Under the Devil's Claws

“Get on your knees!” As the instruction choruses into my ears, I find myself adhering to it in no time. I can feel my heart thumping loudly against my chest. Every part of my being is going through disarray. And it’s all because I know how much trouble I have gotten myself into. “Why did you do it?” the voice from before gets to my hearing once again but I cannot bring myself to look up. I’m not sure if I would be able to cope with the pressurizing stare while still trying hard to cope with the one being directed at me at the moment. “I’m sorry,” I can only say, almost stuttering along the way. Then I feel the presence of the owner of the voice gaining distance from me. It instantly makes me more tensed than I already am. Worsens when my eyes come in contact with the boots of the person. “Tell me, why did you try to run away?” I hear the masculine voice etch through my skin. Impact of being this close to me. “Don’t you know that you’ll never be able to get out of my reach?” I close my eyes for a brief moment and quickly open them. Then I take in a deep breath and say, “I– I didn’t mean t– to run away from you.” “But you did, Layla. You did. And it hurts me that you did not think it through before making such a move.” Then two fingers get under my chin. The next thing is that my head is raised so I could stare directly at the one I have been dreading to look at. No matter how much I hate to be in his presence, I cannot deny that I mostly tend to get mesmerized by his looks which seem to have a sort of control over my senses. I try not to gasp when his emerald green eyes shoot right through me. My heartbeat increases faster than ever from being this close to him. I just can’t help it. I can’t. “What made you think you could escape from me?” I shake my head. “Nothing,” “I’m guessing it’s because of your lousy boyfriend who cannot seem to buzz off when he should,” At the mention of that, a bell rings in my head. “Caleb had nothing to do with this,” I say, and then plead, “Please don’t hurt him. It was simply my idea to want to leave. And I’m sorry,” I watch him stand upright to his feet. He looks down at me with nothing close to remorse written on his face and it makes me more bothered than I should be. Then he suddenly clicks his thumb against his middle finger. Instantly I hear the sound of the doors opening and to my surprise, I can see two guards dragging a man. Without even getting a glimpse at the man's face, I already know who it is. And it makes me shell shocked. “Ras– Alpha Rasmus, please let him go,” I say out loud and the next thing is that I am grabbing onto the feet of the one who has me in this position. At the same time, I keep on staring at the man they had just dragged into the room. The man was lying on the floor now with his state not looking any good. He looked battered and his body bruised to a state that I cannot recognize. Leaves a pang of guilt in my heart instantly. “Let him go?” the voice of the one whom I have always considered being the devil gets to my hearing. “How can I let go of the man that has decided to corrupt the mind of my woman against me?” I hold on more tightly to his leg. “Caleb did nothing. He did nothing. It’s just me. I made a complete fool of myself by trying to run away. And I’m sorry. Just let Caleb go... please.” His gaze penetrates through to me which prompts me to look up at him. His eyes are cold but I still hold on to staring at him for long. If this is the way I can get him to spare my best friend’s life, then I’ll do it. I do not know what happened next. All that I know is that the next second I found myself lying on the ground with a shooting pain going through my face. It took me a while before I recovered and that is when I put two and two together. I had just been hit right across the face. But that was the least of my worry because I can see the monster making his way to my best friend wounded on the floor. My instincts take over and I find myself lunging at the devil so I could stop him before he got to Caleb. But I was not prepared to be tackled to the ground by one of the guards that had brought the wounded Caleb in. “Get off me,” my voice sounds like I am about to cry as I struggle to get out of the reach of the guard but to no avail. I was weak. So weak that it would take a miracle to get me out of a situation. The devil finally gets right in front of Caleb. And I can feel tears threatening to seep out of my eyes because I know what he is going to do to him. He already warned me about this day and it was finally going to happen. The other guard makes the unmoving Caleb kneel on the floor. And I can see his face clearly now. He was totally unrecognizable due to how much injury has been inflicted on him. I cannot understand why anyone would do such to a living being. Rasmus is truly the devil. “Well,” the devil starts to say as he puts his hand on Caleb’s head, “I think it’s about time I teach this best friend of yours how not to concern himself with matters that has nothing to do with him,” I was sobbing already. Mainly because I know it is of no use trying to find a way to help my best friend out. “Please... just let him go,” Then he side-eyes me from across his shoulder. “Remember this, Layla. You are mine, and mine forever,” That is when I notice his fingernails turn into claws. He then proceeds to raise his hand, ready to swipe at Caleb who is still not moving. I can only scream in horror when I hear a slice in the air...