Empress Khione: Her Revenge

Broken

Khione was paralysed. Her mind and body had both stopped working. She just lay in the bed, trying to process everything that had happened. 

But Atlas was not having it. 

"I said, get the f**k out!" he all but growled, a tone so menacing Khione felt shivers of fear run down her spine. 

She gulped back her fear and stumbled to her feet. She was feeling immense pain, but she was unable to process whether that was due to her new mark or her broken heart; or both. 

She struggled to put her clothes back on which only served to frustrate Atlas even more. He picked her clothes off the ground and then roughly grabbed her by the arm and pushed her out the room, before he closed the door on her.

Khione stood outside the room, naked and unable to comprehend what was happening. She was shocked and scared and most of all, she was confused. She forced her hand to pinch arm to see if it was all a nightmare but the sensation did not wake her up from a dream. Instead, it woke her up from her trance. 

Everything that had happened in the past few hours was real. Her mate had marked her, only to reject her. 

Her entire body began to convulse, making her collapse to the ground in pain. She felt as if someone was using her body as a dart board. She couldn't help but scream out in pain as tears streamed down her face. But no matter how much she screamed and cried, the stabbing pain did not go away. 

What was worse, her mate had the ability to stop it yet he did not do so. 

In the werewolf community, rejecting someone before being marked was an action that was frowned upon by the elders but something that was not unheard of in the younger generation. Most mates did not work out so they decided to separate before the marking process. That way, they went through some heart break and felt like some piece of them was missing for the remainder of their lives, but they did not have to go through the same pain as someone who was rejected after being marked.

The marking process was basically the process in which their two wolves combined. Their strength came from each other and they were linked on an emotional level as well. They influenced each other's feelings and they found the greatest peace when together. Being away for too long made them and their wolves feel extremely agitated. It took years of experience of being together to stop being so dependant on each other. And to make it all worst, simply being away at the early stages of the marking process was painful for the mates. But being reject the moment they mated? That was a hellish experience. Most wolves did not make it out alive.  

Atlas's actions were beyond cruel. He would not feel anything until Khione herself rejected him so he was completely unaffected. Khione on the other hand, was suffering. The marking process between an alpha and a luna was even stronger than one between regular pack members, so the likelihood of Khione surviving wasn't high. 

"Khione?" she barely heard the gasp over her own screams. She was in so much pain that her entire body felt as if it was boiling on the inside. 

Jassper ran to his friend and tried to make sense of everything that was happening. His brows furrowed in worry and he looked terrified upon seeing his friend in her state. He was about to ask her what was happening when his eyes landed on the rupture mark on her neck. She had been marked.

"Oh my God," he gasped, shocked beyond belief. 

He then realised that she was naked and the entire puzzle began to form together in his mind. Figuring out what had happened to his friend broke his heart for her but he knew that he needed to be strong. She needed his help and panicking was not going to help at all. 

With shaky hands, he quickly picked up her clothes and gently dressed her. It was a hard process because even the tiniest of movements was dreadfully painful for her. Once he had her in her clothes, he picked up his hysterical friend and placed her on his back before he slowly walked out of the mansion, trying hard not to move her too much. 

They received a lot of hard and confused stares, but for reasons unknown to Jassper, they looked like they were submitting. They all looked down as the two walked out towards his car. 

Macy had already been at the car when the two arrived. 

"Where the hell have you –" her words died in her throat when she saw the situation Khione was in. "What is going on?" 

"Open the door," Jassper ordered before he gently moved Khione off his back and lay her into the back seat. 

Once they were all in the car, Jassper quickly started up and drove off. Khione's cries of pain filled the car, suffocating her friends. They opened up the windows to let some air in, but that somehow made Khione cry even harder. 

"What happened?" Macy asked again, her voice angry. 

"She was marked," Jassper answered before he softly added, "and then rejected."

"What?" Macy gasped, looking appalled.

"At least I assume that's what happened," Jassper quickly added. 

Macy turned towards her friend and wanted to say or do something that would ease her of her pain but she knew that it was not possible. 

"What are we going to do know?" she asked Jassper. 

Khione was the alpha's daughter so no matter how she thought about it, this was bad enough to start a war between the packs. However, there was already a war brewing between the Blue Valley and Red Stone packs so this would only worsen the situation. Especially since the likelihood of Khione surviving was low. She was Alpha Boreas's only heir. Even if she couldn't descend the throne, she was still their only child. Alpha Boreas was going to be livid. 

"We need to do something about her pain first," Jassper responded. "And then we'll think about the rest."

Macy wanted to ask what it was that they could possibly do to ease her pain but Jassper looked like he was deep in thought and Khione already looked miserable enough so she didn't want to make it worse. 

It took a few more excruciating minutes before they finally reached Jassper's home. 

"Wait here," he said before he opened his door. "I think I may have something that may help with the pain in my inventory." 

"You're going to test one of your potions on her?" Macy asked, only to be interrupted by Khione's cry of pain. 

Khione looked like she wanted to say something to her friends, but she was in so much pain that it was impossible to do so. She was feeling worse and worse as the minutes went by. It became so excruciatingly loud for Macy that she ended up waiting outside for Jassper to return. 

And within a few short minutes, he was finally back, a glass flask with light green liquid in it. 

"Open her mouth,'' Jassper told Macy. Macy looked at her thrashing friend and although hesitated for a brief second, she quickly complied and tried to hold Khione's head still while she was at it.

Jassper slowly spilt the liquid into Khione's mouth and once it was all finished, he forced her mouth shut. Khione's cries and convulsions only lasted for a few more seconds before her entire body shut down altogether. 

"You killed her!" Macy gasped, tears prickling her eyes. 

Jassper rolled his eyes at Macy before he answered, "It's the effect of the the antidote. It shuts down her entire system until it works its magic and temporarily blocks her pain receptors." 

"This will really work?" 

Jassper didn't answer immediately. He just stared down at Khione with a small frown. 

"I really hope so," he finally said. "I really, really hope so." 

It was almost midnight when Khione finally opened her eyes. Her entire body felt weak and numb. 

She tried to sit up but was having trouble feeling and controlling her limbs so she simply groaned out. Her friends quickly ran to her side the moment they heard her.

"How are you?" Macy and Jassper asked simultaneously. 

"I feel like s**t," Khione groaned. 

Despite her words, Jassper grinned, feeling extremely happy and proud that his antidote had worked. 

"Ok, so," he quickly said, "the effect of the antidote is only temporary so you'll go back to how you were in a few hours time. We need to figure out what to do ASAP!" 

Khione looked confused for a second until the happenings of the night began to play in her mind once again. 

She sighed out of emotional pain and leaned back in the seat, tears brimming in the corners of her eyes. She couldn't believe all of that had happened to her. She had so many fantasies of meeting her mate. Although they all started off differently, they all ended the same: happily. 

Yet Khione's reality was the opposite of her expectations. Not only did her mate reject her, he did it right after marking her. And she was convinced he had somehow planned all of it from the beginning. He knew what he was going to do and he possibly even knew who she was from the start. His intentions were to kill her in the cruelest of ways. 

"Don't cry sweetie," Jassper said, before he muttered under his breath. "I swear to God I will castrate that fucker!" 

"Y-You can't," Khione said under her breath.

"What, you think just because I'm not a werewolf, I can't take one down? I have magic, b***h. I can do anything I want."

If Khione's face wasn't feeling so numb, she would have smiled up at her friend. Instead she simply slowly shook her head from side to side.

"No, that's not it," she slowly said. "You can't because he's the Alpha of the Red Stone pack, Atlas Cuthwulf."

Both Jassper and Macy's mouth's dropped before they both began to swear underneath their breaths.

"What type of f*****g luck is that?" Jassper groaned.

"s**t," was all Macy could repeat. "This is bad news."

"Tell us everything!" Jassper ordered. 

Khione told her friends everything that had happened, not leaving a single detail out. 

"What are we going to do now?" Jassper asked, his voice sounding soulless. 

"Just take me home," Khione said. "Dad will help me."

Jassper nodded and moved to the driver's seat while Macy sat beside Khione, looking very worried.

"I don't think this is a good idea," she finally voiced her concerns. "You were marked by the alpha of the Red Stone pack. He won't forgive you."

Khione's dad was very strict when it came to pack business, and even more strict and unforgiving when it came to the Red Stone pack. They had years and years of enmity between them. If Khione had been a regular pack member, she knew for a fact that she would have been exiled from the pack and her entire family would have been punished over it. That's how extreme her father was with the Red Stone pack and those that associated with them. 

However, Khione was his daughter and only heir. She may not have had any rights to take over his position as the alpha, but her mate was expected to do so. But despite the fact that that tradition would not be applicable anymore, she knew her father would not hate her over it. He always told her that the only thing we couldn't control in the world was our mates and death, so no matter who she brought home, he would accept him. She knew that that was impossible now, but she also knew that he would not blame her. She was convinced that he would forgive her and figure out a way to end her suffering.

"We'll tell him that he forced it on her." 

"No," Khione said. "That will start a war! I don't want innocent people to die." 

"Telling him that you were marked and then rejected will also start a war," Macy pointed out. And Khione had to admit, she did have a paint. 

No one said anything after that and waited for Khione to say something. 

"I won't tell him I was rejected," she finally decided. "We'll just tell him that I was marked."

"But then how will he help you?"

Khione sighed, the whole situation was giving her numb head a migraine. 

"I don't know," she exasperated, "I don't know at all! But I need my family. I don't know how else I will survive this!" 

Jassper and Macy did not say anything else in response. Instead, they quietly drove her to her home and then helped her out of the car. 

"The longest the antidote has ever worked was 3 hours," Jassper said. "The average time is about 1and a half hours. So you need to tell him whatever you want to tell him in the next hour or so before the pain kicks in again." 

Khione opened her mouth to respond but before she could do so, the front door of her home opened up and her fuming father stepped out. 

He stared at her for a few moments too long, making her breathing hitch and fear levels rise exponentially. He then stepped forward and let his open palm meet her cheek. The impact was so strong that Khione fell to the ground.

"You disgrace!" he growled down at her. 

"D-Dad?" Khione called out to him in her shocked state, unsure of what was happening. 

"Don't you dare call me that! You are no daughter of mine!"