You Rejected Me. Remember?

Draven urgently glanced at the unconscious girl on his bed. Only time could tell if she made it. But it looked like he didn’t have that.

“s**t!” He cursed. “How did dad find out about this place?” He dashed out of the room. He heard grunts and swords clashing and instantly realised that they had entered the palace.

He wasn’t ready to fight against his father’s army yet. He knew his men would lose. Hiding behind a pillar, he peeked at the fight that was going on downstairs.

Just a few rogues were struggling against his father’s warriors. Another thing was that the royal vampire army was fortified with wolves and lycans.

“s**t! We don’t stand a chance! Everyone! Escape!” He ordered through their link. He knew whoever could leave would escape the battle at once. He didn’t know how many had died already and he didn’t have time to find out.

He hastily rushed towards the private compartment once again. He wanted to leave. But he didn’t want to leave the girl there.

He looked out of the window. Maybe, he could jump out of it, but would it be possible with Monica in his hands? He stood at the window contemplating whether he should jump or not. He glanced at Monica’s motionless body. She was still as white as a sheet and displayed no signs of life. He had seen people die in this situation and he honestly had no idea if she was dead or not.

He stepped towards her and studied her face.

“Gah! She most probably is dead!” He exclaimed and rushed towards the window. He was going to jump out in an attempt to save himself. He couldn’t let his father catch him in here.

He grabbed the windowsill and was about to climb in when he heard footsteps rushing into the room.

“Freeze!”

He felt as though his heart had stopped beating completely. That was undoubtedly his father’s voice. He was too scared to move and soon, he wasn’t able to move a muscle. That could mean only one thing. His father had used his powers of immobilising on him.

“Draven! I cannot believe this! What has made you stoop so low?” His voice was stern yet filled with hurt and pain.

“Little bro…… so it was true….”

His brother, Crown Prince Damien’s voice made Draven want to barf.

“I was hoping that the wolves were mistaken or something like that…even after the witch who came with them displayed what had happened….. I …..” Damien stuttered.

Draven wanted to roll his eyes in annoyance.

“Guards! Seize him!” His father, the King ordered and his loyal warriors quickly obliged.

By this time Cassy and the Dark Howl Pack’s leaders had arrived at the scene with Cade and Philip right behind them. Cade desperately looked around, hoping to catch a glimpse of his mate. When his eyes fell on her lifeless body, he felt as though the ground shook underneath.

“No! Mate!” He gasped and rushed to her side. Philip too dashed to her side. Cassy and the others followed them. They gasped, shocked to see her like that. Pale and lifeless as though she was dead.

“Is she….. no…she can’t be dead…” Philip’s heart thudded in his chest as he looked from Miles to Cade with widened eyes.

Calli gulped down a lump and touched Monica’s forehead with a trembling hand. Her heart plummeted. Monica was as cold as ice. Reluctantly, she glanced at her brother, who was staring at Monica’s motionless body without blinking.

“No! No, she isn’t dead….she …..she must be tired…yeah. She is sleeping….” His throat tightened. His eyes fell on the two puncture marks on her neck. It wasn’t a mating mark. It was a sign that a vampire had fed on her.

His heart raced as he took deep gasps of breath. “She isn’t dead….. please…”

He continued to deny as he kneeled beside her, holding her hands. When he realised that her hand was icy cold, he started to rub it in between his hands.

“Babe….please, wake up. The fog is making you cold. Mate…. Mate wake up….”

His voice gradually reduced to a mere whisper. Sobs started to escape his lips and Aspen howled in his mind. He seldom cried. A tough childhood had taught him to be strong and face what life threw at him. However, seeing his mate like this was unbearable.

He threw a hateful glance at the restrained vampire prince. Growling, he sneered at him.

“You! You fed on her! Look at what you did! You had no right!” He screamed, slowly getting up from the ground. Aspen wanted to tear the vampire apart. He had hurt his mate. Cade’s claws slowly elongated. He was ready to shred the pathetic vampire into tiny pieces. Had he been untamed, he wouldn’t have hesitated.

“Cade! Control!” Cassy ordered and Cade had no choice except to obey his superior.

“Draven needs to be taken to court. Don’t place yourself in this mess, Cade,” she advised.

The vampire king and his eldest witnessed the heart rendering scene. They knew that Draven undoubtedly will have to face punishment. He needs to be penalised for his actions.

Yet, the King was having a hard time believing that his son would do something like that. However, he couldn’t deny what he was seeing and hearing.

“Draven! What is this? I have a lot of questions. There are a lot of things that I want to understand. I have provided everything you need and want. I tried to fulfil your every whine. I cannot digest this.” The vampire king shook his head in disbelief. Sighing, “but right now I need your answer to one question….Why?” He asked, looking intently at his son, Draven.

“Speak!” He ordered, releasing the invisible force he had used to restrain Draven. The guards had handcuffed him and four, well trained guards surrounded him. So he wouldn’t be able to escape.

“Why, son?” He bitterly repeated his question.

Draven scoffed.”Why? Are you asking me why? You always treat me as the second best. Damien is the first. First in everything. And even if he bullied me, you will simply brush it off. I hate that! I f*****g hate that! And after everything, he will be crowned king! I will not tolerate that!”

“What?” Neither the King nor the Crown Prince could believe their ears.

“I didn’t bully you…” Damien tried to speak but was rudely interrupted.

“Oh f**k! You did! You always did! You had always been belittling me since childhood. Why in the world are you acting as you cared for me now? Huh?” Draven vented.

“You will snatch away blocks and other toys from me and when I cry, mom and dad will simply tell you to share! They don’t punish you for being a huge bully!” Draven shrieked.

“What the hell!” Damien exclaimed. “That was childhood! I didn’t even take it seriously!”

“Silence! I have heard enough!” The vampire King turned towards Cassy.

“I am extremely ashamed about what had happened, Your Majesty. And I am sorry that I had doubted you. Please don’t hold a grudge against our kingdom. Draven needs to learn a lesson. I know he had wronged your people. But please your Highness, let me take care of my son.” He pleaded.

Sighing, Cassy glanced at the king.

“What do you intend to do?” She asked.

“I feel that he is having a serious mental illness. He will be locked up in the mental asylum in our kingdom. He needs treatment. But of course, he will be retributed for the damage he had caused after his treatment.” He begged.

“Fine. But if you fail, or if he ever comes to attack us ever again, believe me, I won’t spare him. He should never set foot on our land hereafter. I will order all the werewolf packs to kill him on sight.” She warned.

After a short pause, the king nodded in agreement.

“Don’t worry, Queen of the wolves. If he doesn’t change, I wouldn’t mind his death. This is my last attempt to redeem him. I hope he changes,” he sighed and gestured to his men to take him away.

“And Damien, you are in charge of tearing this place down. I don’t want this place to witness the next sunrise,” he told his eldest son, who bowed down in respect.

Damien looked at the remaining warriors. “Check the whole place. And tell me what you find. We must see what Draven has been up to and what he hid in this place before we demolish the building. And we must work fast. We have just a few hours before sunrise.” He instructed his men and they hastened to carry out the orders.

He glanced at the mourning wolves sympathetically. Pursing his lips, he sighed.

“You…should take her and leave. I need to get our men to work as soon as possible. You heard dad’s order.” He somberly said. Miles and Calli glanced at each other while Cassy and Elliot nodded.

Cade continued to stare at Monica with tears rolling down his cheeks. An awkward silence followed. No one knew what to say.

“I didn’t feel her pain….” Cade broke the silence. “She is my mate…. But I didn’t feel it…maybe she is still alive…” he whispered hopefully.

Calli couldn’t stop her tears. She had never seen him so broken. Even when their parents died years ago. But back then, Cade was too small to understand anything. Miles grabbed her shoulder and gave it a little squeeze. Ava and Nolan were speechless. So was Amara And Castor.

“Please tell me she is alive,” Cade begged.

“Let me check for a pulse,” Amara stepped in and held her hand. She tried hard to feel a pulse, however, there was nothing. After a while, she looked at Ava. Frowning, she shook her head. She didn’t have the courage to look at Cade, who was watching her every move.

“Maybe because she wasn’t marked…..” Amelia who was silently watching them mumbled. She may be a witch, yet she knew that mates were supposed to mark each other.

“No….” Cade gasped and he collapsed onto the ground. Wheezing, he covered his face in despair.

“No!”

Everyone in the room had their hearts torn apart. She left too soon. Just as mysteriously as she arrived into their lives, she was gone.

“We must leave,” Miles finally mumbled. Despite the pain and sorrow, they had to do what they must.

“But, my mate….” Cade whimpered.

“Cade….” Calli sat beside her brother and hugged him tightly. “Please… please be strong. For me…for her….she wouldn’t want you to be weak,” she begged.

“Let’s go. We have to take her body back to the pack and arrange her funeral,” Miles solemnly mumbled.

Hearing about making the arrangements for his mate’s funeral felt surreal to Cade. He stared at his alpha and then at the Queen before he shifted his gaze towards his sleeping mate. The little hope of her waking up slowly diminished as he stared into her now completely white face. Philip, who wiped away a lone tear, offered his hand for Cade to stand up.

“She was the strongest she-wolf I have ever heard of,” he whispered.

Cade closed his eyes, allowing the tears to flow freely from the tear ducts. He couldn’t believe that they were too late.

She was gone.