Salazar's Caged Love

52

Alexis

"Are you even worthy of it?"

"Please, not as a last wish, just an empath. Tell me, how is Czar?"

"Do you want to know whether you succeeded in killing him before you die? Will that give you satisfaction? Don't worry once you meet the beast in the pit, you will forget about everything, and when you meet your end, if you are lucky to get it quickly, you will regret being born."

He strides towards me and yanks me up from the floor. A startled gasp escaped my mouth when he hoisted me on his shoulder, and before I knew it, the scene around me turned blurry. He was running at lightning speed, and if not for the whoosh of air or the twigs bruising me, I would have thought we were standing at one place.

I screamed and closed my eyes which only increased my nausea. His hard shoulder was painfully bruising my stomach, and I had to grab his cloak to keep my body at put. Hardly a few minutes might have passed when he abruptly stopped and threw me on the wet ground. The smell of wet ground made me open my eyes, and I found myself in a cave. The cave was cold and had limited brightness, with sun rays coming from an opening overhead along with few small openings here and there. These openings overhead were the only source to give visibility to some parts of the cave. It smelled horrible, and the air here was colder. I was still in my last night's gown and shuddered both in fear and coldness.

I gave a petrified stare at Kingsley realizing the meaning behind his words. I wanted to hold his leg and beg him not to leave me, but I also know nothing will work in my favor. As if the fear of the cave wasn't enough, he rubbed my wounds when he said, "You killed the only man who was protecting you from all the beasts of our world."

And the next moment, he lifted up in the air, slowly still giving me that satisfied smirk, and rose higher until he reached the main opening and was out of it. It hit me then; it indeed was a pit. No one can escape from here unless they can fly up to the entrance above. For a long time, my ragged breathing was the sound, along with the sound dripping somewhere. My body started trembling while looking around the haunted cave. The air around me carried a horrible smell, a pungent smell like something was decaying.

I don't know what this pit holds or what I would be facing soon, but I stood up on my shaking leg and hesitantly looked around to get my view accustomed to the darkness. I hugged myself when the cold was unbearable and wondered how this cave would be during the nighttime. I just took a step when I heard a growl, and I froze in my spot.

I swallowed my lump and took a backstep, unaware of whom the growl belonged to or from where it came. I then heard a rustling sound from another direction, and immediately, my head jerked towards its direction.

Was it an animal? It was called a Beast pit; does that mean it has wild animals?

My ragged breathing turned even more audible, and my skin crawled, sensing a threat around me. The light from the opening was the only source that gave visibility to certain areas. Still, the remaining cave was in sheer darkness from where the sound was coming. I could feel with each back step I was taking, something was moving forward in my direction. Then I heard it, a howl, and it was not a single howl meaning they were more than one.

And I turned around and ran. I don't know where I was running, but I just ran, clueless whether I was running away from danger or was I running right into it. I might have run only a few yards when I turned back to see, was I being chased? It was then my foot hit something, and I fell on the ground with a shriek. I hastily raise my head only to come across something that resembles a face. When I looked closely, and finally, my eyes were getting used to less illumination, I saw lifeless eyes staring at me. I screamed at the top of my lungs when my glance fell over the naked body. It would have been a woman's body and seemed the source of the horrible smell, flies hovering over her making bile rise in my throat. My eyes seemed to be transfixed on her, even forgetting about the animal chasing me. I couldn't help taking a closer look at her body. Intense fear gripped me when I saw a patch of dried blood near her vagina, and I didn't want to even think what could have happened to her before her soul left her body for good.

I flinched and came out of my trance when I heard a furious growl, this time followed by numerous howls. I abruptly turn around with my chest heaving in fear. It was then I heard it, heavy footsteps. Maybe the leader was walking towards me. I froze in fear even though my mind was screaming at me to run. Where should I run, there was no light in other parts to see what lay ahead for me in the cave.

"Please," I didn't even realize when a whimper left my mouth.

The next second, I wished Kingsley would have done a huge favor on me if he could have stabbed my heart or ripped my head from my body instead of throwing me here when something stood before where the light was falling through a random hole.

A two legs monster, a humanoid. He was neither a human nor an animal. He stood on two legs that resemble hind legs; his torso looked like a man, but it was covered in fur, and his head, it looked like a wolf with long hairs baring his sharp teeth at me.

Werewolf!

Its mouth drips with saliva. My heart thudding so horribly that I could hear it. I was on the verge of passing out and drawing heavy breath. Suddenly its eyes changed color, and the next moment it pounced on me. I closed my eyes and covered my face screaming incessantly.

"NO!" a domineering roar echoed inside the cave, giving me a ray of hope.

I was scared to open my eyes and see what was happening; all I could hear was whimpers as soon as his voice echoed.

"MINE!" when Czar roared again, I immediately opened my eyes and saw him standing between me and the beast like a shield. The monster backed away from its original place and was looking at Czar in fear. Czar's aura was threatening and mighty, but he looked weak. The dark circles under his eyes and his body swaying slightly didn't go unnoticed even by the beast, who seemed skeptical whether to retreat or attack the opponent. When Czar didn't initiate the attack, the beast gained his confidence and snarl, earning a supporting howl from its companions.

"Alexis, come here," Czar ordered in his restrained voice, his gaze not leaving the monster. Without a word, I obliged.

As soon as I stood behind him, Kingsley flashed in and stood beside Czar looking worried.

"His Grace, you just woke up," he said, completely ignoring me and the beast's presence.

"Don't order me what I should be doing," Czar seemed furious at Kingsley, and I had a notion it has something to do with him leaving me here.

The beast and his group seemed to gain more confidence as they started to stand beside their leader, mirroring Kingsley.

"Stay here," Czar said, pushing me back a little and in a flash moved toward the beasts.

Kingsley was shocked at his action and immediately joined his Lord. Everything happened in a blur. I saw one after another, the werewolves whimpered and fell on the ground. Some were lucky enough to escape Czar and Kingsley and run deeper into the cave to save themselves. When everything stopped, I saw Czar holding the beast's head who was about to attack me before he came.

I was stunned seeing the malice in his eyes. I was gaping at him and didn't realize when he carried me in his arms and lifted up in the air exiting the pit.

Upon reaching the ground, he made me stand. With the bright light, I could see his face was contorted with pain and weakness, and on cue, he stumbled and fell on the ground. Kingsley was fast to react and crouching beside him.

"His Grace, why did you put yourself in danger again to save this woman," his voice was full of venom for me, but I didn't mind. My focus was on Czar; he was alive, although weak, he was alive.

"No harm should be done to her, tell His Highness these were my last words," and saying that, he closed his eyes once again, leaving me shattered.

Even after what I did to him, he still chose to save me. Instead of letting me serve my punishment, he used all his energy. He fought against the werewolves to protect me. And even before closing his eyes, he still had concern for me and went against King's direct orders.