CHAPTER 423: I ONLY CARE ABOUT YOU

ZINA

His sight did not only undo her, but it also threatened to destroy before she could take matters into her hand yet.

Rowan sneered, his Master chuckled like their reunion was funny, while Daemon just stared.

Knowing how well to segue his shift, he was still dressed in a flowing black cloak. Same couldn’t be said for some of his men that stood naked, each of them wearing expressions of anger and loathing.

It was Master that first broke the silence. "I have long heard you seek revenge against me for your mother’s death," he barked with laughter while more Deformed streamed into the room as though summoned by Daemon’s presence alone.

That was when it occurred to Zina that he and his men must have fought tooth and nail just to infiltrate the room. And her heart ached at that—as if a fist was gripping the organ.

That feeling only intensified when Zelkov appeared. Was he not supposed to be saving her mother?!

Why were they there trying to save a dying woman!

Her eyes scrambled from Zelkov to Daemon, hoping to convey how terribly sorry she was as his partner because she just couldn’t take any of this dragging for long enough. The moment Roman was distracted for a second, she would do the deed.

But first—

His eyes held hers. And while she thought his silence was the most unnerving, nothing could have prepared her for when he eventually spoke.

"I do seek revenge," he said in an unnatural, guttural voice that sounded like it had gone through hell and back, "but first, why don’t you hand her over."

Tears filled her eyes because hearing him was nothing like what she imagined in the long nights she dreamed and woke to the nightmares of him.

It sounded... so good. Way too good that all she wanted was to fall against him and just bawl her eyes out. Before him, she had never been afraid of baring her weaknesses. And for a long time now she had been chipped raw at the edges till she was fragile and edgy, afraid of even her own shadow.

"Give her to you?" Rowan scoffed, "I see the great Alpha King of the North is unable to read the room, but you’ve just walked into your death. These monsters you see right here? They will rip into your heart—that is if I don’t first." He snarled, then he dragged her before him, wounding his arm over her throat in a gesture that made it seem like he was strangling her.

Her back pressed against him, while his hot breath fanned against her face while he chuckled manically. She thrashed against him, even though knowing that he was merely playing with her while baiting Daemon to launch a direct attack.

Growls and howls rang out like a dark melody played under a damning night as her people rioted over the sight of seeing her as hostage to an enemy they loathed.

Her people—that sounded far better than she imagined.

That was when the mask that Daemon wore cracked all at once. The dark shadows that circled his eyes and stubbles revealed themselves. His lips twisted distastefully in rage.

"Release her!" He growled, but beneath that command was a plea that everyone could hear.

A plea that Zina hated that he made for her when he shouldn’t have to.

Master cackled at that. "So far you give me your life, then I would reconsider that." He billowed, chuckling shamelessly.

Something completely stilled within her while Zina rested her eyes on the crawling man. His shamelessness was absolutely ridiculous; especially when they had made it more than obvious that they wanted her dead.

And if she knew anything about Daemon, he probably had two backup plans up his sleeves. And she would be better off acting faster before she would be sued against him anymore than she wanted.

"You can feel it can’t you?" Rowan whispered to her with glee, "your connection with the Deformed. And the torture of Nirvana acting up within you."

He was right, she suddenly became so hot the more the Deformed streamed into the room. She was certainly bound to them, and that made her want to puke as much as the borderline emotional-stare that her supposed father gave her.

She merely swallowed, noticing the room was completely still as each party waited for a move to be made by the other. At that point, about twenty Deformeds were in the room, and they were only holding back at Masters command. Meanwhile her father—Gruk—stood by the Master’s side as his most prized and formed creation.

Just the way she was Master’s creation as well.

A twisted smile overtook her lips as she finally found the courage to look at Daemon properly. For five seconds they just stared at each other, as if revelling in the stunning silence that now replaced their mate bond.

"You’re the Alpha King of the Arctic North. The Great Beast Wolf. How dare you beg them?" She spelt in a cold voice.

And just because he was the man that knew her best, he could already tell she was up to something because his face twisted in anguish. "Zina, don’t you dare—"

"I am your Theta!" She screamed, "your Seer! Three years ago I foretold the great famine that would sweep over the North, and since then your people have chosen to believe me! Eldric, though a tyrant, believed me. What about you? Will you believe me today?"

He took a menacing step forward towards her that scared the wits out of Zina. Because she had seen it for herself how strong the Deformed. Just one of them could match a hundred Level Three Shifters. And the only reason why they were holding back was because Master was way too busy taking glee in the silence before the kill.

Gruk stepped forward instantly to block his path, and Zina hurriedly stepped over her words in a bid to stall what would happen for a few seconds.

Daemon halted, glaring at her. "You’re not my Theta. You’re my wife. The Luna Queen of the North!"

She chuckled. "I stopped being that when I lost our child. Brynn."

He didn’t freeze at the information, nor appeared to be shocked. He just stared at her, fear settling in his eyes. As if he could feel something fishy, but couldn’t quite tell what it was.

"I only care about you." He confessed, the sentence warming her cold heart.

A tear rolled down her face, and another followed.

Not many had the opportunity, but despite being termed an abandoned one, she had been loved.

Even now, she was still loved.

"Listen to me and listen carefully, you cannot defeat them—" she said while Master laughed, throwing his head back.

"—but I can pave the way for you, your royal majesty. Not just for you, but for the NorthSteed Pack, the Arctic North, and Vraga. Because remember this, they want me alive. So they can never threaten me with you."

Before they could make sense of her jumbled words, she was already twisting her body from. Rowan’s captivity with strength and agility that had them shocked for a second.

And then the room descended into chaos at once. But it was far too late.