Chapter Two

Donika’s POV

I looked at Kael.

Then I looked at my family. Or what they called themselves. And all I could see was seething hatred from their eyes,they were threatening me with their gazes not to as much accept Kael’s offer,too bad I wouldn’t miss this opportunity for anything.

My hands were shaking but I managed to steady my voice. “I’ll go with you.”

Gasps broke out everywhere.

“What?” Damon’s voice cracked as he stepped forward jerking me to face him. “You can’t be serious Donika,are you crazy?.” He let out a maniac laugh and stretched out his hands towards beckoning me to him. “Take my hands and come down here,I’ll pretend none of this ever happened and we’ll just get married okay?”

“I won’t do such a thing Damon.” I yelled back at him.

My uncle growled. “You ungrateful brat! After all we’ve done—”

“All you’ve done is lock me in a cellar like I was a servant,even servant are treated better than I am in this pack,” I snapped before I could stop myself. “And force me into a marriage with a man who doesn’t even respect me and sleeps with your daughter.” The last part raised murmuring amongst the pack members as Lilia always carried herself as a kind and meek girl,how could have imagined?

“You little…” My aunt raised her hand like she was going to slap me.

But she never got the chance.

A violent pressure slammed into the room. Every lit candle flickered and went off. The air turned heavy and choking. Everyone dropped to their knees like their bodies couldn’t bear the weight. Even Damon, even the elders. I didn’t fall but I did feel the shift in the atmosphere.

Kael didn’t move.

He stood there, his eyes glowing bright gold, brighter than fire. I knew he was throwing off his Lycan aura which could easily subdue even the strongest of alpha’s.

“No one touches what’s mine,” he said quietly.

People whimpered. My uncle let out a guttural growl but fell flat on his face. My aunt dropped to the floor clutching her head. Damon screamed, teeth clenched in pain. And Lilia didn’t even make a sound even tho she was in pain,instead she stared at me with so much anger and hatred,if given the chance she would rip out my heart on the spot.

Kael turned to me like the room wasn’t filled with wolves writhing in agony.

“Come here.” He stretched out his hands to welcome me into his arms.My feet moved on their own. I didn’t know what I was doing. I just walked to him, my bouquet forgotten on the floor.

He reached out, swept me into his arms like I weighed nothing.

As he turned to leave, he whispered near my ear, “You can’t back out of this now.”

I looked up at him, heart racing. “We’re enemies,” I said. “But right now, I need you.” And that was the truth,this might be my only chance to escape this pack.

His eyes flicked to mine. For a second, something unreadable passed through his expression. Then he gave a single nod.

“Noted.”

He carried me straight out of the hall. No one dared stop him. Not even Damon, who was still coughing and wheezing on the floor.

Outside, the black SUVs were waiting. The moment the door opened, one of the guards pulled it back for us. Kael placed me inside gently, as if I was something fragile, then he moved in and sat next to me.

The door shut and an uncomfortable silence fell as the car began moving and then it hit me, “I just followed my family’s murderer.” I thought to myself.

Six years ago, a war broke out between our pack, the ThornClaw pack and his own pack, the NightHowl Pack. It was chaotic and the worst part? They had no reason at all to come at us but they did and it cost my parents lives when they tried their best to protect the Pack lands. We were safe but my parents died, leaving me alone in the hands of those bullies I called my family. Under the bed where I hid after my mother had masked my human scent,I saw him (Kael) and his father standing over my father’s body. I remembered vividly how sobbed racked my body but I couldn’t cry out loud as I promised my mother to survive. My father had said something to Kael’s father and in one moment,he snapped my father’s neck,killing him off brutally.

What if he took me to even torture me some more? Why didn’t I think this far before leaping like an eager toad into hot oil. I need to get out of here before he kills me,I don’t know the bastard’s intentions and no matter what,it won’t be good intentions.

In less than fifteen minutes we were past my pack border and a reasonable distance from the border to the middle of nowhere, I yanked the veil off my head, tossed the jewelry off my neck and wrists. My dress still clung to me like some awful reminder of what almost happened.

“Stop the car,” I said.

Kael looked over at me, one eyebrow raised in confusion. “No.”

“I said stop it. I can find my way from here.” Can he just let me go?

He didn’t even blink. “That’s not part of my plan.”

“Oh, you have a plan?” I scoffed. “Let me guess. Save the damsel, take her to your kingdom, parade her like a trophy?” If that was the case,I'd rather not go to his pack,though I knew it would be absurd that an enemy pack would rescue me from my wedding without wanting anything in return.

He turned his body toward me slightly, resting an arm over the seat. “More like… save the girl, use her as leverage. And maybe get married while we’re at it.”

I stared at him. “What?” Married? Is he crazy? I knew he was up to no good saving me but marriage?

“You owe me now, Donika.” He said calmly.

“I didn’t ask to be saved.” I shouted but he seemed unfazed.

“No, but you agreed to being saved by me and my men.”

“I thought I was choosing the lesser evil,” I hissed.

“You were.”

I slapped my palm on the door trying to force the door open . “Let me out.”

“No.”

I tried opening the door. It was locked.

“Let me go, Kael!”

“You said you need me. That means you stay,Donika. You have nowhere to go and without a wolf in you,you’ll be good to any wolf out there. The rogue wolves in particular.”

“I meant I need a way out, not another person trying to use me!”

He didn’t respond.

“I’ll never marry you,” I muttered, my voice raw now. “Your people killed my parents. Your father did,I saw him with my very own eyes.” Tears began to swell but I won’t let them down.

Finally, his eyes shifted back to mine. His jaw was tight.

“I don’t care.”

I blinked. “What?” My voice went down in a whisper,is he really that heartless?

“I don’t care about your grudges or your past,I was not the one who killed your father so it has nothing to do with me. You need me. I need something from you. That’s how this works.” He said coldly while averting his gaze from me the whole time.

“You can’t be serious.”He didn’t answer.

I pushed at him, tried shoving his arm away and tried kicking at the door again. “I said let me out!”

He leaned forward just a little and muttered, “You’ll thank me for this later.”

Before I could snap again, his fingers brushed the side of my neck.

“What are you…?”

Darkness crashed in. “Sleep tight Princess,we have a long journey ahead…” was the last thing I heard before I black out completely.

He knocked me out.