The slave collar was more than just a claim, it was humiliation, and Della was to carry it all.
"A person that wants to kill their own family, and Alphas, under the command of an enemy Pack... would know no mercy from me," Malachi said, his eyes cold.
Behind them, Della could hear Beatrice whispering something to Leopold, but she couldn’t make out the words. She was in too much shock.
In the Eclipse Crown Pack, Malachi has never collared anyone personally before, and Della could see the guards and passing servants now glancing at her with terror in their eyes.
They weren’t afraid of her. They were afraid of him.
"This is...," Della looked up at him, "You can’t...I’m not...,"
"You said I could collar you, yourself. That I could make you my slave," He said.
"I didn’t mean...," She swallowed tightly, "I said you could do those things only if you let Lian come with us, and you didn’t!"
"That’s your Bad luck, Moonfire, not mine," He growled softly and turned around.
Her breathing hitched, and she gripped the collar a little tighter and tried to pull, but it was very secure around her neck.
This wasn’t fair. None of this was fair!
An insult made it up her throat, and she opened her mouth without thinking, "Malachi, you’re a...,"
She quickly swallowed it back down, well aware that the consequences would be severe. Almost immediately, Malachi also paused and glanced back at her. She could feel his glare, his rage, and his weariness of her presence through the stupid, annoying bond that wouldn’t stop pulsing every two seconds.
He kept looking at her, daring her with his eyes to say something out of line. She was even lucky that he was letting her speak in the first place.
"Move!" He snapped and began walking forward. The first thing she noticed before she followed, was how the air seemed to obey him.
Alphas always carry a powerful presence, and that presence alone is enough to make another wolf succumb. But in Malachi’s case, even the natural energy in the air moved along with him.
His aura was almost beastly. Was he really just an Alpha?!
Feeling the bond tingling again in warning, she quickly moved forward to walk along with him. But she didn’t even take a step when the pain from her leg hit hard, and she cried out in pain and crumbled to the floor.
Her eyes fell on the leg, and it looked terrible!
The bleeding had stopped, but it was so swollen and the area was turning black.
She reached out to feel the skin around it, but the pain kept her fingers away, just close enough to brush it. How the hell was she supposed to move, or even survive with this...?!
Malachi stopped, irritation flashing in his eyes. She heard him sigh, his eyes darkening as he turned around and looked at her like her collapsing had become a personal offence against him.
Della could feel it clearly through the bond. Annoyance. Disgust.
"You’re becoming troublesome," He muttered coldly.
Della let out a weak laugh despite the pain ripping through her ankle, "Then kill me already."
The words came out sharper than she intended, and Malachi’s eyes slowly lifted to hers.
Della’s stomach tightened. She could literally feel the danger rising off him now, thick and suffocating.
"You speak far too freely for someone wearing my collar," He said quietly.
That shut her up immediately.
Good. Because she herself had no idea where that mouth came from sometimes. Maybe suffering her entire life had finally broken whatever survival instinct she used to possess.
Della quickly looked away first, gripping the edge of her torn dress tighter while her ankle throbbed violently beneath her, "I can walk," She muttered stubbornly.
"Then walk," He said.
Della bit hard against the inside of her cheek and pushed against the ground anyway, trying to stand despite the pain. The moment pressure touched her ankle, agony shot through her so violently her vision blurred.
A cry escaped her before she could stop it, and she should have sworn for a split second she felt a bit of amusement pass through the bond. But when she looked at his face, it was still as cold as ice.
"Well?" He arched a brow, "Walk!"
She bit her lips to keep from screaming, "You can just leave me here,"
"No, I cannot," He replied.
She looked up at him, almost expectantly.
"Or I will come over there and rip out that ankle entirely, then maybe you’ll be able to walk,"
She swallowed tightly and tried to walk again but it was useless. He might as well come and do as he said.
"Pathetic," She heard him mutter, his eyes getting colder and darker by the minute.
"Lian," She almost muttered under her breath, along with a sigh. Trembling, scared, and anxious about what awaited her in this new kingdom, it still didn’t amount to how much she cared for the boy.
And the thought of him being back there...the thought and awareness that she had left him alone already for two days...!
What would Jaime have done to him by now? Or Evangeline?! Has he eaten? Did they lock him up?
As the thoughts went through her, tears pooled in her eyes and rolled helplessly down her face.
No! Della clenched her fists tightly.
Crying had never saved her before. Not when children threw stones at her, not when Jaime hit her, not when Evangeline looked through her like she was dirt beneath her shoes, and it certainly wasn’t going to save Lian now.
If she collapsed here, then that was it. Lian would truly be alone.
The thought hit her harder than the pain in her ankle ever could, and a shaky breath left her lips as she pressed her palm harder against the ground and forced herself upward again.
Her body trembled violently and the pain that bombarded all over her ankle felt surreal, making her almost tip sideways.
Malachi’s hand moved instinctively toward her waist to catch her, and Della’s eyes flickered briefly to his outstretched hands, and this time, her eyes flashed with disgust right before she caught herself at the last second and straightened on her own.
Absolutely no way was she letting him touch her.
Malachi’s hand remained suspended in the air for one brief moment, the air between them turning strange. He looked almost surprised, and his fingers twitched a bit.
The hell?
Did she just...
Then his expression darkened and he pulled back his hand like touching her had been a mistake he deeply regretted.
"Congratulations," He said flatly. "You’ve accomplished standing."
Della ignored him completely, though her breathing had become uneven from the effort. Her injured leg shook beneath her weight so badly she almost collapsed again, but she forced herself to remain upright.
For Lian.
Only for Lian.
Then, Malachi turned around and began walking toward the castle again without waiting for her this time. Della swallowed painfully and limped after him.
They got into the castle, and the sight of it was even better than the outside. Della thought the castle at IronRidge Pack had been grand, but the sight of this crushed all that immediately.
The entrance hall alone looked massive enough to swallow IronRidge whole. Towering black stone pillars stretched high above her while silver fire burned inside iron wall torches, casting flickering light across polished dark floors. Everything looked ancient, powerful and painfully expensive.
She felt so small standing in the midst of it all.
The sound of leather boots striking against stone echoed through the wall, and Della instantly knew someone important was approaching. Her brain racked who it could be before they arrived.
Parents? No, Leopold and Malachi’s parents were dead.
Relatives? Maybe.
The sound of the boots sounded confident and elegant, and the servants stepped aside as the person approached, lowering their heads. Della looked up to see a woman come into view, and she almost gasped.
The woman was... gorgeous!
Probably the most beautiful woman Della has ever seen.
Tall, graceful, and dressed in deep silver fabrics lined with fur around the shoulders, with dark hair flowing down her back and sharp eyes that instantly locked onto Malachi. Relief flashed across her face so quickly that Della almost missed it.
"Alpha," She breathed, as she stepped closer, "Welcome back. I hope the Journey wasn’t too..."
Her voice faded as her eyes moved to the woman behind him, and her eyes locked into Della curiously, then suspiciously. And the suspicion only grew worse as her eyes moved over every inch of Della’s appearance.
No aura of a wolf.
Stained blood.
Collared.
Then lower, to the mating thread still faintly glowing around Malachi and Della’s wrists.
The woman’s face instantly turned pale, and the smile vanished.
"Alpha," She tried to force a smile and keep her composure, but Della could already see the subtle way her hands were twitching, and the slight reddening in her eyes, "I’m not sure if I’m seeing this well, but it looks like...,"
Malachi’s expression remained unreadable, "My wife, my mate,"
Della stiffened instantly.
The woman looked like she had been physically slapped, and her voice cracked, "W...what?" She blinked, "I don’t seem to understand—"
"I got married and mated, Selene," Malachi stated strongly.
Even the workers seemed to pause for a second, before they continued to move.
Della felt her blood run cold.
Was this Selene Valecrest? His... betrothed? Oh no!
"Oh!" Selene seemed to be holding herself from physically crashing out, "I had no idea you...," She paused, "You... actually got married?!"
"Unfortunately," Malachi said, "Now, step out of my way,"
Selene gently stepped aside, and Malachi walked forward. Della, whom had her head down the whole time quickly limped forward with him as fast as she could.
As she walked past Selene, she felt the murderous intent oozing off the woman.