Chapter 2 Escape

TANIA'S POV

Lexi screamed at the top of his voice the moment he felt my teeth penetrate into his flesh. I could even see the maidens hold their mouths with their hands in shock and their eyes widened at my painful deed.

They were already used to my stubbornness but I am sure that they didn't expect what I did at all. I was not the type that held patience and even if I was to exhibit traits pertaining to that, it definitely won't be with this perverted man.

Lexi pulled my hair backwards forcefully. I could see his eyes turn red with rage. If it were possible for the eyes to spit out fire, I am sure that he would have burnt me right away with it. He gritted his teeth and he held my hair so tightly that I thought that it was going to come right off from my scalp.

A sharp gasp escaped my lips as I felt those forceful hands at the back of my head. I tried to shake myself off from his painful grip but with each attempt I made, he ended up dragging it more backwards.

"I see that you have refused to change, Tania. But guess what? You just ended up turning me on. Why don't we get started?" His face brightened with a mix of dreadfulness and his voice, rapid with an addition of sternness. He then turned his attention towards the maidens and yelled. "Leave! I am going to claim my bride before the marriage ceremony."

The maiden scrambled on their feet and left the room one after the other. I couldn't see them but I could hear their retreating steps, almost as if they were going to stumble upon each other.

"What do you say, Princess? Oh I forgot, you are no longer a princess," he laughed maniacally, as if he was mocking me but I said nothing. I was only waiting for the right opportunity to attack him because unlike the others, I wasn't afraid of him.

Lexi leaned towards my neck and sniffed. I didn't know if he was trying to inhale my scent or if he was trying to mark me but whichever one it was, I was only going to react if he was going to do the latter.

"You smell of soap. How wonderful it will be if I just..." His warm breath touched my skin and irritation welled up inside me. "If I just..."

What exactly was he trying to say right now? Was he trying to say that he couldn't wait to mark me or was he trying to impose the other thing? I was still thinking about these things and how I was going to get away from him when he yanked me up from my seat, the force from his pull causing me to sigh and then pushed me to the bed.

I winced in pain as I felt my back connect with the wooden edge of the bed, sending sharp pain around a particular spot which I couldn't really concentrate on before landing on the soft bed. He was so quick with his movements that I didn't even figure that that was what he was going to do at that time.

With my lips slightly opened and my eyes broadened in shock and disbelief, I retreated backwards using my elbows and the sole of my feet to crawl away from him.

"You can't run away from me, Tania. You are mine. You are mine to claim. You are mine to mark. You are mine," Lexi began to take off his wedding apparel.

I initially thought that he was teasing me when he said that he was going to claim me before the marriage rites and now, before my very eyes, I could attest that he wasn't joking at all.

It didn't just make sense...

Alpha King Avalon has been saving me from getting ripped off by the other hungry Alphas and Betas of Crescida and that was simply because he wanted his son, Lexi to marry a woman with class untouched. It wasn't like I had class right now but at least I was still royalty – I still have the blood of my late father flowing through my veins and that was enough for the king. Despite the fact that he killed my father, Alpha King Devon, he couldn't deny that I was still his daughter and I had his blood -- the blood of royalty. The blood of nobility and the blood of an Alpha.

Lexi had not been around the kingdom for many years. He had sojourned to a distant land – I heard that it was a special place for training mighty men who hailed from prominent backgrounds. They called it Porteda; a place where young men were trained to become mighty men of war and great Alphas and Betas.

He returned from Porteda after many years and for a welcome gift, I was to be married to him as his bride.

Now here I was about to be torn away by this dreadful man who had no sense of pity or reasoning. He dragged my legs towards him trying to strip me of my clothes but I was quick to kick him in his stomach which caused him to stumble backwards. Before he could get his stance to attack me, I carried the nearest weapon my hands could find; a metal jar which was situated by the side of the bed and hit him as hard as I could on his head and then I ran away from the room. The sound of the jar resonated quickly in the room and I could only imagine the impact my hit had on him.

Even from where I was, I could hear his screaming voice from inside, gradually fading away with each racing step I took. "Tania!!!" Lexi screamed my name from inside and what followed next was silence.

This was my chance. This was my only chance to escape this wicked Alpha, his wicked father and their wicked kingdom. As at that time, I knew that I had only a few minutes before Lexi would get himself and come after me. It was going to be easy to escape now. The guards would definitely ignore me seeing that I was dressed in expensive royal apparel.

I threaded carefully even though my heart was racing like a horse in battle. I managed to maneuver through the guards with calculated strolling steps. They didn't suspect me at the slightest since that night was the almighty wedding night. Majority of them spent their guarding time drinking and anticipating the marriage of their Lord and Alpha, Lexi, so it was going to be easier for me to find my way out of there.

After cornering and angling my way around the place, I found myself racing deep into the woods.

I panted as I ran through the dark forest, the wind blowing against my face and swaying my long brown hair in the air. I ran without looking back and without knowing where exactly I was going. The only thing on my mind then was just to escape. To escape from the hands of the slavers and from the hands of my aggressive husband-to-be.

All thanks to the Moon Goddess I had the speed of a true Wolf. Despite all the vesture worn by me, I still managed to run with it even as heavy as it was.

At some point, my dress got stuck by some thorny shrubs, hindering me from proceeding. I dragged my dress away from the thorns, some parts torn and some parts still gripped by the thorns. My only option was to tear the dress off myself and for once I was grateful to the Moon Goddess again that night that I was a shifter.

I held out my hand and my claws popped out of my hands. Without wasting time I immersed my claw into the fabric – that way it would be easier to tear off the dress since it was a thick material that couldn't be torn with bare hands – and then I tore off my dress, leaving it halfway on my thighs and of course, that was followed with a few scratches from the thorns on my bare skin.

I winced in pain as I felt the sharp pointed end of thorns on my bare leg but that wasn't my problem. My problem was to leave this place before the guards of Crescida noticed my absence. Before they chase after me and catch me in my struggle. Just as I was about to continue my race into the woods, I began to hear stamping footsteps from behind me.

My fear.

The exact thing that I was thinking just a few minutes ago had finally manifested itself.

My enemies...

They had now been notified of my escape and they had come in their numbers to get me. Now it was now time for me to escape the thorns that were laid out on the ground and the more slowly I tried in order to prevent myself from getting hurt, the more their footsteps approached.

I finally succeeded in releasing myself from the thorns and continued to run, avoiding getting caught by The Demilune Pack.

I turned my face backwards to see if I could get a glimpse of my enemies and before I could turn back to face my direction, I felt strong hands pull me to the side.