12 - A CRUEL FATE

RYAN'S POV

"Ryan!" Brenda called my name in relief. Atleast, that was what I thought it was. Little had I known it was far from relief. It was fear.

Charging towards the presently self aware bastard, I grabbed him by the collar and flung him across the room. With my vamp speed, I rushed to where he had landed, and grabbed him up on his feet again. I knew that my beast was beginning to take over, but I could care less. My beast existed for the sole purpose of dealing with treacherous people like him.

"Ryan!!" I heard Brenda whimper behind me, and it only fueled my rage. How dare he assault my mate??!!

I continuously hit the soldier until his body went limp, and I let him fall to the ground. Immediately, I rushed towards my mate to console her, but was met with her teary and shocked eyes.

"Oh, goddess!!" She screamed. "What have you done?!!!" She yelled in what seemed like agony. I guess I was too slow to understand the entire situation, because I proceed to hug her and tell her it was all going to be fine. But to my shock, she pushed me away with so much repugnance, before rushing off to the unmoving body of the soldier. "Adrain?!!" She called him, fear evident in her eyes as she lightly tapped his cheeks. "No no no!! Please answer me. Don't do this to me." She begged, and that was when it occurred to me that she was quick becoming a crying mess.

I watched in shock as she let out an ear piercing scream, before looking at me in pure hatred. I had never seen such a look in her eyes before.

"You killed him." She muttered, her lips quivering so badly as she cried. "You have killed him!!!"

I stood unmoving for a couple of seconds, letting the actual reality of things dawn on me. This man hadn't been forcing himself on Brenda. He was..... her lover?

"What?" The words fell off my mouth, as realization came upon me in full force. I suddenly felt so sick to my stomach, further provoking my already disturbed beast.

As if realizing herself, she looked up at me and slowly shook her head. But it was already too late to pretend that it wasn't what it was. She had cried so badly over the fact that I just killed a man who tried to assault her, tapping his cheeks so endearingly, and begging him not to die on her.

I found myself rushing out of my chambers, for the fear of doing something bad. I had never felt the kind of pain that I had felt that night. It was inexplicable. My heart was heavy, and my head was even heavier. I found myself in the east wing, where a couple of pack members were, and it seemed to be that something had happened with Ralia.

A lot was going through my head, and trying to know the reason why everyone was all smiles, was the last thing on my mind. The moment my sister turned to me and saw the grim look on my face, she knew something was off. The next second, she called my mate's name in confusion, and asked her what was happening. That was when I realized Brenda had followed me behind, all the way to the east wing.

I turned to look at her, and the scene I had just witnessed kept replaying in my mind. Without even thinking, I took a glass ware on the table in the middle of the hall, and smashed it to the floor in anger. Everyone gasped in shock, clearly at loss of what was really going on.

Ralia screamed in horror, asking me what I was doing, but I had gone wayyyy deep into my anger, to spare her an answer. Soon, Brenda reached out for me, saying she could explain, but I was too pissed to listen. She tried to grab my arm again and I shrugged her hand off of me, warning her not to touch me. At that moment, Ralia knew it was a serious issue, and signaled a few guards around to lead others out of the hall. While the people exited the hall, Ralia proceeded to ask Brenda what had happened. All the while, Brenda just kept stuttering, unable to make out any words. That was when I knew she had nothing to explain. She had really been cheating on me. She looked guilty, not angry that I had falsely accused her.

Hell! I had literally killed the man, thinking he had been trying to rape her. Of course, I became angrier and heartbroken when I figured that there was no explanation. She had really been unfaithful to me. What else did she want? I had tried to be, and do everything she ever wanted. I wondered where I went wrong!

'So, you insisted for new Kennedy soldiers to be recruited into the castle, just so you could have your lover closer to you?!!' My voice burst through our mindlink, and she visibly shuddered. That was actually the case! If it was possible to feel crazier than I felt, then I would have.

All these while, I had been a fool. Her fool! And to think that earlier today, I had gone ahead to approve the petition of having the Honourable families within the council. All I had ever cared about, was making her happy.

Suddenly, I thought about the reddened voika, and my next words filtered through our mindlink.

'And the pup in your belly...' I paused, scared that her response was going to completely break me. I watched as her eyes widened in shock, the moment I mentioned that. She had no idea I knew already. 'Is.... is it mine?'. I managed to complete my question, and my vamp hearing didn't miss the way her heart skipped a beat. I looked into her eyes, and the fresh tears in them, told me all I needed to know.

The pup wasn't mine, but that soldier's. I let out a painful growl, as tears spilled from my eyes. My heart was shattering into a thousand pieces, and I doubted anything could ever make me feel whole again. I could feel Brenda's hand on my arm.

"Ryan, please...." She sobbed.

All I could remember, was finally letting my enraged beast take over, and grabbing her by the neck. The next minute, I was opening my eyes to see her lying lifelessly on the floor, with Ralia screaming at the top of her voice.

"Ryan, what have you done?!!"

Seeing the disaster I had just caused, I fell to my knees in agony, looking at the lifeless body of my mate.

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Half a day had passed, and I couldn't bring myself to stand up from my kneeling position. I remained there, watching as the body of my mate got darker and darker. I couldn't really tell what I had done to her, but I knew it was a very unusual thing for her body to have gone so dark. I thought she was my anchor. Couldn't she have done something to resist my powers? Why did she let me do this to her?!! I was really a monster!!!

My chest vibrated as silent tears made their way down my cheeks for the thousandth time, since the previous night.

"Ryan please say something." I heard Ralia whisper behind me. She had been there the whole time, only excusing herself for brief moments, and then returning afterwards. Philip and Beta Allister had also remained here the entire time. "You can't remain in this position forever. We need to take Brenda's body too, but you have to say something." I could tell she had tears in her eyes, because her voice quivered badly.

"Ryan, please tell us what happened. I know you never could have consciously done this. Please say something." Philip begged, and his trust in me only made me feel like trash.

All so suddenly, thick smog filled the entire place, and I needed no one to tell me what was happening. The witch elders were here.

The entire place went silent, and I could hear a thousand whispers all at once.

"Hybrid Alpha, Ryan Baxter!" One of the three elders suddenly called on me. "You have misused your powers and abilities, just like we warned you not to. Not only did you drain your mate off her entire essence and energy that she had within, as a member of an honorable family..... You killed her and your unborn child in the process. What do you have to say in regards to these charges?"

Even though I would have loved to scream and cry about the fact that Brenda had cheated on me, and the unborn child wasn't even mine, I remained silent.

What could I say? Nothing. Nothing could excuse this monstrosity within me. I had killed an innocent child. I had killed a woman, just because she didn't love me. But even after everything, she was still my mate. She didn't deserve this. I was a monster and I deserved every terrible thing that could be done to me.

"What do you have to say?" The voice of the elder repeated, and I swallowed. Now, I had killed the only person who could ever manage and control my powers. I was really an imbalance of nature, and a threat to every other supernatural being.

"Nothing." I finally muttered, and the entire place fell silent. Even the thousand whispers had ceased.

"Ryan." That was Beta Allister's voice, and I looked up to see tears in his eyes. Gradually, one of the witch elders made her way to me, and placed her hands on both sides of my head.

"Your judgment is as follows!" She began. "When you close your eyes, you shall be tormented with the evidence of your evil. And when you open your eyes, your shall wish that they were closed." She took her hands off my face, and rejoined the other elders.

"As from today henceforth, we seal you within this east wing of your castle. You may never be able to step out, and none other would be able to step in. You shall suffer the reality of loneliness, and continue to suffer the pain of such harsh reality, until the day you die!" They all chorused at once, before turning to Ralia, Philip, and Beta Allister. "Now, leave!!!" They commanded. I watched in horror as my sister and Beta reluctantly walked away, until they were at the entrance of the east wing.

"Please, could you be a bit more merciful." Beta Allister tried to plead with them, but all they did, was repeat their words.

"Leave!!!"

As Beta Allister walked to the entrance of the east wing, a stray tear slid down my cheek. Once he was with Ralia and Philip, he turned to me and whispered my name again.

"Ryan."

Finally finding it possible to stand on my feet after half a day, I slowly walked towards the entrance of the east wing, but felt myself being flung back into the wing, with such great force.

"Ryan!!" Ralia called my name, tears falling from her eyes. My heart clenched painfully, and she tried to run back into the east wing, but found it impossible. They had sealed the wing with a baricade spell.

"Your sentence begins now!" The witch elders chorused, before vanishing instantly. I looked to the floor to see that Brenda's body had disappeared as well. Slowly, the new reality of things began to dawn on me. I don't know how long I stood, looking at Ralia, Philip, and Beta Allister's unmoving figures. I wondered how long they could manage standing there for, and feared when they'd eventually have to leave.

True to my words, they had grown rather weary towards evening, and had to leave. As I watched them walk away, I lowered myself onto the floor and closed my eyes in despair.

Just as I did, I was taken back to the previous night, when I had grabbed her by the neck. I watched in horror as I felt myself tapping into her energy and draining her, until she fell to the floor.

"Ahhh!!" I yelled in horror, opening my eyes immediately. Goddess, goddess, goddess. Help me. I pulled my hair roughly, as my body shook in terror. I had done that to Brenda! Tears fell from my eyes, and I froze when I felt a cold hand touching my cheek. Slowly, I raised my head to see that it was.... Brenda?

"Brenda." I muttered softly, almost not believing it was true. It actually wasn't. I watched in consternation, as her once sympathetic gaze, changed to that of anger.

"I thought you loved me? You killed me!!" She cried, her usual pale face gradually turning darker. My heartbeat skyrocketed, as her form vanished before my very eyes. I closed my eyes in fear, and I thought I had escaped the nightmare, until I saw myself killing her all over again in my head.

Immediately, I opened my eyes to rid myself off these brutal hallucinations and thoughts, trying to regulate my harsh breathing.

Just a few minutes after, I looked up to see her sitting on an empty setee at the far end of the east wing hall. She had her lifeless eyes fixed on me, and it send hot tremors all over my body. It was then, that it really dawned on me. The voices of the witch elders echoed in my head once more.

'When you close your eyes, you shall be tormented with the evidence of your evil. And when you open your eyes, your shall wish that they were closed'.