Her Forever
Chapter 73

Sadie

Turning my back for the last time, I could still see Seth and Marco tied to the ground with some sort of magical rope bond. It kept their bodies weak and useless. Hoping that a Fae could come by and help, I blew one last k**s to Seth to let him know I would be alright.

The woods were menacing. The trees were either dark brown or black, and even though the trees lacked any sort of greenery or leaves, the forest was dark. No light could penetrate the sickly branches as we marched on. The beautiful moss that would spark small fireflies was now replaced with thick mud. The wolves trenching through it found it easy since they spent so much time here, but I was having difficulty. My dress had splatters of dirty water, and up to my calves were caked with the gut-wrenching smell.

My heart was breaking in a million pieces as further and further away I walked away from Seth. My heart felt beyond repair, but I knew it would come back together once we were together again. The thought entered my mind so many times, him saving me or me fighting my way out to him. It can’t be one-sided. We will both fight to get back to each other.

Once Seth and Marco took off out of the living room, I looked at my parents and King Orion. I stood up with conviction, and my mother knew what I would do. She put her hand on my father’s before he protested, but she nodded in acceptance.

Looking at King Orion, I went up to him and gave him a large hug. He had been through a lot in his time, and he was just a bit lost. “Princess, I’ll gather the army. Our truce starts now.” He gave me a chaste k**s on the forehead, and I nodded as a few tears went down my face. Without another word, I left quickly, having Gaia replace the scent as we grabbed our slightly torn white tunic with us.

Hearing the howls brought me back from my thoughts. Seth’s was the loudest of all of them, being the most powerful one of the pack. It was full of pain, sadness and fear. Fear wasn’t something Seth was used to. I know the emotion frightened him. I tried to mind-link Seth but was having trouble. I know we hadn’t gotten too far, but something must be blocking it. I just hope he will at least still feel me to know I am still alive.

We trudged through the mud a bit longer and the closer we got to our destination where there was a light. The light grew larger as we came closer and to replace it was just a large bonfire. It was huge, maybe 40 feet in the air, and more and more logs were being thrown into it. Many werewolves, both in human form and wolf, sat around it to keep warm. Many had worn, mangled bodies. They were sick, some coughing while others lay down as if they were dying.

There were a few children that seemed healthy enough. The clothes were ragged, and no shoes were being worn. I felt so sorry for them as they came up to me asking for food. They were malnourished, not getting the food or nutrients they needed. My heart broke for them as they grabbed me, begging me to pick them up. Stopping for a moment, I picked up one child who buried his face in my neck and cried. “My momma won’t wake up.” He sniffed. “They said you could help.”

My body stiffened at what he said. They think I can physically heal people. I’ve never in my life done anything of the sort. I put the child down and wiped his tears and my own and felt one of the rogues grab my arm.

Dragging me to the cave that was in the center of this make-shift town, they threw me in. There was no bolder to hold me in, they all stood outside the cave with their legs apart and arms crossed. I dusted some of the mud off my hands and walked to the light at the other end of the cave.

Gaia was pacing in my head. She was growling and scratching, wanting to come out and face our enemy. I begged her to be patient and hear what needs to be said.

“Welcome, welcome,” the dreadful voice said. It was deep, croaky, like it hadn’t spoken in ages. Nakita was to my right, holding on to my upper arm, bringing me forward. Slowly, we came closer to the fire in the middle of the room, and on the other side, there was a dark figure in the corner. They weren’t in wolf form, but they were huge nonetheless. His stature was at least 7 feet tall, and his shoulders 4 feet wide. Out of all the books I read about Bergarian, he could easily count as a small giant, which had all perished centuries ago.

The laborious footsteps reached the fire, and I could see his face. Even though aging stopped at 30 years old in this realm for werewolves, he looked old. His hair was peppered with grey and white. There were wrinkles of crows’ feet around his eyes. He was dirty. Soot from the fire put layers and layers of muck on his face. The scars on his face, neck, and body were deep and had trouble healing, very atypical for an alpha of his caliber. His pants were shabby, almost loin cloth-like, but he didn’t care if his manhood was showing.

I should have been petrified, but Gaia gave encouraging words letting me know we were stronger. This male before us may have been strong at one point, but now he was weak, letting his minions do his bidding.

“My name is Alpha Marcellus,” came the voice. He stood tall, puffing his chest out, trying to make him more intimidating. I held my ground and didn’t cower. Alpha Marcellus looked at me with his dead eyes and gave a small smirk. “Not intimidated, are you, princess?” I held my chin up high and ripped my arm from Nakita’s grip, causing her to stumble.

All of this was a show. The only reason everyone was scared before was some sort of spell. Everyone was really weak. There wasn’t a plan of attack, there couldn’t be. Not unless they had something that was keeping just a little strong.

“No, I’m not,” speaking with conviction and stepping forward. “What am I doing here, Marcellus?”

“How dare you speak to me without my title?” He said utterly calmly.

“I am of higher status than you. You should know this.” I clenched my fists. “You called me a princess did you not?” I said condescendingly.

“Hmmm, didn’t expect you to be so attuned to our ways so quickly. You were just marked and found out who you truly were, and now you demand respect?” He growled at me.

“Damn straight, Marcellus. The Moon Goddess chose me to help rule and, with that, it is enough.”

Nakita circled me and watched my moves. Marcellus went to a table, poured himself a glass of whiskey, quickly gulped it down, and slammed it on the table.

“Do you know who I am, Princess?”

“I’m guessing the supposed Alpha of the Rogues, the one that defied my parents all those years ago. I’ve done my research, now what do you want?”

“Supposed? What makes you think I’m not?”

“A true Alpha doesn’t hurt his pack. You obviously do. I’ve seen women and children starving, dying, and wounded members. You only let your warriors eat to survive. You have done something against the laws of werewolves. Protecting your own pack should be a priority, and you have your own selfish agenda! How dare you even say you are an Alpha!” I seethe in anger.

“ENOUGH!” Marcellus roared. The entire cave shook, and a few rocks and pebbles fell. The wolves standing outside shuttered in fear as well as Akita. I stood tall. His command could not work on me, I was of higher status, and no one could tell me what to do even if I was on his land.

“If you shut up for one damn minute, f**k you are just like your parents. Never wanting to compromise.” He shook his head.

“Compromising innocent lives? Ha!”

“I SAID SHUT UP!” Marcellus bellowed. Akita tried to take my arm, but I let out my claws and clawed her deep in her forearm, causing her to squeal in pain. She tucked it into her body as it slowly dripped down her torso.

“Leave us, Nakita. Go get it taken care of.” Nakita nodded and walked out of the cave glaring at me while the wolves kept watch.

“You may think you are stronger than us, but you are very mistaken, Princess.” I glared at him while he spoke. He wasn’t going to scare me. With Seth and I bonded, I knew I was stronger. “I sold my soul to the devil to win, and yet here I still sit, waiting, stewing until you come of age. Do you know how long I’ve waited?” He stood up, taking his glass with him, and slammed it into the fire, causing a burst of flame. I didn’t flinch to his dismay.

“Too damn long! I’ve waited centuries for your birth, and then you leave the realm because some selfish douche of a vampire decided he wanted you. Your parents get scared and send you off. Luckily for me, it didn’t take long to replace you,” he barked. “The devil demon gave me powers, but I had to be healed by someone who had the gift of life to heal me. Apparently, the devil deamon’s powers are harsh on the body,” he cackled. “It didn’t matter. He told me of a young princess from the Moon Kingdom that was going to be gifted by Charis the gift of life. You, Sabrina.”

I tilted my head to the side. He found me on Earth? How in the world would he have been able to do that? “He was my most trusted tracker. Took him from some sorry a*s pack when he was a little one. I trained him myself. He was supposed to replace you and bring you here, but when he finally found you at the age of 14, he couldn’t do it.” There was some shuffling, and several wolves left the cave while Marcellus continued his story.

“Remember the Dobsons? They took you in when your aunt couldn’t, and you worked in their little diner. They worked for me, making sure you grew up somewhat fed and healthy so you could serve your purpose here. How is that for some nostalgia for you?”

I internally screamed. All along I thought I was a nobody, but people were really out to get me from such a young age. Lilly, my supposed best friend, and her parents, who took such good care of me, were my enemies all along.

I started to hyperventilate. He struck a nerve in me that I didn’t know I had. Lies, deceit, it was overpowering. I felt so lied to. My life was such a lie.

“Lilly had a bit of time liking you because her own mate wanted to reject her and go after you, but of course, my order wouldn’t let him mate you,” he laughed darkly. “He did try anyway but failed. Poor thing,” he fake cried. I was on my knees now, clutching my chest. “Tobias, Tobias, Tobias, the young man failed me. My best tracker and abductor fell for the tiny human.” He waved his hand and brought forth the boy I had known since I was fourteen.

Tobias entered the room in chains. His dirty blonde hair was almost black, and his bright sea-foam eyes had faded. The light was almost gone, and his lean muscular body was wasted away down to skin and bones. “T-Tobias?” I stammered.

“Hey, little lamb,” he croaked. “I’m sorry for what happened. I couldn’t take you, but I couldn’t tell you either.” A few tears ran down both of our faces while the rogue alpha started yelling again.

Tobias was carried away without me being able to tell him goodbye. My younger years were a lie, to begin with, not having my family. Now there was another layer of deceit all over it. I was just one person and one person alone. Why do people want me so badly? I never asked for much growing up, just food and shelter. I didn’t need a lot of friends, it turns out I had none. The only thing I really wanted was Seth. He was my constant, and I prayed to the Moon Goddess he would come replace me soon.

“Now that you are knocked off your mighty pedestal, I will tell you your purpose here,” Marcellus got on one knee and pulled my hair to make me look him in the eye. “First, you will help heal the women and children so they will be better able to serve us.” He licked his lips seductively while I cringed. “Then, you will heal me and, in return, will help heal my warriors so I can take that pathetic little kingdom of yours.”