Prince of the night

Chapter One: The Beginning of the End It was evening; perfect, and no setting would have been more appropriate for Jessica: a life poured with continual torment. She felt the cold, hard drops lash against her body as she knelt on the floor of mud; her tears mingled with the cold droplets. Her second stepmother, Serena, and stepsister, Lydia, had wanted nothing less for her, although outside, beyond the door, stood her father, his face emotionless as he watched her. "You're nothing, Jessica," Lydia sneered, and kicked her in the ribs. "A worthless burden. How dare you even think you belong in this family?" Jessica gasped for breath as her emaciated body shook at every inhaling breath. At this moment, she was too tired to fight back or even say a word in her own defense. Long ago, she had lost all hope that this torture would ever come to an end or be any different one day. "Her mother had died tender-aged, and she was left in the hands of her father, who besides caring for his blood and kin was more concerned with his new wife and stepdaughter.". "That's enough!" Serena barked, jerking Jessica to her feet by her hair. "You are a blight, and I am quite tired of looking upon you. Go clean up this mess, lest your father be further disappointed in you." Jessica's vision started to blur from the pain, but she attempted to get to her feet. She bent her head down in submission. She knew better than to fight back. Every time she had ever tried to stand up for herself, the punishment had been tenfold. It was easier just to take it, in hopes they might tire of it—eventually leaving her alone. But today was different. Just as Serena raised her hand to strike Jessica, a whole new wave of wind swept over them all and froze them solid. Clouds sailed across the sky, darkening, and a low rumbling growl swept through the air. Jessica's heart jerked to the feel of an old, powerful presence drawing closer. "What's going on?" Serena strangely spit out the words through her confusion. That courtyard blazed with light before anyone could have blinked, and from the darkness, he stepped. Tall, his presence impelling importance, rendering all else around him small by comparison. His eyes they gleamed in his golden gaze, their shine so bright it sent shivers down Jessica's spine, his voice as soft as being wrapped by a breeze on some winter day. The word recoiled in the air, and Serena's hand stopped in mid-air. The man's eyes caught Jessica's and for the very first time in her life, she felt… different from fear; she felt safe. "Who… who are you?" Serena stuttered, backing away scaringly. She was nothing to him, and he passed by her until his gaze connected with Jessica. Softly, he moved in, cradling her face between his hands so his touch spread around her cold, broken body like a fire. "I'm here for you, Jessica," he murmured. "I've been searching for you. My mate." Mate? Jessica's thoughts whirled, desperate to comprehend what he was really saying. How could this god-like man have been speaking to her, this unwanted, unloved outcast? He smiled again as if he could read her doubt. "You are so much more than what they have made you believe. You are my mate, set to be beside me. No one will ever hurt you again." Once more, Jessica was at the verge of crying tears; they were not those of pain or fear but of this enormous relief that was washing all over her, a kind of relief she had never felt in years. "Who…who are you?" she whispered. "My name is Lucian," he warmly answered. "I am the Lycan Prince, and you are mine.". His words unleashed in Jessica's veins an outcropping of power, an energy so totally alien to her. Her timid heart had grown vibrant with the re-awakening of a spirit, after years of intolerable derision. The gauzy threads of their connection were so strong, it felt like from the very first, their souls had been tied together. For once, Serena and Lydia actually did sound terrified as their haughty looks changed quickly to fearful in their seeming realization that this time they would be the ones at the mercy. Lucian swept his eyes cold, unforgiving with them all. "She shall never again suffer at your hands," he declared. "If you ever lay a finger on her, you will face my wrath. He swept Jessica into his arms and held her like she was the dearest thing on this earth. For the first time in life, she felt safe, secure, and loved. One thing Jessica knew as Lucian swept her from the prison that had held her for so long: her life could never be mundane again. She was no longer the weak, subdued girl they had tried to break. She and Lucian alone would be better, stronger; she would avenge herself on them all for what they had done to her. This was the beginning of her life, one in which she was never going to become anybody's victim again. With her fated mate, the Lycan Prince by her side, she would rise from the ashes of the past and take hold of her destiny that had always rightly been hers. And this time, she wouldn't let anything stop her.