CORA
My stomach clenched in hunger and thirst and the threat of my impending death left a bitter taste in my mouth.
I was curled in a fetal position, my hands cradling my stomach as I lay on the dirty floor of the cell that I was thrown into a couple of days ago.
A couple of days ago because I wasn't sure of how many days have passed, I had no way of knowing since the cell was in the underground with no windows and no source of air except the one from the barred door.
I've been left there, probably abandoned to die with no water and food for days and as if that wasn't completely horrible enough, I had to ease myself into that same room because I couldn't bring myself to scream at whoever was near to open the door for me so I'd do it in a more dignified place.
I had more dignity than that.
And I doubted if I'd have been allowed out, Kai wouldn't want that; I was sure locking me up here with no option but to shit and pee here was one of his numerous ways of punishing me.
And if he thinks that this was enough to break me, then he has another thing coming.
I've barely felt my wolf since I was locked up here; it was like she had retreated to the furthest part of my mind and I couldn't even blame her, if I could run away, I'd have to but I couldn't do that.
I still have Kai to kill.
And until his body was left to rust, I couldn't leave.
Until I've avenged how brutally my parents were killed, I couldn't run away.
Thinking about what happened again made tears bristen in my eyes but I refused to let them fall. Because I've spent so much time alone since I was locked up here, I've been forced to come to terms with the great misfortune that had befallen me.
I had lost my parents, my friend, my family, and my whole pack to the hands of a deranged monster who had taken me captive with a plan to do only god knows what to me.
I knew my staying here was going to be hell and I was prepared for it. If I had to go through hell to pay him back in his own coins, then I don't mind, I'll gladly do it.
So that's why I can't afford to be weak and miserable, to let my emotions get the best of me, I had to be strong, to remain strong and tears were not the way of being strong at all.
I felt unconsciousness trying to overpower me from how hungry and thirsty I was and I allowed it, it was better for me to remain unconscious anyway than to deal with my new reality.
Strong hands digging into my neck and crushing my windpipe woke me up and my wolf startled into a defensive position but it was so fucking useless the minute I opened my eyes to meet Kai's emotionless one as his hand tightened around my neck even more.
He lifted me easily from the floor, slammed my back against the wall before flinging me away from him and I landed on the floor with a huge thud, pain ricocheting through my entire body and I had to bite my lower lip till I tasted blood because I couldn't scream.
"How low the mighty had fallen," he mocked, an amused glint touching his eyes as he stalked towards me with heavy unhurried steps as if he owned the world.
"Just take a look at yourself," he continued, "who'd have thought the acclaimed Princess would be reduced to this."
I know I looked anything but presentable; I knew I must look like a nightmare with my white gown that was anything but white now and was still very much stained by blood and all the dirt that must have gotten to it since I was locked up here.
And I've been living in a dung from all the urine and sweat so I was not only looking dirty, I was smelling it too.
"And that stench," he puked, "who'd have thought?"
I ignored him. I looked away from him, not minding his existence even though I knew that'd piss him off more.
"You know," he continued, not deterred by my reactions to him, "it's still not too late to get on your knees and grower and beg him to spare your life, if you do that, I'll ask them to bring food for you and if I'm feeling benevolent, I might even let you go."
"I'd rather drown than open my mouth to beg you for anything," I snapped at him and I didn't even want him to let me go, there was no place for me to go back to. I had no friend, no family, no nothing, and besides, I had to remain here if I wanted to kill him.
"I see that the starvation hasn't gotten to you and you still have the energy to snap at me," he said in a humorous voice before he bent to my level and all trace of humor left his face as intense rage took over and he grabbed my chin forcefully, forcing me to tilt my head up to meet his eyes and I could feel my skin breaking and blood dripping out of it from where he had grabbed my chin.
I tried not to squirm.
"You must still be delusional enough to think that you're still worth something, Princess," he said in a very dark voice that made fear straighten my spine, "but I hate to break it to you that you're worth nothing.-
Even a housefly is worth more than what you are right now and I'll do so well to establish what you're to you. Your life will never remain the same again, Princess. By the time I'm done with you, by the time you've gone through so much humiliation and degradation that you never thought was possible, by the time you've been whipped and punished so many times that it completely incinerates your previous life, you'll beg for death, you'll beg me to take your life but I'll refuse to grant you your wish."
He dropped my chin with so much force that I fell to the ground before turning back and stalking out of the cell, leaving me shaking with the full extent of his words.
What he doesn't know was that I'd never beg for death, not from him, no matter what he does to me.
Cora’s POV“Bitch, if you don’t get back in there!” Nina caught me just before I could sneak out to Kai’s chambers. “Man, you’re such a cockblocker,” I blew a raspberry at her and rolled my eyes in annoyance before stepping back into the room. “It’s bad luck for the groom to see his bride while she’s fully dressed and you know it,” she entered right after me. Maybe If I’d snuck out the second after she left I’d have met up with Kai for a quickie and I’d be back before she could come and spew rubbish myths to keep me away from him. “That’s a myth and whoever came up with it is clearly a hater!” I sunk into my chair, fully dressed in the most stunning wedding dress I’d ever seen all my life. “I’ll let you get away with that only because it’s your wedding day,” Nina chucked a purple flower in her hair to match her chief bridesmaid’s dress. “It’s my wedding day!” I squealed so loudly that Nina had to use both palms to block her eyes while smiling at me. I still couldn’t believe it.
Kai’s POVLevi’s pain strengthened me even more, he had no idea.“In your next life, when you get an opportunity to kill your enemy, don’t be an egoistic bastard by waiting to organize a lousy ceremony first and just fucking do it!” I gave him the last piece of valuable advice he’d ever get.“C-Cora….” tears dropped down his face as he fixed his desperately pleading eyes on my woman.“You brought this on yourself, Levi. I’d never have grown to love or trust a man that could betray someone he’d sworn an oath of eternal loyalty to, it just meant that you could switch up on me someday too,” she surprised me by intertwining her fingers with my bloody ones as she spoke.“I could never ever betray you, Cora. You’re my fated true love, and it’s not too late to leave this deceitful monster and save me,” my blood began to boil all over again as I watched him plead with her.I gave him one fatal blow to the jaw and he dropped to the floor groaning.“Stop fucking talking to her, you dead meat!”
Levi’s POVIt was today.The day I’d watch Kai meet an embarrassing end just before all of his power was transferred to my deserving arms. The gods knew that I would’ve been better suited to be blessed with his boundless abilities and fate had finally turned things in my favor.“Are you prepared for the ritual?” I practically whispered as I bent towards the elderly men that were meant to perform the soul swapping ritual.They dropped their hoods at the same time and nodded in a slow synchronized movement, “As prepared as the gods permits their servants to be.”Creepily, that was also said in unison before the covered their hoods again in one swift motion and walked off towards the lifted stage where Kai’s body would be placed for the public execution. As weird and disturbing as their identical movements were, it didn’t deplete my excitement about the execution ceremony.“Welcome all,” I stood to my feet as I began to address the hundreds of people in attendance.“You have come from lan
Levi’s POVI knocked on Cora’s door again when I didn’t get a response.“It’s me Levi, are you in?” I called out.A few seconds passed and then I heard a door open that signified that she must’ve been in the bathroom when I knocked earlier.“I’ll be right there, give me a minute,” her sweet voice called out and I nodded even though she couldn’t see me.I tapped my feet on the floor as I waited for her, and then finally she pulled the door open.“You wanna come in?” she moved aside as she pulled the door open.Her hair looked a bit wet, her cheeks were glistening like they’d been oiled and she was wearing the most adorable little pink dress paired with white cute flats. Even before now, I was always eager to see what she’d wear every single day, but it was more fulfilling now because she was all mine to ogle.“Nah, there’s something I have to show you,” I grabbed her wrist and began leading her away from the room.“You mind telling me where we’re headed?” she finally asked after we’d ta
Levi’s POV“Has she gotten the bouquets?” I asked the maid that I’d sent on an errand earlier.“Yes, sir. I delivered them first thing in the morning,” she answered with a bow and I waved her off.The morning of the day we’d overpowered Kai, I remembered watching him gather flowers after he’d thought I left on a tax collecting trip. I watched him make them into a huge bouquet and I was pretty irritated that he thought flimsy flowers would fix all the damage he’d done to Cora when he regarded her as an enemy.However, it had given me a brilliant Idea.I decided that I’d send a bouquet or more to Cora’s room every morning with a heart warming note just to remind her of how precious she was to me. She never failed to thank me for it at breakfast and it made my heart swell. I loved that I’d finally gotten the chance to woo her and I knew I’d do a far better job than Kai could ever have.Speaking of that monster, Kai, I was skipping breakfast to go and see him in the dungeon, to see how muc
Cora’s POVI woke up in a pool of my own sweat.My eyes searched the room to see if the beast in my dreams had crossed into reality by some chance for an opportunity to continue torturing me, but I was lucky that that hadn't happened. The only other person in the room was Nina, not a grizzly monster.She was curled up into a ball on her mattress and she was buried so far into the duvet that I could only see her eyes and a bit of her forehead. And yes, she was crashing here because of the nightmares.The same horrid nightmares that had been recurring for a while now.After the first two nights, I’d told Nina about it because she noticed the heavy eye bags underneath my eyes and then she’d scolded me for not speaking up earlier before gathering most of her things and moving into my room.Oh, trust me, I protested. I assured her that it wouldn't happen again, but she gave me the ‘this isn't up for debate’ look and did as she pleased.Carefully, I moved off the bed and walked over to sit a