Sins Among Royals

Pain and agony. That was what she had felt for years. Grace felt her mind slipping, she felt herself losing grasp on reality but she didn’t know what was happening. She didn’t know how to fix it. She didn’t know how to remedy it and it drove her insane.

The pain was often so intense that Grace locked herself away, she shut herself off from the rest of the world but she couldn’t help her thoughts. She couldn’t help the voices in her head. Because of the pain she started hearing voices. She started hearing whispers, thoughts that often times made her do things she otherwise wouldn’t do.

Grace couldn’t see how greatly it had affected her and no one really knew the depth of her torment.

One event, one moment in her recent past had stuck out to her as significant. It was the day Medea had come to her and told her that she’d found her mate. Grace was beyond excited and happy for the young woman she had come to think of as sort of a daughter figure in the absence of Lori and Ebony. That was until she found out Medea’s mate was not Noah.

In Grace’s mind that was the day everything changed. Since then everything began spiralling downwards and the only person she could blame was Medea.

It was time for her to confront Medea and find out why she had suddenly become so sick. Grace held Medea accountable for her illness, she couldn’t imagine who else it could be.

Grace walked from her living quarters where her husband lay sleeping down towards the corridor that lead out towards the entrance to the dungeons. She walked passed the many paintings and wall hangings that adorned the walls and soon came upon her favourite.

She stopped to admire the same painting Indie had. The portrait of men, all smiling, all happy. A time of great peace, prosperity and growth for their world.

With a smile she couldn’t help but narrow in on one of the faces, it was the man that stood next to Indies ancestor, a man she had known when she was a young girl. Her great great grandfather Lyall Carroll.

By the time Grace was born he was already an elderly man with great knowledge and wisdom. As she had grown older so too had Lyall and when she reached an age where she understood pack matters he began instructing her on how to effectively manage members and what to do to keep the peace.

Grace was fortunate enough to have been chosen by the Moon Goddess to be Victor’s mate and all of her great great grandfather’s knowledge proved useful in her new position.

She stood there admiring the portrait a little longer before glancing towards the man next to Lyall. He looked familiar.

Stepping towards the portrait Grace let her eyes fall upon the man’s face. His features were familiar.

She recalled meeting the man as a child but he was not an Alpha. She recalled her encounter with the man and remembered that he was mean and distant.

Almost a shell of a man.

She also recalled that his mate and children were present at Craggy Bluff that summer where she got to know them all quite well. She looked closer at the man’s face and with a bolt of realisation she knew why else he seemed familiar.

“Jones...” she mumbled quietly. He and his children were no doubt some relation to Indie, his smile was a mirror of the young woman’s. “Impossible,” she sighed heavily as she stumbled back from the painting, almost like she had been burned by it.

Narrowing her eyes she felt a sense of great annoyance fill her. The girl wasn’t such a peasant after all.

As she turned and headed on her way again she tried to remember and search her memories for the reason why Indie’s ancestor lost his pack. His name still eluded her but from what Grace had remembered he was a kind and fair man who did well for his pack, it was only when he lost it did he become surly and cold.

She became lost in her thoughts as her feet carried her towards her destination. Grace wondered silently if Noah and Indie were fated to meet. She wondered if perhaps she had misread the entire situation, if she had it all wrong? Greeting the guards she quickly slipped passed them and into the vampires chamber.

He was nervous. She could smell it on him. He questioned her presence and she responded threateningly, “if you wish to live do not enter this wing,” not even Grace was sure of what she was about to do.

The silver door opened and she stepped through and instantly felt fear. Medea knew her dear mother-in-law was near.

“It’s been a long time mommy,” Medea called loudly. Sarcasm marking her words, “what took you so long!” She pressed herself up firmly against the bars, waiting to see Grace’s face. The woman had conspired with her and then left her to rot in a cell.

“I told you to stop calling me that!” Grace snapped as she walked towards the cell at the end of the row. Turning her attention towards the savage young woman Grace was taken aback by her feral appearance.

“What are you doing here?!” Medea barked again. “I never want to see you again!” She pulled herself back and circled her cell as if contemplating Grace’s presence. Coming to a stop she surged forward and pressed herself up against the bars again as she spat at Grace and watched as it landed at her feet.

The elderly woman cast her glance up towards Medea questioningly. “You’re more charming than I remember.” she was repulsed by Medea’s appearance and it made her feel sick. Since when had she become so demented?

“What are you doing here!” The young woman demanded again as she yelled loudly. Her voice echoing off the solid rock walls around her.

Grace tutted and pouted at the girl she thought would one day be her daughter-in-law, at the girl she used to hold so much adoration for. “I’ve come to release you,” Grace frowned as she held up a bundle of keys. She should have done it sooner, she should have been rid of Medea long ago.

In an instant Medea turned from a crazed, disgusting and vile creature to sweet and innocent. Unfortunately for Grace she didn’t think anything of the personality switch as her disease affected mind walked towards the cell quickly. She didn’t see the savage intent written clearly across Medea’s features. She just wanted to be free of the young woman.

“Why are you setting me free?” The quiet, child like voice Medea often used surfaced again. Why was the wretched woman helping her?

With a sigh Grace placed the keys into the lock and twisted it slowly, “I was wrong in ordering you to persuade my son into loving you. It took me a long while to realize you already had a mate and I have been hiding ever since.” Grace wanted sympathy from Medea but she knew she wouldn’t get it. Part of her knew the young woman would never forgive her but she had to try make amends for what she had done.

Perhaps there was still time to make things right.

As soon as the lock clicked Medea made her move. She forced the heavy door open knocking Grace off balance. She watched as she tumbled backwards with a groan.

In an instant Medea turned from a small, petite woman into a large, hairy beast. Grace let out a deafening scream as Medea’s new, monster like form reached its gnarled arm out to Grace and slashed at her throat. A bright flash of red spurted from the elderly woman and painted the door at the far end.

The sticky, crimson liquid had a sweet scent to it, a scent that sent Medea’s beast like form into a frenzy. A gurgling sound filled the beast’s ears as a deep sense of satisfaction set in.

She wanted more. Death wasn’t enough. The beast had to completely destroy the woman for ruining her life. And so Medea’s monstrous beast knelt before a quickly dying Grace, the old Queens eyes grew wide with horror and panic as she tried to scream again. The werewolf clamped its jaws around Grace’s throat and thrashed its head. Soon the old Queen was freed of her head as it bounced along the floor and hit the door.

She stood at the sound of voices and waited. The door soon opened and two astonished looking guards stood there with their mouths open. Medea’s wolf threw its head back and howled so loudly that it shattered the lights in all the cells. It shattered the hanging lights above its head and as glass rained down around her the two guards muttered and yelled at someone else.

The vampire. She had forgotten about the vampire. A sense of fear filled the beast as it rushed towards the guards. Both men began firing as she looked beyond them and saw the open gate. Part of her felt relief that she would finally be able to freely roam the outside world.

Many bullets hit the wolf’s hide but it didn’t slow it down. It only angered it more.

Sinking her claws into one the other screamed at the vampire that ran for the door in the blink of an eye. The wolf made quick work of the two guards but knew instantly that it was no match for the blood drinker. It was dark and prime time for Andrew to be out in the world.

Curling it’s claws around the second guard it squeezed tightly as pops rang out through the dungeon like room. With one great, long howl Medea’s wolf dropped the now dead guards as the vampire disappeared from view.

She was so close to freedom but now death was inevitable. It was a crime to take the life of another and she had just killed three. One being the old Queen.

Medea’s beast sunk to its knees as skin began falling away.

She was in agony.

She was so close to freedom and being reunited with her mate but it was all taken away from her in a literal blink of an eye.

Her human form quickly reappeared as she sat behind the closed gate staring up at the night sky. Dreaming of what could have been. Dreaming of what she could have had. Dreaming of all that she had ever wanted in life. Her blood soaked hands gripped the bars tightly as she waited for her King to deliver her to her death.

Hours passed by before Medea final heard voices approaching. They argued and bickered and she heard Grace’s name mentioned more than once.

She heard the clang of footsteps along the metal stairs outside and soon a gasp of horror at the sight of her hands sticking out through the bars.

“Mother?” She heard Noah call loudly.

It caused a cackle of laughter to fall from Medea’s lips as her voice called back, “mommy isn’t here lover boy,” her voice was spiteful and venomous as Noah appeared before her on the other side of the thick metal bars.

He frowned and knelt before her, “Medea,” he sighed. She looked a right mess which saddened Noah immense. Why hadn’t he checked on her sooner? Why hadn’t he made sure she was being treated well? Prison was supposed to be difficult but it seemed to have completely broken her. “Where is my mother?” He questioned her quickly, a demanding tone to his voice.

Medea turned her head and pointed to the open door that lead to the cells. A lump of a body lay at the far end but that wasn’t what caught Noah’s attention. Between the headless body and the guards he saw a tuft of greying hair, the look of sheer terror and shock on his mother’s face sent chills down his spine and burned the image into his head.

“You killed my mother!” He growled forcefully.

A childish laughter filled the air as Medea pulled her hands up to her lips to muffle the sound, “mommy isn’t here,” she repeated again and again.

There was no saving her. Noah turned and saw his three guards standing behind him. They all wore the same shocked expression as Noah held his hand out to Wade. “Gun.” He ordered as the broad shouldered man complied.

“No don’t hurt me,” Medea laughed again. “I only wanted revenge,” she looked up at Noah with an evil expression. She lunged forwards trying to take the gun from his hands but Noah was quick.

Pointing the gun he pulled the trigger as a loud bang rang out through the silent night. Medea’s head flew backwards quickly owed by the rest of her body. She fell against the granite floor with one bullet wound to her head. The life drained from her as quickly as a pop of blood formed beneath her.

With a heavy sigh Noah handed his gun back to Wade and stormed off. He needed to be alone.