The Castle Burns.
1279 Words
I refuse to be a prisoner, sleeping beauty, waiting for a fairy-tale kiss. Their constant presence claws at my sanity. Followed like a child, screamed at like dirt. I swear I’m losing myself.
A month of hell.
One night, I jolted awake coughing. Thick smoke went into my lungs and choked me. I ran. The kitchen engulfed. Griffith was hacking, eyes watering. Didn’t I turn off the gas? The smell of burning oil and failure hit me like a slap.
Griffith stood over a blackened pan, stirring a burnt mess, pancakes gone to ash.
“What the hell are you frying?” I gasped, clutching my throat.
He scoffed, coughing, “Trying to make pancakes. Forgot the oil.”
I stared. An alpha who can’t cook? What universe was this? He stirred like a madman, refusing help, stubborn as a stone.
“Are you insane? You almost burned the kitchen down.”
“Mind your business,” he snapped, voice rough with coughs.
Ungrateful i***t. After I saved his ass, is this thanks?
“Had I known how ungrateful you’d be, I’d have stayed in my room and let the fire consume us all.”
“And let the castle burn?” His smirk cut through the smoke like a blade. Instead of feeling remorseful, he walked out on me.
What kind of alpha laughs at death like it’s a joke?
Jeremy and the others finally noticed the smoke, rushing in.
“Wait, thought he wasn’t hungry,” Jeremy mocked.
“The i***t nearly torched the place,” Cario giggled.
“Refused Rudina’s cooking but can’t cook himself,” Olcan added.
Jeremy laughed. “Mr. Capable tried, but all we got was charcoal.”
Lyall just sighed and disappeared.
Caspian chuckled, “If only he dropped the act, things’d be easier.”
“Wait till I tell Clyde,” Jeremy said, running off with the others in tow, laughter trailing behind.
I don’t care what their petty words mean. My mind’s only on that frying pan, blackened, useless, a symbol of this damned place. Maybe I’ll toss it in the trash and watch it disappear like my hope.
These Alphas are mad, demanding and frustrating, except for Clyde and that arrogant s**t.
Come to think of it, I hardly see Clyde anymore. In all my time here, I’ve only seen him twice, like a shadow in a place I can’t reach. No matter how long I clean or wander the halls of this twisted castle, his presence is a ghost.
Maybe he hides in his chambers. I’m not allowed in there, or in Griffith’s either. I need to escape. I need to breathe somewhere that isn't with secrets.
That night…
Two wolves battled in the darkness.
One was massive, divine, terrifying. Everything he touched withered beneath him. And then, a girl… small, fragile, with long white hair, knelt before him, tears gleaming on her lashes.
“Please,” she whispered, clutching the grass. “I can break the curse. My blood will save you. I don’t care if we’re mates—we could rule the world together.”
The Alpha’s voice was thunder and sorrow. “You broke my trust. Come closer, and I’ll kill you.”
“Do you think I care?” Her voice cracked. “Do you love me?”
He turned his face. “You are a child. I have lived for centuries. You were just born—”
“Does that matter?” She stepped forward, smiling through her pain.
“Don’t come closer.” He warned.
“Then say it. Tell me to stop, and I will. If there's anything between us, we can fix it…”
“Just go.”
But she ran to him anyway, magic bursting from her fingers as she flung her arms around his trembling frame.
“No!” he roared.
And then she exploded.
Her body shattered into a rain of blood. Her light extinguished in his arms.
I screamed awake.
Vomit spilled from my mouth. My body shook. My heart. God, it felt like something sharp was chewing through it. The more I thought of the dream, the more I retched.
The door creaked open. Caspian appeared. I smelled blood on me. He flicked on the lights, and when he saw the blood at my lips, he rushed to me.
“What did you see?” he asked, voice low.
I couldn't speak.
“It’s okay,” he whispered, wiping my mouth with a napkin. “Lie down. Rest.”
He tucked me in, like I was something precious.
Was Caspian this… kind?
Before sleep reclaimed me, I wondered what kind of monster could hold me so gently. When I woke up again, it was night. Loud voices echoed beyond the castle walls. I slipped out of bed and crept outside.
I saw a gathering.
Alphas.
Many of them. Clyde stood among them, his face unreadable. And opposite them were strangers clad in black.
Vampires.
One of them appeared beside me like a mist. His hand clamped over my mouth. I kicked and twisted, but in seconds, he had dragged me into the center of the scene.
“I got her,” he sneered.
“Let her go!” Jeremy growled.
The vampire grinned. “So this is the hybrid you’ve been hiding. Planning to breed her? Make yourselves gods?”
He yanked me tighter.
“Or did you all f**k her already?” he mocked. “We both know a hybrid with multiple mates is a curse.”
My mates stood silent. Watching. I trembled in the vampire’s grasp.
“Can I kill her now?” he asked. “She’s one of us. You can’t keep her.”
His claw raked across my chest.
“Ahhhhhhhh.” I screamed.
“Let her go!” Jeremy roared. He stepped forward, his power rising. The vampire laughed and turned to the others. “Hear that? Alpha Jeremy barking for his b***h!”
Laughter.
He yanked my hair and slapped me hard across the face. I hit the ground. Shaking.
“Clyde,” the vampire said softly, licking my blood from his fingers, “your scent clings to her. That’s why I can’t taste her blood. Seems you’ve already claimed her.”
He stepped closer, voice now dripping with filth. “Give her to me, and I’ll let the rest of you live. Or better, come to me, Clyde. Let me f**k your sweet little ass instead.”
“You bastard,” Jeremy hissed. Eyolf moved to strike, but Clyde raised a hand and stepped forward.
“Oh? Want to save your first love, Clyde?” the vampire teased.
First love?
My heart stuttered. What the hell was he talking about?
“Release her,” Clyde said calmly, darkly. “She is not yours, Diego. She has nothing to do with this.”
“Do you truly believe you can order me around so easily, Clyde?” he snapped, my voice tight with disbelief.
He exhaled slowly, indifferently. “It’s not like she means that much to me, anyway. If you don’t let her go, you can keep her. Perhaps you should have her over for dinner tonight. She’s all yours. It’s not like she remembers you.”
Have me for dinner? Remember him?
“CLYDE,” Diego thundered, voice thick with rage. “Don’t play me for a fool. I see right through your act. You’re pretending none of this matters, like she’s nothing to you. But you forgot something crucial. You brought her back to life. That means she matters. That means she’s your weakness.”
What? My mind reeled.
Save me? From what? And why?
- Writer
