Chapter 10 #2
"Have you gone mad?" I choked out, my breath hitching in my throat.
How could someone I once cared for change like this?
He leaned closer, his lips brushing against my ear. "You helped make me into a monster, Breanna. But you couldn't see past my cover because you never wanted to know more about me. It was always about Torin."
His words stung, cutting deep into my heart. He wasn’t always like that. Hayden must have changed with Torin’s entrance into my life, building jealousy, and a rejected mating. Perhaps even the heady power of being the werewolf King had changed him.
I couldn't deny that I'd been blind to Hayden's true nature, but the thought of him being so cruel and manipulative was almost too much to bear.
"Stay away from me," I warned him, tears streaming down my cheeks as I stumbled back, away from Layla's body and away from the man who had shattered my world.
“We’re going back to our bedchamber, my Queen, where you and I have some unfinished business,” he said, walking past me.
No. My chest tightened with each step, dark despair settling over me like a suffocating blanket. I couldn't shake the terror that gripped my heart, knowing that Hayden could finally lose his control and unleash his full wrath upon me.
"Keep up, sweetheart," he taunted, glancing back at me with a smirk.
I didn’t see another way to protect myself but to become a dark witch like my aunt—the very person I didn’t want to be like—and fight him with dark magic. I clenched my fists, struggling to maintain some semblance of composure as we made our way through the kingdom.
Life outside the dungeon carried on as usual, the people blissfully unaware of the horrors hidden within. It was as if no one knew or even suspected I was in terrible danger. We all were. Hayden was a master of deception, manipulating everyone from the shadows like a wicked puppet master.
As we continued our walk, I noticed how well Hayden played the part of the doting fiancé, making it appear as though we were a happy couple. It twisted my stomach into knots, knowing how easily he could manipulate those around us.
The thought of my parents locked away somewhere, perhaps even in their own room, only added to my growing panic.
"Let's pick up the pace," Hayden said, quickening his steps and forcing me to keep up, rushing toward my doom.
I couldn't shake the feeling that something terrible awaited us in our bedchamber. My only hope at this point was the witch coven. The three women must have seen the horror on my face as my figure disappeared from their sight in the dream realm.
Even if they couldn’t storm in here to fight Hayden’s guards, the witches could alert my allies and friends about the danger. And Torin.
As we neared the door to our bedchamber, an overwhelming sense of dread washed over me. What fresh horrors awaited me behind that door? And would I be strong enough to face them?
"Ready, sweetheart?" Hayden asked mockingly, a cruel smile playing on his lips as he pushed open the door.
With a deep breath and a silent prayer for strength, I stepped into the room, knowing that I had to choose between giving this monster what he wanted or not following his demands and risking my parents’ lives and risking turning into a dark witch when I called on my dark magic.
It seemed that to fight this monster, I had to become one, although I didn’t want to corrupt my witch magic with darkness.
Even if I gave myself to Hayden, he had further plans for me and wouldn’t stop demanding and terrorizing me.
I decided then to trust the help of the witches and fight Hayden. He was a threat to my identity, which I’d only recently completed with my wolf spirit. A cold chill passed down my spine as I thought about how far he would go.
A fleeting sensation of being observed from the dark corners made me shiver, as if someone's eyes pierced through my spine. But when I turned to look, there was no one there. Was it just my imagination ignited by desperation, or had someone really been observing us?
Passing by the two guards, we finally reached our bedchamber, and Hayden threw open the door.
"Welcome home, sweetheart." He smirked, pushing me inside.
As the door slammed shut behind us, the sense of dread that had been building within me crescendoed into full-blown panic. Pushing down my anxiety to the depths of my soul, I willed my bracelet.
Immediately, my witch whip crackled with energy in my hand—light magic. For now. I lashed out, the whip slicing through the air with a sharp sound. Hayden dodged it effortlessly, as expected.
Even if it seemed like I wouldn’t win this fight, I was sure going to try. First with my light magic, although I anticipated it wouldn’t be enough. With a swift motion, I split the bed in two, the wood shattering beneath my whip’s power.
“Wind,” I muttered.
I twirled the whip over my head like a lasso and extended it forward to create a vortex of bright energy. The tiny tornado picked up one half of the bed and hurled it at Hayden, but he raised his fists and crushed the wood with a single blow.
The sounds of wood splintering drowned out my gasp. Hayden was far stronger than he’d ever let on.
A disturbing thought pierced my mind—had he let Cordelia injure him on purpose with the tombstone to earn my sympathy at the Salam graveyard?
I shivered but focused on the monster before me. Hayden advanced toward me, and using my whip, I threw the bench under the window toward him. He raised his arm and let the bench break onto his forearm.
I did a double take and took a sharp breath.
A knot tightened in my stomach. I had no choice but to risk the darkness within.
As Hayden stalked toward me, the familiar mischievous smile on his face, I decided to call on my dark magic—the only way for my weapon to hurt him. It felt like walking a tightrope with the abyss of dark magic beneath me.
Any moment the darkness could consume me, turning me into a monster. But before either of us could take another step or for my magic to change color, a commotion erupted outside the door. The sound of footsteps echoed through the halls, followed by the unmistakable snarl of wolves.
I mentally thanked the witches, a glimmer of hope igniting behind my chest. They must have sent someone to help me.
"Stay here," Hayden ordered, his eyes narrowing dangerously.
I frowned at him. But as soon as he stood at the door, Torin and his brother burst through, catching Hayden off-guard.
"Anna," Torin shouted, scanning my body.
Relief washed over me like a warm tidal wave, and I rushed to him. But before I could get to Torin, Hayden, recovered from his surprise, lunged at him, fists flying.
Behind Torin, his brother emerged.
"Breanna, we have to go," Robert said, grabbing my arm gently. "Torin will catch up."
"But what if he gets captured?" I asked. “Hayden is much stronger than I thought.”
Torin gave me a smile that I had longed to see again as he dodged another vicious blow from Hayden. "Have some faith in me," he said. "Go now."
“See? He’s fine,” Robert said, grinning.
Were both brothers insane and reckless?
With the sound of flesh hitting flesh, Torin's brother and I fled the room, leaving me to wonder how on earth we'd find a way out of this nightmare. We stepped over the unconscious bodies of Hayden’s men and raced through the dim corridors of the royal manor, my breathing ragged.
My heart pounded as we turned corner after corner, hearing the shouts of the guards who must have picked up on the commotion by now.
"Almost there." Robert panted, his grip on my hand tightening.
“I hope you have a plan,” I said, making my legs work faster.
Robert scoffed, only making more anxiety mix in my veins.
As we burst out of the manor doors, my eyes widened at the sight of Greyson waiting for us in a black sedan he must have stolen from the kingdom’s garage.
The half-fairy man leaned casually against the vehicle.
We sprinted towards him, and just as we reached the car, the roar of the guards filled the air behind us.
Greyson lunged inside the car as Robert took the seat beside him, and I slid into the back. I slammed the door shut just as Hayden's men emerged from the manor, snarling at us.
But Torin wasn’t there.
"Drive," Robert shouted, and Greyson floored the gas pedal.
The car lurched forward, tires screeching against the pavement as we sped off down the streets. My heart felt like it would burst from my chest, and I couldn't shake the horrifying thought that I was leaving Torin and my parents behind, possibly to suffer the same fate as Layla.
"Greyson, Torin and my parents…" I choked out, tears streaming down my cheeks.
I couldn’t break down now, so I wiped my tears and took a deep breath.
Greyson's jaw clenched, and his eyes focused on the road. "All we can do is hope and trust that they'll be all right."
My stomach churned, but I knew deep down that he was right. We had to focus on getting ourselves to safety first to free them.
Robert twisted his entire body to look at me. The grin on his face was at odds with the dire situation we were in.
“Breanna,” he said, and I blinked repeatedly, “when Torin catches up with us, let’s discuss the best way to proceed and make sure your parents will be safe.”
I nodded, averting my gaze out the window to the line of trees as we sped away from our territory.
Suddenly, a silver wolf appeared alongside the car but closer to the trees, running at full speed. It was Torin.
Hayden had somehow managed to keep up in his human form, pursuing after the wolf. If Hayden didn’t shift into his wolf, then was it because his animal form wasn’t as strong as Torin’s?
The wolf matched our pace as we sped down the two-lane freeway. Squinting and holding my breath, I spotted a red patch of fur close to the wolf’s hind legs and his lower abdomen.
“Torin is injured,” I said in a shaky voice as Hayden caught up to him.
He wasn’t even breathing fast.