Page 2 of Reclaiming His Lost Mate
Painfully shaking the depressing sadness of my situation from my mind, I tried to soothe her with my words.
“I’m sorry, Marissa, but you have to let me out. I didn’t burn your clothes, and even if I mistakenly did, isn’t two days without food and water enough punishment?” Marissa had given me a few of her clothes to press with the local heating iron forged from the pack’s metalsmiths, claiming that the coal used in its heating system could stain her fingers. Pushing my work aside, I had done as she asked, only for her to show up later, saying I burned the clothes.
Marissa spoke, not hiding her hate for me. “You have some mouth on you for someone who’s behind a locked door.”
As quickly as I could, I chipped in another apology. “No, Marissa,that’s not it. I’m sorry, okay? Please let me out. Father won’t be happy if I miss appearing at the ball. I promise I’ll stay out of your way, and you can have Alexis. I’d even say some nice things about you,” I pleaded, but it all fell on deaf ears.
Marissa believed herself to be the only one deserving of the power that came with being Luna and the perfect match for Alexis, causing her to naturally see me as an opponent as if being her stepsister wasn’t already a feat enough. I didn’t care about being Alexis’s bride. I didn’t want the damn spot. I had a career to pursue and aspirations for the next five to seven years, and those meant more to me than being tied to a man I didn’t know or like, but Marissa didn’t believe this.
“Come on, Marissa,” I added, hoping to talk my way out. “This way, we can both get what we want. I just want out of here, not Alexis, so let me go.”
Marissa shook her head once.
“There’s no need for you to show your face there if you really don’t want him, not that Alexis would ever choose you in the first place. I only came here to make sure you were still in your cage like a good little dog, and Alexis is almost here, so this is toodles, bitch.” She was gloating again now.
Marissa wasn’t going to let me out of here, so I needed to get myself out. Using her distraction from hearing herself speak and hoping that I didn’t ruin what I was sure took hours of planning to put together, I sped to the door, jutted an arm between two bars, and held onto Marissa. Her shriek told me that she was just as surprised at the outburst at me, but I had a mission, and only a few seconds before her initial shock wore off.
“Please, Marissa, you can’t leave me…”
Before the words could fully leave my lips, Marissa’s long nails gripped the back of my head from between two of the vertical bars separating us, digging into my scalp. My face collided with the rusting surface in a split second.
“Argh, ffffk!” I yelled, blinded by the pain that tore through my head and maybe the blood that was now pouring down my face from busting open on impact. Marissa let go of me to fuss over her hair and dress, spitting out a string of curses.
“You’re so lucky I have to leave! You would have gone to meet your useless Mom in hell right this instant. Don’t worry, Selina. Don’t worry.” Seething with rage, Marissa stormed out.
Sniffing, I forced myself to see past the pain that almost made me double over, and I brought the golden hairpin I had succeeded in swiping from Marissa’s hair to my face with a crooked smile. When I was sure she was far away enough, I went to work, prying the lock open with a few practiced moves.
Before long, I was skittering down the steep hills and making my way to my small cabin.
I didn’t have time for a deep bath, so I settled on scrubbing my body with the little water I could find, using a washcloth in the communal bathroom just about half a mile from my cabin. The cold water plus the windy night caused the gash in the middle of my head to hurt even more, so I carefully avoided that area, only wiping it a little to get the congealed blood off. Rushing back inside, I forced my dress on, abandoning any idea of getting even minimal make-up done. Knowing that I needed some luck so that Alexis really chose Marissa as his wife and saved me from such life I slipped my green aventurine stone around my neck. Aventurine was a rare ore only found deep within Nightwing’s pits and signified the essence.
“Help me come back here with my freedom, Igaluk,” I prayed.
From the broken glass above my bed that served as a mirror, the reflection I caught of myself almost made me scream. With red, blistered skin, dark circles surrounding my eyes, and cracked desert-dry lips, I looked hideous. And even if I wasn’t at all interested in impressing Alexis, I didn’t want to incur my father’s anger.
I could still remember Father’s set jaw and pinched tone as he warned me a week ago, saying, “You’re finally going to show some usefulness to Nightwing Pack, so don’t ruin this for yourself, our pack, or me! We need Alexis, so you will stand before him and do your best. Understood?”
With a round of shivers, as I feared for the worst, I hurried to the back of my cabin in search of some herbs: my specialty.
It didn’t take long for me to find the familiar petals of Pomenta, and I extracted a few leaves, forming a quick paste with my fingers formy injury. It wasn’t going to give its full benefits as this wasn’t the way to harvest or prepare the medicine, but I didn’t have time on my hands, and coupled with my wolf healing, this would help conceal my obvious scars. I applied as little as possible on my cut to not be so visible, and I sighed as the calming effect of the herb settled over my skin.
It was time.
The trip to the pack ballroom took half the usual time since I raced there, but I could barely catch my breath, or take in the decorations when I stepped inside because a hand yanked hard on my arm.
“What the hell are you doing here, Selina, and how did you get out?” It was Marissa, and she looked pissed!
Looking around sharply and ignoring the blaring pain from her fingers piercing my skin, my eyes landed on my father sitting on his throne, and I offered him a tentative smile. He barely acknowledged me, but I knew that I’d been saved. Relieved, my eyes traveled back to Marissa. I knew she couldn’t harm me with the crowd present, but I still had to be cautious, so I spoke in a controlled voice. “I promise, Marissa, I’m just here on Father’s demand. I won’t step in the way of you having Alexis.”
As I spoke, an unrecognizable prickly feeling began snaking up my back, but it was for an entirely different reason than Marissa’s death glare. “Whatever! Alexis is here,” Marissa bit out, shoving me to the side, and I turned around to present myself beside her, smoothing out my dress with my hands like that could calm my multitude of nerves, but I did not expect to be slammed in the face by the sight or smell before me.
Alexis.
It was like one of those moments when you unexpectedly reconnected with an old foe, and you froze for only a second as the air completely whooshed out of your lungs, but it would feel like your air supply had been cut off for minutes. My breath hitched.
One would expect a man of his reputation to appear in elaborate traditional regalia like Father currently was, but Alexis’s attire was simple yet appropriate for the event. It was a plain black two-piece suit, paired with perfectly crisp white long sleeves, giving him a charming appearance.
There was no mistaking all the well-built muscles concealed underneath his suit, and my body responded in a way it never has just by thinking about them.
