WARNING! VIOLENCE AHEAD!
-----
"BROTHER SEV! This woman is working with a rogue! We must kill her!" Parza yelled, struggling. Her words raised the ire of the other warriors surrounding Severino. They immediately took a stance, ready to transform into a werewolf at any moment. Severino, however, raised his hand to stop them.
"Bring her down," Severino demanded.
I cracked a smile. "I don't want to. I like her current place." I looked up to see the woman hovering above me.
"I've already punished her," Severino said. He might be thinking that it would alleviate my anger. Unfortunately, it wasn't about what happened three days ago; it was all about the damn Parviz forcing me when I was at my weakest. I could put up with the werewolves' insulting words and other things thrown at me. But I will never condone ravishment. If I had to kill, I would!
"Tell me, then, what punishment you think is appropriate for her," he said when I didn't respond. I turned to face Parviz, who was flat on the ground. My trees are pinning him down. He was howling and growling, even trying to break free from the trees. But he eventually came to a halt and reverted to his human form.
"Bitch!" he yelled, blood streaming from his mouth, "Let go of my sister!"
I smirked. Without warning, Parza's left arm burst into flames.
"Ah!" she screamed.
Ah! I couldn't stop myself from laughing. Her screams, those agonising screams, made my heart race with excitement!
"No! No! No! It hurts! Stop! Stop the fire! It hurts! Brother! Brother Sev! Help! Help me! Stop!"
"Parza!" yelped Parviz. His voice annoyed me. So I ordered my knights to sever his throat. When he no longer had the ability to shout, I nodded in satisfaction.
"Do you truly hate those siblings that much?" Cross inquired. His eyes widened in surprise. And he was looking at me, perplexed.
"Hate, you say?" I mused, "That's an understatement. I loathed them!" my eyes deepened, and Parza's body was set ablaze. Then, I turned to face my mate. There were still no changes in his expression. I doubt he would even care if I killed the siblings. "My alpha," I said, my voice a little squeamish. Well, I, too, could act a bit spoiled. "Look at my neck," I tilted my head to show him my neck. The part bitten by Parviz was already healed, but I had left his teeth marks on purpose. When accusing someone of his crime, we had to have proof. "I was almost humiliated," I closed my eyes to appear distressed, "in a cell where I had no one to shout for help. I---"
I didn't manage to continue my not-so-convincing dramatic act when Severino was suddenly an inch away from me. He grabbed one of my arms and stroked my neck. I couldn't respond right away due to shock.
"Parviz did this?" he asked, gently caressing my neck. His voice was cold, and he exuded a dangerous aura. I backed away instinctively, but his grip on me was so tight that I couldn't move.
"Yes!" I exclaimed angrily. He was too close for my liking. "Didn't I just say that?" I pushed him away with my other arm, but I felt like I was wasting my time. He was solid as a rock!
"I see," he nodded slowly.
I wasn't sure what he meant by those words. But the next thing I knew, the surroundings had devolved into complete disarray. And I found myself standing like a statue, my mouth opened wide, my eyes wide with disbelief, while the creature I chose as my victim to become a dark witch lay dead in her own pool of blood. Parviz, on the other hand...
When I turned to look at Parviz, I saw Severino clutching his throat.
"I think you forgot who's in charge of this pack," Severino said. Then he simply detached Parviz's one arm from his body with his hand. The latter screamed or attempted to. After all, he no longer had a vocal chord to use. "You dare mate with what is mine," he grumbled as he detached the other arm before letting go of Parviz. "Put him in the dungeon and make sure he lives for a week."
My mind was jumbled and I couldn't figure out who he was talking to until Cross ordered his men to turn around.
I touched my head and felt it burn slightly. To be honest, I wasn't used to seeing such brutality. In any case, not in action. I've seen tortured men, but not how they were tortured. It had been a long time since the war had broken out in the Hex Kingdom. So I grew up in a peaceful environment. I was still in shock as I watched this unfold in front of my eyes!
People are being dismembered! I only wanted to burn the woman alive, not cut her in three! Then, after that, burn Parviz!
Oh, freaking damn goodness! I just witnessed a man dismembering a person with his bare hands! My heart began to throb nervously as it began to sink into my mind. I thought I was tough enough, but it appears that I still need more training.
"Are you okay?" asked Severino, who I hadn't realised was standing in front of me. He touched my cheek, but I quickly backed up and turned away, disgusted.
"Get the hell away from me!" I yelled. He hadn't even washed his hands!
Severino stiffened, and something I couldn't put my finger on flashed across his eyes. Then he was back to his usual icy demeanour. He changed face so quickly that I now doubt whether I heard him express concern or if I was just imagining things a while ago.
"It appears that you are," he said, turning away, "return to the castle once you've calmed down."
I took a deep breath and leaned back against the tree. The trees I conjured had already returned to normal.
"I can hear your heart beating quickly," Cross observed as he approached me. "You don't seem all that tough, after all."
"Don't talk," I frowned, "you're making my mood worse."
Cross laughed and leaned against the tree. "Thank you for allowing me to be the Beta that this pack deserved."
I tsked. "I said, shut up. You're ruining my mood even more," I repeated.
Cross only shrugged, but he did stop talking.
I had no idea how much time had passed, but I eventually calmed down. Then I remembered Kara, my redheaded saviour. "Where is she?" I inquired, my gaze fixed on Cross in case he had done something to her.
"Who?" he asked, raising his brow.
"The one who rescued me from the dungeon."
"Oh, the rogue?" said Cross before shrugging, "Who knows? There was no one except you and the siblings when we arrived."
"Are you sure?" I asked, my eyes narrowing, "you didn't detain or kill her?"
Cross shook his head. "I don't have time for that. I was too engrossed watching the scene a while ago to kill someone. Instead of worrying about your rogue friend, you should worry about yourself. Your association with a rogue will have us interrogating you. We need to make sure you're not a part of them and will not endanger the pack."
My expression worsened. "You'll have me locked up in that dungeon of yours again?" I was absolutely appalled. I'm done having experiences I never had. I think I'm satisfied with what I had.
"Why?" Cross inquired, grinning, "Are you afraid?"
I sneered. "Just to remind you," I glared at him, "you'll never be able to contain me in that filthy place again." My magic is working now. Except for Severino, no one could force me to do anything ever again!
Cross burst out laughing. "Don't worry; I don't think my brother would do that again, but we need to question you about that rogue."
I took a seat on the ground. The ground still had Parza's blood on it, but her body had already been cleaned. "You will get nothing from me; I have no idea how she found me here, to be honest," and "Aren't you the strongest pack? You can't even detect her entering your territory," I said accusingly. It's not like I wanted Kara to fall into their clutches. I simply believe that the Blood Clad Pack's claim to be the strongest was a ruse.
Cross scowled. "That's exactly why we have to question you; the rogues had never managed to enter our territory without our knowledge," he explained, "but someone did while you were here." He looked at me, deep into my eyes. "Are you sure you didn't do anything? Are you sure you're not a part of them and have no plans to infiltrate us?"
I scoffed. "If we're going to talk about infiltration, I'll tell you right now, I'm not that stupid. Why should I ask one lone woman to infiltrate your savage pack? I'm no fool. I always make sure that my plan will work." And I have no idea why I was explaining myself. I suppose I should just let them suspect me. I don't mind! I didn't even wish to come here!
We had locked our gazes for who knows how long. I only stopped staring when Cross smiled.
"That's odd," he sighed, "if you have nothing to do with the rogue; then, it only means that their forces are becoming stronger." He frowned, "That's not a good thing. With what's going on with the elders right now, adding them to our problems is a big catastrophe."
"Why don't you just befriend them? Make a truce, for example, because I'm sure they're also affected by this plague," I suggested nonchalantly.
"Befriend the rogues?" Cross pondered, "You've got an interesting suggestion there, milady, but it'll never work."
"Why so?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "Can't you just reach out to them and say your piece about the truce? They seemed like decent creatures, to be honest."
"You seemed to lean on those rogues, and I don't understand why you see them as decent creatures. They're called rogues for a reason, you know," Cross squatted and laid his head on his arms sideways to look at me. "For all we know, they could be the cause of the plague. They have more witches than the packs, after all, and conjuring a curse is as easy to them as eating a pie."
I lowered my gaze. "That could be true, but until proven otherwise, I will consider them innocent."
"Your sense of justice is outstanding," Cross assessed. I'm not sure if he was complimenting me or being sarcastic. Regardless, Kara still helped me out there in the dungeon.
I let out a sigh. I'm suddenly feeling depressed. I miss my family!