Chapter Fifty

Christopher

There is nothing but endless smoke in my dreams when I cycle through my nightmares again; reliving my hellish poisoning over and over again to the point of madness. The moment I see her face, she vanishes from me. She wasn’t taken from me, was she? The moronic maroon beast couldn’t be right, right? Please my Celina. Please tell me you didn’t leave me.

I still see it clearly while my nightmare filters through another cycle. It starts off with a text from Leroy. “Celina smells Damian. I’m with her, but she won’t wait in the car.”

The cold dread I felt from that one text is still fresh in my mind. Quickly, I turn on my heel, only to be met with a closed fist to my jaw. Five soldiers stood in front of the door, blocking me from my Celina. That monstrosity was in the same vicinity as her. I knew it was only a matter of time before he tried to take her from me. He’s always trying to take her from me.

Rajin and my rage broke at that thought. I shifted in mere seconds before massacring them; their blood drenching my fur and spattering the walls. No one was a whole person when I was through with them.

Crimson red prints appear on the stairs with every step that I take. All I want is to eviscerate that self-proclaimed prick. I want to use his entrails as a body outline for his miserable corpse. There is nothing more that I want than for that beast to stop breathing. To stop existing. I want to see the light fade from his eyes for making my Celina suffer. There is nothing I won’t give to end that pathetic moron’s life.

Stepping onto the main floor more soldiers wait for me, and some of my men. Most of them are standing in front of the door; one holding a silver object.

The one holding the silver thing grins, holding it up for me to stop. “Uh-uh King Christopher. Unless you want this entire place to go up with flames with everyone in it, you’ll stop where you stand.”

Rajin barks a laugh while I growl. “Since when are lycans scared of fire?”

“If the smoke contains silver and bromine, it’s not the fire you’ll fear,” he chuckles darkly. “You and your men will be killed in an instant. A fate me and my partners accepted the moment we stepped into this building.”

“What do you want,” I snarl while my men tense; getting ready to shift at a moment’s notice.

“Nothing really. I’m just to hold you here long enough for Master Andras to get away with the princess-oops I mean our soon-to-be queen.”

“Not going to happen,” Rajin forces from my mouth while I try to calculate how fast I have to move to kill the jerk.

He clicks his tongue as he tsks. “That’s not the answer I was accepting. I’m looking for silence.”

“What makes you think he’s going to be able to subdue Celina?” I ask him to stall, still trying to think of an attack that doesn’t end up with our death in the end.

“You’ve seen what Andras can do, and yet, you still question him. Even she is no match for His Excellency.”

I snort. “Excellency? Tell me, are you living in his ass, or just wearing his shit as a perfume, because your nose is a little brown.”

His teeth clash together as he gives me a sharp growl. “Do not disrespect Andras. Andras is the most powerful beast in our history. Unlike you and your second-rate father.”

My fists clench when I spot Leroy from the corner of my eye; running around the house to come up the porch. Why the hell isn’t he with Celina? Did Damian take her? Was the prick right?

“If I’m second rate, what does that make you? Expendable?”

It doesn’t take Leroy long to see that we need help when he races up the porch. He leaps at the back of the one I’m talking to. Quickly, my men and I move into motion; launching into attack the traitors with as much carnage as we can manage.

After several minutes, the more we seem to kill, the more that seems to arrive. How many more must I go through to get to her? That thought drives Rajin into a murderous rage. He slashes through one person to the next, while biting through the throats of any nearby enemies.

A loud whistle cuts through the air, capturing the attention of every being remaining. When I look I see a grin on the arrival of a new traitor. In his hand is the switch.

“Get out!” I roar at everyone, pushing my commanding aura through the room mere moments before the new arrival pushes the button. I bat my paw at Leroy, who is standing next to me, and launch him out of the house as the house shakes beneath us.

I lose my footing and fall to the ground, but I focus all my energy on forcing my men out of the house with my aura; even though many try to go to help me up. Smoke fills the air and my lungs while maniacal laughter roars with the sound of the fire. It’s coming from the basement where I had just been. Celina’s designed dungeon. Celina’s. My Celina.

“Celina!” I roar, lurching to my feet to kill the new stranger. He’s already out the door and fleeing. Unexpectedly I stumble forward, losing my shift when I cross the threshold. Silver and bromine. I forgot about the smoke. It’s already filled my lungs. It’s a death sentence, but I can’t die. Not yet.

A firm hand grasps my bicep to catch me as I stumble. Leroy grunts under my weight but keeps me standing. “Celina,” he tells me; pulling me before I have my full footing.

“Chris!” Celina’s voice calls through the smoke-filled air; her siren voice giving me the strength I need to shift into a run. I follow Leroy with my only thoughts of her; hearing the fear her voice held clearly in my head.

Leroy and I arrive at a field riddled heavily with Celina’s scent, and another that clearly belongs to Damian. I smell both of their blood, and I see Celina’s knife in a puddle of Damian’s blood. “Where is she?” Rajin and I both roar; panting heavily while the toxin works through our system. It won’t be long until my lungs have filled with fluid.

“Chris!” Celina cries out again; this time coming further away from us. Where is she? Am I losing my mind? I step toward the house, wondering if that is where she is. She can’t be at the house. I was just there.

“Split up. Find her.” I order Leroy, racing toward the back of the house. Maybe she’s in the back. Please Goddess, please don’t let her be in the house.

I’m nearing the house when something hits me from the side, knocking me down and I hear an amused laugh. “Goddess, you really are the most pathetic royal I’ve ever served.”

I groan while I try to get up. When I looked up to see what the hell hit me, I saw the new arrival. The one that had detonated the switch.

He kicks me in the ribs, knocking me over while he steps over me. “At least you’ll be easy to kill.”

The stranger lowers himself to shift. Acting purely on survival instinct, I push him over and get to my feet. I run as fast as I can while my attacker starts laughing harder. I can’t die just yet. Not yet. I have to see her one last time.

“Chris, answer me damn it,” Celina calls out again; this time I hear her desperation. She needs help.

“Celina!” I yell for her, my voice raspy and breaking; my lungs slowly filling with fluid. “Where are you?” It’s so hard to understand where her voice is coming from. Everything is starting to spin. It’s hard to even tell where up is now.

“She’s with Andras,” a dark voice answers behind me; making me spin around. The stranger, now a maroon lycan, steps closer. He’s smiling; enjoying his little taunting game. “We’re merely here to distract you. Your death is just an added bonus. King Andras will be so thrilled with me that he might even release my family from their blood oath. Not that I would renounce him. We’ve been led by you simpletons for too long.”

“What do you mean Celina’s with Andras?” I demand; my blood running cold. Is that why all I could find was her blood? Is she lost in the woods trying to escape him? Or am I hearing voices while I go toward my death?

“You really are thick, aren’t you,” he sighs. “Your Celina is now Andras’s. She’s gone, you idiot. She’s no longer yours. You’re about to die and she’s about to live with Andras for the rest of her life. You’re never going to see her again.”

No. That can’t be true. “Celina!” I scream out; agony flooding my body while despair begins to swallow me. He couldn’t have taken her. Not her. She wouldn’t allow it. My fists clench as I step toward him; determined to fight if necessary to save her. No matter the cost, I will save her.

“I told you, you pathetic waste of a king, she’s gone. Andras took her and will be claiming her soon,” my executioner cackles. “My purpose is just to distract you, so fighting me won’t do any good. Just give up like the good washed-up mate you are so I can end your miserable existence.”

I’m about to take a step toward him when the maroon beast suddenly yelps and drops to the ground. It is then that I hear her heavenly voice in a deep growl. “Your master is just as pathetic as your taunts.” His neck twists and bends awkwardly while he submits while my striking mate steps in front of me. “Speaking of pathetic, where the hell did he go?”

He squirms as he tries to resist her. The fool. Eventually, the beast breaks, quickly yelping his answer, “Toward Moorise Pack. He has a safe house-” he breaks then with a haunting yelp before spasming on the floor; signaling his death.

“Mother fucker-” My mate so eloquently spits, bringing a smile to my lips.

Now that I’ve seen her, and know that she’s okay, I can feel my grip over my body fading. I just need to see her face. “Cel,” I start; reaching for her.

She turns around and her magnificent blue eyes widen when she sees me. Her face has been marred with cuts, blood, and dirt, but she’s still the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. “Chris,” she starts as she races to catch me; my legs beginning to give out on me. “Are you okay?”

Am I okay? I don’t really care to answer that. “You’re okay,” I tell her; losing my control over my deteriorating body; her scent kissing me while my mind fades. She’s okay.

A scorching heat breaks the final scene of my nightmare; shattering the last scene and breaking up the monotony. My mind twists and turns while I try desperately to dive back into the never-ending nightmare. Where did this pain come from? Have I entered the fires of Hell? What the hell is this?

I try to escape the pain. I try to think of anything to stop it, and not even thinking of my Celina can stop it; if anything, it intensifies it. “What the hell is this,” I cry out as red replaces the blackness that was once surrounding me. It’s searing hot and I feel like my skin is being welded to me. What is this?

My body bolts upright as I gasp, swinging wildly to try to hit whatever is causing this pain. I hit something hard and feel things biting at my skin, throat, and mouth. Am I being attacked by demonic snakes?

“Christopher!” Someone cries out, making me stiffen when something hard hits me.

“Shit dude,” a very familiar voice chuckles before touching my face. I wince when I feel a stinging pain and shy away from the sudden burst of light. “Are you trying to kill us?”

An intoxicating scent is what hits me next. Honey, cinnamon, and daisies. Celina. Thinking I have lost my mind, and I’m in for a rude awakening in Hell, I open my eyes to see the top of her head with her face buried in my chest.

Still half convinced I’d gone mad, I rest my face on top of her head and inhale deeply. Gently, I kiss the top of her head while I hear Rajin purring. “My Celina.”