11 – SCENTSTEPHANI could not understand what was going on.The Elite Guards answered only to my father, that was a fact but that didn’t mean they went around disrespecting me either, that Damon guy must just be a bad seed in the midst of them trying to give them a bad name.How did someone like that even get tangled up with Rebekka in the first place? I was right to be worried, Damon was nothing but bad news and I needed to get her away from the influence of a piece of shit like him.Claude was still in my room when I returned. When the door slammed, he looked up from the bottle.“You back?” his voice slurred.I frowned and stared at him, “For crying out loud, it is the early hours of the morning and you are already at the bottom of the bottle!”“As if you are one to talk…” he replied airily, “What happened, did you meet him?”I returned to my seat, I was still racking my brain on what to do next, “I don’t want to talk about it.”Claude sighed, “You never want to talk about anything
12 – THE GAZE OF THE ONE WHO IS TO BE KINGREBEKKAThe sound of his deep voice sent shudders down my body, literal goosebumps began to appear all over my skin.Suddenly, the cleaning room seemed small, it felt as if the walls were closing in, suffocating me.I had to be dreaming, there was no way this could actually be reality.How the hell was Lord Stephan here? It made no sense, my brain betrayed me because it blanked out, I was unable to think.One minute I was taking my lunch break and enjoying some good music too. This was one of the only times where I got to enjoy myself so I cherished it and I always stayed in the cleaning room because I knew that Kaitlin would never think to look for me there.How was Lord Stephan here?He was looking intently at me, his crimson eyes hot against my skin, scraping the surface of my flesh and raking all over me.I felt so uncomfortable, so uneasy, so inferior but I could not run away from his gaze, he was firmly planted against the door.“Are yo
13 - UNMASKEDREBEKKAI came out of the cleaning room smiling sheepishly.There was lightness in my chest that I could not comprehend, it was almost as if I was floating and not walking upon the ground anymore.What had I been afraid of?I didn’t even remember why I was gripped by serious apprehension when I saw Lord Stephan earlier but right now, I couldn’t wait to see him again.I was going to see him again, right? Definitely, although he didn’t say anything of the sorts, I knew that I would, I could feel it.He called me his savior!I was still smiling when I bumped into Kaitlin.“Where have you been, I have been looking up and down for you?”“Sorry Miss, I was having my lunch,” my voice was light and airy.Kaitlin frowned and studied my face, “Rebekka?”“Hm?” I answered absentmindedly.“Did something happen?”I shook my head sideways, “No miss, not at all.”She still studied my face then shrugged, “You are just weird, anyway, we are running low on silver needles, go to the warehou
14 – FIREPLACE ROMANCEDAMONRebekka looked like a deer caught in the headlights as she looked up at my eyes, she was too mesmerized to speak.“Are you hurt?” I prompted.She blinked as her consciousness came back, “Damon?”“Yeah,” I gave her a sad smile.She gasped, “Damon! What the hell happened, who the hell were those people? What were they trying to do to me?”I took her hand, it was soft, clammy and shaky.I pulled her to her feet but I didn’t let go of her yet.Her legs were shaking so badly that I knew that if I did, she would fall back down.“Damon!” she yelled again and she hugged me tightly.“It’s okay, you are okay now!” I assured her as I patted her back and stroked her hair.Tears spilled down her eyes and soaked up my shirt as she sobbed and shook.I held her tightly, “C’mon, let’s get you out of here.”Rebekka didn’t object, she stood there shaking as I bent to pick up her money.After that, I held her close and led her away from the alley.My mind was racing and my an
15 – STUCK IN MY HEADREBEKKAWhat the hell was I doing?What in the name of the goddess of the moon did I think I was doing?As I ran, his voice echoed in my head, “Who am I? I am yours.”Sweet Goddess, how did I fall for that?I knew he was trying to kiss me, he had done it before, it was fantastic.I knew I should say no, I was with Lord Stephan now, we had amended things, we were going to get together and I was going to have his crimson eyed babies.I should have said no to Damon but my mouth and my body betrayed me.They wanted what he was offering and they got it.The feel of his hardness pressed against my thigh drove me neurotic.It was not until he reached for my breasts that I was able to get away.It was not even intentional, the pleasurable sensation was just so intense that I didn’t even know how to react, I just squirmed, squirmed and squirmed my way away from him.It was not until I hit the floor that I came back to my senses.I shook my head, I should not be thinking a
16 – BLOOD OF THE GODDESSDAMONWhat did I do wrong? Everything was going very fine but then suddenly, she broke the connection and ran away.I got up casually and took another swig from the bottle of brandy and then I headed out of my house.I could see Rebekka up ahead, walking hastily only for her to trip and fall, she got back up on her feet and then she started running.Knowing that danger might still be lurking outside waiting for her, I decided to follow her and make sure that she arrived back at the clinic safely.It was the least I could do, after all, she was coming from my house, I could not let anything happen to her on my watch.As I followed at a safe distance where I was unnoticeable to her, I kept thinking , this was not me. Why was I going out of my way to make sure that Rebekka was safe?This was not me.When I saw her push open the clinic doors and head inside, I breathed a sigh of relief.It was then that I realized that I had been holding my breath. I half expec
17 – NAKEDSTEPHAN“C’mon, how long do you plan on leaving me hanging? You are the one that said let’s stay in for drinks and now you are neither drinking nor are you saying anything,” Claude was looking intently at me and frowning.I sighed as I met his gaze, “I have something to tell you.”He leaned forward in his seat, “Go on then, let’s have it.”I paused.I had run the thought over in my head way too many times till the point that I felt like I was crazy, now I needed external input.“There is a slim chance…”“Mm-hmm.”“That Rebekka might actually be my mate.”Claude erupted in a loud laughter, tilting his body back and kicking his legs up in the air.I smirked as I looked at him, “Did I say something amusing?”He sighed deeply and looked at me, the laughter was still in his eyes, “What have you been drinking? I would love a bottle of that too.”“See, this is why I didn’t want to tell you, you were never going to take it seriously.” I complained and leaned back in my chair.“Oh,
18 – FRUIT OF THE POISONED TREEREBEKKAThe next day, things were rowdy at the clinic, it looked like a fight had broken out in one of the local pubs because lots of drunk low-borns flooded the lobby of Dr Purcell’s clinic.“Rebekka!” Dr Purcell called.“Sir!” I answered running down the stairs and smoothening the fabric of my dress.It looked like it was going to be a busy day today and on days like this, I usually missed my chance to eat and I hated that.“Fetch me some warm water,” he said.I nodded and took a stainless basin and ran to the kitchen and got some water from the central heater put there specifically for that reason and then I ran back and placed it by his side.Dr Purcell was dealing with a nasty head injury sustained by one of the men, without intervention, that low born was never going to heal fast enough to survive.“See to the people crowding the lobby, look at their conditions and assign numbers to them based on priority.” Dr Purcell said without looking at me, h
95 – STEPPING IN FILTHDAMON POV“Where the hell do you think you are going?”I walked briskly after her and grabbed her arm and turned her around roughly.“Do you think you can just walk out on me?” My eyes were wide and darting around searching her face.Where was Rebekka getting this false confidence from? Did she think her life was just something that she could just throw away like that?Under my watch? That was not going to happen.“Let go of me, Damon.”Sneering, I let my fingers curl around her arm and held her more firmly, “You are not leaving here until I have talked some sense into that thick skull of yours.”“I don’t have time for this, people are dying, Damon.”“Let them die, the fuck do I care?”Rebekka gasped in shock as she looked at me in disbelief.“Yes, does that surprise you? Huh?”She looked up at me with hurt eyes, “How can you be this callous? Can’t you see how much suffering is going on around you?”“So far as it is not you, I could not give a shit!” I yelled at
94 – CLASH OF CONVICTIONDAMON POVAs I walked down the back entrance of the clinic, I felt a knot in my stomach. I didn’t like the feeling. I knew that I should have come back earlier, as soon as that pretentious dick, Vane, stopped me from using the Elite Guards, I should have rushed back here.The truth was that I was scared of what I would find, a Rebekka in a coma with red sores running down her spine.A part of me didn’t want to see that, to admit that I had failed her, that I had failed in general. Coming this morning was just routine I told myself.With how fast her own case was progressing, there was no way that she would still be alive now. She surely was dead. It was better I met her corpse than to meet her suffering and feeling helpless in her presence.I smirked as I walked into the clinic, the smell of disinfectants was so thick in the air that I could not distinguish her scent from anything else.Finding her in this mess would be a pain, “Hey…” I grabbed a hold of a wi
93 – A DEADLY CHOICEREBEKKA POVI was still caught up in the heat of the moment, I still could not believe that what I had done had worked.It was not until Luna’s Gwen’s voice had replayed in my head like ten times that the implication of what she was asking for dawned on me.Mass Produce it?The excitement vanished from my eyes and I blinked as reality hit me hard. I looked at Luna Gwen, she was not facing me again, she was smiling with Dr Purcell as they celebrated the medical breakthrough.When Luna Gwen finally turned to look at me, I had to force a smile.“Whatever you need Rebekka, just let me know.”I nodded sheepishly with my hands in my lap.As soon as Luna Gwen walked away, I ran straight to Kami’s brother. I had to see and feel for myself that the vaccine had worked.He was blinking and looking around in confusion, “Are you okay?” I asked him?“Kami,” he muttered and then his face contorted as he fought back the tears that were building up.I could not control my own emot
92 – GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWSREBEKKA POVWhat if, just what if my blood could be used as some sort of vaccine for the plague?That was the only common denominator between Lord Stephan recovering from a fatal WolfsBane poisoning and me surviving a plague that no one else seemed to have a cure for.I was dead certain that it would work but also scared, what if it didn’t? I would just be wasting precious time and sharing unnecessary hope.No, I would not tell it to anyone, I would keep it to myself and I would put it to the test and do it quickly. The sooner I ruled it out, the better.“Rebekka?”I spun around to see Miss Caitin staring at me with surprise.She was looking at the hospital gown I was putting on, “Are you sick?”“No,” I almost yelled. “Just ran out of fresh clothes.”She sneered, “Get dressed into something proper, there are more people that need those gowns… and what are you doing just standing there? The left wing is not going to take care of itself.”“Of course, right away,
91 – AN OLIVE BRANCHDAMON POVVane!I didn’t have time for that bastard yet, what the hell was he doing telling men that I ordered to get ready, to stand down?I frowned and my eyes narrowed, I still did not turn or acknowledge his presence, “Are you deaf and dumb? Grab your lances and spears and follow me!” I yelled again.The men stiffened and looked at each other in confusion.“Yes sir!” they echoed.“I said, Stand down Damon!” Vane’s voice was much louder than mine and even more forceful.I sneered and turned to look at him, “What is it that we have here? The chief of the Elite Guards? No, the right hand to the alpha? No… that’s right, you are nobody to give me commands!” I yelled back.“You are all dismissed!” Vane yelled at the guards present.They shuddered and began to shuffle away.“If any of you take another step, I will have his head!” I commanded without even looking at them.Everyone came to a halt and stood very still.My eyes were on Vane and they were not happy eyes.
90 – A CRAZY IDEAREBEKKA POVConstriction, that was what it felt like, it was as if something was pressing my throat on both ends and stopping me from breathing.Even the oxygen mask that I was given did not seem to totally alleviate the problem.My eyes kept darting back and forth in my socket as I was looking at the white coats taking care of me and the other patients.They did not seem to know what they were doing, they just hung an IV bag overhead and put the drip in my arm – the same drip that they had been administering to all the sick patients and not one had gotten better.I lay there on my bed, panicking, unable to talk or gather the strength to move. I doubted if Dr Purcell knew what happened to me, he must have been so busy dealing with cases that I doubted if he even knew that I went out with Damon or that I was now infected with the plague.This could not be the end of me, I refused to believe it. I had promised Kami’s brother that I would save him – I could not die wit
89 – BLOCKADEDAMON POV“What the hell is that?” Rebekka gasped in shock.I squinted as I stared at the massive coiled beast that was just under the surface of the water. It must have been about fifty feet long, I could not really tell seeing as it coiled into itself.The scales were reddish and black all mingled together, large like a bronze shield and by the looks of it, just as hard.“What do we do?” I could hear the panic in her voice and I wished she was not so agitated, but at the same time, I did not blame her.So this was the cause of the outbreak that had been decimating the pack? A part of me was relieved that it was not the black stone dagger but damn it… that would have been far easier to destroy than this massive creature.I looked at Rebekka, “We retreat,” I said in a low voice that could barely be heard above the rushing water.“Retreat?” she yelled back.I winked at her to try and signal her to stop shouting but she was not getting my point.“We cannot retreat Damon,
88: SERPENT OF SCALESREBEKKA POVMy jaw dropped when I heard that and it felt like someone smashed into my chest with a hammer.I staggered back and looked at him, my eyes were mingled with the hurt that was burning in my heart.Damon sneered, “Oh don’t give me that, you didn’t seem to care about him when you were pleading for me in my bathroom.”I gasped.A wave of guilt washed through me and I didn’t want to be there right then. What made me think that seeing Damon was going to be a good idea?“Exactly,” he chipped in when he saw that I was silent. “Hey, look at the bright side, if he never comes back, you never have to deal with the guilt of whether to tell him or not about our little… adventure.”He grinned at me, his blue eyes staring at me with an intensity that made me uncomfortable.I sniffled and looked down to the floor, looked like everywhere I went, it was bad news, “I am glad you are alive,” I said in a downcast tone and turned back to head into the clinic.Damon sighed,
87: THE CONTAGION REBEKKA POVI blinked twice to make sure that what I was seeing was correct. Scales?Reddish black for that matter, a color combination I had never seen before.A mixture of excitement and panic shot through me as my eyes stayed glued to the microscope as I peered into it.I could not believe it, I was operating under a weak premise that the disease might somehow be water borne and now that premise was paying off.I could not wait to let the Luna know.I jumped down the stool and sprinted out of the lab, back to the lobby.The chaos momentarily threw me off again, so many new faces and sick people were littered all over, coughs and cries were coming from all over the place.Without even knowing it, my eyes went in search of the little boy from earlier. I had promised him that his sister would be alright but she died, right before our eyes.I could not find him in all that chaos and I started to panic a bit. It took a bit of time for me to calm myself down, he still