The King's Prey (Unedited Edition)

Chapter 14 : Where the Beasts Prowl

Discombobulated • [dis-come-bob-u-late-ed]
Emotionally confused or uncertain.

🖤

~+~

Samuel and I don't speak much after our encounter—or at least we don't speak whenever he requests that I eat with him, which is every night. The days pass like a fever dream. Some go by faster than others while most of them feel like an eternal imprisonment with myself. Battling my own nightmares has begun to get harder.

Most days I'm left alone to the vastness of Samuel's house, spending my time reading through books he leaves out for me—ones that he allows me to read from his collection. It's a rare occasion for him to be home though, and when he is, normally Liam accompanies him and they lock themselves in his study for hours, talking about god knows what.

The murmurs that flow past the wooden doors are never clear enough to make out their conversation whenever I try to eavesdrop. Even if whatever they're discussing is none of my business, my curiosity for gossip—and potentially the hope that my parents sent out a search team for me—continues to run wild.

But that hope slowly shrivels away though with the passing of days--hope for a loophole of some sort in this fucked up mess of mine. I know better though; I know the fault is on my parents. I don't want to think about what Samuel's done to Mylithia since the Snow Ball. The threat he spoke that first night when I ate with him still rings clearly in my head.

Mylithia will crumble...

It's an inevitable fate for my kingdom, I now understand. But when? And will I ever know if they spared my friends?

I purge the evil thoughts from my mind, trying to allow the serenely hot bath I'm sitting in to relax my muscles. From beyond the large fogged window of the bathroom, the blackness of the night inks the other side of the glass pane. Even with curtains covering most of the glass, some of the nightfall still looks as though it's attempting to crawl its way into the pristine bathroom.

I nearly want to get out of the bath to seal the curtains shut as a chill runs down my spine. That's until a crash resonates through the once silent house and my muscles retract all over again.

I grip the edge of the tub, silencing my movements to listen for another sound. It could've just been Samuel's temper getting the better of him again, I tell myself. But I've never heard anything like that before.

The fear finally settles in as a loud thud shakes the house and I'm immediately jolting out of the hot water, stumbling over my feet to clothe my naked body. For whatever is going on downstairs, I'm sure as hell not going to be nude while it happens.

My busted hand, which has surprisingly been healing more quickly than I anticipated, barely throbs with the extra blood pumping through my veins.

Once I slide on some jeans and a tight long-sleeve, another heavy sound echoes from downstairs. It's nearly midnight, who the hell is making that much ruckus at this hour? It's been weeks since my first night here and this is the first time any kind of disturbance has had me worried since.

I crack my door open, careful to monitor the hallway of the upstairs as my eyes peer over the railing that displays the foyer. A growl sounds out through the open house and I nearly want to slam my door shut and pretend as though I heard nothing.

But instead, I watch the large chandelier overhead of the entrance shake with the sound. For some dumb reason, the noise urges me to get out—to run for my life.

I'm quiet as I sliver my body past the door frame and tiptoe down the curved stairs, holding my breath the entire time. A gut feeling tells me what I'm doing is a bad idea, but it's also as though I need to know what created the noise.

I finally reach the marble floors of the foyer as the sound of objects being broken and torn to shreds erupts from Samuel's office. My eyes follow the dirt and mud path of paw prints that lead down the hallway where the doors to his study reside.

I freeze despite my fear for whatever is down that hallway. Another growl vibrates from the room as it shakes me to my bones.

Naturally, Samuel is home around this hour. While I've noted his routine sometimes consists of him spending long nights in his study, he's normally asleep by now. Surely he should've heard these loud sounds; surely he would've done something about it. So if whatever creature in his office isn't him...then where the hell is he?

As if the realization hits both me and the beast down the hall at the same time, another louder growl emits from the room as I feel my legs lock up.

From the darkness of the corridor, I watch as a set of gleaming eyes come into view, staring at me voraciously. The large figure rumbles with another growl as it stalks its way towards me and a terror unlike any other rattles me to my core.

That's not Samuel.

I don't have enough time to make out the extra details of the creature with the rush of dread that makes its way up my body. Whatever instinct kicks its way into my mind isn't a natural one—it's an intuition that screams of death as though it already knows what my destiny is going to be.

Before I can blink, I'm sprinting past several thresholds, running into wall after wall as I try to maneuver my way through the maze of a house. The beast's claws click against the marble, scraping its surface to catch a grip on the floor just so it can catch up to me. I hear it throw furniture out of the way trying to get closer—to grab me before I can get away.

Think fast, think fast, think fast.

Everything slows though the more I stumble or nearly trip over my feet.

I somehow make it to the kitchen and don't hesitate to grab the largest blade from the knife block as I dodge the island in the process. From the other room, another growl sounds out, causing me to jolt for the sliding glass door.

I struggle at first to unlock the damn thing but manage with shaking hands as it smoothly slides to an open. Cold air whips my face and I take another glance back to see the vicious wolf climbing over the island. Not wasting another second, I enter the freezing conditions outside and yank the door shut just as the mutt hits the glass.

Stumbling back on my feet as I fall on my ass, I grip the knife in my good hand and frantically crawl away, wanting to build as much distance from the door—and that damn dog—as I possibly can.

The memories of the Snow Ball rush through my mind. Of those things clawing into the guests—my people. Of the bloodshed and horror that everyone went through. This is the mess I'm enduring, living in constant fear for my life since I now live among these beasts. I shudder, my eyes watering from the biting air.

I struggle to catch my breath as I finally bring myself to stand up. My brain swims with panic—with uncertainty. I'm outside. I'm not allowed to be outside.

But the rules instantly become the least of my problems when a howl cries out from somewhere off in the distance, somewhere I can't make out. More. There's fucking more of them. My head whirls around as my eyes strain to search the little visibility I have of the woods.

I curse under my breath, the icy air biting my lungs and throat. The wolf from inside the house begins to drive its body into the glass, attempting to shatter it. My eyes grow wide at the sight as I evaluate my choices.

It's an effort to come up with a composed decision, but determining what I'd rather let my outcome become isn't a hard choice. I know one thing for sure: I'm not going to let myself be mauled by this dog.

I turn and begin my blinded sprint into the timber, not looking back once to see if that wolf broke through the door or if I'm being followed by something else.

Just run.

Run until you're numb and exhausted and unable to find the will to continue anymore.

And so I do.

~+~