to gain Caspian’s attention. The prince is looking totally pissed off as he sits there trying to have a conversation with Lazarus, Constantine and Darius, totally ignoring the woman.

Most of the time I am very tempted to kick her in her lady nuts. I have a very strong feeling that Caspian wouldn’t mind me doing that at all…mainly because he told me, “Beany, I wouldn’t mind at all if you decided to kick her in her lady nuts.” I swear, that’s what he said to me…or maybe he said something else that sounds quite like it. Minor details.

As much as we want to have fun messing with Caspian as a revenge for all the tricks he played on us, we don’t want him to lose Quincy as his mate. I now understand the feeling of possessiveness that the others feel towards our pack mates. All of us are loyal to Quincy now.

Quincy is already part of our pack as far as we are concerned. We don’t want to interfere, but losing her would be devastating to us.

Oh, no promises, but I might not push Lady Celeste off the boat if we happened to be anywhere near the ocean with her. I would totally kick her in her lady nuts if we had to endure her presence for much longer…and that’s a promise.

*Sorry for not being able to update for a while. I’m still traveling and it’s tough to write when there are so many distractions. Writing/typing on unfamiliar devices and places is a challenge for me too. Thank you for your patience.