Page 10 of Taming Darkness

"Karla!" Lysander calls when he suddenly grunts. She tries to leave the room but his voice calls her back. "Hang on, I will come out with you," he tells her like this is merely a simple exchange between him and a coworker. Karla ignores him, storming out the door about to demand to leave with her parents. How could he? How could he and on their wedding night. Lysander catches up to her, grabs her arm and rips her back.

"You dare ignore me when I am talking to you?" he snarls as the girl leaves the room, she heads for the elevator. Karla had no idea who she was, Lysander picked her bridesmaids, since she had no friends. None that actually meant anything to her.

Once the girl is gone, her hand connects with his face. "On our wedding night!" she screams at him. Lysander rubs his cheek, a threatening growl escaping him. "The wedding is off!" she spits at him storming off toward the elevator. She doesn't get very far before his hand fists her hair. Her curls tangled around his fingers. She cries out when suddenly her forehead slams against the wall.

Bile rises up my throat at what I am witnessing. "You will not embarrass me here," he snarls at her. "Now we are going back down there and you'll behave. Remember Karla, the choice is yours, our marriage can be civil or I can make it fucking miserable for you," he warns her.

He lets her go and she touches her head, a trickle of blood paints her fingertips and she stares in shock. Lysander holds his arm out to her but she glares at him. His eyes flash dangerously, his canines slipping from between his parted lips. He yanks her to his side, forcing her hand on his arm and leading her back down to the ballroom.

Karla spends the rest of the night sitting at the table watching everyone. When the night ends she doesn't even notice until her parents come up to say goodbye. "You look beautiful sweetie," her mother gushes. Her mother wraps her arms around her daughter when she whispers. "Momma, take me home with you," she pleads, her voice cracking. Her father talks to Lysander. "None of that, it's your wedding night," her mother tells her, drawing Lysander and her father's attention.

She holds her daughter at arms length. "He'll be good for you," her mother says in a strict tone while reaching for a napkin. She dabs it in a bit of water, before cleaning a spot on Karla's temple. "You should know better, marital affairs remain private. We can't have the press leaking articles." her mother states.

Karla can only blink at her in shock. Her eyes go to her father, pleading with him to do something. Yet he averts his gaze and congratulates Lysander on their marriage and their future business dealings.

"Make sure you have those papers signed by Monday, I will be going back to the office early, we've decided to call the honeymoon off," Lysander tells her father. He nods once, turning to his daughter and hugging her. "He'll take care of you. Don't fuck this up!" he hisses in her ear before kissing her cheek. Finally the wedding is over and Lysander all but drags her back to the room.

However, once back to their room, Lysander orders her. "Remove your clothes," he tells her. She looks at him with disgust. How could expect such a thing after what he did? He removes his tie, tossing it aside and starts unbuttoning his shirt. Karla moves toward the bathroom, deciding to shower instead. She wants nothing to do with this man. But Lysander isn't one to take no for an answer. He needed an heir, and she was to provide it whether she wanted to or not.

Before she even reaches the bathroom he has grabbed her. She fights him, but he is stronger, tearing her clothes to shreds, her grandmother's wedding gown ruined. Claw marks cover every inch of her skin, blood soaks the sheets, still she fights him until his fist connects with her face. "I warned you!" he screams at her. Dazed, she stands no chance against him.

I felt sick to my stomach as I watched him beat her when she refused him, she wasn't even concious by the time he was done, only to rape her afterward. For three weeks, she never left the hotel room. He’d ordered her to stay in there so no one would see the state she was in. He didn't want it leaked to the media. Finally her face and body healed enough that she was able to cover it with makeup and he finally took her home. Only to find herself locked in a new prison, one she couldn't escape. When she finally did leave the castle, she also left the castle they lived in. That was how she met her true mate, Porter.

Lysander, however, eventually caught her sneaking out. Porter had no idea who she truly was, and through her memories, I saw that she convinced Porter to run away with her. Only it cost not only her dearly but Porter. His entire family was killed by Lysander’s guards, along with hers. So she came clean and said she was married to the Lycan King, but Porter didn’t care, he just wanted his mate, and when they found she was expecting, Porter was over the moon so they ran away together.

Darius flicks through her memories, stopping on another one, the first scan she had. How she argued with the technician that it had to be wrong. Porter was working the docks, and they were barely making ends meet. So with a baby on the way, tensions were high. Porter was working every day and so was she, but after a fall at work they laid her off.

It didn’t take long before Lysander located her. Karla had been saying for weeks that they needed to leave and that it wasn't safe for them there. They'd been there too long. At her second scan, she showed up for her scan only when she entered; she found the place empty except for the receptionist. She finds it odd but doesn’t question the girl as she is led through the halls to the room where they did the scans.

“Just through that door,” the girl said, pointing to the last room. Karla looks at her as she hurries off and nearly turns back to ask if she is okay, but the girl is quick to leave. Shaking her head, she pushes the door open and apologizes for being late. Yet when she closes the door and turns around, Lysander was there waiting just inside the technician's room—the technician was nowhere in sight. Karla tries to run back out, only for his guards to block the door.

“You think you can just run from me? Make a fool out of me?” he snarled at her. With her hands shaking and stomach sinking at the thought of being dragged back with this monster, she tries to plead with him. Yet Lysander slaps her.

“Are you trying to humiliate me?” he yells at her.

“No, no. He’s my mate. You know how important mates are!” Karla pleads with him.

“I need my mate. That doesn’t mean you get to keep yours! We had an arrangement! You’re going to get rid of that piece of shit’s baby and return home. You dare run from me. You made me the laughingstock of the kingdom!” he screams at her. Lysander then starts dragging her from the room.

“The baby is yours!” she screams. Lysander stops and peers down at her on the floor. Her knees all grazed from the carpet burn from being dragged.

“You’re lying.” he tells her. Tears stream down her face, and she shakes her head.

“I wish I was. I don’t want to carry your bastard!” she yells at him. Lysander rips her to her feet, fingers locking around her neck.

“What did you say?” he growls as she claws at his hands, needing air. She chokes, and she feels lightheaded. “Prove it,” he sneers, letting her go. She falls to the ground when the receptionist comes back out.

“You, check her file and give me her latest scan!” the girl stares horrified at Karla on the ground, clutching her just visible bump. She nods, rushing off, and Lysander crouches in front of her.

“If you’re lying,” he warns, placing his hand on her stomach, his nails digging into her bump. He doesn’t finish, but she knows he will sink his claws into her son. Moments pass, and the girl returns with the file he asked for. He takes it, flicking through her scan reports and realizing the dates match when he raped her.

Karla had a sinking suspicion when she first found out because she was further along. The weeks were off. It’s also why she always booked her scans for when Porter was rostered on. So he could never attend.

Lysander laughs, clearly happy about the news, before shoving the files at the receptionist. He grabs Karla’s arm and pulls her to her feet.

“Now you’re definitely coming home with me!” he snaps.

“No, I have a mate. I can’t leave my mate,” Karla pleads.

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