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CHAPTER 5 – A Contradiction

Castle Xanthe City of Aphelion, Wolfen Territory The Realm of Xathos

Ailara woke in a dark, unfamiliar room. She was in a bed of furs and the smell was eerily familiar. The smell gave her comfort and soothed her.

Was that it?

It was over?

Was this Draugr and is this her afterlife?

Well, if that's the case then she was sorely disappointed. She thought the afterlife was full of wonderful things. For starters, it was said that there's no more pain and suffering. Next, it was said that the afterlife was full of light and that Vampyrs experience the sun for the first time after living in darkness all their lives.

Yet why was she still in a dark place and why did every inch of her still hurt?

She tried to sit up but every inch of her protested and a groan escaped her lips. Her skin felt like it was still on fire and the rest of her body felt either broken or bruised.

"Stay there, vampyr," a deep voice snarled. Ailara was so startled that she almost fell off the edge of the bed. One look at the man and she knew he was Wolfen.

Was she captured?

Memories came flooding back but Ailara didn't know what was real and what was not. She remembered Heilen's torture and the searing pain on the side of her neck when he tried to drain her.

But there was another memory: Dimitri. She wasn't sure if it was real but she swore she saw him in Heilen's dreadful tower. She remembered the feel of his arms and then nothing.

"Where am I?" she asked.

The wolfen scoffed. He nodded to another man in the room and the man headed for the door.

"Don't you dare speak to me again, Vampyr. And don't move. Stay where you are," the wolfen commanded.

A few minutes later and the door opened. Ailara's eyes widened when she recognized the familiar figure standing in the doorway. Her eyes misted with tears and her heart started beating faster.

This, here, was proof that everything she doubted was in fact, real.

"Dimitrios..." she whispered.

It was him in the flesh. She drank in her fill of him. He looked so much better than in her dreams. Last time she saw him, he was much younger. Now, he looked much taller and he heavier in build.

His face had the same angles and perfection but gone was the smile he always wore when he saw her.

Now, there was nothing but anger and disdain.

"Finally, you are up, vampyr."

Ailara chose not to reply. She scooted closer to the other side of the bed and farther away from Dimitri. Last time she saw him, his eyes burned with intense anger. What was worse was that he had the right to be angry for she killed his mother.

A wave of sadness coursed through her. All these years, so much happened. And she was as much to blame for it as anybody else. Her once pure hands was now tainted with the blood of the innocent.

"Nothing to say for yourself?" Dimitri prodded.

Ailara swallowed the lump in her throat. "You should have let me die," she whispered.

It must not have been the reply Dimitrios anticipated for he stilled. From the corner of her eye, Ailara saw him clench his hand as though fighting for control.

Maybe he wanted to rip her head clean off her shoulders. Maybe he wanted to tear her heart out from her chest. These were morbid thoughts but Ailara wanted him to actually do it. She had to die or else Heilen would find her.

And then more blood will coat her hands.

"Once I get my answers, I would probably kill you myself," he answered.

"I don't have the answers you seek."

Before she could blink, Dimitrios was across the room. Another heartbeat and she was pushed up against the wall with his hand on her throat. "Say that again," he growled.

In the dim light, Ailara saw his eyes glow gold. It flickered for a bit and he loosened his hold on her. Then it glowed again and he slammed her head against the wall.

"All these years... And you still have nothing to say as to why you killed my mother and broke the alliance!" he spat.

She wished she could tell him so that she could finally find the peace she sought for herself. But she couldn't. Heilen's compulsion prevented her from doing so.

"Is being with Heilen worth it all? Do you want him that much that you were willing to break the alliance, kill my people, and endanger yours!"

Ailara started to feel light-headed as Dimitrios continued to choke her. She felt several of her wounds reopen. Yet she didn't struggle. Hurting her was his due. She deserved his punishment and his anger.

"Speak, Vampyr!"

Ailara closed her eyes and let the tears fall. This was her fate. This was her lot in life. At least she got her last wish of seeing Dimitrios again before she went to Draugr, the realm of the dead.

"K-kill me, D-dimitrios," she stuttered.

And with those words, the king released her and she slumped towards the bed once more. She coughed and tried to inhale as much air as she could.

"I'm beginning to think that killing you is a kindness since that is what you long for the most. Why, princess? Is it because Heilen doesn't want you anymore?"

If only that were true.

"Or is it so that the secrets you harbor don't see the light of day?"

Neither.

Ailara just bowed her head. She opened her lips to tell him everything. But the compulsion held her back like it always did.

Without another word, Dimitri headed for the door and slammed it shut. When he was gone, she let the tears fall until she fell asleep.

☾ - ☾ - ☾ - ☾ - ☾

Dimitrios headed towards the forest.

It was dark and the moon was eclipsed by clouds. But the forest gave him the serenity he craved. The wolf in him wanted to run but this was no time to let go and escape reality. He needed to think.

He needed to clear his mind of anger and vengeful thoughts. He was a king and a king ruled with his head and not his heart.

At the same time, he needed to clear his mind of Ailara.

Dimitri sighed and shook his head.

She looked even more beautiful now that when he last saw her. Even if her skin was bruised, it still shone like alabaster. Even if her hair was matted, he still glimpsed the golden tresses he adored so much before.

All these years, he wanted to find her. He wanted to kill her and make her pay for everything she did. He wanted to end her so he could have a chance of finding his true mate.

But now that he saw her again, he cannot find the will nor the strength to do it.

"Keras!" he cursed.

The greatest irony of all was that she was the one who caused his mother's death and led the siege that killed almost half his kingdom yet something in him wanted to go back to the palace and just be near her.

It was absurd and totally illogical! But he reminded himself that he was a wolf and that they were bonded long ago. Maybe his wolf still recognized her as its mate. And maybe this was why he had these mixed feelings about her.

Bonded. Dimitri snorted at the word. Technically, she was his wife and queen – should have been. But she threw away that position when she waged war against his kingdom and joined forces with Heilen.

And now she was Heilen's.

Dimitri recalled the words of the Vampyr priest.

"She has been fed the blood of a Cerran for a long time. Her body will reject other blood."

It made his blood boil and made him want to run a thousand leagues away or to shred the entire forest with his claws.

And then he also recalled the promise Ailara made to him a long, long time ago.

"From this day forward, yours will be the only blood that will sustain me."

Those words were nothing but lies. Dimitri clenched his fist and kept it by his side. He wanted to resist the urge to punch something. During their sham of a bonding ceremony, he looked into her eyes and promised her everything he had.

She looked into his and promised the same thing. He thought it was genuine. But those were the memories of an innocent boy. He was no longer the same naïve pup. If the ceremony happened today, he would have looked into her eyes and saw the lies and deceit swimming in them. The ceremony would have been cancelled and he wouldn't have welcomed a traitor in his pack's midst.

So what happens now?

It was so very tempting to just give her the thing she wants the most– death.

But the thought was one that made the wolf inside him howl at the idea of not being with her again after losing her all these years...

"Damn her," he hissed. He was about to transform to his wolf for a much-needed run to release his anger and frustrations when he heard a scream.

Instinctively, he knew it was Ailara.

Save her! The beast inside him screamed. Usually, transformations from man to wolf would take several seconds. This time, it took him the length of a heartbeat to be in his wolf form. And then he was racing back to the castle.

Dimtri gave in to his beast's instincts and ran as fast as he could. He was on full alert. He listened closely to any more screams, footsteps or any clues as to what awaited him in the castle.

A few minutes later, Dimitri arrived at the castle.

And then his heart stopped at what he saw.

Some of his warriors were gathered around the courtyard of the castle. More and more villagers were also approaching the courtyard to see what the commotion was all about. The warriors were laughing as they taunted a figure that was spread-eagled on the ground. The figure was pinned to the ground using 4 wooden stakes—two on each shoulder and two on the legs.

For a while, it was as if time stopped. It was as if all of his men's voices was silenced, the sounds of the forest and of the city muted. He only saw Ailara. She was looking into the sky as though she was memorizing every inch of it.

It was like she was looking at it for the last time.

Dimitri could see the pain reflected in her blue eyes. But that was the only sign that she was still alive. She didn't scream. Dimitri couldn't even fathom the pain she was in right now. But he heard no screams from her nor curses. She didn't move. She didn't respond to the taunts of his pack.

And that was when Dimitri saw red. He roared and then sprinted towards her just as the sun rose fully and Ailara's skin started to burn.



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