Chapter 2

ZEVA

Ugh- fuck. Why does my head feel like it's been used as a tectonic plates for a very aggressive earthquake?

I tried to groan but the sound died in my throat, muffled by a thick strip of tape around my mouth. What the- I tried to move but it was impossible as my wrists were pulled taut behind my back, binded, my ankles were blinded so tight the circulation were beginning to stage a protest. I tried to reach out to Lira, but it was like shouting into a void. I could feel her there, like a faint flickering ember at the back of my mind, but she was sluggish, suppressed by something that felt like heavy, leaden wool.

Lira? Hey, wake the fuck up.

Nothing but a low distant whine. Great, I was on my own.

The last few minutes or hours- raced back to me with the speed of a brakeless train.

Dren.

That slimy, manipulative piece of shit.

He'd actually looked me in the eye and said he was sorry but he set me up.

Fuck! I whined as I struggled against my restrains but it was pointless.

Just then- the sudden sound of boots clicking against stone echoed through the room. It wasn't the heavy, dragging roll of Dren's wheelchair, rather, it was a rhythmic gait. Then the came slammed in.

Kaelen.

"Untie her please," I heard him say, his voice smooth and terrifyingly calm.

Immediately rough hands grabbed my shoulders, hoisting me up before the tape was ripped off my mouth with a stinging jerk. I hissed, my eyes starting as the binds on my wrists were cut, only to be replaced immediately by a heavy, metallic weight.

I lunged foward, teeth bared, ready to tear out the throat of the nearest guard, but my knees buckled. A white hot, searing pain radiated from my wrists, travelling up my arms like liquid fire. I let out a yelp, collapsing back into the chair they'd forced me info.

"Silver?" I gasped, staring at the dull grey shackles. Lira let out a muffled howl of agony in my head, the metal was eating into my skin.

"I'm sorry, Zeva, but in order to be safe. I needed to go....a bit extra," Kaelen said, stepping into the dim light. He looked disgustingly composed, his amber eyes tracking my every movement with a sick curiosity.

"What did you do to me??" I snapped. "What are you and Dren planning to do with me?!"

Kaelen made a mocking expression raising his hands in the air like a man accused of a minor prank. "Oh, it's nothing, don't worry. We just had a fair trade,"

"And that is?" I demanded through gritted teeth, trying to ignore the smell of my own scorching flesh.

"You for his legs."

Time seemed to have stopped as the only thing I could hear was my own heart beating.

"What?"

He rubbed his hands together and inched closer, his fingers reaching out to trace my jawline. I tried to bite him, but he was faster. "You see...Dren has his desires. Minus your influence, yes. It's his legs. And also..." He leaned in, his breath hot against my ear. "His one true mate. My sister."

My breath hitched as the words sank in. The betrayal wasn't just a cut, it was a total dismemberment. Dren didn't just want to walk, he wanted the fairy tale. The bond that our bitter marriage could never provide.

Kaelen inched back, a smirk playing on his lips. "And you see, in order for him to have her, you have to be out of the way. Legally, pack wise...and physically," He shrugged. "So I helped him with that. I'm sorry, I just had to. It's a shame though," he frowns. "You helped him build the empire, and now he no longer wants the architect."

The sheer audacity of it made my blood boil. I had bled for Dren. I had executed his enemies and managed his borders while he sat on his throne and played the victim. I was the strength he denied he needed, and yet he'd traded me like a sack of grain for a pair of functioning shins and a new toy.

I shook my head as a laugh bubbled from my lips. "You and I know that lycans and werewolves are forbidden," I looked up at Kaelen. "Even of Dren desires your sister, the court won't have it. I am-"

"That's where you're wrong," Kaelen cuts in, his tone harsh. "You keep on forgetting that when you married Dren, your kingdoms became merged. You gave up your throne for love." A slow wicked grin tugged on his lips. "Dare I also add that ever since you returned back to the werewolf realm thirteen years ago, despite the fact you were accepted you were always an outcast to them. The new reign has began. Lycans and werewolves will rule side by side."

"That's absurd! It's an act that has been long forbidden!"

"Well," he shrugs. "Everyone doesn't think so. The moment Dren disclosed of his plans with the pack elders, they all agreed,"

My eyes widened in shock. "What?"

He titled his head as his smirk grew wider. "It's only natural you never knew. Meetings were held behind your back, Zeva. Countless meetings you never knew about,"

"You think it will be that easy to get rid of me?" I scoffed as I whipped my head back. "You, Dren, and the others are delusional,"

He smiled wickedly and then clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth. "Not if you just vanish into thin air and never to return."

"So...what will you do to me? Kill me?" I asked, my pride the only thing keeping me from screaming.

"Don't worry," He smiled. You won't die..however, you'll wish you did." He looked up at the guard standing behind me. "Prepare the bus. We are going for a nice dude to fairytale land."

Three Days Later.

When I finally drifted back to consciousness, the first thing I realized was that I couldn't see. A blindfold was wrapped tight around my head. The atmosphere had shifted completely. Gone was the earthy, wild scent of the werewolf territory. The place smelled of old paper, expensive wax, and the cold sterile scent of death. My head was throbbing, and my ears rang with disoriented, muffled voices.

'That's the price,' a voice said- low and cultured, devoid of any warmth.

'Is the package unharmed and untouched?'

'Can't promise we didn't leave a few scratches here and there,' a familair voice replied...It was Kaelen. 'She's quite feisty, even while unconscious, she tried to shift.'

'Alright then. Go. I'll have Nicole handle the rest.'

That voice- as the voices became clearer, I couldn't help but recognize both.

One belonged to Kaelen, I was sure of that...but the second.... It sent a shiver of pure terror down my spine.

It sounded like....like a nightmare I thought I'd buried a decade ago.

Before I could process what was going on, rough hands grabbed me, dragging me upward. I struggled, kicking out blindly. "Let me go! Let go of me! Do you have no idea who you're touching-" a heavy blow to my stomach sent me reeling. I was shoved into a room, the floor beneath me feeling like cold marble.

"Untie her." I heard another familair voice say. Far more different from Kaelen's...

No...it couldn't be...

The blindfold was ripped away almost immediately. I blinked rapidly, the harsh crystalline light of a chandelier overhead stinging my eyes. As my vision cleared, my heart stopped.

Four men were in front of me. They were beautiful in a terrifying porcelain way- skin too pale, eyes too still.

Vampires.

There was no doubt about that.

But what made the air vanish from my lungs wasn't because they were vampires. It was their faces. Faces I had seen in family portraits I'd burned years ago.

The one in the center, the tallest with hair like midnight stepped foward. He looked down at me with a smirk that was both nostalgic and cruel.

"Hello, sister," He titled his head as his grin grew wider, revealing his fangs. "Missed us?"

My eyes widened, my soul recoiling as the realization hit me like a physical blow.

I hadn't just been sold. I had been handed back to the very monsters I spent my entire life running from.

The Malvaine Brothers.

In short, Rulers Of The Vampire Realm.

A realm I had once destroyed, and now, my enemies were alive, staring right back at me. But this time, I was their prisoner.​