All Chapters of Shifter Deathbound Curse : Chapter 41 - Chapter 50

The world spun. A high-pitched ringing filled Siron's ears, drowning out everything except the sensation of the cold stone floor against his cheek. He groaned, trying to open eyes that felt heavy. His vision was blurred, filled with fine white dust that still fluttered in the air like gray snow. The smell of sulfur and something sweet, like rotting flowers, filled his nostrils."Mother?" His voice was hoarse, almost inaudible.He pushed his aching body to sit up, his head throbbing. The underground tomb chamber looked gloomier; several torches had gone out, leaving long, swaying shadows. The green core that had previously hovered over Alaric's sarcophagus was gone, leaving only a scorched impression in the air.Then his memory returned. The energy explosion. His mother. Morat.With a pounding heart, Siron looked around. His mother lay motionless several meters away from him, near the wall. Without thinking, he crawled closer, his knees scraped by the rough stone."Mother!" He shook he

The voice, like the grating of rusted metal, hung in the air. It wasn't Morat's usual sound, deep, resonant, full of inflection. This was flat, sharp, and laden with unconcealed malice.Kit gave a small shriek, his body recoiling until it hit the sofa. Siron immediately stood, his body a barrier between his friend and the shadowed figure with the red eyes."Don't touch him!" Siron yelled, his voice sounding braver than he felt.The red eyes shifted to Siron. For a split second, the crimson hue flickered, as if an inner struggle was taking place. The shadowed face rippled, shifting between Morat’s sharp features and something older, more twisted.You protect him? The voice returned, but now it sounded more like Morat, though laced with pain and fury. From me?"He's innocent, Morat. He just wanted to help."Help? The voice hissed. The shadow moved forward, condensing into a more solid, more human shape. It was Morat in his dark, shadowy form, but the details were clearer, the strong jaw

Dark energy swirled wildly in Siron's palm, sucking the light from the surrounding room. Kit was trapped up to his knees, his face reflecting pure fear, but also deep sorrow. He stared directly into Siron's eyes, or what used to be Siron's eyes."Siron, please," Kit pleaded, his voice breaking. "This isn't you."Inside Siron, his silent scream echoed. But his voice was trapped, besieged by the two alien presences that were both clashing and allied against him. He felt Alaric's wild glee at Kit's suffering. And behind that, a wave of black jealousy from Morat, a possessive desire to eliminate this intruder forever.This is for our own good, Alaric whispered, his voice like boiling oil in Siron’s mind. He will only separate us.And Morat, in his present physical form, stepped closer to Kit from behind. He leaned down, bringing his mouth close to Kit’s ear. The voice that emerged was Morat’s, but colored by Alaric’s piercing intonation. “He has chosen. You are no longer

“AND FOR THE OPENING ACT, LET’S START BY ENDING THIS FRIEND OF YOURS.”The voice a blend of Morat’s depth and Alaric’s cunning, sliced through the air. Morat’s body moved with unnatural agility, like a marionette jerked by the strings of a cruel puppeteer. His claws, still sharp and black, raised toward Kit.Siron reacted without thinking. He lunged, slamming into Kit and knocking them both to the side. The claws swiped through empty air exactly where Kit’s head had been, leaving deep gouges in the stone wall.“Run, Kit! Get out of here!” Siron yelled, scrambling to get up.But there was nowhere to run; the corridor was endless. The door to their apartment had vanished, replaced by solid stone. They were trapped in the heart of the temple.Alaric-Morat laughed, a layered, dissonant sound. “Run? Oh, no. We’ve only just begun.” He clenched his fist, and the entire corridor trembled. From the ceiling, dripping water turned into a black ichor that corroded the stone wherever it landed.Ki

With her heart hammering against her ribs, Siron watched as Alaric’s green chains throttled Morat’s dark form. Morat’s scream still echoed in her head: “RUN! FIND THE RELIC!”Every instinct screamed at her to stay and help, but her common sense, what little of it remained, realized she had no power to stand against Alaric. She looked at Kit, who lay motionless, and then back at the struggling Morat. Tears of desperation tracked down her cheeks.“I’m sorry,” she whispered. She crawled toward Kit, grabbing her friend’s limp body. With an agonizing effort, she hoisted Kit onto her shoulder and began to run through the collapsing corridor, dodging the falling debris.Behind her, Alaric’s laughter grew louder, punctuated by Morat’s roars of pain. She didn't dare look back.After several turns, she found a spiral staircase leading upward. She climbed it, lungs burning, until she finally emerged into the deserted main hall of the Aethelford temple. It was deep into the night; there were no p