Chapter 123 - Pay The Price

That night, Dante walked Laina back to her room in the castle. They were having a great conversation when a sudden chill caught Dante's attention. But before he could even bring it up, a hand grabbed onto Laina's arm from behind. 

The claws dug into her arm, causing Laina to wince in pain. She was pulled away from Dante.

"Dante!" she called out to him, reaching her free hand towards him. 

"Laina!" Dante reached out his hand to grab onto hers. 

But he was too late, Laina was being pulled into a portal that opened up behind her. From where he stood, he could clearly see who it was. It was a werewolf, with golden chestnut brown fur. It was Kragen!

He had a crazed look in his eye and a wide grin on his face. Dante leaped forward, attempting to follow them through the portal. But it closed before he could do so. Just like that, Laina was taken right out of his grasp. 

Dante gritted his teeth in anger as he clenched his fist. He was too careless. He subconsciously lowered his guard, he only had himself to blame. But this was not the end. He was going to find Kragen and give him a piece of his mind. 

From behind, a shadow lunged at Dante. This time, he was able to anticipate the attack and dodged it carefully. It was Kol. He had sensed something was amiss, so he came out of the room to look. 

"Where's Crown Princess Laina?" Kol asked as he bared his fangs at Dante. 

"She's been taken, by Kragen," Dante replied swiftly. 

Laina, having been pulled back, had little time to react. She was no longer in the castle. She was in the middle of a forest clearing. As she took a step back, she realized there was someone behind her blocking her from taking another step. 

Before she could say anything, a fur-covered hand covered her mouth and another grabbed hold of her by the waist tightly. Laina struggled out of the grasp of her attack but his raw strength was more than she had anticipated. 

"You ruined everything for me! I'm going to make you pay!" Kragen roared in anger as he tightened his hold on Laina. 

Realizing it was Kragen, Laina was pissed. She too had lowered her guard while she was with Dante. Now, she was in the hands of an angry alpha werewolf. Laina knew she had to free herself from his grasp. 

But her arms were locked in place by Kragen's hold on her. First, she had to free herself. An idea popped into her mind. Laina turned her arms and dug her manicured nails deep into Kragen's arm. 

She exerted a huge force of strength. The piercing pain made Kragen howl in pain. He was loosening his hold. Taking advantage of the distraction, Laina bit down onto Kragen's arm that was covering her mouth. 

"Argh!" Kragen released Laina from his hold. 

She curled her right hand into a fist and spun around to face Kragen. She uppercut him right in the jaw with all the strength she had in her body. The impact of the force in Laina's uppercut was enough to lift him off the ground for a split second. 

Laina lifted the hem of her dress as she swiftly took a step back, and kicked him straight in the chest. Kragen was sent flying through the air, splintering the tree trunk he hit. 

Laina dusted her hands with a murderous gaze in her eyes. 

She walked up to him with folded arms, "You dare to try and kidnap me? Dream on, Kragen!"

Kragen groaned in pain, he had underestimated Laina's strength. He had assumed she was other princesses, weak and feeble, always in need of protection. He thought that if he could get her alone, he could mess with her. 

But he was wrong. 

"Laina! Laina!" someone was calling out her name. 

Laina looked towards the source of the voice. It was coming from above, in the sky. When she looked up, Laina could barely see who it was since it was dark. 

"Dante? Dante is that you? Over here!" she called out to him as she waved her hands in the air towards his direction. 

Dante heard Laina's voice. When he spotted the forest clearing, he swooped down immediately to meet her. Words could not describe his relief when he saw that Laina was unharmed. He cupped Laina's face in his hands, checking to see if she had been hurt. 

"Laina, are you alright? Did he hurt you? Where is that bastard?!"

Laina looked up at Dante, mesmerized by him at that moment. She knew he cared about her, but she never really knew how much. Seeing him so worried about her brought a smile to her face. 

"I'm alright, Dante. I'm alright," she said reassuringly. 

Being in his arms brought her a great sense of comfort. The worried look on his face felt hauntingly familiar too. Has she seen this side of him before?

Moments later, Kol arrived too. To see Laina alive and well, he heaved a sigh of relief. If anything had happened to her, he would not have been able to live with himself. Not to forget, Margaret would not let him live to see another day. 

But it was not over yet, Kragen got back up, more pissed than before. He howled towards the sky as he protracted his claws, ready to attack Laina again. Dante was not about to let him harm Laina again. He covered her protectively with one arm while materializing a lance in his free hand. 

He pointed it towards Kragen as he warned, "Do not take another step further."

Kol also assumed an attack stance, ready to lunge at Kragen if needed. 

"My fight is not with you, Dragon King. Stay out of this," Kragen warned Dante. 

Kol did not appreciate the fact that he was being ignored. Taking advantage of the situation, he lunged at Kragen. Laina worried for Kol's safety, wanting to stop him but it was too late. Kol's super-speed allowed him to close off the distance with Kragen in a fraction of a second. 

He materialized a sword in his hands and attacked Kragen without mercy. Kragen, annoyed by Kol, grabbed hold of his sword and broke it in half. Surprised by his strength, Kol did not have enough time to react. 

With one swipe of his paw, Kol was sent flying off to the side. He grunted in pain as he hit a tree bark. Blood dribbled from the side of his mouth. 

"Kol!" Laina called out, worried for his safety. 

Dante gritted his teeth, he could not protect Laina and deal with Kragen at the same time. Laina knew that too. So, she whispered a plan to him. Though he wanted to escort her to safety himself, he knew it was their best course of action. 

"I will come to you once this is done," Dante said to Laina as he gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead. 

"I will call for reinforcements," Laina promised. 

Dante shook his head, "No need, I will take care of this. Don't worry.. Now, go."