Birthright: Book 1: Know Thyself

by Bella Colt

  Chapter 19: Gerd

  I walk into the room and lock the door behind me like King Dierk ordered. I hear the battle erupting all around me. Looking around the room, I find the Princess lying face down on the floor against a far wall, sobbing incoherently.

  “Princess?” I say quietly hoping to calm her.

  I obviously fail because she rapidly scurries along the floor until she hits another wall like she can’t see. She ends up in a fetal position holding herself.

  “I will not harm you,” I say calmly and quietly hoping she’ll believe me.

  “The other day, when the King left you here unconscious... I didn’t touch you. I wouldn’t hurt you; you’re our one chance at salvation from him. I wish I was stronger and could have stopped what he did that day... and today! I’m so sorry! Please know that those who are loyal to the Queen are loyal to you as well!”

  I don’t think she understands my words. What did he do to her? It’s like she’s somewhere else.

  Chapter 20: Declan

  I watch as the werewolves fight, shifted and unshifted, against the king’s guards. All around me, I hear a cacophony of sounds. Vicious snarls, growls, and yelps of pain are mixed with screams of agony. We are just inside the entrance to the grounds, waiting for Mason’s pack to arrive. Looking around, I watch as a wolf runs and jumps on a guard with incredible speed, cleanly ripping his throat out. The guard falls to the ground with a confused look permanently etched on his face, in death.

  The guard had no idea what even happened to him, he was too focused on fixing his armor, that was ill-fitted, to see what was coming. The fighting skills of these guards are that of a novice compared to my pack. Their skills are laughable seeing that they’re the King’s official guard. The King must not have had them regularly practicing, if at all. The cocky bastard probably thought he would never be attacked. I guess he had no reason before, but he should have realized that he would need a better defense when he took Amara.

  I notice the scent of forty werewolves drift in and within a few minutes, we are surrounded by some of Mason’s pack.

  “Thanks for coming so quickly, I want you to be safe and watch each other’s backs out there! Now, get to it,” Mason says to his pack with a nod towards the grounds where my pack is already fighting.

  As his pack rushes into the fray, to join the fighting, Mason, my father and I make our way amongst them through the chaos towards the doors. Occasionally, I would throw an arm or leg out at an unsuspecting adversary as I run past, giving my allies an advantage. As we reach the bottom of a set of stone steps, the double doors at the top burst open and twelve people walk out in a line like a human barricade.

  “Four for each of us,” I growl to Mason and my father.

  “Oh, look at that the mutt can count!” The one closest to me says.

  ‘Idiot’ Wolf thinks as I jump on him and snap his neck so fast that the guy next to him just stands there blinking dumbly. They are dumb enough to think I will waste time with idle banter before fighting, another advantage for me. I grab them both by their throats and slam them as hard as I can into each other, as I feel a heavy weight land on my back.

  Finally, someone who will put up a fight.

  I drop the men and throw myself back into the nearest wall as hard as I can, knocking the breath out of my attacker. I use the distraction to turn around and unsheathe a blade from my hip holster then fluidly drag it across his throat, deep, from ear to ear. I turn my focus back to the two who are unconscious on the ground. Without any hesitation, I cut their throats too. In normal circumstances, I would have been horrified at what I’m doing, but these people had every intention of hurting and killing my mate. Wolf is already pushing hard to be released, his blood lust throwing him into a frenzy.

  ‘Soon!’ I promise him, he deserves vengeance just as much as I do.

  I look around and see that Mason is off to the side already done dispatching his share of the guards. He is just standing there watching as my father kills his last opponent with a knife to the chest.

  “Ready?” I ask, catching their eyes. They both look at me and nod.

  “The King is mine and mine alone. I need you to seek out Amara. Do you understand?” I’m using the Alpha tone, making my father obey with no questions and hoping Mason will do the same out of respect. Again, they each nod their head yes in response. I’ll have to get used to that; I didn’t use the tone intentionally. I just wanted him to do it without question, we can’t waste any more time.

  Once through the front doors, I immediately see the man who must be my prey. He is standing superiorly on the top of the staircase in front of me.

  “Find her!” Mason and my father take off, both going in opposite directions to look for Amara.

  Before me is an older man looking to be in his sixties, so he is probably over a hundred years old. He’s wearing normal clothing, but he wears all black. His perfectly fitted, button-down long sleeve silk shirt matches his black slacks and exceptionally shiny black Dockers. What gives him away instantly is the gold laurel crown reef that sits atop his bloated head. For a King, he doesn’t look like he is taking care of himself. He seems rather mangy. In fact, his gray hair is thinning and is almost completely bald on top. His pale gray eyes are sunken into his hollow face, and his skin looks paper-thin. Like just rubbing against it would cause it to break open. The longer I look at him, the closer he looks to his actual age. He has taken the high ground, so he thinks he has the advantage.

  “You want to come down and play?” I ask him, staring directly into his cold dead eyes and smile at the thought of ripping his head off.

  “Why, mutt? I have no quarrel with you, I don’t even know why you’re here?” He answers snidely.

  “What do you mean? You took my mate, and I will kill you, what else is there to know?” Is this guy the real King because he’s not too bright and doesn’t fit the bill?

  “Ah, but why fight for her? She’s nothing, actually worse than nothing! She’s an abomination, a monster that must be killed. Even though you think she’s your mate, you must see that!”

  I snarl and bare my teeth at him, barely remembering to breathe. I can’t lose it now, or I won’t get Amara back.

  “You will pay for anything that you’ve done to my mate!”

  “Oh, so you believe that you are truly mated... I wonder? Did you feel her pain and agony when we were spending time together in my... special room?” He asks, with a smirk.

  I lose it, I can’t control myself. I phase into Wolf, shredding my clothes and causing all my weapons to fall to the ground with a clang. I run and leap up the stairs, taking them a few at a time, thanks to my transformed legs. The King is standing his ground, remaining in human form. I notice his hand hiding behind his back. Shit, I know something is wrong, but I can’t stop myself from the momentum. With no choice but to following through, I need to make this count. As I leap towards his throat, I feel a hot stabbing pain in my shoulder. It slows me down and knocks my aim off, but I’m still able to latch my teeth onto his arm. He phases into a dirty brown colored wolf, making me lose my grip. I back up a few paces to watch him and allow him to make the first move.

  Moving slowly, he starts circling me, and I mirror his actions. He swipes his uninjured paw at my face, but it was a deliberate attempt that I easily dodged. He almost loses his balance in the process. Gaining his footing quickly, we go back to circling each other. The sound of our snarls and growls is deafening.

  Not taking my eyes off him I watch as he trips over his discarded crown. His injured arm causes him to roll on his back and expose his belly. Seeing the opening, I quickly leap over him and slash my hind claws across his stomach making him yap in pain. He quickly maneuvers himself, so he is standing on all fours again while blood drips to the ground from his stomach. Continually backing him up with each step, I stalk towards him. I slowly herd him towards the stairs until his back paws are at the top edge of them. He notices, too late, and turns his head to look back. Th
ere’s my chance.

  I jump forward with my mouth open, aimed at the base of his neck and shoulder. It’s not as good as the front of the neck, but I can make this work. When I make contact, I start thrashing my head from left to right making sure my muzzle stays clamped down. I feel his blood flow into my mouth, and I’m forced to swallow it or risk losing my grip. Using my front paws, I dig my claws into his side and work his neck tirelessly until his thrashing and gurgled whimpers of pain stop. As he goes limp, I shake him by the throat hard a few more times just for good measure before releasing him. I am amazed at how easy it was to kill the man who has been the source of all my misery lately. Clearly, someone should have challenged him long ago.

  ‘MATE!’ Wolf demands, and I agree.

  Our need for blood is temporarily satisfied, our sole focus is getting to Amara now. I sneeze the blood out of my nostrils and inhale deeply looking for Amara’s scent. I can’t smell it in this part of the house, so I follow my father’s scent back downstairs and through a dark hallway. Through the door at the other end of the hall, I see two guards sitting on the ground with their hands behind their back. I growl and charge towards them. My father steps in the way, causing me to head butt him in the groin because I can’t stop.

  Bending over and coughing profusely, he says, “Declan, they surrendered, and they have been trying to help Amara while she has been here,” he tries to explain through coughing fits to me.

  I growl and start circling. Agitated, I howl at him. I’m too agitated to use the pack link, but he must have understood what I wanted because he answers.

  “She is downstairs son. Mason and another guard, loyal to the Queen and Princess, are with her. Declan I must warn you... She’s not okay, I’m not sure what he did to her,” he says, looking at the ground.

  Growling I run as fast as I can down the dimly lit stone steps that are littered with wax until I reach the bottom. I’m confronted by Mason and a huge man with an executioner’s mask over his face, standing in front of a large door. I growl loudly, and I bear my fangs as I take a step towards them.

  “Step aside, Gerd. This is her mate and believe me you do not want to stop him” Mason warns the large guard next to him. They both step to their side and out of my way, allowing me access to go into the metal doors that are cracked open.

  Chapter 21: Declan

  There is no light in this room. If I weren’t a wolf, then I wouldn’t be able to make anything out. I’m overwhelmed by the scent of Amara’s blood the second I’m through the door. As I look around the room, what I find causes my heart to stop. Amara is in the fetal position with her arms hugging her knees, eyes closed tight, and crying heavy heart-wrenching sobs inconsolably. I quickly pad over to her and shift back, leaning down in front of her on my knees.

  “Amara,” I say softly.

  When she opens her eyes, all I can see are the whites as she starts to try and scoot away, her sobs getting louder and more hysterical as Amara realizes she’s backed herself into a corner. I feel her heartbreak and longing as if it’s my own, but I don’t understand what’s wrong with her, why is she feeling this way?

  “Shh, it’s okay I’m here, Princess. It’s me, Declan!” As I say my name, I feel the hurt in her magnify a thousand times, and it hunches me over like a punch to the gut.

  “FATHER!” I scream, not knowing what else to do because it’s like my presence is hurting her. He appears in the room in seconds.

  “What’s wrong, is she ok?” He asks, frantically.

  “No, I don’t know. I don’t know what’s wrong with her. I can’t see Amara’s pupils, and when I told her it was me, it felt like she was being stabbed in the heart. Why is she feeling that way? What happened to her?” I plead, silently praying that he can help her.

  I hear him take a deep breath and start to walk around the room, looking at the floor. Great, he has no idea; I’m going to lose her. I feel the tears well up in my eyes.

  “Aha! Here it is!” He bends over and picks up a green shaded glass vial and holds it under his nose as he sniffs.

  “Oh!” He says with a sad look and then turns to face me.

  “Declan, he gave her a witch’s tonic. There’s no real way to know what it was for sure. But If I had to guess, I believe this one causes her to live her worst nightmares repeatedly for some time. I am not going to lie, it could make her go mad, depending on how long she is under and what her worst nightmares are.

  “Are you sure, maybe its something else?”

  Sadly, it’s one of the easiest tonics for witches to make and sell. So, no I’m sorry son, I don’t think so,” he admits sadly.

  I let the tears fall as I stand up and walk to the furthest wall from Amara and punch it repeatedly. I don’t stop until my knuckles are bare and there is a deep hole in the wall with rubble at my feet.

  “We need to take her home, maybe the pack doctor can help. If not, I want her to be comfortable, at least,” I say to my father.

  I ask him to carry her since she can’t bare my touch right now. We hurt so bad right now, not being able to touch and comfort her. Wolf understands even less than I do. I know this is the work of the tonic, but it’s hard to remember that through the pain Amara is feeling. I’ve missed her every second of the day, so desperately since she was taken. I’ll never let her go after this, even if she hates me.

  Chapter 22: Declan

  It’s been four days since I returned home to the pack with Amara. The first two she was completely stuck in that tonic induced stupor. She sobbed all day as she lived her nightmares repeatedly. The last two have been spent sleeping, I haven’t let her leave my sight once.

  The first two days I watched from a distance, but now I’m at her side and not moving. I can’t, I have to talk to her when she wakes up. I could feel what she felt before she was able to finally fall into a peaceful sleep after days of torment. I could hear her begging for her own death in her head. I was barely able to contain Wolf during that time. I had paced her bed length for two hours before I could calm both of us down.I’m sitting in the chair next to our bed, and I grab her hand in mine for what seems like the thousandth time since I brought her home.

  “I love you,” I repeatedly whisper in her ear.

  I’m shocked when I feel the faintest of squeezes in my hand. I almost don’t believe it. I intently watch to see if she will do it again. She tries to groan, and it comes out as a quiet cough.

  “Amara, baby?”

  “Wake up, love. I need you,” I manage to choke out.

  Her eyes start fluttering like she’s fighting to open them.

  “It’s okay. I’m here, and I’ll be here no matter what, take your time.” I whisper, not wanting to push her too hard but all I really want to do is yank her up and shake her awake just to see her eyes. Damn, it has been too long since I’ve seen her eyes.

  Chapter 23: Amara

  I feel the weight slowly lift from my eyes as I open them. I have to quickly close and open them again. I realize I am not really able to see anything.

  “Blind?” I ask stupidly. I hear a deep chuckle.

  “No, love, we’re in our room. The light is off. I can turn it on if you like,” I hear Declan say.

  “No!” I answer quickly.

  I can’t stand to see his face when he tells me that he’s found another mate while I was gone. I lost him to another, he should have just left me to die. Each time I saw the cycle of images more was revealed. I saw exactly how happy Declan is and that what we had didn’t mean anything to him. The tears obstruct my already non-existent vision, as I blink them away.

  “Why are you crying?” He asks sniffing the air as he comes to sit on the edge of the bed next to me.

  I move as far away from him as I can into the wall. My heart hurts, I just want to die in peace. Why didn’t he let me die like he wanted? How did I even get here? The last thing I remember was being in the black room with the King. I only vaguely had the sense of someone rescuing me a while back. I don’t know how l
ong. I really couldn’t bring myself to care, though.

  “Why am I here?” I ask Declan.

  “What do you mean? Amara, we need to talk, and I need you to listen!”

  “I don’t want to hear it, I already know!” I weakly yell, remembering all the vivid images of his happy life with her. Her? I never heard her in the visions.

  “What’s her name?” My voice quivers as I ask.

  He looks at me confusion drawing both of his eyebrows together.

  “Who? What are you talking about?” He questions.

  “Your true mate, the woman you found while I was gone,” I say sobbing, my damn emotions betraying me; I want to act strong in front of him.

  The next thing I know, he is grabbing me and holding me in a fierce hug as he places me on his lap.

  “Let go!” I squeal as I struggle against his hold.

  “You are my true mate, Amara. My one and only, there is no one else!” He growls as he grinds his hard-on into me.

  “B-but I saw it all,” I start, but he cuts me off.

  “Listen before you say anything else. You were forced to drink something in a vial, yes?” He asks, and I nod in response.

  I can sense that he is smiling behind me as he continues. “In that vial was a witch’s tonic. It caused you to live your worst nightmares over, and over again. It was meant to drive you insane. To be honest, I’m amazed it didn’t with what I felt you were feeling. It almost drove me mad...”

  I am struck dumb. It wasn’t real? None of it was real, how is that possible? Every vision felt like I was right there living it with them.

  “Are you sure? It was all so real? How do I know what to believe?”

  “Yes, the entire tonic is out of your system now, and honestly, I think it’s your amazing healing abilities that saved you from insanity. With time you’ll see and know what’s real and isn’t,” he says, smiling at me and kissing the back of my head.