Chapter 5

Maria POV

The moment that was supposed to be the most beautiful in my life… turned into something painful and confusing.

I shut my eyes tightly, trying to stop my tears from falling.

My entire body hurt.

And all the emotions that crashed into me at once barely allowed me to stand.

But I couldn’t stay here.

I stood up with difficulty, forcing my mind to stop thinking completely, and began searching the room for anything to wear. My eyes landed on some men’s clothes thrown near the wardrobe.

I hesitated for only a moment before quickly grabbing them.

They were far too large for my small body, but I managed to put them on with difficulty.

A few minutes later, I slowly opened the door.

I took a deep breath, then started moving carefully through the corridors. I avoided every sound, every movement, while my heart pounded wildly in fear that someone might see me.

But the palace was almost empty.

Everyone was gathered now… exactly as Alexander had ordered.

And that meant…

This was my only chance.

I reached the palace’s back door, my fingers trembling as they touched the cold handle.

I glanced behind me for a moment.

I released a shaky breath, then slowly opened the door.

The cold night air hit my face immediately.

I quietly stepped outside.

I managed to slip away from the palace, and the forest soon appeared before me.

I let my legs run with all their strength despite the pain.

Suddenly, I stopped, struggling to catch my breath.

I had really escaped.

But I hadn’t thought about where I would go…

I felt a hand rest on my shoulder from behind.

I gasped in fear and turned around so quickly I almost fell from the shock.

An old woman stood there.

My eyes widened further when I saw blood covering her clothes completely. Her face was terrifyingly pale, and her breathing ragged, while her trembling hand pressed against a deep stab wound beside her heart.

“Are you okay? Who did this to you?!” My voice came out trembling involuntarily as I tried placing my hand over her wound.

“They came for you. There’s no time to explain…” she spoke with great difficulty.

She continued in a pain-filled trembling voice.

“You need to leave here immediately. Everyone knows you are the Chosen One. They will come to take you.”

“What do you mean? Who came? Do you know who I am?!” My voice came out louder than intended, filled with confusion.

But she answered none of my questions.

She only tightened her grip on my hand despite her weakness.

“If they catch you now…” she whispered painfully, her eyes locking onto my trembling breaths, “they will kill you easily… because your power is still sealed… and has not awakened yet.”

“My power… sealed?” I tried to understand what she was saying.

Her body began to sway.

“Go…” she said in a final voice barely audible. “Before they arrive… you’ll understand everything later.”

Slowly, her eyes closed.

And her body collapsed lifelessly into my arms.

I froze in place, my hands still holding her while the silence around me became terrifyingly suffocating.

What I truly needed was another disaster added to this day…

I stood up with difficulty and forced my body to keep running.

The old woman’s words kept echoing in my head.

“Run… they’ll kill you easily… your power is sealed…”

I understood nothing.

And I didn’t know how she found me or whether she mistook me for someone else.

The forest was dark and terrifying, and I felt a strange negative energy controlling the place.

I stumbled and fell hard onto the ground.

“Damn everything seriously. My life is a real tragedy.”

My tears nearly fell, but I clenched my fists tightly.

“Don’t cry, Maria. I’ll survive this too. Just like before… I’ll survive until the end!”

Now let’s get up and think where to go—

But before I could move, a cold shiver ran through my entire body.

“I finally found you… after all these years.”

My blood froze the moment I heard that terrifying voice.

A man stood between the trees, shadows surrounding him as if he were part of them. A frightening faint smile spread across his face as he continued in an unsettlingly calm voice,

“I never expected you to be here.”

I stood up and forced a cold expression onto my face.

“Who are you? Am I supposed to know you?”

The man’s smile widened slightly, as if he could sense my confusion.

Moments later, I heard the footsteps of several people.

I counted them easily.

There were six of them in addition to the man who appeared first.

They wore long black robes with hoods covering their heads completely. I could feel their eyes on me despite their hidden faces, sending chills down my spine.

Suddenly, they bowed to that man.

I think I fell into a very big problem…

I turned around and immediately wished I hadn’t.

Standing before me was something like the monsters told about in fairy tales.

A gigantic creature with huge horns, a body like solid rock, enormous enough to dwarf me several times over, and glowing red eyes shining in the darkness.

“Well… it seems this day contains every strange thing I’ll ever experience.”

A few moments later, I realized what it was.

A demonic enchanted beast.

I let out a loud scream in shock and covered my mouth with my hand.

“If that’s a demonic beast, then that means you are the exiled Black Magic Demon… and these are your followers?! You’re real, not just a legend.” Then I added calmly,

“Take her from here immediately to our lair.”

He ignored my words and ordered one of the followers to take me.

“I don’t want to go anywhere that belongs to you. Kill me here now, that would be better for both of us if that’s what you plan to do, or move out of my way,” I said mockingly while staring directly into his eyes.

Today was truly legendary for me.

I met the Lycan King, who turned out to be my mate, and now I was standing before one of the legends used to scare children.

I didn’t think anything else could surprise me anymore.

“It is not yet time for your death. The game has only just begun. When your time to die comes, you won’t even be able to utter a single word.”

He said it coldly while that sinister smile filled his face.

One of the followers moved extremely close to me, and I was about to punch him in the face.

But the damned Black Magic Demon was faster than me.

He struck my head hard, and the last sentence I heard was—

“The soul that will form inside you belongs to us.”