I am Sam
Chapter Thirty-Four

SASHA

“Let me get this straight,” I’m irritable as I sit up in bed, running a hand through my long messy hair while Atlas pulls the zipper up of his black jeans before digging in his backpack for a clean grey t-shirt. “She’s the so-called Queen of this godforsaken hell hole, and yet, to her knowledge, she hasn’t a clue where Lisbon is?” Atlas comes and flops himself down onto his back across the bed, turning his head and giving me a little shrug,

“Yup, that’s pretty much how it looks,” My jaw goes slack as I stare at him, my brows knitting together as I smirk,

“She’s lying; you know she’s lying, right?” And Atlas turns onto his side to face me with a sigh as he starts playing with my fingers laying down in my lap,

“Sash, you still have a lot to learn about people when it comes to lying and telling the truth; of course, she’s lying; I mean, were you expecting her to tell us the truth, to just hand Lisbon over to us and say, here you go.” Scoffing, Atlas rolls his eyes at me, “She wants something, and I think I know what she’s after,”

“What?” I say, giving him a questioning look,

“The power stones,” Furrowing my brows, I narrow my eyes suspiciously,

“The what?” Sighing, Atlas scrubs a hand over his face,

“You know the firestone Queen Fae wants you to get?”

“Yes,” I drawl out questioningly,

“Well, each Kingdom has its power stone, the Seelie King gave each Kingdom they’re own power stone, and then he mysteriously died not long afterwards; they said he went mad and tried to kill Queen Fae; anyway, so each Kingdom has they’re own power stone, which is where they’re power comes from.”

“So this Seelie King held that much power that he gave everyone a power stone?” Scoffing, Atlas shakes his head at me like he expects me to know this,

“Sash, the Seelie are the ones who hold the highest power; Ronan is fuck scared of the Seelie; he’s not an idiot, he might be a big ass dragon, but that’s all he’s got going for him, if Queen Fae wanted to, she could wipe Ronan out in one move, and he knows it, that’s why he used Liam as leverage over her head, as long as he had Liam, Queen Fae would have done anything he said, but now...”

“He has nothing,” I smirk in surprise,oh the irony.

“I wouldn’t say he has nothing; he has two of the power stones, the dragon stone and the witches stone,” Narrowing my eyes, I clench my jaw,

“Let me guess, Ronan got the witch’s stone from Yana?” Nodding, Atlas shrugs,

“And trust me, the moment he can get his hands on the other stones, he’ll take them with everything he has, and so will Malvessa, I don't doubt that for a second,”

“How many stones does Malvessa have?” I ask suspiciously,

“Two,” Atlas answers as a matter of fact, “She has her own, the dark stone and then she has the firestone, which we now know Eris gave to her,” Clenching his jaw, he swallows down hard, and I can see that this new revelation we discovered recently has unsettled him greatly.

“What do you plan on doing to her when you see her?” Gulping, he shakes his head,

“I don’t know, but if Ronan replaces out, he’ll kill her, that much I’m sure of,” And something Eris said a while ago back in the kitchen of Aeonian before we nearly clawed each other’s eyes out comes back to me,

“What if Ronan already knows?” Frowning, Atlas gives me a questioning look,

“What do you mean if he already knows?”

“Just that...” I say, looking down and fidgeting with my fingers in my lap, “When I confronted her over the whole thing with Caleb and Asher; and the Ultima wolves, I mean, I didn’t know about a firestone, but the way she made it sound was like Ronan already knew, what if he already knows about everything Eris has done, what if he’s somehow behind it all?” Scoffing, Atlas rolls his eyes,

“Well, that would make this all pretty fucked up now wouldn’t it, but I think you’re giving that old man way too much credit; besides, what would be the point of handing over the firestone to Malvessa? It doesn’t make any sense; Ronan would have wanted the fire stone for himself,” Shrugging I look up at him as I tuck a loose strand of hair behind my ear,

“Maybe he wanted to give it to Malvessa as a gift; I mean, what’s the relationship between her and Ronan like anyway?”

“Please, let’s not talk about Malvessa and relationships; I’m still feeling sick after what we had to witness last night. They hate each other; it’s that simple.” I’m suddenly grimacing because not even I want to relive what went down last night at that dining table. It was sickening to watch Malvessa’s son... Bile instantly rises to my throat; nope, I can’t go there.

Atlas and I merely stare at one another in silence for a bit longer. I’m deep in thought because, as a wolf, I know all too well how thin a line there is between love and hate, how easily those two can cross sides if one side is nurtured more than the other; but with Malvessa, I don’t think she even knows the first thing about lines, she seems to cross them however she sees fit.

Gross.

~

Malvessa has called for us to join her in the great hall; that’s just another way of saying, big ass room with her throne positioned in it, same as Ronan; those two are so alike in many ways it’s scary.

The moment we enter the big ass throne room, Malvessa is already seated on her dark throne, and to her right, none other than Perseus, her... son.

Bile rising again in my throat.

Even if we hadn’t watched as he had his tongue down his mother’s throat, he would have still repulsed me because this guy is all about entitlement and the glory of thinking he was born with a silver spoon up his...

“Sasha,”

“Huh?” Turning my head towards Asher, he’s beckoning us to come and stand beside him; Caleb is on the other side of Asher, and he’s got this far and distant look on his face; what’s up with him? He’s been acting strange since last night.

Making my way over to stand beside him, I go to touch his arm, a small jump having a sharp breath pass through his lips as he snaps his head in my direction, furrowing his brows in surprise like he hadn’t even noticed that I was there. Giving him a concerned look, I search his eyes,

“Hey, what’s up with you? You’re not normally the jumpy one,” The corners of my lips turn up into a small smile, Frowning he clenches his jaw when he looks down, crossing his arms over his chest in a way that seems off for Caleb,

“I’m fine.” He grumbles, and now I know something’s up with him,

“You know you can talk to me, right,” I almost whisper,

“I said I’m fine, now drop it,” He snaps, which instantly has me wincing in response. Sighing, he pinches the bridge of his nose,

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to snap. Let’s focus on getting you back to Wolf and breaking his curse, okay?” Nodding, I swallow down as I lower my eyes. Something weird is going on with Caleb; he’s acting incredibly distant towards me, not even looking at me. Have I done something to upset him, or is it just the fact that we’re in this godforsaken castle with the Queen of hell herself running the show?

As the Prince of Aeonian, Atlas steps forward until he’s right in front of Malvessa, and she’s suddenly looking down at him with a raised brow of irritation,

“Queen Malvessa,” And I can pick up how disinterested Atlas is in calling her that, “Is there any word on Lisbon as yet?” And she merely keeps quiet for a while as she taps her finger against the solid wood arm of her throne,

“No,” She finally answers bluntly, and I watch as Atlas’s brows furrow in response,

“Just no?” And it doesn’t go unnoticed how Perseus raises a brow at Atlas as he gives him a lopsided grin; his long Viking braided hair hanging down his back, piercings on his ears and face, and yellow eyes that make him seem even more sinister than he already is.

“We’ve already done exactly what you’ve asked, and Lisbon is nowhere to be found in our Kingdom,” Perseus says, somewhat bored.

“Is that so,” Atlas says, clearly not believing a word he's saying,

“Well, we can’t seem to replace Lisbon; I think you have wasted your time coming into my Kingdom in hopes of breaking any curse after all.” And the little smirk on Malvessa’s face is a straightforward giveaway that she’s lying through her teeth. Smirking Alas sighs as he shakes his head,

“Or maybe you just haven’t looked hard enough,” Malvessa scoffs as she looks at Perseus, who grins wickedly before speaking,

“Perhaps if my Queen had a better incentive, some motivation would go a long way in replaceing a certain dark witch,” Narrowing his eyes on Perseus; Atlas grinds his teeth,

“Incentive like what?” He grumbles as he looks at Malvessa, and at that very moment, she confirms exactly what Atlas suspected this morning.

“I want what any Queen wants; you’re power stones.” She grins wickedly, and there’s a long awkward silence that stretches on when we notice the same dark veiled girl entering the room from last night, Vanya. She’s dressed in black just like the night before, a veil covering half of her face, and I immediately pick up on Caleb’s body tensing; he’s standing beside me like a statue staring at the floor. What is up with him?

Vanya quietly walks over to sit on the other side of Malvessa, a vacant chair reserved for her. She’s so damn quiet, never even making a peep; poor girl, maybe she really can’t speak?

Sighing, Malvessa rolls her eyes at her daughter,

“Do you think you could try and be on time, Vanya?” Narrowing her eyes at her daughter, Vanya sits like a completely unmoved statue, which brings me back to Caleb, who’s pretty much still frozen like a statue beside me.

“Vanya, did you not hear our mother?” Perseus asks in a sly voice as he turns his head to look at Vanya, and the way he’s looking at her instantly has chills running down my spine in response; something’s not right here.

I’m still looking up at Caleb with concern when Perseus gets up, leisurely moving behind Malvessa’s throne towards Vanya like he’s stalking her from behind. Creepy.

Resting his hands against Vanya’s shoulders she completely freezes even more; a sharp intake of air has her suddenly jumping up in an attempt to get away from him when he thunders,

“Vanya, stop!” And she instantly freezes, I can hear tiny breaths of panic escaping her as she stands there, and now all eyes are on them. Steadily making his way up behind her, Perseus smirks,

“Vanya, my sweetest little sister, so innocent and pure. Tell me, have you chosen a dress for your birthday yet?” The devious smirk on Perseus’s face immediately has Vanya tensing in response. Furrowing my brows, I’m looking from her to Caleb, and the stoic look of raw hatred in Caleb’s eyes as he stares at Perseus takes me off-guard; what’s going on? What am I missing?

CALEB

That fucking shit face keeps taunting what’s mine like he somehow believes he has the right to do so; I internally smirk to myself; Perseus doesn’t value his pathetic life.

The moment he grips her around her throat and pulls her back against his chest, a small gasp leaves her lips, and I’m silently counting; one, two, three, four... a million scenarios going through my mind all at once; five, six, seven, eight. All the ways I’m going to torture the fuck out of this piece of shit before I finally kill him.

My hands fist by my sides, my eyes trained to the floor in a pain-staking attempt to force the darkness back down, my chest is rising and falling as I slowly grind my teeth, a sickening feeling bubbling to the surface from the pit of my stomach, the silent whisper of truth becoming all but clear to me the longer I stand here, and the moment Malvessa speaks, she only confirms what I’ve already pieced together.

“Ah young love,” She sniggers, “Vanya is to become Perseus’s mate and bride the moment she turns eighteen in a few weeks, and she doesn’t yet know her place in this Kingdom, it seems. Which is to respect and submit to her future King and husband.” And there it is, a truth so sick and twisted that my darkness is repulsed by it to its very core.

I can taste the copper taste of blood; I’m biting down so hard against the inside of my mouth, the dull pain, the only thing keeping me from unleashing all hell on earth; because I know if I make a move now, it’s game over, I’ll fucking kill all of them, and then how the hell will Sasha get home; and besides that, if Malvessa has gone through all this trouble of cursing me with a fake mate, can I disappoint her by making it known that I know the truth? Smirking internally, my dragon swirls around inside my eyes; nine, ten, eleven, twelve; I’m going to save Malvessa for last; the moment she leaves this world, the last thing she’ll see is her daughter’s face as I tear her black soul out through the cords of her spine. So instead of reacting; I do the only thing I can do right now, I turn without looking at anyone and march the fuck out of there, vaguely hearing Malvessa call after me,

“Caleb, and where do you think you’re going?”

“To feed my Wendigo,” I grumble, “And I don’t give a fuck if you have a problem with it or not.” I’m sure some fucked up souls are in this wilderness just begging for redemption.

~

I’m right back down at the same lake and just standing there like a statue staring down at the milk pond before me. I’m trying not to think, but every time I see her face in my mind, the darkness burns through my veins, aching to be released.

So the moment I pick up her scent right behind me, I lose it, swinging around I take her completely by surprise as I grip her around her throat, my other hand against her waist as I shove her back against the same fucking tree from before; a surprised gasp escaping her lips as she looks up at me, she’s not wearing her veil, and in the light of day, her eyes are even more intoxicating and blue than they were before, a sparkling blue ocean of emotions swirling around in them as she wets her lips. I can’t resist it the moment my narrow eyes travel down to them, and I claim her mouth like it’s my fucking religion.

Her lips mould to mine like they were made for each other, and that’s because they were. Sparks of pure ecstasy elicited in my veins like an inferno, burning through me to the point that I want to claim every part of her body, mind and soul.

Mine.

I’m hungry for her, starved like a man who’s only ever been given scraps off the table, to now be spoiled with the gourmet fucking meal. Vanya is that meal to me; I’ve fucked my way through a few girls, witches, and humans. Fuck, I’ve had Seelie fae girls just so I could ruin them for any other pure fucker who would potentially want to drop down on their hands and knees and worship them because, let’s face it, that’s all great, and everything, but the kind of darkness I bring to the table is unlike anything they’ve ever experienced before, and trust me, there's nothing quite like dark lust.

But that was then, compared to kissing Vanya; it’s like every other woman I’ve ever been with was me scraping the bottom of the barrel.

I was blind, and now I see.

My tongue slides effortlessly against her top lip, a small moan escaping her, which I gladly swallow as her hands fly up to run through my messy strands of hair. I’m tightening my grip on the bulge in my pants pressed against her stomach. And she’s suddenly grinding herself forward and up against my hard-on; a deep groan reverberates through me; I want her so badly, but I’m still too fucking wired right now. So instead, I slowly break the kiss as I push away from her, my jaw clenching, my body tense; I’m looking down at her like I’m about to punish her for the sins of her fucked up family, but instead, I take a slow and deep breath,

“So this is the other path, to be mated to your fucking brother?” I grumble, and she swallows down as she breaks eye contact and looks down, but through her panting she doesn’t say a word.

Shaking my head, the darkness is pushing back up in the pit of my stomach, like acid burning its way up my throat as I stare hard at her,

“How fucked up are Malvessa and Perseus; Vanya, do they make you sit and watch them while they fuck too?” And her eyes immediately fly up to mine, gulping, tears shimmering behind her eyes as she remains silent, and I feel like someone just punched me in the gut as my chest constricts, “They make you watch?” And I feel like I’m about to be sick, don’t ask me why; I can handle all kinds of messed up shit, but this, I don’t even know what you call this.

Shaking my head a step back, my fists clenching and unclenching as I begin to count; one, two, three, four... I will make them suffer; both of them will know pain as they’ve never felt before. My eyes are back on hers as I take a step toward her,

“Have they touched you, have they...” And I can’t bring myself to say it. Quickly shaking her head, she swallows down hard,

“No. Perseus wants me to be pure the moment I turn eighteen,” Smirking I’m shaking my head in disgust,

“Well, how fucking honourable of him to want to keep you innocent until you’re legally old enough to be fucked by him.” I’m suddenly pacing back and forth, something I never do. Still, my mind is running on adrenaline, the thoughts crashing inside of me enough to have the devil himself shaking his head and grimacing disapprovingly.

“Fuck!” I shout out, and this isn’t me; I don’t lose my shit. Quiet rage and chaos are way more productive than sporadic fueled anger. I’m suddenly right up in her face, cupping her cheeks and lifting her face so her eyes can meet mine; the first tears begin to fall, having me wipe them away with the pads of my thumbs, and my chest constricts as I swallow down a lump in my throat,

“Don’t cry, please don’t cry,” I plead with her; it’s only making things worse inside of me, my chaos wanting to consume me. Shaking her head, she whimpers as she pushes the palms of her hands against my chest,

“You should go,” She breathes, “You should definitely go,” She sniffs. Smirking, I merely push my body up against hers, leaving no room between us,

“Go here?” I mumble, pulling the neck of her dress back as my mouth lowers to her bare shoulder, “Or here?” I breathe as my lips slowly trace up her neck. A gasp escapes her lips, panting heavily the moment my lips brush up against hers, “You are mine, Vanya, and I don’t fucking share,” I grumble the moment my lips claim hers with so much raw hunger, I feel like we’re both about to turn burst into flames.

We’re just a clash of lips and teeth when my hands lower to start pulling up at her dress, and she suddenly grips my wrists to stop me. Breaking the kiss, she furrows her brows,

“You promised. Tomorrow night, here, you promised you’d help me.” And I’m frowning, swallowing down hard the moment the penny drops, the promise I made in the early hours of this morning to mark her and then help kill her. Gulping, I smirk as my brows furrow in response,

“But you’re mine. My fated mate, I can’t lose you.” My voice becomes smaller with the last four words; shaking her head at me, I suddenly see anger and desperation in her eyes,

“You promised,” She whimpers, “You said you would help me, if I help you, if I give you what you want, you would help me and set me free from this nightmare.” I’m right in her face as I stare down hard at her,

“Fuck the nightmare, Vanya; I’m far scarier than the nightmare you’ve been living in; your situation is just seriously fucked up, but I can take you away; you can come with me; I will keep you safe.” Shaking her head at me, her bottom lip is trembling,

“You’re a liar. You promised, and you lied.” She suddenly sobs. I’m reaching out a hand to cup her cheek when she slaps it away,

“I hate you.” She whispers. But it's crystal clear that isn't what she means.

“No, you don’t,” I mumble as I stare at her,

“Yes, I do.” And I’m reaching my hand out to her again, but she suddenly shoves hard against my chest, making me step back,

“Don’t touch me,” Shaking her head, she’s wiping away at more tears, “I won’t let him touch me in that way,” She’s still shaking her head as she shuts her eyes, “I won’t, I can’t, I- can’t let him,” The moment she begins sobbing uncontrollably I immediately pull her to my chest, wrapping my arms around her protectively. But she’s pushing against me, trying to break free,

“No, no, let me go, let me go...” She whimpers, heartbreaking sobs escaping her lips, but I won’t let her go, not now, not ever. She’s mine, and I'll fucking burn the world to its core if anyone dares to touch my girl.