Page 2 of Mated

He turned and left me alone, and I whispered to myself, “I’d rather die than be yours.” My female rage was loud and proud inside of me.

I didn't think about anything else. I didn’t grab any clothes or items to help me escape.

I ran.

But I had to be careful. I couldn’t get caught. I left through a side corridor, lifted my skirts, and sprinted down the marble halls, the sound of my jeweled ballet flats echoing all around me.

But my escape was short-lived when I heard men shouting in the near distance. But I didn’t stop.

I burst through the back entrance, none of the staff stopping me. I ran through the gardens, my father’s guards mainly stationed at the front of the manor and inside as guests arrived.

After a few minutes, I was in the forest surrounding the property. Thorns tore at my gown, slicing open my skin. I didn’t care. I ran harder and faster, my shoes getting destroyed from the rough underbrush.

Faster, Elowen. Don’t look back.

The gates at the edge of the property were old, and the family crypt lay just at the edge. I squeezed through the cracks of the ancient tombs, spiders and webs, dust, and the stench of old death surrounded me.

I didn’t scream. I didn't let it affect me. I welcomed the dark and unknown because it was better than what was behind me. There was a massive crack in the ancient tomb, and I squeezed through it, jagged rock tearing through my gown and into my flesh. The moment I emerged from the other side of the wall, I didn’t stop.

I’d thought of doing just this so many times before, but fear held me back. Guards kept me a prisoner.

The wilderness spread before me like the gates of hell. And I welcomed it. The sky was black with no moon letting in silvery light, and the trees twisted around me like they were trying to reach out and take hold of me.

But I stepped into the night anyway.

I had no friends to aid me. And I certainly didn’t have a plan.

But I’d take my chance out here and any monsters that were hiding in the shadows.

They had always said there were twenty realms in our world—ten ruled by men, ten by monsters.

My father was one who ruled one of those realms. The human realm of Bone Ash.

But if the stories about the monster kings were true, I had no idea. Not until now.

Being sequestered away in my father’s castle had been my life. It was a beautiful prison of wealth and submission, but it couldn’t hide or dim the stories I heard were from hushed servants gossiping around every stone wall.

The human kings wanted everyone to believe they sat alone and controlled the thrones of power. But they didn’t. They couldn’t control the darkest parts of their realms.

And that’s where the monster kings ruled.

And if everyone whispered enough about these monster kingdoms within our own realms, surely they had to be true? That’s what I thought… that’s what I wondered. Until I’d been taken.

I came face-to-face with the monster king of the Dark Realm of Bone Ash.

And he was a knight in twisted, blackened armor.

And the further I ran, the deeper I went into the woods. I realized skeleton trees were all around me. Blood red leaves covered finger-like limbs, and the creek parallel to me ran darker than the night.

My scream caught in my throat and the sky cracked open with lightning the color of deep red blood. I felt the shift in the air, like the world itself had been cracked open and I was flailing into another one. Nothing looked the same. Nothing smelled familiar.

There was something wilder, Crueler, that walked close, hidden in the shadows. Watching me like the predator it was. One second, I was in the center of this monstrous forest. And the next, the ground really was cracking open, and I was swallowed whole. I fell faster than I could breathe, screams wrenching from my open mouth as horror and fear consumed me.

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PRINCESS ELOWEN

My body connected with hard ground, everything aching but nothing broken. I was alive despite the vast fall. It was unbelievable. Almost magical.

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