17. Chapter 17- Felix

"There was nothing! Not a damn clue of who could pull this off. Whoever it is—" The rest of the words die in my throat as I climb the last few steps to my room. "Something is wrong!" I leave Tia chasing me as I run the rest of the way.

My heart stills in my chest that the sight in font of me. Furniture lies in pieces and there is blood everywhere. But not hers. It doesn't smell right.

"Nyx!" Tia screams at the top of her lungs as she slips in the blood on the way to the bathingroom. "She isn't here."

I calm the beast rising inside me and harness its strength to focus on what needs to be done. I walk around the room, looking for signs, anything the attacker could have left behind. Anything other than their blood. There is plenty of that.

She fought. That gives me hope. But my heart sinks again when I find her knife lying on the floor in the middle of all the blood. She would never leave it behind. Which means…someone took her.

I kneel and pick it up. And underneath it is exactly what I was looking for. The smart, beautiful woman scratched out the name of her attacker, making sure I can find her. For the first time in over one hundred years, I am glad the vines still cover the Kingdom. No one comes in and no one gets out.

"Tia, let's go!" I roar. I don't wait to see if she follows. My woman needs me, and I won't keep her waiting another moment.

The scenery blurs around me as I run through the castle. The three sets of stairs and anybody that may be in the corridors go unnoticed.

I will rip him apart if he hurt a hair on her head. I always hated Dominic. He has always been around kissing my father's ass and causing trouble for no reason. I probably pissed him off when I refused to share Nyx at the ball.

I will find her! She will be ok! She has to be…

I kick the door with all of my strength. It cracks, so I kick again and again until it splinters and falls off of its hinges.

"Dominic!" I bellow. But the room is empty. She isn't here. Where?

Stupid, Felix! Dominic may be dumb, but he would be smart enough to take her somewhere other than his fucking room.

I will rip this monstrosity apart brick by brick. Nothing and no one will keep me away from her. The streets will run red, and I will use the bodies as kindling to light the flames that will devour everything between us.

"We will find her." Tia tries to comfort me, but her words are wasted."Where else would he go?"

I stare at the broken pieces of the door covering the floor and try to think. Where? Where would he go? He doesn't have any family and from what I can tell, he never leaves the castle. But then I remember…the vines. They follow Nyx now.

"Hurry!" I say to Tia, running back through the castle, out the front doors, and around to the clearing under our bedroom windows.

The vines are no longer climbing up the tower. They slither across the grass, out of sight to the other side of the castle. We tread carefully, following them but not getting too close. They seem restless. Ready to lash out at any moment.

"There," I shout, pointing toward the mass of vines beating themselves against the outer wall of the castle. "Where is that?"

"I believe that is somewhere in the dungeon. Not the main part, though, that's over there." Tia points further down the wall.

"Good enough. We have a direction."

Going back around to the front will take too much time. The quickest way is through the courtyard where Nyx and I had the snowball fight. I run for it without stopping and rip through the bushes, ignoring the skin being torn from my arms. Even when I reach the other side, I don't stop. I curse as I jiggle the handle.

Locked.

I turn and grab a massive rock and throw it through the window. I don't even bother brushing away the sharper pieces and climb through the window.

"Felix, you are bleeding all over the place." I don't have time for the female's worry. My Nyx needs me.

My feet pound down the stairs to the cold, damp dungeon. Elani and Keryth cry out for help. Their thin, filthy arms reaching through the bars, determined to stop me from reaching my goal. One of them grasps onto my shirt and I quickly break their arm to force them to let go. Their shrieks pierce the air, but it only fuels my anger and need to move faster.

How dare he take her down here in this filth? She is far too beautiful for this world and doesn't deserve to be here. His head will decorate my fireplace for his infraction. And his body will be ripped apart piece by piece and used as fertilizer for the fields that feed the people.

A soft whimper catches my attention. It's her. She's here. I found her.

I throw the door open and nearly weep at the sight before me. That cruel mother fucker has stripped her bare and has her suspended by her wrist.

"My, Nyx," I breath in disbelief.

"Isn't she stunning?" Dominic's whiny voice comes from the shadows. "This is how she is meant to be. I had her like this for years. At my mercy. In this very cell."

"You are the reason for all of her scars!" I seethe.

"Oh yes. But unfortunately, she got away from me before I could finish what I started. I will finish it and own her in every way possible." It's almost like he doesn't realize who he is talking to. Or that he is talking to someone other than himself. "Do you see the white hair? Do you know what it means?" He pauses, watching me for recognition. But he mistakes me for someone who wants to listen to his insanity. "That's right. She is the lost princess. And she is all mine. Alina is mine!"

Fucking done with his theatrics, I rush him and punch with all of my pent-up anger and fear. His head snaps to the side, and he crumbles to the floor. I am actually disappointed how easy that way. I wanted a fight. To kill him as his screams are heard in every part of the Kingdom.

I lift him by his shirt, but Tia's hands cover him.

"She needs you."

I drop the idiot and run to my woman. Carefully, I lift her thin body and remove the ropes from her wrist. I sit, placing her in my lap. She seems so small like this. So fragile.

"Nyx…" She doesn't answer. "Nyx." I try louder. But her eyes remain closed. "Please, Hellcat." I place my hand over her heart just in time to feel the final thump. "No! NO! NO!" Panic seizes me. "NO!" I roar. "You can't be gone. I just found you! Please, Little Thief. Nyx. MY Nyx. Please don't leave me." Her beautiful face blurs with my tears. I failed her. She counted on me, and I failed her.

My beautiful, violent woman is limp in my arms because I couldn't do what I promised. I couldn't protect her from the monsters of my race. But then Dominic's words start filtering in. Alina? I finally notice her hair. It is white. The King had a daughter, after all. But how is she still alive after all these years?

He fed from her over and over again. He changed her! But, no, she doesn't have fangs. Unless she never completed the change. There is hope.

I tear my teeth through my wrist and force Nyx's mouth open, letting my blood fill it. I work her throat, trying to get some of it down into her system. It has to work. It has to! I know this probably isn't what she wants. She hates the Keryth so much. But that is something we will face together.

"You know, Little Thief, back at that inn, I was in awe of you. They way you silently entered all the way on the third floor. Amazing." Her hand moves and my heart jerks with it. "I love your violence. It's a work of art how you extract justice." Her lips curl around my wrist and she drinks from me all on her own. I smile through the tears and brush the hair away from her face. "One day I hope to be lucky enough to be in your webs and at your mercy. It would be so beautiful."

She lets go of my wrist, her back arches off my lap, and an ear-piercing scream rips from her body. I hold on tight so she doesn't hurt herself. But luckily it doesn't last long. Her eyes pop open and latch onto me with a hunger that has my blood thrumming with anticipation.

"Take what you need, my love. Take it all if you must," I whisper to the gorgeous beast before me.

She tilts her head in consideration. Eyeing me warily. But then she smiles and I am once again left speechless by her. I open my arms as leaps onto me. I groan as her small fangs pierce my neck. She is greedy at first, but then that delicious moan I thought I would never hear again vibrates against my skin. And fresh tears flow down my face.

I cup the back of her head and hold her in place, comforting her, letting her know it is okay.

"I got you. I got you and I will never let you go. Because you own me, Nyx. Heart, body, and soul. I am wholly yours." I make no demands on her as she feeds. And even as spots invade my vision, and my back hits the floor, I whisper all of my feelings and dreams for her. At some point, I become vaguely aware she stops and says my name. But all I can do is give her a weak smile as I fade away into the darkness.