CHAPTER 150: CHAPTER 149

Chapter 149

Carmen was thinking if there was another way of doing it. But she could think of nothing. She bit her lips in contemplating more about it, but then her heart started to thump louder again. It hurt as she clutched her chest. Breathing hurts.

She moved closer to the side of the prince. She felt that the two other people inside the room wanted to get to her side, but she warded them off. "Stay...away." She croaked.

She closed her eyes to gather what energy was left in her. She didn’t exactly know how the prince managed to get it out of him, but she had to try. Or they would die. She somehow knew that dying wasn’t the worst that could happen. Well... At least not for her.

Carmen focused on the ball of white in her chest. She could see in her mind that white veins protruded out of it and started to crawl in her own beating organ. Slowly, she willed for it to trace back, to retreat from expanding more.

She was now gasping as it began the process of being whole again. Sweat trickled down her brow as she felt the burning cold in her lungs that was rising to her throat.

It was like there was a whole iceberg inside her body. She opened her eyes, and she moved closer, almost hovering above the prince. She braced herself and stroked his face, cupping his right cheek. She didn’t know if it was from her or him, as her palm felt like touching a frozen body.

But he was still breathing. And there was a faint heartbeat from him. He wasn’t a corpse yet. She wouldn’t allow it.

Gradually, she closed her eyes again and drew her face down on him. She grazed his lips with hers. She knew that she was killing all the odds with a single kiss. It wasn’t every day that she got to kiss a prince and that she would save both their lives too. Not to say a heroic one, so it was a pleasure at all.

And she could go on with her life without threats from the elves and even the other supernaturals who were concerned with the prince. And the Faerie kingdom would remain oblivious of her existence just as she wanted it to remain that way. There would be no other complications in her life after the kiss. Or returning his essence. Whatever.

She was just more than happy to get off everyone’s butt and go on her merry way after this.

*****

Ezekiel carefully roamed the forest for any sense of someone who occupied his mind all the freaking time. He could feel her around. She was just around. He’d been looking for five minutes already. She was close. He sprinted along the trees. The sky was about to turn darker as night was gracing the sky in its presence.

She couldn’t have gotten back to the hunters. She had to be smarter than this. Worry and frustration were gnawing on him. He was still in his human form. Each passing second was getting harder to breathe. He moved swiftly from tree to tree. Animals scampered away as a breeze passed by their hiding spots in the branches.

Then he halted. He saw her jumping down from a tree. He landed in the grace of a feline. It seemed like she hadn’t picked up that he was around. There was a stench of blood from her. It was from her clothes, but he knew that the one on her jacket was obviously hers. She got hurt.

His jaw started to set hard as his fists clenched tightly from the rage. What does he expect? What can anyone expect? Getting hurt was part of the process. It was the minimum effect of what they were doing. Of what she was doing.

Then he heard her stomach growling. She was starving, and yet she wasn’t taking care of it. She was letting her own health deteriorate. It wasn’t a good thing for any shifter supernaturals to starve themselves because that could make them less rational. The worst-case scenario was to eat a human. Animals were preferable if that was to happen.

Despite the strong smell of blood, her scent of raspberries that was only unique to his nostrils flooded his senses. She was just right there. His mate. His other half.

He followed her every movement. He leapt to another tree. She was heading to the small lake just a short distance from where he was standing.

Her hair was in complete disarray, and she untangled it from the long braid. It cascaded through her back in waves. He just noticed how long it was. It went past her waist. He could tangle them with his fingers and could bind them in his hand as he guided her head with what he wanted her to do.

A wave of need crashed his insides. It was so strong that he gritted his teeth, his fangs wanting to elongate as his mouth salivated just from her sweet scent.

She was fixing her hair back as she combed it with her hands and braided it neatly again. Then she kneeled at the edge of the lake and crouched her upper body close to the water. He could hear it splashing. She was washing her face.

Melisca was still numb, though she had the water to freshen up her skin. It was cold, but that was just it. She propped her hands on the ground and stared at her reflection by the water surface as it slowly stilled from getting riled.

Her remarkable beauty from her mother showed the image of her being held by the glass cell inside the hunter’s camp. The same black eyes as hers. The darkness in it was what she was also feeling. Just empty. But then, a surge of hurt gnawed at her again as Ade’s image popped in her mind. It hurt so damn much that she didn’t know if she could take any more. She couldn’t. She wouldn’t. It had to be enough.

A tear escaped her eyes again. If she wasn’t staring in her reflection, she wouldn’t have known it. She hadn’t even felt it grazing down her cheeks, against her skin.

Why the hell am I born anyway if this is all I get?

She couldn’t help but question her existence as well.

Her musings stopped as goosebumps and chill ran over her system. Someone was nearby. But she didn’t move. She had to conserve her strength for her final battle with the hunters. She would like finish them once and for all. But then, she could just leave once she got her family back.

She would bring them to the other side of the world if she had to. Or she could just submit to her mate in exchange for protection from the hunters. She would do anything for them. Just to make her parents safe and sound. Anything.

Melisca stood up as she wiped the tears from her eyes with her fingers. She whirled around and looked at the trees.

Her breath got caught in her throat as she damn well just realized who was around. Who was observing her. Relief flooded her veins instantly as she didn’t understand why a rush of emotions enveloped her again and she was about to fell on her knees from how damn heavy it was. But he caught her before she touched the ground. Then she started weeping like she hadn’t cried enough already.