Leighton

34. Plans

Leighton

My phone had stated to blow up with messages from Ashton, now he was aware Felicity had come with me.

I could see she was choosing to ignore her phone as well.

We had been dismissed by the King, I honestly didn’t know what he planned to do.

Felicity started to act strangely, having seen her have a vision before I knew to sit her down before she collapsed.

Immediate out of her eyes streamed a vision. My joy at seeing Estelle instantly turned to rage as I realised she was nearly naked and tied to a bed. I couldn’t help but reach out for her, my brain choosing to forget that she wasn’t right here in front of me.

The Prince came into view, covering her body with his, you could see her thrashing around underneath him. As much I as I knew I should have been looking for details that might help us find her, my eyes appeared frozen, staring at the scene before me in horror.

Estelle started to thrash more violently and a searing pain in my neck caused me to fall to my knees. Clutching my marking spot, it felt I was being stabbed with a hot poker, repeatedly. I tried to focus on the image before it faded but the pain in my neck was so intense it caused the image in front of me to dance and spin.

It felt like only seconds later I came to on the cold floor, Jackson looking down on me with a concerned look upon his face.

I pulled myself into sitting position my neck still feeling like it was on fire. I looked up to see Feliciry sitting, sobbing with her head in her hands.

I could sense the King was here so I somehow summoned the energy to slowly get to my feet, trying to ignore the intense burning in my neck. My head was throbbing and my mouth felt all dry and I wasn’t brave enough to move away from the wall in case I needed the support.

“He marked her.” I could hear Felicity sobbing. “We’re too late.”

It was like my body was trying to reject the pain in my neck, like it couldn’t bear to accept that she had been marked by another. A wave of pain induced nausea washed over me and I have to fight to ignore it.

I couldn’t have lost her, my brain just refused to accept it. I needed to find a witch that could give me something to reduce then pain in my neck so I could think clearly. My eyes landed on Loletta.

Moving my head caused the pain to intensify, causing me to grab my own neck.

“Do you know how to make something for this ?”

She gazed at me, wide eyed in surprise and nodded. Looking around nervously she obviously needed somewhere to work.

Trusting my voice not to fail me once I asked the King.

“Do you have a space the witch can use ?”

Obviously choosing to overlook my lack of respect due to what he had witnessed he nodded and almost instantly two witches appeared. We followed them down a few corridors into a spell room.

Every step was agonising, the pain shooting downwards with everything excruciating movement. If I hadn’t been following the King I would have stopped just to catch breath but I gritted my teeth and carried on.

I didn’t know how long it would take to make something to ease my pain. This was worse than last time, and it taken me days to recover. Although the witches had said that was due to the rejection.

I felt Jackson’s hand on my shoulder. “Hang in there.”

At least he wasn’t asking if we were going home. Once I had the pain under control I would work out what I could do. Estelle was alive so there had to be something I could do. This was the mantra that was keeping to going right now.

I slumped against the wall as my neck started to burn with pain again, not that it had ever let up but a fresh wave nearly knocked me for six.

“Here take this for now, it will lesson then pain while I make up something better.” Loletta handed me a still steaming vial.

I downed the concoction and almost instantly I felt the pain lesson to a degree where I could hear my thoughts a little more coherently.

I could see Titan curled up in the back of my mind, I knew he was doing his best to absorb the pain for us. I recalled shifting into him multiple times last times this happened just to cope. Maybe that old analogy that if something doesn’t kill you it makes you stronger was actually true.

I knew I needed to go and see the King, I bet he was thinking I would give up and go home now but until she looked me in the eye and told me to go I wasn’t leaving her.

Loletta promised to find me when she had finished her potion so I went to find the King. He was deep in conversation with Jackson.

“How are you feeling son ?” He asked as I walked in.

“I’ve been worse.”

“I’ve offered to go with the King to Abbadon Castle, we were just discussing ..”

“I’m coming.”

“Son, how you feeling just now, it will be worse when you see her. You are no good to us like this.” The King spoke softly.

“Loletta’s potion will be ready soon. It will get me through long enough to fix this.

“Leighton, she is marked, there is no easy fix to this. Yes we can maybe get her away from the Prince if she wishes is too but it’s not like we can magically remove her mark ? Can we ?” Jackson turned to ask the King.

“No, a mark, even a forced one can’t be removed, not by any magic I know.”

“But it will fade, if I kill the wolf that placed it there.” I told Jackson, the King breaking his gaze confirming my suspicion that he knew that and either didn’t know want me to or thought I couldn’t.

I might not have any special powers like the prince Alonso did but I could beat him in a regular fight.

“But if we do kill the prince then we probably lose the only fire wolf that might help us defeat the King.”

“There has to be another way to stop this King, one that doesn’t involve sacrificing anyone and gets that a mark of her neck.”

“Has a wolf ever rejected a forced mark before ?” Jackson asked the King.

“Not that I am aware of, so probably no.” He thought for a minute. “We should discuss this with the witches, while we can’t defeat him any another way, we could possibly contain the King and his powers somehow, but we would need their help.”

My drugs were starting to wear of as my neck started to throb again. I needed to hide it though, if the King sensed any weakness from me he would leave me behind and any chance of getting Estelle back would be gone.

“We don’t have much time, if he has marked then we can assume…” I couldn’t finish the sentence because the thoughts it conjured up were too horrid to say.

The King was silent for a moment. “We will speak with the witches, but let me be clear my daughter and my Kingdom come first. I can’t promise to help you.”

It was as good as I was going to get so I was just going to have to take it.

Estelle

I almost blacked out from pain when the Prince sank his canines into my neck. It was as though I could feel Leighton, like somehow he knew. I had to bite down to stop myself screaming out for him.

I had to assume that the Prince didn’t know who my mate was, as if he didn’t Leighton might be safe. I couldn’t, however stop the tears that trickled down my cheeks at the thought that it wouldn’t be his mark I would bear.

The Prince licked my mark to seal it, even that was like sandpaper to my neck.

“I should have taken your body but I thought if I bonded you to me first it wouldn’t be better for you.”

He ran his hand down over my breast and I could feel his excitement. I chocked down my sob silently. There was nothing I could do now, in coming here I had sealed my fate. I knew I was to be his wife and deep down and I knew I would have to bear his mark and pups but I the cold reality of day all I wanted was Leighton.

I didn’t know whether to wish I had never met him or cherish our short time together, knowing it would never be like that again.

Lost in my thoughts I hadn’t realised that the Prince had stopped and was removing his body from mine he started to dress. Untying my hands they flopped down at my sides.

“Get dressed, you need to come with me.”

Once the pins and needles subsided I could move them again but there wasn’t too much point trying to piss him of by trying to escape. I may as well find out what they had planned for me.

I was slow to dress, not wanting to give anyway how quickly whatever they gave me had worn of in case they felt the need to repeat it.

King Adalfunis was waiting for us by the fire. This time his wife was with him.

“Mother?” Prince Alonso greeted his mother with a surprised kiss.

“What are you doing here?” He asked.

“My only son is getting engaged, where else would I be ?” She asked feigning offence.

She appraised me silently, somehow I felt she already disliked me and was looking for evidence that she was correct.

“This is the famous princess.” She said, an undercoat of jealousy? to her tone. “Well I’m glad to see you haven’t wasted any time son, but you should have waited until after the engagement.”

“The people will understand, once we announce that we are fated mates.” He replied smoothly, exchanging a look with his father.

So that lie was clearly part of the plan.

“Now dear, don’t you have a party to finalise? Alonso and I have some plans to make, maybe you would like to get better acquainted with the princess?” The King asked his wife.

“Please do not offend me, I know one of your whores has already been planning the party. Thankfully I foresaw this and all is arranged. Now if you excuse me I must retire to my rooms and rest. It’s been a very long day.”

She flounced out before pausing at the doorway.

“Son, you will join me for breakfasts. I will show the princess the arrangements then.”

Without waiting for an answer she continued out the door.

Deciding that for now my best bet was to keep everyone thinking I had resigned myself to my fate, I decided to act like one would if they actually wanted to be in this situation.

“Why does the Queen not appear too thrilled by my presence ?”

I didn’t really expect an answer but the Prince surprised me.

“She most likely caught father in bed with one of his…”

The King growled a his son who shut up immediately.

“You are to be a Queen Estelle, you no longer have the luxury of liking anyone. Or trusting anyone for that matter.”

Don’t I know it. I needed to find a way of here before I ran into the witch and Izzy again. The only thing that I was holding onto was I could feel Raine starting to wake up. In a couple more hours maybe she would be ready to run.

Until then then more knew about here plans the better.

“Surely you have people you trust your majesty?”

The King didn’t look at me when he replied, staring into the flames of the fire.

“Trust is for the innocent and a liars most useful tool.”

I continued to push. “Your family no? Surely you trust them ?”

This brought a laugh from his lips and he turned to stare at me in what could be misconstrued as awe.

“Family? Have you learnt nothing all these years? You are here, against your will although you wish me to believe otherwise, yet you still trust your family. Your cousin is the reason you are here. If she hadn’t told me about your mate then the Prince and I would have apply waited to the party, but Izzy, so blinded by jealously she did exactly what she was told. Which was to get you here unmarked. The fool didn’t even question it.”

“I’m told she collapsed at the time of marking.”

He actually smirked when he saw my look of concern.

“My my princess you really don’t learn, after all that you still care for her. Don’t worry she is in the care of the witches.”

Turning to his som his tone because serious.

“Prepare, they will be coming soon.”