The Rejected Werewolf Princess by Didiadeyemi

CAMILLA'S POV

I glanced over at Ryker but he said nothing, his lips were pursed as he looked directly at the siren. I could almost see the wheels turning in his head and I tried to speak to him through the mind link but his wall was firmly in place. I glanced over at Christine who had tears in her eyes and worry etched on her every feature.

“I'll get us out of here,” I whispered in her head. “I promise you, I will."

“Come, Camilla,” the siren said gesturing for me to walk with her over to the window. She wasn't singing to me yet so I was still in control of my limbs but I found myself following her. The window had a direct view of the front of the palace, I didn't realize that until now and I couldn't help but muse about the impressive ice wall I had built. It was already melting and cracking but somehow remained strong and sturdy despite the people repeatedly slamming into it.

With each slam, I winced because what was one an ice wall was now getting stained with blood on all sides.

“Stop this" I told her but she ignored me. “They will hurt themselves.”

“Then pull it down,” she shrugged and I frowned. “If you don’t want them to keep hurting themselves then bring the wall down.”

“If I do that, they will kill everyone in their path.”

She sighed. “Difficult choice, isn't it”

She turned back to face the others in the room and I couldn't help but wonder how nice it would feel to push her off the balcony but there were three problems: the first being that she wasn't close to the balcony, the second being that she was a shit ton faster than I was and the third being that Audrey was still in her daughter's hold and I wasn't going to do anything to risk my child's life.

“Now that we are all here, let us play the game, shall we?” she clapped her hands in glee before grabbing my arm and pulling me down to the ground in front of her. Her claws dug into my upper arm and Ryker made a sound of protest but she ignored him and lifted one very sharp claw to my throat. “You have to make a choice, Ryker."

“What kind of choice?” he snarled. “What do you hope to achieve by this?"

“Clarity, I guess, or maybe, I just want to have fun,” her claw dug deeper into my neck and the metallic smell of blood hit me in the nose. “You can save one of three people- your mate, your child and your friend's mate.”

“That's absurd,” I began but she used her free hand to tug my hair back hard.

“You would do well to stay F****g quiet, Camilla. I might just get upset and kill you either way," she whispered harshly into my ears before turning back to Ryker. “I promise to release the one you choose, but know this, the others will die.”

Ryker frowned, he didn’t say a word but his mind was spinning, that much I could tell. The siren stared intently at him and raised a brow, I wasn't sure how I knew, but I knew they were communicating in each other's minds, shutting the rest of us out. It didn't matter though that her mind was elsewhere, her grip on me was tight and if I moved wrong, she was going to rip my neck apart with that claw.

I muttered a small curse under my breath before looking up and my eyes locked with her daughter. The little girl looked tired, almost drained, as if she wanted to be anywhere but here. There was a light sheen of sweat across her forehead and her chest was rising and falling a little fast for my liking.

“Are you okay?" I asked softly and her eyes met mine but she said nothing. “If you need some water then you can get some in the bathroom. You look like you're about to pass out.”

Yes, she was holding my daughter hostage but she was a child and I wasn't about to have a child pass out under my watch. She looked over her shoulder at the bathroom and back at her mother and I knew what the reason was. I muttered a small prayer before tugging on the siren’s dress and her attention was on me like a torch.

“Your daughter needs water,” I managed out. “Let her get some.”

“And risk you taking advantage of that? Please, Camilla, I am not stupid. Besides, all of this will be over soon. Ryker and I managed to meet an agreement. He can save two of you, and the third will be condemned to die. Isn't that fun?”

“What do you get out of this?” I asked her. “It won't bring your husband back.”

Her eyes darkened. “No, but it will soothe the pain in my heart. Now, make your choice, Ryker, or I will make it for you."

I could tell that Ryker was torn but a plan was brewing in his mind. He looked between the three of us and let out a sigh. “I'm sorry, Camilla."

My brows furrowed. “What are you sorry for?"

“I have to make a choice and I know you will not agree with it."

“What are you going on about?”

“I choose my family," he whispered and my spine straightened. Christine's eyes widened when she realized what that meant and the tears that she had struggled to keep at bay poured freely. “I'm sorry."

The siren smirked, a cruel and evil smirk. “Good choice, Ryker”

With her hand still holding my hair, she flung me back against the wall so hard that I heard something crack. My back and sides burned as I watched her speak to Christine. I had seen this in person before but watching it again was mesmerizing and terrifying as Christine made her way over to the cupboard by the window and retrieved a pair of scissors.

Neither Ryker nor I was armed or tied and she seemed to notice that too because she waved her hand and I heard a loud crack. I knew what it was before she even mentioned it and so did Ryker because he rushed over to the window, the fear in his eyes told me everything I needed to know- the wall was coming down.

“You said you would let us go," I hissed out ignoring the pain in my side as I did. “You lied to me.”

“No, I said I would let the other two go. I never said anything about the pack. You better go help your pack, Camilla, because if you stay here, you will all die”

I knew what she was trying to do, take us out of the room so we wouldn't try to save Christine. It was a difficult position she had put us in, where we either had to save our family or help the pack. Either way, we were all going to die- unless.

I locked eyes with Christine and looked away. “Help me up, Ryker, we have to go."

“What?” he asked but I ignored him.

“Audrey, run to your room, now," with each passing second, the wall cracked even more and I knew it was only a few seconds before it shattered. “Go, stay with Aurora and get into the passage that's attached to your room. Do not come out until you hear my voice, okay?”

Her eyes watered but she did as I asked and dashed out of the room. Ryker was by my side in an instant and he helped me to my feet.

“Are you really going to leave her?” he asked but I shook my head. As he helped me to my feet, I locked eyes with the sirens daughter.

“You can get that water now," I whispered to her. I wasn't sure if she knew what I had planned, but she nodded, turned on her heels and walked into the bathroom. The siren had her back turned to us and I knew that was my only chance so I spoke into Ryker's mind. “Attack her, Ryker, but keep her close to the window."

“What do you have planned?”

“Something insane”

He helped me lean against the wall before rushing over to her. She saw him before he hitand I saw firsthand, just how fast she was as she easily dodged his hit. I rushed over to Christine who still had the scissors in her hands but she wouldn't let go, no matter how hard I tried to pull it away from her. My hands were bleeding from how tightly I was holding onto it to prevent her from cutting herself.

“You little bitch!” I heard the siren yell, probably calling for her child. “Help me, come out here and do something useful for once.”

“Christine,” I whispered hoping she would hear me and it would break the spell. “You can't die, not right now. Please, nap out of it”

“It's too late, Camilla, she is mine now,” she sing songed as she dodged Ryker’s hits.

What she didn't realize was that Ryker was backing her up to the window. I knew I had one chance to make this right and I muttered a small prayer to the goddess as I left Christine's side. At that exact moment, she managed to cut Ryker with her claws, blood spilled down his cheeks and in the midst of her victory, she didn't see me coming until it was too late. I pushed her out the window and all I heard next was the sound of glass shattering, her screams and the final crack as what was left of the wall gave way. There was so much commotion as the water slowly sank back into the ground from where it came and her body slammed into the hard pavement. There was silence as all the people stopped. The spell on the people was broken along with her mangled body on the ground. Blood pooled out of it mixing with what little water was left. For a second, I basked in the victory that we had. We still had her child in the palace but that could be easily dealt with- or so I thought until I heard the sound of squelching flesh.

I turned back to find Christine with a knife to the center of her stomach. The knife was held by none other than the little sire. Her eyes welled up with tears as she looked at us. “I had to."

I couldn't even pay attention to her, choosing to rush over to Christine's side before she crumpled to the ground.