Smoke and Mirrors
Chapter Fifteen: Warrior's Return

Sapphire Ragna Nightborne

I wandered through the hallways, it was eerie just how empty they were, no guards patrolling, nothing. The walls were decorated with wolfskins and judging by the sheer size of the wolfskin, they weren’t your usual run-of-the-mill wolves.

I walked through the hallways trying to replace an exit or a window I could escape from, there were many windows yes, but they were barred with silver… what a wonderful environment to grow up in, no wonder Damien became such a nutcase. I was walking through the largest hallway yet when something caught my eye and made me stop, it was a huge painting of Damien’s family.

Damien was an exact carbon copy of his father, but the most unnerving thing to me was the eyes of Damien’s parents, his father’s were as cold as ice while his mother’s were as dead as the leaves in winter and to me, it was like seeing into the future, my future if I were to accept Damien as my mate.

I remembered Roland Black very well, even as a child, his icy gaze left a deep impression on me.

“Lia, hurry up!”

I had just seen the large entourage cross our pack borders when I was in the forest training. There were at least twenty wolves running around the Black Lake which was a tell-tale sign that someone important was coming. I could not wait to see who it was.

I turned my head to shout at Lia to speed up before I ran into a tree and fell on my arse. I turned to see who had place a tree on the path when my eyes met a pair of legs, they continued to wander up to see a mountain of a man staring down at me.

“Are you lost, little one?”

His tone made me want to curl up in a ball and hide. His face would have been considered handsome if it weren’t for the large scar that cut across his entire face. His men formed a circle around me with Lia looking on terrified.

“I asked you a …”

“Alpha Roland, I thought we gave you the proper directions to the stronghold.”

My shoulders sagged with relief as my father came into view with his generals. Alpha Roland’s men parted, and I ran to hid behind my father who placed an arm around me protectively.

“Your territory is so large, Xavier. You cannot possibly blame someone for losing their way.”

“My men will guide you to the stronghold where Alpha Edan is waiting for you.”

By this time Lia had run to our father as well and hid with me behind him. I watched as Alpha Roland and his men turned heel with my father’s generals.

“Your daughters are beautiful, Xavier. You should not just let them run in the forest by themselves, you never know what might happen to them.”

My father gave me one of the harshest tellings-off I had ever received from him. I was sent, along with Lia, to Ryder’s room and we waited there like good girls before a loud commotion drew as out to the balcony where we saw Alpha Roland shouting at Alpha Edan and my father before shifting along with his men and running into our forest. My father barred me from going into the forest for three weeks as he sent his generals to scour the forest to make sure that Alpha Roland and his men had truly left.

Apparently, he had tried to get my pack to give up part of their land ten years ago, when Ryder’s father was Alpha, and my father was Head Commander and Warrior, they refused to negotiate with him as they knew of the terrible things he had done to other packs, especially to his mate.

Valentina Black was her name, she was the only daughter of an Alpha but after Roland claimed her he slaughtered her family to take over her pack as his own, he forced her to renounce her family name so that in the eyes of others, she was no longer a proper heir.

I shuddered as I saw their motto on a small gold plaque below the painting. Imperium Omnium Triumphorum; Power Triumphs All.

Walking on, my body stilled as I heard voices coming from the room right in front of me, seeing by the sheer size of the door it had to be the main hall were pack gatherings take place. I knew I should take this chance to escape but I wanted to see the faces of the people who had slaughtered my family, my pack. The last people my family saw before they were plunged into an eternal slumber.

With a deep breath I pushed the doors open and silence blanketed the room. People lined the walls, their eyes following my every movement as I walked right to the front where Damien Black sat on a throne. I smirked as I saw the new scars that decorated various pack members happy that my pack managed leave their mark.

A scoff escaped my lips as I stopped in front of Damien who was lounging on the throne as if he were a king, he had a girl draped over him as if she were a snake, her eyes glared at me as she pressed a kiss to his neck and suddenly I had the urge to relieve my stomach of its contents.

“Look who finally crawled out of her cage.”

It was not Damien who spoke to me but rather his little serpent, her remark was met with laughter from the rest of the pack.

“If I remember correctly, it was I who locked myself in.”

“Don’t lie, Princess, Damien was just telling us how he had to lock you in because you could not keep your hands to yourself.”

I could not help but smile, the great Damien Black had to lie to protect his fragile male ego. Poor baby could not take being rejected.

“But just remember, Princess, Damien is mine, always has been and always will be.”

Damien made a sound of agreement before placing a kiss on her neck causing a small moan to fall from her lips, now I really needed to replace a bucket. I supposed I should have been a ‘good’ mate and burn with jealousy that my ‘dutiful’ mate was willingly touching another, but I felt nothing, absolutely nothing, no pain, no heartache, nothing.

“By all means have him.”

A smile graced my lips as I watched the disbelief on pack members’ faces, the slits the girl’s eyes had become as they glared and the anger on Damien’s face. I knew they wanted me to get angry, they wanted to see a horrified love-sick puppy, well guess what, this puppy does not care.

“My dear, denial is not going to get you far.”

Again my ears were assaulted by her high pitched voice. She unlatched herself from Damien and walked up right in front of me, her hips swaying from side to side. Now that she stood in front of me, I wanted to laugh, she was a head shorter than me but glared as if she towered over me.

She was absolutely breathtaking, her pale, soft heartshaped face was contrasted by her striking hazel eyes and black hair that fell passed her shoulders in ringlets. There was something off about her eyes as they glared at me, it was as if she locked something inside of her, they were filled with fear but dripped with venom.

“Everyone! Look at the great warrior! Blackwater’s Protector! The great she-wolf who could not even save her own family.”

She did not shout the last phrase, instead she turned to me with a sneer on her face and whispered it into my ear. She wanted me to get angry and right now, she was succeeding.

“What do you have left, Nightshade? Oh wait let me count.”

She proceeded to use a finger to list down.

“No family, no pack and no mate, that is just sad right?”

She continued to name my family members as blood filled my mouth as my canines lengthened, you could insult me all you want but leave my pack and family out of it, hearing their names leave her mouth made me want to rip it open.

“I replace that actions speak louder than words. I, Sapphire Nightshade, challenge you, Damien’s pet, to a Bloodbath.”

Silence blanketed the room again as the last word left my lips, a Bloodbath was a crude way used by our ancestors to handle disputes, two wolves would enter but only one would leave and this time, I would make sure that I would be the one to leave.