The Lonely God

25.

-HIM-

"What are you doing here?" I growl at him, stepping closer. He left my Nefret alone! Anything could happen to her!

"Arles, it's her. You need to see her soon..." He trails off. Desperation and helplessness are brimming in his eyes. Rey has started pacing at the mention of her name. He wants to see her now. The dam of my patience is about to break.

"What happened, Archander?" I growl stepping closer to him. Our chests are almost touching and I could feel my eyes swapping colour as my blood boils with rage.

"She needs you." He says and this makes Ray stir more inside me. He's fighting for control. He wants to see our mate now and so do I but I am afraid that she won't like seeing me. I am sure about this. I know she must hate me for what I did to her in the past but it will be nothing compared to what I am about to do to her. She might hate me for the whole eternity for the things that I have planned in my head.

The strong urge to see her takes over me and in the next moment, I find myself turning on my heels and heading away from my palace to the mortal realm where my heart resides. I could feel the stars protest as I climb down the mortal realm feeling more and more excited. An invisible thread pulls me closer to her.

Finally, I will be seeing her. After all these years, I'll be bringing her back with me and crowning her the queen. She won't be ready for it and I know that she will try her best to resist me but I won't give up. I'll take what's rightfully mine.

It seems to be the darkest night as I walk on the snow to the pack she lives in. Rey is excitedly pacing inside me. He just can't wait to see her. He's urging me to walk faster. The wind is blowing with all its might and it's snowing heavily.

I am alone in the deserted and dark night as I walk through the pack, passing several houses and pack houses before I reach the Alpha's house.

"I am here Nefret..." I say more to myself as I cross the Alpha's house and walk to the backyard before climbing to her window. As soon as I open the window, her intoxicating scent hits my nose and I almost lose control over myself. I take several deep breaths, trying to fill my lungs with her scent. It's only now when I realize how much I've been starving for her.

I close the window behind me after climbing inside her room. It's dark but I could clearly trace her figure lying on the bed, under the sheets. I let Rey take over before we head to her sleeping figure. Her breaths are brief and deep, signaling that she's asleep.

The room reeks of her scent along with a salty edge to it. I climb on her bed before slipping under her covers. As soon my skin makes contact with her, strong sparks shoot all over my skin and my chest rumbles with a low growl. Every cell in my body lights up with need and desire.

I want her.

I don't wait for another second as I pull her in my arms and bury my nose in the crook of her neck. She responds to my touch right away and snuggles deeper into my arms unconsciously. This makes Rey howl with happiness inside me. Her soft body is pressed against my hard one and sparks are exploding all over my skin.

I run my nose along her neck and feel her baring her neck unconsciously for me. Rey is happy. He wants to mark her now. I cannot do it now, not here while she's asleep. The fact that she is giving into my touch and liking it is making it harder for me to resist sinking my canines into her soft skin.

She might be submitting to me unconsciously but I know that her reaction would be different when she'd be conscious. She might just reject me but she'll be my queen either way. She has to be. There's no other option for her.

"Mine," I growl before closing my mouth around the part of her neck where it meets with her shoulder blades. She tastes so good. As I suck, she moans, making me suck harder. It's talking all the control in me from sinking my teeth in her skin since they're already grazing it.

Suddenly, I hear her sniff and feel her burying her face in my chest before a low sob is heard. She's crying. This makes me wrap my arms tighter around her and look down at her. Why is she crying? Did someone hurt her? Is she upset?

Rey is pacing even more. I want to know why she's crying. I try to feel her wolf but she is asleep as well. I sniff more of her scent which is calming and exciting me at the same time. It makes me satisfied to know that she smells like me after I've marked her scent by giving her the hickeys.

I missed you so much...

I spend the rest of the night with her in my arms. It felt so good. I can't have enough of her. I can't wait to take her with me. It's after centuries when I'm at peace even if it's for some mere moments.

It was dawn when I climbed out of her window to come back again. This time I am taking her but I know she won't be coming with me easily. She'll try fighting me but I am going to win because I have something planned which won't leave her any choice but to come with me.

She'll hate me for this...

~

-HER-

I wake up when the morning light sneaking through my window falls on my eyes. I feel groggy as I sit up and rub my eyes. Suddenly, Vesta stirs inside me excitedly and I sit up. My nose picks up this particular faded scent in the air that lingers in my room.

It smells so good. I can't stop sniffing the air. It calms me down. It excites me. It's so wonderful. It's addicting. I want to smell more of it but it seems to be fading away every passing moment. Vesta feels oddly satisfied inside me as she purrs in delight.

I yawn and soon the memory of yesterday comes crashing down on me.

I was falsely convicted for challenging Phoebe's Alpha position.

I AM GOING TO BE BANISHED!

As if on cue, someone knocks on the door. I get up from my bed and head towards the door before opening it. Grace is standing outside my door with a stern face.

"Good morning, Grace." I wish her politely but she doesn't wish me back.

"You're needed downstairs, n-o-w!" She growls instead and I am taken back by the tone of her voice. I know what's going to happen when I go downstairs. Without speaking a word, I follow her as she turns on her heels and leads me downstairs.

She leads me to the Alpha's office. After a short knock, she gets inside and I follow her. My whole family is inside the office along with the pack elders and other pack officials. Grace leaves my side before going to Seth. Everyone is looking at me sternly.

I feel self-conscious before so many eyes. I've been crying since yesterday and I know that I look like s**t right now. I am broken inside out.

Phoebe steps before me, her eyes are digging holes in my body. I take a deep breath and push my emotions deep down in me, wishing them to never bother me.

"Alpha," I say looking into her eyes. She growls at me, her eyes turn black instantly. She studies me and suddenly, I see her eyes fixed on my neck. They darken even more and she growls louder. A lethal amount of energy is flowing off her figure and the air is charged with tension.

In the next moment, I am being pinned to the wall while she is clutching my neck.

"Who did this?" She growls, her eyes are fixed on my neck. What is she talking about?

"Did what?" I ask in confusion and she growls even more before picking me up and throwing me across the room. My back hits the large bookshelf at the end of the room before I hit the ground with a loud thud. I wince in pain as I try to get up after the impact. Intense pain shoots up my body and I let out a soft whimper.

She steps in front of me and suddenly, a flashback of Arles doing the same with me flashes in front of my eyes. I am terrified. I am scared. What's happening?

My vision blurs and my mind drives back in the past, putting all my nightmares in front of my eyes. Adrenaline rushes through my blood and my heart beats quicken. Small beads of sweat cover my forehead and my lungs seem to have reduced the intake of air because no matter how much I breathe, it doesn't seem enough.

I let out a shaky breath as I feel my body shiver while all the haunting memories flash in front of my eyes. Several people are speaking at the same time in the room but I am not able to concentrate on what they're saying. There's this ringing in my ears that's not letting any other sound enter them.

I gulp audibly as I support my body on my arms and look up. My eyes fall on a full-length mirror on the wall. My red and tired eyes stare back at me. They are hopeless and... wait a minute, what's that?

I take a close look at my neck and find some marks on them. Do they look more like bruises or... hickeys? But where did they come from? Who gave them to me? Did I hook up with someone last night? My hand shoots up to touch the marks. As soon as I touch them, sparks shoot all over my skin and I shiver in pleasure. Vesta oddly seems happy about the mark which makes me more confused.

The ringing in my ears stops and I could hear everybody shouting at me. I get up and face Phoebe standing in the middle of the room, glaring at me.

"Who did that? Are you sleeping around and trying to be a hoe because being a traitor wasn't enough for you?" She asks and this ticks Vesta off.

"Yup. Least I won't be dying virgin like you." I say with a smirk while looking at her mate and back to her. Multiple growls ring throughout the room including Phoebe's. She bares her canines at me and Vesta is slowly appearing to the surface.

She wants to taste blood.

I show off my canines to her and hear multiple gasps around the room.

Yes, I have challenged her.

We're about to lunge at each other when the border patrol's warning howl rings throughout the pack. It diverts everyone's attention from us. We listen in silence as multiple haunting howls are heard.

We're being attacked!

But by whom? Our pack has never been attacked, at least not by rogues or any other pack.

In the next moment, everyone is leaving the office.

"I'll deal with you later," Phoebe growls to me before she walks out. I follow her. The officials and warriors are heading towards the borders while the women and children are running towards safe shelter.

I let Vesta take control for the action that's about to happen. Angry growls, whimpers, snarls, grunts and howls ring throughout the forest.

Soon, I see unfamiliar wolves appear from the trees and head towards the pack house to attack. I jump in front of them before fighting them.

Several warriors follow me and we start fighting. They seem too many. I spot Phoebe fighting three wolves at once while I whip five wolves dead at once with Oculus Reaper.

More and more wolves appear out of the northern woods and move inside the pack. I follow them before killing them. I head towards the southern border from where the majority of the wolves seem to be coming from.

I whip endlessly. The crackling sound of my whip echoes throughout the air before the painful howls of the wolves is heard. I fight endlessly, moving inside the southern woods to stop more wolves from entering the pack.

Suddenly, the wind blows, bringing me that intoxicating scent that I found this morning in my room. It enthralls my senses. The intensity of this scent makes me forget about my surroundings and what I am doing.

All I can concentrate on is the scent. It's so addicting. I want to find out the source of this scent. After killing three wolves with a single whip, I follow the scent.

My nose is held high in the air as I filter it for this amazing scent. Gosh, I can't control myself. Vesta is pacing excitedly inside me. There's this odd feeling bubbling inside me. I cannot describe it in particular.

I have never felt like this before. As I follow the scent, I am being led to the pack house. Here, things are oddly silent.

The scent is strongest here. My legs move without my whim and I enter the pack house. What I see next, knocks the breath out of me.

All the pack members are tied up and knives are put to their necks, ready to slit it and end their lives by the wolves. My family is tied up too, several wolves holding knives to their necks.

I growl at them and is about to charge at the wolves who threaten to kill my family.

"MINE!" A growl rings throughout the room and that's when I turn around.

My eyes find his silver ones as he's holding Phoebe, resting a knife against her neck which is pressing angrily against it. A drop of blood runs down her neck when Vesta says the word I could have never thought of...

'Mate...'