Chapter 28
RYAN
"LET ME OUT OF HERE!" I shouted and banged on the door. The thing must have been made of titanium, it didn't move an inch, even when I hit it with my whole body.
There was neither a window nor any other way to break out of here. The only decent thing here was the bed and the fact that the room was reasonably comfortably furnished, with a bookshelf and a fireplace with a blue fire blazing in it.
'You did a great job, you hero. If only you'd tagged her, the asshole wouldn't have had a chance to get close to Catherine,' Onyx grumbled, visibly annoyed.
"SHUT THE FUCK UP! This all happened because of you, you're the reason we left the pack house!" If you took my blood pressure, it would surely be hypertensive. I was angry, sad, depressed. The only thing I wanted now was to be with Catherine. Hopefully she was okay...
The thought of him pretending to be me... Oh moon goddess... I suddenly felt sick.
I never thought Catherine could have a second mate...
I hit the wall hard and actually only hurt myself in the process.
I couldn't even connect with my pack. In this world, I was powerless...
'We'll make it out of here, Catherine will see through his dirty game. I bet she will!' Onyx tried to encourage me. I sighed and let myself fall onto the bed. "Onyx?"
'Yes boss?'
'Shut up' I hissed at him.
'Yes boss'
He whimpered and backed away.
How on earth could I get out of here?
I was cursed, no one could be as unlucky as me.
I wish I'd just marked them... I just hoped that idiot Ilay hadn't beaten me to it. He was pretty sure of himself and made his point. Understandable. She was internally flawless among the diamonds. The sight of her was mesmerizing. I never thought I would have competition. I thought you find your match and live happily ever after. Ha Ha Haaaa, irony off. Who knows how much popcorn the moon goddess eats in the meantime.
At that moment, I missed her laughter... Her crying...
Just everything about her...
I let out an angry growl. No one could take her away from me.
Even if that asshole looked like an international model and was probably better to her than I could be. I would never let him have her.
Suddenly there was a knock on the door.
I thought I was alone here? I looked at the door in irritation.
A woman came in with a tray full of food. She closed the door behind her and looked over at me.
She looked like a southern woman, had mocha-colored skin and her eyes were as brown as milk chocolate. She had dimples in her cheeks and looked like friendliness personified. Her shoulder-length hair was wavy. She had a perfectly proportioned body. She wore a knitted two-piece that was tight-fitting.
She could only be a demon, these damn things could only look good.
"I brought you something to eat..." she said, placing the tray on the table.
"I don't want food, I want to get out of here." I said expressionlessly and watched her.
She leaned against the table and rolled her eyes.
"You men are just cock-driven. I've already preached to Ilay that there's no point in chasing after a piece of meat when you could have the whole world." She looked at me and scrutinized me from head to toe.
Catherine was anything but a piece of meat.
"What's your name?" I asked her, raising an eyebrow in amusement.
She smiled kindly "Achira, I'm Ilay's cousin, the only family he has." She said and sat down on the chair.
"You're nothing alike." I remarked and she nodded in response.
"We're not really related by blood either, let's put it this way, I was adopted." She explained.
Since I didn't know how to escape from here, I could have a chat with Achira. I had no other option. Maybe I could coax some information out of her.
"Be glad you're not related to the creep," I muttered to myself and looked up at the ceiling, which was decorated in gold.
She laughed and shook her head "You know, he's still quite friendly among us demons. You have to understand, he's been waiting for his mate for ages and you beat him to it..."
I looked at her in confusion "Is that supposed to be an apology?"
"No, not an excuse, but a valid reason to explain his behavior." She said, shrugging her shoulders.
"Tell me, Achira, do you have a mate?" I asked her.
She shook her head in disappointment.
I nodded understandably "You know, finding a mate at 30 is considered a late bloomer among us wolves. If I didn't know any better, you were even pitied.
I never believed in true love and all that stuff until I met Catherine. Can you imagine, Achira, what it's like to be an addict? Addicted to a drug? It intoxicates you, you feel happy and comfortable, it's all right.
Achira, that's what Catherine does to me, she gets me high."
She listened to me and nodded in understanding.
"Now imagine someone comes and tries to take your drug away from you. No, he even puts you in withdrawal. What do you think that would do to you?"
My anger immediately rose again and I felt the need to destroy everything again.
A growl sounded from my throat.
"Oh, wow..." Achira said, almost startled, and looked at me cross-eyed.
"Listen, I really don't want any trouble, I just wanted to bring you something to eat..." she said calmly and scratched her head in embarrassment.
I took a deep breath in and out to calm myself down and let out a sigh.
"Thanks, but the last thing on my mind is eating."
I said and looked at the tray.
"Oh really? When I'm stressed, I always empty the kitchen..." She smiled slightly and her dimples appeared.
"Tell me Achira... How the hell do I get out of here?" I asked her bluntly.
She laughed and shook her head.
"You do know that this is a high-security cell?" She said and gave me a disappointed look.
"I'm not a fan of you having to be locked in here either, but there's a spell on the door. It only lets those with authority through. There's no way you can get out of here." She whispered softly.
I nodded in understanding and ran my fingers through my hair.
"This is going to be fun around here..." I bit the inside of my cheek and was at my wit's end.
ILAY
I picked up Catherine's trail and followed her, taking my time as she would probably need it to get a clear thought.
I looked up at the sky as I walked and saw the first snowflakes falling. I sighed softly and bit my lower lip.
This was going to be harder than I thought. Catherine was infatuated with Ryan and was still convinced that she only had one companion.
If only she knew she'd be a lot better off with me... I mean, I already worshipped her like a goddess. The thought of her alone made my whole body tingle.
It was getting darker and darker, apparently Catherine had run off into the deep woods. Hmmm, maybe it's time to catch up with her after all.
My powers allowed me to change my form. I transformed myself into a majestic eagle and flew over the woods, making it easier for me to see Catherine because all the leaves had fallen from the trees.
At some point I spotted her near a cliff. The waterfall could also be seen opposite. It was a beautiful place, almost too enchanting.
I landed on a tree and watched her for a moment.
She was pacing back and forth in her wolf form and was visibly torn by her thoughts, it seemed to me as if she was arguing. I tried to get in her thoughts. She didn't just have a barrier, hell no, this was a castle she had built around herself. I had no chance of getting inside her head.
She changed back and stood naked in front of the cliff. I saw all the scars she had all over her body, they were almost faded, but they were there. An anger rose up in me, whoever had done this to her would pay.
"SHUT UP!" She shouted, completely agitated.
I watched the scenario unfold and before I knew it, she took a running start and jumped off the cliff.
Damn, my breath stopped. HELL NO! My heart stopped.
I immediately flew towards her, she had already been caught by the waves and was sinking deep into the sea. During my dive, I transformed again and plunged into the deep waters. It was stormy, the currents were strong and I barely managed to swim through them.
The water was freezing cold, it was almost unbearable. I tried to swim on with all the strength I had to get Catherine out of there. I spotted her and got closer and closer to her. As I tried to grab her hand, it kept slipping out of my grasp. Eventually I managed to grab her by both hands.
She was unconscious and I could see that the water was turning red. She had probably hit her head hard somewhere.
I held her body close to mine and tried to surface again.
When I reached the surface, I gasped and finally managed to breathe normally again. With her in my arms, I swam ashore and laid her body on the bottom.
I could no longer feel a pulse. My eyes widened and my brain had a momentary lapse.
Suddenly I came to and knocked the water out of her lungs and then started to resuscitate her.
I pressed on her chest and remembered the stupid saying from our teacher that we should think of "Highway to hell" in order to resuscitate to the right beat.
How ironic, because it seriously felt like we were on the road to hell. The pain in my chest went to my head, this was our bond that was breaking with every minute she wasn't conscious.
"CATHERINE!" I screamed at her and did everything I could to revive her. The mouth-to-mouth resuscitation didn't make it any easier. I was afraid of losing her now that I had found her.
Accompanying her through the gates of the dead... That was my worst nightmare. Even though she knew that her heart was close to that of an angel, I couldn't bear the thought of losing her.
I had already been trying to resuscitate her for half an hour and I kept hearing her ribs cracking. "CATHERINE, YOU CAN'T LEAVE ME NOW!" I screamed at her pale body, tears welling up in my eyes and my hands trembling with fear of losing her.
I didn't want to give up... what if she came to in the next minute? I mustn't lose her...
A massive rage rose inside me, causing our surroundings to burst into flames. The cold that had been there was now gone because of the fire.
In the midst of this chaos, a flash of lightning appeared beside us.
Azrael. I glared at him and shook my head "No.... NO!" I shouted at him. He was the one who took the souls.
"I'm sorry, Ilay... Even though we're friends. You know the rules."
I held her body like she was going to be taken away from me.
Like a small child crying for its mother.
"No, Azrael, there must be another way!" I shouted at him, not wanting to believe it.
He looked at me pityingly and lowered his eyes. "There is a way out..." he said almost too quietly.
"Which one is that?" I asked him desperately.
"You have to claim her for yourself... This will unleash her demon power and help her to heal. She will gain immortality from you..." he said, raising his head.
Azrael was a terrifying man, but it didn't change the fact that he was an angel.
I had no other choice. Either mark her or plunge her to her death...
I wonder what she would want? Would she ever forgive me?
I shook my head, my eyes turned dark red and my fangs came out. I placed my teeth gently against her cold neck and bit almost too tenderly, afraid of hurting her.
Her blood, which was still warm, intoxicated me. It was as sweet as honey and I was overcome with a feeling of connection and happiness.
Her skin, on which I had marked her, shimmered slightly dark red.
I detached myself from her and paused. Why wasn't anything happening?
She didn't wake up.
I looked up at Azrael, "W-why isn't anything happening?" I asked him impatiently and was about to lose it.
Was I too late?