The Crown in the Forest

Chapter 4- Xena

I jolted up in shock and almost screamed seeing the complete darkness around me. Then came the rancid smell. The floor is cold. Where am I?From the smell, it feels like I am in an underground sewage line. I waited for a while for my eyes to get adjusted to the darkness in hopes of getting a better picture. After some time, some shapes started to form around me. Iron bars? Am I in a cell? How? Why?Wait!!The animal trap bells ringing. The scream. Murder. They killed my friends like it was nothing and burned their bodies right away. "Hey! Are you alright? Are you hurt? Why are you screaming?"I scooted back hearing the person's voice and closed my eyes to not look at him. He is going to kill me too."Are you hurt? I heard you scream."I was screaming?I looked up to find him looking at me with pity. He was twitching in his place like he wasn't supposed to be here."I am Duncan. The Beta... I mean the second in command here." He told me with a soft smile.Should I talk to him? Why is he being so nice? If he is second in command, he must be one of the murderers. I should keep my distance from him. But I want answers."Why did you kill my friends?" I asked but I immediately started coughing from how scratchy my throat felt.He threw a bottle of water from the bars. I had no other option but to drink it. I noticed that my hands were shaking as I held up the bottle. Wow! I didn't know I was shaking so much."Are you feeling all right?" He asked without making eye contact."Why?""I can't tell you that. It's against the rules here to tell things to the outsiders."I nodded. He seems to be telling the truth."Why not kill me as well? Why was I brought here?" I asked despite knowing he won't answer."I don't know that and now that you are awake, I will have to go tell the Alpha." He looked apologetic."Is it the guy that pulled me out of my tent?"I asked as my body stiffened in fear. Please don't be him. Please."Yeah, that's the one."I couldn't help the shiver that passed through my body. Even the mention of that man makes me feel like vomiting in fear and anxiety which was soon over powered by the sudden surge of anger. He ordered them to kill my friends. I will kill him."What does he want from me?" I asked with a blank face."I am not sure about it but I think I have an idea about what it is." "What?""I can't tell you that. The Alpha is on his way. Do whatever he says or he will hurt you. He might as well kill you if you won't listen to him. He has a very bad temper. Please don't be stubborn." He told me softly. "I don't care about his temper. I want to get out of here." I snarled at him.He opened his mouth to talk but shut up abruptly and stood away from the cell door with his hands behind his back. I was about to ask him what he was doing but I heard loud footsteps and I understood his sudden change in behaviour and stature. He is coming. I could feel my body freeze I don't know why or from fear or something else. The more the footsteps got closer, the more I felt myself want to scoot to the far corner of the cell and want to go to the bars to see him at the same time.I don't know what is happening to me. I am scared of him which is what I should be feeling considering this person killed my friends and kidnapped me but I was strangely gravitated towards him for some odd reason which is disgusting me to the core. His cold face and massive figure slowly came into view and he stared me down with his cold black eyes. The fear suddenly won over my other emotions. This man is not to be taken lightly.He looked me in the eye with piercing stare making me even more uncomfortable but I didn't back down and as much as I wanted the wall behind me to swallow me, started right back at him. Slowly, his lips curved into a malicious smirk."Aren't you a brave little thing?" He said with an amused tone. I glared at him with all my might. This guy murdered my friends.He walked to the entrance of the cell and opened the lock. I froze but did my best to not let him see that I am scared of him. I got to my feet before he could get inside the cell. He looked at me with a little surprise but quickly recovered and his face went back to its cold self. He walked closer to me with a nerve wrenchingly slow pace. It felt like he was trying to intimidate me. Trust me I am ready to shit my pants but I have to get out of this place so I can call for help and throw these people behind bars. Soon, he was standing right in front of me, only a few inches away. I kept looking straight in his eyes even if was making me bend my head backwards to an uncomfortable degree.It happened in a flash. One moment, I was glaring at him and the other I was pressed against the wall with him holding my hands above my head in a tight grip. I could feel my back burning in pain from the impact. His body was pressed against me making me even more uncomfortable. I stiffened when I felt him bend his head down to my level and skim it on my face and down to my throat.Is he sniffing me? I felt his teeth graze at the crook of my neck making me shiver in panic. No. This is not happening. I am not letting this happen to me. I struggled even more but his hold on my wrists tightened and he titled my head to side with a brute force with his other hand."You do smell nice. I think I am going to keep you." He murmured against the skin of my neck.I opened my mouth to scream but before I could even so much as breath a sigh, his mouth was on mine. I froze from the sudden movement but as soon as I realized what was happening, I tried to push him away from me but he was having none of it. He kept kissing me hungrily like my struggles meant nothing to him and had no effect on him. He let go of my arms and pushed it inside my top.I could feel my breath shortening from the way panic made it to my throat. My throat felt like it was closing in as I felt his hand near the underside of my bra. I bit on his lip hard to get him to get away from me.That did the trick but I felt his body start to vibrate as he looked at me in pure rage. His lip was bleeding. I felt proud of myself but my eyes widened in shock as I saw the bite seal right in front of my eyes and I was on the ground.I felt a stinging pain in my right cheek and knew for sure that he had back handed me. I could hear his breathing go heavy. He held me my throat and slammed me against the concrete wall with such force that I felt my breath knock out of me and I started to cuff uncontrollably and the choke hold wasn't helping much but his eyes made me fear even more.They were glowing. "You are going to pay for this." He snarled in my face and increased the pressure on my neck.But before he could do anything, I felt the corners of my sight close in and soon the darkness took over me.