365 MOONS TO LOVE A WOLF KING

CHAPTER 4

AMELIA

"Please! Let me go!", I scream.

My eyes widen when I realize the key in the Alpha King's hand—the key that could be my only salvation from that dark nightmare.

The macabre ritual begins, and I tremble with horror as two men advance, holding me with relentless force. I fight, scream, and cry, but my words are lost in the void of the hall, with no one to hear or save me.

Then I see the Alpha King raise his hand, the sharp blade of the dagger glinting in the candlelight. My heart sinks as he cuts his hand, letting drops of blood drip into the crackling fire before us.

A cry escapes my lips as he approaches me, the dagger gleaming dangerously in his hand. He says he's sorry, but his words fall on deaf ears, drowned out by the deafening roar of my agony.

With a burst of courage, I break free from the men holding me, my hands trembling as I grab the dagger tightly. A scream tears through the air as I plunge the blade into the King's body, shock and pain written on his face as he recoils.

I see the key, so close yet so out of reach, but determination propels me. I grab it tightly, my breath heavy, as I run towards the door, the heavy footsteps of the men echoing behind me.

With tears clouding my vision, I open the door with trembling hands, the cold night air welcoming me like an ally. I run, my feet pounding the castle corridors as I desperately search for an escape route.

My heart cries out for my mother; every beat is a silent prayer for her safety. I know I need to flee, and every second I remain there increases the danger surrounding me.

I run, the long dress trailing behind me like a symbol of everything I'm leaving behind. Behind me, the men shout, their voices filling the dark corridors with promises of retaliation.

But I don't look back. I run towards freedom, my determination burning like a flame within me.

I'm in a castle full of supernatural beings who wouldn't hesitate to kill me for fleeing from the king, but I can't stay in this place anymore.

As I continue running down the long corridor of the castle, I realize how deceived I am—I marry the king, but in truth, I am the sacrifice.

Tears continue to wet my face as I turn my head back and see that I am being pursued by many guards.

I'll never be able to escape this castle alive, but I can't give up now.

The dress keeps sliding on the floor, and I feel tears in my eyes. I wish to find my mother because I don't know what I should do.

My eyes widen as I look ahead and see two guards running toward me. I'm cornered; I look to the side and see I have no option at this moment.

My heart beats faster and faster in my chest as I scream, feeling the guard's hands grab my arms. I scream as they try to take me back to the room I fled from.

I struggle and keep screaming, and at that moment, I realize that I almost killed the king, and the punishment for that will be severe. In a desperate move, I raise my arm, hitting one of the guards' faces with force, before managing to grab the sword from his waist.

I start running faster, holding the heavy sword in my hands ready to defend myself if anyone tries to take me back to the king.

The other vampires around me look at me confused as if they can't understand why the queen is running away from the king.

Tears wet my face as I ran faster, holding the long dress. My heart beats rapidly in my chest, but I still can't stop.

I turn my head, hearing the king yelling, and my vision is completely blurred by the tears in my eyes as I turn my head, starting to descend the stairs.

"Someone help me!", I shout for help, but the vampires only look at me as if no one can help me at this moment.

There are many corridors and guards ahead of me, and I run to the other side, hearing the swords behind me. I almost fell because of the long wedding dress.

I need to find my mother so we can escape this kingdom immediately, and then I stop running when I see the king in front of me on the other side.

My eyes widen when I see him look at me with a serious expression. I'm not the real queen; I'm just his sacrifice.

I feel anger growing inside me and raise my hands, holding the heavy sword, still looking at him. Furthermore, I managed to hurt him with that dagger, but I see he has fully recovered.

"Everyone lies to me!", I shout, looking at him, still feeling tears in my eyes.

"You can't have my life.", I said, walking backward and seeing a large window behind me.

The king walks toward me, and I step back, ready to do anything to defend myself, but I can't be killed that way. For all my life, I believed there were rules in this kingdom, but now I see that everything is much darker than I imagined.

"There's no way to escape this castle, Amelia. You would be captured before reaching the gates."

"Don't come near me; I think you're different, but you just chose me to be the sacrifice of your kingdom. You lie to everyone."

"Lower the sword, Amelia."

I shake my head, holding the sword tightly. I know I'm in front of the king, threatening to kill him with this weapon, and that no one in the kingdom would have this courage, but I feel different at this moment.

Everything I see in that sacrificial room seems to change something inside me; I'm scared, but I'll fight for my life.

"I won't be your sacrifice; I want to go back home."

The king shakes his head, approaching more, and I feel the tip of the blade against his chest. I raise my head, watching his golden eyes fix on my face.

"Do you want to kill me? Go ahead and try, Amelia. But much more experienced people try this and never succeed, but know that if you try, your mother's life is also in danger."

I widen my eyes and raise the sword, ready to hurt him. I remember well some moves my father taught me when I was a child.

He chops wood with an ax and teaches me how to hold a heavy weapon. I never held a sword before, but I know I can do this.

Everyone around us watches in shock as I try to kill their king.

I raise the sword, but he quickly dodges, holding my arm and pushing me forcefully against a wall.

He takes the sword from my hands, and I shout shaking my head as if I can't accept my defeat.

"Look at me, Amelia."

"You're going to kill me just like you kill all the other women who marry you.", I whisper, and he doesn't answer this time.

"You're a monster!", I shout, hitting his chest hard, and seconds later, I fall to the ground, and his body is over mine.

The guards approach us, but the king raises his hand asking them to step back as if he can handle this alone.

"I'm a monster for caring for and protecting my kingdom, Amelia?", he asks with his face close to mine.

"You're killing innocent people..."

"Believe me when I say I never want this, but I have no other choice. Believe me when I say I'm doing everything to save the kingdom."

"Why?", I ask in a whisper, watching his golden pupils fixed on my face.

I stop breathing, feeling his hands holding my arms above my head. I blink my eyes, still looking at him.

Furthermore, I don't want to stay in the castle; I need to find a way to try to get to the other side of the gates, but I remember his words about my mother.

"Let me go, let me go away.", I whisper, feeling tears wetting my cheeks.

"There are things here that a human girl like you could never understand."

"Then choose another girl, but let me go, please.", I whisper, trying to release my hands.

"Your place is in this castle, Amelia."

"My place is away from you and all the supernatural creatures in this world.", I murmured, staring at him with determination in my eyes.

"You are my chosen one, and I can't let you go.", he whispers, moving his face closer to mine, and before he can do anything, I free my hands and push his body.

I stand up with difficulty, feeling his hand grabbing my dress, and I don't hesitate when I jump over the high castle window. I shout, feeling my dress being torn as I fall through the air.

"Amelia!" the king shouts my name as I continue to fall.

I still don't know if I made a terrible choice by jumping out the window, but seconds later, I groan, feeling the impact against the lower castle roof.

I continue to roll down, and seconds later, I raise my hands, trying to hold on. Furthermore, I hold tightly to the edge of the roof before looking down.

I widen my eyes when I see the height below me. I shout, feeling my hands slip and hearing the guards running through the castle.

"Find the girl now!", the king shouts, and I feel panic dominating me when I feel like I'm going to fall at any moment.

I can hear my mother's voice inside my mind asking me to be strong, and I sigh before trying to raise my body. I shout when I slide down more and more.

I look down, seeing people staring at me in fear. I look up trying to hold on for longer, but seconds later I scream, falling.

The strong impact against my body on the ground is too strong, and I open my eyes, feeling the pain in my head. I feel dizzy and turn my head, feeling blood running down my forehead.

I touch the wound on my forehead before hearing the guards running towards me, my heart beats faster as I struggle to stand up before starting to run again.

Furthermore, I am outside the castle, but I still need to get past the gates, and I'll never be able to do that because I know many guards are waiting for me there.

I look at the people around me in fear and turn my head when I see the guards running. I groan, blinking my eyes, before continuing to run.

The wedding dress on my body is destroyed, but I don't care about that.

There are more guards on the other side and I am surrounded by vampires and wolves, I take a deep breath realizing that I have no weapon to fight them with.

It's at that moment that I turn my head to the side seeing my mother looking at me, I widen my eyes before starting to run towards her.

"Mom! Mom!", I cry, tears streaming down my face as I see her running towards me too.

I want her to hug me and take me away from this castle, but before she has a chance to get close to me, I feel the guards' arms around my body.

I scream, struggling as I try to reach her, I cry louder when I see the guards also starting to take her away from me.

"Amelia!"

"Mom! Please!", I scream, feeling the guard's arms take me away.

She needs to know the truth about what will happen to me if I continue in this castle, but I don't have time to tell her because the king appears again.

"I hate you! I hate you!", I shouted, crying as she walked in front of me.

"I never expected you to like me, I'm sorry, Amelia."

I furrow my brow when the two guards hold me while he says a word that I can't understand before approaching me again.

"What are you doing?", I shout when he keeps saying more words in a language I can't understand.

I groan, feeling the pain in my head growing stronger, and I understand that he is doing something to me at this moment. I sigh, getting weaker and weaker, and seconds later I have no more strength to stand up.

"I hate you...", I whisper again when the king kisses my forehead.

It's not a normal kiss but a kiss of deep sleep.

"You are different from all the others, Amelia...", he whispers, stepping back and seconds later I close my eyes, losing consciousness completely.

At first, I think I'm dead; second, I think I'm in the dungeon or in that sacrificial room, ready to be killed.

I sigh still with my eyes closed, feeling my head throbbing when I move. I turn my head, managing to open my eyes with difficulty, and furrow my brow when I look around and realize that I'm in a room in the castle.