Filed to story: The Rejected Werewolf Princess (Camilla & Tyson) by Didi Adeyemi >>
“We won’t know until we check.”
We got to the cabin and up close I realized it wasn’t as small as I thought. It was a little bungalow that had been worn out by the elements. We found an opened window and decided that it would be better for us to use that window instead of the front or back door. Ryker was adamant that he go in first and once he was safely in, he helped me get in.
We quietly moved around the cabin taking in the state. There were plates and empty wine/skins so we knew someone had been here recently. I heard murmuring and I moved in that direction even though Ryker tried to stop me.
I got to a massive room and I saw my mother, Riley and Audrey tied up in different chairs. Ryker and I wasted no time in rushing over to them to untie them. I had just managed to take the duct tape off Audrey’s mouth when she spoke with voice weak from exhaustion.
“Mummy behind you,”
I barely had time to look before I heard the door cl**k shut behind me and a voice.
“Now that the gang is complete, the party can begin.”
I turned around quickly and saw Tyson standing there with a cruel smile playing on his l*ps. My first instinct was to stand in front of my daughter and protect her from his gaze. He seemed to notice my actions because he laughed cruelly.
“I’ve already had her for a day,”
he laughed.
“I could have seen things you didn’t even want me to see. I have to admit though, your daughter is beautiful. It is a shame she isn’t ours. If she was, she would have been spared all of this.”
“If you lay one fi**ger on my child,”
Ryker growled and Tyson turned his angry and hate filled eyes to him.
“Oh, I forgot you were here. Ryker Caine, the knight in shining armor. I expected that you would be the one to come here. I thought you would try to save your child in a heroic act of bravery. It would have given me sick pleasure to gut you like a fish, but I got the mother instead. Not a terrible bargain, but I’ll live.”
“Tyson,”
I called and he turned to me.
“You’re outnumbered here, so I’m going to tell you how this will go. I am going to release my daughter and we are all going to walk out of here alive or you will be gutted like a fish.”
He stared at me for a long second and his eyes took in the people in the room. He seemed to realize that he actually was outnumbered seeing as both Ryker and I were free and he was the common enemy. His beady eyes took in the room and then to my shock, he started laughing.
I was taken aback by his laugh and I cast a wary glance at Ryker who was also looking at me with the same shocked exp**ssion. Tyson laughed with such reckless abandon and clutched his ribs as if he was going to keel over from the force of the laughter.
“It’s funny that you think I will let you go that easily,”
he said as he wiped a stray tear from his face.
“The thing is Camilla, that I have doused this entire house with gasoline. If you make one wrong move, then I will set this place ablaze with all of you in it. I’m not against dying but do you really want the monarchy to end with you?”
I realized that he had a point and it was at that moment that the scent of gasoline filtered into my nose. I cast a wary glance at Ryker and I knew that I couldn’t risk calling his bluff so I raised my hands in surrender and took an unwilling step away -from my daughter. I moved closer to my mother and away from the door.
Tyson smiled widely while Ryker looked at me confused and once I was close enough to my mother, I slowly put my hands down.
“You’re right,”
I said to him making sure to keep his eyes on my face as I slowly took out a pocket knife from my back.
“I’m the one you want, right? Let my daughter go safely and I will stay here with you.”
“No,”
Ryker said almost immediately and Tyson’s eyes flashed over to him.
I used the moment of distraction to sl*p the pocket knife into my mother’s hands. Her eyes went to mine and I gave her a discreet nod. She let out a sigh of relief and I saw her start to work on her bonds. I knew it would only be a moment of time before she would be able to get herself free and maybe her powers would be of good use to us. As far as I checked, there is no water source around here and mine would be a waste.
“Camilla,”
Tyson called out and I looked up.
“I’ll let your daughter go, but in exchange for your mate. Give me the right to kill him and I’ll let your child live.”
“What are you saying Tyson?”
I asked unable to process the choice that he had just given me,
“I am giving you a chance to save one of them. Give Ryker to me and you can walk out of here with your daughter. You understand why I cannot let the others go but it shouldn’t matter to you, they are simply collateral damage. We will raise Audrey together like our own and in a matter of years she will forget about Ryker.”
I opened my mouth to speak but no words would come out. I glanced at Ryker who had an impassive exp**ssion on his face- he was giving me a chance to make the decision without his input.
Tyson noticed the exp**ssion and it seemed to infuriate him because he brought out a lighter from his pocket.
“Make your choice now, Camilla,”
he warned.
“Or I swear, I will set this entire place ablaze and we will all die.”
“Tyson, please,”
I pleased and he fl**ked the lighter on as if reminding me that I had limited time to make a choice.
“I choose Audrey.”
The words left my l*ps before I could stop them and I could feel the silence that fell over the room. I shot Ryker an apology with my eyes but he gave me a look that allowed me know that he understood why I had to make that decision.
Tyson’s l*ps curled up into a smirk and as he moved towards Ryker, there was a flash of movement from my left. Mother had cut through her bonds and she looked more angry than I had ever seen her in my life. Her eyes narrowed at Tyson and he looked from me to her, before awareness settled on his features.
“You tricked me,”
he growled.
“You f**king bi tch.”
He came for me and I braced myself to side step his move but then he stopped and fell to the floor. I noticed that pocket knife I had given mother protruding from the back of his neck and when I glanced over at her, her hand was outstretched as if she had thrown it. I stared at her with wide eyes and she rolled her eyes.
“You’re welcome,”
she said and I rushed to pull her into a hug.