The Rejected Werewolf Princess by Didiadeyemi

CAMILLA'S POV

“How did he know that she was affected?” Christine asked as soon as Ryker had walked out of the room. “I also think now would be a good time to put the ear plugs back in, I don’t want to take any chances.”

I murmured in agreement before putting mine in and doing the same for the girls. I hated doing it, it felt like stripping myself of one of my senses but it was a necessary evil. I still had the rest and they were working perfectly fine. Once our ears were blocked, I opened up a mind link between myself, Christine and Juan because I knew there was a lot they had to say and no sooner than the link was opened, I heard her voice in my head.

“How did he know, Camilla? Do his powers inform him?”

“I don’t know,” it was as close to the truth as I could get. “There is a lot we don’t know about Ryker's powers- Ryker inclusive- and I don’t want to make guesses unless he tells me himself. We are all just figuring it out as it goes."

“What now? Did he manage to break the effects of the sirens? What he did was terrifying, Camilla, one second he was seated and the next-"

I didn’t need to hear it from her, I saw it myself and I had been glued to my seat in shock and slight fear. I didn't fear Ryker, that was never going to happen but there was a part of me that feared the powers that he possessed. Magic was a cruel thing and it always came with a price, I wasn't sure what the price of this was yet, but I knew it couldn't be good. He had the girl engulfed in shadows from head to toe, I was barely able to shield my children from seeing that, I didn't need them seeing their father like that, I didn't need to terrify them and to make matters worse, he didn’t want me to follow him.

I think he did that because we both knew that he almost killed that girl. His wall was firmly in place but there were times when certain emotions slipped past. He must have been feeling them intently for them to be able to slip through the cracks. There was frustration and there was the deep dark abyss that was murder. He wanted to kill her, he debated it too, but he didn't and I tried to focus on that because it was the only thing that mattered.

“Camilla!” Juan's voice snapped me back to reality and I blinked back my thoughts. “Are you going to him?” “I will, he just needs some space right now and I am willing to respect that.” “For how long?” Christine asked knowing me instantly.

“At least half an hour, I need him clear headed when I do go to talk to him. This is a lot to process, anyone could be under the sirens influence and we wouldn't know.”

“What do we do? How do we figure out who we can trust and who we cannot?”

That, unfortunately, was where the problem lay because I didn’t know. There was no way to tell- except using Ryker of course, and the last thing I wanted to do was use the magic that he hadn't learned to control yet. We were playing with fire and someone was most definitely going to get burned badly.

I broke the mind link so I could collect my own thoughts and that was when I noticed the empty seat. I looked around hoping she was just wandering around the dining room but the door was open and Audrey was gone. Aurora sat in her high chair with a small giddy smile on her face as she watched my expression shift from fear to horror and back in an instant.

I leaped to my feet and instantly rushed out to ask the guards at the door but they were either useless or completely blind because none of them had seen her slip out and no one had walked in but I couldn't quite take their word on it. Panic gripped every inch of me, my throat threatened to close up with worry and I couldn't breathe.

Ryker’s wall was firmly up as well. I didn't want to panic until I spoke to him because it was possible she was with him but I didn’t know where he was. I tried not to worry as I made my way down the halls and checked the plausible places he could be. I checked the library and our room before finally walking into his office. He was seated in his chair with Audrey curled up in his lap, her eyes were closed and from the steady rise and fall of her chest, I knew she was asleep.

Relief poured through me and tears gathered in my eyes. I hadn't realized just how badly I was panicking until I found that she was safe. I saw Ryker's mouth start to move so I pulled my earplugs out of my ears and rushed over to them. I ran my hands over her hair wanting to make sure that she was alive and real.

“She came to me," Ryker explained. “I thought you dropped her off or brought her here at least. I didn't know she snuck out, how did she sneak out?"

“I don't know, I was talking to Christine and Juan and I looked and she was gone. It was one second, Ryker, and it scares me because if I couldn't notice her leave then I might not be able to notice someone else walking in. the earplugs are helping us but they are also putting us in a shit ton of danger”

“I know,” he sounded tired and worn out. “But we don't really have a choice, do we? You saw what happened with Ansel, you saw what happened earlier”

I was glad that he had brought up what happened earlier because it meant I could finally ask what happened. I opened my mouth to speak but had barely gotten any words out when he sighed.

“I know what you want to ask” he cut me off. “I don’t know how I knew, I just did. I'm still navigating these powers- you know that. And yes, I almost killed her, I wanted to, but I didn’t, and that is what matters.”

I took a seat at the edge of his desk. “Il am worried about you, Ryker. You've been very different since all of this started. I just want to make sure that you are okay. I want you to talk to me, you keep your wall up and-"

“I know, I just-" he let out a deep breath. “The thoughts I have sometimes, I don't- I don't want you to think differently of me.”

“That's not possible,” I snorted. “I know you.”

“You are telling me that there wasn't a split second where you felt fear?” he asked and I went silent. “Are you saying that for a minute there, you didn't feel unsafe?”

“Not because of you," I tried to explain but he wasn't having it. “I knew you wouldn't hurt me but-"

“But the magic,” he finished for me. “I don't want to give you more reasons to fear me, Camilla. I can take it from anyone else, but not you, I cannot bear to have you look me in the eye with fear. I won't survive it”

I let out a sigh and leaned forward so our foreheads touched. Neither of us said a word, we just stayed there, basking in each other's presence and offering silent solidarity. I understood his argument and while it wasn't what I wanted, it was what he was comfortable with and I was willing to give that to him, just for a while, just enough until he felt comfortable enough to share with me.

I wasn't sure how long we stayed there until I heard the sound of a bell ringing in the distance. I knew all about that bell and Ryker did too because we both shot to our feet in an instant. We had barely rushed out of the office when I saw Christine and Juan running up to us.

“What is going on?” Christine asked but I couldnt answer, I didn’t know. “I can-"

“You will do nothing,” I cut her off a tad bit too harshly. “You will take Audrey and go to the safe room." “I can help.’

“You are pregnant. You should focus on getting to safety.”

She crossed her arms over her chest. “I don’t have to be on the battle field, I can be useful, I swear it. I just need to-"

Juan grabbed both of her shoulders and kissed her. She fell silent and I had to look away because it felt like I was interrupting something. When he pulled back, he dropped his voice to her ears and whispered something in her ears. I saw her frown but she nodded and whatever he said was enough to change her mind because she nodded.

Audrey was already awake, the jostling had stirred her. Ryker put her on her feet and after a swift kiss on her head, she was gone with Christine. Once we were sure that they were headed on their way to safety, we rushed out to the front of the palace to see what was going on. The guards were already poised for battle but it was Caius who shocked me because he never went near the battle front.

“What is going on?” Ryker asked once we were close enough to him and the look on his face alone told me that I wasn't going to like his answer.

“The towns folk- they just stood up like a massive army and they are marching onto the palace. No one can reason with them, they have struck down five guards.”

“We can't fight our own people,” I argued. “It would make us no less than monsters.”

“I believe the sirens have a hold on them. We can't even afford to hold them off. They will be upon us within minutes and we need a strategy, something to hold them off"

As he spoke, I took a few steps back. I could feel everyone's eyes on me but I ignored them as I walked over to the front of the palace. “Where are they arriving from?”

“From the South but-"

I ignored him and made my way over to the South side of the palace. I had never tried magic this strong before

and I knew it would drain me of all my energy but I knelt to the ground, placed my hands on the damp soil and pulled.