Chapter 54

Tiffany- small trigger warning
She got up, stretching. Her wolf paced agitatedly in her head.
‘I don’t like this, Tiff. Let’s just go away to the Night Howlers pack. Dad was their gamma. I am sure we will be accepted. They can protect us,’ Kimber whimpered.
‘Stop being a coward,’ Tiffany hissed. ‘You are supposed to be the stronger side, but you are weak. WEAK!’
‘I am a pack animal. That means my pack is everything to me and you are trying to kill my pack.’
‘I am an alpha, for Goddess sake. ME! THEY WILL BOW TO ME, DAMNIT!’
‘They will kill you and me by association. Please, don’t let them. Please, don’t do this. They are above us.’
‘Do shut up and watch me fulfill our destiny. We will rule them all.’
She reached for the vials that were still hidden under her thin pillow. She popped the cork on the one that had held the light blue, almost clear liquid.
“So, when do we leave?,” came a voice to her right.
She eyed Thomas through the bars of her cell.
“And what in the world makes you think, I would take you with me?,” she snapped.
Thomas sat up, chuckling. “You mean besides the fact that you are the reason my mate is dead? I’m the only way out. Without me, you will be lost, running in circles around the kingdom. I know the underground tunnels. We will never be found.” He shrugged and layed back down. “Or don’t take me and get caught. Either way, you will die. King Aiden will find you.”
“He will be dead before I leave. They both will.”
He laughed. “That’s what you think, little wolf.”
Tiffany’s back straightened at his insult. “You didn’t seem to mind Kimber when you were fucking this ‘little wolf.’ If I recall correctly, you didn’t hesitate to give her your bone.”
The door to the small hallway opened and the smell of food wafted down to them. Thomas smirked.
“Better decide fast.”
She growled at him, before nodding. She sprinkled some of the potion on her and within seconds, she had gone invisible. She crept over to stand by the door. The whistling guard approached their cells and Thomas began to hum softly. The guard pushed his tray through the bars, before coming to a stop in front of her cell. He ran a shifted talon across the metal bars.
“Hey, girl. Where are you?,” the guard demanded. When she didn't appear, his hands went to the keys at his side. “Last chance! Show yourself.”
Thomas chuckled. “You are a little late to the party. The whore’s been gone for a few hours already.”
The guard glared at him. “And you didn’t think to inform someone she escaped?”
Thomas rolled his eyes. “Why in the hell would I help the kingdom that killed my mate and imprisoned me in its dungeon?”
The guard growled and opened her cell door. He slowly crept in, sniffing the air and looking around. She waited for him to move past her, before jumping on his back and sliding a shifted claw across his throat. They fell to the ground and she repeatedly slammed his head into the floor. She leaned down to lick his face.
“So very sorry, handsome. I wish I could make this up to you, but I do have to run. Places to be and people to see.. Or you know murder,” she giggled.
She snatched the keys from his hands and skipped happily to Thomas’s cell. She eyed him.
“When we get to where we are going, you are mine.” She tilted her head to study him. “Say it or I will leave you to rot here all alone.”
He raised an eyebrow, but nodded. “Fine, but I get to have that pretty little ass of yours.”
She laughed as she unlocked the cell. “You are in no position to negotiate.”
She dipped her fingers into the potion and rolled her eyes when he moved to her side, mumbling about asshole men who thought they had the upper hand. He grabbed her throat and pulled her against his body to grind against her.
“I want your ass and you will not deny me or I will throw you to the wolves.” He grinned evilly. “No pun intended.”
She shoved him away. “Dick!”
He bowed slightly and waved his hand to the empty hallway. “After you, sexy.”
She flipped him off before marching angrily down the hallway. She moved swiftly through the hallways towards the king’s wing. She kept scenting the air to make sure that neither the king or her bitch of a sister were there. She just needed a few minutes to dump the ice crystals onto their pillows. Then she would flee from the castle and go home to her mother. It would be good for it to just be them again. Oh, Goddess, how she missed her mother?
She had never wanted to become someone’s breeder. The very term was so derogatory in Tursum. Everyone pretended it was a high honor to be chosen, but everyone knew the truth. If you were hated, or in her case, if the person in charge of choosing was a jealous cunt, you were sent. Tiffany smirked. But what they didn’t know was that she would be the first to return home and the perceived honor would truly be hers. She had alpha blood and she would bow to no one. It was time for Kimber to learn that.
She shook her head when she stopped outside of their door. She paused, listening for any sound that would hint that someone was in there. After a minute, she entered cautiously, glancing around to double check what she already knew, since her pathetic wolf had deserted her when she needed her the most. They had a fire going on the hearth and she rolled her eyes.
“Pathetic royals and their fancy fireplaces. Don’t they know it’s too hot to have a fire going?,” she muttered angrily to herself.
She hurried to the bed and popped the cork on the ice crystals. She leaned over the bed to sprinkle it on the pillows when movement caught her eye. What was that? She walked to the fireplace and bent down to peer into it. Well, damn. There in the midst of the fire was an egg. It wobbled again. She reached towards it and the fire flared up, singing her skin. It instantly turned black and the two fingers that it had touched turned black, too. She lost all feeling in them and she raised them to her face. She tried to wiggle them and whimpered when they disintegrated. She watched in shock as the ash that had once been her fingers floated in front of her. She growled. Oh, they were definitely going to pay for taking her fingers. She stood up to pace in front of the fireplace.
How did she get the egg? That was no ordinary fire. It had to be the kings. THAT’S IT! It was the king’s fire and how did you kill a dragon’s fire? She grinned excitedly as she lifted the ice crystals again. She had one shot to prove she was worthy to her mother and she couldn’t think of a better way then to steal that egg. It had to be Sasha's, right? She was Aiden’s mate and his queen. This was their room. She wouldn’t allow another woman’s egg in their room, would she? No, she wouldn’t. She threw the entire vial of the ice crystals into the flames. They turned blue before dying completely.
She first pumped the air in triumph and lifted the egg, surprised it was cool to the touch. It started vibrating in her arms and she growled. She pulled the other vial out and began to rub the invisibility potion onto it. She was almost to the door when a blast of fire shattered the balcony doors behind her. She bit back a scream and backed into a corner. Aiden stormed angrily into the room, his eyes solely focused on the fireplace. He took one quick look before his nose went into the air to sniff.
The egg began to tremble in her arms and his head snapped around to stare directly in her direction. He began to stomp in her direction and she panicked. She shook the egg and it stopped moving. She put the egg behind her back and pressed back against the wall as much as she could as he leaned over her. His eyes were black and saliva was dripping off of his bared teeth. She ducked under his arm and ran out of the room. Thomas grabbed her arm and began to sprint up the stairs. She followed behind him. He slowed when he heard the king roar. He glanced back at her.
“What did you do?,” he hissed.
“Nothing,” she denied.
He helped her climb onto the roof and he pulled himself up next to her. He shifted and motioned for her to get on. She settled on his back, holding the egg close. Halfway to Tursum the skies opened and rain poured down on them, washing the potion off. She had started to doze off when he landed, startling her awake. She slid off of his back as the townspeople began to surround them. Her mother pushed her way to the front, stopping when she saw the egg clutched in Tiffany’s arms.
“What in the hell is that?,” she asked.
Tiffany held up the egg proudly. “This is Sasha’s and the king’s egg.”
Her mother moved to stand directly in front of her. She raised her hand and slapped Tiffany across the face.
“You stupid girl. You have doomed us all.”