by Kate Bonham
I watched as he marched out of the dungeon, ignoring the pleas from his father’s prisoners for help, and back into his responsibility. A responsibility he seemed to be really damned good at.
Had I forced him into the life he didn’t want and made him into the monster he never wanted to be?
I just hoped he could get to Mae before she did something stupid, because if I knew Mae, she was ready to rip out the throats of everyone that stood in her way.
And for just a brief moment, a thrill shot through me that she would be willing to do anything to save me.
Mae
London, UK
I stood in the middle of the Strand, watching as people passed by without even noticing me. They ran for work in their suits and their umbrellas, taking no notice of the hybrid among them. I used to be one of them, I thought. How crazy is this? I used to be one of them hiding the fact that I was part Lycan and now I was a fucking hybrid, whatever the hell that meant. I’d never go back to that life. To me, that was a little sad.
Focus, Mae, focus.
I moved inside the closest hotel and took a spot on the chaise where the guests could sit if they needed. Closing my eyes, I tried to focus on Bram again. How the hell did I even find Blackmaw Castle?
It was hard to focus with so many damned people in this lobby. Opening my eyes, I looked around for a quiet place. The bar was only just opening… perfect. I stood up and made my way there, only to bump into something.
A boy.
I looked down at him, halfway to apologizing when I saw the familiar honey eyes of a Lycan child.
“Oh I’m sorry,” I turned to the woman coming over to grab the child. “He’s so clumsy.”
Her eyes flashed honey too as she pulled her son behind her. “He means you no harm.”
“I’m sorry,” I said, trying to hide my eyes. They got me into a lot of trouble around people who didn’t know what I was. “I do not wish to hurt the boy. I was surprised to see a Lycan here.”
“What are you?”
“I’m looking for the Blackmaw Castle. Can you tell me where it is?”
Her fears seemed to amplify. “Why would you want to go there?”
“They have my boyfriend. I intend on getting him back.”
“My advice is steer clear, cut your losses. No one escapes from the clutches of the Blackmaw dungeons.”
“Please?”
She sighed. “Okay, but just remember what I said.”
I nodded and waited for her to bring up a map on her phone. She pinched her fingers together to zoom into the picture. It’s in a place called Harlow. Just here, see?”
“Yes, is it disguised, or cloaked?”
“No. Most people just steer clear of it.”
“Thank you.”
She nodded and moved her son off, away from me. I headed out of the hotel and into the busy streets again.
◆◆◆
Blackmaw Castle
Harlow, UK
The big wrought-iron gates stood at least eight feet high, ivy wrapped around the bars. The large limestone brick wall to either side of the gates was covered in moss and quite aged. It looked as if the place hadn’t been opened for years, but that was probably just a cover. I climbed the gate and hopped over with ease. The driveway was full of little pebbles making it crunch under my feet as I walked the impressive length up to the front doors. The castle was huge, probably more like a manor, but I could tell it was grand and really, really old. As I made my way up to the side of the castle, I looked everywhere for guards or anyone really.
Nothing.
This was too easy. No way would there be no guards. I ran around the side of the building and checked for any easy access panels. Bram would be in the dungeon, so that was the first place I’d check.
I found a door towards the back, and it was slightly ajar. The hairs on the back of my neck stood upright, but I couldn’t back down now. I ran for it, sliding in between the doors without moving them. The hall I was in was dark, but I could faintly make out a little bit of light just up ahead. As I moved down the hallway, I heard music and thumping, light thumping like that of someone dancing.
Without warning, a young girl jumped out in front of me, a smile on her face. “I don’t know you. Who are you?”
“I-uh-I’m looking for someone.”
“There are heaps of ‘someones’ here.”
She couldn’t have been older than twelve, and she was playful as I had been at that age. Her long brown hair was silky and straight, and her eyes were a beautiful honey color.
“What’s your name?” I asked her.
“You snuck into my house,” she giggled. “What’s your name?”
“Mae.”
“Well, I am Reina, princess of the Blackmaw Castle.”
This was my little sister. But I could never tell her that, no one knew who I was, because I was the result of a union not blessed by my father’s family.
“Well Reina, could you take me to the dungeons?”
“You wish to be locked up?” she asked, confused.
“No, my friend is here. I need to ask him if he is okay.”
“What did he do?”
“He didn’t do anything wrong.”
“They all say that,” she said in a sing-song voice. “But okay, as long as you don’t tell anyone.”
“It’ll be our secret,” I said.
She took my hand and led me down the hall, then down another, and another, until we got to the top of the stairs that led down into a room below. I could smell the dampness from here.
“I can’t open the doors or anything,” she said. “You have to talk to him through the bars.”
“Thank you, Princess Reina.”
She smiled and skipped away. God, I wish I could be that innocent again. I made my way down the steps amongst cells filled with Lycans who had spotted me and started to whistle and offer lewd acts. I ignored them and continued until I found the cell at the end. A dark figure in the corner, I could only see his legs, but I knew it was Bram. I could feel it was him.
“Bram.”
The legs moved and I saw his beautiful face appear. It was bloodied, but it looked like it had been dry for a while.
“Mae… no, what are you doing here?”
“Coming to save you.”
“No, you have to go. If they were to find you…”
“I am not leaving without you.”
He came up to the bars, and I pulled my arms through the square holes to bring him close enough so I could kiss him. His mouth was cold but his tongue was warm on mine. His arms wrapped around my body, pushing me into the cold steel bars.
“Mae, you must go. I can’t stand the idea of you being in here too.”
“No, come with me.”
“I can’t. Hallec is making sure he can release me without incident but you have to wait for me.”
“But…”
“No, Mae, please. You have to go.”
“I can’t.”
“You can, I know you can. You’re capable of anything, Mae, it’s why I love you.”
“I love you too, that’s why I can’t just leave you here.”
Bram smoothed the hair out of my face and smiled. “You can and you will.”
I could hear feet coming down the stairs and I turned to face whoever it was only to be surprised by Reina.
“You have to go,” she said. “They know you’re here. Come on.”
“Go,” Bram said. “You have to go. I’ll find you.”
I kissed him hard, showing him just how much I needed him, and I ran off with Reina. She led me back down the halls until we came to the open door again.
“Go,” she begged me. “Please, you have to. My family aren’t nice to strangers.”
The sadness in her sweet, innocent eyes almost broke me. I’d wanted siblings forever, and here she was, and I couldn’t hug her and tell her it would be okay.
“Thank you,” I said to her. She nodded and closed the door. I ra
n for the gates again, with my Nosferatu speed, and jumped the fence, running from Bram.
That was not how I thought it would go.
ELEVEN
Mae
London, UK
The Ritz
It had been two days since I saw Bram in that cell, just the thought of it made me cringe. How could I have given up so easily? My heart was hammering in my chest since I’d fled and taken a room in the hotel. I looked out of the window and wondered why I couldn’t figure a way to protect the men in my life that I loved. I should have gone to see my father.
Screw this.
I needed a drink and I’d emptied the mini bar the first day I got here. I grabbed my jacket and headed out, to the bar downstairs. Ordering a signature cocktail, I sipped at it, loving the sharp tones of the bourbon and the vanilla bitters. There were only a few others in the bar, probably because it was only four in the afternoon, and the real drinkers didn’t tumble in until after work.
There was one man, young, probably just younger than me, sitting alone and without a drink. It seemed off but who was I to judge. I finished my cocktail and headed out into the streets. They were quiet enough, but in another hour, it would be busy as hell. That was one thing I hated about London.
The hairs on the back of my neck stood up. I tried to push the creepy feeling away but it lingered. I felt like someone was following me. To prove my point or set my mind at ease, I wove in and out of streets, eventually finding a courtyard to a pub off the beaten track and hid behind a planter.
The man from the bar walked in, looking everywhere. Why was he following me? He turned to leave the courtyard and that’s when I noticed the glint in his eye.
“Why are you following me, Lycan?” I asked, stepping out into the courtyard.
He sighed, almost relieved. “I need to tell you a message from King Hallec.”
“So tell me.”
“He asked me to tell you to wait. He is doing all he can to protect Bram and to have him released, but you have to be patient.”
“Why doesn’t he tell me that himself.”
“You know he can’t.”
I sighed, feeling as if I was stuck. I was in a foreign place, with no friends, and I had no idea who I could trust.
“He trusts you enough to find me though.”
“Yes,” he said, not offering up anything else. “Now, please get out of London. Orphax won’t be so pleasant if he were to find out who you are.”
I was about to ask who he was when he disappeared into the crowd, and I was alone. How the hell long was this going to take? How was I meant to just sit back and wait?
Bram
Weeks Later
My back ached, a feeling I never thought I would experience again. It had been too long since I’d fed, I could feel my body dying. My mouth was dry, my head pounded, and I knew if I moved, I wouldn’t be able to get up again.
I thought of Mae, of the time we fucked passionately in the cave near my castle in Romania, of all the ways and times we fucked in Cassia’s mansion, of her perfect body, her smile and laugh… those amber eyes.
Footsteps pulled me from my lustful memories and I soon looked upon Hallec. He looked exhausted, as if he’d been King for more than just a few months. He had someone with him, a woman, cowering by his side.
“You look bad,” he said, opening my cell. “I’m sorry it has taken me so long but I should be able to get rid of my uncle soon and we can release you.”
The woman looked down at me, her eyes puffy from tears, and tear stained cheeks.
“What is this?” I croaked.
“You need to feed.”
“No… I cannot feed from her.”
“You can, and you will. You need to feed. She is to be punished for her crimes.”
“I have not fed in weeks. You know what will happen to her.”
“Yes.”
She whimpered, but Hallec held onto her tighter so she could not run. I felt my hunger build, my fangs descending. Soon, I would not be able to stop.
“No, take her away.”
“Bram, you need this.”
Without hesitation, Hallec drew a blade and cut a line into the girl’s neck. The smell of her fresh blood was delicious. He dropped the girl to the ground, right beside me. She clutched at her neck but the blood was spurting through her fingers as she cried out that she was sorry.
The animal in me took over and I pulled her up into my lap, yanking her hands away and biting down into her wound. The blood spurt into my mouth, my hunger dissipating with every gulp. Soon, she was limp in my arms and I was rejuvenated. I threw her off me, disgusted with what I had done. Hallec was behind the locked door of my cell.
“What could she possibly have done to deserve that?” I asked him, not recognizing my old friend anymore.
“She broke our law, and committed lewd acts with a human whilst bonded to one of her own.”
Dread rolled through me. He had condemned a young girl to death for what he had done in his youth.
“I’ll return when I can.”
He turned and left, leaving me in darkness again. It was only now I realized I was in complete silence as well. Where were the other prisoners?
Unless he didn’t want any witnesses to his actions. Fear enveloped me as I sat back against the cold wall. I had a very bad feeling about this, but what could I do? I just hoped Mae was safe and away from this mess.
◆◆◆
I wanted the body to be gone, I wanted it to disappear but all I could do was look at the mess I’d created. The girl was cold; her eyes still open and cloudy. That neck slashed open, and red from the blood spilled. I’d ripped the strap from her top, and her breast was half hanging out, not entirely uncovered but close to it.
She’d fallen in love with a human, just as Hallec had done with Amabelle which gave him Mae and yet he would punish this girl for that? Was this to prove to his uncle Orphax that he could be as brutal as his father Fenneck so he could send him back to the Elders Council? For some reason, I had my doubts, but what could I do?
“Hey,” I heard someone whisper. I looked up and saw someone who I’d seen with Hallec earlier, a young man, one that looked familiar but I couldn’t place it. “Bram, right?”
“Yes.”
“You can’t trust him,” he said. “He’s not… who you remember. I need you to get Mae and run.”
I pushed up off the floor and moved to the cell door. “Who are you?”
“You don’t remember me?” he asked. “Kolten.”
Hallec’s son. He was only a young kid when I last saw him, but now I was looking at him, I could see the resemblance.
“You grew up fast.”
He smiled. “Unfortunately. Look, my father told Mae not to come here again and to wait for you to be released. He keeps saying he will release you, right?”
“Yes, when Orphax leaves.”
Kolten sighed. “Orphax left weeks ago, summoned back to the council. Hallec’s been lying to you. He wants to use you as a scapegoat to win over his people.”
I should have known better, but then again, I kind of already assumed that would happen.
“Maybe he needs me to be,” I said. “I did kill the King, I should face my punishment.”
“You protected my sister,” Kolten responded. “That should be rewarded, yet, even Mae hasn’t been mentioned. He’s changed and he’s forcing my older brother and sister to comply.”
“What is he doing?”
“I don’t know everything, because he knows I’m not like that. He keeps me at a distance but he also trusts me to deliver messages. I’m worried he will use Mae for his own propaganda.”
“He didn’t want anyone to know who she was.”
“He’s summoned his old lover here,” Kolten said. “I could only imagine it is to prove who Mae is.”
“Which would make her the heir, and not your brother.”
“Exactly,” Kolten sighed. “Jaeger would be horrified to not be the heir. And
he’s as brutal as my grandfather was. He had his own lover mauled to death for falling in love with another Lycan.”
I looked to the body behind me, and back at Kolten.
“It’s not her,” he said. “It happens more often than you think. The Blackmaws like a strong bloodline, even if you aren’t the royal family.”
“What do you suggest I do?” I asked. “If you let me out, they will know it was you.”
“Maybe,” he said. “But I doubt he would hurt me. Mae is in danger, Bram. Please, you need to stop my father before it’s too late.”
“Kolten, come with me.”
“No,” he said. “I need to monitor him, but I can keep an open communication with you.”
“How?” I asked.
Kolten held his hand up and a blue flame erupted in the palm. He held it down to the lock in the door and a click sounded. The cell door opened.
“I didn’t know Lycans could have powers like that.”
“They can’t,” he said. “I was gifted powers from an Alchemist who was dying. Hallec doesn’t know, which means he won’t know how you got out. Up the stairs, keep to the left, run down the corridor until you get to a door.”
“Where’s Mae?”
“She’s staying at the Ritz,” he said. “Now, go.”
I moved past him, and up the stairs. Keeping to the left and locating the corridor. The door was open at the end, and I could see sunlight. It hurt my eyes after being in the dark for so long, but I could feel Mae’s pull already. My fears were true. We’d bonded that night, she was my blood mate, but at least I would be able to find her whenever I needed to.
The sun was irritating me which meant I hadn’t fed enough to withstand the heat. I ran as fast as I could, a blur to the human eye, but as I reached the city limits, I tried to use my bond with Mae to find the hotel. So many people passed me by and I knew I looked and probably smelled rotten. There was a wide berth, with horrified faces. One little girl pointed to me while her mother pulled her away from me. I looked in a nearby window to see I had a chin of dried blood, and my eyes were bright red.
Shit.
I closed my eyes and honed in on the blood link, feeling her close by, I finally found her location and ran there, past the reception and to a room, based purely on instinct. Knocking, I waited, hoping no one came past. The door finally opened and Mae’s face filled my line of sight. She gasped as I fell into the room, on my knees.
