9. Dying

Elysia’s POV:

I was never much of a fighter.

In truth, I was the opposite of one, but the events of the last couple of days had somehow managed to make me see myself in a different light.

I could still remember Michelle’s words from her visit at some point.

“I didn’t know you were this foolish, I would have never even brought you with me. You asked to replace your friend! Do you remember? And now you’ve been chosen and you don’t want it? How foolish are you? Many will kill to be in your position!” She had said and the venom in her tone had scared me but I was too angry to hold my tongue.

“Then let them take my position.” I spat out and she tsked

“That’s the fucking problem! For some reason, the Alpha insists on you which complicates this situation even more. Here’s a piece of advice for you; this is not a game. There’s no price for being stubborn. You don’t get to have a choice in this situation. He’s your king and he has chosen you and you only get two options. Have his heir or die. Seems you already made a decision but I’m curious to see how much this can last.” She sneered in my direction before stalking out of the room, slamming the door shut behind her.

That had been her first and last visit to me and since then, I had been left in this darkness and silence that was starting to slowly drive me mad. I felt pain all over and my stomach felt like it was about to implode from the lack of food, my throat felt parched, and for a moment, I thought death was here.

I struggled against the chains that held me in place but it was a weak attempt because it only brought me nausea.

I had lost track of time since I had been thrown here. No light came in, no food or bathroom breaks all I did was slip in and out of consciousness and try to get the pain out of my mind.

My thoughts drifted to Seraphina, I didn’t know if I would ever get the chance to see her again but I hoped she was okay.

Sighing heavily, I pulled at the chains one more time but as usual, it was weak and only seemed to drain me of the little strength that my body possessed, and with that, I shut my eyes tight and allowed the darkness to take over once again.

***

The darkness in the space seemed to stretch on forever, no matter how much I tried I couldn’t see a single thing and for a moment I feared that I had gotten blind, but even in the darkness I could feel eyes on me, I could sense his powerful presence and scent and I knew that he was in the room with me but he remained in place and silent, making me wonder if days locked up in the small room without any food or water was causing me to hallucinate.

But finally, he moved.

The sound of his footsteps was heavy against the concrete floors, and he didn’t stop until he was standing in front of me. I sneered in his direction as best as I could from my vulnerable position but It didn’t faze him because he leaned into me, his breath hot against my cheeks.

"Why are you doing this to yourself? Why start a war you don’t even have the capacity to win?" His deep baritone voice sent a shudder down my spine. It held the viciousness that I loathed.

The silence stretched between us as I refused to respond to him.

The pain in my wrists and ankles threatened to pull me under. My head was spinning from the lack of food, and I constantly had to shake my head to clear my blurry vision. Darkness threatened to pull me under, and every breath I took seemed like my last. I knew that I wouldn’t survive much longer, and as much as I didn’t want to die, it sounded like a better option than what this monster wanted from me.

"I would rather die than have a child for a monster," I said. My words were slurred with pain, almost incoherent.

He hummed at my response, and the temperature in the room seemed to plummet. My eyes had finally adjusted enough that I could see the gold flecks that flashed through his eyes, it was terrifying in the darkness of the room, and for a moment I wondered the extent of the evil and darkness that resided in the man before me.

I felt something brush against my face, it was the softest and the most gentle of touch but it made my skin crawl, it almost felt like the path in which his fingers had traced left a trail of fire. It didn’t last for long, he withdrew his fingers and I heard the sound of his footsteps moving away from me, and it made me sigh in relief. But then his voice reached my ears again.

"Have it your way then."

And with that, he was out of the room, leaving me to battle with the darkness threatening to overtake my frame.

I was just about to give in to the pressure when I heard it. Voices coming from the hallway, it sounded like an argument but none of the words reached my ears no matter how hard I strained them.

Suddenly, the door was pushed open again but this time I didn’t feel the Alpha’s powerful presence, my head felt light and my vision was woozy but I felt the chains fall off my legs and the instant relief that flooded through me almost knocked me out again.

“Ouch,” I whispered when the person tugged a little on the chain that had my hands bound.

“I’m so sorry little one, I’ll get you out of these in a second.”

I recognized that voice, it belonged to the man at the table. The one that had asked the questions.

He finally got me out of the chains and I felt myself get lifted into sturdy arms. I tried, but I couldn’t keep my eyes open for much longer.

“Call the pack doctor. She’s dying.” These were the last words that reached my ears before the darkness was taking over again.