Chapter 64
“Fino,” Trasp at last, voice hoarse. “I tell you. But why are you so obsessed with that necklace, anyway?” I squint against th trying and failing to see him clearly All T make out is a looming shadow pacing back and forth like a redless predator
“It’s just a stupid necklace,” Ladd, “Take, Trust me
He growls—a low, guttural, vicious sound that makes the hairs on my neck stand on end. He knows I’m lying
“You fucking bitch,” he snarls. “That necklace isn’t take. It vanished nearly a decade ago. Do you have any idea how long I’ve been hunting for it? How many people I’ve tortured, killed, bribed–red–just to find that damn thing?!”
A chill runs down my spine as I picture the trail of destruction he’s left in his obsession. But that fury that slip in his composuret
That’s my way in
“Are you doing all this because of the Alpha King as his personal lapdog Lask, keeping my tone calm, baiting him. “Or is this your own selfish little Crusade?”
He stills. And the way he hesitates–just slightly all the answer I need.
“The necklace you’re so desperate to claim, looks exactly like the one the Alpha Queen was rumored to own. So if you’re so sure mine isn’t fake… that can only mean one thing”
I pause, watching his shadow.
“It is hers. The Alpha Queen’s. So tell me–why would someone like you want something that belonged to her?”
The silence that follows cuts deeper than any blade. And then, his voice slithers through the air–low, venomous, and seething with rage. I know I struck
a nerve.
“I know what you’re doing.” he sneers. “You’re stalling. Hoping your wolf will come and save you.”
My heart skips as he chuckles–a sound that’s sick and gleeful.
“She’s not coming,” he says “Not now. Maybe not ever
Ffreeze.
“You know what I injected you with? he continues casually. “It’s called Neruthium Veil–a poison bred from the roots of the Bloodshade tree, soaked in silver, enchanted with death chants. The most vicious substance known in our world. It severs the soul from the beast.”
No.
My breathing quickens. I still can’t fool her… but she’s hot gone. She can’t be.
“She’s quiet,” I whisper, more to myself than to him, “But she’s not gone.”
“You think that?” he scoffs. “Keep dreaming. Soon, you’ll join her in death. But before you do…” He steps closer again, and i brace myself as his breath brushes against my check. “I don’t mind giving you a little truth as a parting gift”
“Since you know it belonged to the Alpha Queen,” he continues with mockery, “then surely you understand its worth what it represents.”
I nod quickly, clinging to his every word, desperate to keep him talking.
“Oh, you foolish girl,” he spits. “You had no idea what you were carrying. You strutted around with it like it was some cheap piece of costume jewelry-
1/4
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tein, the sound agged and unstablo, echoing off the walk. He begins pacing once more, his e
rhythm–crack, crack crack.
You want to know why I want it?” His voice darkens. “With that necklace in my possession, Kall, I could buy power, Ruta kingdoms that smug bastard nephew of mine and reduce him to ash. Even the Alpha King wouldn’t dare touch me. Not with what that necklace her. He’d fall to his knees and offer me everything he owns.”
1 feize the moment and push further, my voice softening, almost uncertain. “Then why me? Why did I have t
His footsteps halt, and I take it as a sign–an opening.
“Was my mother… someone close to the Alpha Queen? Maybe her personal maid who hid the necklace away?” I ask hesitantly. “But…she wouldn’t ha given something so important to just a servant, would she?”
I can’t see him, but I feel the stillness in his shadow. And I know–he’s hiding something Something I haven’t yet pieced together.
Then his voice slithers through the darkness. “Do you remember anything about your childhood?” he asks, almost playfully but I remember the first time I met him how he asked about my parents during the party at Blood Fang
“You’re not originally from the Red Night Pack, are you?” he adds. “You were adopted.
My blood runs cold. He knows. He knows something about my real parents.
I swallow and nod slowly. “Yes. I was adopted. But… I don’t remember anything before that.”
He claps his hands once and laughs–truly laughs, this time. A full, bone–chilling sound that echoes through the room and makes my stomach turn.
“That’s good,” he says, delighted. “That’s perfect. You don’t need to know a damn thing”
My heart leaps into my throat. I open my mouth to respond-
But he cuts me ofl.
In fact,” he says breezily, “don’t bother telling me where the necklace is anymore. I’ll find it myself.”
His voice twists into something childlike and cruel.
my favorite.”
“Hide and seek was always my
The moment the words leave his mouth, something sharp pierces the side of my neck. Pain blooms instantly–hot and brutal.
“AHH!” I scream, my body convulsing violently against the restraints of the chair.
I feel it before it happens–his boot slams into the chair, sending me toppling over. I crash to the ground with a sickening thud, my shoulder slamming against the cold, hard floor. My head spins from the impact.
“No need to scream,” he murmurs above me, his voice a soft, mocking drawl. “No one can hear you. No one’s coming.”
-HELP!” I cry out, my voice ragged. “Jack-/”
“Keep screaming,” he taunts. “It makes it more fun.”
My ears are ringing now. My vision blurs
But then–I hear it.
Footsteps
Chapter 64
He hears it too. 1 feel the way He straighters, how his breath hitches:
Someone’s coming.
s slightly.
Please, let it be Jack.
My heart pounds violently against my ribs, and cling to consciousness grasping for that faint flicker of hope
But just when I think I hear salvation in those approaching footsteps–just when my trembling heart dares to hope it’s Jack
The scent hits me.
No.
Oh, Moon Goddess, no.
That scent–sickeningly sweet, drenched in roses and poison. I know it too well I’ll never forget it.
And then I hear her voice.
“You didn’t kill her, did you?” Lady Celestia’s whiny tone grates against my ears like nails dragging across bone. “You promised you’d give her to me alive. I already sent a letter to Daddy asking for her heart. I can’t wait to see him stab her and present it to me. Best birthday present ever!”
She claps her hands like a child receiving a toy.
A sob rises in my throat, but I swallow it down.
Not her. Not that delusional parasite. She’s part of this too?
Jack’s uncle growl rumbles through the room like thunder cracking overhead. I feel his anger vibrate in the floor beneath me, even as my head pounds and my limbs grow
numb.
“Do I need to remind you never to question me?” he snarls. “Or should I show you what I’m capable of? You play the Alpha King’s daughter, Celestia, but that doesn’t really make you one.”
There’s a pause.
A sharp, terrified inhale.
party, I hear her whimper. A pitiful, breathy little sound, like a pup with its tail between its legs.”
And then, just like at the Blood Fang party,
“What… what do you mean by that?” she stammers, her voice shrinking, her confidence crumbling
I can feel it her mask is cracking but why?
There’s a beat of silence before he barks coldly, “Get out. And come back only after you’ve gotten your father’s approval–if you want her head or her heart.”
Silence again. Then the shuffle of heels against concrete as she scurries away like the coward she is
“I will get it,” she spits over her shoulder. “paddy will grant me anything I want.”
Her footsteps grow fainter and fainter, until they vanish completely.
Chapter 64
djust when I think I can exhale just when I think maybe the
his presence returns.
Closer
wfor good
His breath ghosts over my cheek, hot and repulsive. His voice drops to a whisper, every word laced with venom and cruel amuçament.
“You’ll finally be reuniting with your father,” he murmurs, the edge of a smile in his voice. “It’s unfortunate you’ll be dying at his hands
My heart stops.
And then-
Darkness
No thoughts.
No pain.
No light.
Just endless, suffocating black.
Ө
