Chapter: twenty-six

Aylin jolted awake. The air was chilly, and she rubbed her eyes to clear her vision.

She found herself in a place that was vaguely reminiscent of the castle, but it was harsher, colder. Water dripped down the walls, and a foul odor hung in the air. It was a far cry from the comfort of her home.

The only touch of luxury was the black silk sheets she was lying under. They seemed out of place in the grim room. Even the fire crackling in the corner had a menacing feel to it.

“Are you awake now?” a voice inquired.

Startled, Aylin turned towards the voice and quickly scrambled out of bed, backing herself into a corner. “Why am I here?”

Zagan found her frantic movements amusing. It only made him want to get closer. “You’re in my lair. You tried to pull a fast one on me, but it didn’t work.”

Aylin was trembling, trying to think of a way to talk herself out of this situation. If she didn’t act fast, there was no telling what might happen.

“What are you going to do with me?” Her voice wavered as she asked the question.

To her surprise, Zagan’s expression softened. For a fleeting moment, she was caught in his gaze. He lifted his hand, and she flinched, turning towards the wall.

Without a word, he left the room.

~“Kaia, what do we do?”~

~“I’m not sure, but we need a plan.”~

She rolled her eyes. That was the most obvious answer, but it was the only one they could come up with.

Looking around the room, she noticed there were no windows, just one door. She pressed her ear against it and heard steady breathing from the other side. There was a guard.

~“The only exit is blocked.”~

~“Idea.”—It was as if a lightbulb had lit up over the wolf’s head—“Try to charm him.”~

~“What are you talking about?”~

~“Make him believe you like him. Set a trap, then escape.”~

~“I hope I can pull this off.”~

Aylin was worried. The only person she’d ever shown any affection to was Ezekiel. She wasn’t exactly skilled in the art of seduction, and half the time, she barely knew how to talk to her own mate.

***

A little later, Zagan returned to the room. Technically, it was his room, but he was willing to give it up until she felt comfortable around him.

If he was being honest with himself, he wasn’t sure if that day would ever come.

He knocked gently on the door, but there was no response. He paused with his hand on the knob. “What am I doing? I’m the Higher Demon Master. I should be able to seduce one little girl.”

He pushed the door open. For a moment, he didn’t see her and panicked. Lowering his gaze, he found her sitting on the floor, her back against the bed.

“Why are you on the floor?”

She didn’t answer. His patience was wearing thin.

Taking a deep breath, he realized that if he lost his temper, he’d be back at square one. Though, in reality, he’d never left. “You’ll freeze over there. At least sit by the fire.”

Seeing an opportunity, Aylin looked at him, tears in her eyes. “Why are you doing this? I never did anything to you.” She curled up tighter, trying to make herself as small as possible.

For the first time, Zagan didn’t know what to say. She was right, but he was still committed to his course of action. The wounds were too deep to ignore.

“Maybe ~you~ didn’t, but I’m going to make them all pay.”

The sudden anger in his eyes made Aylin recoil. She could see a vein throbbing in his neck. He was on the verge of exploding.

She wanted to calm him down, but her fear choked her words.

He stormed out of the room, letting out a roar as he stepped into the hallway. He couldn’t understand why this woman was getting under his skin so much. She barely spoke, yet he couldn’t control himself.

Back in the room, Aylin’s heart was slowly returning to a normal rhythm after hearing the roar in the hallway. ~“Kaia, I don’t think this is going well.”~

~“Well, duh. You didn’t do it right. How did we end up with such a wonderful mate? You’re clueless!”~

~“That’s not very nice.”~

~“No time for nice, dummy. We have to get out of here!”~

~“Okay, okay. What do you suggest?”~

In his throne room, Zagan was pulling at his hair, trying to figure out what he could say or do for the girl. This was all new to him, and he was clueless.

At the very least, he wanted her not to hate him before the ceremony. But that seemed increasingly unlikely. “Damn it!” he yelled, punching the wall.

“Master?”

“What?!” he yelled, spinning around.

“Um…the girl wants to know if she can see you here.” The lower demon kept his eyes down, fearing Zagan’s wrath.

“Where is she?”

“Still in your room.”

“Bring her.”

As the door opened, Aylin heard the lower demon returning. This could either be good or bad. She stepped back as the door opened. “The master said you may come.”

Suppressing a smile, Aylin nodded and followed him.

She tried to keep her eyes down but couldn’t help noticing how dark everything was. The hallway was lit only by torches hanging on the walls.

She pinched her nose. The stench of demons was everywhere, assaulting her senses.

Then, a different scent caught her attention. It was a mix of citrus and a hint of cinnamon. She raised an eyebrow. It was a scent she had never encountered before. Where was it coming from?

When she entered the throne room, Zagan was sitting there waiting. A slight smirk played on his lips. “You may go,” he said, dismissing the demon.

Feeling nervous, she kept her head down.

“You’ve got more guts than I gave you credit for.”

“Is that...a bad thing?”

He moved closer, his curiosity piqued. He gently lifted her chin, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear and cradling her face in his hand.

“You’re the spitting image of her.” The resemblance between Aylin and her mother was uncanny. It was like looking at the woman he’d fallen for all those years ago.

There was a shift in him, a softening. For a moment, he seemed to be handling something fragile, something that could shatter if he wasn’t careful.

She could sense a deep-seated love within him, but he claimed it had long since died out. Now, he was driven by vengeance.

“What do you want from me?” Aylin asked, unable to tear her gaze away from him.

“You have no idea how long I’ve waited, how much I’ve suffered. But I can’t ignore the fact that you’ve suffered too. I should have taken you away sooner. Then you wouldn’t have had to endure all this. I was a fool.”

Zagan’s words rang with sincerity. His eyes never left hers.

“But why me? Is this all just about revenge?”

He sighed, his gaze faltering. He let his hand fall from her face and moved past her, his attention drawn to the roaring fire across the room.

“When I first saw your mother, I was captivated. She was stunning, radiant. It was strange to feel such a strong pull towards her.

“I was past the age of finding a mate. Maybe I was more in love with the idea of love. I truly believed she loved me and that we could be happy together.

“But when I told her I’d rejected my true mate, she was repulsed.”

~“So that’s the truth,”~ Kaia thought.

“Why did you choose to become a demon? And why aren’t you a werewolf anymore?”

“You can’t tell me you don’t know.”

She joined him by the fire, feigning ignorance. “Tell me.”

“After I made a pact with the Devil, the Moon Goddess cursed me. She took my wolf.”

She looked at him, puzzled. “I read about you. The book said your mate had to be human. So it made sense that Mom...wait a minute…”

He laughed, “You’re just now putting it together? Technically, she wasn’t human.”

“Then I don’t understand…”

He sighed heavily, turning to face her again. “Because when I fell in love with her, I was a wolf. Even now, it’s rare for a human to be a werewolf’s mate, but I didn’t question it.”

She turned away from him, shaking her head. “That still doesn’t make sense. My father was a wolf. There’s no part of me that’s human. Why would you think there is?”

~“No! No! What are you doing?!”~ Kaia screamed internally.

~“I want to know the truth.”~

***

The king trailed behind Candace as she descended into the castle dungeons, her hands feeling along the stones. An impatient groan echoed from the delta.

“I can’t work if you’re going to complain.”

“What are you looking for?” Quill asked.

“It’s here somewhere… Ah! Found it!” she exclaimed.

A few stones fell away, causing a low rumble to echo through the dark cave. He peered inside. It appeared to be a tunnel that stretched on endlessly.

“What in the world…?” Ezekiel asked.

“When your father fought the demons the first time, he built these tunnels as an escape route for the pack.

“He mainly had you, your mother, and your brother in mind. He knew what would happen if you were captured.

“Sadly, they were never used. They were sealed up, and he never told anyone.”

Ezekiel clenched his jaw, thinking back to when his father was alive. He was a broken man. Quill was too young to remember, and Audrey had taken care of him.

He always felt a pang of guilt for not talking about their mother more, but he didn’t want to reopen old wounds.

He never thought he could love someone as much as he loved his mother. Remembering her smile fueled his determination to bring Aylin back.

He just wanted to see her smile again. He couldn’t bear the thought of losing someone else.

“Let’s go,” he said, stepping into the tunnel.

***

“Let me show you something,” the demon said.

He walked over to a massive bookshelf and pulled out an ancient tome detailing their family history.

“This book traces your family lineage, and there’s one human among your ancestors.

“Despite what you’ve been told, there’s a small part of you that’s human. But it’s just enough to be corrupted by a demon.”

More secrets.

Her shocked expression was all the confirmation he needed. “If I’m not mistaken, you’re already starting to corrupt, aren’t you?”

“How do you know that?”

“When you get angry, does it feel like there’s a fire inside you? Like something is trying to claw its way out of your chest. That, my dear, is the demon blood taking over your body.”

“Who was the human in my family?”

He stepped aside, gesturing to the book. “Take a look.”

She scanned the page. The last name she expected to see was listed as human. “Why is my father’s name there?”

“You didn’t know?”

Aylin stayed silent, watching as Zagan’s expression turned sinister.

“Your father was half human. His wolf side was dominant. He was older when he found his mate: your mother.”

He closed the book and put it back on the shelf. “So, you see, you’re the mate I’ve been searching for, even if you have been tainted by that wolf.”

A bitter taste rose in her throat, burning her. Everything she thought she knew was a lie.

Why was all this happening? Were they trying to shield her from some awful truth, or were they just covering their own asses? Nothing added up.

Before she could voice her questions, everything in her stomach surged up and splattered onto the floor. She dropped to her knees, feeling as if something was writhing inside her.

Aylin could only manage shallow breaths, and the pounding in her head was like a lead weight. She toppled forward. Her arms trembled violently, barely able to support her weight.

Tears splashed into the pool of vomit on the floor.

Zagan crouched beside her, gently stroking her hair. “If you want the truth, I’m the only one who can give it to you. You might not believe me, but I never meant to hurt you.”

Recalling Ezekiel’s words, she pushed herself up onto her knees. “You know what else I’ve heard? Demons are known to lie to save their own skin.

“Even if you didn’t mean to hurt me, you still plan to annihilate my pack and any other pack that gets in your way. Don’t treat me like an idiot.”

Aylin tried to stand, but her knees gave out.

Zagan caught her and stood, cradling the young girl in his arms. He held her close, and then his ear picked up a faint sound.

He rushed down the hallway and kicked open the bedroom door. After laying her down, he stepped back for a moment. He moved forward again and knelt next to the bed, listening intently.

He heard the sound again; his ears weren’t playing tricks on him.

He shot up, breathing hard, tugging at his hair. “No! No! This can’t be!” He repeated it over and over, as if trying to convince himself that a major event hadn’t just occurred.

He looked at her face. It was dawning on him that she was clueless. Then something happened that hadn’t in over a thousand years.

He reached up, touching a wet trail on his cheek. Tears were streaming from his eyes. “What?”

“Is someone feeling human emotions?”

Zagan gritted his teeth, his fist clenched tight. “Get out or I’ll rip your heart out.”

“What happened to her anyway?”

“I’m serious. Get the fuck out before I obliterate you.”

She listened carefully. Maybe he wouldn’t need to tell her what was wrong. The king and the others were nearing. All she had to do was keep Aylin safe, away from the demon.

Unless something drastic happened, there would be no need for a fight. Given Zagan’s mental state, it would be best for the king to hurry.

She moved toward the door, but his voice halted her. “I feel confused.”

Those three words were enough to make her smirk. She adjusted her expression and then turned back around. “What’s confusing you?”

“I can’t decide what I want more.”

She tilted her head to the side, puzzled. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, I can’t decide whether I want to wipe out those damned mongrels in that pack first or butcher the Rogue King right in front of her.”

“Oh no,” she whispered.