Ileus: The Dark Prince

Olivia was taking a bath when she heard a roar from downstairs. Her mind raced and she realized that it was Kaizan, and he sounded as if he was furious. She stepped out of the bathtub, wrapped a towel around her and rushed out with water dripping over the floor. In the bedchamber, she stopped for a moment to wear a robe before getting out. She darted to the stairs and froze when she saw the scene in front of her. 

Olivia was knelt in front of Kaizan on the first step of the staircase. Her hands were on the buttons of his pants and her breasts were fully exposed. Her mind became numb. The numbness shattered a moment later when she related as to what was happening, connecting her to the present. Her thoughts reached into the deepest parts of her soul, sending tremors of in her body. Shock found her in icy bursts of disbelief and anguish over what Bernice was doing to Kaizan in her absence. Was Kaizan involved in it? They were mates. How could he do that? With utter disbelief she looked at Bernice. How could her cousin stoop to this level? Or was it that there was something going on? Tears stung at the back of her eyes as bile rose in her throat. Her trust in the bond… shattered. "Kaizan!" she shouted. "What are you doing?" Her anger washed out the horror she witnessed. Her self-respect got a blow. Rage penetrated her veins and fury hummed in her chest. She wanted to kill Bernice who was smiling sheepishly. Olivia wanted to leave this place. 

"O— Olivia!" Kaizan said with difficulty. He grasped the railing tightly as he took another step up. "This— She—" He couldn't speak anything more because his tongue was swollen. When he looked up, he found that there were two Olivias. His mind was hazy and he shook his head and stared at his wife but there were two images. He didn't know which was true. All at once, he saw her running down the stairs. She rushed past him and started going towards the main door. 

"I can't live here!" she said angrily. Her dignity was at stake. Her self-respect was blown to smithereens. She clutched her robe tightly and ran to the main door. She didn't know where she would go, but she had to get away. 

Kaizan saw her rushing past him. His beast clamored him inside. 'Our mate is going.' The agony of impending separation shook him from the inside. It made him anxious and his heart palpitated wildly. He left the railing and with a roar lunged at Olivia. He would never let his mate leave. He saw two Olivias running in front of him. He grabbed both of them with his strong arms and held them tightly against his chest. 

"Leave me!" she yelled. Olivia struggled to be released, but he sank his fangs in her, the only way his mind could think of pinning her. 

Bernice gasped audibly. "Fuck!" He had marked her. "No, no, no!" She closed her fists into tight balls, fuming with anger and jealousy. 

He managed to climb all the way up the stairs as Olivia stifled a scream and took her to their bedchamber. Kaizan retracted his fangs. He opened the doors, shoved her inside and locked the door from the outside. "You don't get to go!" he growled and then swung wildly towards the stairs. His head was pounding and neck muscles corded as he worked against the effect of the drug. He was sure that he would fall on the ground, paralyzed, if he didn't have water. When he reached the last step, he saw two Bernices still standing there with wide eyes, looking every bit shocked. Ignoring her, he staggered all the way to the dining hall, and then to the kitchen. There he found a pitcher of water. He grabbed it and gulped water from it greedily. It ran out of his mouth, wetting his clothes, but that sensation was better than being numb. He snagged another pitcher and poured all its water on his head. 

Kaizan couldn't stand for long. So, he clutched the sides of the counter and then slipped to the floor, his breath shallow. A while later the effect of the drug wore off a little and his heartbeat steadied, he heard heavy pounding on the door of his bedchamber. "Olivia!" he grated. He got up to his feet. He had to go to his mate and clear the misunderstanding. Now that he had grappled the worst, he walked back to his bedchamber. If he saw Bernice in the way, he was surely going to wring her neck and present it to the Whiteclaw pack on a tray. But when he reached the staircase, she wasn't there. "Bloody bitch!" he cursed and made his way to his room. The pounding had stopped thankfully. He turned to the right and was horrified to see that Bernice was standing there. He was horrified. He could sense the fury of his mate. He could hear her pacing inside the room, the air warm with her hunger for vengeance. "Stop!" 

Bernice laughed at him. She wanted to tell Olivia that Kaizan and she were having an affair at her back and that unfortunately she witnessed it. And that if Olivia wanted to stay here, she could, but she would help her pack and leave. The bowstring of her nightgown was still open. Smoothing a hand over her hair, she opened the door with a grin. 

And was struck in the head by a candelabrum. 

Bernice swayed as a pained scream left her lips. She fell on the floor with blood coming out of her forehead. She clutched her head tightly as she let out curses at Olivia. "You fuckhead!" she cried. Blood trickled down her face to her neck and then her dress. "Oh, my god!" she said, seeing her blood. 

Olivia ran out of the bedroom hissing at Bernice, but Kaizan caught her in front of the door with his arms looped around her. She struggled with fury as her legs and hands went flying, but Kaizan didn't care. He didn't even feel the pain as he carried her back to the bedroom and closed the door behind them. When he set her on her feet, she swirled around, her ample chest heaving and her arctic blue eyes blazing. "Olivia, this was—"

Suddenly, the door opened and Bernice walked in with her hand clutching her forehead. "You bloody bitch! Look at what you've done." She took a step towards Kaizan. "Why can't you accept the truth?" Bernice was now horrified that her plan was going to crumble if Kaizan spilled the truth. She had to strike when the iron was hot. She had to mislead Olivia so that she overlooked the truth. "Kaizan and I are having an affair. Why don't you understand?" she said, walking to stand next to him. 

The moment those words left her lips, a slap resounded. 

Pa. 

Bernice's face turned to the side, her eyes wide with shock, her body already grappling with pain from being struck by candelabrum. Tears rolled out of her eyes as the impact.. When she turned her face back, she saw that it was Olivia who had slapped her.