MARIAN.
I didn't know how much fear had completely taken over me until I looked down at my hands to see them shaking violently, my fingers trembled, and my lower lips quivered as I lifted my gaze back up.
"Looks like you've finally registered that no matter what, you're doomed either way." Malcolm's voice was cold as ice, and if things hadn't changed this last hour, I would have no idea that he was capable of talking to me like that.
My lips parted, the pungent smell of the dungeon made my stomach rumble, and the stuffy air made my lungs burn as I heard the scuffle of footsteps.
Before I could blink, Malcolm was crouching in front of me, his eyes completely void of anything I thought he once had for me, a small smirk playing out on his lips.
"You won't ruin this deal for us like I said." He repeated. "The Alphas have asked to meet you, and if they order you to plunge to your death, that is exactly what you're going to do."
A bile immediately lodged at the back of my throat, and it was a torture to swallow it. Despite being aware of the fact that I was on hard ground, the ground seemed to vanish beneath me.
My mother laughed, the sound loud and punishing as she finally sighed, her eyes looking down at me as if I was worth less than an insect.
"Does she have a choice?" My mother snide, "if their punishment for her is for her to swallow hundred shards of broken glass, she will do it because she has to atone for her sins."
Both Malcolm and my mother were intimidating, their presence alone made it hard for me to breathe, and I quietly prayed for the moon goddess to please take them away.
I needed time. I needed as much time as I could have to process all of this information. I needed to think about what the most brutal alphas wanted with me for them to have requested my presence.
Was bumping into them really that much of a sin? I didn't see them, I had no idea that they were—
I gagged, suppressing my urge to vomit because I knew that if I should barf now, my mother and Malcolm will probably kill me before I got to meet the alphas.
Wait, that wouldn't be so bad. If I died now, I would be able to escape the punishment of—
"Alpha Malcolm." A masculine voice jolted me right out of my thoughts, and I looked to see a man dressed as one of the guards, he was standing outside the dungeon gate.
"What is it?" Malcolm snapped, annoyance sharpening his voice.
"It's the Apex Three." The guard responded, and the entire dungeon filled with the oppressing and intimidating presence of the alphas even though they were nowhere in sight.
Even the mention of their names would make the ground shake and the air cease, it wasn't just a lore, it was real and I'd just experienced it.
Malcolm's back straightened instinctively, but his brows drew together in a frown, his face settling in a scowl as he looked at the guard. "What about them?" He asked.
"They said it's time, and they do not have any to waste." The guard responded, and Malcolm's teeth gritted. His face changed at once, and knowing him all my life, I knew exactly what that look meant.
He hated the Apex Three, and he was only sucking up to them because of this deal that I knew nothing about.
"Those arrogant bunch." He sneered as his face snapped in my direction, his jaw set. "You better don't screw this up." His voice was low and cold, the words grinding between his teeth as they came out.
No. I wasn't ready at all. I couldn't possibly meet them like this.
"Ma—Malcolm…. Wait, I—I'm—"
"Take her." He ordered, and in an instant, another guard showed up, the two guards yanking me to my feet and dragging me out of the dungeon.
As they dragged me away, I couldn't fight them to please just give me a little time. Hell, I couldn't even stand on my own. I looked back at Malcolm who only shook his head before walking right past us.
My eyes landed on my mother, but she only gave me the look that reminded me of how much I disgusted her, how much she hated me, and my stomach dropped.
Submitting to my rotten fate, I stopped hoping for anything and I shut every tiny voice in my head out as I was dragged to the council room. Despite being dragged, I still felt like I was dragging a really large brick behind me.
The guards stood in front of the large door of the council room, and even with the door closed, even though they were on the other side of the door, I could feel their aura.
It was so strong that my legs wobbled, I couldn't possibly stand in front of them. Does this mean that when I bumped into them, they'd restricted every ounce of energy they emitted.
The guards gritted their teeth, evidently struggling against the intense energy that crushed them, but they still managed to keep me up.
"Bring her in." A familiar voice called from the other side of the door, and the door opened. The guards didn't enter with me, they only flung me so hard into the room that I fell face first to the ground, my head hitting the floor.
My head throbbed, the little blood I had left running through my veins rushed, and for the first few seconds, I couldn't see anything, but I could feel.
Cold air, and then hot, and then one that felt warm but violent. The air wrapped around me, crushing not just my body, but my organs too. My lungs screamed for help, but there was only little I could do.
Coughing, I forced my head up, and even Malcolm couldn't lift his head. My mother wasn't with him, and I didn't need to look to know that behind me were the Apex Three.
Chills snaked down my spine, my legs bailed out on me so I couldn't stand up, and even my arms were starting to shake as I crawled forward and turned around.
"You two are going to kill her before you have a chance to punish her if you keep glaring at her like that, especially you, Zayden." I knew for sure that it was one of them that spoke, his voice was soft and warm, welcoming even.
Suddenly, I felt the weight lifted, and my body felt light. "Lift your head." It was still the same voice, but it was no longer warm, it was cold, colder than Malcolm's ever was.
My head lifted slowly, and I could finally look at them, my eyes burned as it registered all of their features. There was one with rich jet-black hair, his eyes were enough to make my blood freeze over.
His shoulders strained against his shirt, the fabric doing nothing to hide the sculpted muscle beneath.
He sat back with a relaxed, but a chilling dominant posture. His legs were spread slightly apart, one arm resting heavily on the armrest. He was the man I bumped into.
"You're one to talk!" Another of them spoke, his voice loud as he scowled. He was sitting to the right of the alpha I'd bumped into, his hair was a dark brown, messy, but also appealing. His deep crimson eyes made me feel as though I'd been set on fire.
He lounged deeper into the chair as if he couldn't care that this was a formal setting, legs spread wide, one elbow propped on the armrest, and his head rested against his hand as he kept his eyes on me, a scowl that made me shrink.
And then the one sitting to the left of that icy alpha, was a white haired man with a small smile on his face. He's sitting more upright but still relaxed, one elbow resting on the chair's armrest, with his hand supporting the side of his face.
His legs are crossed, and he feels like the more approachable one of the three. His amber eyes feel warm, and I knew immediately that he was the warmth I felt when I first came in.
So…. All these men are the Apex Three.
"Let's kill her immediately. People like her are better off dead, and you two don't have to do anything, I'll handle the killing myself." My muscles pulled taut as the crimson eyed man spoke.
I could feel every hatred and anger directed at me as my eyes lifted slightly to meet his gaze. I wanted to look away, but it was like there was a force that kept me still and my eyes on not just him, but the other two too.
"Hmm…." The amber eyed one breathed. "A quick death is far more than she deserves," he smiled as he leaned forward in a way that made him terrifying. "She needs to think deeply about what she's done." He finished, the smile not leaving.
How can a smile so warm feel so wrong and terrifying?
I watched as the two alphas argued my fate, one of them loud, the other more level headed. And from the way the face of the alpha sitting in the middle changed, I knew he was annoyed.
He hadn't said a word since I came in, but his presence clashed with the other two. He wasn't the kind of man you could simply say you didn't know he was around. His presence would be felt before he was even seen.
How did I make the mistake of bumping into him?
He cleared his throat, and the council room fell silent at once. My skin burned with a cold that threatened to kill me, this alpha was undoubtedly the deadliest of all three.
The Alpha stared at me for a second before moving his gaze to Malcolm. "We will be taking her away, insects like her need to be allowed the luxury of making up for their lack of attention." His voice made my eyes widen.
The council room froze over at the sound of his voice. My stomach shut tight, and my heart thumped so loudly that it felt like it was about to rip through my chest.
Finally, I was able to look away from them. I lowered my gaze, and I saw Malcolm from my peripheral vision as he dropped to one knee, his head bowed.
"As you wish, Alphas." He responded. "You can do whatever you want with her, but I should warn you, she's more useless than the most useless creature you can ever think of, and she exudes rotten luck." It hurts hearing the man I loved say things like that.
I could hear my heart splitting, breaking apart, and my eyes burned with unshed tears as I tried to keep telling myself that Malcolm was right, and I shouldn't let it get to me.
"In fact, having her far away from the Ravenspire pack would be a blessing to us."