Chapter 129: Chapter 129

DAHLIA:

My stomach tightened into knots. Even before Samalah and these men came, I had been feeling quite unwell. After hearing what Samalah had to say, however, I felt sicker.

My hands trembled as I held into Naskan’s neck…

Oh, I forgot… I should call him Tristan now… right?

“Please let me down,” I said weakly from the white wolf’s back. He reluctantly eased me from his back just a few second after I threw out on the ground.

“This won’t do,” I heard Albus grumbled. “She needs to rest.”

“Very well,” the leader of our captors said. “There is a river a few more steps near here. We shall make camp for now and continue our journey tomorrow.”

The rogues gave us a stern look, but I didn’t care. I was far too busy holding myself up after a round of morning sickness.

“Dahlia, are you dizzy? Do you want to lie down?”

Tristan had turned itself into his human form. He was about to lay a hand on my back, but I brushed it away.

“Get away from me,” I said shaking in anger.

Samalah was right. I had been deceived twice. First by her and second by this fool who was whimpering beside me as if I was the one who had caused him pain.

“Dahlia… Dahlia, I know you are mad at me, and you have every right to be mad… Just please let me help you.”

“No. Just stay away from me,” I said once more. Tears began forming at the corner of my eyes. I didn’t want to see his face, and I certainly didn’t want him to see me cry in the pain of what he had done.

Unfortunately, my stomach wasn’t cooperating. It didn’t listen to my pleas of stopping itself from becoming queasy. I continued to throw up until I almost had no energy to stand.

Despite my screams against him earlier, my mate did not leave. When I had finished throwing up, he carried me into his arms and laid me against his lap underneath a shady tree.

“Go away… I don’t want to see you!” By this time, my tears had already dried up. I made dry sobbing sounds at the back of my throat out of sheer frustration.

“Give me a chance to explain everything, Dahlia… Just listen to me once before you push me away,” he said. He picked a wide leaf somewhere and began fanning me with it as he stroked my head gently.

“Just as you’ve heard, I am your husband, Tristan Abell… No, I am Tristan Daedrich. I am one of the last wolves of the Shadow Rune pack alongside my sister, Livia…”

“We have been married a few months ago. I stole you away from your fiancé, the prince of Talandor,” he continued.

I looked up at Naskan’s – I mean Tristan’s – eyes. It didn’t look like he was lying… But then it never looked like he was lying to me even before I discovered all of these secrets.

“Cut to the chase. Why did you marry me? What sort of plot are you brewing behind my back, and more importantly,” I gulped down the tears that were threatening to come out of my throat, “what sort of relationship do you have with Samalah?”

“I… Samalah and I have a long history with Talandor. We lost our families because of the king and his men, including your father.”

My heart felt like it was stabbed with a knife. I could predict where his story was leading to…

“I married you, so I could get revenge against the king and the men who killed my pack…”

“So you used me… Did you succeed?”

“No… I couldn’t use you against your father, not after I learned that you were my fated mate…”

I snorted. “Lucky me, I guess…”

“Dahlly, I’m sorry. I deceived you, which was why you left me after finding out about it. During those days that we weren’t together, I barely survived. I love you, Dahlia! I can’t live without you!”

I exhaled as forcefully as I could. I propped myself into a sitting position, my face looking away from Tristan.

“How can you honestly say that you love me? You deceived me over and over again. You coaxed me into doing things I was not willing to do by lying to me… Didn’t you think that it was cruel enough as it is?”

He just sat there, perhaps not knowing what to say.

“Don’t deceive yourself, Tristan… I’m sure it took you years to plan your revenge. I’m sure your hatred for me and my family runs deeper than your so-called feeling of love… I am nothing but your enemy – an enemy you would use and abuse over and over until you are satisfied, would you not?… Now I know why you always desired me. I was fool enough to think you truly held feelings for me…”

I wiped the tears that kept running down from my face. “Don’t worry… I will help you and Samalah succeed with your revenge by keeping your pact with these devils… You don’t need to take care of me from now on!”

I stood up, but my legs were still wobbly. Naskan, I mean Tristan, attempted to help me, but I shoved his hand away.

I walked towards the vampire who acted as our oppressor’s leader.

“You – you said you need me and my spirit stone, right?”

He looked at me with hard eyes. “I do.”

“What do you intend to do with it?”

“Only our king could answer that.”

“Who is your king then?”

“Our king is the great Apricusian leader – King Helion.”

So, even the vampires are after this Shadow Rune relic…

“Alright, you can have it, but you have to promise me one thing. You have to keep your word to Samalah. You must really help them out after this,” I said.

The vampire leader sniggered at me. “She-wolf, you don’t know what kind of deal you are agreeing to, don’t you?”

“What do you mean,” I asked. Weren’t they just after the spirit stone? Tristan did say that we can safely extract it once we get to Laudicia…

“If the king sees you, he may not just require the stone, she-wolf…”

Just then, chills ran down my spine as I realized what the vampire leader’s stares meant...

I looked around me… It was not just him, but all the other rogues around me where looking at me as if I was some sort of treat…

Just what kind of deal did Samalah struck with them?

I backed away from the vampire leader, his hungry eyes still tracing around every bit of my exposed and unexposed skin as if he was bent on possessing me.

Just then, a cold pair of hands landed on my shoulders. “Don’t worry, Lord Irvan… I will make sure our guest will be every bit pleasing to the king when the time comes…”