Chapter five

AVELORA 

The door flew open.

It wasn’t pulled or pushed by anyone. It burst wide, as if the wind itself had forced its way in, yet the hallway beyond was empty. And still, the room shifted.

Something moved through the air, through me. It slid beneath my skin, crept into my bones like a whispered warning.

Pressure bloomed behind my eyes. All too familiar and terrifying. “That’s my mother,” Khyrix said, spinning me so I faced him.

'Finally'.

The word brushed against my mind, uninvited. Mybreath caught. “Avelora.”

Khyrix’s voice reached me, distant, as though it had to fight its way through something thick and unseen. But it tangled with another voice, one I knew far too well. “Avelora.” a voice so soft and certain.

The same one from my dreams.

“Hey,” Khyrix murmured, grounding me. “We need to sell this.” I nodded, clinging to that thought as energy surged

through me, wild and uncontained.

“Okay,” I breathed.

That was the last thing I managed before his lips met mine.

The contact snapped me out of the trance.

His hand slid to my neck, fingers threading into my hair, anchoring me before I could form a single coherent thought. The kiss hit like lightning, sharp and consuming me whole, ripping straight through my bloodstream.

He tasted like alcohol and sugar.

My heart slammed so hard against my ribs it felt like it might shatter them. I gasped into his mouth; he swallowed the sound, grip tightening as he tilted my head to the angle he wanted, unapologetic, brutal.

His other hand hooked around my waist, pulling me flush against him until there was no space left to pretend this wasn’t real.

He broke away just long enough for me to breathe.

That was when someone cleared their throat.

“Avelora?”

Khyrix was in front of me again, his expression carefully composed, concern cracking through. “Are you okay?”

“I’m okay,” I said automatically.

Two guards rushed in, catching the door before it slammed shut. Heat crept up my cheeks when I realized they must’ve seen everything. They straightened instantly.

Someone was coming. No, the person saw how he had just kissed me.

“Avelora.”

My heart stuttered.

That voice again, a sort of memory. Something I kept forgetting, yet would recognize anywhere. BShe stepped into the room, elegance following her like a shadow.

Her dress clung perfectly, dark fabric flowing as though it moved on its own. She didn’t rush. She didn’t need to. The room bent around her presence.

She looked… familiar.

“Avelora,” she said again, smiling softly, as if we’d met before. “We meet again.” My chest tightened.

She was the one that spoke to me every night—in dreams that left me restless, hollow. She stopped a few steps away, eyes finally lifting to meet mine.

Silence stretched. Then Khyrix moved beside me, posture shifting. A respectful stance. “Mother.” Relief flickered across his face.

My knees nearly gave out, she was the Chief Priestess of the Moonbound Pack.

Alpha Khyrix’s mother.

I bowed instinctively.

“Was this your plan all along, Khyrix?” she asked lightly.

She didn’t look at me. Khyrix stepped forward, placing himself between us. “What plan, Mother?”

There was something sharp between them. I stood there, shrinking. “You know.” She shrugged, then finally turned her

gaze to me.

“I contacted your father. He’ll be here shortly.”

My heart dropped.

She knew. Not everything but enough. Enough to use my fear as leverage, as an advantage.

When I was selected for the program, my father had warned me: don’t be noticed. Don’t matter. Just exist.

Sweat slicked my palms. Still, I didn’t lower my gaze.

She chuckled at that.

Khyrix’s fingers tightened around mine. “I’ll see you later,” she said, turning away. The pressure vanished the moment she left, like it had never been there at all.

I exhaled shakily. “I think she knows.” Khyrix’s laugh echoed hers. “She doesn’t. She bluffs.”

My gaze dropped to his lips as he talked, remembering how he had just kissed me, I silently took a step back.

I had just realized I was no different from the girls I had talked about, the one that fell to his feet and worshipped the grounds he walked on.

My cheek heated up unwillingly, I bit my lips to control the nervousness I was feeling. I cleared my throat "we should go." he nodded and led me outside, into the hallways

I stopped in my track

His heavy familiar footsteps filling the room, my heart dropped as I braced myself

"Avelora."

My father’s voice.

Pain exploded across my face before I could react. The sound echoed down the hallway as my head snapped sideways, fire blooming in my cheek.

And just like that, I knew— the last shred of my dignity running from me.