☽ Chapter 36 - Lupus ☾

?Chapter 36 - Lupus?

I slowly open my heavy eyelids, feeling as if someone had glued them shut while I was unconscious. My body feels groggy, limbs unable to move. It feels like I had been rejected again minus the pain that had me wishing for death, but the mate bond hummed inside me, even if it is so faint I can barely feel it. [Ariven?] I call out through our link, praying he hears me. In the end, nothing but silence answers my call. My senses are blocked, and my guess is wolfsbane. It’s the only substance that can harm me in any way. I need to get away, heal, and find my mate. A door to my right opens, and the stench of rot and decay mixed with the scent of a Rogue wafts through. Someone has entered the room. “Glad to see you are awake, Future Goddess.” A man calls out. Fear takes hold of me, causing me to shiver as I recognize who has walked in. It’s the man who is building an army. The man causing havoc in the werewolf world. The man who raped me as a child because of a debt Bastian had. Lupus. “Release me!” I demand, turning to glare at the man who now stands beside my bed. “No can do, Geminie.” He chuckles with a smirk. I frown, the fear slowly turning to hatred when his eyes stare down at my body, his face a disgusting mix of lust and greed. “Why? I should be nothing to you.” Is my retort. I knew he was looking for me, and like an idiot I stupidly gave him an opportunity to take me. “Because daddy dearest… Wait no… Bastian Blake promised me a mate." He answers slowly, changing the way he addresses Bastian towards me. “You already knew I wasn’t his daughter, didn’t you?” I call out frowning. “Of course I did. The daughter they lost almost twenty-one years ago was my pup. Bastian allowed me to have his mate a few times because of debt, just like he gave me you." Shock rocks through me, knowing that Bastian knew his lost daughter wasn’t his. The abuse I was put through was all for naught for Bastian but was instead meant to make Jasmine feel better. “Like I said, Bastian promised me a Mate, and since the day I got to have some fun with you, I knew I wanted you.” He continues, trailing his fingers along my abdomen and touching whatever exposed skin he can. Disgust rippled through me as only Ariven should be the one enjoying the feel of my skin pressed to his, not this disgusting wolf. He already took far more from me than he should have as a child. “The future Moon Goddess, Geminie, mated to the Soulless King, Lupus. Has a nice ring to it, don’t you think?” He chuckles with a grin, leaning closer to my weak body and taking a deep breath of my scent. “Besides, you may be the future Moon Goddess, but from my intel you still haven’t shifted into your wolf form yet. You’re still weak.” I growl, pushing him away from me as best as I can, the wolfsbane making me as weak as a human child. My futile attempt just causes Lupus to chuckle, his hands holding me down. “I can see you are mated, but once I’m done killing that mate of yours Mika, you’ll be free and mine in a few days. So, stay in your cell, Little Wolf, and wait for the day I can fuck you senseless.” He licks the side of my face after his little plan is revealed. In retaliation, I headbutt his nose and hear a satisfying crunch. A punch to my stomach reminds me of how weak I am right now, the breath leaving my lungs as I glare back at Lupus who holds a bleeding nose in his left hand - a bleeding nose with red blood. Shock fills me, the stench of a Soulless still prevalent on him but his red blood has me questioning his background. “Breaking you and making you mine will be a lot of fun, Geminie. So just wait.” He laughs maniacally, leaving the room and locking the door. Now alone, I slowly sit up on the bed, taking stock of my surroundings. The room is made out of rock, a flickering light hanging overhead and swaying slightly, the only source of illumination in the room and keeping it from total darkness. Taking a deep breath as best as possible, the pain in my abdomen still present from the punch, I close my eyes and try my best to focus on my powers. It takes a few tries with the wolfsbane blocking my powers, but I am able to sense where I am for a brief moment, and what I see blows my mind. Lupus has made a kingdom underground, the pathways extending as far as my limited powers could reach. It explains why no one could find him nor his army. He hid them well, but now we know how to flush them out like the infestation they are. [Ariven, if you can hear me, call Father and get him to have Mother leave the heavens. Lupus’ camp is underground.] I call out into the void that is our link, praying my mate can hear me in some way. But something inside me tells me it is impossible, and try as I might, I know nothing will reach Ariven right now no matter how much I scream into our link. With a tired sigh, I lean against the rough wall behind me, happy for the small comfort of the bed below me and focus on metabolizing the wolfsbane in order to get it out of my system and return my power to full strength. I need to escape and soon, before Lupus can kill the innocent wolves in Hidden Claws.