The Dark Rising (The Hidden of Vrohkaria Book Two)

“Fuck,” Darius snarls as we stand still and take in the space. My body grows cold as I look around the room, trying to not let my own memories take me under. “That motherfucker!” he roars, his whole body shaking with what I can only describe as pure rage. I swallow roughly.

Black, mist like shadows suddenly surround him, swirling angrily, and I take a step back at the power within them as they lash out. Two thicker tendrils come up behind him, looking vicious and ready to attack. But there is nothing to attack here.

Whoever was in here before us is dead. The bones in the cages give that away.

Nausea swirls in my stomach.

The ground begins to tremble, Darius’s power filling the room so potent that it fills my lungs. He snarls and growls, his chest heaving, nostrils flaring as he stays rooted to the spot, like taking one move will explode all that rage. And I’m inclined to agree. Black strands form around his clenched fists, whipping out harshly before covering them completely. More spread around his feet, misty and thick as it prowls over the ground. Runa backs up within, and trepidation runs down my spine as the trembling ground moves to shake the walls of this place.

He looks ferocious, unstable and wild.

Yet even though nerves run through me, I’m not scared. In fact, feeling his dominance pulse off of him feels heavy, but also like a gentle caress against my skin.

Something preens within me at the sight. At this strong Alpha in front of me and who is, by all manner of souls, mine. I’ve never seen him like this… so feral.

I suspect not many have.

Moving on unsteady legs toward him, my own body feeling like stone from his power and dominance pouring off of him at the sight of this room. He sees now what his father was, what his father was doing. My words may have told him that he came to see me when I was locked up, but he can see first-hand with his own eyes of his father’s betrayal to the people of Vrohkaria. I didn’t know he had a place like the basement where I was kept, but I know he didn’t help me in that room. He aided my monsters, and now Darius has a taste of who his father really was.

I take in a ragged breath and ban the memories from my mind. The way his father watched and wrote down words I never saw, laughed along with those that hurt me, gave suggestions on other activities.

The walls start to crumble, bits and pieces of rock falling down as plumes of dust slip through the wooden planks above us. I look above me nervously as a beam starts to split. He’s going to bring this down on top of us if he doesn’t stop.

I step in front of Darius. His eyes are black, those flecks of his thicker, and the light green of his eyes glow unnaturally. I’ve seen him be cold, I have heard death in his voice, but this? This is uncontained fury, wild and reckless. So out of control for an Alpha who I have seen control his actions easily.

Darius’s eyes snap down to mine, and I swallow when he takes a step toward me, his body a whisper from mine. He snarls, the sound coming from him terrifying as his power lashes out around my legs, holding me captive as he bares his teeth.

He’s hurt me before, but with the forceful way that the walls are rattling, threatening to bring the roof down upon us, I am not so sure that he won’t hurt me now. He seems too far gone, only seeing a shade of anger I have never seen. He needs to calm down. I know it must be a shock to see what’s in here, but he’s not himself right now.

And yet, I still don’t fear he would hurt me.

Taking a deep breath, I ignore how he snaps his teeth at me, his canines longer, and they graze the tip of my nose slightly in warning.

Don’t come near me, don’t get too close.

But I am Heir of Zahariss, Canaric wolf.

I will get close if I will it.

He’s barely hanging on by a thread as more stone crashing to the floor and a table rattles until the items on there smash onto the ground. The whole room seems to be shaking now, vials rattling, books loosening from the bookshelves, the chains inside the cages clanging.

Another wooden beam above us splinters, and my eyes snap to it.

I call my power slowly, willing it to do my bidding, to let me stay in control as I guide it to my palm. My eyes go back to Darius, his teeth still bared as his power squeezes more around my legs.

“Get…away.” His words are more growl, more wolf than man. I shake my head. “Rhea…” he warns, his trembling intensifying as the stone cracks beneath him, us. Even in this state, he’s trying to tell me to go, knowing he’s trying to fight the rage inside of him.

Delicate strands begin to appear out of my hands that are hanging loosely at my sides, and I send them down to his power around my legs. They run over it, a gentle caress, making sure there are no sudden movements so as to not startle him. I see him shiver as soon as they connect, and I feel all of his power like it’s within me. It’s potent, strong, and dangerous. I lift my hands carefully and put them on his chest tentatively, never breaking eye contact. Feeling his strength, his warmth, my palms rise and fall with each rapid breath he takes. I send my power into him through my hands while I keep the tendrils at my legs soft and gentle. My magic sinks into his skin, and I feel the moment it does, just like I feel his heart beating uncontrollably as I move my fingers back and forth as the two thicker shapes of his power at his back move side to side, violently. Darius growls. It’s a low, deep sound that is full of pure warning and threat. But still locked in his eyes, I feel no fear.

He could have moved his power to squeeze me and break my ribs, he could have torn my throat out at any moment, but he didn’t.

This powerful male, this powerful Canaric wolf, he won’t hurt me. Not now.

The truth is in the way he’s trying to control his rage, the way he’s warning me away.

To protect me.

I feel lightheaded at the thought. My enemy, protecting me when he has already hurt me once, feels like a pivotal moment. Seeing his restraint, his will to not let any of his violence touch me, it’s a powerful feeling.

“Darius,” I say calmly. He doesn’t react, just growls deeper as the ground shakes more violently. He doesn’t speak back, doesn’t make a move to stop his power. Another crack sounds above us. Taking a deep breath when his magic squeezes my legs, I try again. “Vihnarn,” I whisper, slowly bringing my hands up until they rest on the sides of his neck. The word falls more easily from my lips than I thought it would. Saying it aloud again since Wolvorn Castle, I thought it would be like poison dripping from my tongue, yet the word feels right. True.

Darius’s pupils dilate, his breaths coming out in fast pants as his nostrils flare. I’m not sure if that is because of my touch or my voice, or even the word, but it’s a reaction. “Calm down, vallier?” Please, I urge him, keeping my eyes on him at all times.

The two thicker mist’s at his back come to his sides and wrap around me suddenly, pulling me closer, our bodies now fully connecting. They hold me there, their hold firm but not hurting. My hands dive to the back of his neck, and I scratch my short nails slightly in his hair, feeling a tremble go through him, his power not whipping out around the room as violently. I realize I hold the power over him at this moment, and that causes heat to pool in my stomach. Knowing I’m the reason he’s controlling himself, and I’m the reason that he seems to be calming down.

The Alpha of the Elites, the Heir of Cazier at my fingertips sends a shiver running down my spine.

He growls again, but this one is not as threatening, more approval, and my stomach flutters at the sound. I call more of my power to reach out to him, so he can feel that I’m here. Those two, thick tendrils of his squeeze around my waist, and the connection thrums between us, heady and strong. Undeniable.

I bring my face closer to his, and his power lifts me up until our noses brush one another, and I never break eye contact with him as another violent shudder racks the room. Something smashes on the floor, papers scatter about and appliances move on surfaces. I ignore it all though, and just keep looking at him.

“Vallier, Vihnarn. Dalie eon, uri ne?” Please, Vihnarn. Calm down, for me? I ask in a breathy whisper. I see the struggle, see his magic sporadically moving to calm slighting to a burst of violence. I implore him with my eyes, and yet he still doesn’t say a word, it’s like he can’t.

I lower my hands, and Darius’s eyes follow them, a stillness overcoming his whole body. I move them down to touch his power over my waist, thinking if I can get him to release me, I can try and guide him to the door, out of the basement where he could maybe unleash all this power outside, where it will be safe.

But as I touch his power, trying to peel it from my body, his eyes sharpen, a rumbling sound coming from his chest, and then, he’s on me.

With a hand at my throat, he moves me back until I’m slammed into the wall. His eyes pin me in place, a warning not to move, not to try and escape his hold as his ragged breaths hit my face. I blink up at him, feeling his dominance wash over me, heat pooling in my stomach. Then his mouth crashes against mine. I let out a surprised sound as he groans deep into my mouth. My head spins as he suddenly lets go of my throat and begins tearing at my shorts, his power holding me by my waist as he quickly pulls them down my legs and off to the side. I gasp into his mouth when he lifts me with one hand, my legs automatically wrapping around him as his other hand goes straight to my uncovered pussy. He wastes no time shoving two fingers into me roughly, the wet sounds letting him know I’m not against what he’s doing.

I moan, leaning back against the wall as I grip his shoulders tightly. He growls as his fingers move in and out of me, a possessive look in his eye that I haven’t seen as strong as this before. The determination, the wildness.

“Fuck, Darius.” He’s relentless, touching a spot inside of me that lights me up just like before. His power sinks into my skin where it’s touching me, and it just seems to heighten the pleasure he’s suddenly giving me. Like he had to do this, like he couldn’t help himself even if he tried. “Gods,” I moan, my legs beginning to shake around him. I don’t care where we are at this moment, all I can feel, all I can smell, is him. And I want more.

He says nothing, just going for my neck with bites and growls. It’s like he can’t talk, like he can’t think about anything else other than what he’s doing to me. I move my hips, wanting him deeper, but he bites down in warning, his power tightening on my waist to keep me still, to not move. Making sure his prey cannot escape.

He pulls his fingers out of me suddenly, and I whimper at being empty, wanting, no, needing him to put them back. The ground still shakes, and something else crashes to the floor. I pay it no mind as I claw at his neck, at the madness that is happening.

But I can’t seem to care when his hand goes to his pants and he pulls himself out. My heart stops for a moment at seeing his hard cock, pre-cum dripping from the tip. I swallow roughly even as a whine comes from me. It’s needy, a desire that rushes to the surface and a feeling like I’ll crumble like the stone walls if I don’t have it. He strokes himself with a roughness that has my legs tensing, it’s almost angry. Darius pulls his head out from my neck, and I glance up at him, my chest rising and falling rapidly like his. There is no going back from this moment. I said I wouldn’t let him inside of me again, and here I am, arousal dripping from me at the thought of him taking me in this anger, in this possessiveness that has suddenly overcome him.

There is no heat to excuse this, no other way that I can see to make this anything other than what it will be.

Allowing him to claim me in this moment.

Some clarity forms in my mind. We shouldn’t do this, we shouldn’t go over this wall.

His tip nudges against me, and I can’t help the moan I release, the heat of his cock so startling as I wiggle to have a little inside of me, my body knowing what it wants. His power comes to my wrists, and then they are pinned to the wall on either side of my head. My chest heaves as Darius watches my reaction as he presses his hips forward a little, so focused on me and me only. He’s looking at me like I’m the only thing in the lands, like I’m a prize he wants, a treasure to keep. He’s looking at me like a Vihnarn.

I swallow roughly as my stomach drops, but a breathy moan releases from me when he nudges me again. My eyes flutter at the sensation, and then he snarls, thrusting inside of me in one go and my head tips back on a whimper, banging against the stone as a hand comes back to my throat.

My power recedes, and he groans as he pounds into me, his pace brutal, almost too much as he doesn’t let up. His hand squeezes me, his power holding firm on my wrists, and I’m completely at his mercy, just how he likes me to be. I squeeze my legs around him, my boots digging into his ass. Sweat beads my back as another crash sounds in the room, but all I see is him. I want him closer, need him closer, overcome with this desire to be as close as possible.

“Darius,” I whimper, feeling that impending pleasure rising within. Only he can make me feel like this, only he can give me euphoria like this. It feels more heightened this time, stronger than ever before and I’m not sure what that means. “Oh Gods. I…can’t.” It’s too much, it feels too much. I try to wiggle, to move my hips back but he snarls, thrusting into me harder than ever before, cutting off my air by my throat as his eyes bore into mine. Take it, is what he’s telling me without words. He groans as my pussy squeezes him, his other hand gripping my ass to pull me toward him in time with his thrusts.

I gasp, my eyes rolling into the back of my head as he changes the angle and then I’m soaring. My legs tighten around him as my body shakes, my hands forming into fists as my pussy spasms. My orgasm feels like it doesn’t stop, just continues as Darius continues to pound into me. Bits of stone crumble from the walls to the floor, his dominance suffocating the room as he fucks me through my release. When my moans turn to whimpers, he lets air back into my lungs, and I slump against the wall, my body tingling. Darius comes to my neck, growling and snarling until he bites down on my shoulder and thrusts one last time. The pain has my back arching as he moves jerkily inside of me, feeling the heat of his cum filling me. I tremble, my pussy pulsing on his cock as he rumbles an approving sound against my neck. His thumb rubs over my wildly beating pulse against my neck as he nips at the bite mark he made. He lazily moves in and out of me, his hand kneading my ass cheek as he gets as close to me as possible.

I blink, slowly coming down from my orgasm as the trembling in my body decreases. Darius pulls back and looks over my face, possession radiating off of him, satisfied with what he did. Grunting, he leans forward and licks my jaw, nipping it before bringing his forehead to mine. My chest rises and falls in fast bursts, and I wiggle against the wall, my pussy sore. Darius groans, pulling his hips back a little before pushing his cock back into me. I whimper, and he rubs his nose against mine, all the while, still saying nothing.

He doesn’t need to though.

His power filling the room dwindles, and Darius takes in a deep breath, his magic around my wrist gentling as he guides my hands to his shoulders. I squeeze, feeling the need to hold on to something for a moment while I gather myself. His power around my waist holds me steady as he looks down and pulls his cock out of me. He does it slowly, watching it all happen and I look down too. My cum shines on his softening cock, and he brings a hand down, running a finger through it before he moves to my pussy. He touches my entrance gently, circling it as his cum leaks from me. My cheeks heat, and I try to move back, but his power squeezes me in warning. I still, panting at his ministrations and his undivided attention on my pussy. He pushes a finger inside of me, and I moan at the slight pain, but also pleasure. Darius moves that finger in a circle, before pulling it out and bringing it up to my lips. Never breaking eye contact, he pushes against my lips and I open for him, allowing him to stroke his finger over my tongue until he’s satisfied I have both of our cum in my mouth. He brings his other hand up to hold my jaw, and then replaces his finger with his mouth. His tongue goes straight for mine so we are tasting each other at the same time, making sure we both get every taste we can. My head feels dizzy as he continues to kiss me, licking inside of my mouth and nipping at my lips. Once he’s had enough, he breaks the kiss and without looking away, he moves his hand back to my pussy and makes sure any of his cum that escaped me is pushed back inside. A breath releases from me as I let him, waiting him out.

When he’s done, he swirls a finger around my clit one last time before lowering me to the ground. His hands on my waist steadies me as his power moves back into him, his dominance receding. We stay still, breathing in each other as we come down from what just happened.

Darius looks around the room, still holding me and his eyes harden as he takes everything in. I shake my head at myself, sighing in disbelief that not only did I let Darius fuck me after I said It wouldn’t happen again, but I also wanted him to. Feeling his raw power, feeling the same control I had over that, him protecting me from himself… it was too much to not give in to what my soul is calling for deep down.

To be one with him, connect, feel… to be free in the moment.

Darius looks back at me, his eyes going from my face to my pussy, and I feel vulnerable again, wondering what scathing words he may throw at me this time. The last time we fucked, he didn’t like his cum coming out of me, didn’t let me have an orgasm and hurt me with words before he left.

I can’t let him do that this time, not now when I’m already feeling too much, not when I know I wont regret what we did here, no matter how much we shouldn’t have been so stupid. Sure we fucked when my heat came, but I’m not in heat now. I have no excuse for what I just did with someone who hurt me and my pack. Who betrayed the vow he made to me in my cave. I believed him and he destroyed that tentative trust between us from that night with his actions.

I just slept with someone that was responsible for taking us out of Eridian. For whipping me, for taking Kade into the clutches of the Highers and his family.

I start to shake, tears filling my eyes. What have I done? I slept with the enemy, and although he has been blind to what’s been happening under his nose, we also wouldn’t be in this position if it wasn’t for him. We wouldn’t have his help.

I open my mouth to say something, anything, but Darius leans forward and rubs his nose against mine. Then I can’t say anything at all, because the way he’s looking at me…

Later, Rhea, shove all of it down and figure it out later.

My shorts are suddenly being pulled up my legs for the second time today, and he sorts himself out, putting his cock back inside his pants that I couldn’t look away from. Once it’s out of sight, I blink up at Darius, and his eyebrows scrunch at whatever look must be on my face. He opens his mouth to speak when a bookshelf slowly crumbles to the floor. I stare at it, and then the mess in the room, remembering that while Darius was fucking me against the wall, the room was crumbling with his power. Yet when I look behind me, the wall we were against is fine, not a single crack.

I look back at Darius and he raises a brow, a smirk on his face. I scrunch my nose up at him and he chuckles, raising a hand to my shoulder and running a finger over the bite he left there. I shiver and bat his hand away, walking farther into the room as he chuckles at my back.

Then we soon sober up. Looking at the cage, I wince to myself that we just fucked in a place like this.

“That shouldn’t have—“

“If you say that shouldn’t have happened, I will put you back against that wall and fuck you until you cannot speak.” My breath catches in my throat. “Let your body be free, stop holding yourself back.” It’s how I protect myself. I don’t voice that though.

“What in the Gods is wrong with us,” I whisper, eyes still on the cage.

“Nothing,” Darius replies. “There is nothing wrong with our bodies joining.” His voice still has an undertone of growl in it, but he’s sounding more normal now.

“We are in a basement, next to a cage.” I frown at myself.

“I’m not ashamed to sink myself inside of you at a moment’s notice, Rhea, no matter where we are.”

“So you would happily fuck me in the center of a village?” I say.

His breath hits my ear in the next second. “If you think I would let anyone look at your naked body, let them see what is mine, then you don’t know me at all.”

“I don’t know you, Darius.” Silence ensues after that, because that’s the truth of it, isn’t it?

We are pulled together, but we are still strangers.

“You may think that, little wolf, but you know me in ways that others never have. Whether you see that or not.” He runs a finger along the back of my neck, then he walks over to one of the cages.

I follow, stopping when I’m beside him. I look down into the cage and swallow roughly. Dried blood is splattered on the floor, a chain still wrapped around the wrist of the skeletal figure. I look down the row of cages and see the same in all of them.

“They’re female,” Darius says quietly, examining the remains.

“They have been down here for a long time. Do you think they died before your father did or after?” Were they left here to starve when his father was killed by rogures. The thought turns my stomach and tears sting my eyes.

Darius looks over at me and tells me what he thinks with his eyes, without voicing it. They suffered when they were alive, and suffered after his fathers death, being left down here alone.

I blink a few times and clear my throat, moving around him and toward an alchemy table. I examine the vials and liquids, some spilled and some smashed. There are random labels and notes beside them and my hand shakes as I pick up the piece of paper with words scribbled hastily.

Day one

Five females

One new rogure

One female, pregnant, moved her to Zaigar with the others.

The new rogure experiences some human tendencies, mainly lust, after giving him one dose of Ultrian.

Male is aggressive, but once he has released his seed, he calms somewhat. That period only lasts until he is fully erect again and he needs to relieve himself once more.

I must have more females brought here, five will not be enough.

Must contact him to organize it.

Day 7

New rogure killed one female. He was kept in his cage for two days without release after being given a dose. Extremely aggressive. One female was put into his cage on day three. He rutted the female and did not stop even though he released his seed inside of her again and again. He stayed erect and penetrated her any way he could. He broke her pelvis and split her vagina from her entrance upward. Lacerations brought on by the new rogures’s claws were on the female’s hips, stomach, chest, and neck. The new rogure didn’t stop penetrating the female and would not release her. Even after she died from blood loss.

For the females to survive, we cannot withhold the new rogures from releasing its seed. Must at least have twelve releases a day to stay somewhat gentle enough to impregnate and not kill the females.

Need to make more doses of Ultrian.

Order more dassil, corsiel dust, blood of original rogure, and male wolf.

Day 9

Male has calmed and claimed the female in his cage for his own. Refuses to let her come to the cage’s opening. Aggressive when I get too close. May need to try and sedate new rogure to remove the female and test her pregnancy status.

New rogure won’t stop spilling his seed either inside the female or upon her skin. Female shows no signs of distress and seems to be in a haze.

Day 11

I realized that the female inside the new rogures cage had begun her heat. Managed to extract her from the cage when the male rogure began to show signs of calming after the female’s heat was over.

Day 23

Female that had her heat with the new rogure is pregnant, sent to Zaigar with the others.

New female arrived along with supplies for more ultrian.

New rogure once again rutting at a steady pace with all females. This version of ultrian is working best. It is more stable within the new rogures system and when given the weekly dose, can be sustained.

“What the fuck.” Taking the papers in my trembling hands, I walk over to Darius and show them to him. He reads them over with a furrowed brow, scanning the text.

“New rogure?” he questions, swapping the papers around and reading them again.

“I have no idea what that means. They caught a rogure? And then gave him this ultrian drug and then let it rape females?” I breathe deep. “Is that what this is saying?”

He nods grimly, his nostrils flaring. “And when a female is pregnant they sent her away to Zaigar… wherever the fuck that is.” He shoves the papers on the table and drags his hands down his face. “That’s my father’s writing,” he confesses, and my stomach sinks.

I bite my lip and look away from him, folding my arms. My fingers dig into my skin, piercing the flesh but it grounds me, somewhat. “Bastard,” I hiss.

He nods, and looks around the room again. “This has been happening for a while, right under my nose before he died. I remember him sending me out for hours, telling me to hunt and hone my skills, even after they were perfected. I thought it was strange for me to still keep doing it. Now I know he wanted to keep me away while he probably came down here and…” He points to the cages.

I walk away from him and continue to look at the surfaces around the room, hoping my stomach doesn’t lose its contents. The room is full of papers and books and journals. It will take forever to go through them. To take these all back with us will take a few ports.

I run my finger on the bookshelf at the back, dust collecting at my fingertip. Books are scattered on the floor that must have been knocked off by Darius’s power, and I pause at a symbol on a weathered, black book. My breath catches as I look at the symbol of Zahariss on the spine, a white circle with a black crescent moon inside of it. I carefully pull it out, wiping the dust off the front of it. The front is plain black, no words to say what’s inside. I open it carefully and land on a random page.

We strapped the female down after her wolf went back inside of her. It took a few of us taking turns in using tools to get the wolf exhausted enough to retreat, but we used pain methods to see how quickly the wolf healed, and our findings were excellent.

The wolf healed small cuts in a matter of minutes. With deeper non-fatal wounds, that took some hours. We placed a variation of wounds over the wolf, examining each area and time it took to heal and also pain limits.

The wolf is extremely strong and gives off a strong aura, which is definitely Alpha. Not a common finding indeed. Though it’s not surprising as she is the daughter of an Heir of Zahariss—

I drop the book and stagger back, my heart racing, hands clammy. No, no, no. I stare at the black book on the floor, the whooshing of my heartbeat filling my ears. The page is still open, my body trembling like something is going to come out and attack me. Darius rushes over to me, his mouth moving but all I hear is mumbling. He follows my widened gaze to the book on the floor and he takes a step toward it. That’s what snaps me out of myself.

I rush forward and collect the book off the floor and hold it to my chest. “No,” I tell him, my breaths coming out faster as I step back and away from him.

He pauses mid step and watches me with a frown. His eyes go to the book clenched tightly to my chest, then to the book scattered on the floor until his eyes meet mine again. “What’s in that book, Rhea?”

I shake my head, not wanting him to read what’s inside. “No,” I repeat, trying to stop the wavering in my voice.

He takes a step toward me, and I take another one back. “Give me the book, Rhea,” he demands, eyes hard.

“It doesn’t concern you.”

“Of course it concerns me, it was in my father’s fucked up experiment basement. Give it to me.”

I clutch the book even tighter to me, shaking. “Not this one,” I say, my voice cracking, my lips trembling. “Not this one, Dar.”

He stops abruptly at the shortening of his name, and tilts his head at me curiously. His eyes roam over my shaking form, to the white knuckles I have on the book, to the fear I’m sure he sees in my eyes. “What is in there that you don’t want me to see?” I just stare at him, my eyes pleading not to push this, damn near begging. “If you do not tell me what is putting that fear in your eyes, little wolf, I cannot get rid of it.” My eyes water, shaking my head again. He takes a step closer, grinding his teeth before exhaling. “I will drop it, for now.”

I let my head fall forward in relief and nod. It’s enough for now, though I doubt he will let me have this small reprieve for long. I’ll need to read it and then get rid of it. I need to know everything that’s inside, even though the thought of it turns my stomach to stone. I lift my eyes and quickly search the floor to see if there are any more books with the symbol of Zahariss. I find none.

“Let’s gather some things and port back,” Darius mumbles after a tense silence. “I’ll bring the Elites back here to gather the rest for all of us to go through.”

I nod and step toward him, unable to look him in the eye. He reaches out and pulls me close, tracing a finger down my cheek as I still tremble. I breathe in his scent deeply, letting it fill my lungs and we port back to the Elite’s Keep.