A Throne of Lies

Chapter Four - A new life

No! my insides screamed in protest as I instinctively took a step back towards a door that had already closed.

“Come in,” Ezra said as he held my gaze.

“And stay,” His words ordered as they penetrated my mind.

No! my mind screamed defiantly as my eyes widened from shock as the alpha before me prevented my escape with a simple command.

His scent was familiar, consuming, as it suffocated the room and made my legs weak with recognition. The imagery of the forest swept through my mind as he approached us, his eyes were deep as his familiar lips quirked up into a mischievous smirk. The image of the man before me kneeling in the overhanging treetops swept through my mind as he stood above me, a golden sash around his eyes. I was reminded of his warm embrace within the woods during the hunt, a man who hunted me for miles, hidden in the shadows as he followed what was rightfully his.

But he wants Deya, I thought, grief-stricken as I glanced over at my sister.

Deya! Her name mimicked in my mind as I grasped the taaffeite choker.

“You have come,” Ezra said smoothly, ignoring my sister as she approached him expectantly.

Ezra brushed past her and closed the distance between us. The air was electrified as my body grew heated the moment he approached. My mouth grew parched, my lips refusing to move as he took the hand from my chest, revealing the rare gem and pressing my palm within his. His hand was on fire, our flesh seemingly mended together as if becoming one as he entwined his fingers within mine. My weight wavered, my head growing haze. Ezra was indeed my mate, a man-made from me the moment we were born, my soul mate and yet it terrified me.

“Wrong sister,” I barely manage to squeak out as I wriggled my hand out and away from his.

My insides were being torn from the rejection, my cells screaming to become bonded to the man before me and yet my sense of pride was far stronger. I cleared my aching throat as I motioned toward my sister, her face was clouded with momentary rage. Her smile was askew as she held in the storm that was beginning to brew within her, I feared the tantrum she would relinquish the moment we were alone and yet I could only prey she held it to herself.

Ezra turned his focus on Deya, the playful smirk that had once been on his lips fell the moment his eyes landed on her, observing her as if she were a fly before him. Deya raised her haughty chin as she approached him and raised her hand in the air, ready for him to take. She was used to etiquette, men swooned over her wherever she went as she was both beautiful and captivating. Her face was still like a sculpture as Ezra took her hand, he sighed momentarily as he placed his lips on her knuckles and brushed a brief kiss on her hand.

The motion satisfied Deya as she took her hand back, her hand falling to her side as the hint of enragement being long since forgotten. He held me in the corner of his vision, never taking his eyes from me, his gaze sent a pleasant shiver down my spine as I turned away and attempted to focus on something far off in the distance.

Shit, I thought nervously as my head began to pound from a suffocating pain.

There was a reason I never allowed people to touch me.

Why now! I wanted to scream as I clenched my eyes closed.

A cloud closed in from around my vision, erasing my surroundings, the people fading from view as I struggled to steady my breathing. My lungs ached as I screamed out, and yet no sound passed my lips, my body froze as the stabbing pain in my mind pierced through me as a voice rang through my ears.

“Janus!” A voice shouted; the tone was warped as the vision grew stronger.

“Janus!” it repeated, more clearly as an image swarmed my mind.

“No!” I shouted, my hands gripping my head.

Hands gripped my forearm; his body was strong as he pulled me into him. The forest swarmed through my nose, filling my head as Ezra’s words fell on deaf ears as he held me. His eyes were full of fear as tears streamed down my cheeks, my pupils dilating as I attempted to separate my visions and reality.

“Breathe!” Ezra urged through my mind.

His expression was dark and haunting as Deya approached us, her silver-golden hair framed her face as she took my shoulders within her hands and began massaging my tense muscles as she pulled me into her and away from Ezra. Ezra seethed angrily as he allowed her to take me from him, her familiar flowery scent brought me back to reality as my breath began to steady.

“Don’t worry, she gets like this sometimes,” Deya said in a sweet tone as she forced a smile on her pretty face.

“How often does this happen?” Ezra asked, his voice strained.

“She typically freaks out when people touch her,” Deya said as she shrugged her shoulders.

“Freaks out?” Ezra asked with a skeptical snicker.

“I’m sure everything is okay now, right, Eursa?” Deya asked as she glared at me.

“Yes,” I mumbled under my breath as I hugged myself, “fine.”

“See!” Deya said happily as she released me, briefly pushing me away as if my body offended her.

“Why don’t you go with Ezra and get to know him better,” I mumbled under my breath as I looked towards the ground, my fingers digging into my elbows.

“Did you hear that!” Deya stated, her smile broadening as she stepped before Ezra, taking his arm in hers as she steered him away from me. “She’s perfectly fine!” she said as forcefully lead the man away, her head on his shoulder as she glanced up at him with large innocent eyes.

I wanted to fight back, to pull the hair from Deya’s head as she laid her hands on the man who was meant to be mine. My stomach clenched at the thought as my mother’s words soiled my mind, I was obligated to protect Deya, she was the daughter my mother loved the most, the daughter who was born to inherit the blood of the gods. She was a worshipped deity, one of the final bearers of her bloodline, whereas I was a monster born from rape and deception, who had muddied blood. My existence was a sin upon this world, I was meant to protect and lead Deya to her rightful path, to risk my life if need be, I was no one.

I deserve nothing, I thought pitifully as I clenched my eyes closed and turned my back on the new couple.