The Pure-Hearted Princess and the Kiss of Darkness

21. Acting Fast

- ENRIQUE -

"Then kill me... If it will ease the pain in your heart, I will die willingly."

My eyes flash as she promises those words so carelessly as if her life is something so small and invaluable that she's willing to throw it away or speak those words so carelessly when we all fucking know life is precious.

That simply angers me more. They act like they're willing to die for others, but the fucking truth is they haven't experienced death the way I have. They use it in heroic remarks that carry no fucking weight.

Suddenly, an intense ripple of some sort of maic shift fills the air, and everything dulls. Before I can even speak, she suddenly tenses up, her head snapping towards the ceiling as she stares unseeingly past me, her brilliant pink eyes full of...

Terror.

There's no other way to explain it.

What's happening to her?

I'm about to call her when her body gives way, and she's about to fall to the ground, but instead, I push her backwards, so she lands on the bed behind her.

The heaviness in the very atmosphere is becoming darker... reminding me of those monsters. Are they here?

"Wake up," I command her, but she remains unmoving despite the thundering of her heart.

Are they coming?

Glancing around, I lift her off the bed. If they're about to come, I need to put her somewhere safe so I can deal with them. I suck in a breath, freezing at the intense level of darkness that is swirling around her and almost drop her.

'Jose, Carlos! There's something-'

Before I can even flip her onto my shoulder, she screams.

It rips through the air, ringing through the room. A scream of true pain, one that tears at my heart in an inexplicable way.

The evil in the air thrums through me like a seductive whisper, calling me.

What is going on?Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

I quickly place her down, my heart thundering in my ears as her body trembles. Dark bruises that look exactly like the ones that were forming on my shoulders appear across her neck, spreading down over her breasts and when I lift the hoodie, I can see that it is spreading across her waist and hips, too.

'Secure the grounds! There's a high chance something is about to attack. Anyone out on the streets gets inside!' I command.

How are they doing this? Where are they?!

"Kataleya!" I growl, ignoring the fact that I said her name as her body convulses.

She's in pain, her heartbeat is going crazy and she's lost all colour.

'There's nothing here Alpha... all secure.'

'Precaution cabróns!'

How then...?

“Kataleya!" I shout as I pull her into my arms, trying to stop the spasms that are jarring through her. There are tears streaming down her cheeks, and the bruises are becoming darker.

What the fuck is going on?

“Jose! How did you heal me the other night?!'

The door bursts open, and he and Carlos are both standing there, I can hear the commotion as the entire packhouse is rushing from their rooms on alert.

"I didn't heal you. She did." Jose admits, his face pale as he stares at her neck where the bruises have crawled up to her jaw. The marks my fingers left gone beneath the much darker bruising.

It takes me a fraction of a second to comprehend what he said, and my head snaps up to him.

"Who the fuck healed me, you hijo de puta?"

"I'm sorry, Alpha, but you weren't doing great, and the water would have taken far too long to purify and the bruises were spreading," he mutters, lowering his head.

My emotions are conflicted as my gaze snaps to the woman shivering in my arms.

She saved me?

I clench my jaw not knowing what to make of that. I owe her.

"Get me a dagger," I order, suddenly standing up and placing her on the bed.

Carlos acts fast, rushing to the drawer, picking one up and bringing it over to me.

"What are you going to do?" Jose asks nervously.

"There was blood splattered across the bed sheets. I think she drained the wounds. I'm going to do the same or attempt it anyway," I say quietly. "We don't know if that-" Carlos sounds panicked as he passes me the dagger.

"Leave, send the best doctor we have up here and stay on alert," I say quietly, my eyes raking over her, it's mainly across her chest and stomach... "Yes, Alpha." They both say before they step out and shut the door behind themselves.

I cut open the hoodie with the dagger before ripping it open fully.

"Wake up," I command, brushing her hair off her face. I'm not sure if this is even the right thing to do, but she isn't responding. There's little choice that I have. She's broken into a cold sweat and her skin looks chalk white now.

Placing the dagger down, I tear open the hoodie and even then, despite the situation, I'm aware of her sexy curves. She's wearing a white wrap around her breasts that barely contain her boobs.

I hope I'm doing the right thing...

Sucking in a breath, I pick up the knife and create a thin cut along the darkest parts of her injury. Deep red blood bubbles as it spills out before it gives way to pure red.

She whimpers and I brush her hair back. "Lo siento... work with me chica... I'm not having you fucking die on my island," I mutter, as I continue to make the light nicks, letting the dark blood bleed out.

I glance up at her, her heartbeat is calming but it's still not enough to be considered normal and I'm not even sure if I'm helping but this is the only thing Lean think of. I make a few light cuts across the bruise, slicing open the fabric that binds her

breasts, allowing them to spring

free.

I try to focus on the dark bruises along her left breast and down the centre and make a few more cuts in the darkest areas.

She gasps, her eyes fluttering before her body suddenly stills.

The dark energy that was pulsating in the air is gone and I let out a deep breath, hanging my head for a second before tossing the dagger onto the

bed.

I look down at the woman beneath me, knowing she's going to be ok. The smell of cherry blossoms and blood filling the air.

Jose, on the other hand, won't be fucking ok for knowingly letting her walk around.

I get off the bed to grab her something to wear. Pulling open my wardrobe, I take out a grey oversized T-shirt.

'I love you.'

I scoff, did she really think I'd buy that? You don't love someone who has done nothing but say cruel things to you. Even if she did have a picture of me in her necklace, it meant nothing.

She's delusional and I need her gone.

She angers me.

I hate how she fucks with my head.

Returning to the bed, I remove the white cloth from under her, unable to look away from her breasts, my cock spasming with pleasure at the sight of them. She's beautiful, I'll give her that...

Her eyes are closed now, teardrops clinging to her lashes like little jewels. Her hair is a stunning colour, at times it reminds me of sand, summer, and

the sun.

Looking away, I slip the shirt over her head and rest it back onto the pillow behind her, managing to slip it down to her waist when there's a knock on the door.

"Enter," I say, examining the bruises. They've eased up a lot, although they're still dark.

The door opens, and it's Carlos, Jose, and Doctor Benjamin.

“Alpha Enrique.” The doc says with a bow of his head, his medical box in hand.

"Check her over and make sure she's alright," I say, standing up. "Jose, a word."

'Carlos, watch him.' I add through the mind link before I exit the room.

Jose follows me, and I lead him down the hall to my office. Pushing open the door, I walk over to my desk and take a cigarette from the drawer, trying

to calm the rippling rage that I had somehow forgotten about at that moment.

“Close the door, or do you need me to do it for you?" I snarl.

He shuts it instantly. “Look, Enrique, allow me to expl-"

"You had your fucking chance." My eyes flash as I light my cigarette glaring at my Beta." I realise now why we weren't finding any information on

her..."

He tenses, his head bowed, but his fear hangs in the air, like a glaring beacon of light, exposing his guilt.

"To think I was a fool not to realise it

earlier... A fool to think I could trust anyone." breathe out as I walk

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towards him, my heart thuddinget

viciously as my eyes burn with an inferno of rage that I'm trying to

keep under control.

"Forgive me, Alpha," he says, lowering his head.

"No wonder we were unable to find anything on Kataleya Rossi, when someone I am supposed to trust has been lying to me... keeping information

that I desired from me..." I whisper coldly as I circle him.

My wolf stirs, a reminder that Jose is supposedly a friend, but before a friend he is my Beta, and a Beta's loyalty to his Alpha should be absolute.

"Tell me, Jose, what is the punishment for betrayal?"

He swallows, but his voice does not tremble when he speaks. "Death."

I smirk coldly, "Correct."