Chapter 56

56 Chapter 56 : The silver wolf

“Let me go!” Julia screamed, she used every ounce of strength she had to try and escape the guard’s clutches, but he was too strong.

He pressed her body onto the floor with more force in trying to restrain her, Julia felt like her insides were about to burst.

“Inform his majesty,” the guard instructed his friend, “hurry!”

The second guard walked briskly back to the wedding hall, pushing his way passed the guests, earning snarls and disapproving glares from the stuck up nobles.

When Nathan saw the guard approaching him with a distraught look on his face, he felt his stomach flip. He stood up and walked towards the man, meeting him halfway across the dance floor.

“What is it? Where’s my wife?” Nathaniel questioned the man.

Damn, he had forgotten all about lady Ella, “y- your grace,” the man stuttered, “it’s the queen, she was attacked by one of the maids and she’s-”

Nathan grabbed the man’s shoulder and glared at him, “she’s what?!”

His angry growl caught the attention of the king and the Morrell’s who made their way to where the two where standing.

.....

“I’m afraid the queen is dead your grace..”

Nathan firmed his grip on the man’s shoulders, “my mother is dead?” He spoke underneath his breath, he then refocused his gaze back on the guard, “and my wife?! Where is she?!”

At that point in time, the hall went silent, the band ceased their jolly melodies and the crowds stopped their dancing and drinking, wondering what had gotten the prince so upset.

King Aldos walked up to the guard Nathan was holding and yanked his coller, “Juliet?! Where is she?!”

“In the hallway your majesty..”

Nathan tossed the man aside and followed his father who had already exited the banquet hall into the hallway. He was followed closely by lord and lady Morrell who were now worried about their daughter as well.

At the other end of the hall, the Morrell brothers saw Nathan and their parents rushing out of the hall, disgruntled looks on their faces, this didn’t look good.

When Nathaniel spotted his father, his blood ran cold, the poor man was on his knees next to the body of his wife Juliet, his eyes were sunken and his lips had lost all color, the man looked like he was going to collapse.

Nathan rushed to his father’s side and grimaced at the wound that had led to his mother’s death. Moments later, Clovis and Jeffrey arrived at the scene, they stood over their mother with their faces completely drained of blood.

Emma Morrell covered her mouth in shock and her husband pulled her into his chest to keep her from looking at the gruesome site.

“Who did this..” the king mattered, he took Juliet’s limp hand in his as tears rolled down his face, “who killed my dear sweet Juliet.”

“It was this woman,” the gaurd who was holding down Julia responded, “she must have disguised herself as a maid so she could kill the queen.”

“Let me go you buffoon!” Julia screamed, “I didn’t intend to kill the queen, I was supposed to kill that witch Ella who cast a spell on my prince Adam!” She screamed and squirmed some more, “I said let me go!”

At that point, most of the guests had poured into the hallway, watching in shock and disbelief at what was happening before them.

Upon hearing Ella’s name, Emma broke away from her husband’s arms and approached the pinned down woman, “where is Ella?! What have you done to my baby?!”

“I don’t know where she is!” Julia screamed, “if I did she’d be long dead by now!” The words spewed out like venom from Julia’s mouth.

Emma lost her balance upon hearing those words, John Morrell had to rush to his wife’s side and scoop her up in his arms before she could fall to the floor.

When Nathan heard Adam and Ella’s names mentioned in the same sentence, his blood begun to boil. He got up and marched to the pinned down woman, pushing the guard aside and hoisting her up by the throat. He pinned her against the wall and growled angrily at her, his fangs threatening to sprout out of his mouth in full display.

“Where is Ella?” Nathan questioned the woman who was now squirming and chocking in his hand, “tell me now and I’ll consider making your death quick and painless.”

“I... I don’t know..” Julia spoke between coughs, “I followed her to the lady’s room but she didn’t show up. I thought the queen was her when I attacked her. I don’t know where she is.”

Nathaniel narrowed his eyes as he looked at the woman whose face was now turning bluish, “I know you, you’re the new maid aren’t you? Who sent you?! Was it prince Adam?! Is he here?!”

“Adam didn’t send me and I don’t know where he is either, but he’s here in Meria,” Julia could now feel herself losing consciousness, she clawed at Nathaniel’s hand desperately “I... I can’t breath..”

“Nathan stop you’ll kill her!”

Nathan turned to look at William who was urging him to let Julia go and made him freeze in place. That aura that was radiating from Nathan, William now remembered where he’d felt it before, it was from that creature that he had seen in the royal library, the werewolf.

“She deserves to die...” Nathan growled in bloodthirsty anger

“We need her alive in order to find my sister!” William responded, he was shaking when he saw Nathaniel’s glowing yellow eyes and slightly protruding fangs, “be resonable!”

Nathan looked down at his dead mother and devastated siblings and father, he threw his gaze at the other three Morrell brothers who had drawn their swords, and then to the crowds that had formed around them. He took a deep breath and released Julia who fell like a bag of rice to the ground, she was unconscious but she wasn’t dead.

“Take her to the black tower and lock her up,” Nathan commanded the guard.

“Yes your grace,” the man responded and threw the unconscious Julia over his shoulder.

The silver haired prince then turned to the crowd that was watching the whole scene, “and what the fuck are you all looking at!” He growled angrily, “wedding is over get the hell out of here!”

There seemed to be an invisible force that pushed the masses backwards, making them scamper out of the hall towards the palace exit like roches in a parntry when the lights go on.

Just in that moment, Theo the butler walked to the prince and bowed respectfully, “your grace, lady Ella has been spotted with the Gavarian prince heading out of the palace grounds.”

“Gavarian prince?!”

“Yes your grace,” Theo responded, “riding on horseback.”

Nathaniel felt something within him snap, so that bastard Adam had come all along, infiltrated the castle and stolen his wife. He was going to regret doing that. Without warning, the prince rushed out of the hallway towards the palace exit, he moved so quick that he left everyone wide eyed with their jaws to the floor, wondering what in the world was going on.

*

Outside the palace, Beric, Odran, Zander, Ozias, Ivan, Roland, Adam and Ella were galloping at full speed on horse back towards the palace gates. The commotion in the palace had drawn everyone’s attention so the gate had been left completely unguarded.

Adam secured Ella tightly against his chest as they rode towards the gates, just a few more meters and they’d be home free.

But suddenly, as if jinxing it, Adam felt a strange presence quickly catching up to them from behind, he slightly tilted his head and saw a huge silver wolf sprinting towards them, glowing gold eyes, long silver fur and razor sharp claws and fangs.

“Shit!” Adam cursed, he turned to his men and called out to them, “look alive men we have company!”

The large wolf dashed towards Adam’s horse and snapped its massive jaw near his leg, the dark haired prince avoided the attack and kicked the wolf hard in the face, slowing it down for a bit. Sadly that wasn’t enough to keep it down, the beast regained it momentum and sprint towards Adam’s horse again.

“Your grace, you go on ahead!” Zander called out to Adam, “Roland and I will slow it down!”

“No!” Adam responded, “I’m not leaving any of you behind!”

“We will catch up your grace you have to trust us!” Zander called out to him, “just head to the enchanted forest! You’ll be safe there!”

“What?!” Adam was surprised at Zander’s words, the enchanted forest was a forbidden place, no man had ever ventured into those lands and returned to tell the tale.

“Trust us your grace!” This time it was Roland who spoke, “head to the enchanted forest, Nathaniel cannot follow you there, you’ll be protected!”

Adam had so many questions, why wouldn’t Nathan be able to follow him into the forest, what were Zander and Roland up to? Unfortunately this was no time to argue and interrogate, he didn’t have much of a choice, he needed to get Ella to safety.

“Fine!” Adam responded approvingly, “don’t you die on me you two!”

The two men nodded in unison and then turned their horses to charge at the silver wolf that was running towards Adam. Roland and Zander released the reins of their horses and both pulled out a bow, securing an arrow firmly on it and pointing it towards the wolf.

*No! Ella!*

Ella gasped when she heard Nathan’s voice in her head, she looked over Adam’s arm and saw the silver wolf, it’s eyes were filled with grief and emanated a sense of loss. Was that?... No it couldn’t be.

[Nathan?]

*Come back to me Ella..please!*