Legend of the Shadow Wolf

Chapter Fifteen

Layla

Back in the darkness, surrounded by inky, black turmoil, sticking to every piece of me. No matter how I move or which way I turn my body, it clings to me. Suffocating… blinding… cold. I can’t see anything but I know I am not alone. I can sense it.. the power, the dark aura.. pain radiates through my body as I try to break free from the sticky shackles that bind me. Then I heard it..

Struggling is useless, child. The more you resist, the more painful it becomes. Submit and it will all go away. Submit child and you will be free.

Looking in front of me, its figure appears, staring at me with its red eyes. The shadow wolf stalks towards me slowly, it’s voice echoing around me. “What do you want with me? Where am I?” I asked disorderly, needing answers.

We are deep in your subconscious. I have waited 500 years for you, Layla.

“Me? Why… what do you want with me? I am no one…” I stated, my head starting to throb from the pain the sticky tendrils were causing as they cut up my skin more as I moved ever so slightly.

You are not no one, child. You are more than you know. Everything you know has been a lie.

“What does that even mean?” I asked, terribly confused. What has been a lie? My head is reeling, questions upon questions swirling around my mind.

All will be revealed in time. You will submit to me. Do not fight it for you cannot win. I will not stop until you do and you will become mine completely.

I shake my head, pulling my arms and legs, ripping the skin trying to break free of these shackles. I try to feel for Kali but she’s no where to be found. No, I will not let this happen. I have to break free, I need to find my wolf.

Do not fight it child, sooner or later, you will submit to me. Give in, it is your destiny.

“No! I’d rather die than to submit to anyone. I will not give in without a fight.” I protested as I fought against the tendrils and the pain. Slicing up my body, I finally pulled free and somehow launched myself at the wolf in front of me. My eyes flung open as I lurched myself forward, breathing hard. I looked around frantically, noticing that I am back in my room at my pack somehow. Suddenly, my door burst open and Damien comes in on high alert and looking ready to attack. His face softens and his stance relaxes when he sees me sitting up in bed. “Layla! You’re awake, I heard you scream. Are you ok?” He starts to ask frantically, making his way to me. “I’m fine.” My voice coming out scratchy and hoarse. I put my hand to my throat as Damien grabs a bottle of water that was sitting on my nightstand and hands it to me to drink.

“How did we get here? What happened?” I began to ask, my throat feeling better. “You don’t remember anything before you blacked out?” He asks, looking at me curiously. I shook my head no as I tried to racked my brain for any memory. “Wait, my mate. I remember finding my mate before everything went dark. Where is he? I have to find him…” I started to get out of bed when Damien put his hand on my arm. “Slow down, you’ve been out for a month. Your legs will be weak if you try to get up too fast.” He said and my eyes widened. “A month?” I couldn’t believe it. How? It didn’t seem like it was that long.

You were out for a while Kali spoke up.

Goddess, how I missed your voice. I couldn’t feel you Kali.. the shadow wolf.. I started to say to her softly.

I know, somehow it was suppressing me and put up some sort of mental block between us. It was like a one way mirror. I could see everything from my end but you could see or feel me. I don’t like it she said somberly.

Me either but we will figure this out. I will fight it, somehow. I promise I said before laying back down.

“What time is it?” I asked Damien, not knowing where my phone went. “It’s a little past dusk. Most of the house is still sleeping but I woke up my father. He has to call your mate to him know you’re finally awake.” He responded back, his eyes glazing over in a mindlink before returning to look at me. “Do you know who my mate is?” I asked, noticing his eyes shift as he was contemplating telling me or not. He rubbed his hand on his neck, a nervous habit he picked up as a child whenever he got asked questions he was unsure how to answer. After a few moments, he finally sighed. “It’s the prince, Prince Aidoneus. He gave us permission to bring you home until you awoke. Dad thought it would be better for you to come to in familiar surroundings.” He paused for a moment.

He was hiding something, I knew it. I always know when he’s hiding something but I’m not going to push it. He will tell me when he’s ready. The realization hit me as his words finally sunk in. The prince? My mate is the prince? I sit there lost in the fact that apparently I’m mated to one of the most powerful and feared rulers of our kind and the fact that he’s a Lycan on top of it. I looked back at Damien as he was studying my face, curiosity and worry clear in his eyes. “You should get some more rest, you look like death. I’ll come check on you in a bit but I need to go talk to dad.” He finally said as he gave my forehead a kiss and got up to leave, closing the door softly behind him.

My body felt exhausted as if it didn’t get any rest while I was unconscious but my mind was all over the place. I don’t know how long I laid there, trying to remember what happened and not wanting to close my eyes again. I was deep in thought when a knock on my door broke me out of my mind. “Come in,” I called out, not trusting my legs to get up and open the door. “Layla, it’s so good to see you awake finally.” Alpha Ransley said as he stood in the doorway. “Alpha, what do I owe the pleasure?” I asked teasingly, he hates it when I use formalities. He just chuckled as he came and sat in the chair near my bed. “I came to check on you and to inform you that the prince will be on his way here tomorrow. I also wanted to inform you that the doctor will be coming with him as well to check you out as well.” He stated as I simply just nodded. “Layla. Can you remember anything before you blacked out?” He asked hesitantly.

I paused as I tried to recall the events of the competition. “I remember going into the forest during the last event, looking for a flag. I remember finding a flag and everything got cold and dark. Then I remember standing at the forest line, I saw my mate then everything went dark. I don’t know what happened in between those two moments or after. What happened? Damien didn’t answer that question.” I said, looking into Ransley’s eyes. He sighed then started catching me up on what happened while I was out. I had so many questions by the time he was finished but my head started pounding and he bid me good night then left to give me more rest.

The same nightmare plagued my mind but this time was different from all of the rest. It felt like I was actually there, it was terrifyingly vivid. I could feel the wind in my hair, the trees whipping my skin as I was jumping from tree to tree. The crunch of the forest floor echoed in my ears more so than before. Howls can be heard and the thumping of paws vibrating through the ground was more prominent than I’ve only experienced in person. My vision was much more precise, shadows beckoning to me, not a creature was a making any sounds. Passing a small puddle of water, I caught my reflection but my eyes were not my own.

It felt like I was watching through the eyes of someone else but it was my body and face that I saw in that puddle. My hair was pulled back in a braid and I was cladded in a black skin tight body suit with a black corset around my bust. I have this same outfit in the back of my closet, I wondered to myself. I watched as the trees zipped by and the sound of paws hitting the grounded sounded closer, the wolves gaining speed. They were almost caught up to me as I jumped from one side of the small clearing we now reached and landed on a tree branch on the other side. The black wolf stared straight at me, it’s eyes so familiar. Where have I seen those eyes.

Wait…

This is not how the other dreams were… I never saw the wolf’s eyes. Realization then hit me as those silver blue eyes flashed concern and confusion.

Fang… No, why is he here?!

Do not fight me child. The wolf will die, you have already seen it happen.

No…

This can’t be happening, this isn’t real. I have to be dreaming, I’m asleep in my bed I just need to wake up. I shook my head furiously, trying anything to wake myself up. My attempts were feeble as the sick realization hit me hard. I am not in control of my body, Kali is not here with me. I am trapped back in the inky, sticky shackles from before, tendrils wrapped all around my body, slicing with every move I make. The shadow wolf has control and it’s going to kill Fang. I can’t let that happen, I need to take back control. As I started to figure out how to do that, a whimper caught my attention. Shadows slithering towards Fang caught my eye but no one else seems to notice them. Jesse and Caleb are behind him, looking around then back at Fang, confused. Fang whimpers more as the tendrils start wrapping themselves around his body, slicing and squeezing slowly.

Fear strikes my heart as I struggle to fight for control. He’s going to die, I have to stop it. Pulling all the strength I have, I fought the shackles once again, pulling on arm free as pain radiates through my body. Suddenly, I feel a heat coasting through me, starting from my toes and slowly working it’s way up. It’s an icy, hot feeling that spreads a new kind of pain in my body and it threatens to crumple me but instead, I use it to my advantage. I focus on that pain and use it to fuel me, screaming as I break the last of the sticky shackles and hurl myself up out of my subconscious. A blinding white light hinders my eyesight as I get control back and fall limply out of the tree, hitting the ground with a hard thud.

I opened my eyes slowly, my vision blurry as I see black spots surround me. I can’t make out what they are saying and can barely register the feeing of someone picking me up, my body feels numb and cold. I faded in and out of consciousness, vaguely picking up on the smell of blood and metal, I can faintly hear the dripping of water. I don’t know know where they are taking me until shackles were put around my wrists. I can barely keep my eyes open as I heard a cell door close and lock, my ears vaguely registering someone talking. For her and our protection they said, till the prince gets here… Thats all I heard before everything went dark, again.