CHAPTER 265: TELL THEM TO ACT LIKE MEN

"No way. I can not marry you," Angela stepped back with a frown. She didn’t understand why the moon goddess would choose her of all people. The prophecy had already made many come after her, seeking immortality. Now she wondered if more would follow after this man who called himself the Patriarch. "I don’t know what you saw in that prophecy, but there is nothing true about it."

"The prophecy was given by your grandmother. She made you very special, I must say," the Patriarch said with a smirk. He stepped closer until he stood right before her. Lifting her chin with his cold fingers, he whispered, "Many people, including I, thought it was a bluff. After all, who would give such power to a girl?"

"I don’t have what you are looking for," Angela snarled, pushing his hand away. There was nothing special about a man who hid his face and his identity but claimed to be a great king. "Look, there have been a lot of misunderstandings about the prophecy. We shouldn’t jump to conclusions that I can give you a child. Do you even hear yourself?"

"I know I am not making a mistake, my dear."

"I am not ready to marry anyone or make babies for them," she said sharply. "Go back and read the prophecy again. Maybe you’ll find something that actually helps you."

"You are not listening. I have been kind enough to you," the Patriarch said firmly. "We are getting married, dear. I am not asking."

Angela felt disgusted by his words. How dare he make such a decision for her and try to force it on her? He might be a king, but he wasn’t her king and he needed to remember that.

"Well, Mr. King, I am not going to marry you. It’s over my dead body!" she shouted, pointing her finger at him. "I have mates, and you are not one of them. It’s better you stay away from me, do you understand?"

It was so fast she didn’t even see it coming. A sharp, dirty slap landed on her cheek, throwing her off balance. Her face burned, and her eyes widened in disbelief.

A deep growl came from the man in front of her. His anger filled the air, his voice trembling with fury. "You will go upstairs and get ready. We are getting married tonight, little girl. It’s a command. No one is asking for your opinion."

The guard quickly apologized on her behalf and helped her up. Without giving her a chance to speak, he dragged her out of the throne room. Angela struggled against his grip, her voice shaking with rage. She stomped hard on his foot, but he didn’t stop.

"You and your so-called king will let me go, do you hear me?" Angela cried out as she pulled herself free and began to walk away. She didn’t know where she was going or what waited ahead. All she knew was that she had to get out of this place, away from him, away from this nightmare.

"You won’t send me back to a cell, right?" she asked as the guard caught up with her.

He said nothing at first, then added, "I will have to take you upstairs. You need to get ready for the wedding." His voice was calm, but it felt like a lie in the cold hallway.

"I am not marrying him, no matter what," Angela shouted, and her voice echoed off the stone. A few girls in green and white silk turned to stare, their faces small and shocked. Their eyes burned into her like whispers of shame, but she held her head high.

The guard pushed her into a room and locked the door. Inside there was a dress folded on a chair, a few pieces of jewellery on a tray, and a bowl of warm water for a bath. Angela was not going to touch anything that belonged to the castle. Every item felt like a chain.

Anger flared and she moved like a machine. She knocked the table over hard and grabbed the lamp where it sat. Without thinking, she threw it onto the bed. The cloth caught fast and the flame fed itself. Heat rose, and for the first time she did not try to stop it.

Something inside shifted. Her eyes went cold and bright. Her wolf ears shoot out in a fast transformation and the chains on her wrists cracked like dry wood. Strength flowed through her in a way she had never known. Fear and power mixed in her chest until she barely knew which was which.

There was a knock on the door and a voice asking if she was all right. Angela slammed her foot into the door and it burst open. The girl who had knocked barely had time to run. When their eyes met, the girl screamed and the alarm began.

Angela stood in the doorway, breathing hard, her hands trembling and her heart pounding like a drum. She knew that what had come over her was more than anger. It was her wolf and something older waking inside. And it would not go away until she make them pay for locking her like a slave.

*****

Bellezza stared at the road that led north, her hand tight around the phone as if the map could tell them more. The thought of Angela taken had made Marcus sharp and restless. He had been waiting to meet her for so long. "Where did we go wrong, brother? Do you think mother had something to do with the kidnapping?" she asked, voice small but steady.

"I do not care if mother had a hand in it or not," Marcus said, his voice raw with anger. "She knew Angela was taken and did nothing. She just watched it happen."

Bellezza opened the map and slid the phone across so he could see the pin. He hissed and turned his eyes back to the road. "Sometimes she does not interfere with our choices," Bellezza tried to explain. "She thinks we must learn. She cannot keep saving us all the time."

"You do not get it, Bellezza," Marcus snapped, bitterness cutting through him. "If you had a daughter, you would understand." His worry made him fierce. Was Angela being fed there? Was she scared and locked away in that man’s castle?

"I love your daughter like she is mine," Bellezza said, reaching to touch his hand. She had never been a mother and maybe never would be, but Angela was hers in heart, and she had promised to keep her safe...to take care of her.

Marcus let out a long breath and nodded once. "I may be a terrible father, but I am glad Angela has an aunt like you. She is going to like you at the first meet."

Bellezza sank back into her seat and managed a small smile. Behind them, the two boys and girl who claimed to be Angela’s friends shifted in their seats and she asked "what are your names?"

The blonde guy spoke first. "I am Stales., and he is Samuel," he turned right, pointing at the girl beside him. "She is Seraphina."

"Nice names...," Bellezza started, but Marcus cut her off.

"Names do not matter if they could not protect my daughter," Marcus muttered as he urged the car faster. "They are useless."

"Do not say that, Marcus," Bellezza pleaded, stopping him with a look. She turned to the boys and offered a quick apology, then faced her brother. "Why do you keep speaking so harshly to them?"

"They deserve it," he said.

"No, brother. From what they told us, they were tricked by the principal. That woman has fooled many, and she is good at it," Bellezza replied. "I do not blame the boys. They tried."

"So you expect me to praise them?" Marcus asked, frowning as trees swallowed the path.

"No," Bellezza said softly. "I only ask you to have mercy, especially with their mates. They are hurting. Stop tearing them down."

"Tell them to act like men," Marcus snapped.

"I will," Bellezza said, calm but firm. He was angry and there was no point in pushing him more. "We will bring Angela home tonight, even if we must burn down the castle that belongs to the Patriarch."

Marcus clenched his jaw, eyes burning with a fierce promise. "And I will kill him if he makes my daughter shed a tear," he said, pushing the pedal as the forest closed in around them. He had to reach the castle and bring Angela back.