Alaric was pacing the room when the door suddenly snapped open and his parents walked in.
"We are leaving right now," Zara announced before the door had even shut.
"What?" Alaric blinked, not sure he heard right. His gaze swung to his father in question.
Caspian sighed, his voice tired. "You heard your mother. We are going ho."
"No. No, no." Alaric shook his head. "I can’t leave right now."
Zara jutted her chin. "And why is that?" Her eyes locked on his. "Because of Violet Purple?"
Alaric didn’t answer, his Adam’s apple bobbing instead.
Zara stepped closer, desperation flashing in her eyes as she stared him down. "What has that girl done to you? I can’t even recognize my son anymore."
"She did nothing to , Mom. I just can’t leave. I have to be here when she cos back with the others."
Those words scraped against Zara’s nerves, and she lost it. "That girl has a mate!" she scread. "Two, in fact! So what exactly are you waiting for?"
Alaric groaned, dragging a hand through his hair. He had no choice but to tell her the truth.
"There is a prophecy," he said. "Violet Purple is destined for the four of us. Griffin was the first. Now Roman is mated to her. Asher and I could be next. That’s why I have to stay close to her, Mother. We need to be together more than ever!."
But his words seed to vanish in the air. Zara’s face drained of color, her expression going pale. It was as if the blood had dried out of her veins.
Her son had finally lost it.
"Where did you hear that?"
"What?"
"The so-called prophecy."
Alaric hesitated before finally confessing. "Alpha Irene."
"Is that so?" Zara’s tone turned bitter. "So she’s the one corrupting my son?"
"What?" Alaric was taken aback. That wasn’t the response he expected. He thought now that he had told his mother the truth, she would understand his decision to stay.
"But don’t worry. Everything will be alright soon." Zara smiled, bittersweet.
"What?" A sudden unease gripped him. He knew his mother was stubborn, but this was different.
"I’m sorry, son," Caspian said quietly from behind him. Before Alaric realized it, a jab hit his neck.
He groaned as the liquid rushed into his bloodstream. Whirling around, he ripped the needle out, but it was nearly empty.
"No," he said wide-eyed, realizing what it was. His father had tranquilized him.
"How could you?" he muttered, betrayed.
"I’m sorry, but you have to listen to us this ti." Caspian tried to step closer, but Alaric’s growl stopped him cold. Rage surged through him, strong enough that he could snap both their necks.
Zara said to him. "One day, when you beco a parent, you’ll understand the hard decisions we make for our children."
However, Alaric was not staying to listen to this nonsense. He had to get help. He shoved past them and rushed out of the room, his breathing uneven, the drug already clawing at his system. He needed sothing to counter it. Roman. If only he was here, his venom could burn it out.
But Roman wasn’t here.
Alaric forced his legs to move faster, willing his tabolism to fight harder, his body heating as his wolf pushed back against the tranquilizer. He could not afford to lose consciousness, not here, not under their watch. He needed to find sowhere his parents couldn’t reach him.
He was almost at the end of the hall when two guards stepped out to block him. His vision blurred, but he caught their silhouettes well enough. He spun on his heel only to see two more closing in from the other side.
So they had planned this, his parents had co well prepared.
Fine. Since they wanted it that way.
Alaric cracked his neck, his lips pulling back into a snarl. Lightning flickered across his knuckles, sparking louder with each pulse of his heart.
The first guard rushed him, but Alaric slid out of reach, his body moving with instinct despite the drug weighing him down. Lightning sparked across his fist, crackling as he struck the guard in the chest, enough to send him flying back but not enough to kill. Taking a life in Elijah’s palace would not help his situation.
The second guard approached more carefully, circling him. He’d seen the lightning and wasn’t about to be careless. His fists ca quick, colliding with Alaric’s in a flurry of blows. Alaric matched him strike for strike, but his strength faltered. He stumbled forward when the third person slamd into him from behind. The other two had arrived and it was now three against one.
Fine.
He fought them all, sparks of lightning cracking the air. Every hit he landed bought him seconds, but seconds weren’t enough. One of them caught his wrist and snapped a cold band around it.
Alaric froze, his eyes widening in horror when he realized what it was. A suppressor.
"Damn it!" he snarled, yanking back, but the weight on him was growing. Another guard grabbed for his other arm, trying to force the second cuff. Alaric roared and threw him off, lightning sparking wildly. But he was already losing ground.
They drove him to the floor, forcing him down like a criminal. He thrashed with teeth bared and fury in every muscle, but that was enough as the second cuff locked into place.
"No!" His cry tore through the hall as he felt his wolf receding, his power cut from the root. His body weakened all at once, the tranquilizer finally claiming its grip.
Alaric struggled against the floor, his vision blurring, but the fight drained out of him. He heard his mother’s approaching footsteps and reached out with a trembling hand, his voice cracking.
"Mom, please... don’t do this." His eyes burned, tears slipping down.
Zara bent down, saying with a low voice. "I’m sorry. In ti, you’ll understand this was for your good."
She stood and turned to the guards. "Take him to the car. We leave now."
Alaric barely felt it when one of them hauled him over a shoulder like dead weight. His body hung limp, his strength gone.
And in that fading mont, all that ca to him was Violet’s face. How he wished he could see her one last ti.
Then darkness swallowed him whole.
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