Forbidden Mate: Awakening

~LILY’S POV~

Adrian and I had a big task ahead of us. Our father wanted to send him to singlehandedly get help from Tyler’s army (yes, he was now the general of the army) but I intervened and stated why Adrian would be unsuccessful if he went alone.

“You know how Tyler hates Adrian, father. He won’t want to give his fleets if it’s Adrian who requests from him.” I protested.

“Tyler won’t be incompetent to do that in these dire times. He knows better.”

“And I know him father. His father has gone to gather more allies so the feeling of authority that has settled on his head will only add to his disdain and rudeness. If you send Adrian alone, he would come back alone.”

“If Jaxon was here I would send him, but God knows where he has run off too!” My father turned and banged the table. Jaxon had disappeared after the recent battle. People who fought with him said he was injured but if he was, why wasn’t he brought back? I did worry about him. “Fine! What should be done now?”

“I will go with him.”

“No, I can’t allow it. It’s too dangerous.”

“Adrian would protect me father and Tyler will listen to me.”

“The roads are dangerous, Lily.” My mom intervened, “It’s too risky.”

“But mom, we don’t have much time. As the day passes, the vampires go stronger. Their allies multiply by the second. We need as many men as we can get.” I said firmly. “I’ll be fine.”

My father didn’t look at me but stared at my mother. I knew I had gotten to him.

The next day, Adrian and I were on the road. We were on this dangerous journey to gather more men from Tyler’s army. We believed that if we joined forces, we could fight against the approaching vampire resilient on destroying our grove.

The forest felt eerie as we drove through it. We were on high alert, knowing that danger could be hiding in the shadows. Every little sound made us nervous, as we knew our enemies could be waiting to attack. It was only Adrian, I and 3 other men who escorted us with rations.

Adrian and I felt safe in each others presence but we had to be very vigilant. The moon gave us some light as we got closer to the main pack territory. It was only a few miles away so Adrian said I should get some rest. We stopped by the roadside, still close to the overgrown bushes.

“No…we have to get there as soon as possible.” I said entering back into the car.

“We’ve been driving for 3 days straight.. you need some rest.” He said touching my arm gently.

“I know, Adrian, but I’m fine, I promise. Let’s just get there first and we’ll be able to rest.” I smiled at him and he nodded back.

As he was about to enter, one of the men that was an escort got hit. His bloody chest fell on the windshield in front of me and I screamed.

We were under attack. Shots were fired from different directions and Adrian told me to bend my head under the seat and keep still. The other two escorts quickly hopped into the back seat but the one on the right got hit in the hand.

“Fuck! They’re shooting from the trees!” He shouted.

Adrian pumped on the pedal and geared down the road. More shots were fired and then they started coming out of their hiding, in large numbers.

“They’re everywhere!” The other guy said.

Adrian hit the break all of a sudden and I yanked my head up in the momentum. My eyes widened in shock.

Cars, vans and motorcycles were in front of us and the vampires came out with their snarky looks. More came out behind us. I held Adrian’s hand and he held me back, “Adrian…a…” one vampire who looked like Ethan came to my side and yanked the door open, then grabbed my hand.

“No! No! Let me go! Adrian!” I fought against him but he dragged me out. Adrian was tased by 3 other vampires and binded. “Adrian!!”

“Nice to meet you again, brunette.” I saw the vampire’s face again, and it was Ethan. He dragged me on the floor to the front of their road blockade.

The two other escorts were also dragged and the one who got shot in the arm was immediately sucked dry by 3 female vampires and his lifeless corpse, thrown down a cliff. The other was bitten in the arm by Ethan and beaten to stupor beside me.

“That’s enough.” A dark voice said behind them all and I could see a tall frame walk out as they made way for him. He was tall, thin but muscular, had raven-white hair and piercing red eyes but the palest skin I’d ever seen before. “Leave that one. He’ll be our messenger.”

He turned to look at me and flashed his fangs at me in a very cunning smile, “Hello, little wolf. It’s quite a pleasure to meet you.”

He looked at Adrian who was already bleeding from his head and mouth and laughed. “And look at the little mouse coming back to eat his cheese.” The rest of them laughed.

“Tie them up and put them in the boots!” He commended and we were binded and shoved into 3 individual boots of the vans.

I cried into my laps, “Adrian…” I hoped he was okay.

The last thing we feared to happen was what just happened.

••••••••••

I woke up in the dark, feeling sick and in pain. My head hurt, and I couldn’t move. I was trapped in some sort of cold, lonely basement . The air smelled awful, like something rotten, and the silence scared me even more.

When my eyes adjusted to the dim light, I saw Adrian next to me, also tied up and unable to do anything. I felt relieved that he was there, but then I saw the scary figures around us. They were vampires, and their eyes looked mean and cruel. They watched us with an evil kind of pleasure.

“Adrian… Adrian can you hear me?” I said in a muffled voice.

“Lily..” He was tied up in a kneeling position with chains around every joint in his body.

I tried to talk, to ask them why we were there, but they put something in my mouth to keep me quiet. I felt scared and frustrated, knowing that we were completely at their mercy. We didn’t know what they wanted or what terrible things they planned to do to us.

Days passed, but everything seemed blurry and uncertain. We were hurt over and over again, physically and mentally. The vampires seemed to enjoy making us suffer, as if it gave them power. They would beat Adrian even worse with every torture tool they could lay their hands on. The male vampires would physically harass me in front of Adrian and the rage and pain he held in his eyes pained me more than what those monsters did to me. They would keep both of us farther from each other and watch as we both saw each other being battered.

Then one day, their leader, the same man I recognised from the day we were ambushed, came. I came to know his name was Leo. He was the leader of the entire coven. He sat on a seat in between the both of us as the others stood at the back, waiting for his command.

He turned to face Adrian. I couldn’t even recognize him again. He had been beaten so badly and starved that he looked like a shadow of his former self, “The runaway mouse has come back to eat his cheese!” He said with gestures which made his people laugh.

“Mmmmmmmm…” I tried to speak to get his attention and I did. He ordered someone to get the gag out of my mouth and then they did.

“Why…why are you doing this? What do you want from us?” I said, with exhaustion and pain in my voice.

He turned to me and approached me. He bent to my level and held my bloody face in his hand, “I want everything from you, little wolf, and also from your lover over there. A lover and a betrayer..”

“Adrian isn’t a betrayer…” I spat back, making them all laugh.

“You have no idea what he did, do you? He just tells you lies with his charming voice and pretty face and you fall for it?” He stood up and started gesturing as he spoke, “Let me guess; he told you he was raised by a secret group and they wanted all the power in the world and then a woman took him but he was still part of the group and then we, his authorities, found out about his involvement with the group and we labelled him a traitor and conspirator and just started looking for him like as if he was a criminal? Is that what he told you?”

My mouth remained open. I looked at Adrian but he was barely conscious.

“She’s been lied to, general.” Ethan came out from the crowd. “He said the same things like he did to the other girls he took their life forms from.” He reported, his voice almost sounding robotic.

I couldn’t understand what these people were saying…no, everything Adrain told me was the truth. They were vampires, they only knew how to deceive and destroy. I shouldn’t believe a word that comes out of their mouth.

“Adrian is not a liar! You people are all monsters! You want to turn him into the monster? No, I wouldn’t believe a word you say!” I shook my head vehemently as I yelled at them.

Leo clapped his hand dramatically, then looked at me, “He’s really gotten you good, hunh? Have you ever asked him to show you the tattoo he has as a member of the Shadows? All their members have it

.. I guess no, he hasn’t because he was never part of them. WE ARE THE SHADOWS.” He yanked his shirt up and a huge black skull tattoo on the side of his ribcage was revealed. The others showed theirs too.

I had never seen that on Adrian’s body.

He put his shirt back down, “You see that man over there?!” He pointed at Adrian, “He is the common enemy. He is what will bring the end not us, little wolf. He told you he was a hybrid, didn’t he? That was another lie. He is not a hybrid. He is…” as he spoke, he walked back to Adrian’s side and Ethan extended a long metal gadget with spikes and an orb on its tip to him. Leo took it and drove it into Adrian’s spine,”… a demon.”

Suddenly, the most terrifying figure I had ever seen came out of Adrian’s body. As Adrian let out a deafening scream, so did the figure hovering over him.

I literally froze.