Chapter Seven ~ Her Escape

Marik's point of view

"What the hell are you doing?" I yelled at the Blonde. She didn't bother to react and continued to suffocate Liviana. "Hey! Let her go."

I rushed towards them, but my chains clicked and yanked me back when I was just inches away from reaching them. The blonde shot her head around and snarled at me. I growled back and the sound echoed through the air alerting the guards. I could hear them sounding an alarm, and it wouldn't be long before they were in the cave. If they saw what the blonde had done, I had no doubt that they'd try to kill her. I couldn't let Liviana die, but I also couldn't let them kill the blonde.

She looked towards the cave entrance and I could hear her heart speeding up, she clearly felt more vulnerable in her human form. She pulled Liviana's unconscious body up to her chest and proceeded to wrap her arm around Livi's neck. I could tell that she was panicking, and if the humans made one wrong move, she'd think nothing of snapping Liviana's neck. I couldn't let it happen. I had a plan, but I had to work quickly.

"Hey, I don't know your name, but please I need you to listen to me."

She turned her head to the side slightly to peer at me from the corner of her eye, but then focused back on the entrance.

"Look, I have a plan, but we need to work quickly."

She backed up, pulling Livi along with her. Liviana's feet scraped along the floor until they were close enough to me to listen to me.

"I'm going to set you free, but you have to let her go." She snapped her head around and growled at me. I held my hands up in defence and continued. "I can break your chains. You can use the exit that the human came in through. You can run and never look back."

She glanced down at her iron restraints then rolled her eyes at me, clearly not believing that I could free her. When we heard ten or more sets of footsteps running our way, I knew I had to act.

"Look at me!" I boomed.

She turned and scowled at me, but her face turned to one of surprise when I held my hands out in front of me and yanked the chains apart. She instantly dropped Liviana to the floor, and rushed over to me. I took her chains into my hands and squeezed as hard as I could, crushing the metal to pieces. I then bent down and did the same to her ankle restraints, and the chain connecting her to the cave wall. She still had the cuffs around her wrists and ankles, but I didn't have time to break those too. The humans were less than minutes away.

As I stood up she grabbed my face and smashed her lips onto mine. Our kiss was rushed and full of passion, and I wished more than anything that I could leave with her. We both knew that I didn't have time. I pulled away from her and brushed a strand of her golden blonde hair out of her face. I took one last inhale, savouring her aroma. Then sighed as I pushed her away.

"You need to leave."

Her eyebrows knitted together with sadness, but she knew she had to leave. She kissed me one last time and it was so luscious I could have left my lips pressed against hers for eternity. When she pulled away from me I sighed again. She rushed over to the secret entrance at the back of the cave, and I couldn't take my eyes off of her. I knew I should check if Liviana was okay, but the blonde Lycan had me entranced. She turned her head back and said,
"We will meet again my Alpha."

Her voice was so soft and velvety, the words flowed over her tongue like liquid gold. Being called an Alpha made my ego grow. Only Lycan leaders were called Alpha's, and the idea that she thought I was one, really made me feel important. I didn't want her to leave, I wanted her to stay so that we could get to know each other, but as the guards got closer, I knew that it might have been the last time I ever got to see that golden beauty.

"I am the Alpha of all Alpha's. But you can call me Marik."

Her face lit up with a beaming smile, and she bowed her head to me.

"Chryseis."

That was the last thing she said to me, before squeezing through the tiny crack in the wall and vanishing from my life. I didn't know if it would be forever, but I would savour every note of her voice, and every level of fragrance from her skin. Everything I had from her, was from that moment on, stored away in a box deep within my mind. I smiled to myself as the sound of her unique name played over and over in my mind. When the guards shouts got to their loudest, I hurried over to Liviana.

I picked her up into my arms and brushed the dirt-covered hair away from her face. I placed my ear to her mouth, checking if she was breathing, and thankfully she was. I ran my fingers down her face, hoping that the warmth from my touch would wake her, but she didn't stir. As the guards burst into the cave they gasped and froze on the spot. When Marcel stormed into the cave everyone fell silent. He glanced down at his daughter while I cradled her in my arms, and then shot me a glare.

"Did you do this?" He boomed, and the sound almost made the walls themselves vibrate.

I shook my head, but I could tell he didn't believe me. He glared at me and the only thing I could think of to convince him that I wasn't any threat, was to place Liviana onto the ground as gently as I could, and then back up gradually while holding my hands up in defence. I backed myself right up against the wall and completely out of reach. I sat down on the ground and pulled my legs up to my chest. I watched him rush over to his daughter and kneel down beside her. I placed my chin onto my knees and stayed silent.

"Livi? Liviana, please wake up my precious girl."

It was heartbreaking watching that huge man brought to tears while brushing his daughter locks out of her face. I could feel his pain, and I wanted nothing more than to take it away for him. I knew that telling him I could hear her heartbeat growing stronger, wouldn't have helped him in any way. The last thing he wanted was to talk to me. He ushered for the guards to take Liviana and they did as ordered. I would have preferred for her to wake up in front of me, so that I knew for sure that she was okay, but I understood his reasoning for removing her.

The guards took Livi out of the cave and I expected him to go with them, instead, he approached me. He stood over me, his chest heaving with each hefty breath. He was practically shaking with anger and adrenaline, and I'd never seen someone so furious before. I could understand completely. As far as he knew, I had hurt his daughter. He had every right to be mad. Whether I'd hurt her myself or not, I still let it happen. I still chose to side with the Lycan over Liviana, and although I didn't understand why, I knew I would do it again.

"Tell me exactly what happened. Where is the Lycan bitch?" He asked rough gritted teeth.

I went to stand, but was knocked back down when the back of his hand struck my face. It didn't particularly hurt, but it did shock me. I guessed that any respect or common decency, had been lost between us. He no longer trusted me in the slightest, and I couldn't blame him. I repositioned myself on the ground and began to explain.

"The Lycan bitch shifted. She grabbed Liviana just as she came through that entrance," I pointed to the crack in the wall. "She threatened to snap Liviana's neck unless I broke her chains."

I knew I was lying and throwing Chryseis in the firing line. But in my defence, I knew it was highly unlikely that she would ever come back, or that I'd ever see her again in fact. I didn't know how long I was going to be here, so I knew I needed to save my own ass. I think I would have done something different if she was still here. Marcel looked down at my chains, then furrowed his brow. He could see that my chains were broken, and he backed up a little.

"Does Iron not melt your skin?" I glanced up at him and shook my head. "Why did you not tell me this?"

"You didn't ask," I knew it sounded rude but it was true, he didn't ask.

He raised his hand into the air to strike me again, but when I cowered down, he stopped. His shoulders dropped and he sighed.

"Is Liviana going to be okay?" He asked me with concern.

"She will be fine. I can hear her heart, and it's strong."

He sat down on the floor in front of me and asked,
"So, l want you to start from the beginning. What are you? And why are you here?"

"I will tell you everything you need to know about me. I will answer every single one of your questions, with no hesitation. Starting with, what am I?" He looked at me with fascination in his eyes. "Marcel, I'm a Werewolf!"

As soon as I said that I began to shift. The sound of my bones breaking filled the air, and Marcel panicked. He scrambled backwards then staggered to his feet. Once he was balanced, he drew his sword. He held it out in front of himself, but with my newly formed shifter snout, I could smell his fear. When I'd fully shifted I shook out my fur, then sat down in front of him. When I sat down, he got a little closer to inspect me, and I shouldn't have done it, I know, but as he bent down to study me, I licked his cheek. That was the deal-breaker.

Marcel was completely overwhelmed and fainted, instantly collapsing to the ground. When I heard that the guards were coming back, I began to panic myself. They had run into the cave and found that Liviana was unconscious and laying in my arms. If they came in right now, they would believe that I'd hurt their chief too. I kicked Marcle's foot with my own, but he didn't wake. They were almost at the entrance and I couldn't see any way out of the situation. Not to forget the fact that I was now standing over their leader, as a gigantic wolf.

Please, Marcel. Wake up, I begged him.