You get your wish.
You get your wish, Alpha of the Dark Moon Pack.
Those words played in my head like a broken record.
"No," I cried, guilt and fear seeping through the pores of my skin. "No, you can't. I won't let you. Please, Lucius. It's not his fault."
"Your pleas always fall on deaf ears," Lucius murmured, walking closer to us. "I don't understand why you persist on begging, princess. You always know the end result of our little games."
I knew that. Of course I known that after four years of captivity here. But this was an entirely different situation. I won't stand back and do nothing while he kills one of my friends.
Especially one that's also my destined mate.
"Don't put yourself down just to save that dumb ass," Leon snapped, looking at me with angry eyes. "If Trenton wants to die, let him. He's a big boy now. He can make his own choices."
"Shut up, Leon," Orion snarled, giving him a hard shake of his head. "You don't mean that."
Leon grumbled but did not answer. It was obvious that he couldn't care less what happened to Trenton.
Lucius chuckled and raked a hand through his hair. "Of course, Leon. You never fail to amuse me. I knew you would say that."
"What're you talking about? You don't know me at all."
"On the contrary," Lucius grinned, " I know everything about you. Where you're from, who your family are and what goes on in that notorious mind of yours."
Leon's eyes narrowed but otherwise remained silent.
"And now you give me the silent treatment," Lucius grinned, shaking his head at Leon. "Typical."
"Lucius," I pleaded, seeing a cruel look enter his eyes. His eyes swivelled to mine and I took a step back, seeing the dark look. "Don't hurt him, please."
"There's no reason for you to come to my aid," Trenton drawled out, placing a hand on my shoulder. "I want to die."
"No you don't," I snapped, anger rising within me. "I know you Trenton and you won't take a coward's way out. It's not like you at all."
"Maybe I changed," he smirked, but no humour was in his eyes. "Did you ever think about that. Maybe we all did. Look at you, mate of mine. Four years in captivity and now you play the role as Lucius' whore."
I flinched from that ugly word and I wasn't the only one to do so. Leon's face turned murderous and he looked at Trenton like he wanted to kill him.
"I think it's best for all of us if you do die," Leon said, staring hard at him. "You can rejoin your precious bitch in hell. Charlene, wasn't that her name? For a girl to like you, she must've been a bitch."
Trenton's face lost his smirk and he growled, staring hard at Leon. His eyes were strangely serious. "Shut up, blood sucker. You have no right to call her that."
"That goes both ways, moron," Leon shouted back, gesturing his hands toward me. "Jesus. I swear you're on a mental breakdown, Trenton. Ten minutes ago, you marked Ariel as your mate. Five minutes later, you proclaimed that you wanted to die. And now, you're back to your arrogant self again, treating Ariel like crap."
"This is amusing to say the least," Lucius interjected smoothly, commanding his attention. "And the young vampire is right for once. You have no right calling my princess those filthy words. The bond I have with Ariel is sacred. Something you dogs will never understand in this lifetime."
His words made me cringe and it was not only because of the impact it had on me, but what it had on the others.
Orion looked down, but not before I caught a glimpse of tears in his eyes. Cameron, Arlo, and Scott looked sick; each giving Lucius a murderous look.
And Leon in the mean time, lunged at Lucius with a shout, only to be shoved hard against a wall.
"Fucking sicko," he muttered, getting up from the wall. Tears gathered in my eyes seeing how much turmoil everyone's emotions was in.
They looked disgusted and I couldn't help but think that their disgust was directed towards me.
After allowing Lucius to do those things to you, why would you even deny that simple fact.
"So what's your plan, Lucius?" Orion spat out, after shaking his head at me.
I ignored the voice and concentrated on what Orion was saying. He gave Lucius a dark look. "You're just going to kill Trenton for something that he can't even control? And what about the so called Alpha project? Your big plan to take over the world. What happened to that? Huh?"
"It's still in progress," he shrugged callously, as if his plan was not the cause of so many people's pain and misery.
"I don't understand what your game is," Arlo spoke out, his eyes trying to read into Lucius' mind. "You took us in hopes that you'll pit the vampires against the werewolves. And all this time, though you do like to torture us, you never once expressively tried to kill us."
"What exactly is your point, mutt?" Lucius asked lazily.
"I've been thinking for sometime now," Arlo started, regarding everyone in the room. "That what you told us a long time ago was a lie. About the werewolves and vampires going to a war over us, I mean. If that really was the case, what was the point of keeping us here alive? They would go to war regardless if we were alive or dead. You could've sent our dead bodies to our family just to fuel their anger even more."
"Dude, stop giving the psycho ideas," Scott hissed, looking sick to his stomach.
"Arlo's right," Orion stated, crossing his arms over his chest. "Four years of keeping us alive and now you want to kill Trenton for being Ariel's mate. If you're going to kill Trenton, you might as well kill all of us. What purpose are we actually serving here?"
Lucius remained silent but there was a dangerous glint in his eye. "Very perceptive boys. I especially love how it took you only," he glanced down at his invisible watch, "four years to figure it out."
He looked up and smirked, no doubt sensing the panic entering the room. "Fear. I'm so fond of that emotion. The more intense the emotion is, the more I revel in it."
"Don't change the subject with your lame poetry, Shakespeare," Cameron grunted out. "What's the real reason you kidnapped us? What's your ultimate goal?"
"Don't worry about it," Lucius said in a bored tone. "I'll put all you mutts and the fang-boy over there to good use. Actually wait, that's a lie. Your time here is long overdue, my friend.”
"I'm not your friend."
Lucius regarded Trenton with an evil look and unconsciously, I found myself standing in front of Trenton. I knew that the move was pointless but the barrier I made with my body made one message clear.
Lucius will have to kill me to kill him.
"So loyal, my pet," Lucius said, cocking his head to the side. "Even after all the ugly words that Trenton spoke of you, you're still protecting him. Why? Is it because he's your mate or is it because you actually enjoy all the verbal taunts he throws at you. Hmm? Sweetheart, are you actually a masochist?"
I had no clue what he was talking about but by the growls echoing in the room, I knew that it must have been something inappropriate.
"It's not only because he's my mate," I said, glancing back to look at Trenton only to find that he was already staring down at me. "It's because he doesn't deserve to die. He did nothing to you. And killing him is inhumane." His gaze held bitterness and anger but deep down, I could also see a hint of affection that he was struggling to hide. Trenton might be my mate but as of right now, only he feels the mate bond.
My wolf never made an appearance for years. Without her, the only thing linking me with Trenton is the mark he made on my neck.
Lucius laughed darkly, and I turned back to see him giving both of us a fierce frown. It was then I realized that his anger was rooted from jealousy. That was never a good thing on him. "Honestly Ariel. You say the most naive things in the world. After all these years knowing me, you think I give a shit about being humane. Just look at you princess. Can you really call my actions humane after all the things I did to you?"
I remained silent, looking back at him silently. Tears were streaming down my face and I wanted to scream from the utter helplessness I was feeling. If Lucius was going to kill Trenton, there was nothing I could do to stop him. Nothing anyone else can do either as well.
Weak. You're so weak.
I turned and looked at Trenton to see him stare me down. "I'm sorry." It was a weak heartfelt apology but I didn't know what else to say. I didn't know how to react.
What was I supposed to do?
"Ariel," Trenton said and I looked up surprised by the tender note in his voice. He placed a hand on my shoulder and squeezed gently, uncharacteristically. "It's okay."
I shook my head, tears clogging up my throat. I knew that Trenton had demons in his past but I never would've put it past him that he would actually want to die. It wasn't like him but then again, I barely knew anything about him. He was a puzzle that was impossible to solve.
If Trenton dies, when Trenton dies, I don't know how I'll be able to live with myself. Already I felt the guilt and worry suffocating me into oblivion. It wasn't fair. Not to Trenton, not to the rest of the werewolves, and not to me either.
I didn't ask for this.
None of us did.
"Come here, princess," Lucius commanded and I saw with dread the jealousy swirling in his eyes. He was glaring holes at the hand that Trenton placed on my shoulder and knowing there was enough tension in the air, I stepped away from his touch. However, I didn't move from my spot and heed to Lucius' command.
For one, I didn't like the strange expression he wore. It was blank but I can feel the true anger he was exhibiting that I was sure that only I can see.
And the other was because Leon placed himself in front of me, not even giving me a chance to move towards him. It was a selfless move from his part, because we all knew the outcome of any of them trying to protect me.
As if to prove my words true, Lucius flung his hand casually to the side and Leon's body went crashing to the wall that was furthest away from us. His body hit the wall with a loud thud and I knew that he passed out, when his body went limp.
That was enough to make my frozen body to move. Ignoring the other's demands and concerns, I walked straight to Lucius, terrified that he'll take out his anger for me on the rest of them.
"That's a good girl," he whispered softly, and ran his fingers almost gently on my cheek. He glanced behind me to see the other wolves' seething but I didn't dare turn my back on him. Lucius was angry and I can tell that he was going to do something horrible any moment now.
His eyes roamed around the mark that Trenton imprinted on my shoulder and I clenched my hands into fists, when I saw him lowering his head toward it. My cheeks burned red knowing that the other wolves were watching us with eyes most likely filled with disgust.
Lucius sniffed around my mark and I shuddered when his canines scraped the area around my mark. "Tell me something, princess. How sad will you be if Trenton dies by my hand?"
"Why are you asking me that?" I whispered, trying to numb the feel of his teeth against me. "You already know the answer."
"Yes, that's true," Lucius agreed, removing his canines away from my neck. He was gazing down at me with a solemn look but I can see the dark excitement roaming in his eyes. "But what about the guilt? How much guilt will you feel?"
A lot. So much that you would suffocate from it.
I shook my head, not knowing how to respond to his question. I knew from his cruel question that this was part of a mind game that he was playing with me.
"A lot, correct?"
I nodded helplessly, trying to turn around and look at Trenton again. Lucius' fingers stopped me, commanding me to look at him.
"What if I gave you a chance to save your mate?" He spat out "mate" as if it was a taboo word. "Would you play by my rules to get the chance?"
My eyes widened, a small burst of hope filling my lungs. I nodded my head desperately, tears of relief filling my eyes. "Yes. I would do it. Anything. I'll do anything. Just don't hurt him."
"Ariel," Orion warned from behind me. "This can be a trap. Think your words carefully before you answer to this bastard."
"It's not a trap, Orion," Lucius laughed, looking deep into my eyes. "It's a game. A game with one rule."
Before I can question him, Lucius dug into his pants' pocket and produced a small object. I could only stare at the object, the confusion in me doubling with each second passing.
It was an hourglass, but the sand in it was bright red instead of the normal white sand I used to play with at the beach.
"I don't understand," I slowly said, feeling confused and scared at the same time. "What does the hourglass have to do with anything?"
"It's quite simple really," Lucius said, looking at the hourglass with a smirk. "When I turn the hourglass over, the game starts."
"What game? What is the rule?" I asked hoarsely, the hope I felt before smattering down into pieces. How can I even for a second think that any of Lucius' deals were going to be easy?
"As soon as the first spec of sand falls, you time starts. And the moment the last sand falls, your time ends," he said, swirling the hourglass in his hand. He smirked and looked down at me. "In the meantime as the sand flows down, you're not allowed to sleep, princess."
"Say what?" Scott snarled out from behind me.
"What the fuck kind of game of is this?" Cameron added, before I could even process Lucius' words.
I remained mute, staring up at Lucius trying to stay calm. "And if I do sleep?" I dared to ask.
"I would slaughter Trenton into a million pieces," Lucius grinned, calm but excited by the prospect of his game. "As long as you remain awake until the sand stops flowing, then your mate will be free from harm's way. However if you even so much as sleep for five seconds without getting up, he'll be killed."
"That's disgusting," Arlo spoke out harshly, directing his next words at me. "Don't listen to him, Angel. He's only doing this to see you suffer. The end results are still going to be the same."
I ignored Arlo and stared hard at the hourglass that suddenly became my new enemy. "So all I have to do is stay awake for a certain time, and Trenton will be free?"
"That's correct," he winked, showing off his blinding white teeth. "It's called the "Sleep Test". Very unique, won't you say?"
"You're crazy," Scott answered instead, anger and horror etched in his voice. "Why are you doing this, you bastard? What do you hope to achieve by this?"
"I accept," I said, ignoring all the growls that followed my decision. If this is what I needed to do to protect Trenton, then I would do it. "I accept your game, Lucius."
"I knew you would," he replied back, and turned the hourglass over before placing it on the ground. I stared hard at the object, never once thinking in my life that a simple object will determine the fate of someone I cared about.
The red sand looked eerily like blood and I shuddered thinking if I lost this game, it would be Trenton's blood on my hands.
"How long is the sand going to flow for?" Orion questioned out, and I turned towards him seeing him giving the hourglass a fierce glare.
I looked at Lucius who was straightening the collar of his shirt. He gave me a smile that promised cruelty and suffering.
"A month," Lucius finally answered and before any of us can respond to his outrageous statement, he disappeared from the basement in a flash.
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