32.

Everything hurt. Her back, her neck, every single muscle in her body and her head too, making her feel like she wanted to just lay down and die.

Die and finally escape the nightmare she was currently living.



She let out a pained groan as Elias carefully placed her over the cushioned seat, throwing him a deadly glower as he paused to peer down at her for a moment.



"Feed her," He commanded as he turned to walk away, her gaze falling onto the female standing just a few steps away as she meekly nodded, consciously avoiding to throw a single glance in the Alpha's direction.



Madeleine blew an annoyed and tired sigh, resting her back against the seat's rounded backrest as her body felt so weak she could barely sit upright.



"Just so you know, I am not a fucking hamster," She muttered under her breath from her place, immediately receiving a confused look from Meoni.



"What is a "fucking hamster"?" The princess questioned whilst slowly approaching with a genuinely curious expression plastered all over her beautiful features.



*Damn.*



Madeleine regarded her for a moment, choosing to remain silent as she blew another tired breath and averted her gaze towards the open balcony.



"Why did you try to help me?"

She heard Meoni say after a few moments of silence, drawing her attention back to her.



"Does it matter?" She simply asked back whilst adjusting her position over the cushioned seat, momentarily stopping to let out a small hiss as the side of her neck accidentally brushed against the backrest's velvety fabric, making her feel the sting of those two freshly punctured holes in her skin.



*Fucking psycho. What did he inject into her this time? Or did he take blood from her again?*



"You hold no feelings towards me, why would you risk your own wellbeing?" Meoni's question abruptly drew Madeleine's focus on her again, evoking a small uprise in her anger levels as she surely was in no mood to keep answering her stupid questions.



"I don't know, why would you fall in love with such an asshole?" Madeleine retorted with annoyance, still feeling that nagging sting on the side of her neck.



*Asshole indeed. *



She thought, imagining herself shooting the crap out of him with Tate's shotgun when Meoni shifted again and walked towards a table that sat somewhere further in the lounge room, unintentionally drawing her attention again.



"What is this "love" term you keep using? I have noticed that the Alpha understands what it means but I do not," She questioned as she bent over to pick up a tray filled with various kinds of food before turning to walk back towards Madeleine's position and place it on a nearby table.



Madeleine watched as she gently set it down then took a few steps back, patiently looking at her whilst waiting for her to answer.



She blew out another sigh, carefully taking a small fruit from the tray right next to her as she already felt too weak to keep refusing food anyway.



"It represents what you feel for him. The Alpha. All those things you feel inside whenever you see him, we have a word for it. It's called love," She proceeded to explain whilst slowly eating, receiving a small nod from Meoni although she did not fail to notice the way her gaze lowered, no doubt already thinking about everything she'd just told her.



"Why did he call you a princess though? Is it true? Are you the last illyrian or whatever?" Madeleine asked as she suddenly remembered how he'd called her a Lyra princess.



"I was born here, on Laxian many many Earth years ago. I am the product of an illyrian female and a laxian male. My female creator was the last of her kind. Lyra born. She died soon after having me because she chose to join a battle between laxians and another, much more violent and power-thirsty civilization. Ay'Ra,"



"Wait, what? The last of her kind? What happened to the rest of them?"



"Their planet, Lyra was destroyed by a natural cause. It suffered a violent collision with another celestial body, destroying its atmosphere and pretty much everything else living on its surface," She calmly explained whilst Madeleine listened with interest, becoming a little sad at the hearing of Lyra's tragical end.



"I'm sorry," She expressed her feelings, earning a confused look from Meoni.



"Why?"



"Because you lost your heritage. Your parents, your family. Everything," She explained, somehow finding her own lifestory so similar to Meoni's.



She had lost pretty much everyone she ever had, and now she was all alone and in a foreign place, with no one to care for her or protect her.



*Well, almost.*



Her heart ached as she thought about Emerick again, feeling so helpless as she could not help but fret about his current situation as well.



*How can I get you out of there? How?*

*How can I bring you back to me?*



She did not even know how to get to that room he was being held in, let alone set him free.



"The Lyra race will die with me anyway. I cannot procreate so unless you give yourself to the Alpha and procreate a female heir, I will truly be the last of my kind," Meoni drew her attention as she spoke again, noticing that hopeful expression painted over her features as she gazed at her.



"I'm sorry but I will not give myself to anyone. I am not some damned incubator, ready to pop out babies whenever he wants me to," She harshly responded, in spite of what she had previously promised to the Alpha.

Now, she couldn't care less about his stupid threats.

Not after what he'd done to Emerick.



She would rather throw herself over the balcony than let him touch her.



She told herself with determination, casually noticing that visibly disheartened expression marring Meoni's features as she regarded her for a moment, her hand balling into a fist over her chest as she tightly grabbed that pendant resting between her breasts and turned her back to her, averting her attention towards the open balcony instead.



"Listen, I think you don't really understand what is going on here. I am not here by choice! I am being held here against my will, and I surely don't give two flying shits about your motherfucking Alpha or his babies! He can just go to hell!"



"You can fucking have him for all I care! I don't want to have anything to do with him! I don't want to have his freaking offsprings, I don't even want to be here, on Laxian!" She harshly breathed after shouting all that, her voice breaking and feeling small tears gathering at the corners of her eyes as she lastly whispered,



"I just want Emerick and to go back home, on Earth..."



"I just wanna go back home with him, nothing more..." She wrapped her arms around knees as she started to cry, letting out small sobs and whimpers as she rested her forehead against her knees.



"Emerick? The BloodHound?" She heard Meoni curiously ask.



"Yes, the-"



"No! Stop calling him like that! His name is Emerick Corden and he's a person, not an animal! He's not a fucking dog," She angrily bit back between her tears, watching Meoni as she slowly approached and seated herself right next to her over the generous round seat, quietly looking into her blurry eyes for a moment.



"I have admired his excellent fighting skills. He truly is one of a kind," She softly said, a tiny smile tugging at her bright red lips as she gazed between Madeleine's glassy eyes.



"Did you know he has the exact same technique the Alpha does?" She faintly whispered as if she were telling a secret, making Madeleine's brows furrow with utter dumbfoundedness as she most certainly did not understand what she was blabbering about.



"W-what..."



"I know they can be a little dangerous but I would like to see him. Do you wish to come?" Meoni whispered as she leaned in a little closer, making her blue eyes widen with pure astonishment and simply remain silent as she did not even know how to respond to that.



Was this a trick or something?



She quietly watched Meoni rise to her feet, carefully peering over her shoulder before her attention returned back to Madeleine, stretching out a hand for her to grab as she expectantly looked at her.



"Come, we have to go before the Alpha returns for you,"



*Fuck! What to do what to do? *



She anxiously pondered over for a moment as she looked between her brown eyes and that extended palm, swiftly giving in to that first instinct pushing at her mind and reaching out to place her hand in Meoni's, sluggishly raising up to her feet with the princess' help as she still felt so damn weak and horrible, her muscles practically screaming in protest and her head spinning like hell. Yet she did not give up and instead she willed herself to get over her pain and exhaustion, forcing herself to move as they started walking towards the door.



She was going to find Emerick. She could not let some stupid pain hinder her.