41. ONE DARK NIGHT
Chapter forty-one
ONE DARK NIGHT
“Come, Em, let’s get out of here!” Aekeira urged, tugging her toward the window.
Emeriel was trying to force herself to move. But even though fear was shaking her body, she couldn’t bear to leave her Beloved in this state.
“We cannot hold him for long!” Lord Ottai shouted. “We need to decide what to do before he shifts!”
“Shit! His fist caught my eye!” Lord Zaiper growled from behind. “We really need to decide fast.”
“It’s either knock him out or the forbidden chambers,” Lord Vladya said, his voice deeper and distorted in his half-shifted form.
Knock him out? The forbidden chambers?
“No! Don’t!” Emeriel tried to run toward the door, but Aekeira held her back. “Don’t lock him up! Don’t hurt him!”
“We might not have a choice, Princess. We’re trying to save you!” Lord Ottai's hand fisted into the grand king’s hair as Daemonikai struggled harder at the sound of her voice.
“What happens to him if he doesn’t satisfy the instinct pulling at him right now?” Emeriel demanded, her voice trembling.
“It could truly drive him mad,” Lord Zaiper answered.
“We can keep knocking him out until we get healers or go to the shrine... or anyone at all who can examine him and tell us what the fuck is going on,” Lord Vladya said.
Emeriel did not like that. “You can’t keep knocking him out, he is not an animal!”
“He is acting feral, we are flying blind here! If we don’t act, not just you, but everyone in this fortress is in danger!” Lord Ottai shot back.
“Now go, Emeriel." Lord Vladya added firmly. "It’s bad enough he can smell you—your voice is only fueling him. Go!”
She knew they were right, but seeing the way they restrained Daemonikai, the way he thrashed and fought against them, hurt her soul. Her entire body was quaking.
“Ffffuck! He got my damn nose!” Lord Zaiper roared, and angrily headbutted Daemonikai from behind.
The grand king retaliated immediately, slamming his head into Zaiper’s so hard the impact echoed around them.
Lord Ottai and Lord Vladya winced while Lord Zaiper clutched his head, roaring in pain.
“That’s going to hurt like a bitch,” Lord Ottai grimaced.
Emeriel snapped her hand out of her sister’s grasp and rushed to them, ignoring their shouts to stay back.
“Let him go!” she cried, shoving at Lord Vladya blindly. “Let him go, all of you!”
Her instincts screamed at her to protect Daemonikai. Rationally, she knew it was the others who needed protection from the mindless, powerful king. But her brain didn’t care.
“Stop hurting him! Let him go!” she screamed, forcing herself between Lord Vladya and Daemonikai.
The grand lords had no choice but to release Daemonikai to avoid hurting her.
“Whatever you’re thinking, it’s a very bad idea,” Lord Ottai warned.
Daemonikai’s arms went around her immediately, holding her in a fierce, possessive embrace as he walked her backward into the room.
Aekeira slipped past them, bolting for the door. Lord Vladya lunged, catching her as she reached the doorway, holding her securely to him.
Then he turned, his gaze locking onto Emeriel. “Don’t do this, Emeriel. Don’t.”
Emeriel peered around Daemonikai's wide arm. “I’m the one he wants, right? There’s no need for everyone else to get hurt.”
Her Beloved's grip tightened possessively on her butt, digging his claws into her skin in a way that was both painfully sexual and raw.
She bit her lip hard against the sting.
“Don’t make him do this, Emeriel,” Lord Vladya implored, shaking his head. “He will never forgive himself for it.”
She blinked back tears, managing a faint, pained smile. “Just like he would never forgive himself for hurting you… or you…” Her eyes flicked between Vladya and Lord Ottai. Even toward Lord Zaiper, whose face was already swollen. “You once told me no one who values their life gets between a Urekai predator and his prey.”
“Yes, but then I was unwilling to risk anything. I barely cared about anything.” Vladya’s voice was strained, filled with urgency. “Now I’m willing to risk it all. Just say the word, and I will come in there and get you, no matter the cost.”
The sound of her garment tearing was loud in the chamber. A tear rolled down her cheek.
"Emeriel, please," Lord Ottai added. "He will really hurt you."
“I can’t let him suffer. I don’t want him imprisoned again." Emeriel glanced at unfocused eyes as another tear escaped. "He is mine, and I'm not forsaking him in a time like this. Never again. Now close the door! ”
“You don’t understand—he may kill you, Emeriel!” Vladya shouted.
Behind him, Aekeira was sobbing. “Please, listen to them, Em!”
“I took him before when he was like this—”
“It’s not the same! ” Lord Ottai interjected sharply. “You were in heat then. His beast still recognized you. This isn’t recognition, it’s pure instinct. Fuck, feed, and kill!”
“Please, Em, listen to them!” Aekeira cried desperately. “You remember how it was in the beginning? It’s not going to be pleasant—you may not survive!"
***
Frustrated and desperate, Vladya's heart ached, his mind reeling.
What was happening to his friend was beyond comprehension. It was insane, inexplicable.
But worse still was his female's choice to satisfy his basic instincts in this state.
The girl was visibly terrified. Her body trembled like a leaf and her wide blue eyes brimmed with fear. Yet, she clung to Daemonikai, refusing to let him go.
Vladya could smell the blood already.
Daemonikai was hurting her, and he hadn’t even mounted her yet.
Her clothes were torn, leaving her naked, though his huge frame shielded most of her from view.
Ottai was still arguing, trying to reason with her. “This is madness! You have to—”
But Vladya could see the truth in her eyes.
Alongside the fear was an unshakable determination.
She wasn’t going to leave Daemonikai in this state, wasn't going to risk true madness... no matter what it cost her. Even if it meant going through unimaginable pain at his hands.
“I have never met a woman as stubborn as you!” Ottai roared, throwing his hands up. Then, his face crumpled, revealing the misery underneath. “Please, Emeriel, don’t do this. Let us take you out of there!”
Fresh tears streamed down the princess's cheeks, but she smiled through them, shaking her head. “I’m not leaving him.”
“Pick a safe word,” Vladya spoke up at last in a resigned tone, his shoulders slumped in defeat.
The chamber hushed, all eyes turning to him.
“If you are going to do this, you will need a safe word. I will be out here. If you say it—if you scream it—I will come in there and pull you from his grasp, no matter what.”
Emeriel let out a sharp, pained cry.
Daemonikai had done something to her, but no one could see what.
Still, she stared up at him, cupping his cheek with a trembling hand. “It’s okay, dearest." Her voice was soft, full of love. "I’m right here. I’m all yours.”
Aekeira shook her head vehemently, her shoulders shaking with sobs “Em, please!”
“Keira. That’s my safe word,” Emeriel said, her attention remaining on Daemon. “Promise me you will not come in, no matter what you hear. Promise me you will not enter unless I use the safe word.”
A muscle ticked in Vladya’s jaw. “I promise.”
Daemonikai shifted fully into his beast form, his erection huge and ready, glistening with precum. He lifted Emeriel, throwing her onto the bed, his massive body following instantly.
Vladya moved to the door and closed it firmly behind him.
Aekeira went berserk, throwing herself at him. “No, no, no, no! What are you doing!? I need to get to my sister!”
Vladya kept his emotions under tight leash, responding calmly, “He is already in beast form, Aekeira. It has begun, there’s nothing we can do at this point.”
“There's nothing you can—and you call yourselves rulers!?" Aekeira screamed. Pulling away from him, she whirled around to face all of them. "You call yourselves powerful!?”
Ottai reached for her. "Aekeira—"
Scrambling out of his reach, she faced Vladya again. “You can’t get in there and save a girl from one male!? My sister is in grave danger and—” she shoved him hard. “Move, I will do it myself!”
Vladya did not move an inch.
“Get out of my way!” she screamed, beating at his chest with her fists. “Move before he starts—”
Emeriel screamed.
It was a tone so high-pitched, so painfully loud... it was downright heartbreaking.
Aekeira turned ghostly white.
Another scream rose again, just as piercing and raw as the first.
Anger fled from his female, replaced by pain so visible it downright twisted Vladya's heart.
Her knees slammed on the ground. “P-Please, Vlad.” Rubbing her hands together in a desperate plea. “I w-will do anything you want, just make him s-stop.”
Vladya’s chest grew even heavier. It was the past all over again, when the beast mounted her sister and she could do nothing to stop it.
"P-Please? Do it for me." Aekeira looked so hopeful, her face wet with tears and sweat.
Vladya turned away. “Zaiper, disperse the people and shut down Blackstone. No visitors until further notice.” He paused. “Ottai, take Aekeira away.”
“What!? No! ” Aekeira shouted, looking at him with absolute betrayal in her tear-filled eyes. ”No, you can’t do that!"
“Should I put her to sleep?” Ottai mouthed, his face grim. “She cannot be awake for this.”
Emeriel screamed again, and Vladya, even in his soulless state, felt her pain like a dagger to the heart.
“Yes,” he answered.
Ottai moved forward, lifting the thrashing Aekeira into his arms as she kicked and screamed.
“No! Let me down! How could you do this to me, Vladya!?” she wailed as Ottai carried her down the hallway. Her voice grew distant, fading into silence.
Alone, Vladya’s hand clenched on the doorknob, another earsplitting scream echoed through the air.
He could hear the unmistakable sound of flesh meeting flesh. Hard thrusts that were impossibly fast.
Leaning against the door, Vladya squeezed his eyes shut. I hope to hell her body produces enough moisture for this, and she never dries up for even a second.
“How could this happen?” he groaned quietly, anguish leaking from his voice. “Does this mean his mind was never fully healed from feral? How could this happen?”
Inside, the beast let out a particularly high, deep grunt—a sign of orgasm.
The princess's screams dissolved into high, shaky cries. Even in her agony, his semen triggered her release.
For a few seconds, there was blessed silence.
Then the strokes began again. Hard and fast, without relent.
And so did her screams.
Time stretched painfully.
At a point, Emeriel’s screams cut off abruptly, even as the relentless thrusts persisted. Vladya knew she had lost consciousness.
Thank the gods.
He slid to the floor, resting his head against the wall as he tried to breathe evenly.
“Is he still at it?” Ottai asked with dread as he approached.
Vladya didn’t answer, knowing Ottai’s sensitive hearing could provide the answer.
Ottai paled. “It’s been three hours.”
Three hours? Vladya glanced at the far window. The sun had indeed set.
“Her screams have stopped. What if she’s…” Ottai trailed off, swallowing hard. He suddenly looked every bit his three thousand years.
“She’s not dead. Just lost consciousness again.”
“How can you tell?”
“I’m older, descending into madness soon, my hearing is off the charts.” Then, with a bitter chuckle, he added, “Although the madness part… it seems Daemonikai beats me to it yet again.”
“Don’t even joke about it, the grand king is NOT feral again,” Ottai hissed, sitting beside him. “ He is not!”
Vladya didn't say a word. Knowing beneath all that anger was fear. And uncertainty. Ottai was trying to convince himself.
“How could this happen?” Ottai palmed his face as his voice broke. “He found happiness again. He was truly happy. Feral symptoms show when one has no joy, no colors left in their world. Or when something sudden and tragic shoves them into it. Daemonikai experienced none of these things. So how… how could he lose his mind again?”
“I don’t know, Tee. I really don’t,” Vladya said hoarsely. “My theory is… maybe he never truly healed from it.”
“What if it’s dark magic?” Ottai said. “What if someone did this to him?”
Vladya shook his head again, not knowing what to say. At this point, it could be anything.
Ottai spoke again. “Dark magic leaves traces, right?”
“It does. if it were dark magic, a huge sacrifice or exchange must be involved for a ritual of this magnitude to go through. Death would be involved.” Vladya looked away. “So far we have not heard anything.”
“I pray she remains out for long.” Ottai shook his head, staring at the closed door behind him. “Vladya, she is not even in heat. Emeriel does not have the hormonal boost to help with her sexual appetite, stamina, or bodily fluids!"
Emeriel's pained cry came again.
“She’s awake again,” Ottai winced. "Ukrae, that poor girl is awake again..."
Emeriel's screams began anew. Cutting through the night’s quietness like thunder.
Loud. Broken. Raw.
Vladya pressed his palm against his throbbing head. It was going to be a long, dark night.
One, he had no idea how it would end.