Chapter 44
POV: Tamara Davis
She knew she had fallen from that high and sharp cliff. She knew that she might be dead. She saw herself falling to the rocky river she had hit her head. She saw how her blood mixed with the river water.
Is this the end?
Will she die in vain?
Mommy, Daddy, will I finally see you?
Her mind was being engulfed by darkness, but she was trying to fight it.
She must!
But she was getting weaker and weaker as she saw the bubbles that come with her breathing, swiftly escaping from her mouth.
And everything went black.
She felt like she was shivering, but her eyes felt so close. Then, a warm cloth embraced her cold skin. Various unfamiliar scent were drifting into the serenity around her.
“Tamara! Wake up!”
A loud familiar voice suddenly resonated in her ear. It was piercing her ear causing her to gasp for air and open her eyes widely.
She wanted to regret her sudden movements when she felt her head spin. She held her head with a bandage in it.
“W-What happened?” She confusedly asked as she saw Elder Zeparu and Kage in front of her holding a lot of leafy plants.
“For now, we are assured that you can make it. Let your inner wolf heal you for now, Tamara. You need to get ready for the upcoming competition that’s all that you need to know. Now, drink this.” Elder Zeparu seriously stated and gave her a dark forest green liquid.
She hesitatingly accepted the glass and tasted it. It was bitter, alright but it was also minty and salty, making it tolerable for her to finish that one glass of whatever that was.
But she felt herself slowly transforming into her wolf form the burning sensation inside her was to the moon. She yelled in pain as she hugged her own knees trying to soothe herself.
Then, everything turned vague once again.
~ “Wake up, Tamara.” ~
~ “We must not tell anyone that she was alive.” ~
~ “She must wake up no. She must win the competition.” ~
~ “But her wounds are still fresh.” ~
~ “Then, that’s the pain that she must take. She must be the next Regina. She must fulfill her fate.” ~
Those murmurs kept on playing inside her head until she felt her body give in to the darkness that was embracing her.
She, then, gasped for air as she woke up with her entire body in pain, but it was tolerable now rather than the first time that she woke up in that nipa hut with Elder Zeparu and Kage who had taken care of her.
It was her dream.
Tamara held her head only to feel the wrapped bandage in it.
She groaned in pain as she tried to move but she couldn’t make a sound because her mouth was so dry.
No!
It wasn’t her dream.
It really happened to her.
Elder Zeparu and Kage helped her.
“Don’t move too much.” A deep voice resonated in the four corners of the room.
Her eyes moved towards the man and that was making her heart wildly beat and her stomach flutter inside her.
King Hades was staring intently at her and she couldn’t help but be amazed by him with the closest distance that she had ever had with him. He was standing proudly just beside the hospital bed where she was lying from.
His face was stoic and unreadable, but she wasn’t scared at him even for a bit. She didn’t know why, but she just did.
Well, a slightly bit of intimidation perhaps but fear?
No.
He didn’t scare her at all, although another thing that she could feel for him right now was nervousness as well as the burning sensation she had felt every time he was near her.
She wouldn’t need to look around just to know that she was already in the hospital because she knew she was she had to… again.
Tamara saw a jar of water on the bedside table, and she swallowed hard with her mouth dry.
King Hades might have deciphered what she wanted, and she was surprised to see him pouring her the glass of water and even making her drink it. He even assisted her in the entire process instead of leaving her there and asking for someone to do it for her.
Her eyes suddenly turned in its lighter shade of brown when she felt him skin to skin. But it was more surprising to see his eyes turned a shade of dark gray rather than the normal pitch-black orbs.
Her mouth slightly agape with a mixed of surprise, astonishment, and disbelief.
King Hades looked away from her and she was still dumbfounded as he helped her settled down and lean against the headboard.
When he returned his gaze to her his eyes were already back to normal, as if she was just hallucinating and that it didn’t happen at all.
Tamara blinked thrice to confirm that she wasn’t hallucinating. But she felt a bit dizzier as she did that. She let out a deep sigh.
What was he doing here, anyways?
Then, her eyes suddenly bulged as she stared intently at the king realizing something.
She…
S-She remembered it clearly.
She had won!
And he just declared her to be his Luna Queen!
Tamara swallowed hard as she tried to open her mouth to say something, but nothing came out from her lips. She didn’t know what to say and she didn’t know where to start.
Then, her forehead creased as she remembered what happened to her prior to that competition. She suddenly remembered where she got those bruises all over her body, and why did Elder Zeparu and Kage was with her the entire time.
She gasped in horror!
Shahara!
Her heart began to pound harshly inside her chest. Worry and devastation washed her making her tremble with fear that she might be…
No!
Her eyes turned a darker shade of brown now, and King Hades felt the tension building inside her.
“Where’s Shahara? D-Did they see her a-already? She’s with me. What happened to her?” She stuttered with a hint of escalating panic and apprehension in her tone.
Surely, she was so worried for her. She had seen her been shot by an arrow and had fallen into the cliff. Then, she followed. She was lucky to be there, but how about Shahara?
She blinked the tears that were taunting her to flow freely from her eyes.
“She isn’t found yet. Raven is already on it. Just make sure to let yourself healed. You have a lot of things to do from now on.” His voice was void of any emotions.
Tamara wanted to groan in frustration and opposition.
She wanted to find her. She wanted to help. She wanted to see if Shahara was okay.
But she knew that she would just make everything worst if she would be stubborn now. She clenched her both fists ignoring the physical pain that were starting to attack her every senses.
Tamara bit her lip to stop the sobs that wanted to escape from her mouth. Her pale lips were quivering, and she wanted to scream her frustrations.
The physical pain that was slowly lingering in her body was nothing compared to the emotional pain that she was dealing with at that very moment.
King Hades let out a deep sigh as he pursed his lips together as if he was trying to stop himself from something.
He, then, glanced at her with his unreadable and threatening pith-black eyes. It was intensely looking at her that she almost tended to forget what she was weeping about.
It was dark and intimidating but it was miraculously giving her comfort and serenity.
“You have to focus in getting better for now. That is if you wanted to find Shahara. And you must get ready. I will call Dreyson and inform them about you.” His voice was deep and low and it made her shudder to the depths of her core tickling her every vein, as if it was trying to soothe her brokenness.
She was anticipating for his move, but he remained there standing and watching her every reaction towards his words, but nothing came out of her.
He let out a deep sigh.
“It’s a good thing that you are awake now.” It was just a low whisper from him, but it was comforting her every bit.
She didn’t know whether she wanted him to see her in her broken state or she must be pushing her out of the room, for she knew how messy she was at that time.
But overall, of those thoughts that were assaulting her mind from one thing after the other, something had resurfaced she wanted him to stay there with her. She wanted him to be there, and it already soothed her.
She silently wept her heart’s out, and she didn’t mind whether he would see her in that state all that she knew was she had to mourn… to wept… to take it all out inside her.
King Hades just stood there silently watching her as her tears fell from her bloodshot eyes. She looked away as she saw him clenched his fists and gritted his teeth.
He was as if stifling something inside him and it was something to do with the intensifying darkened aura around him.
He must have noticed her reaction that he loudly cleared his throat wanting her attention.
She stared at where he was. His face was still stoic and indecipherable but his darkened aura was intensifying, but it was under control.
“I need to go.” His voice was impassive and low.
It was like he was trying not to let his true emotions get over him nor to be reflected in his expression and tone of voice.
Was he trying to cover his real emotions from her? Tamara mentally thought.
Before he could even move his feet, she already opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came. She was curious to why his sudden change of mood, but she knew she there was more than that. She wanted to stop him and give her more time to spend with him with the closest distance she had once dream of, and now was already coming true.
“Uh…”
She couldn’t even utter a single word, but it stopped him, though throwing her some curious glances. But the evident fury was now written in his eyes.
What was that for? Tamara mentally thought.
Was it meant for me? She mentally added.
Well, it wasn’t taunting her already. She knew him better now.
Her childhood memories were still vague, but she had encounters with the king more of her, watching him from a distance and admiring every piece of him.
And she knew that this expression of his was already etched to his core it was already a natural thing to King Hades.
Then, she saw worry and pain that instantly vanished from his eyes. It was like as fast as a lightning that it made her think twice whether or not it happened.
She swallowed hard as her heart started to beat even to the midst of its brokenness.
“C-Can you stay for a b-bit?” She tried to say the words that she was longing to say to him.
Her cheeks burned as she met his pitch-black orbs as if he was trying to decipher her very soul. But her eyes remained and trying to fight the intensity of his stares. Her heart was thumping like it wanted to be freed but trying to be encaged for the man in front of her might be turned off from her.
She wanted to castigate herself from thinking those things at her current situation.
“I will need to run some important matters.” His voice was low but domineering.
She felt her heart sunk down a little, and looked down with her fingers, which she was playing with as she was trying to lift up her down spirit, soothing her every vein.
“But I will return as soon as possible. We still need to talk. For now, I need to make sure that you are really fine.” He instantly added making her eyes snapped at him.
A small genuine smile escaped from her lips as she slightly nodded her head. She felt as if all of her physical pain the bruises, and all had already been well and healed.
“Promise?” She sweetly asked ignoring how childlike it was to hear.
King Hades moved his jaw as if he was weighing down her request. Her smile grew wider as she stared at him with her glistening eyes.
He let out a deep low sigh before nodding his head.
“Fine. And don’t make me repeat myself anymore. I’ll be back later.” He seriously said stopping her childishness.
She joyously giggled and nodded her head in agreement.
King Hades intently stared at her for more than a few seconds more before he stepped towards the door.
“Just make sure you are completely healed, Tamara. We still need to discuss out upcoming wedding.” He seriously stated before finally going out of the room leaving her with her mouth slightly agape and her heart that just missed its beat.
But what’s more outrageous to her was she just saw him grin at her a genuine smile!
Tamara felt her chest where her heart was pounding harshly inside her. It was hurting her a bit and making her breathe unevenly.
Damn, Hades!
How could he even give her a heart attack before he proceeded on walking out from her?!
But the corner of her lips rose as she tried to stop the grin that had already escaped from her lips she bit her lower lip.
Their wedding?
A confirmation that she surely won, huh? She wasn’t dreaming, then?
Tamara was ecstatic. She wanted to roll over from her bed, but she knew that she just couldn’t.
She heaved a deep inhale and exhale to contain herself like a madwoman trying to calm her raging hormones.
Then, her door suddenly burst wide open, and Doc Dreyson and Kage went into her room with their dark and gloomy expressions.
Right there and then, a part of reality had hit her.
And in a blink of an eye, the happiness she felt vanished into thin air.
Everything just sunk down in a snap.
One thing that had triggered something inside her.
One thing that intensified her inner wolf was to end this once and for all.