Alari's pov
The sounds coming from Damien were sounding more animalistic with every passing second, and I didn't know whether I should worry or not.
He looked bigger, hairier, and I was pretty sure he was hunched over, just a little. Not sure if it's the accurate thing to assume but I think Damien was mid shift.
Was it even possible? For both man and beast to be present at the same time?
“Sheesh, why do I feel so unwelcome?” Narcissa taunted, was she trying to get a reaction out of him.
“Stop messing around” I growled at her, getting ready to shift if need be.
“You guys are no fun! Boo” she said, giving us a thumbs down, and I swear I almost asked how old she was.
“Keep your guard up Lari” Sapphira reminded.
“I wanted to see for myself if the rumour was true” she said staring at me intensely.
“And what rumour is that” I asked, needing her to state her reasons for invading our home.
“That your elven whore of a mother left an exact copy of her. Down to her eyes” her gaze hardened, a pain, envy, that I couldn't understand even if I tried lingered in her glare.
It felt like I couldn't look away, like I was trapped in her hateful stare. It was Sapphira suddenly pushing forward that broke… whatever that was and I blinked a few times.
What the…? “Don't look in her eyes” Sapphira growled, putting up a mental wall.
My eyes moved on their own before Sapphira's words could sink and I looked at her, the glare replaced by a smirk.
I blinked and moved my eyes in different directions as my Lycan's words finally registered.
My stomach twisted, insides trembling as a dark thought crossed my mind.
“I think she got what she came for” I said to Sapphira, who growled because she knew, long before I did.
But there was something else, a question at the tip of my tongue, weighing my mouth shut.
“Well, I'll be leaving you now” she said in an annoyingly cheery voice and I felt a sense of urgency rise.
Her fingers moved and my eyes found them quickly. She tapped the black band on her finger and I felt the question boil my mouth.
She tapped a second time and it felt like time had stopped, speak Alari, or you won't get the chance again.
She raised her finger a third time and the question burnt it's way out… “Why?!” I blurted out hurriedly and her finger froze just before touching the ring.
“What?” She seemed shocked, like she understood what I was asking and was appalled I would even ask her that.
“Why?” I repeated, my voice stern. I saw Damien look at me from the corner of his eye but I kept my eyes on her hands.
She dropped her hands to the side, the mood around her darkening.
“Why? You want to know why I did what I did? Why I made a deal with the witches? Why I killed your mother? Why I killed your…” she let her words hang but we all knew she meant to say my dad.
“He never saw me. No matter how hard I tried, it didn't matter how much I was around, he never saw me” she said, her voice laced with sorrow.
Was she talking about my biological father? Mom and dad did mention her telling people she was his mistress.
“Love, my hands are so bloody I doubt the Goddess would let me join her when I die, because of love” she laughed, the sound bitter and cold.
“We grew up together, he was my first and I was his, but when we turned eighteen, he found his mate and threw me away” she said, her words becoming a growl as she kept going.
“I tried to let it go, let him go. I did, I really did. But I failed, I couldn't forget him, I couldn't let him go” she said, her voice a mixture of sadness and anger.
“And so I killed her. And it was supposed to be simple, get her out of the way, take my place as his Queen” she said, sounding like a broken dream.
“I ran this Kingdom while he drowned himself in alcohol! I kept him together and I healed him with my love!” She suddenly yelled after a moment of silence.
“And how did he repay me?” She asked, as if we knew the answer, like we were there when it all happened.
“He chose that elven whore instead!” Her growl was deep, and I could tell she was on the verge of tears from her breathing.
“I did everything for him and he still didn't see me” she laughed, the sound a mixture of bitter giggles and tears.
“He never saw me” she continued to laugh. She sighed deeply when her laughter had died down and she'd wiped her tears.
“I wasted my entire youth loving a man that only saw me as a bed warmer and a fucking PA, and she had it all. All that I wanted, all that I deserved” she said, her voice growing bitter again.
“I thought to just kill your mother but what were the chances of him choosing someone again?” She said, her voice void of any emotion.
“I had to think smart and as I was looking for ways to get rid of your mother and get my man, I met a witch” she said, taking in a deep breath.
“Sometimes I think she was using me the entire time. Witches have this unique ability to infiltrate your mind and drive you mad. Maybe she saw my desperation and exploited me” she said, her voice holding genuine curiosity.
“I guess we'll never know” she said, shrugging her shoulders like it didn't matter and it wasn't the point she was trying to make.
“Anyway, we hatched a plan. I deliver you and your mother to the witches and they give me a love potion” she said, making my blood boil.
How much of a pick me do you have to be to do something so stupid and desperate?
“We all know how that worked out” I couldn't see it but I knew she'd rolled her eyes as she said this.
“It should have worked, it could have” she snarled, her gaze burning my skin but I still refused to look her in the eye.
“I had wormed my way into your father's ear, and those goody two shoes witches were out of the way. I only had to seperate Miles from Lylla for a few minutes so the witches could snatch her but you, you decided to come early” she said, getting angrier and angrier.
“So what? You killed them instead?” My hands were clenched, and I was close to freezing this entire room.
“Miles died because of you, it wasn't my fault!” She accused me, and sounded like she truly believed I had something to do with my father's death.
“Are you out of your mind?!” I growled, looking her in the eye now, not caring about her getting in my head.
“I begged him to leave but he wouldn't listen, he had to be there when you were born” her resentment towards me seemed to thicken.
“I lost myself completely when I heard your first cries, everything I'd always wanted with Miles was right there in that room, everything, but none of it was mine” she gritted her teeth, looking down at the dagger she was holding.
“I stormed inside, knife in hand, my target bleeding on the bed while holding her baby”...
Flashback
“Narcissa? What are you doing in here? Get out?” Miles roared, not moving from Lylla's side.
“I have loved you since we were children! When we friends and you'd defend me and didn't care that I wasn't royal. I stood by you when you had no one! I did everything I could to keep you and everything you love intact but you chose a fucking elf!” Narcissa creamed, pulling out the dagger she'd hidden behind her and throwing it at the baby in Lylla's hands.
It was as though time had stopped as the blade cut through the air in a blink of an eye.
Then… a gasp, a growl that shook the ground and a cry later, time ticked but everything else stopped.
“No!” It was a whisper but it had taken everything in her to breathe the word.
His hand held the sharp blade half a second from taking his daughter's life, blood dripping onto the blanket that kept her warm.
Then, a loud explosion shook the castle, causing the child to cry.
“We're under attack!!” The cry echoed into the room from outside and when Miles looked from his window, he saw his pack under attack.
Fire and explosion shook the earth and burnt everything in its path and… what the hell were those things?!!
He turned around but stumbled, the dagger falling out of his hands. His vision began to blur and he felt weak all of a sudden.
The blade, it had to be the blade.
“Lylla” he groaned, blinking rapidly to clear his vision but it only got worse.
“I'm almost healed” she groaned, aiming her ice at Narcissa, who was on her knees crying.
Her body was covered in ice, leaving only her head. With zero room to move in her ice prison, she glared at Lylla, wishing she had caught the dagger instead.
Now the love of her life was going to die!
Lylla felt her body finish it's healing process, and she didn't waste a second.
She got up from the bed, grabbing a bunch of sheets and small blankets to tie the baby to her chest.
That way, she'd be able to run and fight.
Satisfied that the baby was secured to her body, she approached her husband, who seemed to be having trouble shifting.
She looked down at the blade beside him and hissed, the stench of poison forcing it's way up her nostrils.
“My love” Lylla whispered, putting her hand on his cheek.
“I can fight it! I will! For her” Miles said, his eyes looking at all the blankets shielding his baby girl.
Had he been a normal Alpha, he'd be dead.
“What will we name her?” He asked, distracting himself from the burn of the poison and the pain of his forced shift.
“I don't know, but it has to be worthy of a warrior, because that's what she is” Lylla said, her other hand brushing over the blankets.
“Alari” he whispered, a smile playing on his deformed lips.
“My grandmother?” Lylla asked, to which he nodded.
“Let's name her after the woman that successfully lead a revolution and freed her people” he said, his face morphing into his Lycan form.
It took him time but he eventually stood on shaky legs.
“First we get her out of here, then we kill our enemies” he growled, determined to fight for his baby girl.
Lylla stood on her feet and they left Narcissa screaming, trapped in a block of ice.
End of flashback
The memory played in my head, and I watched as my parents used secret passages within the castle to escape.
They were surrounded the moment they got out of the castle, like the witches had been expecting them, and even then, they fought until I was safe with my parents.
“You betrayed everyone because my father didn't pick you” I said, my voice low but there was something else, and it was cold and vile and wanted blood.
Her blood!
Raising my hand to freeze her the way my mother had that night, I saw the recognition in her eyes, I saw her fear.
Just as I released the blast, she quickly tapped the ring three times, causing a hole to appear behind her and suck her in.
The ice hit and froze the book shelf she had stood in front of but one thing was for sure… I will have her head!