Forbidden Mating With The Alpha

Chapter 4

Time seemed to have ceased to move for Lucy yet it was also moving at an incredible speed at the same time. Dante's hand was firmly raised in the air, clutching on to the dagger that would end Layla's life within seconds if no one thought to interfere. She could not figure out how to react in time but she also began to panic about what would occur in the next few seconds.

It happened in a split second just as Dante's arm swung downward towards Layla's wrist; a heat wave flowed through her chest and her lips moved against her own will.

"Stop!" She yelled out to him, or at least she thought she did because her own voice reverberating through her head as loud as the strike of lightning yet none of the other women reacted or made any indication as to have heard her speaking. The commander, on the other hand, definitely heard her voice as loud as day because he immediately came to her halt with his hand raised halfway in the air.

The expression on his face, which was neither the coldness or hostility he showed earlier, proved that something she could describe herself had happened.

"What did you do?" His voice was fierce and piercing to her ears because she felt threatened by his sudden interest in her. He had heard what sounded like a loud voice booming in his head but his ears did not pick up on any sounds in the last few seconds. The voice sounded similar to that of the woman was now staring at him with shock written over her face herself.

"I don't know," she muttered to under breath, this time her physical voice reaching both their ears. Dante did not take his eyes off her and watched her closely. That was nothing he had ever experienced before but it was not a concept that was new to him. He heard rumors before of people who were able to communicate their emotions through thoughts at times of extreme distress but he never thought he would experience that himself.

He was still gripping on the dagger while his other hand kept Layla's arm outstretched. He would not lose sight of his objective to punish her for the crime she committed but he was evidently bothered by the sudden occurrence.

Lucy could not describe what she experienced with words; just that she was very confused. At that split second, it felt as though she spoke through her lips but it was her thoughts of panic that got through to Dante instead.

"You... you aren't by any chance...?" He didn't finish his inquiry when he took to examining her features, and when he finally recognized her face, his heart skipped a painful beat and the strong emotion of guilt overcame him. The hand holding the dagger loosened its grip for a moment but he quickly kept his emotions at bay and tightened his grip again.

"What did you say?" She asked him because she had not been paying attention to his words for that brief moment he spoke. He watched her closely, attempting to read her emotions and expressions. She was just a young woman who was frightened and in a panic, just like back then when her life and those of everyone around her began to fall apart.

She was completely different this time. Her hair had grown tremendously longer and had turned many shades lighter from the dark purple it used to be to the honey-blonde it currently was. Not to mention, she was exquisitely beautiful. Dante was not surprised that Creed had a mild obsession with her. Any man would have wanted to claim her to be his.

"As I said before, I cannot allow such acts of violence, especially towards the vulnerable," Dante declared, once again preparing to administer his punishment on Layla. He would not do anything too drastic and would only sever the hand that had caused harm. But Lucy did not know that. She believed that he would end her life and began to cry out for him to show some mercy to Layla.

"She did me wrong but I don't want such a punishment for her! It was only a light touch! I beseech that you don't end her life over it!" Lucy was practically begging him to spare Layla's life, and that was when he noticed that there was a misunderstanding. He would not kill her. Creed would never have permitted him to end a woman's life over a small fight such as that one.

"Do not worry. I'm merely going to cut off her hand-"

"That's still too much!" She too realized that there had been a misunderstanding but that did not change the fact that the punishment was too drastic. Her face still stung and was a but swollen but she forced herself to ignore the pain and turned to the red-haired woman still beside her.

"Please, say something. Layla hurt you the most but please don't let him do this to her," Lucy spoke in such a soft voice that Karena's heart ceased to ache for a moment. She had been troubled by Layla hurting her and she wanted her fair share of revenge. But she too realized that severing her hand was going too far.

Karena hesitated to speak. She glanced between Lucy's pleading eyes, those eyes that resembled those of a starving puppy begging to be brought back from the edge of death, and Dante's, who watched her with the strictest gaze that made her want to cower away as though she were a helpless puppy herself. She brought her left hand up and felt for her face that Layla had brutally struck.

The pain had somewhat faded and the swelling was already going down. She was a vampire after all. Her wounds would be healed in a matter of minutes but Layla would suffer tremendously if her hand was cut off. It would not be so easy for her wound to heal, even if the hand was re-attached.

"I-I... I forgive her as well. Please, refrain from taking such drastic measures," Karena lowered her head to bow slightly, her hair falling forwards to cover her face and the fear written on it. Lucy felt proud and a little relieved. Dante gripped the dagger for a moment before he finally released Layla's arm and stood up.

Lucy watched as his magnificent figure hovered over the three of them. He returned his dagger to the inside pocket of his long, black trench coat. Lucy didn't think to note his attire before but now that he was standing above her and directly underneath the light, she noticed the gold streaks on the lapels of his coat that indicated his rank as a Commander. He truly was frightening.

"This time, I will show mercy. But your pleading will not have any effect on me should this happen again," Dante spoke not only to Layla, who was still in a daze, Lucy and Karena, but also to the other women in the room as well. He watched them with their heads lowered but when his eyes moved to Lucy's face, his heart almost broke into two.

He hadn't intended to dismiss Layla's conduct but he decided to do as a favor to Lucy; or rather, to Rosalie. She looked so confused and vulnerable. It was a shame what had happened to her in the past.

"Thank you," Lucy began, bringing out of his thoughts. She was genuinely grateful for that and he felt it in her sweet voice. Karena proceeded to thank him as well, though her words had no effect on him as Lucy's did. He watched her face for a few more seconds before he simply vanished as quickly as he had appeared. It caught Lucy by surprise because it never occurred to her how fast he had appeared in the room in the first place.

It was Layla's moan from pain that drew Lucy's attention to the woman on the floor as struggled to sit herself upright. If her gown had not been loosened before when she was having that argument with Karena, it definitely was now. The gown hung down her shoulder and exposed more of her cleavage than she intended too. Luckily, there were only women in the room and Lucy approached her to assist her.

"Don't touch me!" Layla spitefully said to Lucy as she clung on to the gown to cover herself up. She had only an inkling of what happened but she recalled hearing Lucy and Karena pleading to someone to stop doing something that involved her. She hadn't seen Dante's face nor was she aware that it was a man who had forced her on the floor. All she cared about was getting some rest because her head was painfully throbbing beyond belief.

Lucy stood beside her, concerned, and watched as Layla composed herself. She successfully managed to stand up and stumbled her way to one of the doors in the area that led to her bedroom. She pushed the door to opened and did the same for it close once she was inside, disappearing.

As though a bell has struck, the sound of the door slamming against it frame made the other women walk to their rooms as well. Neither of them said a word. They were all to be Creed's wives, Lucy thought as a bitter emotion emerged in her heart, but they all acted like strangers towards each other.

"Are you still shaken up?" Lucy asked Karena when they were the only ones left. The room had grown deadly silent. It was too early for anyone to go to bed because the sun had only set a little over an hour ago, but no one wanted to talk about what happened. Perhaps because they were afraid that something similar to what happened to Layla would befall them should they make a simple mistake.

They were all aware of it know unlike before; Dante was close by and he would be keeping a close eye on the inn. He would guard it from any outside danger, and from any danger that would emerge from the inside as well.

"Y-Yes, but the pain has almost gone? You don't look too well. Why aren't you wounds healing?" Karena asked as she approached Lucy. She raised her hand and lightly pressed the area Layla struck. Lucy winced from the pain and Karena apologetically pulled her hand away.

"I see. You're a human. Not that it matters. We're all weaklings in her eyes," Karena said sadly as she walked around Lucy to her own door.

"Have a good night... and thank you for standing up to me," were her words before she disappeared into her own room, leaving Lucy all on her own. She sighed heavily, ignoring the pain on her face. Karena was right. She was just a weak human in the eyes of Layla, and that made her wonder why Creed even approached her to make her his wife... one of his wives, she thought.

He could not have been human himself. The prowess he displayed earlier at the willow tree where he found her proved that he was no simple human, yet he bothered with the likes of her. He made it known that the two of them met before and that was possibly why he liked her so. But she had no memory of ever meeting him before.

With nothing else to do but to wait for the next day to arrive, Lucy walked over to a door she was certain no one had gone inside. It would be her sleeping place for that night and she could not help but wonder where she had slept the previous one. Why was she at that willow tree in the first place considering that her life was put in danger not long afterwards? There were so many unanswered questions and she had no idea where she would find the answers to them.