The End

Hayley

A loud silence followed after Damian's declaration. Terror filled the eyes of some hostages, while few remained unfazed by their sentencing. They were fully prepared to die, and it didn't matter to them that it had been made public.

One of them, a younger man with a bruised face, found his voice. "Please, Alpha! We were forced into this. We had no choice!"

Damian's eyes flickered with a hint of disgust, he clearly didn't care whether they were forced or not. And from the look in his eyes, I was certain he was not considering a lesser punishment for their crime. "Forced or not, you participated in terrorizing innocent people. You killed members of the royal guard, and have driven families into the streets, you deserve nothing less than death."

I felt my body shudder under the weight of his words. Damian definitely had a dark side. He didn't show it often, but it was there. Execution seemed a bit extreme to me, but I couldn't find my voice to oppose his decision. Besides, these men had killed before, and I was certain that they hadn't listened to the pleas of their victims. Perhaps this was the right decision after all.

Ethan stepped forward, his expression serious but less severe than Damian's. "Perhaps we should interrogate them first. They might have information about Conrad and his plans."

Damian nodded slowly, his gaze shifting to the guards. "Take them to the holding cells. Save three for questioning and interrogation, hang the others at the break of dawn."

"Understood!" Came a fervent reply from the guards before they began rounding up the hostages.

I stayed close to Damian, my heart still pounding from the earlier chaos. "I'm glad you're safe," I murmured, my voice barely above a whisper.

He turned to me, his expression softening for a moment. "And I'm glad you're unharmed, Hayley." He held my hand and squeezed it gently before leading me towards the awaiting vehicle. Ethan was already settled on the driver's seat, while Damian was focused on acting like a gentleman for me.

"Stop him!!" The voice of a guard brought everyone back to alert but it was too late. A felt a blinding pain in my abdomen, and upon looking down I realized that I had been stabbed in the guts. A guttural scream left my mouth before Damian reacted and pulled my attacker away instantly. He didn't bother with the man, he rushed to my side first, while the guards immediately came forward and apprehended the rampaging man.

"If I'm going to die, then she's going to die as well! Conrad is the true ruler, and we will never submit—" His voice faded with the clean removal of his head. Ethan had walked out of the car and had decapitated the man before he had any chance to finish his sentence.

"Dispose of the body and bring the queen immediate medical attention!" He ordered as he wiped away his bloodied hand with a handkerchief.

I clutched tightly to my bleeding stomach, my healing was supposed to have kicked in by now, but for some reason, the pain only seemed to be getting worse.

"What's going on? She's not healing!" Damian screamed out, panic palpable in his tone. Ethan picked up the bloodied dagger on the floor, and after a quick examination, he confirmed the reason why I wasn't healing.

"The dagger was poisoned. The poison is likely affecting her ability to heal quickly. We need to get her to the castle as soon as possible, this isn't something we can handle without professionals."

Without wasting a second, Damian lifted me into the car and Ethan immediately took control of the wheels.

"You're going to be fine, just hang in there a little." Damian whispered to comfort me. His hand caressed mine gently while he did his best to stop me from bleeding out.

I did my best to keep a smile on my face, but it was becoming impossible by the second. The pain kept increasing, it felt as though my insides were on fire, but I didn't want to get anybody more worried than they should.

"I..I should have stayed home.." I managed to voice out, a sad smile spread across my face. None of this would have happened if I had just stayed home like Damian had said.

"Don't blame yourself, it's not your fault. It's mine for not being fast enough to save you, so don't blame yourself anymore." Damian replied. There were tears in his eyes, and seeing them made me tear up as well. We had just met two days ago, yet he cared so much for me. Nobody had ever cared for me this much since the beginning of my life. I didn't want to die, I wanted to experience love a little more, I wanted to experience happiness for just a little longer.

"..I don't want to die.." I finally broke down after hours of enduring the pain. It felt like the end for me, the pain had become unbearable, and I could literally see my life flashing before my eyes. It didn't seem like help was arriving soon, and I just couldn't visualize a future where I survived this, at least not anymore.

"You're not going to die, I promise you. Now please stop saying things like that!" Damian cautioned me, he seemed a bit annoyed that I was talking the way I did, and I honestly couldn't blame him. He had just found his mate, and just when things were looking good, they suddenly weren't.

The car came to a stop, and the next I found myself on a bed with people standing all over me. We were home, and I was already at the clinic. I hadn't been able to speak or even move since Damian cautioned me. My body had gone numb, and soon I was beginning to lose my hold on consciousness. My vision was fading quickly, and no matter how much I tried, I just couldn't hang on to life. This was it, this was my end.