Chapter 24

"It is done. He is dead."

Zachary's body hits the ground with a loud thump as his lifeless eyes stare up at me.

"What did you do!"

Picking myself off the floor I run over to Zachary's body, trying to see if what he says is true.

"I did what I had to do Winnie."

Placing Zachary's head in my lap I close his eyes. Whispering a silent prayer I begin to stroke his hair not caring if he is watching or not.

"He was innocent! You killed him! Give me Xael back I do not want to talk to you. I want Xael!"

"I did what I had to do. Xael has been failing at protecting you. He has grown weak, but I am still strong. That pathetic slave wasn't innocent. He wanted you. I could smell it. It was only a matter of time before he forced himself onto you. I protected you. Like a partner is suppose to do. I did that, not Xael."

"I do not want to talk to you any more. Bring back Xael."

I stare up at him only to have him smirk at me. Walking over to me calmly he wraps his hand around my arm pulling roughly.

"Get up."

"You're hurting me."

Loosing his grip I stand up in front of him failing to make eye contact. Gripping my chin he positions my face to look at him.

"You know who I am. Say my name. I want to hear you say it. It has been so long since I've heard it out of those sweet lips."

"Elden, your name is Elden."

Elden: "And who am I?"

"Your Xael's wolf. His other half."

Elden: "Exactly. And you my mate have been causing us grief and agony. Unlike Xael, your crying doesn't move me to bend over backwards to give you what you want. He needs to discipline you more, spoiling you is only making you both weaker."

"I want to talk to Xael."

Elden: "He isn't strong enough to make a reappearance right now. He is mentally exhausted."

"Fine."

Removing his hand from my face I make my way back to Zachary. Kneeling down on the floor I put his head back on my lap and begin to cry. My tears land on his face as I continue praying for him. As I look down at him in sorrow his eyes shoot open causing me to scream. Dropping his head onto the floor he groans as I scramble to get away from him. Still on the floor, but far away from him I stare up at Elden who is in complete shock as well before he glares down at Zachary rubbing his head in pain.

Elden: " What did you do?"

"I don't know Xael, I don't know."

Rolling his eyes at me he marches back over to Zachary. With one swift movement he snaps his neck and I scream in horror.

Elden: "That's better. Get up off the floor. I pay a hefty sum of gold for your custom clothing. "

Still screaming I continue to stare at the body in fright.

Elden: "I say this only once call me by his name again I will surely punish you. And knock off the screaming he is dead.....again, so do not touch him. We wouldn't want you bringing him back to life."

"I..... you.... You are horrible!"

I continue to cower in fear on the cold hard floor. Walking over to me he picks me throwing me over his shoulder. Grabbing a blanket from the bed he covers me up from head to toe. I try to kick him only to be met with a hard pinch to my calf. Exiting out of the medical wing I can hear his voice talking to someone.

Elden: "Clean up that mess and make sure the slaves do not see you. Tell Winnie's mother she is still asleep and shouldn't be bothered. I do not want interruptions."

Gabriel: " Yes Alpha Elden. May I speak freely with you?"

Elden: "You may Beta Gabriel."

Gabriel: "Are you going to let Xael come back? He has been worried about Winnie. Not eating or sleeping, never leaving her side. To take control now would be quite selfish."

Elden: "I did not ask for your opinion on the matter."

"Gabriel help me!"

Elden: "Shut up Winnie."

He begins to walk again at a brisk pace. It isn't long before Xael stops to unlock a door, shutting it behind us. He walks a few feet before dropping me onto a soft mound. Pulling the covers off of me my eyes adjust to the light to see I am in Xael's room, on his bed. I scramble to get off of it only to be pulled back into the center of it. Flipping me around to face him I give up on trying to struggle as I watch Elden stand at the foot of the bed.

Elden: "I don't understand you trying to fight me. You should love me just as much as you love him. We are the same after all."

"You may share the same body, but you are nothing like Xael. He is kind and compassionate and actually cares about my feelings."

Elden: "I care Winnie. I can show you just how much I care about you. My heart beats just as strong if not more for you than him."

"I don't believe it."

Elden: "I'll show you."

Unbuttoning his black shirt he throws it to the floor. Crawling onto the bed he lays right next to me. Leaning in for a kiss I turn my face away from him. He strokes my cheek softly the way Xael does before turning away from me.

Elden: "Rest now, you must be exhausted."

"Please give me Xael back."

He doesn't reply only silence fills the room. Too tired to continue to fight with Elden I close my eyes and drift off to sleep. When I finally awake again I can feel someone's fingers moving through my hair, whispering sweet words in my ear. Opening my eyes slowly I see stormy grey ones staring back at me.

"Xael, is it really you?"

Xael: "Yes my little Winnie, It's me."

Author's Note

So what did you think? I swear I feel like I am the queen of cliffhangers. Anyways today I am ranking #700 !!!! Whoop Whoop! Now I know I am usually only ranked for 24 hours normally, but I am still happy about it. Please continue to leave comments and votes. In my mind this chapter was going to be a more mature chapter, but I decided against it. I haven't really been able to deduce the age range of my readers. Let me know your thoughts on mature parts in stories. Love you guys!

AM