Chapter 462
Four hundred and saty four
Four hundred and sixty four
Alexander POV
I stood strapped to the gurney in front of Elizabeth’s headstone, my lungs straining against the air.
One of the Root Daughters stepped beside me. “Do not look directly at the gravestone, Alexander. Say Elbeth’s name once. Tell her to leave you alone. If you feel a sudden pull, stay standing. They will try to scare you at you are stronger than whatever they throw at you p>
My eyes flicked between the Daughter and the mound of dirt. I didn’t understand how a dead woman was supposed to hurt me. A thought crossed my mind. What if she clawed her way out of the dirt and attacked me? wasn’t someone who spooked easily, but standing on cursed ground made my skin crawl.
Alpha Cameron stepped up beside me. “She is dead, Alexander. The dead have no power unless the living hand it over. Stand firm until they break the curse p>
I kept my mouth shut, swallowing hard. The Daughters held a stone bowl filled with water and white chalk. They handed me a small cup of water mixed with honey and made me drink it.
“Drink,” the Daughter instructed. “You might hallucinate. This is the final push p>
A second later, a voice called my name from somewhere in the distance.
It sounded like Emma. I turned toward the sound, and the moment I did, the ground pulled out from under my feet. I felt myself dragged away, ripped out of my own skin without my permission.
The air turned foul with the stench of rot. I knew I was going to hate whatever came next. The only thing keeping my head from splitting open was the lingering taste of honey water on my tongue. I tried to turn back toward the light, but my body wouldn’t obey. Someone else was pulling the strings.
I gasped as the nightmare materialized around me. Severed animal heads rested on stone altars, and knife marks scarred the bark of surrounding trees. Burnt objects lay scattered across the ground. I started to run, but the harder my feet hit the dirt, the more my skull pounded.
A laugh echoed through the air. “Your will ends here, boy. We marked your death. We’re going to eat what’s left of you p>
“Get out of my head!” I yelled, slapping my hands over my ears. “Leave me alone p>
The darkness dragged me deeper into its orbit. Even in the pitch black, my wolf vision kicked in, forcing me to see everything around me.
Figures stood in a circle around a body lying on the ground. I looked closer and realized the body was me, bound hand and foot, with a gaping black mass where my heart should have been. Around the circle stood people with familiar faces I couldn’t quite place.
“Run!” a muffled voice called from the dark. “Run, Alexander! You don’t belong here p>
I turned, searching for the voice. A few feet away, a woman was bound in iron chains, her hair tangled, her eyes filled with tears. The moment I saw her eyes, my breath caught.
“Mother!” I cried, lunging toward her.
The moment I stepped forward, the space between us stretched, pushing her further away.
Beside her stood a younger version of Cherry, the little girl I used to hide in closets while I took beatings for her.
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She was crying silently, her mouth stuffed with cloth and taped shut. Behind them stood my father, staring ahead
ke a hollow shell.
I had always considered myself fearless, but seeing my family trapped in endless torment sent a chill down my spine. I knew what fear felt like now.
The Daughter’s voice echoed in my mind: Don’t let the fear consume you.
Darkness slammed into my chest, hitting the exact spot where the curse lived. Pain flared.
“Leave them alone!” I screamed at the figures surrounding the version of me on the ground. They were preparing to wrap my body up.
One of them cackled. “What good do you think you are? You’re as good as dead! A nobody! A rogue with no place in the world p>
My chest tightened. Goosebumps spread across my arms as the stench of evil filled my nostrils. These things took pleasure in breaking me. I needed to fight them off, but my mind raced. Who was I supposed to save first? My mother? Cherry? Or the dying version of myself on the ground?
Before I could decide, the dark space shifted again.
I was bound to a wooden post with rusted silver chains. The metal burned into my flesh, moving like living parasites beneath my skin. All around us, children and infants were being used as props for dark rituals.
A figure walked out of the shadows holding an iron pitchfork.
His face bore the graying temples and trimmed beard of Alpha Desmond. I remembered the look of disgust he had given me after I saved Wesley’s son. He had berated me for stepping out of line. I had begged Desmond for help dozens of times after my father died, but he had brushed me off with flimsy excuses every time.
Desmond raised the pitchfork, his eyes cold.
“Don’t do this,” I begged, my teeth chattering from the silver burns.
Desmond laughed, stepping closer. “Why not? You were always a nuisance, Alexander. A useless little boy. Getting rid of you is going to give me great pleasure p>
Elizabeth stepped out from behind him, sneering as she pointed at my chest. Desmond thrust the pitchfork forward, aiming straight for my heart.
I thrashed against the post, fighting the silver chains with everything my wolf had left. My chest burned.
“He isn’t escaping this time!” Elizabeth shrieked. “Pin him down p>
More cultists rushed forward, beating me with spiked wooden rods until blood soaked my shirt. Elizabeth grabbed a rod herself, striking me repeatedly.
Then, out of nowhere, Elizabeth stopped.
She let out a scream, dropping the rod as her hands flew to her throat. “Take the water away!” she shouted, thrashing. “It burns! Take it away p>
Before my eyes, her skin withered, turning to ash until nothing remained.
The other cultists backed away, scattering into the dark. The silver chains snapped, falling from my arms.
I didn’t waste a second. I stood on trembling legs and ran. A circle of light opened up ahead, and a voice called my
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name from the other side. I ran toward it as fast as I could.
eyes flew open, and I sat up so fast I nearly tumbled off the hospital gurney.
Sunlight hit my face, making me wince. Sweat soaked through my clothes, and my skin stuck to the sheets. Hands grabbed my shoulders, holding me steady. I blinked through the blur and recognized Lucas holding my arms while Emma’s family stood around the gurney.
“Take a breath,” Alpha Cameron said firmly. “You’re safe now p>
Safe? My mind screamed. How could I be safe after what I had just seen?
The Root Daughter stepped forward, smiling faintly as she pointed at a heap of burning cloth and ash near Elizabeth’s headstone. “We got it. They have no hold over you anymore p>
My jaw was still chattering from the nightmare. “Where’s Emma?” I rasped, my voice raw. “I need Emma p>
“She’s close,” the Daughter assured me, gesturing toward the medical van parked a few yards away. “She’s safe inside p>
I raised my left hand to my chest, my fingers hovering above my shirt. I was terrified to touch it. In the vision, they had carved my ribs wide open. I was convinced that if I pressed down, my insides would spill into my hands.
I forced my palm against my sternum.
I felt the mass sitting over my heart. Panic flared, turning into confusion.
“It’s still there,” I said, my voice cracking. “It didn’t leave p>
“It’s still there,” the Daughter confirmed softly, “but the magic feeding it is destroyed. It can no longer expand. We will put you on specialized medicine to shrink the mass until it dissolves completely. The curse meant to kill you is dead p>
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