The Dragon King's Heart

Chapter 67 - Giving Myself My Freedom

Victoria sat in the dark corner of the dungeon cell. Her head hung low as she looked down at the damp ground beneath her feet. She could no longer remember how long she had been trapped in here. 

Just then, the sound of footsteps echoed through the halls. She looked up as candlelight danced on the walls of the hallway. As the shadows grew bigger, Victoria could sense someone was here to see her. 

As the gate to her cell creaked open, she looked over to see him walk in. 

"Hello my Luna, how have you been?" Kragen greeted her with a menacingly sweet tone of voice. 

Victoria had goosebumps all over her arms. Why was the King being so nice to her now? He had been nothing but cruel. Ever since Victoria was young, she had a dream. One day, she would be dressed in finery, crowned, and ascend to the throne. 

The day Kragen and her first met, werewolves were pillaging her town. Her entire family, all her friends, all the people she ever knew were killed and slaughtered with no mercy. The moment their eyes met, Victoria felt a wave of immeasurable euphoria. 

Despite the horror that happened all around her, she ran towards him with glee. But there was no happiness on Kragen's face. The moment he realized his mate, his luna, was a weakling human, he despised her. 

"You're not my mate, you will never be my luna," he said to her. 

But their bond was sanctioned by the Moon Goddess, nothing could tear them apart. She tried everything she could to make him love her. Make him see her in a better light. But nothing worked. 

He distanced himself from her. Whenever she tried to speak to him, he would shout at her, throw things at her, hurt her. Victoria suffered in silence, hoping one-day things would change. She was still filled with hope through it all. 

But when she saw him in bed with three whores, that was when she lost all faith in him. She wanted to leave and escape. She did not believe in dreams anymore. She just wanted the pain to go away. 

But he chained her to him. 

"I might not want you, but no one else can either," he hissed. 

After repeated failed attempts, he threw her in this dark and dim cell. But not before he took out his anger at her. Victoria suffered in silence. 

His sweet greeting ignited a flame of hope in Victoria. She used the wall to support herself as she stood up. 

"Kragen," she called out his name. 

She fell forward, Kragen moved forward and held her in his arms. 

"I'm sorry to have treated you like this, Victoria," he whispered to her as he tucked a lock of her messy hair behind her ear. 

She looked up at him. The flame of hope in her heart burned brighter with each passing second. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she forced a smile upon her lips. She had been praying to all the gods for this moment. 

Her sacrifices. Her silence. All of it had been worth it. 

"I knew you would come around, Kragen. I knew it," she cried as the tears blurred her vision.

Seeing her pathetic naive face, Kragen could not help but burst out in laughter. He let go of her as he continued to laugh maniacally. His laughter echoed in the dungeon. Victoria fell to the ground.

Her body was malnourished and weak. She winced in pain as she used her hands to break her fall. Just like that, her world came crashing down once more. 

"Did you seriously believe me? Just like that?" he scoffed, "I knew humans were foolish but not this foolish."

He continued to laugh at her. 

Victoria gritted her teeth. She had no more pride. Whatever she had left was all gone. All she wanted now, was to be free. She crawled over to his feet and knelt before him. 

"Kragen, please I beg you, please let me go. I promise I won't tell anyone anything! Just let me go!" she begged as she held onto his calf. 

Seeing how pathetic she looked, Kragen had no pity for her. He bent down and roughly cupped her chin in his hands. 

"Since you value your freedom so much, I have a deal for you. In exchange for your freedom, I want you to do something for me," he explained. 

"I'll do anything. Anything!" she pleaded. 

Kragen slapped her twice on the cheek, "Now that's my good girl. All I need you to do is to denounce me as your mate."

Although she was only human, Victoria knew what it meant to reject a mate. For those who have been blessed to be mates by the Moon Goddess Selene, rejecting your mate is equivalent to rejecting the blessing of a deity. 

The person who does this would be cursed to suffer the torment of a thousand knives. 

"What?" Victoria gasped in horror as she fell backward. 

"Reject me as your mate, Victoria. And I will set you free," he said again with a grin. 

"I...I…" Victoria was at a loss. 

This man hated her with every fiber in his body. Yet she could not bring herself to do what he asked. Would her body even be able to survive the torment of a thousand knives? Victoria looked down at her hands. 

They were covered in blood, dirt, and wounds. She could feel the chilly wind on her skin. The wounds she had suffered in the hands of her mate were too many to count. She had tried and failed to attain his love. 

Now, even the sweet release of death sounded tempting. 

-If I only do one thing in this life for myself, let it be this.- she thought to herself as she clenched her fists. 

"Fine, I will do it," she declared as she looked up at him. 

For just a moment, Kragen noticed a flame ignited in Victoria. Something he had never seen before. For just a split second, he felt afraid. Was that even possible? Kragen handed her a knife. 

Victoria held it in her hands. In a flash, she saw herself stabbing the knife through Kragen's heart. But she knew she was weak. It would not have worked. 

-If only I was stronger.- she sighed to herself. 

Using the sharpened blade, Victoria cut the palm of her right hand. She winced in pain as blood began to seep from the open wound. Droplets of fresh blood dripped onto the ground. Victoria clenched her fist and looked into Kragen's eyes. 

Her palpitating heart was no longer beating in her ears. At that moment, everything around her became secondary. She was calm and collected as she took in a deep breath of air. 

"I, Victoria, reject Alpha Werewolf King Kragen as my mate. From this point forth, forever and always."

As soon as she finished speaking, the wound on her hand began to burn. Victoria screamed in pain as she crumbled to the ground. With each passing second, she felt as if a knife was stabbed into her heart. This process repeated over and over again. 

Kragen grinned as he stepped back away from the pitiful human girl. She was writhing on the ground. Victoria stretched out her hand, calling out to him with the weak voice she had for his help. 

But Kragen was long gone. 

As she slowly lost consciousness, a single tear rolled down the side of her cheek.