Rebecca’s POV
The darkness didn’t stay dark for long.
Slowly, the heavy, deep sleep began to shift, and I found myself standing in a forest. But this wasn’t the dark, scary woods I was used to. Here, the trees were spacious, tall, and covered in the most beautiful, vibrant green leaves I had ever seen. The air felt warm and clean against my skin, carrying the scent of fresh rain and blooming flowers.
I looked around, completely confused, my bare feet sinking into soft, glowing moss, until I noticed a figure standing a few yards away.
I blinked, taking a slow step forward, my breath hitching in my throat as the distance closed between us. I recognized those gentle features, that kind, graceful posture. It was Queen Helen.
"Queen Helen?" I gasped, rushing toward her as fast as my legs could carry , tears already welling up in my eyes. "It’s you!"
Helen smiled softly, a brilliant, warm light radiating from her presence. She nodded her head as I ca to a breathless halt right in front of her.
"Why... why can I see you?" I asked, panic suddenly gripping my chest as I looked down at my hands, wondering if I had crossed over. "Does this an I’m dead? Did the pills actually kill ?"
"No, Rebecca," Helen replied, her voice sounding like a soft, comforting echo in the peaceful forest. "You are not dead. Your soul is rely resting in a realm between worlds."
The sight of her beautiful face brought a massive wave of pain and guilt right back to my heart. Tears blurred my vision, spilling over my cheeks. "I’m so sorry," I sobbed. "I am so, so sorry, Helen. It’s because of that you were killed. If you hadn’t tried to help , you would still be alive today."
"No," Helen said firmly, her expression turning serious but remaining incredibly gentle. She reached out, her hands wrapping around mine. Her touch felt light, almost like a warm breeze brushing against my skin. "It is not your fault, Rebecca. Never think that. The dark forces at play that night were beyond your control. Do not carry a burden that isn’t yours to bear."
Before I could say anything else, Helen stepped closer, her eyes boring into mine with a sudden, strange urgency. "Listen to carefully, Becca. Ti is short. You will soon wake up in the real world, and I need you to do sothing for ."
I wiped my nose with the back of my hand, nodding quickly, desperate to do anything for the woman who had lost her life for . "What is it? Anything. I’ll do anything."
"You need to do whatever it takes to get that silver choker off your neck," Helen demanded.
I frowned, completely confused, my hand instinctively flying up to where the heavy tal dug into my flesh in the real world. "The silver choker? But... why? Kaden put it there to suppress my wolf, to keep weak. How can I possibly get it off? Kaden will never remove it. He hates , Helen. He looks at like I am a monster. He will never, ever listen to ."
Helen let out a soft sigh, her fingers tightening slightly around mine. "Listen to , Rebecca. I know he seems monstrous right now. I know he is consud by dark, blind fury. He is a hard nut to crack on the outside right now because his grief has turned into a beast. But Kaden is the sweetest soul on the inside. He is hurting, and he is masking his pain with cruelty."
I shook my head, a bitter taste in my mouth. "He doesn’t have a sweet soul, Helen. He wants to break ."
"It is a mask, Becca. And you have to learn how to lt it," Helen urged, stepping even closer as the edges of the beautiful green forest began to flicker wildly. "This is a little trick to soften his heart. You must appeal to the man he hides beneath the armor of the Alpha King. Start with the things that bring him comfort. Cook for him, Rebecca. Make him his favorite als."
"His favorite als?" I whispered, completely bewildered by her words. "What does that have to do with my wolf?"
"Food is the fastest way to break a warrior’s guard," Helen explained quickly, her voice growing fainter as the light around us began to dim. "He loves roasted venison seasoned with wild rosemary and crushed juniper berries. And when the night is coldest, make him spiced blackberry tea with a spoonful of clover honey. It was what I made for him whenever the weight of the pack beca too heavy to bear. It reminds his wolf of peace. It will soften him, Rebecca. It will make him look at you not as an enemy, but as his safe place. Use that comfort to get close to him. Convince him, bit by bit, to remove that choker from your neck. Use whatever tools you have. Just get it off."
She paused, her eyes softening with a deep, tragic sadness that broke my heart all over again. "I am so sorry, Becca. I am so sorry you have to experience him in such a horrible way right now."
"Helen, wait, I don’t understand—why is the choker so important? What happens if I take it off?" I cried out, noticing that her hands were turning translucent.
"Rember my words, Rebecca. Trust the sweetness inside him, even when he roars," she whispered.
Before I could demand more answers, her figure began to blur completely. The vibrant green trees, the warm, comforting light, and Helen’s gentle face all started to fade away like smoke caught in a strong wind. I tried to reach out for her, to yell her na one last ti, but I realized my own voice was disappearing along with the dream, swallowed by a sudden, heavy vacuum.
The warmth vanished entirely, replaced by a freezing, crushing weight.
My eyelids felt like they were made of solid lead. Slowly, with a deep, painful groan, I forced my eyes to open just halfway. My brows furrowed instantly as a sharp, blinding ache throbbed behind my temples, making my vision blurry and unfocused.
The mories of the last two days imdiately flooded my brain. I rembered sitting in my small, dark, drafty servant’s room, feeling utterly hopeless. I rembered Stephanie walking in, her eyes filled with pity as she handed those small white pills. I rembered swallowing them without a second thought, lying down on my flat, lumpy mattress, and closing my eyes, praying to the Moon Goddess that I would never wake up to face Kaden’s brutal cruelty again.
Did the plan work? I thought, a sudden, frantic spark of hope blooming in my chest despite the pounding in my head. Am I free? Did Stephanie manage to smuggle out while I was asleep? Are we in the neutral territory?
Panicking, my heart rate spiking, I forced my eyes to open wider, desperate to see the safe, wooden walls of a rogue cabin or the open sky of the free forest Stephanie had promised .
But the hope died instantly, turning into cold, suffocating dread.
I wasn’t in a safe house. I wasn’t in the free forest. I was lying on a long, expensive black leather couch inside a massive, luxury bedroom. The walls were lined with dark mahogany wood, and thick velvet curtains blocked the light. It was a terrifyingly familiar room. A room that brought pure, unadulterated terror straight to the depths of my soul.
The Alpha King’s personal chambers.
My breath hitched in my throat, my limbs freezing as the reality of my failure crashed down on . I hadn’t escaped. I had been caught.
Then, a familiar, terrifyingly deep voice spoke from the shadows near the bed, cutting through the silence like an executioner’s blade.
"I see that you are awake."
With wide, horrified eyes, I snapped my head sideways, the movent sending a fresh wave of pain through my skull. Sitting right there on the edge of the massive mattress, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees, was Alpha Kaden. He was staring down at with dark, completely unreadable eyes that burned with a terrifying intensity.
My heart completely dropped into my stomach as I realized I was still trapped in the lion’s den.
User Comments
0 comments from readers