The King's Prey (Unedited Edition)

Chapter 8 : Nightmare

Sweven • [swe-ven]
A vision seen in sleep; a dream.

🖤

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For the first time since the incident, my mind finds peace.

My eyes adjust to my surroundings—somewhere in a forest opening—, until they lay on Max. He's standing only a few feet away, still wearing his tux from the Snow Ball. A warmth consumes me from seeing him alive and well. He's ok.

I try to run to him, but my feet are stuck in place. Wildflowers erupt out of thin air as they blanket the forest ground like paint splatters against a canvas. I watch in awe at the beautiful sight of it. Max watches too, his eyes glowing in amazement. When our gazes catch each other again though, a deafening howl erupts from somewhere off in the forest.

We look at each other in horror. I open my mouth to scream at him to run, but nothing comes out. My hand grasps my throat in shock as I try over and over again to yell out the warning. Nothing seems to work though.

In seconds, luminous eyes surround us, their bodies darkened by the forest. Until they step into the light of the opening is when I fully make out the creatures.

Wolves.

Their large bodies are double the size of any normal human. Their fur puffs up as they approach closer and closer. I scream over and over again, my words finally being audible, but it's as though Max can't hear what I'm saying. All he does is stare terrifyingly at the beasts. I yell at the creatures, trying to catch their attention as they prowl towards Max. They don't listen though, they only stalk him like he's their next meal.

Before I can attempt a different tactic, one of the beasts grabs Max by the shoulder and drags him off into the darkness. The tears unwillingly fall from my cheeks as my body collapses to the forest floor.

I cover my face, hoping it'll cease my lucid dreaming. It's not real, I repeat to myself over and over again. Wake up, Anastasia.

A growl erupts in front of me, forcing me to look up from my hands. The large creature in front of me has eyes the color of ice itself as its canines protrude from its mouth. I freeze where I sit. More wolves erupt from the forest line as they close in around us. I try to move—try so desperately to get up and run, but my legs remain stuck to the ground.

The wolf before me transforms into a human figure—Samuel. He approaches me slowly, crouching down to meet my eye level. Before I can yell at him to stop this madness, he roughly grabs my wrists—this time no pain comes from my right.

"Pathetic human," he growls. I only stare at him in horror. "There's nowhere for you to run."

I scream out again, this time my voice in full volume. And with that, the circle closes up and the darkness eats me alive.

***

I shoot up out of the sheets in a state of feverish sweat. Screaming fiercely, my limbs burn as the feeling of hands grabbing them sends me further into my panic. I try pulling them away, but whoever has a hold of them refuses to let go.

"Killian! I need you to grab her legs!" Liam yells to the other man in the room.

"Let go of me!" I find myself screaming back. The man named Killian tries to grab my ankles but I kick his hands away before he can touch them.

"Liam, she's awake. Let her go!" Killian orders. Liam pauses for a moment to stare at my disheveled state. Long strands of hair fall over the front of my face, some even stick to its surface from the sweat and tears. The silk nightgown feels like a weight against my skin.