Chapter Fifty Two
Azalea
The haze was clearing once again. This time I tried not to move so as not to alert anyone that I was waking up. But I felt different this time. As I gained more feeling of my body, I realized that I was sitting in a chair. But It was extremely uncomfortable. My hands were behind my back and tied together with something. My mouth was dry. Fear washed over me as I realized my mouth was gagged with something.
I could not help myself as my head snapped up and I looked around trying to figure out what was going on. I was sitting in a chair with my hands tied behind me and my legs tied to the legs of the chair. There was a piece of cloth tied around my mouth and head stopping me from talking.
“Ahhhhh…. Uhhhh…” I called out trying to anybody. I was outside in a large field. There was a wooded area maybe 100 yards from where I sat.
“Calm down, Little Flower,” came Kol’s voice from behind me. I felt him coming closer. “It won’t be long now, Azalea. I am sorry for this,” he said. He came around in front of me and knelt down to my eye level. He brushed a few strands of hair out of my face. I felt the prickling across my face as he did. “I need you to be a good girl until I am done disposing of unwanted baggage.”
Tears brimmed my eyes. He was talking about killing Liam. I shook my head trying to plead with him to stop this. “Shhhh, it's okay,” he cooed. He cupped my face in his hands.
Suddenly we heard a thunderous growl from the tree line. My heart raced.
“Get your hands off my mate!”
Liam
Damien and I approached the house from the back. My heightened Alpha senses told me there were 3 people in the back area. It was a large open expanse beyond the tree line. We had about 25 warriors positioned around the perimeter some 50 or so yards behind us.
I knew there was nothing but worry across my features as I had yet to sense Azalea. We approached the tree line and stopped just out of view. I wanted to get a better look at what was going on.
There was someone sitting in a chair to the far side of the clearing. My heart dropped as I saw the crimson hair shine in the setting sun. She was not moving and appeared to be asleep with her head falling forward.
“She is tied to the chair,” Damien linked me with a growl.
Rage erupted inside of me. “You need to get her out as soon as I have them distracted. Don’t worry about me, just get her out of here.” He looked at me and nodded.
“If that is mate, why can we not feel her? Shouldn’t she be scared?” Gavin pondered.
“She must be drugged.” He growled fiercely in my head.
“Look, I will need your help with this, but you will not be going to our mate. Once this is over, Damien will not hand her over to anyone but me.” I told him.
“Fine,” he agreed begrudgingly. I knew he felt some remorse for what he did even if he could not admit it, but I was not going to subject Azalea to him ever again.
Panic began to stir in my chest as I watched Azalea begin to wake up. Her head snapped up and moved around frantically trying to understand her surroundings. She did not see us in the trees, but I saw the look in her eyes.
“I am coming baby,” I whispered to no one.
Just as I was about to come out of the trees, a large red-headed guy came up from behind her. Damien immediately looked at me in confusion.
“He looks like...”
“Me.”
He knelt down in front of her chair, whispering to Azalea. I felt the searing pain on my face once again. His touch must be hurting her.
“Because we are mated,” Gavin said.
Without any more thought, I let out a thunderous growl and emerged from the trees. With all the Alpha authority I could muster, I shouted, “Get your hands off my mate!” I stormed across the field at a quick pace. Damien emerged from the trees behind me, walking some 5 yards or so on my heels. He stood and turned away from Azalea. I could see her struggling behind him, trying to get out of her bindings.
“Let her go now,” I said. A dangerous smirk graced his feature. He really did look like me, but he wasn’t me and that was not his mate.
“I am sorry but that won’t be happening. She will be untied when I am done disposing of you,” he said in a deep, authoritative voice. I growled. A third person approached from behind Azalea. It was John Henry.
“Hello, little Alpha,” John said menacingly. Azalea jumped not knowing someone was behind her. When she realized who it was, she started pulling at the restraints harder, saying something that was muffled by her gag. John ignored her as he stepped up next to the other guy, almost completely blocking my view of my mate.
“John, I don’t care about your stupid plan to take my pack. It will not work. Let Azalea go and we all leave unharmed,” I said to him. The other guy laughed at this. “What is so funny?”
“You think this is that little hunter’s plan?” he continued to laugh. I gave him a questioning look. Before I could even comprehend what was happening, the large red head moved behind John. He instantly snapped his neck; John’s body dropped to the floor. I could feel terror as I looked at Azalea. Her eyes were large and her body stiff. She simply stared at John’s lifeless body.
“Now that he is out of the way, I can kill you myself. I guess I should introduce myself. My name is Kol Blackfur, rightful Alpha of the Blood Eclipse Pack,” he said stepping over John’s body. I looked at him astonished. “So, you are just as slow as you look. Okay, I will explain. I hired John to help me draw you out. I was never going to attack you within the confines of the pack. He took forever and got distracted by my little flower over here.” I growled at his mention of Azalea. “But then, we found out that the mate I was promised, was actually fated to you. I realized, two birds one stone. I could take my mate and draw you out all in one swoop.”
“She is not your mate!” I yelled.
“She was promised to me. She is mine!” he said defensively.
“The Moon Goddess made her for me! She is mine!”
“And look at what you have done to her!” I tensed and he sensed that he struck a nerve. “I know everything. I know how you treated her as a child. I know how she was cast out and rejected. I know how you came back deciding she was good enough for you now. I know how you tried to make her love you only to hurt her.”
“You don’t know anything!”
“Have I lied about anything yet? Did she not sleep in an attic with no more than a few measly belongings? Did she not work herself almost to death being a maid to the packhouse while enduring endless torment from you and your friends? Did you not leave her at the Inn, all alone and broken so you didn’t have to tell your family who your mate was?” I stared at him icily. He walks over to stand by Azalea. She looks at me silently pleading with me. I know she wants me to save her.
“And now here you stand. Watching as I take your mate and soon your pack. Once you are out of the way, Azalea will be free to be with the one she truly loves.”
“She doesn’t love you,” I said darkly.
“She may not remember now, but she will. I was all she had before her stupid mother stopped told the Beta of my father’s plan.” He reached behind her head and untied the gag around her mouth.
“Liam-” she started as it fell away from her face. Before she could finish even my name, he grabbed her face and smashed his lips to hers. I could hear her whimpers.
“Let her go now!” I shouted, feeling Gavin rising to the surface.
“Hmmm. I could be persuaded to do so. But I have one condition,” he said with a smart smile.
“What do you want?” I growled, breathing heavily. Gavin was fighting me for control. He wanted to rip him to shreds right here right now. I wanted Azalea out of harm's way before I killed him.
“I will let her go, if you accept my challenge for the claim of Alpha of Blood Eclipse.” I looked at him trying to figure out the catch.
“Something feels off. Why would he just let her go if you simply accept his challenge. Our laws state that he gets to pick the location, but you get to pick the time of the challenge. You could put this off indefinitely to just get Azalea…” Damien linked me. I looked at Kol, trying to discern his motives.
“I know what you two are talking about. You cannot figure out why I would go to the trouble of taking her just to freely give her back for the promise of a challenge. I am aware that you, by law, choose the time of the challenge. I did promise to let her go. I did not promise, however, that I would not take her back. You see, once you agree, I will release her. I will step back and let her choose what she will do. If she runs to you, she will be allowed to leave here if you so choose to do so. But I will not wait long. If our challenge is not set within 3 days’ time, I will come for her and you will never see her again.”
There was a long moment of silence. I held eyes with Kol but I could feel Azalea’s eyes on me. She was begging me, but for what? Did she want me to accept?
“Accept the challenge and get mate out of here. We will fight him in 3 days, we will be ready,” Gavin said. I knew he had not taken his attention off of our mate this entire time.
“We have the obvious advantage here, but I should remind you he is of Alpha bloodline as well.”
“But he doesn’t have a mate. 3 days by her side will be enough to strengthen the bond and heighten our power,” he explained.
“What are you going to do?” Damien said in my head. “Accepting gets her out of here quickly but do you actually want to let him challenge you?”
“An official challenge could mean less turmoil within the pack should I lose. It also gets her out of here. It gives me a chance to beg for her forgiveness…”
“What if he doesn’t let her go?”
“Then we kill him now.”
“And Azalea? She could get hurt; she is defenseless.”
“Tick Tock Alpha. This offer expires,” he said brushing his hand through Azalea’s hair.
“Liam…” she whispered almost inaudible.
“I, Liam Blackfur, Alpha of Blood Eclipse, accept your challenge for the title and claim of Alpha.” I said. “Now let her go.”
He smiled. “Gladly.” He untied her wrists and legs. “Go, little flower, we will be together again soon.” he said to her. She tried to stand and wobbled on her legs. She was weak. Kol stepped back. I ran forward to grab her. I scooped her up in my arms.
“Liam…” she whispered as her head lulled. Her eyes closed and her head fell against my shoulder. I stood up with her in my arms.
“The challenge will take place here. I look forward to our fight,” he said as he turned to walk away. He walked back towards the house opposite the tree line. I looked down at my mate in my arms.
“You are safe now. You will never be hurt again,” I said.
The haze was clearing once again. This time I tried not to move so as not to alert anyone that I was waking up. But I felt different this time. As I gained more feeling of my body, I realized that I was sitting in a chair. But It was extremely uncomfortable. My hands were behind my back and tied together with something. My mouth was dry. Fear washed over me as I realized my mouth was gagged with something.
I could not help myself as my head snapped up and I looked around trying to figure out what was going on. I was sitting in a chair with my hands tied behind me and my legs tied to the legs of the chair. There was a piece of cloth tied around my mouth and head stopping me from talking.
“Ahhhhh…. Uhhhh…” I called out trying to anybody. I was outside in a large field. There was a wooded area maybe 100 yards from where I sat.
“Calm down, Little Flower,” came Kol’s voice from behind me. I felt him coming closer. “It won’t be long now, Azalea. I am sorry for this,” he said. He came around in front of me and knelt down to my eye level. He brushed a few strands of hair out of my face. I felt the prickling across my face as he did. “I need you to be a good girl until I am done disposing of unwanted baggage.”
Tears brimmed my eyes. He was talking about killing Liam. I shook my head trying to plead with him to stop this. “Shhhh, it's okay,” he cooed. He cupped my face in his hands.
Suddenly we heard a thunderous growl from the tree line. My heart raced.
“Get your hands off my mate!”
Liam
Damien and I approached the house from the back. My heightened Alpha senses told me there were 3 people in the back area. It was a large open expanse beyond the tree line. We had about 25 warriors positioned around the perimeter some 50 or so yards behind us.
I knew there was nothing but worry across my features as I had yet to sense Azalea. We approached the tree line and stopped just out of view. I wanted to get a better look at what was going on.
There was someone sitting in a chair to the far side of the clearing. My heart dropped as I saw the crimson hair shine in the setting sun. She was not moving and appeared to be asleep with her head falling forward.
“She is tied to the chair,” Damien linked me with a growl.
Rage erupted inside of me. “You need to get her out as soon as I have them distracted. Don’t worry about me, just get her out of here.” He looked at me and nodded.
“If that is mate, why can we not feel her? Shouldn’t she be scared?” Gavin pondered.
“She must be drugged.” He growled fiercely in my head.
“Look, I will need your help with this, but you will not be going to our mate. Once this is over, Damien will not hand her over to anyone but me.” I told him.
“Fine,” he agreed begrudgingly. I knew he felt some remorse for what he did even if he could not admit it, but I was not going to subject Azalea to him ever again.
Panic began to stir in my chest as I watched Azalea begin to wake up. Her head snapped up and moved around frantically trying to understand her surroundings. She did not see us in the trees, but I saw the look in her eyes.
“I am coming baby,” I whispered to no one.
Just as I was about to come out of the trees, a large red-headed guy came up from behind her. Damien immediately looked at me in confusion.
“He looks like...”
“Me.”
He knelt down in front of her chair, whispering to Azalea. I felt the searing pain on my face once again. His touch must be hurting her.
“Because we are mated,” Gavin said.
Without any more thought, I let out a thunderous growl and emerged from the trees. With all the Alpha authority I could muster, I shouted, “Get your hands off my mate!” I stormed across the field at a quick pace. Damien emerged from the trees behind me, walking some 5 yards or so on my heels. He stood and turned away from Azalea. I could see her struggling behind him, trying to get out of her bindings.
“Let her go now,” I said. A dangerous smirk graced his feature. He really did look like me, but he wasn’t me and that was not his mate.
“I am sorry but that won’t be happening. She will be untied when I am done disposing of you,” he said in a deep, authoritative voice. I growled. A third person approached from behind Azalea. It was John Henry.
“Hello, little Alpha,” John said menacingly. Azalea jumped not knowing someone was behind her. When she realized who it was, she started pulling at the restraints harder, saying something that was muffled by her gag. John ignored her as he stepped up next to the other guy, almost completely blocking my view of my mate.
“John, I don’t care about your stupid plan to take my pack. It will not work. Let Azalea go and we all leave unharmed,” I said to him. The other guy laughed at this. “What is so funny?”
“You think this is that little hunter’s plan?” he continued to laugh. I gave him a questioning look. Before I could even comprehend what was happening, the large red head moved behind John. He instantly snapped his neck; John’s body dropped to the floor. I could feel terror as I looked at Azalea. Her eyes were large and her body stiff. She simply stared at John’s lifeless body.
“Now that he is out of the way, I can kill you myself. I guess I should introduce myself. My name is Kol Blackfur, rightful Alpha of the Blood Eclipse Pack,” he said stepping over John’s body. I looked at him astonished. “So, you are just as slow as you look. Okay, I will explain. I hired John to help me draw you out. I was never going to attack you within the confines of the pack. He took forever and got distracted by my little flower over here.” I growled at his mention of Azalea. “But then, we found out that the mate I was promised, was actually fated to you. I realized, two birds one stone. I could take my mate and draw you out all in one swoop.”
“She is not your mate!” I yelled.
“She was promised to me. She is mine!” he said defensively.
“The Moon Goddess made her for me! She is mine!”
“And look at what you have done to her!” I tensed and he sensed that he struck a nerve. “I know everything. I know how you treated her as a child. I know how she was cast out and rejected. I know how you came back deciding she was good enough for you now. I know how you tried to make her love you only to hurt her.”
“You don’t know anything!”
“Have I lied about anything yet? Did she not sleep in an attic with no more than a few measly belongings? Did she not work herself almost to death being a maid to the packhouse while enduring endless torment from you and your friends? Did you not leave her at the Inn, all alone and broken so you didn’t have to tell your family who your mate was?” I stared at him icily. He walks over to stand by Azalea. She looks at me silently pleading with me. I know she wants me to save her.
“And now here you stand. Watching as I take your mate and soon your pack. Once you are out of the way, Azalea will be free to be with the one she truly loves.”
“She doesn’t love you,” I said darkly.
“She may not remember now, but she will. I was all she had before her stupid mother stopped told the Beta of my father’s plan.” He reached behind her head and untied the gag around her mouth.
“Liam-” she started as it fell away from her face. Before she could finish even my name, he grabbed her face and smashed his lips to hers. I could hear her whimpers.
“Let her go now!” I shouted, feeling Gavin rising to the surface.
“Hmmm. I could be persuaded to do so. But I have one condition,” he said with a smart smile.
“What do you want?” I growled, breathing heavily. Gavin was fighting me for control. He wanted to rip him to shreds right here right now. I wanted Azalea out of harm's way before I killed him.
“I will let her go, if you accept my challenge for the claim of Alpha of Blood Eclipse.” I looked at him trying to figure out the catch.
“Something feels off. Why would he just let her go if you simply accept his challenge. Our laws state that he gets to pick the location, but you get to pick the time of the challenge. You could put this off indefinitely to just get Azalea…” Damien linked me. I looked at Kol, trying to discern his motives.
“I know what you two are talking about. You cannot figure out why I would go to the trouble of taking her just to freely give her back for the promise of a challenge. I am aware that you, by law, choose the time of the challenge. I did promise to let her go. I did not promise, however, that I would not take her back. You see, once you agree, I will release her. I will step back and let her choose what she will do. If she runs to you, she will be allowed to leave here if you so choose to do so. But I will not wait long. If our challenge is not set within 3 days’ time, I will come for her and you will never see her again.”
There was a long moment of silence. I held eyes with Kol but I could feel Azalea’s eyes on me. She was begging me, but for what? Did she want me to accept?
“Accept the challenge and get mate out of here. We will fight him in 3 days, we will be ready,” Gavin said. I knew he had not taken his attention off of our mate this entire time.
“We have the obvious advantage here, but I should remind you he is of Alpha bloodline as well.”
“But he doesn’t have a mate. 3 days by her side will be enough to strengthen the bond and heighten our power,” he explained.
“What are you going to do?” Damien said in my head. “Accepting gets her out of here quickly but do you actually want to let him challenge you?”
“An official challenge could mean less turmoil within the pack should I lose. It also gets her out of here. It gives me a chance to beg for her forgiveness…”
“What if he doesn’t let her go?”
“Then we kill him now.”
“And Azalea? She could get hurt; she is defenseless.”
“Tick Tock Alpha. This offer expires,” he said brushing his hand through Azalea’s hair.
“Liam…” she whispered almost inaudible.
“I, Liam Blackfur, Alpha of Blood Eclipse, accept your challenge for the title and claim of Alpha.” I said. “Now let her go.”
He smiled. “Gladly.” He untied her wrists and legs. “Go, little flower, we will be together again soon.” he said to her. She tried to stand and wobbled on her legs. She was weak. Kol stepped back. I ran forward to grab her. I scooped her up in my arms.
“Liam…” she whispered as her head lulled. Her eyes closed and her head fell against my shoulder. I stood up with her in my arms.
“The challenge will take place here. I look forward to our fight,” he said as he turned to walk away. He walked back towards the house opposite the tree line. I looked down at my mate in my arms.
“You are safe now. You will never be hurt again,” I said.
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