Face Of That Name

AFTER 9 YEARS 

The sound of the swords clashing against each other, penetrated the invisible walls of air. Her hold tightened around her sword's grip as she raised it in the air to dodge her opponents hits and peered at them with her steel grey eyes keenly. Clutching her jaw, she used her full body strength and shoved away those 3 men who were fighting with her and tackled all three of them together on the ground. A bell rang, indicating the fight had ended. The crowd cheered and applauded for her victory.

Lifting her sword high in the air, she removed that cloth from her face which was masking her whole face, except her eyes. Tilting her head, she looked at her grandma who was standing in the crowd and was smiling at her proudly. Her silver eyes warmed up just at her mere presence.

Dropping her sword down, she bowed her head in front of the king Alanso who was sitting on his throne. After that, she walked out of that battle field and straight went to her grandma.

"I am so proud of my Aereza," Wren praised her granddaughter after breaking their hug. Aereza passed her a wide smile. 

"You like it?" She asked her. Wren nodded and then pecked her forehead.

"Your granddaughter is an amazing, brave and skilled fighter, Wren," both the women turned their heads and saw their pack's alpha, King Alanso, standing before them. Both the women showed them respect by downcasting their heads.

"Thank you, Alpha," Wren thanked him, earning a smile from him.

"I should be the one to thank you, Wren, that you have let our pack have such a brave fighter. Aereza is our pack's pride," he praised her more. From the age of 11, Aereza had indulged herself completely into the battle ground. When the kids of her age used to play with toys, she used to play with swords and that had made her what she was today. A powerful, courageous and sharp fighter. King Alanso had become so fond of her bravery and fighting skills that he had given her the responsibility of his daughter, Alexandria's protection when Aereza was just 19 years old. Now she was almost about to turn 21 and was serving the royal family with her full loyalty as they had given her and her grandma the respect and grace they had always deserved.

"Aereza, come with me," Princess Alexandria clutched Aereza's arm and dragged her from there. Aereza followed her because she knew it was her work.

Wren watched her granddaughter walking away which made her sigh softly because she knew why that 11 years old little girl had decided to make sword her best friend because after what happened to Ivory that day and what that little Aereza had witnessed that day, from that day, she was living her life with the only purpose of killing all those men and their Alpha, Darren Venzor, who had snatched her Ivy so painfully away from her. Countless nights, Wren had witnessed Aereza screaming and crying in her sleep because after what she had seen happening to Ivory, it had started haunting her like a soul piercing nightmare which didn't let her breath a single breath of relief till now.

"But, Princess, your father will never agree to this," Aereza reminded princess Alexandria which made her sigh. 

Alexandria got up from the bed and walked towards Aereza.

"That's why I am going to take you with me. If you came with me, I am sure, father will let me go and watch that lavender valley at night, so please come with me, Aereza. Please…. please…. please…."

Aereza heaved a sigh before nodding in agreement. Princess Alexandria wanted to go and watch that lavender valley which rumoured to be beautifully gleam up during the night time but the only problem here was, that valley was situated outside their pack's territory, so that was why she wanted Aereza to convince her father to let them go under her responsibility.

………..

"No, you cannot go, Alexandria," King Alanso uttered in his strict Alpha tone.

"But, father. I am taking Aereza with me, she…"

"No, Alexandria," Aereza heard the King raising his voice at his daughter. She was standing at a distance with her lower head. They had come to take the King's permission to go to that valley but he immediately declined them.

"You are not going anywhere nearer to that valley because it comes under the territory of Blood Night Pack," 

Aereza snapped her head upward just at the mention of that pack. 

"So, you are not going and we are not going to discuss it any further," King Alanso walked out of his chamber. 

"Mother, please try to make father understand. I just want to see that valley for once and that's it," Alexandria requested her mother, Eugine, who sighed in return. 

"No, Alexandria. It's for your safety reasons. Your father is right, so you need to understand him," her mother supported her father's decision which made Alexandria stomph her feet in annoyance and anger and then she stormed away from there.

Eugine exhaled a sharp breath before darting her eyes at Aereza.

"Aereza, make sure she doesn't escape from the palace to go there. You know how dangerous it could be for her and all of us," 

Aereza immediately bobbed her head in response.

"I will take care of it, Queen Eugine. Princess's safety is my priority," she said, which made Eugine nod and then Aereza left from that chamber.

In the night, Aereza was about to head back home from the palace like any other normal day but she decided to check on princess Alexandria because Alexandria was a very stubborn person. She didn't believe in accepting no for anything easily and willingly from her childhood.

Aereza knocked on Alexandria's chamber's door but she got no response from inside, so she decided to step inside as she had been given that right for Alexandria's protection reasons.

But as soon as she stepped inside, she met with a profound silence and Aereza immediately understood that Alexandria was not present here. Searching for her in almost every place in the palace where she could possibly be, Aereza couldn't find her anywhere and she concluded that…. Alexandria had escaped from the palace and she knew exactly where.

…………..

After running for hours in that lavender valley, Alexandria's wolf, Jasmine, turned thirsty. The she-wolf dipped her head down and started licking water from that lake in order to quench her thirst.

The she-wolf was busy in satiating her thirst when she suddenly felt some presence behind her. Turning its head, the she-wolf saw dozens of huge wolves standing behind. They all were looking at her with a displeased warning look. The she-wolf immediately stepped back in fear. She was about to run away but one among the wolves attacked her and tackled her on the ground. The wolves hauled whereas the she-wolf felt something sharp getting pierced inside her skin which made her lose her senses and everything went dark around her.

When Alexandria opened her eyes, she found herself laying on a cold floor. She was still in her wolf form. Her head was hurting. She wandered her eyes everywhere and found herself caged behind a bar. Where was she? And who had taken her here with what purpose?

Meanwhile Aereza entered that cell where she had seen those men taking Alexandria. Aereza reached that valley as soon as she got to know that Alexandria was not in the palace but when she reached that valley, she found some men taking Alexandria's unconscious wolf away from there. They were in dozens, so she dropped the idea of stopping them there because she knew she would not be able to do it all alone at that place. So using her head, Aereza drank that invisibility potion which she had brought with her and made herself invisible and followed those men and reached this cell.

Keeping her physical form invisible from the eyes of those cell's guards, Aereza reached that cell where Alexandria was captured but her body started returning to its physical form and she understood her invisibility potion has stopped working now. 

"What are you doing here?" She saw a guard dashing towards her as soon as she became visible. Shoving her hand in her pocket, Aereza took out a needle from it and alerted herself. As soon as that guard reached her, she pierced that needle in his neck before he could do anything. That man immediately fell on the ground and turned unconscious. 

Aereza saw some keys attached to his trousers which she grabbed and hurriedly opened that cell's door. She stepped inside the cell and stormed towards Jasmine.

Finding Aereza there, Alexandria shifted back to her human form and hugged Aereza tightly. She teared up.

"Father was right. I should have never come here," she whimpered. Aereza sighed and pulled back because she knew that was not the time to get emotional. She handed a pair of clothes to Alexandria which were present inside her satchel as Alexandria was naked because she had just shifted back from her wolf form.

"Wear them," 

Alexandria hurriedly wore those clothes. After that, Aereza took out that invisibility potion from her satchel but sadly, there was only one bottle left which only one among them could use. Sighing, she handed it to Alexandria.

"Drink this and go back to the palace as fast as possible," she uttered.

"But you, Aereza?" Alexandria knew the consequences of leaving Aereza alone here.

"Don't worry about me. Just leave from here, Princess. Your safety is much more necessary than mine,"

"But…."

"Drink this please," Aereza requested, desperate. Alexandria ended up following her words and after turning herself invisible, she dashed out from that cell.

Aereza knew she would never be able to escape from there so easily as she had seen dozens of guards guarding that cell from outside but she had to do something immediately before anyone caught her here.

She looked here and there and came up with the plan of escaping from there. So, firstly, she changed her clothes with that guard's clothes who was still unconscious because she knew if anyone found her in her own clothes, they would both be alerted that she had come from outside. 

"So you finally shifted to your human form," 

Aereza tilted her head and saw a couple of guards standing before her. An iniquitous grin was playing over their faces. They were thinking that she was princess Alexandria. Her grey orbs filled with wrath because she knew who they were and for whom they were working. 

"How did you make him unconscious?" They asked her while pointing towards their naked senseless guard on the floor.

"By spitting on his ugly face. Do you want the taste?" she barked back. Those men chuckled at her answer.

"So Alexandria Wilderwood, the princess of Emerald Stone Pack has a brave and sharp mouth too," 

Her glare hardened at his words. 

"I am sure, Alpha Darren is going to have a very long and interesting conversation with you," 

Aereza dug her nails in her palms as soon as she heard that name. Darren Venzor, that name which she despised with every might in her being. So she was finally going to have a face to that name, that face, which she wanted to carve with her sword in the most unmerciful way. 

"Alpha Darren is here," one among the guards informed, turning the other two alerts, including Aereza. She could hear the sound of heavy footsteps heading closer. A bone chilling aura started prevailing in that already darkened cell.

Her keen eyes remained glued at the cell's door and finally they caught that tall and burly figure entering into that cell. All those men bowed their heads in front of that figure which finally came into the light and her greyish silver eyes met with those malicious emerald orbs……he was finally in front of her. That person whom she was aching to kill from the day she had understood what cruelty those vicious men had done to her sister, Ivy and it was just on their brutally fatal King's order, ALPHA DARREN VENZOR….that person was standing right in front of her for the very first time in her life.

Aereza saw the corner of his lips twitching upward as those emerald orbs wandered all over her body before stopping at her eyes.

"Leave us alone. I need to have some private conversation with the Princess," his growling voice commanded which the guards followed and immediately left, leaving them alone in that cell.

"So we finally met," his eyes remained fastened with hers as he uttered to her and that was just the beginning of their journey which was going to be filled with  blood, hatred, rage, tears, lust and a cursed love. 

From here, the story of Alpha Darren and his Cursed Mate was going to begin.