The Royal Beta

Ch. 40 - Emma & Dante

Hi guys!

Here is the next chapter, finally! As the title shows, this chapter will contain both Emma and Dante's pov because I felt like it would make the storyline flow better. I'm currently busy writing the next chapter, so I expect to have it up either Saturday or Sunday.

Alsooooo we passed the 75.000 word count for my entire story!!! (you'll see a note in the text because I wanted to mark my milestone, I'm goofy like that) Aaaand we've almost reached 30k reads so thank you thank you thank you. I love you guys for reading and voting and commenting, it means the world to me.

Hope you enjoy,

Lots of love

Chapter 40 – Emma &Dante

Emma

The room was freezing and dark. Cold, wet concrete was pressed against her right cheek, in fact, it was pressed against the entire right side of her now frail and battered body, indicating that she was lying down. Severe wounds that still oozed dark red liquid covered her body. They were certain to cause her lots of pain. Fortunately, she was in a peaceful in-between state of mind; neither amongst the dead, nor the living. She just was. A serene case of unconsciousness.

If she was lucky, she'd stay in this comatose like state for a while longer, because were she to wake up now, she would be overcome by nothing but intense pain that would make her wish to end her suffering. Her limbs were bound by chains of pure silver, burning away her very skin at an agonisingly slow pace. The more flesh was burned, the greater the risk of the silver finding blood veins to seep into and poison her from within. The smell of rotten flesh slowly but surely polluted the air in the holding cell that she was lying in. The foul smell burned her lungs with every shallow breath she took, making her choke on the odour of her own rotting skin.

It was both a blessing and a curse that she was still alive. A miracle, even, that her captors had yet to eliminate her existence. They finally got her where they wanted her; at their mercy. She who had killed so many of their own, was about to be killed herself. Justice would finally be served.

And yet, the one guy who had to go through with the plan and rip out her throat, couldn't find the courage to do so. He was stood in a corner of the very same holding cell the Blood Wolf was held in. He was regarding her intently. It was an honour that he'd been given the chance to kill her. But now, seeing her lying there, she just seemed so small. She wasn't threatening at all. She was just another girl, a beautiful girl. And he found himself being reluctant to kill her once they'd questioned and tortured her some more.

He knew she was spoken for already, the scent of another male reeked off her and mixed with the scent of her burning flesh. It was a scent he knew all too well. She belonged to someone from the Royal Pack, not just anyone from that pack, but the Royal Beta no less. Killing her now would send a clear message. They would be able to get revenge for being banished just because their mothers, aunts and sometimes even grandmothers were favoured as chosen mate by some conceited male who dared to call himself a rightful king.

And still he was unable to do it.

Another hour or two passed, and finally the girl began to stir. First it were just her eyes that closed tighter and then blinked a couple of times. Then she started gasping for air, as if she'd not been breathing this entire time, taking in gulps of polluted air at a time. Then soft groans of pain and discomfort fell from her dry, chapped lips. Her hands pulled into fists and her toes curled as all of a sudden a scream tore through the silence of the cell. The sound was so full of pain and despair that he found his heart hammering against his ribcage and his eyes water. It surprised him even more when he felt the wetness roll down his cheeks.