BENEATH HER DARKNESS: The Alpha’s Little Demon
Chapter 75 – Trapped Souls
LUCY…
Tears trickled down my face as I tried to keep myself together. It was agonizing to see Adan chained and punished, but it was t*ortur*e to hear his pleas. I hope one day he will forgive me for doing this to him.
A loud crashing sound, like bricks exploding, erupted in the air as metals and chains clattered as they were dragged on the floor. And I knew Adan had broken free. My gaze darted to my father, who was left stunned in his place.
Adan was soon on my back, his chained arms coiling around my body as he hugged me tightly. My father hissed, his eyes blazing red, as he stood up from his throne, but I was faster. I let fire engulf my whole body, including Adan. I knew my father had the possibility of penetrating my fire, but I was thankful that Lucius held his arm to block him from reaching us.
If anything, it caused Father to pause and just stare at me, his chest heaving as I continued to sob and let myself be lost in Adan’s touch while Patrea continued her chant.
“Lucy… Stop her. We can win this together.” Adan mumbled against my skin, his mouth kissing the skin of my neck. I let the fire make a gurgling sound to keep the others outside from hearing our conversation.
“I love you, Adan. I need you to trust me. I promise I will come back for you.”
“I don’t want you out of my head.”
“Adan…” I wanted to tell him it would just be temporary until I got my act together, but I felt something digging into my neck. “Adan…”
A soft gasp left my throat, but I stopped. myself from creating more noise as his fangs sunk deeper, piercing my soft spot. He was marking me. I had no idea how he was able to let his fangs out, but it might have something to do with why his aura became strong.
My hands flew to his forearms, which were still gripping my body tightly as I held on to him for support because my knees were buckling but my mate wasn’t stopping. It was painful and exhilarating.
Despite the situation we were in, I couldn’t help but revel in the way his teeth were digging into my skin. I was so lost at the moment when, all of a sudden, Adan’s hold on me loosened as his body dropped to the ground just beside my feet. With my fire still enveloping us, I cleaned the blood from my neck and covered his mark with my hair before wiping the blood off his lips. His fangs retracted as his chest. rose and fell as if he were just sleeping.
I lowered the flame that was embracing us until it completely extinguished. Lucien immediately rushed forward to check on me.
“What have you done?” He hissed, his jaw tightening as he threw me a furious look.
“I just protected him from your wrath. He just wanted to hug me.” I told him in a cold voice, with my eyes blazing red before I turned my full attention to Patrea. “Were you able to do it?”
She nodded her head.
“I will send Stone back to his territory.” My father spoke, but before he could do anything, I spun my body around and held his wrist.
“Not too fast. I want Patrea out of here too!”
“What?” Both my father and Lucius. exclaimed at the same time.
Father hissed at Lucius before he turned his attention to me. “And why would I do
that?”
“Let her go, void the contract, and set her body free.”
“I’m not stupid.”
“Yes, you are not.” I scoffed at him before my eyes squinted and a dagger flew past him, stopping in front of my chest. “I’m ready to d*ie, Lucien.”
“I’m not a fool, Lucija! If you want to d*ie! You could have let me K*ll Stone!”
“I have nothing to lose now, Father! My mate will never remember me anymore. Maybe it’s best if we just K*ll ourselves. Maybe in the afterlife, we can be together. I have nothing anymore.” I let the flying dagger pierce my skin, and although I was wearing black, blood could be seen soaking into my dress.
“No! Lucija!” Father roared, and the hall grounds shook.
I let the tears fall from my eyes before I darted my gaze at Adan’s. He was unconscious, but blood appeared on his chest.
“A little more push, father, and you will lose me.”
“A dagger will not K*ll you!”
“I can try, rip my heart to pieces if I need to”
“Ask me something else! Not Patrea!”
“Your choice. Patrea or me…”
“Lucija… You don’t need to do this. You’re bleeding!” Patrea exclaimed as her face paled.
“You don’t belong here, Patrea. He had no right to trap a soul as beautiful as yours.” Patrea and I kept staring at each other, both our eyes were pooling with tears.
“Fine! I will send her back to the human realm!” Lucien exclaimed in exasperation.
The dagger moved back an inch as I let out a sigh. “The contract, Father. The one you sign with your blood. I want it destroyed!”
“Lucija!” Father hissed as his horns protruded from his head, and I knew he was letting his demon aura out, but I wasn’t backing down.
The dagger moved forward again, but just enough to touch my skin. Soon enough, an old-looking document appeared in the air and was floating in between us.
“Is this the contract, Patrea?”
“Yes…”
“Destroy it. Let Patrea go free…”
“You will pay for this, Lucija.”
“I’m already paying more than I deserve. Destroy it…”
Lucien’s eyes glowed red as he turned his attention to Patrea, but he wasn’t doing anything to the contract – it stayed floating in the air. I raised my hand and summoned fire before extending it directly under the contract. Soon, my fire engulfed it slowly, burning the paper as a rumble formed on my father’s chest.
And in a few seconds, the paper was gone, Patrea’s body jolted as if somebody had shaken her before she began gasping for air.
I let the dagger hanging in the air dropped on the floor while my heart thudded loudly. I began to panic, terrified that Patrea was about to collapse, but she raised her hand as if stopping me from doing anything while she tried to steady her breathing.
“I’m okay. I’m ready to leave this realm.” Tears trickled down her face as she stared at me.
We didn’t say a word, but we had an understanding-a reminder of what transpired in her cottage. We did it. Now if we could only continue and succeed with our plans.
“You can’t stay away from me, Patrea! I will look for you again!” Lucien warned her.
“I’m not the same naive girl that you lured with your charm, Lucien. I know better now. Cross my path, and you will regret it.”
“The only reason you’re still alive is because of me!” He yelled at her as he moved forward as if he would lunge at her, but Lucius blocked his way. His hand gripped his chest, preventing him from moving forward.
“Enough, Father. Let Stone and Patrea go. They don’t belong in this realm anymore. We don’t own them now.” Lucius explained in a calm manner, his eyes not leaving Lucien’s, as if he were making sure he would not do anything to harm Patrea or me.
“Make sure you know where your loyalty lies, Lucius.”
“It’s with you, Father. Always with you. That’s why they need to go. Soon, the gods would smell their souls, and they would know that they didn’t belong here, and you would be in jeopardy.”
He glared at Lucius before he looked back at Patrea. “Get Stone, and prepare to transport yourself.”
Patrea didn’t waste any more time and crouched beside Adan before she lifted his head, and adjusted her position, letting Adan’s head rest on her thighs. “I’m ready.”
My hands coiled into fists as I fought off the tears that were falling. “You will not bother Adan, Patrea, Althea, and Blade again.”
“I will watch Stone, and if I find out that Patrea lied to me, I will hunt her down.”
“I never played with any of my spells and rituals, you know that. I delivered as I was asked!” Patrea snapped at him. “Now let me out of this forsaken place!”
Lucien’s eyes glowed red but he didn’t say anything, and with just a motion of his hand, Patrea and Adan disappeared in front of me.
Adan was gone taking my heart with him.
My shoulders slumped, and I saw Lucius. was about to reach for me, but I moved away before he could touch me. I didn’t want his pity and for our father to conclude that he was helping me.
“Show me where you transported Adan and Patrea.” I turned my attention to Lucien instead.
“You don’t trust me.” He scoffed.
“I don’t have any reason to trust you.”
“Fair enough.” He shrugged his shoulders as he let the hologram appear before us. My lips quivered, wanting a sob to escape my throat, but I stopped it as I stared at Adan’s n@ked body, coiled in the middle. of the entrance hall. He was still unconscious.
Everyone was hovering over him as his mother sobbed beside him while they checked his wounds. Even Grand Alpha Aurelius and his Luna were there. They came home for him.
“Maybe Lucy will appear soon. Check all the rooms of the packhouse.” I read those words from Alpha Aurelius’ lips, and Collin began giving instructions to the Omegas around. The tears I was trying to stop just kept coming. How come they were still not mad at me after what happened to Adan?
“That’s enough, we have things to discuss.” Father snapped the hologram away, and I was left staring at an empty space before me.
“Where did you take Patrea?” Lucius. asked.
“Same place.”
“She’s not there.” I hissed at him.
“I don’t know.”
“Then you need to check. I want to make sure you didn’t double-cross me.”
“I didn’t!”
“Then find her!” I shouted at him. He let out another hologram, and this time it showed Patrea, who was deep in the forest. It was dark and snowy. She was trying to find her way.
“Where did you take her?” I asked, my eyes squinting.
“I told you, at the same place as Adan, and I had no f*uc*king idea why she ended. up somewhere else.”
“It’s probably outside Stone’s territory. Father did not destroy the entire shield. He just entered it without destroying it, and I a*s*sumed supernatural’s were still being held out by the shield protecting the territory.” Lucius explained, more to me than my father.
“It’s none of my business now. She can d*ie and be free.” Lucien exclaimed as he shut down the hologram. His voice was laced with hatred. I knew Patrea would survive. She was smart and equipped with magic and spells. My only concern was that no one would directly inform Adan’s family of what exactly happened here.
“I’m going to bed.” I tilted my head up and turned around.
“Let’s talk first,” father spoke in a calmer manner.
“No. I want to be alone.”
“Lucija!”
“You got what you wanted. Now leave me alone for a while!”
“If you think you can outsmart me, think again. If I discover you’re crossing the realms, I will not hesitate to wreak havoc in his territory.”
“I’m planning to keep my word, Lucien. So, keep your word too.”
“I guess I’m not required here right now. I’ll see you around.” Lucius said, breaking the tension between me and Lucien.
“Where are you going?” Father asked him.
“Let’s just say I was in the middle of something before I came here. Now I want to continue with my business.” He winked at me, and I just rolled my eyes at him. I was sure he would go back to f*uc*king his women.
I walked away from them and tuned out. their voices as I left the throne room. With a heavy heart, I wrapped my arms. around my body as I let my feet lead me to my chamber while I let myself get lost in my thoughts.
Without Adan here, I would be able to master my power without having to think about keeping him safe. Without him here, I didn’t need to worry about him being t*ortur*ed or abused. I could focus on being a stronger she-demon while letting Angel take full advantage of her strength outside of this tower.
And when I’m ready, I will challenge my father for my freedom. I knew it might take a while, and having Adan forget about me might lead to my own heartbreak if he found someone else to fill his nights.
A big price I had to pay. But what choice. do I have? It’s a risk, but I was holding on to the hope that whatever his mind had forgotten, his heart would remember.
I entered my room and closed the door. without making any noise before I leaned my back on it. My hand reached for my neck, letting my fingers trail on my skin up to the wounds of his mark. Adan even at the worst moment, he would always surprise me.
I smiled despite myself. I had his mark-this was enough for now.