BENEATH HER DARKNESS: The Alpha’s Little Demon
Chapter 64-Maybe One Day
LUCY…
The place felt damp and warm, with no wind blowing at all. I used to be okay in these surroundings, but now I miss the cold wind biting against my skin while I was still in the north. This palace looked dead, but why would I expect more?
I trod my way on the usual path that would lead me to Patrea’s stone cottage. She might be a prisoner in this realm, but she was given an option as to what home she would like to have. She told me she had them construct a home that was nearly identical to the one she had in the human realm. She thought she was being clever so it would still feel like home, but it only made her long for her real world.
The smell of a freshly cooked home meal whiffed through the air, and I heard my stomach rumbling. My thoughts went to Adan – we both hadn’t eaten dinner, and I was sure he was already hungry by now. It was already almost dawn in the human world, while in this realm, we didn’t have any concept of time.
Darkness was everywhere, and the demons and the lost souls around never slept. And I was sure my father and Lucius didn’t need to, but they just did it so they could rest.
But Patrea kept her sense of time and would always have her meals according to how she programmed her hours. I wondered how she never lost her fire and spirits in this dead realm where there were barely any living souls here.
I stopped by her front door, but before I could knock, the door opened, and standing before me was a beautiful female that seemed to never age despite the fact that she was already a grandmother now. When I first met Patrea, I thought she was just the same age as my mother, but knowing her story from Althea, she must be around fifty or sixty years old, and yet she looked like she was just in her late twenties.
It was probably her age when she was brought here by my father.
I wondered if there was more to Patrea and Lucien than meets the eye. She was clearly the only living soul from another realm who had gotten this far.
“Lucija? Is that you?” Her eyes rounded as her hand clamped over her mouth.
I flashed her a wide smile, my teeth showing, as I nodded my head.
She looked around before her hand reached for my arm and pulled me inside her home, closing the door behind us as soon as I stepped in.
“Why did you come back? How did he find you?” Her eyes were flitting with worry before they became sad. “Or did you decide to embrace your demon side?”
I w*et my lips before I smiled warmly at her.” First, let me hug you.”
“Oh, sweetheart!” She smiled warmly back at me and opened her arms, enveloping me in a warm hug. She smelled of cinnamon mixed with herb spices. “I didn’t want to see you here, but I did miss you.”
“I’m glad you’re okay, Patrea. I have so much to tell you.”
“You can tell me everything, but have you eaten? I just finished making dinner. It’s not much, but it’s enough for the two of us unless you now eat like the wolf that you are.
I giggled softly and followed her lead as we walked to her small dining area. My eyes roamed around her cottage. Nothing had changed there was still a place for all her potions and books in one corner, and the house was still as tidy as ever.
“Sit,” she said as she patted the chair before moving on to fix food and plates on the table. “Now, tell me first what brought you here.”
“I found my mate.”
“You did not!” she exclaimed as she placed her hands on her hips, a wide smile playing on her lips. She looked excited and happy. And it made my heart warm and ache at the same time. It felt like this is how my mother would react if I told her I had found my mate. I wondered if Mom knew I had found Adan.
“I did!” I couldn’t help but smile back before biting my bottom lip.
“Then what are you doing here, young lady?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.
“My father brought him here. So, I have no choice but to follow them!”
“Oh, spirits! Your father had never faltered in bringing living souls here! Did he abduct him? Go directly to King Hades and tell him! I’m sure he won’t turn down a meeting with a royal princess!” Her face morphed into a scowl. She hated my father – but who didn’t?
“Adan volunteered to be here… so no, I can’t go to Hades and tell him that.”
“And why would he do that? Was he stupid? Oh, Spirits! I forgot I’m one of the stupid ones as well!” She slapped her palm on her forehead before looking at me again. “Tell me what happened?”
“Father wanted me back here and threatened to hurt others, so I was left with no choice but to tell him I was coming here. Then Adan… Adan was being Adan…He…” I let out a sigh, not knowing how to explain further.
“He didn’t want you out of his sight… Understandable. Is he locked up somewhere?”
“Chained with the prisoners from the other realms. In Kosior Dungeon.”
“It’s not the worst dungeon. He’ll survive.. unless Lucien orders something terrible for him.” She sat down and reached for my hand resting on the top of the table and rubbed it gently.
I nodded my head. The Cyberus was the worst one, where souls were s*cked at the moment they entered it, and they would be left with a hollow body t*ortur*ed in constant heat. But these were reserved for the bod*ies and souls of all creatures that their own realms would not accept in their afterlives.
“Do you know what Lucien plans to do with him?”
“I don’t know. But I know what he wants to do with me. Lucius said he still wants to drain me of my werewolf blood. Do you think it’s still possible? I have a wolf now.”
“Oh, spirit! The only way he can do it is to K*ll your wolf first. And then rituals, magics, spells…”
“He’s going to ask you to do it, right?”
“I’m not going to do it!” She shook her head, her eyes flitting with defiance. “I can do all the others, but I will not let me harm you!”
“What will he do to you if you disobey him?”
“It doesn’t matter. At the end of the day, no matter what he does to me, I won’t d*ie.”
“How long before he breaks you?”
“Listen, darling. If there’s no witch to help him, his next option is to release a very strong demon power to convert you. And Hades and Selene will feel that, and if you’re not willing to be transformed, they can interfere and stop him.” My mouth opened in awe.
“You need to K*ll me if he decides to make me use my magic and spells to K*ll your wolf and change you.”
“No. I’m not going to K*ll you.” I shook my head.
“No one else can K*ll me but Lucien and his blood. I’m sure if he had a way out, he would also not let his spawns K*ll me, but he can’t. And ironically, despite having hundreds of sons, none of them can approach me except you.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m a*s*suming that, when he made our contract, he added that without my knowledge. Maybe he specifically stated that none of his sons could approach me without his presence. He had no daughters by then, and he probably thought he would never have any.”
It made sense. Lucius had never referred to her as Patrea, just ‘the witch’ because he had never met her on a personal level as I did.
“So you see, you’re my only way to freedom. You might think K*lling me will tarnish your soul, but you’re doing it for the greater good. The sooner I’m dead, the lesser dark magic Lucien can come up with.”
“I can’t do that. Especially without telling you about her.”
“About her…. What do you mean?”
I took a deep breath before I began talking. “I found your granddaughter… You have one.”
She gasped. Her mouth remained open as shock registered on her face.
“Adora is dead. I’m sorry.”
“My Adora…” Her lips quivered as tears streamed down her face.
“But she has a lovely daughter. She’s eighteen now. She is a little shorter than me, with beautiful dark plum hair. She has your nose. She also has your spirit and your fire. Her name is Althea.”
“Althea…” She murmured her name as she clutched her hands on her chest while she tried to stifle her sobs, but it wasn’t working. Tears kept trickling down her cheeks as her body began to glow bright purple. My eyes widened in awe before she gave me a weak smile.
“My glow had darkened over the years, but it’s glowing brightly today. It mirrors my emotions.”
My eyes watered as I flung my arms around her, hugging her tightly. Patrea was happy. And I was certain the bright purple glow represented hope – all the more reason I needed her to get out of here alive.
“We need to help each other. I will get you and Adan out of here if you promise me you will help Adan once he steps out of the underworld.” I told her as I withdrew from hugging her.
“What do you mean, help Adan? And to what extent are you going to offer your father in exchange for my life and Adan’s?” She asked, her brows furrowing.
“You don’t need to know. But whatever it is, it won’t K*ll me, and I doubt my father would K*ll me. He needs me. But I want to make sure that once you’re out of here, you will help me with Adan.”
“What do you want me to do?”
“Make him forget about me…” I bit my bottom lip to stop it from quivering as my eyes watered. Soon, I could no longer stop the tears from streaming down my face. “… like I never existed in his life.”
“I’m not going to do that, Lucy.” She kept shaking her head. “No.”
I took her hands and held her tightly. “You have to do it. There’s no future for a werewolf with a demon.”
“You are a werewolf, Lucy. Don’t forget that.”
“Adan deserves more than me. He’s an Alpha…”
“I knew it! You will be mated to a great one.”
“He is. That’s why I can’t take him away from them. There are many people who need him.”
“But he needs you. Does he love you? Was he treating you good?” I nodded my head in response.
“Then I’m not going to do that. He deserves to choose what he wants with his life.”
“I cannot take him away from them, Patrea. It’s better to lose him this way than to see him chained and locked up until his soul and spirit fade away.”
“But it’s unfair for him to not remember anything of you. I’m sure there are other ways.”
“It’s for the best. If he doesn’t remember me, then he will not feel any loss.”
“And how about you?”
“I’m a demon. We don’t do love. I will forget about him in my own time.” I was trying to convince Patrea, but it felt like I was trying to convince myself more.
“Can you?” She asked, her eyes boring deep into mine as if she wanted to read my soul.
My whole body shook as my cries got louder. I loved Adan with all my heart, and I knew I would never forget about him, but at least I knew I could love him from afar. Then maybe one day we will meet again.