Chapter 18
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Hunter slammed his hand into the tree right by her head while his other hand grabbed onto her shoulder.
His shoulders were rising and falling as he struggled against himself.
His silver eyes dimmed, and he snarled lowly as he inched closer to Freja.
The girl just stood there, looking back at him curiously with her emerald eyes.
There was no fear, not even an ounce. She just stood there, waiting to see what he was going to do.
Her auburn hair was pushed behind her, and he could see the ivory skin of her neck.
Her sweet scent tickled his nose as he inhaled deeply.
Freja watched his eyes darken as his wolf won a battle against him.
He felt different from other werewolves …
different from other alphas she had encountered.
His aura was almost smothering, and that wasn’t something she was used to.
Maybe it was because he was her mate? But she sensed it was something else.
She listened as a growl gurgled in his throat, his dark eyes pinned on her.
What was he waiting for? Was he that angry that she was his mate that he was struggling now?
She tilted her head a bit as she studied him.
Okay, she could admit it. He was gorgeous.
His ebony locks were beautiful, and she wanted to reach out and touch them.
She pushed that desire down, though. He was only going to be her mate for a moment longer, just until he rejected her.
It was okay, though. It was going to be okay.
She still had Reiya, right? The girl who’d saved her from a deadly curse.
She promised she would live for Reiya from now on, the sweetest person she’d encountered since her parents were killed.
Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed his fingers shaking as they gripped the tree.
“I’m sorry,” Hunter whispered through clenched teeth.
Freja was shocked that he was apologizing.
He must have felt bad about rejecting her.
But before she could respond or react, his grip on her shoulder tightened.
She felt the pressure of him pushing her back into the tree.
His other hand left the tree and gripped her head, not allowing her to move.
What was he doing? Then, with lightning speed, his face plunged toward her.
She felt two sharp points sink into her neck, shallow at first, then deeper.
She heard him growl into her neck as he laid claim to it.
Her eyes widened as her body tensed. He held her so tightly, she was unable to move.
As the pain faded, waves of pleasure coursed through her, along with a new energy.
She shuddered and leaned into his grip for support.
A small whimper escaped her lips, a sound she didn’t even know she could make.
He had just marked her. She didn’t know what to think.
Energies lashed against the other, everything swirling in her head.
Her witch powers were melding together with the new energy, but her vampire powers were lashing around furiously.
She felt his fangs pull out of her, releasing another powerful wave of pleasure.
This pleasure was met with pain, though, her insides waging an unseen war.
She gasped for air as liquid metal began coursing through her veins.
This was pain on a level she had never experienced before, and her legs buckled from it.
She wanted to roll on the ground and curl up in a ball from the pain, but instead, she was caught against the chest in front of her.
She felt his hands curl around her as his body involuntarily began to shake.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” she heard him say over and over as the sound began to fade away.
She gritted her teeth to stop herself from screaming.
She was a demon huntress, a dhampir—she didn’t scream out in pain.
But this pain was excruciating. Her throat betrayed her, allowing small whimpers to escape from it.
Her eyes were squeezed shut, and she clenched her hands into fists.
He must have poisoned her or something. She was dying.
She had to be dying. It felt like she was being eviscerated on the inside.
She tried to use her strength to push away from the alpha.
She needed to deal with her impending death alone, but his grip on her was powerful and she couldn’t even budge from him.
She felt herself swirl into darkness, plunging deeper into an unknown abyss.
Suddenly, she was weightless, as if someone was carrying her away.
She fell into an uneasy unconscious state as her body raged from within.
Drip Drop
Drip Drop
Drip Drop
Freja was curled up in a ball on a cold, stone floor. A dungeon? That was her first thought, since she could hear the sound of water dripping from the walls. The room was dimly lit with candles, and she could smell decay mixed with a floral scent. It was disgusting.
She opened her eyes and stared out into the darkness.
Her gaze landed on two figures: a woman with black, bead-like eyes and dark hair, and another whose light blonde hair and body seemed to shine in the darkness.
Freja scoffed loudly, knowing exactly who these women were.
One was Kali, the dark priestess who represented yin, and the other was Selene, the Moon Goddess, who represented yang.
“You don’t like us, do you?” Kali’s voice sounded through the cave as a smirk rested on her lips.
“I’m not a toy for your games,” Freja responded coldly. “Am I dead now, or what’s going on? Oh wait.” Freja sat upright and held her hands up. “You can’t tell me because that would be interfering. Even though you both still get involved in your own way anyway.”
“I understand. I know you resent us because of the life you’ve led. But Jin has also led a rough life, and she accepts us and what we’re doing. Will you?” Selene asked quietly, her voice kind.
“I live my own life. I live by my rules. Not yours or the games that get others killed,” Freja spat out bitterly.
“I know. You blame us for your parents’ deaths.” Selene frowned.
“They were followers of keeping the balance. They backed you. Instead of warning them of the danger, you left them to be killed.” Freja felt hot tears slide down her cheek, evidence of the sorrow she’d suppressed deep inside her.
“Some things, even though regrettable, happen for a reason.” Kali stared at Freja, tilting her head.
“You wouldn’t be who you are today if not for what happened to your parents.
The strong, fearless warrior that laughs at death.
” A smirk rested over her face. This was the fate she enjoyed.
Seeing someone rise up from their pain and darkness to become powerful.
Freja squeezed her hands into fists until her knuckles turned white. Her parents’ deaths and her pain were necessary. She was created as a tool without even realizing it. She snorted air through her nose and rose to her feet, looking at the two women in front of her with an unreadable emotion.
“What do you want from me?”
“Just continue to be you and who you are. Don’t hate who we are. Your parents trusted us … maybe it’s time that you do, too.” Selene smiled as she looked at the strong woman in front of her.
“So where am I?” Freja asked.
“We don’t interfere much, but we thought it would be easier to bring you here while your body is in immeasurable pain.” Selene’s eyes softened as she looked at Freja.
“See? We do care. We can only do what we can.” Kali tilted her head to the side as her black beads stared at the green eyes.
“We’ve learned our lesson about interfering. We can only do so much. This much we can do. We were able to give you a break from what you’re going through.” Selene took a couple of steps toward Freja and put her hand on her shoulder.
“And what am I going through?” Freja asked. She watched the goddess shake her head. She wouldn’t tell her. Another thing she had to find out for herself.
“I am really sorry about your parents. They were wonderful people,” Selene whispered quietly as tears streamed from Freja’s eyes. She hadn’t allowed herself to cry over them in so long that now it was like she couldn’t stop. “It’s time for you to go back now.”
Freja felt like she was falling again, only backward this time, spinning from the darkness and back into the light. Her eyelids twitched and she wiggled her fingers slightly, touching something soft. She was laying on a bed. The pain she had experienced was now gone, but she felt very weird.
As she opened her eyes to greet the light, she could see she was laying in a bed with a full canopy above her.
“You’re awake.”
She turned her head to the side and was met with a warm smile and silver eyes.
That’s right. He marked me. He’d just helped himself to her neck without her permission.
Her green eyes glared at him even as she felt the tug deep inside of her.
He was her mate, and there was no way to ever escape that now.
She shifted onto her elbows. He made a move to help her, but her murderous glare halted him in his tracks.
She sat up fully and took in a slow breath.
“Explain yourself.” Her words came razor-sharp, and her eyes burned with the kind of rage that left bodies in its wake.
Hunter frowned, and his chest hurt from the look she was giving him.
She looked like she felt taken advantage of and betrayed in the worst way.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered softly. “I wasn’t able to control myself.
I was afraid this might happen, that I wouldn’t be able to stop myself.
” Hunter looked down at his hands. “I’m so sorry.
I wanted to talk with you. I wanted to give you a choice.
I lost control, and I’m sorry. I didn’t even get to have a proper conversation with you.
But …” His eyes met hers. “I wanted you. I might have lost control, but it was what I wanted from the moment I saw you. I’m sorry for how it happened, though. ”
Freja raised her hand and rubbed her forehead. “Why? Why did you want me? Do you know who I am? What I do? What I am? I’m part witch and part vampire. I kill. I’m a killer. A demon assassin, if you will. I live alone. I don’t do others. I don’t do people.”
Before Hunter could respond, a ball of energy bounced inside and landed on the bed beside Freja. The green-haired girl grabbed Freja’s hands and chirped happily. “You’re awake, you’re awake! I’m so happy you’re awake and okay. I’ve been wanting to talk to you for days.”
“Wait, days?” Freja gasped, shock evident in her voice.
“You’ve been asleep for days. Hunter hasn’t left your side once.
We even had to bring his meals in here.” Jin giggled as Chasen walked into the room.
She squeezed Freja’s hands. “It’ll be like old times again.
We always were the best team around. We’ll always be together now, since you’re Hunter’s mate. ”
Freja tensed up when she heard that. She was supposed to live here now? Unease and agitation spread through her. She lived alone. That was her life. She had promised her life to Reiya. Wait, she did.
“Umm … I’ve promised my life to Reiya,” Freja said quietly.
“Once she hears you’re Hunter’s mate, she won’t mind.
Heck, knowing Reiya, she wouldn’t care what you choose to do with your life.
Reiya isn’t like that.” Chasen leaned against the wall, looking at Freja.
Jin trusted her, and she was Hunter’s mate.
Naturally, he was good with making friends with her.
Freja looked at the hands gripping hers.
Jin was happy and bubbly. Her life didn’t change her at all.
She was still the girl she remembered. She let go of the hands in front of her and pulled hers back to her lap.
She could feel something burning inside her, an energy drawing together and forming in her mind.
“What have you done to me?” Freja whispered as she reached for her head.
Hunter reached out to her, touching her arm.
She could feel the jolts of electricity flowing from his touch and tingling over her body.
She felt conflicted and torn. She wanted to run from him and into him at the same time.
She wanted his touch but was afraid of it.
She didn’t want to depend on anyone else.
She didn’t want to worry about losing someone precious again.
SNAP.
She flung both hands up to her head, shaking it back and forth. Something pushed forward in her mind … a new presence, something foreign and unexpected.
Hello, Freja.