The Blood Rose

Freedom At Last

Bright light wakes me once again as it filters through the hospital room I'm in. I groan before opening my eyes and sitting up while rubbing the last remnants of sleep away. I look around and notice Zaiden isn't here yet, causing a frown to form on my face.

‘It's a lovely day, isn't it?’ My wolf, Saffron, speaks for the first time in years causing me to smile. ‘Saffron! Your back!’ I reply to her. 

It's been so long since I've heard her, I notice how all my bruising is gone and how I feel a lot stronger than I did yesterday. ‘Do you like my little gift?’ Saffron wags her tail happily.  ‘Thank you, I've missed you so much, I promise I'll never let someone hurt us again.’ I reply to her. 

‘I know you'll protect us. I'm sorry for abandoning you, I was getting weaker and weaker and I couldn't heal you and myself anymore so I had to rest for a long time.’

 I sigh sadly, ‘I understand Saf, but now we can get better together and maybe you can meet Zaiden.’ I smile to myself as I imagine his perfect smile and those cute dimples. ‘I bet he's yummy’ she responds with a flick of her tail causing me to laugh.

The door suddenly opens revealing Zaiden, causing Saffron to howl in appreciation. ‘Damn that's one fine mate, I can't wait to meet his wolf, I bet he's just as delicious.’ I burst out laughing at her referring to them as yummy and delicious, causing Zaiden to look at me with confusion. "What's so funny?" He asks.

"Saffrons back!" I excitedly bounce in my spot like a kid in a candy store. 

"Saffron?" He takes his spot on the chair next to my bed. 

"My wolf" I smile proudly. 

"So soon? That's amazing Kai!" 

I smile happily, letting my body relax for once. "It really is amazing, I can't wait until we're healthy enough to shift. I've only ever shifted once, and that was the first time I ever did." 

A gentle smile graces his face, "I bet she's gorgeous like you, and has the same gray eyes." 

"Gray eyes?" I ask, my spirit pushing forward, protection...must protect... It calls out to me

"Yeah they're almost silver but not quite, although when I met you your eyes were brown" he says like a question but also as a fact. 

Protect… my spirit echoes again. "Oh the brown was contacts, my king thought my eyes were unique and didn't want to draw attention to me," I tell him.

He nods, not being able to decipher my lie since it was basically the truth. "Well your natural eyes are perfect" 

"Thank you" a blush creeps onto my cheeks as I twiddle with my fingers, suddenly nervous. 

┏━━༻❁༺━━┓

Zaidens pov

I watch as a deep blush warms her cheeks and she starts fiddling with her slender fingers, I've looked for her for over a year, I even tried to follow her when she ran but her scent stopped at the trees as if she hid it but that's impossible. It's like she vanished into thin air.

╔═══*.·:·.☽✧    ✦    ✧☾.·:·.*═══╗

We spent 2 hours looking for her, me and my parents returned to the pompous castle when I caught her scent immediately, the smell of cinnamon cookies surrounding me. Following it leads me to bright red double doors that had guards stationed on either side of them, Without warning I burst through them and continued following her scent while the guards were yelling at me and my parents, her heavenly scent led me to a small cell that heavily smelled of her, signaling she had spent years here. 

I look around the cell noticing blood that stained the stone slab, the walls and the floor, recognizing it was hers. My wolf threatened to take over as my eyes darkened my claws elongated. "Zaid, honey, calm down. We can't get answers if you aren't in control." My mothers voice soothes me as her hand rests on my shoulder. I feel my claws recede and the anger lessen. She slept on a stone slab for years and only had a toilet, I followed her scent out of the room, by this time the guards all gave up on trying to get us to leave and just bowed their heads in shame.

 I followed her scent to a room at the end of the hallway and entered it, while trying to find the light but failing. Her scent was heavy in here too. "Turn on the light!" I demand with a ferocious growl, causing them to scamper to turn it on.

When the light flowed through the room my heart stopped and I dropped to my knees, pain coursing through my very entity. There was blood everywhere and burn marks, the light grey walls barely peaked through all the blood, most of it smelled of her and some of it was others. My head snaps to the guard as anger courses through my veins. "What did you make her do?!" I demanded as I shoved the guard against the wall by his neck, lifting him up so he was dangling. 

That's when I hear Alfred's raspy chuckle. "She murder rogues and innocents for me" 

"I knew you were lying but I didn't understand why. How long was she tortured by your hands?" I growled, as Jax tried to fight his way to the surface.

"Since she was an infant. I'm all she knows, she'll come back to me. I am her father after all." A sick smile crosses his face causing my eyes to darken once again. My parents were both silent and slacked jawed. "You know my favorite punishment was silver tipped whips dipped in wolfsbane, her cries would echo through the basement but she never said a word, she knew no one would help her. But you did something that will ruin the world." He states matter of factly, causing me to vibrate in anger. "No, I set her free from a monster." I spat

"She's an abomination, born of me and Queen Savina Montego. She isn't supposed to exist. She's more powerful than any of us. Her mother thinks she was murdered thankfully so no one knew of her existence but me. But now she's on the loose and has the power to end all of us, I trained her to be a warrior, to obey and do as told but now? She's free. Oh and I'll have my guards send you some videos of her time here to show you just how evil she is" he finishes and orders the guards to get all the tapes before turning around and walking away.

"You'll pay for this" I yell, my voice booming through the basement and bouncing off the walls. 

"Sure" was all he said as he left us standing in silence.

"We have to tell the council," my father says with widened eyes, earning a slap upside the head from my mother. 

"No we will protect her. She is Zaiden's mate! The council will kill her" she yells. 

"I'll never forgive you if you tell the council" I glare at my father as a low growl escapes my lips.

"s**t I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking. But you heard him say she was evil!" He exclaims in panic. 

"Let's watch the footage before we judge, we have no idea what it was really like for her here" my mother says as she puts a hand on both my fathers and my shoulders. 

We both nod in silence before exiting my mates torture room and heading back to the main floor of the castle.

We stop outside the exit of the castle as I turn to look at them. "I won't sign a treaty with him, ever. The only time I will come back here is to find her." They both nod in understanding.

╚═══*.·:·.☽✧    ✦    ✧☾.·:·.*═══╝

She doesn't know that I know what she went through, she doesn't know that I know her eyes are purple or that when she uses her powers they glow brightly.

I watched all the footage Alfred sent me, him beating her, whipping her, him locking her in that room with rogues when she was only 6 years old, forcing her to take people's lives, how everytime she did her nightmares would get worse that night. Me and my parents slowly realized she wasn't a monster. There was this one footage that broke my heart, she was 15 maybe and she was on her knees, praying to the moon goddess to let her die finally, she cried for hours about all the people she killed and begged over and over again to die. Me and my wolf Jax have cried for her, swore to protect her and show her so much love, gentleness and kindness. 

When she told me she only ever shifted once I started to worry, the first 10 times or more you shift are excruciating, your bones break and re-break, your skin burns and feels as if it will fall off. I felt bad knowing she went through that alone. That was the one footage the king refused to show us though, he said that it's his special secret.

He's the only one who has ever seen her wolf and that angers both me and Jax. 

"Are you okay? Her angelic voice asks me, causing a goofy smile to appear on my face. "Yeah I was just thinking, sorry. Do you wanna get out of here?" I ask

Her eyes widened as she looked around, unsure if she felt safe enough to leave. "Um. You'll be with me right?" She asks with uncertainty lacing her voice as her brows furrowed. "Of course, ma coeur" I smile brightly at her. "I just have to leave for an hour at most before we can get you out of here, I'll have to get you some proper clothes and make sure ou- your room is ready." I add, internally scolding myself for almost mentioning the room she’ll be in will be ours one day, if she accepts me as her mate.

A small smile appears onto her fair skin. "Um-" she starts uncertainly, before closing her beautiful plump light pink lips and deciding against it. 

"You can ask anything, or for anything for that matter." I smile gently at her as I stand up. 

"Can I have a long sleeved shirt with a high neck? I don't care what color it is" she looked down to her hands like they're the most interesting thing ever.

"Of course" I said as I look over to the scar on her temple and noticing how bad it actually was, it went from her hairline all the way down to her middle finger, it looked like that same place was cut into over and over again, although she didn't have it when I met her. Who on earth would want to cause pain to someone so beautiful? 

If I ever find that person I will rip them apart with my bare hands. No one hurts my mate and gets away with it.