Chapter 104: Chapter 104

~ NYSSA

Long after he had walked away, the halls echoed of his presence.

His scent lingered in the air, the ghost of his finger still imprinted on my cheek. A stray tear had leaked down my face, staining my shirt, but I did not wipe it away, it was as if I had been frozen in place.

The mating bond between us ached for him. Like an anchor, it tugged me back to him, trying to convince me that forgiveness was what he was owed. I knew he had a past, a violent one at that, but I did not for once think that it would affect me so directly.

“If it was another, would you hold the same anger?” my wolf asked quietly.

She had not spoken since we heard the truth, but I felt her quiet grief in the center of my chest, like a band wrapping tighter around my heart.

“I do not know,” I admitted. “Perhaps not.”

“Then perhaps your anger is not with not with him.”

“He killed them.”

“He has killed many, I am sure of that. Do you hold grief for them as well? Or does it hurt because this is your family?”

Her words struck a chord inside of me and a bitter feeling reared its head, almost mocking me. I shoved it all down, balling my hands into fists as I stormed away from my bedroom door.

Sleep would not find me so easily, that much I knew, especially not when my own hypocrisy had been brought to light.

I did not realize where I was going until I found myself standing in front of a small side door that led out into the woods. The night sky seemed to call me in, the darkness of the trees offered shade and solace.

Without thinking, I dashed out of the palace after making sure no one was watching.

As soon as I arrived under the covers of the trees, I stripped out of my clothes, letting my wolf take over. It did not hurt as much to shift now, but I still felt some pain in my joints as my bones snapped.

A loud howl left my lips, echoing through the darkness as I took off into the forest. I stumbled more times than I would have liked, tripping over my own feet and roots, but within minutes, I was able to keep up a steady pace.

I followed the smell of fresh water deeper into the woods, listening out for critters that ran across the forest floor and birds that flapped over head.

In this form… I felt invincible.

I stopped at a stream to drink, lowering myself to the ground to rest when suddenly, my fur stood on edge. I listened intently but was met with complete silence. It was as if the entire forest had gone quiet.

“Something is wrong,” my wolf said.

I slowly lifted myself off the ground, eyes scanning through the trees for an assailant. “Do you know what it is?”

“No. Give me control, now!”

I immediately receded control to her, taking a back seat in my mind as her primal instincts took over. It felt weird to not be in control, almost as if I was watching myself in a movie.

A low growl left me… her… us? There was no response so we took off into the woods, trying to find our way back to the palace.

The sound of our paws hitting the hard ground filled the air, echoing through the still silence of the forest. We had barely gotten far when we were suddenly tackled to the ground as a hard body slammed into us.

The fall was hard, and I took most of it. My back and limbs ached and I snarled, snapping at the assailant, but I could not get a grip.

A large black wolf stood over me, paws pressed hard into my shoulder, keeping me pinned to the ground. The wolf had bright amber eyes the color of molten gold and as a lone wind blew through the air, the scent hit me.

I growled low, snapping at the wolf, but I earned a sharp bite to the shoulder that had me whining.

“Stop!” Henry hissed out through the pack link. I had not formally been dismissed from the pack so the bond still connected us. “I do not want to hurt you.”

“Then get off me!” I yelled back. “What the fuck are you doing here? I don’t want to speak to you.”

“You will. You are making the wrong choice. You should not be staying with that bastard after everything he did to you. He does not deserve you.”

I scoffed. “And you do? Henry, you hurt me worse than he did. You have hurt me time and time again for your own pleasure and I am done. Get the fuck off me, right now. I need to go back.”

“You cannot go back to him. You should be with me.”

“Like fuck I will!”

“I’m sorry, Nyssa, but I cannot do that. You have left me with no choice.”

Before I could ask what he meant by that, he howled low, the sound reverberating through the trees. I fought against him, but his hold on me was far too strong. He was much bigger than I was, and I was nowhere near full strength in my wolf form whereas he had trained in this form since he was a teenager.

Men came out of the forest holding what looked to be thick long ropes with gloved hands. They threw it over me and I hissed as it burned into my skin. I howled loud, a sound of pain and desperation as wolf’s bane burned my fur.

Henry released me long enough to shift back before joining the others to bind me with wolf’s bane. I fought against it, trying to tear at the ropes with my teeth but all it did was burn my mouth and as the ropes grew tighter, I grew weaker.

Before the last of my strength failed me, I heard Henry’s voice as clear as day in my mind. “This is for your own good.”

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