Chapter no 7-The battle

I moved past the only family I had left in this world, my sister Erica and walked away. I didn't look back when I turned the corner. I was determined to keep my promise to Damien. I would leave Erica for her own good. I would leave the city and never come back.

I walked and walked until I reached the palace grounds. It wasn't as gloomy as it was yesterday. The large gates mocked me, at the life I was leaving behind. The guards held it open, patiently waiting for me to walk out. I did, and I didn't look back.

Northern wind blew. I had to hold my dress together. Erica had offered me a jacket she had been given by Alex. It was very oversized, but at least it protected me from harsh winds and cold weather. I held onto it as I walked into the city. The screws in my brain turned, deciding on where I can go. I was a Rogue. I had no identification. The thought of going back to Seraphic aches at my heart-Jacob would kill me.

My heart pained at the thought. What have I done? It was my idea. It was all my thinking.

I forced Dad to leave.

Well, now it was all in vain. Jacob did get his hands on my sister, and she was saved by someone who was not me, nor was it my idea. The only thing my plan did was get my father killed and leave me alone to survive in this world.

I wish I could go back in time and reverse my decisions. I always got myself into trouble because of my hot-headedness; if only I knew.

I wanted to laugh.

I had lived my whole life in Seraphic. It was not perfect but it was ours. I loved that land. It was what I always called home. It was what my parents called home. It was where my mother embraced the earth. My sister and I grew up in.

The only thing I hated was the Alpha, who ruined my beautiful land, and I felt nothing but pity for the people who let it happen.

For years, they had suffered at the hands of their Alphas.

I wipe away the thoughts. What is the use of all this? It was gone. I need to think ahead.

Unlike Seraphic, the city of Enigma was big. A labyrinth of wonder. The people were happy. The markets were large and filled with chatter. The streets clean, no dumpster at the ends. The fruits were fresh. The air was fresh.

I wished Seraphic were like this.

It took me hours to walk to the Main road. I crossed the river to the other side. I sat near the river and drank some fresh water, washed my face, my hands, and my feet. Some dry dates were scattered on the ground near the river from the tall trees of beyond. I ate those.

It was evening and I was tired. I decided to stay the night here, and I will leave tomorrow.

The entire night was uneventful. I had shifted to my wolf and slept soundly, knowing I was safe in the grounds of the city. I had the desire to walk the jungle. To stroll around, experience the clean and beautiful nature. To discover the other edge. It was as big as my eyes could see. I never saw something like this before. Only read about them in school. Jungles! Inhabiting exotic animals and surreal plants.

I woke up to birds chirping. The sky above was gloomy, with black clouds covering the earth. Trying to procrastinate, I lay there a little. I would give my left kidney to be able to stretch in my bed. An hour passes before I finally get up and rub my face with cold water.

It was like a jolt, similar to drinking three coffee mugs. Upright, I searched for food, found some more dates.

The only date I could find, since my mate refused to look at me, I told that to the dates and smiled at myself. It was official that I had gone crazy.

Reaching the city gates, I finally turn to look back. A long road, and A river by its side stared back at me. The water remembers, I thought to myself.

I leave.

.

.

.

.

I hear footsteps. Bigger, louder, merging the sound of a thousand boots. They shook the earth beneath me.

Half an hour to the south, I felt men coming. There were a lot of them. An army marched to the city, their armor glinting in the sky, seen from a long distance, howls of wolves.

The plain lands made it difficult to hide, and panic settled in. My feet are carrying me back to the city.

As I neared the city, the clouds began to weep. Big drops fall over my head, and my clothes are wet when I reach the gates to find them wide open.

I stumbled to a stop, confusion and fear warring at me.

The main road was covered with wolves.

The Varkyrs.

The strongest army in the world. As far as the eye can see, I saw damp wolfish hair.

Damian was standing at the front, human. An umbrella was held over his hand by one of the guards. His eye met mine, and he muttered something under his breath, which I was pretty sure was a curse word.

A war!

Hey fates! The feelings are still mutual. You still hate me, and I do too.

My doomed steps into a beautiful land, and it ends up in a war the very next day.

The two armies now stood near the gates with me sandwiched between the two, too paralyzed to run, and too stubborn to enter the city.

I look between the two armies. The other one was led my Jacob. Of course!

He looked at me, and muttered something under his breath as well, which I was sure was a curse as well, directed specifically at me.

"Amara Kane!" He announced, "The reason I am here,"

My blood ran cold. No damn way!

I look back at Damien.

"What do you mean?" Damien asks, his voice echoed over the vast lands, making goosebumps appear on my skin.

"My newest conquest was taken away from me," He said, his hand rising to his cheek. I believe this is where Alex slapped him. I believe it was swollen, but it was hard to see perfectly under the gloomy sky.

"Your Beta, found her to be his mate," He announced, "But this little wench, She is mine,"

"Excuse me!" I yell, at his face, not caring he had an army behind him. Not caring that he was once the Alpha we feared naming in our own homes. See I am not a better woman.

"I belong to no one, and definitely not you,"

"You are a Seraphic woman Amara . You wandered way. I am here to retrieve you back safely," He snarled, his eyes getting red from anger.

"I am a rogue now," I yelled, "You have no power ove-,"

My hair was in his hand, as he harshly pulled me to the floor. I hear an army growl behind me behind the city walls.

"Alpha Damien. I am sorry to disturb you. I was under the impression that you sheltered this bitch as well," He tugged at my hair again, "But since she is outside the gates and not in, I assume I was wrong,"

He look down at me, sprawled on the ground, my hands clawing at his hand holding my head. I realized I still feared him. But there was another feeling trying to fight its place.

Vengeance.

I wanted to kill this man. I wanted to kill the one I have feared a better part of my life.

"Thank you for sending her away," He said. He dragged me by my hair, pulling me with him. I cried in pain.

"Jacob," A voice echoed again, "Leave the girl right now,"

He stopped. The water hit my face making it hard to breath.

"Alpha, I don't want a war," He laughed.

Damian stepped out. "Leave the woman or you will get one," He growled.

"You will get your men killed for a wench you casted out? This is ridiculous," He tugged at my hair again, making my eyes water in pain.

Damian stride over and held Jacob by his neck. "I have had enough now,"

"Hands. Off. Her,"

The whole army behind Jacob shifted. Jacob let go of my hair and I scooted away hurriedly before he changes his mind. Being held by head at an arms length is not a good angle to kill him.

And I was still scared of him, But seeing my mate holding him by his neck in front of his whole army. It gave me a fresh confidence.

Damien takes his sweet time to let Jacob go. He was now drenched in the rain. His perfect brown Jacket turned dark brown and his hair stick to his forehead.

"She would not go with you," Damien said. "What really ridiculous is you think you can win," He sneered.

Jacob raised his hand, brushing away non-existent dust on Damien's wet shoulder.

"War it is then," He spat in front of him and turned back to his army.

Chapter no 8- Triumph's sleep.

'A lifetime's thirst, at last, slaked deep,

The bitter cup, a triumph's sleep '

Amara

The air was thick with tension, and anticipation. The scent of fur and ozone hanging in the air, carrying a low hum of growls.

Damein looked at me. His eyes flared in anger. I snatch myself off the floor and stand up.

"Go in," He said to me, tilting his head once towards the gates, "Take shelter with the city woman."

"The hell I will," I yelled at him, "I would watch the demise of this man with my own damn eyes, or I will die tonight." If I were in a comic, my ears would be releasing smoke from how fried my brain was with hot rage. My hands ached to wrap around Jacob's neck and watch his eyes as they drained out of life because of me.

If I were a better woman, I would follow Damien's commands and expect him to let me stay. But I wasn't. I will fight; otherwise, all the pent-up anger from years in my land, it would kill me.

What Jacob did today was the last straw.

Damien stepped forward to give me a piece of his mind for rejecting his direct command, but there was a howl. A piercing sound that cut through the air.

Seraphic pack charged forward like a dark tide.

The rain-soaked ground vibrated like an earthquake under my feet.

The sounds of claws hitting the ground and launching forward. Fear is crawling under my skin like spiders. A rush of adrenaline flies over my body, raising goosebumps.

I watch as the two tides merge. I watch the very first Enigma wolf pierce the neck of the Seraphic wolf, and my heart yelps in pain. The head came free, like a gruesome trophy.

The chaos was overwhelming, the scent of blood and mud freezing me.

Damian had approached Jacob away from the battle. It was rule the Alpha's fought separately, and no one was to interfere between them. The Alpha that dropped, loose.

I wanted to laugh. I was a battle, who cares. This was my chance.

I needed to kill Jacob.

A wolf walked towards me. I backed away instinctively. It snarled.

I shifted into my wolf, saved by a second of it attacking me. It was a member of my pack, my home. And he was ready to kill me.

I skid forward, the mud sticking to my claws that I raked across its face and neck. I played nastily.

The wolf wasn't expecting this and stumbled back. I continue to claw at it, finally biting at a shoulder. We rolled on the ground for a while. There was a sharp pain in my arm, and I retorted by biting its neck. I tasted blood and felt utter disgust.

I untangled myself from its body. Its neck is bleeding. I didn't want to kill him, but if I didn't, he would've killed me.

The battle raged on, the rain-soaked world a blur of teeth and claws.

High on adrenaline, I charged forward out of the tides. I was covered in wet mud all over my fur.

My eyes searched for Jacob. I could recognize his white and grey fur anywhere. I spotted him and stopped in my tracks. In front of him was the most enchanting thing I had ever seen.

The fur glistened with the water, black at the roots and crimson at the edges.

It was big. It towered over Jacob, who seemed like a dog in front of him.

I knew who it was.

My mate!

I was so distracted by the sight, when a force crashed into me and a pain surged at my shoulder.

For fates sake! Let me at least enjoy the view while I can.

I back away. Dodged another attack and ran towards Jacob.

There were faint whispers in my ear.

...Kill. him.

...kill. him.

...kill. her.

...Kill. her.

The voices grew, and a sharp pain rang in my head that was unrelated to the little battle wounds I earned.

I lose focus and launch forward and bite at whatever I reached. A clash of fangs met bone in a whirlwind of fur.

I pushed him onto the ground, with me. My claws marking his face.

...Kill. him.

...kill. him.

...kill. her.

...Kill. her.

Before I can bite into his neck, two strong arms wrapped around my ribs and pulled me back.

My skin heated with luscious heat at the contact.

I protested against the grip but it only got stronger.

"Easy woman, Easy!" He told me. I snarled.

Damian was torso flashing me while towering over me.

"This is not what we do in battles," He said.

I looked behind him, The seraphic pack was de-moralized and far less in number than they came in before. They had started to retreat.

There was blood and death everywhere. The battle had ended.

I didn't die.

I was left to live more, to torment more lives.

I was huffing. The air was not cold anymore. In fact my body was heating up in fever.

The pain, numbed from earlier, presented itself with sharp nails. I turned with the left over energy.

Damian had scratches all over his body.

My arm was bitten at the shoulder and forearm. My jacket was shattered and so were my clothes. I was standing there in a few pieces of rags, almost naked. Mud and blood everywhere.

"So, Tell me wild one," Damien said, "Do you want to punish those who have wronged you?" He asked.

The white on his eyes bled red, a storm brewing in his eyes similar to the one above us. A glimpse of madness that defied explanation.

I believe my eyes reflected the same, when I heard him.

I look down at Jacob.

"He took away my home," I spoke, talking a step towards him.

"He killed my father," My voice cracked with another step. My hands morphed into a fist beside me. My feet slipped past the wet mud.

"He took my sister," I was standing above the man guilty of my charges.

"He humiliated me, and made me kill my own pack members,"

I turned to Damien. My eyes conveying what I wanted to say. Yes, I wanted to kill the guilty one. Yes, I wanted to kill the one who wronged me.

Damien had his eyes focused on me, Appraising and assessing eyes. He nod his head once. It was so subtle, if I blinked I would have missed it.

I swing my leg over his body, and stood with my legs on each side of his body. Jacob was groaning in pain, all blood and skin.

I lowered myself and grabbed at his head. I bellowed pulling and twisting it, channeling the pent up rage of fifteen years.

There was a loud crack and the body went limp under me.

I hold the head in my hand for a couple seconds, before I let go. I wanted to spat at him but it was not ladylike.

I move away from him and kicked his lifeless body.

My knees finally gave up and I swing and fall down, breathing hard.

A smile covered my lips.

Triumph!

Damein

Of course there was war. She was here. I told her to leave, but her after effects lingered.

I stood by my men at the gates, waiting for Seraphic pack to approach.

She was gone so it was no use. I wanted to tell the fates.

But the moment I saw her running towards me, I froze.

Moirai be damned. Those three woman, I wanted the punch them in the guts.

I wanted her unharmed, even though I knew it was of no use. I saw Jacob hold her down but I didn't protest for her sake. I heard Jacob call her names, call her his, and I didn't protest for her sake.

I heard her scream and I protested, for her sake.

The battle began, and I stay close to her to protect her. That little vixen denied to leave the battle field.

I saw her fight.

I launched to protect her but he was already ripping at the throat of her attacker.

My divert of attention earned me a couple scratches on my back and a bite in return on Jacob.

I watch as she tore apart Jacob's head and kicked him.

I watch her survive.

I watch her not die.

I watch her smile,

and chills spread all over my body. This was not good.

Chapter no 9- Mummified

'You are but a zenith of an artist's dream

He must have pondered you for ages, a wonder to beam'

Damien

I was so absorbed by her sitting there, Alive. I forgot she was bit, and she was bleeding.

We both stared at each other, my mind blank. Her ember red hair soaked in water, sticking to her body. They were long, wavy and thick. It covered her body like flames spreading their way over her body.

Her green eyes staring into me. I felt if it were possible that I possessed a soul, She could talk to it through her eyes.

I felt for her more than I ever felt for any others. Her pull so strong, she could pull my body towards her and I wouldn't be surprised.

My hands yearned to run into her hair, hold her, touch her.

I wanted to hold her in my arms and not let anything happen to her. I could hold her forever, not letting her leave even if she begged to go.

So no harm could touch her ever.

But it was not possible.

She needed to leave.

She should have left.

Amara

My body was hurt.

Pain burned my body, but it fell into neglect as I held his gaze. The ghost of a smile that held my lips was gone. I was just breathless now.

We both stared at each other, my mind blank.

His black eyes held onto mine like a prisoner. It was a possession I didn't want to get out of.

An Abyss, I wanted to go deeper and deeper into it and never leave.

My hands longed to touch him. Hold him. Ask him about the Isolation in his eyes, the Melancholy in his soul.

Heal him. Bring him to peace, all the while being broken myself. It was a beautiful thought.

For him to be Serene.

But It was not possible.

He wanted me to leave.

I should have left.

.

.

.

Erica was breathing on my head. Her face red, eyes in tears, anger burning in her.

"What were you thinking!" She yelled.

I wasn't. I wasn't thinking at all. And this earned me unbearable pain. My arm was searing, burning with a sensation that coursed through my veins like molten lava.

It took a while for the effect of adrenaline and Damein to leave. And now I was in misery.

My arm was being checked by a nurse. The fields was covered with them, and doctors. Checking up on the injured. Bringing them to hospitals, getting them better.

"There are two deep bites, but it have not shattered bone. You need to have several stitches. You also have fever," The nurse told me, "And you need to be on a course of antibiotics for infection. Can you stand up?"

Weakly, I nod my head. Erica held my other hand and pulled me on my feet.

The sudden movement made my arm jerk and increase the pain ten folds. I cry out.

"Please get her to the ambulance," The nurse asked Erica to which she nodded her head quickly.

"No," I pulled my arm away from Erica.

"I will not go in. I have done enough damage,"

Erica looked like she wanted to slap me. She would have if I wasn't injured.

"Amara. I have had enough of your stubbornness for today. Move your bloody ass to the vehicle," She demanded.

And I was just that. Stubborn. Too prideful to go into his city after he clearly said I would not come back under any circumstances. I had left. I had, knowing I would not see my sister even at her death. My demise was least of my concerns.

"Erica, I will not go, and you know that,"

"And why is that?" Calm and deep. Like there has not just been a war going on, and the groans of the hurt are a faint distant cry. Goosebumps cover my skin.

My head turn to face Damien.

"Why what?" I ask. My heart thumping in my chest.

"Go to the hospital, Amara . You are injured," He hissed. My head almost spins in conflicting emotions. Anger. Panic. Pain. Disbelief. Surprise. Fondness. Affection.

"You ordered me to never come back to the city," I hissed back.

He took a step towards me, and another. He took my arm from Erica, while I tried to protest and pull away.

"What are you doing?"

"I ordered you to leave. I order you to come back,"

"I am not in your city, I am not your slave anymore. I don't follow your orders here," My voice was weak bit I still stood my ground.

I was just being petty at this point and I knew that well enough. I wanted him to persuade me. I wanted him to beg me to come back. I wanted him to feel something. Anything.

Maybe my brain was actually fried, or maybe I was too blinded by pain to think straight.

But there was no begging. There was no persuading. He wrapped his arm under my hips, lifted me up just like that, and started walking.

...?

"Damein?" I gasped.

He carried me effortlessly in one arm. I was too aghast to form words or move my muscles.

My body was beautifully warm, and my mind was stupidly blank and hyper-focused on him.

His arm around me. His chest against mine. My heart was beating against his. Same rhythm. Fast and loud. My face in his neck. My hand on his shoulder. His breath on my shoulder.

We passed the gates.

He walked near an ambulance and unloaded me there gently.

He tucked a strand of hair behind my red ear. He knew what effect he had on me. I could see it on his face. His amused eyes.

"Now you are in my city," He whispered.

"Better start listening to orders now. Inside!" It was order delivered in a soft tone. Soft enough for me to oblige. Also, the pain was killing me.

Two nurses were standing by my side already. They helped me up onto the stretcher and I was dragged onto the ambulance.

So much for persuading.

I was covered in cotton and gauze. My hand had a drip attached. Echo beeping by my head, and my throat was drying up.

They said an infection had started to spread from my arm, and I needed to be under observation.

If it spread further, I had to say good bye to my arm.

My body was burning up in fever.

But atleast Jacob was dead.

It was almost night, and I was feeling a little better. Alex had visited several times, asking if I needed anything. He was a good man. I liked him already.

The infection was not spreading because meds that had my mouth tasting like soap, and the drip that had swollen my arm. I was removed of my rags, cleaned by a washcloth and was given a hospital gown. It was pink. I liked pink.

Erica was asleep on the chair.

The door swing open and in came black hair attached to a very tall body.

Damien.

Our eyes met.

He walked to my bed avoiding making any noise to wake Erica up. He was freshly dressed. His torn white shirt was replaced with a new one. One look and the images of his naked torso rush into my brain.

I wonder if his shirt tear when he turned.

"I brought this," He said, bringing forward a small card board box. I opened it, and there were red berries.

"...?" I look up at him, confused.

"They promote healing, works better than any medicine," I was feeling all the emotions a school girl would feel when her crush asks her for prom.

"Do they taste good?" I ask.

Now he was confused, "You never had them before?" He asks.

"Jacob loved these, so we were not allowed to eat it," I told him.

I take one. It was red, like the name. I take it in my mouth and bite down. A sweet and sour taste swirls my mouth.

My eyes widen a little as I look up at him.

I think I found my new favorite fruit.

"I can see you liked it," A ghost if smile covers his lips.

I take another one in my mouth.

"You can...sit you know, consider this your own city,"

His eyes narrow at me before he looks around for a chair. The two chairs in the room were booked by Erica, one for upper body, other for lower.

His eyes return and he settles on the bed beside me. My thighs touch his back, and I was not complaining.

"How are you feeling," He asks. Is he really being this nice? or the infection actually is spreading making me hallucinate.

"I am good," I nod my head, "My arm hurts, My head hurts, My body is burning up in fever, and I feel like someone replaced my throat with a bark. Its all la la land,"

I smile.

"You are in a good mood," He studies me.

I release a breath. I am always in a good mood unless I am not provoked, which is the only thing he had done everytime we meet.

"I killed Jacob," I look at Erica. "I never thought killing someone would make me feel this good, But it does," I tell him.

He nods his head.

"Also You are not yelling at me to...get the hell out of your city so..., I have a place to stay for a while," I had yet again spoke without thinking. And I had ruined his mood.

His features that were just so relaxed had shifted, his back tensed, his shoulders rigid.

Way to go Amara.

"You can stay,"