chapter four

CHAPTER FOUR

Hailey's POV

Fuck! Why does my body feel like it has been run through a grinder?

I moved a finger and then another and each action sent me spiraling into immense pain. My mouth felt dry and even my head heavy. I pried my eyes open only to shut it almost immediately as bright light hit me hard.

Eventually I got my eyes open m, although it took almost all the endurance I could muster and all I could see was an unfamiliar white ceiling. I tried to sit up to get a better look of where I was in but every moment was pure agony so I settled for laying like a dead fish in a room I didn't even recognize.

Panic and confusion hit me but what use was that when I could barely use a muscle.

Instead, I decided to try and piece the scattered memories in my head together.

Moments later, my eyes widened as I went into full blown panic mode.

The attack, Dennis, trying to run, getting hit by a car.

That was not the most scary thing I remembered.

A mate.

No!

Two mate.

The people who hit me identified themselves as my mate.

How was that possible? I didn't have a wolf or a scent. I thought that was needed to identify a mate.

Fuck! That's beside the point. I refuse to be shackled to anyone. Not even someone that probably bandaged my wounds and put me in this nice room.

Never.

And what's even to say if they're the one who kept me here?

Everything was unsettling already.

I bit my lips hard till it drew blood and then I used every ounce of strength I could mutter to sit up. It was slow and by far one of the most painful moments of my life but I didn't dare to stop. Not when the person who put me here could come back at any moment.

I pushed myself up on trembling legs and then one foot after the other, I trudged out of the room.

I was too focused on putting one foot after the other that I forgot to look where I was going or to peruse my surroundings, a skill I had ingrained deep into my bones after all these years.

I should have because I soon heard voices. Gruff male voices that made me stop dead in my tracks. Startled, I ducked behind the large pillar closest to me and then held my breath hoping that I was not noticed.

"Why didn't you collect the tribute? I expected Caden to play hooky and undermine this mission but not you, Cisco. What the hell is your problem?" 

"It's not like that, Darin. Cisco was serious about it but we met..."

"Enough with your excuses. You guys will go and retrieve that tribute whether you like it or not."

Whoever was arguing or whatever they were on about, I didn't care to know. I had enough years of experience to know when to steer clear of something.

Just when I begun to turn to head in another direction, probably to escape through a window or something, a pressure unlike anything I have felt before hit me hard.

Next to this aura, Dennis was like a toddler.

"Who's there? Come out now."

I flinched at the stern voice and then my mind began to run as I debated running off but the pain in my body told me that it wouldn't work at all.

Left with no choice, I slowly turned backwards and then walked out from behind the pillar.

I almost ran back when I met multiple pairs of eyes staring at me so intensely, I shivered.

I blinked, swallowed and then walked forward even further and I finally have a chance to peruse the face of the four men in the room.

I let out a gasp.

Why did they look so breathtaking? Were they even of this world?

Two of the men looked more intimidating than the others and I also noted that they looked alike save for the color of their eyes.

Twins?

They both had auburn hair, a intricately sculpted face and a body that could put any man to shame as well as make any woman drool.

Even through their clothes, it's was obvious how well built they were.

The other two looked slightly smaller than the twins but they were not any less built or handsome. They also had the same auburn hair the twins had but their facial features was totally different.

I was already lost and drooling at this gorgeous men in from of me so when I heard a collective growl from all of them, I jumped.

"Mate."

Goosebumps wracked me as I stared into their now glowing red eyes as they all spoke at once.

Shit.

How could I forget? Damn you Hailey. You see gorgeous men and you forget your plan to run. Now, with this whole mate rubbish, I doubt I could run anywhere.

How in the name of anything sane would I be mated to four men and from the looks of it, they were brothers.

No. I refuse to be involved in whatever the fuck this was.

Turning on my heels, I pushed all the little strength I had to my legs and then I ran.

My heart was pounding in my chest with every step I put out but I didn't dare to stop. Now even when I heard those men shouting behind me. Not even when one of the men was saying something about not pulling my injuries like he actually cared.

Soon, I could see the door that I hoped let outside and I increased speed without a second thought.

Unfortunately for me, just as I was about to step over the threshold, I smacked face first into something... No! Someone.

My nose throbbed in pain as I stumbled backwards and it took a while to stabilize myself on my feet.

Once I did, I looked up only to frown when I saw who It was.

He was a replica of those twins I saw before, save for his bright blue eyes but he was nothing like them.

The pressure and aura that came from him was even more intense and it made me want to fall to my knees for some reason.

Thankfully, years of being in the heart of darkness had made my will stronger or else I would have truly given in to that impulse.

His eyes were also glowing red and I almost immediately swallowed as a bad feeling hit me.

Just like those others, he soon growled and dubbed me his mate making me want to crawl into the ground and hide.

Unlike his brothers though, the red receded almost immediately and he growled but this time, it was filled with a killing intent that made my heart skip in alarm. My mind screamed to run.

Before I could act on it though, the man moved with a flash, his large hand wrapping around my throat and then he lifted me up slightly above the ground.

My eyes bulged and my air supply was cut off so I began struggling desperately.

"Ducalion. Let her go. She's our mate." I could hear one of those men shout, his voice close but this man named Ducalion didn't listen. Instead, his grip on my neck tightened even further.

My mind spun as I scratched at his hand like a maniac but it did nothing.

Ducalion glared at me, his eyes spewing fire.

"Ducalion. Let her go." Another of the brothers said and this time, Ducalion's eyes narrowed but he eventually dropped me harshly to the floor.

The moment I touched the floor, I sucked in as much breath as I could into my burning lungs, not even caring about how much my knees hurt from the impact.

I could feel Ducalion loom over me. "You have the nerve to come here." He gritted out.

The nerve? To come here? Where? Why did he want to kill me?

A hand wrapped around my hair and then my head was pulled till I was looking up into Ducalion's eyes. I shivered.

"Look at me when I speak, bitch. Did you think I wouldn't recognize you just because you changed your eye color? Or did you think that just because you're my mate, I'll spare you?"

The fuck? Recognize me? Wait! Could it be....

No. No. No.

"I can recognize the spawn of that tyrant anywhere. To think we were looking for you all these years only for you to walk right into our grasp."

I had already began to shake violently as unwanted memories surged from within me. Nausea hit me like a storm.

From my side eye, I saw Ducalion crouch down and almost immediately I flinched and cowered into myself, an habit I never thought I would ever have again.

He leaned in closer till I could slightly feel his breath on my face.

"Well, Hailey Yuriel, as the Alpha of the Blood moon pack, I would like to welcome you back into your former home and your new hell."

How was this possible? How was I back at the pack? After years of running, I was back in this wretched place? 

No. Please no.

I didn't care who this Ducalion was. All I wanted was to leave this place. I couldn't be here. I couldn't.