*Danika*
The days flew by with nothing new added to the equation but the usual every day. Wake up, go for training, oh, yeah, something new happened. Alfred is nowhere to be found. He hasn’t come back since that very day we went to the forest one week ago. Which is now very alarming.
Theresa seems to be losing her mind even though she contained everything under her elegant exterior of calmness. Everyone could spot that she was slowly burning down in the absence of her favorite son.
Since he isn’t around, I go for my training alone, with Luther driving me there and bringing me back. After that, I bathe and endure another round of gloomy breakfast with everyone, after which I run off to the infirmary for work. This is the only time I breathe fine. I’m worried about Alfred but I’m also angry that he ran off without confiding in me about where he was going. Though a part of me was concerned, I take consolation from the fact that I know he is powerful and could defend himself if need be.
Coming home, I will sneak off to Lance’s quarters to chat with Mary about Roland who she told me had called her to meet with him the other day in a restaurant and they had spoken like adults for once. Though he hasn’t accepted her, and she didn’t accept his rejection so they were hanging by the rope. I believe with time something good would come out of it.
And then, when I come home, I would either endure another round of blue dinner or evade it, and when I manage to find sleep, our dear Alonso, would come bounding in to sap me of the little energy I have left.
That is exactly what I feared this evening as Mary escorted me off back to the mansion.
“I can’t wait for Beta Lance to come home so you will return back to the house. This is improper. I don’t understand how you will visit your house while living in the house of another.” She clicked her tongue and stared down her hands. We are growing closer every day and I like it because to me, she seems an honest person and very lively, unless when talking about Roland’s rejection.
“I have already told you the reason why,” I grumbled, typing something into my phone.
“About you helping in planning the Luna ceremony?” I looked at her and shook my head.
“About them wanting me to stay close where they would keep an eye on me. Something to do with protection,” I said, squeezing my face.
She bumped her shoulders as the door to the mansion slid open and we went in. “After the Luna ceremony, we would be having the full moon ceremony. It usually happens around August.” She winged her eyes up in thought.
“Really?” I looked at her in curiosity. Nobody has said anything about any other ceremony apart from the Luna ceremony which somewhere deep inside I was hoping wouldn’t take place. That would be the ultimate change in my life.
“The King hasn’t said anything, yet?” She furrowed her brows.
“Yeah.”
“Well, I guess he is waiting till after the Luna ceremony.” We entered my room and I flung my flats into the air from my legs and went to flop on the couch, stretching my legs before me.
“Okay. She looked about the room, her eyes telling me she had something to say. “Nadia is doing great with your room more than I ever did.”
“What! She tries. You tried too,” I snickered, looking away from my phone.
“Mmm…” She laid down and then we talked about other stuff while she brought out the evening gown I will be wearing to dinner that evening. Nadia later came in and on seeing her, joined us. We talked until it was dinner time and Mary left.
I went down for dinner and luckily, just the way it has been for the past week since the disappearance of Alfred, dinner was quiet with no brawls or squabble. I must say I missed the moment. At least it made our gatherings interesting.
Going back to my room after dinner, I wore my nightie, packed my hair into a bonnet, and laid down, adjusting to the other side, already used to my nightly visitor.
Suddenly, I jolted awake from sleep, and my senses enhanced to the highest extent I have ever felt. I looked to the left part of my bed, which was vacant with no sign of Alonso, strange. I knew instantly that something was wrong even before it happened. I don’t know why I felt that way but my body was no longer my own. I was hearing another heartbeat somewhere around the house and it seemed that it was coming toward my room.
I jumped off the bed and turned on my bed lamp, rapidly picked up my robe from the armchair, and tied it around me, with my heart thundering in my ears. I waited. I don’t know this person, and whoever he is wasn’t our kind and not someone I have met before. I don’t know how but I just knew it.
Then, my door flung off its hinges, and a man jumped. A very tall muscular man with an abnormal set of eyes. He stood there at the door with his shoulders hunched, gawking at me, and his chest moving up and down in loud pants.
I stepped back, my own heartbeat hammering that he might even hear it even if he didn’t show it. Then he moved his leg forward and I moved backward. I was still struggling to understand what is going on, if I’m dreaming or if this is truly happening when another man joins him, then another and another, making them four. And they all looked similar in physique, apart from their different colored peculiar eyes.
“Wha-what do you want from me? Who are you?” I made out through my heaving breath, my back now flattened against the mantelpiece in my room, sneaking a peek for anything I could use to fight if they tried anything messy.
“We have come for what is ours…” the first man that came in said in a smooth subtle voice that could make any woman submit without a fight, that woman, not being me. If they think they can come in the dead of the night when everyone is dead to the world and whisk me away without a fight, they lie!
“Wha-what do you mean by that?” My eyes danced from one of them to the other. I noticed how the others remained behind the first man, brazed for anything. How am I supposed to subdue these large men? I know I am trying in my fighting skills, yet, I might not be able to stand them.
Where is Alonso he has to help me?
“Help me!” I linked him, praying he was that deeply asleep not to hear me.
“He won’t help you, dear love. We made sure of that!” the first man boomed and his step increased towards me. I dodged and ran to the other part of the bed.
“Who are you and what have you done to him?!” My hand shook with perspiration pulling all over my body. Is this how I will die? They will kill me, that was certain. What did I do? “Who put you up to this? Paisley? She wants me dead?”
They shared a look and then broke into thunderous laughter, their voices rumbling in the room and causing a sick feeling inside of me. “You are funnier than he told us, little one. But I like how courageous you are! Would make a good Vampire Queen!” Once more they broke down laughing.
“What?! You are a Vampire? What-”
“Show is over, Princess. It’s time to get out of here!” He advanced at me and I took off to nowhere in particular, as at that moment the other three came from my front and grabbed me. I shouted, and thrashed about, kicking while still sending out links to Alonso to help me. He is powerful and they can’t just subdue him that easily. He has to help me.
The first hunky man came and held my neck, tilting it to the side to gape at it. I stopped struggling as the movement was causing my restrained arms to ache. I snuck a look at him to see what he was doing and saw his eyes color change to dark black while his fangs elongated. No! No! “Please you can’t do this! I have a mate! The Alpha King would kill you if-”
“Oh, do you agree now that he is your mate?” His voice sounded bizarre due to his elongated teeth. “I thought you two were pretending all along that you were Lancelot’s mate?”
“Huh?” I shook my head, for him to release me. Who is this man that knows this much about me? What! Maybe he was the one that has been stalking me. “You were the one at the restaurant?” I asked now, hot tears gathering in my eyes as time ticked without the appearance of my mate. I hope they haven’t killed him. Vampires and werewolves don’t cross paths. They are ruthless to us the way we are to them. I will die if anything happens to Alonso. I can’t bear it-
“Oh, come on…” He let go of my neck and matched off, but I wasn’t released. When he whipped around, his fangs had retracted, and once more his handsome features were back. “I know more about you than you can imagine, Princess. Don’t worry, we didn’t kill him. But your days of playing pretense are over. You are ours now,” he leaned in to whisper eerily in my eyes, causing goosebumps to pulse on my body.
I can’t allow them to take me away. Danika, you have to do something! You are a Hybrid, not some wimp! You have to come out of that fearful shell and do something lest they take you away. I tried to spur on myself, forcing Muse out, but for some reason, she was dormant and wasn’t coming forth. What have they done to her?!
“Don’t bother fighting, Danika. You belong to our King now, if not, right here, I would have sunk my fangs into you and tasted your sweet essence. What a delightful scent of blood oozing through your veins.” He sniffed me and abruptly stormed off before stopping at the door to face us, then told the guys with a crook of his index finger, “Bring her at once!”
…