Chapter Five

Diana tried to break through her defense with her horns. It placed a strain on Angelique, who was struggling with the technique.

Using every ounce of energy to bring the message towards Diana, Angelique screamed.

STOP FIGHTING ME!

WHAT ABOUT YOU?!

I WILL BE FINE! GO!

With a loud whimper, Diana crossed the Fae Kingdom. Breathing heavily, Angelique dissolved the shield. Although her body was still undergoing the whiplash of leaving the Fae Land, she prepared herself to fight the crazily growling Lycan.

Quickly moving out its way, when the beast lunged at her, she formed a small shield in front of her to evade his advances.

Crying, when his claw had managed to escape her shield and puncture a small wound on her cheek, Angelique formed a long and pointed tree root into a properly estranged whip.

Fighting as if she was dancing together with a beautiful orchestra, the appropriate Fae custom, Angelique slapped the beast wherever she could with the whip, but every attempt was meaningless.

It was as if the beast could distinguish her every movement as it dodged every swing.

Managing to slice its face, she felt victorious, for it made a long and deep scratch on its ugly head. Angelique kicked him extremely hard in the head. Wrapping the root around its neck, she used her vine to pivot herself above it and sent it flying a few miles away from her.

Her heart spiked in her chest as she watched it flying through numerous trees.

She faltered.

Her energy and power were depleting. But the beast was desperate. As soon as it landed and collected its balance, it rushed back towards her.

Forming a barrier around herself, she counted her breath, her heart racing a mile a minute.

It banged its body incredibly hard against her barrier. She hissed in pain, but she was not giving him the pleasure of retaliating. He was not a normal Lycan. He was too strong for her to defeat alone.

She formed a small opening in her barrier. Rushing in the direction Diana did, she created another barrier, for the smart beast had caught onto her ploy.

Trapped between the last remaining steps towards the Fae Land border and the furious beast, Angelique cried.

Sliding to the ground, she buried her head in her arms. Her sobbing went on for hours, but the creature continued to bang on the barrier.

Then a sudden quiet erupted.

A wave of relief, but warry; Angelique slowly stood.

Attempting to dispel her barrier with the little manna she had left, she screamed when she heard loud breaking and breaking of bones. Shocked, when she felt a man's large hand shot out to grasp onto her arm, her eyes widened. She had never seen such a scary specimen.

Screaming, yet again, when he roughly pulled her towards his naked chest, she struggled. Hearing his growling, she realized the beast had transformed into its human skin.

Grabbing his hair to prevent herself from falling prey to his sudden insult, she twisted the strands and pulled, but he was reluctant to release her arm. Knocking her head against his chin, she abruptly turned around as soon as his grip loosened. Kicking him in the face by cartwheeling from his person, she grabbed onto a sharp piece of her broken root on the ground.

Without hesitating, she flew it into his thigh. He bellowed.

Grabbing two other broken roots from the ground, she formed a well-proportioned battle stance. Combat skills taught by her mother to defend herself when her manna was depleted like right now, Angelique represented a warrior Princess.

When the man pulled out the root from his thigh with a loud hiss; and threw it to the ground, Angelique realized her chance at escaping were slim. Staring at her with black and dangerous eyes, he squared his shoulders as if something was bothering him. A shudder of fear cascaded down her back, for the Lycan appeared more beast than man, but she refused to succumb to the gnawing emotion.

Gripping the pieces of woods tighter in her hands, she controlled her breathing and nerves.

Growling, he rushed towards her. Flexible bending, she slid between his legs. Puncturing one piece of root in his other thigh, she quickly evaded his sudden clawed grab.

Jumping to her feet, she pierced the other one in his back. Kicking him in the head, she watched in triumph his body crashing into a tree. His head smacked loudly with the bark, but it did not faze him. Shaking his head to clear his mind, the man removed the pieces of wood from his body. Like an animal, he turned his head and snarled at her.

Gasping, when she realized the Lycan was far from becoming unconscious, Angelique fearfully began to take numerous steps back. Hearing a loud crunch underneath her, she hurriedly grabbed a heap of soft dirt in her hands.

Growling, as he rushed with inhuman speed towards her, she sent the dirt flying into his eyes. Tripping and falling headfirst on the ground, for the assault was sudden; the man gnarled.

Using this diversion, Angelique turned to run away, but the air left her lungs. That was because the man had managed to jump, and closed eyes interject her movements. He tightly held her around her waist and pulled her to his chest.

Punching, biting, slapping, and kicking, she fought to be out of his arms.

Burying his nose in her hair, he suddenly pushed her roughly onto the ground that she felt dirt enter her mouth. That was until he shifted her position. Gazing down at her with a sinister scowl and burning eyes of emptiness, she wished she had swallowed and suffocated on the dirt that she quickly spit into his face.

Crying when he lifted her by the hair, she kicked him in his midsection, but he did release his hold. Throwing her back onto the ground, where her head made contact with the ground, Angelique's vision turned blurry. Feeling his hands touching the soft full curve of her body, she hissed as shivers of fear cascaded down her bones like snakes.

"Do not touch me!"

A dark chuckle, the man's voice was hoarse and deep.

"There is nowhere to run now."

"Let me go!"

Crying out, Angelique tried to fight the sudden man, but he held her throat in a loose but firm hold. Smelling her delicious aroma of strawberry and roses, he growled an almost grotesque sound.

“Are you prepared to die?”

Biting down on her lip until she tasted blood, she spat it in the man's face.

“Not if you do.”

Hearing the inhuman and dark chuckle as he wiped her spittle from his face, he growled.

“I will take that as a no. However, you do not have a choice.”

Shaking his head and creasing his forehead as if something was bothering him, the man grip around her throat loosened.

Using this as an opportunity, Angelique kicked him directly in his groin.

Pushing him off her, for her kick had knocked the living daylights out of him, Angelique crawled to grasp onto another piece of wood.

Jumping to her feet, she growled.

“Who are you?!”

Grasping onto his pounding and sensitive area, the man wheezed. His ability to move had become challenging. His eyes turned a beautiful golden color, while his voice, a very pleasing sound.

“I do not want to kill you, my Queen.”

Taken aback, Angelique froze, for as soon as the man muttered such words, his golden eyes changed back to black. His voice had also returned to the harsh and disturbing tone.

“Come here!”

In the blink of an eye, he forced the piece of root out of her hand. He sent her back onto the ground with a loud smack.

Groaning, for her vision, had gotten even more blurred; she panicked, for the sinister grin on the man's face was daunting. Angelique bit onto his shoulders when he placed his large and warm hand on her bare thigh that she found both pleasing and disgusting. Different emotions began to swirl inside her mind, ever since she had witnessed the mysterious man's golden eyes.

“You look reluctant. Maybe not...I...”

Shaking his head again, as the full moon shone like an eyesore behind him, the man's voice broke. His eyes continued to change from golden to charcoal black—orange to yellow—charcoal black to golden.

Angelique’s heart raced in her chest for she was slowly losing consciousness.

Breathing heavily, he ravished her neck with bruising kisses that caused tears to erupt in her eyes.

Raising her hands to push against him, she bit his shoulders once more until she tasted blood, but he was reluctant.

Desperately fighting against the darkness creeping in her mind and the man above her, she suddenly gasped when his hands grasped onto her neck. All her biting attempts seized to exist. Digging her nails in his hand, she choked back a cry, for the man’s charcoal then golden eyes were making her incredibly confused.

‘What is going on? Who is this man? Why is he doing this to me?’

Unanswered questions overpowered her mind. A dangerous smile erupted on the man's face.

She let out a blood-curdling scream, for he had allowed his canine to elongate and pierce onto the softness of her neck.

“I cannot stop it...why?”

Whimpering, as he continued to violate her neck, the man's eyes turned a darker color. A loud ripping sound echoed between them. That prompted Angelique's fighting to become far more intense.

But she was useless and vulnerable.

“Please do not do this to me."

Weakly, Angelique murmured as the blood loss from the wound around her neck made her even more delirious. Before her eyes closed, she saw tears rolling down the man's eyes.