Walking away from her husband and son was like stepping on daggers. She hated the situation she was in and would do anything to avoid it but she couldn't. 

The dark was slowly descending across the land. Deva wasn't sure where she was going but the moss covered trees and crackling river beds were soothing to her ear. Walking through the woods was second nature to her. She lived for it. 

She wasn't sure how long she was walking for, trying to avoid what the future had in store. Deva finally forced her mind to open and tap into a part of her she promised she'd never go back to. Her bond with Adamarius was still there, weak but still there. 

She could almost feel him, sense him. It was easy to find him after that. Everything began to blend together the closer she got to him, till finally she reached a small entrance. The stone archway was decorated with wolf like structures. 

Deva entered and was fascinated to find the same beautiful architecture inside. The halls were dimly lit by candles, wax was dripping down the walls. It felt like the inside of a cave, cold and damp. 

She was greeted with stares once she made it to a larger room. They were all huddled around a table, deep in conversation. But once they spotted Deva, all whispers halted. She could feel more curious stares on her, making her uncomfortable and unwanted.

Adamarius made his way through the crowd as they parted for him. She felt some of her anxiety go once they made eye contract. 

"I'm glad you came." 

"I had no choice." She was trapped.

Adamarius turned to his people. "The Relic Moon is close. You all know what do to. Let's not start a fight that can be avoided." 

"Maybe we need a fight," someone spoke. 

Adamarius turned his attention on the outspoken culprit. "Raging a war against the vampires will accomplish nothing but the dead corpses of our brothers and sisters. Their number is much greater than ours. I will not send you all to your deaths." 

His passion for his people was undeniable. Adamarius would never do anything to jeopardize their lives and repeat the past. 

"And if there are any who disagree, speak now so that I may show you things more clearly." If one Lycan were to attack on this night Adamarius was afraid the vampires would go for all Lycans. Slotting them without remorse. 

The air was thick with calm obedience. Deva could see how much they feared yet respected him. 

"We have two hours till the moon." 

The room quickly emptied as they all left to prepare. Adamarius signaled her to follow. They went through another hall, darker and damper than before.  

He stopped once they reached the deepest Deva had ever been underground. She was now standing in front of steel cage with three sides made up of the earth's rock. 

Old chains melted into the ground made her believe nothing could escape from such a prison.  

"Is this where you keep the hulk?" 

Adamarius nodded. "Yes, I'd be scared if I were you. He's escaped." 

"Scared of a giant green man? I've see monsters eat scarier things than him." 

Adamarius watched as she traced the bars of the cell. "We also have the boogieman three cells down." 

Deva smiled but deep down could feel the fear creeping in. "What is this place and how come I've never heard of it?"

She was queen, she should have records of every landmark but never had she heard of this place. 

"It's an old ancient sanctuary for Lycans. It was blessed by a witch, protecting it from all who wish to harm those inside." 

"Will all the Lycans chain themselves in cells like this tonight?" 

Adamarius nodded. "Yes but this cage is a little more durable. You're ten times stronger and lethal than the others." 

"Am I?" She asked sarcastically. "Where will you be during all this?" 

"Right next to you." 

She didn't get it. "Don't you have to be chained down as well?" 

He shook his head. "After a few centuries I've learned to control it. It's only the new lycans that need to be contained." 

She felt like a baby. It made her vulnerable and 100% dependent on Adamarius. She didn't like it. She wasn't even sure she trusted him yet. Deva sat against the cold damp stone wall of the cave/cell. She tried not to think of anything. Her life was just a chaotic mess that kept on surprising her. 

Adamarius picked up on her uneasy nerves. "Deva, everything is going to be alright. Soon you'll go back to your family and all of this will feel like a bad dream." 

She raised her gaze towards him. "How did you do it? How did you stop yourself from killing... from killing yourself?" 

Adamarius exhaled and sat across from her, against the steel bars. "Your mind gets clouded with thoughts of blood. Every fiber in your body wants to tear the flesh off your own back." His green eyes began to glow. "Focus on the things worth living for: Alcide, your family, Darius." 

She could do that. Nothing meant more to her than her family. 

They sat there in silence, the light slowly dimming from the candles. 

Deva hugged her knees. "I had a dream last night." Adamarius raised his brow and she continued. "It was more like a lost memory." 

"What was it about?" 

"I was eighteen and I was at this party. It was clear that I was drunk too. I never did understand the importance of self-control when it came to alcohol." She had to admit; she was a very troubled teen. 

Adamarius chucked. "I'm sure you still don't."

Deva smiled. "I like to think I've gotten better." 

"I remember that night." Adamarius confessed. "You had just fearlessly punched a boy twice your size when I walked in." 

"I don't know why it's come back to me all of a sudden. I didn't even know I lost it." Maybe her mind was playing a sick joke on her. "I just need to know what happened at the end." 

Adamarius just dropped his gaze to the floor. It was killing her not having him respond. Why wouldn't he tell her? 

"You said you came for me. I just remember wanting to get away so bad. The accident with Nick was too much to handle. I know I would have done anything to get away. I would have gone with you." The pieces weren't fitting in. Deva needed answers. 

"You were so broken. I hated seeing you in so much pain. I did come for you that night. I was going to take you away and make you forget about it especially Nick." 

"Then what stopped you? What happened?" 

Adamarius finally brought his greens eyes back up. It was hard facing her and confessing about that night. "You. You stopped it." He exhaled. "We left the party but before we left for good you wanted to see your family one last time." 

Deva could definitely see that. She was always close to her family. 

"You were completely ready to go. I could see it in your eyes. It was even hard for you to look at your family. You were just so disgusted with yourself. You blamed yourself." 

Deva took a deep breath. "It was my fault." 

He didn't want to argue with her. Adamarius knew he couldn't win. "You packed a bag and we were off, to start a new life together. That's what I thought you needed, a new start. We made a stop in the city. I had to meet up with an old friend. You wanted to stay in the car." 

Adamarius shut his eyes. He didn't want to go further into the story. He hated remembering it, that's why he took it from her memory. 

"When I got back you were gone. I finally found you in a park on the bridge. Your eyes were deep red and I could smell the drugs on your lips. You swallowed a whole bottle." 

She tried to kill herself? For a second Deva couldn't believe it been then the memory came flooding back to her. Her young teenage self-thought it was the only way to escape. 

"I rushed you to a hospital and they pumped your stomach. That's also when we found out you had cancer. I stayed by your bedside all night and day. When you opened your eyes again I could finally breathe." 

Adamarius still had trouble dealing with it. He regretted ever leaving her alone for the slightest second. "You kept apologizing but I wasn't mad. I was scared. I knew when you took those pills you were still intoxicated. But the time waiting for you to wake up made me realize you needed something more than me. You needed to heal. And I believed you needed your family to do that." 

"You could have made me forget, forget all about them and Nick." Deva just wanted to understand. 

"Yes I could have but what kind of person would that have made you? Your past is meant to make you stronger. You can't always run away from it. My intention was to let you heal from it. If you learned to deal with it on your own I knew it would only help you." 

Deva admired him for that. "Do you regret it now?" If he took her then she never would have been kidnapped by the princes. 

"Sometimes." 

There were so many more questions she could ask him but suddenly she started to feel a pain on her side. 

Adamarius got up and crouched down in from of her. "It's getting close." He strapped the chains tightly around her wrists and ankles. 

They felt like they weighed tons and like they were dragging her down to the depths of hell. Deva took deep breaths to calm her outraging nerves. It was like counting down to the most horrible experience of your life. It was coming and there was nothing to do to stop it. 

"Just breathe. Focus on your son."

That was easy to do. Alcide always naturally brought a smile to her face. But it was then when she was hit with a weird obnoxious pain to her side. It was pounding repeatedly at an incredible speed and eventually spreading through her body.

"Are you stabbing me with a knife or something? I swear I ruptured my spleen just now." It was almost as if she could taste her own blood because of it.

"I'm sorry to say but it's going to get a whole lot worse."

She shook her head. "And I thought being the Queen gave me some kind of immunity."

Adamarius smirked. "You're pretty spoiled, aren't you?"

Deva wanted to laugh but again she was hit with a terrorizing sensation that shook her bones. She jolted back from the impact. The flaming poison began to course through her veins like a virus. It was hard to concentrate.

Once Adamarius noticed her luminous velvet eyes he cupped her face. He could tell her lycan was itching to take over.

"Deva focus. Focus." His voice was etched with concern and persuasion.

She forced her eyes to look up at him. She tried tracing the plains of his face to distract her mind.

"Deva think of your son."

Deva envisioned holding him in her arms again. It was a pleasant and tranquil thought until another agonizing sensation invaded her body. It clouded her thoughts and consuming her mind. She felt tiny leeches sucking and tearing away at her brain. The torturous infection was eating away.

Suddenly her throat when dry and a thirst for blood never felt greater. It was like a starvation had over taken her soul, making her want to fill it. She needed blood.

Deva retracted her claws and tore flesh. Even the slightest scent of blood was satisfying.

Adamarius yanked her hand. "NO! Deva, look at me! Look at me!"

Her head was spinning with thoughts and ideas of how to make the pain and thirst stop. Blood. Blood was all she could function.

The red rim forming around her irises were just a warning her lycan was coming out to play. Adamarius forced her hands down and continued to talk to her.

She watched as his mouth opened and closed but she couldn't hear anything he was saying. She noticed her teeth were sharper than ever when she brushed her tongue against them. The burning fire building insider her stomach was calling out for blood.

His neck was so close to her. Deva licked her lips. She could feel and smell the glorious blood pulsing through his veins. She leaned in but before she could chomp her teeth into his neck Adamarius pushed back. He sensed her moves before she could actually rip his throat apart.

The immense pain was now excruciating. It was forcing her to crack her bones. She was slowly morphing into her lycan morph. The clawing and the itching going insider her head was too much to handle. Deva shifted rapidly from side to side but nothing dulled the pain.

The last thing she remembered was crushing Adamarius against the wall.

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Also if you haven't go read my latest book "Divine Purpose"