Chapter 65: Chapter 65

Nobleman Adolphus stood up and stared down at his crying daughter with a frown.

“Would you stop bawling like a baby? Don't disgrace me by being such a crybaby. I am your father and no one loves you like I do. Therefore, if there is anyone that would never hurt you it is me,” he scolded and she glared up at him.

“Never hurt me? As far as I know and can remember, no one else has hurt me like you have. You keep blackmailing me, you keep ordering me around, you keep forcing me into a life I don't want to live. If not because of you, I would never have dedicated all my life to a lowly position as a concubine!” she retorted and he bent down swiftly, grabbed her cheeks with his hand through the iron bars and pinned them tightly together.

“You ingrate! I have always been there for you. If I didn't love you, you would have been ice now after getting frozen to death on the North Pole where your mother abandoned us!” he barked and pushed her back. She whimpered and held her face. He exhaled deeply and stood straight again.

“All I want is for you to be the Queen and Luna of one of the most powerful pack kingdoms in the world. I want your name to be heard. You don't deserve to die bearing the name of an average woman. You are a Queen, which is why I have trained you to be one from the moment you took your first step. I do not expect you to let me down. Fight like the fierce woman you are. And don't let the woman who caused this great turn in your life to go scot free. We all know you would have been gloating in your mansion, still the only woman who can walk in on the prince and I would have made your marriage happen—if that human had not stepped into this pack,” he stated in a villainous tone. Ñiraka took deep breaths and hugged herself as she sat down there.

“Your anger should not be at me. But at Fiorella,” he added and walked away. Ñiraka watched him leave and her eyes welled up with tears again.

**

Chidi, Nana and Xiao Wéi were sitting under a tree close to the Prince's castle. They were not allowed to come any closer by the palace guards standing guard, but they wouldn't agree to leave because Avril was in there. Dead or alive, they didn't know. But they couldn't desert her at a time like this. They each had important duties to attend to back at their work place, but nothing else mattered than that girl lying somewhere inside that huge castle.

“Would she be fine?” Xiao Wéi asked after a long while of sober silence between the ladies. She was wearing a spaghetti strap crop top and black jean trousers with boots, working at the Mill when she got the news and ran all the way to Nana and Chidi before they headed to the Palace. Despite the cold, she did not feel uncomfortable physically. But she was scared to death for Avril. Getting attacked by an angry wolf was a life and death situation.

“She would be. God won't let her die,” Chidi croaked. She and Nana were even wearing warm clothes.

“Would she turn into a werewolf?” Xiao Wéi asked again. She had heard folktales that a person bitten by a werewolf or vampire would turn into one.

“Wouldn't that be better than to lose her life?” Nana asked back.

“I don't know. The transition is an awful experience I've heard. Most of our fellow humans here dread the topic of turning into a werewolf. They say the process is worse than death itself. I don't want... I don't want Avril to go through that sort of pain,” Xiao Wéi explained. Chidi took fallen hair from the Asian girl's face and smiled at her.

“I'm pretty sure that girl would come out of this unscathed. She's been through a lot, but survived everything. Besides, Dakar is here. He might not remember her but he cares deeply,” she assured her.

“I heard he had almost killed Ñiraka at the arena,” Xiao Wéi revealed and the girls arched their brows.

“What do you mean?” Nana asked.

“He turned into his wolf too and almost ripped her gut out. People said he went totally feral.”

“My God. Then what Verona said could be true. There must be some sort of bond between those two.”

“I believe so. She was his prophecied help and they had fallen in love. I'm sure a connection was created. One would not do without the other,” Chidi asserted and the girl's nodded. They all looked towards the castle again and hoped that either Verona or Camper would head out and see them, then call them in.

A red car drove in furiously, picking up leaves as it raved through the smooth driveway of the castle. It came to an abrupt stop over at the front of the entrance and an anxious, scathed looking Dakar hurried out of the car.

“It's Prince Dakar, he'll help us in!” Nana exclaimed.

“He doesn't know us,” Chidi argued.

“Doesn't matter...Prince Dakar!” Nana screamed and jumped on her feet. She waved her hands and kept jumping while screaming his name.

“Oh God,” Chidi muttered and palmed her face while looking down. Nana's approach was utterly embarrassing. Xiao Wéi chuckled softly.

Prince Dakar stopped in his tracks immediately he heard his name. He turned back and saw, with his sharp vision, three ladies were under a tree. His guards didn't like the noise they were causing and some began to march angrily towards them.

“Let them be,” he ordered in a normal voice and they stopped immediately. Nana stopped screaming as she saw that they had fully gotten Dakar's attention. The girls saw him beckon on them to come with his hand. Chidi and Xiao Wéi jumped to their feet immediately.

“Told you it doesn't matter!” Nana exclaimed as they raced from under the tree and into the castle's main premises. It was demarcated from others with the lovely large lawns and green flower bushes planted to form its fence or maze. The girls ran into the driveway and passed the guards who Nana made sure to give a mocking tongues out to. They reached Dakar panting heavily.

“Prince Dakar, we're Avril's friends,” Chidi managed to say while panting. Dakar looked them over and nodded.

“Come with me,” he simply said and began to walk towards the entrance. They treaded after him slowly, not going too close because he was quite terrifying.

“I wonder how Avril fell in love with him,” Nana whispered so low that Chidi didn't hear her, but just read her lips. She glared at her and placed her own index finger across her mouth—signifying that Nana should just shut it.

They reached the entrance and the door was opened by guards. They walked in after him, and entered the glorious castle of the Prince. The first place they entered was a vast living room with marble floors and golden brown walls. If they were on a tour, they would have taken everything in. But they were there to see Avril so they focused on following Prince Dakar. They climbed up the stairs with him until they reached the floor where he took a turn into another hallway. They reached a door and he stopped in front of it. He held the doorknob and was going to turn it then paused. He closed his eyes tightly, as if in pain and curled his other fist. The girls just watched him, wondering what was happening with him.

“Prince Dakar, are you all right?” Xiao Wéi asked. He opened his eyes and looked at the girls. They all knew he was super worried about her.

“She'll be fine. She's a super fighter,” Chidi encouraged with a smile. Dakar seemed to relax after hearing that. He opened the door and looked in. Verona was seated by the bed and looking at the door, waiting for them to enter. He entered and so did the girls.

“Prince Dakar,” she acknowledged his presence and stood on her feet.

“How is she?” he asked as he got closer to the white bed. Avril was neatly tucked in it, with most of her body bandaged. An IV drip was connected to her body and a Cardiac Event Monitor was beeping beside the bed.

“Alive,” Verona answered in a clugged voice. The girls slowly walked to the bedside and peered at Avril. Xiao Wéi covered her mouth as she choked on her sobs. Nana crouched down beside the bed and closed her eyes as tears fell out. They all could see that Avril was in a lot of pain. Only Chidi managed to stand firm, even though she was breaking down on the inside.

“The doctors said the damage was too much, and she lost a lot of blood. If she was with human doctors, she would need to undergo quick surgery to stabilize her. But since she's here, the secret medicines would help her heal quickly,” Verona delivered.

“Which means she'll be okay?” Chidi asked.

“Yes, she would. But...let's hope she doesn't get deeply poisoned. Or, she could turn. And in her fragile state...that could lead to the In-between death,” Verona answered and Dakar felt a terrible chill run over his entire body.

“So now what? We wait and hope she doesn't turn?” he asked dryly.

“One of the doctor's said she had a bit of hope, since Ñiraka hadn't really planned to give her the turning poison. She just wanted to kill her. Hopefully, she would heal.”

Dakar sighed and walked to Avril's side. Verona moved away from the bed and looked at the girls. They understood the message and left the room with her, giving them some time together privately. Dakar took the chair beside the bed and sat down. He stared at Avril's still figure and closed his eyes, his palms firmly clasped in front of him. He opened his eyes again and traced Avril's hand, then gently removed the blanket from there. Her palm wasn't injured luckily, so he held her. She was so cold and stiff.

“Sweetheart,” he mumbled and felt his throat constricting. He suppressed the urge to cry but...

“I'm so sorry,” he expelled and let the tears form in his eyes.

“Don't leave me. Whatever happens don't leave me,” he mumbled.