Betrayed by Blood, Claimed by the Alpha

Two weeks later~

The air was heavy with the scent of herbs, some dried, some freshly ground, but all scattered across every surface in the room. Bowls filled with water. Bloodstained cloths tossed into corners.

Avery hadn’t woken.

Not once.

Cain sat on the edge of the bed, his hand trembling as he took out another cloth. He’d been repeating the same motion for hours, wiping her skin clean, patting her dry, whispering her name even though she never answered.

He looked at her now, her body so still it scared him. She looked like she was only sleeping. But he knew better.

He pressed the damp cloth to her forehead, moving slowly, gently, as though too much pressure would break her.

"Come back," he whispered.

When her chest rose in another shallow breath, Cain exhaled. It was barely a breath, but it was something.

He stood up with a grunt, biting down the pain that shot through his leg. He still was not healed. The wound ran deep, through the skin, muscle, and into his wolf. His kind was supposed to regenerate quickly, especially as an Alpha, but he didn’t, not this time. The injury lingered, like it was cursed.

He dragged his limp leg across the floor and moved to the window.

It was night.

Of course, it was night.

The sky was pitch black, and not a single star was out. The moon was missing again, like it had been ever since Avery went unconscious. freewёbnoνel.com

"You’re punishing me," he muttered. "Aren’t you?" He pressed his forehead to the glass, and for a moment, he looked like a man praying to something that no longer listened.

She was punishing him for all that he had done in his lifetime. All the lives he had taken... the names he had long since forgotten... All the lives he had destroyed.

She was punishing him for all the pain he had caused others. That’s the only reason why Avery was still unconscious even after he returned.

He knew the possibility of the Heart of Celeste working was 50/50, but he had hoped. But of course, it didn’t work.

He sighed, looking up at the sky. Maybe this was justice. Maybe this was balance.

If only Xander had just let fate do its work.

He scoffed bitterly, "Then maybe he wouldn’t be in a damn coma." He muttered lowly, the memory of what happened hitting him like a punch to the ribs.

~~~

They were almost out.

The trees had begun to thin, the air less suffocating. The unnatural silence of the forest had started to ease, like the forest itself was finally releasing them. They were just four that remained.

Cain walked ahead of the rest of them, the Heart of Celeste cradled in his hands, glowing softly under the layers of cloth that had long since slipped aside.

It shouldn’t have been exposed, not even faintly.

At first, they didn’t notice anything, all just thankful to be almost out of the forest. It suddenly wasn’t as complicated as it used to be. It was almost like the forest itself was making a way for them or maybe pushing them in the right direction.

And so, no one noticed the shadow behind them that shifted unnaturally. Or how the temperature kept dipping. Or the fact that no animal sounds returned, not a single bird, no rustle of leaves.

Then Cain heard it. A whisper or maybe a hiss.

It was not words. Just... wrong.

He slowed. Turned his head slightly, and everyone froze, alarmed. Cain’s eyes flickered around, but he saw nothing. He look at the Heart of Celeste, and his eyes widened the second he saw it was slightly open and still glowing.

Elder Loris’s words echoed in his head again. ’When you find the heart, You must make sure it’s covered completely, not even a little bit of it must be open. Its glow and energy attracts evil spirits. They’re known as Velka’s. Made from ashes of traitors or sinners, attracted to divine relics. You must keep the heart of Celeste hidden and safe from a Velka."

Now, Cain understood her warnings. He slowly looked around, knowing there was a Velka spirit around them.

"Xander.."

"I know," Xander said, voice low, hoarse. "I feel it too."

The fourth person in the group, a young warrior barely past seventeen, tightened his grip on his dagger. His eyes darted wildly, breath shallow.

They were surrounded, though nothing yet could be seen. The air grew denser, pressing on their lungs like invisible hands.

Cain tightened his grip on the Heart of Celeste, wrapping it quickly with the cloth again. But it was too late.

A sound tore through the forest, not a scream, not a roar. It was something Cain couldn’t name. It pierced through the entire forest, deafening.

Then it came.

A shadow, in the shape of a man but with no face. Smoke wrapped in ash. Eyes like two dying stars, flickering red. The Velka.

Cain’s wolf surged to the surface, muscles twitching, orbs switching colors, but there was no time to shift.

The Velka moved with terrifying speed none of them had ever seen, lifting a gnarled hand that pulsed with energy.

Cain turned, fangs bared.

The Velka’s arm pulled back, about to strike.

"Cain!" Xander yelled.

He rushed forward without hesitation, shoving Cain out of the way just as the Velka hurled its energy forward. a dense blast of shadow shot out in a consuming force.

Cain fell hard, the wind knocked out of him, still shielding the heart. And Xander...

The blast struck him square in the chest. There was no time to scream.

The impact threw him backward, his body hitting the ground with a sickening thud. Smoke curled around him, crawling over his skin.

The young warrior gasped, rushing forward, but Cain growled out, "Don’t!"

It was too dangerous.

Cain scrambled up, eyes locked on Xander.

He wasn’t moving. Blood poured from his mouth. His body spasmed once. Then he stilled.

"Xander!" Cain yelled.

The Velka hovered over him but did not strike again. As if Xander’s sacrifice had satisfied it.

The glow of the Heart had dulled now. Hidden again. But the damage was done.

The Velka turned, and just like that, it was gone.

The forest went back to normal, their way out was now right in front of them.

Cain’s chest remained tight, breath short. He dropped to his knees beside Xander, shaking him, calling his name again and again....

But his Xander’s eyes remained shut.

Now, Cain stood by the window, two people he’s wronged and also held dear were unconscious.

Xander, in a bed, rooms away, untouched by time but locked in it. His body alive, but his soul somewhere far away.

And Avery... so close, yet slipping further with each day.

Cain looked down at his hands. He could still see the glow of the Heart. Still feel its warmth on his palms before everything went to hell. It had pulsed when he held it. He thought that meant something. He thought it would be enough.

But nothing changed.

He leaned his head against the window, eyes burning.

"I’m sorry," he whispered. He didn’t know which of them he was speaking to anymore.

Maybe both, maybe the Moon Goddess.

He wasn’t sure she was listening, but he said it anyway.