Chapter: CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY★DARIUS’ POV★My gut twisted tighter with every second Anastasia worked. She moved fast, thank the goddess, her hands a blur as she crushed herbs, mixing them into some kind of paste, then adding liquid. It felt like an eternity, though. Every rasping breath Emmeline took, every weak tremor that still ran through her tiny body was a hammer blow to my chest. Hurry, damn it. Please, just hurry.Finally, Anastasia held up a small, dark vial. "It's ready," she said, her voice calm but her eyes holding a flicker of urgency that mirrored my own fear.I knelt beside the cot, my heart in my throat. Gently, so damn gently, I lifted Emmeline's head, supporting the fragile weight with my hand. Her skin was still too pale, her lips almost blue. Anastasia carefully brought the vial to her mouth.The first few drops went down, and Emmeline coughed, a weak, pathetic sound that tore right through me. My jaw tightened. Swallow, Em. Please, just swallow. Anastasia waited patiently, then tried again. Th
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2025-05-03
Chapter: CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY-NINE★EMMELINE’S POV★My head felt like it was stuffed with cotton, heavy and distant. Every breath was a struggle, a shallow, rattling thing that didn't seem to bring enough air. I was floating, drifting somewhere between here and... well, somewhere else. Somewhere quiet and dark. It felt peaceful, in a terrifying sort of way. Like I was letting go."Emmeline? Stay with me. Please."Sylas. His voice. It sounded tight, strained, like he was trying not to break. I wanted to answer, to tell him I was trying, but my tongue felt thick and useless. I managed a small, weak squeeze of the hand he was holding. His grip tightened instantly, almost painfully."She's fading, Sylas," a softer voice said. Anastasia. The healer. I could feel her cool fingers on my wrist, checking my pulse. "The damage... it's spreading faster than I can counter it without the proper herbs."Fading. Yeah, that felt about right. Like a candle sputtering out. The pain was a dull throb now, constant and heavy, but almost se
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2025-05-02
Chapter: CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY-EIGHT★DARIUS★Hours. It had been damn hours. My body screamed with every step, every bend, every time I had to push aside a thorny branch that clawed at my already torn clothes and skin. The Crying Woods lived up to its name; the wind seemed to moan through the trees, and the shadows felt heavy, pressing down on me. And for what? Nothing. I hadn't found a damn thing.My eyes scanned the forest floor, blurry with exhaustion and pain. Silver plants, they said. Surrounded by thorny roots. Sounded like something out of a twisted fairytale, and right now, I felt less like a prince on a quest and more like a broken-down mule lost in a maze.I stumbled, catching myself on a tree trunk, the rough bark scraping my cheek. "Son of a bitch," I muttered, leaning my forehead against the cool wood. My lungs burned, my muscles felt like they were tearing, and the dull ache in my ribs was a constant reminder of the fight I'd barely survived. This was insane. I was running on fumes and sheer, unadulterated
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2025-04-30
Chapter: CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY-SEVEN★DARIUS' POV★The air tasted like blood and dirt, thick and metallic. This bastard, this rogue Alpha, was fast, I'll give him that. He came at me, claws out, a snarling mess of muscle and rage. My own snarl ripped from my throat, a low rumble that promised pain. He swiped, a blur of grey fur. I ducked under it, the wind of his miss whipping past my ear. Instinct took over. My jaws snapped shut, finding purchase on his hind leg. God, the feel of tearing muscle and sinew... it sent a jolt of brutal satisfaction through me. I yanked hard.He howled, a sound that was music to my ears, stumbling, off-balance. That was my chance. Don't hesitate. Never hesitate. I surged upward, putting everything into it. My claws raked across his face. I felt the warm, wet spray of blood, heard his shriek of agony as one eye was taken. Good. Let him see what happens when you cross me.He didn't back down though. Credit where it's due, the son of a bitch had guts. His rage doubled, making him sloppy, predic
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2025-04-29
Chapter: CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY-SIX★DARIUS’ POV★Damn, that place was even worse than the stories. The Crying Woods… they weren’t kidding with the name. The air hung thick and heavy, clinging to my skin like a shroud. It reeked of stale blood, rot, and something else… despair, maybe? Twisted trees clawed at the perpetually grey sky, their branches like skeletal fingers. It was unnervingly quiet in some ways, but the silence was punctuated by sounds that made the hairs on my arms stand up – distant growls echoing through the suffocating woods, the rustle of unseen things in the undergrowth.And the eyes. Glowing pairs of them, tracking me from the deepest shadows. Yellow, green, cold pinpricks of hate watching my every step. The rogues. They said rogues were just mindless beasts, driven mad by isolation. Bullshit. Those bastards were smart, cunning. They were hunting me, I could feel it. Packs of them, flanking me, testing my path, waiting for an opening.Being alone sucked right then, made every shadow seem like a thre
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2025-04-27
Chapter: CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY-FIVE★EMMELINE’S POV★I woke up slowly, the dull ache in my body a familiar companion now. But something else felt wrong. Deeper. Colder. I reached out instinctively, my hand searching the space beside me in the bed. Empty.Darius wasn’t there.That wasn’t unusual. He was the Alpha, always busy. But this felt different. The bond, the constant hum of his presence in the back of my mind, felt… distant. Like a faint whisper across a wide, empty space. Not gone, not broken, but stretched thin, strained.Panic, cold and sharp, pricked at me. I pushed myself up, ignoring the protest from my aching muscles. “Darius?” I called out, my voice raspy from sleep.No answer.I swung my legs over the side of the bed, my feet finding the floor. I pulled on a robe quickly, my hands fumbling with the tie. Where was he? Why did the bond feel so… far away?I opened the door to our chambers. A maid was outside, tidying the hall.“Where is the Alpha?” I asked, trying to keep my voice steady.She curtsied. “Good
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2025-04-27