Elara’s POVBranches clawed at my arms as we pushed through the forest, the moonlight barely cutting through the thick canopy overhead. My lungs burned. Every breath tasted like smoke and blood.Andrew’s weight leaned heavier and heavier against me, his steps sluggish, and uneven. He hadn’t spoken in minutes. I could feel the fever radiating off him.“Just a little further,” I whispered, mostly to myself. “Come on, stay with me.”It was crazy how our positions switched. The main reason why he was caught in this mess is to help me. Now, I was the one doing the helping.Luckily that stupid beast left after doing it's work leaving me with a very sick Andrew. I didn't know how far Michael and Lora had to go in order to get help.Noticing he hadn’t responded, I looked down as his grip on me loosened.“Andrew?” I stopped and turned, my heart hammering. “Hey. Look at me.”He swayed. His eyes blinked, unfocused. Then he crumpled.“No—no, no, no.” I dropped with him, catching his head before i
Elara’s POVI didn’t sleep. Not even for a second.Andrew lay on the cot, drenched in sweat, the veins along his neck pulsing black like ink trapped under skin. His breathing was shallow, ragged, the kind that made my heart skip every time there was a pause between inhales.Every few minutes, he let out a soft groan, like the pain was crawling through him in waves. I held his hand and tried to stay calm, but my grip trembled. I felt useless. Like watching someone drown while your legs were tied to the shore.The fire crackled, low and weak. It was still dark out, and the cabin smelled of blood, herbs, and unease.Lora had done what she could, but even she looked helpless when she stepped away. I kept asking what else could be done, and each time she avoided my eyes.Then Greg came back.He stood in the doorway, dripping with sweat from running, his jaw clenched like it was holding back a something.“What is it?” I asked.He didn’t answer right away. He looked past me, to Andrew. Then
Michael’s POVThe sound of Andrew’s growl ripped through the cabin like a blade.I shoved the door fully open and charged in, heart thundering. Elara was pressed against the wall, hands up, her eyes wide—not with fear, but with something worse. Desperation. She wasn’t running.Andrew stood in the middle of the room, half-shifted, his shoulders hunched and trembling, eyes glowing that same cursed red. He let out another guttural snarl and lunged again.Greg tackled him before he reached her.They hit the floor hard. Bones crunched, snarls erupted, and for a moment it was a disaster. I grabbed Elara and yanked her out of the way just before Andrew’s claws slashed the wall where she’d been.“Are you insane?” I barked at her. “He’s not himself!”“I know that!” she shouted, struggling against me. “But I saw him—Michael, he looked at me. He knew me for a second.”I held her tighter. “And the next second, he nearly ripped you apart.”“He wouldn’t—”“He did.”Greg grunted from the floor, stil
Elara’s POVThe second Lora whispered our names, something inside me snapped.Not like a breaking—more like an unlocking. Like a door swinging open in my chest, one I hadn’t known was there until it burst wide and swallowed everything.Andrew’s hand jerked in mine. I clutched tighter.Heat bloomed between our palms, searing and alive. Not fire, not pain, but raw energy. My breath caught. My pulse pounded in my ears, but I didn’t let go. I couldn’t.Light exploded from our joined hands. It spiraled into the air, coiling around us like a storm of stars. I heard someone—Michael maybe—call out, but the sound was distant, barely a whisper under the rush building in my skull.And then—I wasn’t in the cabin anymore.---I stood in a field of silver grass beneath a sky so dark it shimmered.The stars blinked like fireflies. The moon loomed low, full and watchful. The air smelled like rain and crushed violets.Andrew stood a few feet away, barefoot, shirtless, bathed in moonlight. Not the curs
Andrew’s POVThe name hit me like a punch to the chest.Dorian.I leaned back, dragging in air that wouldn’t fill my lungs. Elara reached for me, but I shook my head. I needed to analyze this. If she touched me, I wasn't sure if I will be able to reason this properly.Because now I remembered.Not all of it though. They were just like pieces of of a broken mirror, scattered and each one reflecting a moment I shouldn’t have forgotten.“Elara,” I breathed. “I knew him. We were like friends.”Her eyes didn’t flinch. That alone told me she’d already guessed. She was waiting for me to say it.“I met Dorian when I was a kid,” I said hoarsely. “He saved my life.”Greg, who had been silent near the door, turned around so fast the wall creaked. “What did you just say?”Michael’s body tensed beside him. “Andrew—what kind of saving are we talking about?”“I don’t know,” I snapped. “I can’t remember everything.”Elara stepped forward, her voice calm but edged. “Tell us what you do remember.”I sw
Greg’s POVThe walls still shimmered faintly from Elara’s outburst. The air felt heavier, like something had cracked open and left the world bleeding through.Is this the power of a god? If this is an effect it had before fully rising, then I wonder what will happen if this being finally came out.Andrew hadn’t moved from her side. He sat with her on the floor, her head resting against his shoulder, his hand holding hers like if he let go, she’d disappear.She might. Or worse, lose control again.I didn’t say that out loud.Michael stood near the window, watching the forest beyond the cabin. He hadn’t spoken in ten minutes, and that silence made me itch. If he didn’t know what was going on, we were in deeper trouble than I thought. We needed to figure this out or else, none of us will be able to last through it.I turned back to the stack of ancient books spread across the table, some half-burned, others older than anything I’d ever seen. I didn’t want to dig through more riddles, m
Andrew’s POVThe cemetery was too quiet. Even the birds had stopped singing.I stood at the edge of the wrought iron gate, my hand resting on the cold metal. The paint had long chipped away, leaving behind rust and claw marks. How did this happen? I wondered tracing the mark.Behind me, Elara’s breath hitched, and I turned just enough to catch the flicker of fear in her eyes.“I’m ready,” she whispered.I wasn’t sure she was. I wasn’t sure I was. But I nodded anyway, stepped aside, and let her pass through first.Michael grunted something under his breath, the kind of grumble meant to be heard. Greg followed, silent and sharp-eyed. Lora pulled her coat tighter, flipping through the notes she’d scribbled down from the old texts.This place had been hallowed ground once. Before the cult got their claws in. Before the spirits began to whisper from beneath the soil.We weren’t just walking into a cemetery—we were stepping into the belly of a trap.“Elara and I go first,” I said, stoppin
Elara’s POVI stared at the burning door like it was about to swallow me whole. My name—Elara—etched in glowing runes I didn’t recognize but somehow understood. The heat pouring off it wasn’t real heat. It was something else. Energy. Memory. Grief.Andrew’s hand was tight around mine, grounding me. His voice broke through the thrum in my head. “Elara… talk to me. What the hell is happening?”I opened my mouth, but nothing came out.Because I didn’t know.Something inside me did, but I didn’t.The spirits hovered behind us, still chanting. Their words no longer sounded threatening. They were mournful, like an old lullaby twisted by time. One of them stepped forward again—the female with hollow eyes.“You’ve returned,” she said softly. “The Gatekeeper walks again.”I blinked, throat dry. “But—”“You carry her blood,” she said. “That’s enough.”Andrew moved in front of me. “We didn’t come to unlock anything. We came to destroy that stone.”The spirit tilted her head, floating closer. “A
Andrew’s POVI threw on my shirt, barely managing to button it as Elara rushed into her jeans. Her hair was still messy, cheeks flushed from everything we just did, but the look in her eyes had changed. Worry had replaced pleasure. She knew me too well not to read the tension in my voice.She didn’t even ask what Greg had said again. She just grabbed her boots.“Do you think it’s Dorian?” she asked as she yanked them on.“I don’t know,” I muttered, heading toward the door. “But Greg sounded...off. And if it’s enough to make him call mid-morning like that, something’s wrong.”I opened the door, and the cold air slapped us like a warning. I reached for the keys to the Jeep, but before I could even hit the button, I heard familiar footsteps. Fast. Urgent.“Andrew!” Michael’s voice carried through the trees, Lora right behind him.“Thank goodness you guys are here.” I asked as we met halfway across the clearing.“We were relaxing close to the lake,” he said, breathing hard. “Got the sam
Andrew's POVThe moment I whispered those words into her ears I was greeted with goosebumps on her skin where my lips were and a shiver.I smiled at the effect that I was having on her. I can't believe I managed to survive so long without spending every waking moment beside her.With a hunger that rose deep from my stomach, I shifted and captured her mouth with mine eliciting a moan from her as she adjusted practically climbing into my lap.Without any much resistance, she opened her mouth to me as my tongue slipped into her and I groaned my delight as I enjoyed the taste of her.Her hand rested on my shoulder while the other wound around my neck drawing my head as she intensified the kiss almost making it bruising.But I loved it. Every single fucking moment. I nipped on her bottom lip and sucked it into mouth as she grinded against my hard on.“You're going to be the death of me Elara.” I muttered as I broke the kiss for a moment to catch my breath as I leaned my forehead against he
Elara's POVBy the time we all made it back to the cabin, it was well into the day. Bone tired, we all fell into position on a piece of furniture or the floor as we thought back to how the night had gone.I sat in the the couch with Andrew beside me. He drew me close to his side as he was scared that I would evaporate from his side.Michael and Lora took the other sofa in the room, practically sandwiched together. Greg chose the floor close to the wooden walls.“I can't believe we actually survived that.” Michael muttered as he looked between me and Greg.“Why will you say that?” I asked “I didn't know you had little faith in us.”“Oh c’mon, that's not I meant and you know it.” He replied giving me his full attention.I knew that wasn't what he meant. It was just that the look on his that still held disbelief just unsettled me and I wanted to tease him a bit.I sighed. “I know exactly what you mean.”“And?” He urged.“It was a miracle. What with the god rising and the way he was deter
Elara’s POVThe first breath I took was like drowning in light.Not air—light. Thick and sharp and everywhere. It filled my lungs, my veins, my mind.Then I came back.And everything hurt.My eyes snapped open. The world rushed in too fast. The ruins. The silence. The blood on my hands. The echo of Andrew’s voice still whispering my name.He was holding me.His arms were wrapped around me like he was afraid I’d disappear again.“Andrew,” I croaked. My voice didn’t sound like mine. It was softer—richer. Like something else had laced itself through me.He jerked back just enough to look at me, his face streaked with blood and ash and tears. His lips parted in a shaky breath.“You’re awake,” he whispered. “Elara, you’re awake—”“I’m okay.” I wasn’t. But I had to say it for him.He exhaled and pressed his forehead to mine. “You scared the hell out of me.”I touched his jaw. “You offered your life.”“I’d do it again.”He kissed me, quick and desperate. It wasn’t gentle. It was real.I clun
Lora’s POVThe world cracked.Not metaphorically. Not in the dreamy, nice and poetic way people say when things fall apart.I mean the altar—centuries old, cursed by blood and time—split down the middle with a sound like the earth itself had screamed.I flinched as shards of stone flew past my face. One grazed my cheek, warm blood sliding down before I could even register the sting. But I didn’t stop moving.“Elara!” I shouted, weaving between the broken stones and bodies. I saw her in Andrew’s arms, limp and deathly still, and something in me nearly shattered too.Not her. Please, not her. She was my best friend and the last thing I wanted was for her losing her life in this wretched place.Then Greg—no, the thing that had been Greg—turned toward me. His eyes weren’t his anymore. Red and empty. His smile too wide, very wrong and completely twisted.My heart pounded, fists clenched. The god had taken him. It had used him.But now?Now even that thing was looking like it wanted to devo
Andrew’s POVThe moment Elara expended her power trying to keep the god locked, it seemed like everything had stopped to focus on this particular moment. I stood screaming her name as she tried to do the impossible. But when I watched her falling, I couldn't take it anymore."Elara!" I tore through the red-glowing haze that had blanketed everything. My feet slammed hard into the ancient steps, sliding as I reached her. She was limp. Her skin had gone pale, almost gray, and her eyes fluttered like she was on the edge of leaving me. “Stay with me, dammit. Elara, breathe.”She didn’t respond. Her lips trembled, breath catching in shallow bursts.The air cracked above us—the sky splitting as the Blood Moon hit its peak. I looked up.And saw it.The gate was open. Not just some door or portal. This was ancient, raw, and alive. It was jagged light framed by black mist, spinning slowly in the heavens above the altar. And from it, something moved, a hand reached out.The forgotten god.Did
Elara's POVThe scream that tore from my throat didn’t feel like mine.It came from somewhere deeper—bone-deep, soul-deep. My back arched against the pulsing altar, and the red light crashing down from the Blood Moon carved through me like I was paper. Everything inside me felt like it was breaking apart. Shattered pieces of a girl who used to be Elara.Then I heard him."Elara!" Andrew’s voice cut through the chaos.I clung to it.The pain was still there, like I was being ripped from the inside out, but I clung to the sound of him. It grounded me. Reminded me of who I was. Of the nights we used to spend togetger as a couple. As mates. Of the way he whispered my name when no one else was listening.I blinked through the red haze and found him kneeling beside me, hands cupping my face. His eyes wide. Terrified. His thumb brushed the tears off my cheeks, and I leaned into the touch like it was the only thing keeping me alive."You’re still here," I choked out."I’m not going anywher
Andrew’s POVThe world went quiet.It shouldn’t have. There was chanting all around me, the sky roaring with thunder, cultists pacing like wolves ready to tear the altar apart. But all I could hear was the sound of her heart breaking.Elara’s eyes were locked on me—pleading, desperate, furious.And I’d faltered.Fates, I’d faltered.The girl beside her—the replacement—was glowing now. Not metaphorically. Literally. The altar pulsed under her knees, and I could feel the magic reaching for her like it had once reached for Elara.This was the moment.One path ended in her survival. The other? Salvation for the rest of the world.I didn’t move.My chest felt like it was splitting in half. The prophecy I didn't know much about seemed not to care who she was. It just needed a vessel. And now it had one.But she wasn’t Elara.“You said you loved her,” Michael’s voice tore through the tension, sharp and shaking. “So act like it.”I blinked.“She’s dying,” Dorian said again from behind me. Cal
Elara’s POVI couldn’t feel my hands.Not because of the chains—they’d long since numbed my wrists. It wasn’t even the dark magic humming through the stone under me, or the pulsing weight of that fake moon bleeding into the sky.It was the woman.Her.The one Dorian dragged in like an offering. The one who looked like me. I didn't know how he managed to do something this sick all on his own but it had my hackles rising.She stumbled, dirt in her hair, blood down one arm. Her eyes met mine—and I saw myself.I froze.My mouth went dry.No.No, no, no. I have to get to the bottom of this.“What is this?” I croaked. My voice was rough, scraped raw from screaming earlier. “Who is she?”Dorian smiled, cold and smooth. “Insurance,” he said. “A vessel the altar will accept willingly.”“She’s not me.” I pointed out trying to figure out exactly was going on.“She’s enough,” he said. “The Blood Moon doesn’t care for names. Only bloodlines. Only sacrifice.”Behind him, Harrow stood silent, arms f