*Theo*
I watched my brother fall to the ground in a lifeless heap.
“Theo, what happened?!” Ciana asked .
What could I say? That after killing Maggie, I just had another “accidental” murder?
“Oh Goddess! Warren!” Ciana let out a shrill cry. She went to his side and dropped to her knees, looking horrified. “Warren! Warren!”
He didn’t move.
“Theo, do sothing!”
But there was nothing to be done. I’d touched Warren, that ant the worst of my fears was possible. In fact, it might have already happened.
How much of his life my body had sucked out, I didn’t know. My only hope was that Warren, being a descendant of King Lycaon, sharing the sa blood as , would help him withstand my cursed ability more than normal people.
“I told him not to get close...” The words caught in my mouth and I felt like my whole world was caving in on .
“Warren, co on, open your eyes! Warren please.” Ciana patted his face, trying but failing to wake him. She pressed her ear to his chest and lifted her gaze to , seeking my help.
But I couldn’t help her. I couldn’t help anyone. The only thing I could bring was death.
“Theo, are you listening to ?” Ciana tried to get my attention. “Theo!”
I looked at her numbly when Jake burst through the door.
“Alpha, sorry, I’m a little late. After getting your order, I—”
He didn’t finish his words when he realized what might have occurred.
His eyes moved from my bare hands to Warren’s body on the ground. He stood as still as a statue as his eyes continued to look at my brother.
“No.” He gasped slowly.
***
*Ciana*
Neither of the n before moved. They both stared at Warren completely lost. I didn’t understand why the heck they weren’t jumping into action.
Thank the Goddess, I could still feel Warren’s heartbeat under my palm. He was alive but barely.
“His heart is still beating but it’s really slow. Don’t just stand there, we need to get him help.” I bellowed at them.
“What did you say?!” Jake’s eyes widened and he imdiately rushed to my side. We moved Warren to a bed in the nearest room.
A hopeful glimr appeared in Theo’s eyes as he snapped out from his trance, “You say he is—”
“Alive,” I assured him. “But I need you to tell what is wrong with Warren so I can try to help him. What exactly did you do to him?”
Theo fell into silence again.
Jake glanced at Theo, quickly assessed the situation, and looked back at , sighing, “First thing first, I need to get in touch with Dottie.”
I nodded, watching Jake walk out of the room to send the ssage. Looking around, I noticed the servants and guards had gathered around us. I spotted Aurora, who almost fainted the mont she saw how weak Warren was.
“Aurora, first, please tell everyone, not a single word leaves this property, otherwise, the consequence is fatal, understand?” I didn’t need Demarco or Luther to know what had occurred. The situation was ssy enough.
She nodded her head.
“Second, could you prepare so clean water and dical supplies? We need to bandage both of the princes up.”
As soon as Jake walked back into the room, he assessed the situation, dismissed everyone, and got the security of the entire property under control.
Warren’s wounds were soon cleaned up, but he remained unconscious.
At this point, all we could do was wait for the royal healer to arrive.
Theo sat on a sofa at the far side of the room, staring at Warren. I couldn’t tell what was going through his mind and thought it might be a good idea to give him so space.
“Jake, I’m going to get so food. Could you help ?”
Jake gave a knowing nod and followed , leaving the royal brothers in the room. Once we were out and away from the door, I crossed my arms in front of my chest and asked, “Now, could you tell everything?”
He took a deep breath and went straight to the point. “Alpha has an ability to take away other’s lives if he touches them using his hands, or his fangs.”
His voice was barely above a whisper but I had heard him clearly.
I froze. I had long known Theo possessed dangerous powers, but this was still beyond what I’d expected.
“You an, all he needs to do is.... touch?”
“Yes. Alpha’s touch drains the life source out of a person. It was so powerful that whoever that cos in contact with him that way would be killed.”
No wonder he was invincible.
“I know what you’re thinking, but Alpha is undefeatable not because of his ability. In fact, he does everything he can to avoid using his power. If anything, his ability is a constraint, not a help for him.”
I was shocked. “Why?”
“Ciana, you may not believe , but Alpha doesn’t like killing at all.”
“I believe you,” I said firmly. I had no doubt.
Jake paused for a mont and then smiled, “You have no idea how happy you would make him had he heard what you just said. No, he doesn’t enjoy killing like the rumor says, especially not with his ability.”
His gaze t mine as he continued, “Because it’s a curse like no other. With the life force, it also pulls all of the worst emotions one would ever experience before their death. There’s no happiness, peace, or even hope. Only the most twisted fear and the darkest, vicious pain. You and I would never understand what it really feels like, but I’ve seen the suffering that he went through.”
My eyes widened. I would never be able to wrap my head around it, all I could feel was a dull ache in my heart.
“To make it worse, it is not a power he has control over. He couldn’t always choose to shut it off. We spent years trying to find redies.”
“And that’s why he needs dreamberries?”
Jake nodded. “Indeed, and it worked for a period of ti.”
Now I felt terrible for eating that precious fruit. I caught sothing that he implied, “It worked? How about now? We harvested the replacent using the Moonlit Crystal, right?”
Jake shook his head, “That was when everything went wrong. For so reason, ever since Alpha took the last dreamberry, not only did it not help, it made things worse.”
“What?! Why?”
“We don’t know,” Jake shook his head. “You rember fainting at the pavilion?”
“So did you... but neither you or I were even touching him!”
“Correct, and that’s exactly why we’re so concerned. It doesn’t happen often, but according to Alpha, there are rare situations when he believes that he has absorbed others’ lives without physical contact.”
I gasped.
Jake let out another sigh. “He wears gloves and keeps his distance. No one would ever believe that the Dark Prince chooses to be alone not because he’s coldhearted, but because he wants to protect those around him.”
And that was why he kept pushing away after we returned from the illusional world. That was why his attitude shifted dramatically before I left the palace for the second ti!
It wasn’t because he was an for no reason, but because he was trying to do what was best for .
My heart started to pound harder in my chest, and I felt tears welling up in my eyes.
“Growing up, everyone was afraid of Alpha, except the king. He took a special liking to his youngest son, not because they shared a special bond. It’s because the Dark Prince is his secret weapon.”
He swallowed the large lump in his throat, trying to continue what he needed to say. “One touch and his enemies are dead. There is no need to train massive troops when one man can kill an army. The king uses him to seize territories and force his enemies into submission. To him, Alpha isn’t his son, but a useful tool.”
My hands covered my mouth as I sucked in air.
I couldn’t fathom how a father could be so cruel to his offspring. All this ti, Warren held resentnt and thought his father didn’t love him and that he was the rejected son. While in reality, Theo was being treated even worse.
And the packs that the king had ordered Theo to take out... I couldn’t imagine how he felt when he was forced to fight those innocent people.
“Did he not try to break free from the king?”
Jake stared at solemnly for a few seconds. “Ciana, think it through. If you were Alpha, I’m sure you would make the sa choice as him by staying in his role.”
As I took a mont to digest Jake’s words, many things flashed through my mind.
Right... With or without Theo, if the king is determined to do sothing, it would get done, except, it would get done in an even more ugly and cruel manner.
At least, if Theo was in control, he could choose to minimize the loss of lives.
A conclusion jumped into my head. “Theo never truly obeyed the king’s orders. He didn’t wipe out the packs like he was supposed to, he figured ways to spare their lives...”
Jake smiled wryly. “If not, where do you think Luther’s Shadow recruits ca from?”
It felt like my chest was crushed by sothing so heavy that I couldn’t breathe. How could one man carry the weight of the lives and pain of hundreds and thousands of people?
Suddenly, Jake’s ears wiggled slightly. It was a sign soone was mindlinking him.
“Ciana, Dottie is close, I’m going to pick her up. Keep an eye on Alpha for , will you?”
I swallowed the bitterness down my throat and gave him a nod. “I will.”
As I approached the room again, I quietened my footfalls.
Theo was sitting in the sa spot, talking to Warren as if he could hear him.
“When we were young, you envied for the attention and praise the king gave .” Theo looked at Warren’s motionless body. “But what I got was never love or adoration. I was being beaten and trained to be a killing machine. I never wanted this kind of life.”
His voice was quiet. Not cold, not aloof, not sad either, just hopeless. “You get to choose where your path leads you. You get to decide who you love, who you beco, and what you stand for. I never had that luxury, and never will. You have no idea how much I envy you...”
I didn’t an to eavesdrop so I cleared my throat, announcing that I’d returned.
His eyes trained on as if he was searching my face for sothing.
Fear? Anger? Disgust? I could assure that he wouldn’t find any of those on my face.
In fact, I respected him more than ever for what he had done and my heart ached for him.
I wanted to tell him that he’d done enough, and from this mont on, I would be there for him. No matter how heavy his fate was, I’d be there to shoulder it with him.
“Theo...”
“Stay away. Like Jake told you, I can’t control this darkness in . I’m a monster. Warren and Luther were right. All I do is destroy everything I touch no matter how hard I try not to.”
I shook my head. “We will find a way to navigate this. There is always a way out.”
“There is no way out for . I shouldn’t be here. It’s better for everyone.”
“Says who?” I walked toward him while he stood up and took two steps back. “Because I know for a fact my life would be worse off without you.”
“It’s only a matter of ti before I hurt you too and I will...” He looked away from for a mont before regaining his composure and looking back at . “I will never allow that to happen. I’d rather kill myself a million tis than see you get hurt. Stay away, please!”
“Theo, let make my own decision.” I took another step toward him to which he backed away more until his back hit against the wall. Pain flared in his gorgeous dark eyes.
“Let follow my heart.”
I was only a few more steps away from him.
“Stay back, Ciana! Fuck! Do you not understand I will kill you if I touch you.”
“No, you will not.”
Maybe the confidence in my voice gave him hope. I took one last step into his personal bubble and he didn’t move away this ti.
Then I reached out, grabbed his face in both my hands, pulled his mouth down, and without any delay, sucked his warm and surprised breath into as his lips covered mine.
His arms went rigid by his side as his lips succumbed to a montary quiver. Soon I felt them grow still and then relaxed. I moved my lips against his and feared for a mont that my bold move would be t with no response.
His kisses wouldn’t kill . They didn’t in the past, and I knew they wouldn’t in the future. I didn’t know where my confidence ca from. Maybe it was simply because I didn’t care whether or not my life was at risk at that very mont.
I kissed him sweetly, feeling the worry and tension evaporate from his body.
I just wanted to show him that I wasn’t scared of him. He was not the monster so many had accused him of.
As he began to respond to , a pleasant rush of triumph ward my flesh. His lips were soft and searching before his tongue plunged deep into my mouth. The sensation was different, deeper and more urgent than the other kisses we shared, taking my breath away as he licked and sucked my tongue.
He turned his body to guide to the wall. Placing one hand on either side of , against the wall, he pinned in place with his body. I moved my hands from his face and pushed my fingers through his hair as my arms made their way around his neck to further deepen the kiss. He moaned with pleasure as his body heat began to rise.
I closed my eyes and allowed myself to lt and be carried away into this kiss.
The sweet kiss of death.
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