Isabella froze when she heard Osiris hit the ground beside her.
For one terrifying heartbeat, she thought the beast skeleton had done sothing, or the mountain's aura had lashed out and dragged him under so kind of ancient curse. But then she saw him—Osiris, a massive, powerful, infuriating man—collapsed on his knees, hands clutching his head so tightly his knuckles turned white.
"Osiris?" Isabella's voice cracked before she could stop it.
She rushed toward him instantly, fan still in one hand, the other reaching for him without hesitation. She didn't even think—she just reacted. Her body moved like she'd known him for years, like she had so kind of duty to him, like a part of her couldn't bear seeing him like this.
"Osiris! Osiris—hey—look at !" she said sharply, kneeling behind his huge figure, hands hovering over his back, unsure if she should touch him or not.
He didn't hear her.
He didn't even seem like he was here.
"No… no… no…" he whispered hoarsely, voice trembling like sothing was ripping through his mind.
Isabella's breath caught.
"What—what is happening to you?" she muttered, eyes widening. "Osiris!"
He shook violently, his muscles tightening, breath uneven, like he was drowning inside his own skull. Isabella panicked—not outwardly, not in a dramatic "oh no my love!" way—but internally, a silent explosion of fear she didn't understand.
'Why am I even worried? He's annoying. He's stupid. He doesn't even do chores right. Why do I feel like soone stabbed my chest seeing him like this?'
Isabella didn't know what to do. She wasn't a healer. She wasn't his mate. She wasn't even his friend. She barely tolerated him.
But he was shaking.
And that scared her.
"Osiris!" she snapped, grabbing his shoulder. "Look at ! What's wrong with you?!"
He didn't respond.
He didn't even flinch.
His fingers dug deeper into the dirt, body curling as a raw, painful sound escaped him.
Isabella's heart dropped.
That was it.
She slapped him.
Hard.
A clean, sharp crack echoed across the peak.
"HEY! Don't scare like that!" she yelled, hand stinging. "I did not sign up for emotional damage on this mountain!"
Osiris froze.
The shaking stopped.
Just barely—but it stopped.
His breathing steadied. His eyes unfocused, then sharpened, then slowly dragged themselves back to reality. Isabella's scent—warm, soft, furious, unbelievably familiar—broke through whatever nightmare held him.
He blinked.
The world stopped spinning.
"…you…?" he rasped.
Isabella exhaled shakily, shoulders slumping as she realized she'd been holding her breath. She didn't move away. She was too close to him now, one hand still on his back, the other lifted from the slap.
And when he lifted his head to look at her, she froze.
His eyes…
They weren't the sa.
Sothing dark and ancient flickered behind them.
Sothing broken.
Sothing rembering.
Isabella felt her stomach twist. "What happened to you? Osiris, what was that? What did you see?"
He stared at the ground.
Then shook his head.
"It's fine," he muttered. "Just… a strange headache."
Isabella glared at him imdiately.
Her glare scread: Do you think I'm stupid?
He avoided her eyes.
A beat of silence passed.
Then he looked at her again—really looked at her—and his expression shifted into sothing annoyingly familiar.
"You're… closer than usual," he murmured.
Her eye twitched.
Before she could snap at him, his gaze dropped to her lips.
Shalessly.
Isabella gasped. "You—you—"
He tilted his head slightly, eyes still fixed on her mouth like he'd forgotten pain existed. "You're very close."
She imdiately kicked him.
Hard.
"Agh—!"
"Stupid bird!" she snapped, jumping to her feet as if proximity to him burned. "I thought sothing serious was happening—ugh! I should've known!"
She rolled her eyes aggressively and turned away with the force of soone trying not to strangle a man twice her size.
Osiris stayed on the ground, rubbing his chest where she'd kicked him.
And yet…
He smiled.
A soft—annoyingly soft—smile tugged at his lips for half a second.
Then it faded, replaced by a sudden seriousness.
His eyes swept across the skeleton, the soil, the glowing cracks, the pulsing aura.
Sothing in him pulsed back.
…familiar.
'I've been here', his mind whispered.
'I know this place…'
But the mories slipped away too fast to hold onto.
Isabella, anwhile, marched toward the enormous beast skeleton, muttering under her breath.
"How am I supposed to get morning dew now? Huh? It's no longer morning. There is no sun on this stupid mountain."
Osiris looked up sharply. "Why do you need morning dew?"
Isabella didn't face him. "Because I want to drink it."
"Why don't you drink normal water?"
She spun around with a glare that could kill a deity. "I don't know, Osiris. YOU TELL ."
He blinked. "…you're in a mood."
"I always am around you!"
He frowned. "And I always hate your attitude."
"Good! We have sothing in common!"
She whirled around and ignored him again, stomping toward the massive skeleton. The Ashvine Root pulsed in eerie silver veins along the spine—alive, waiting, dangerous.
Isabella planted her feet and finally called silently:
Bubu.
Her system appeared instantly with a bright chi.
"Yes, host?"
Is there really no other way to get this thing out? Can't I just yank it? Burn it? Threaten it? Sothing?
"Host, the note clearly says:
Hands must be soaked in mountain dew for one hour."
Isabella let out a loud, strangled groan.
Perfect. Fantastic. I'm about to cry.
She dropped her hands to her sides, frustration pouring off her.
No dew.
No water.
No sunrise.
No anything.
The peak was too cold—nothing ford.
The ground was dry.
The air was too still.
Internally, she panicked.
Great. Amazing. Shelia is dying and I'm on top of a stupid magical fridge with zero dew—
Osiris walked beside her now, silent for once. He scanned the peak, then muttered bluntly:
"You should've thought ahead."
Isabella whipped her head at him so fast the wind almost snapped.
"Say that again."
Osiris wisely shut his mouth, stepping a full pace away from her.
This was the mont.
The all hope is lost mont.
Isabella clenched her fists.
How do I get dew? Dew needs SUNRISE. There is no sun here. None. NOTHING.
Her system chid cheerfully:
"Good luck, host."
Isabella stared at the sky like she was calculating how far her system would fly if she launched it off the cliff.
She was about to scream.
Right when her frustration hit its boiling point, Osiris—quiet, strangely thoughtful—began walking away from her. Not far. Just a few steps.
Then he paused.
Tilted his head.
Crouched.
His fingers brushed sothing on the ground.
A glowing stone.
Moist.
His eyes widened slowly.
He muttered under his breath—
"Mountain dew…"
Isabella's head snapped toward him.
"WHAT did you just say—?"
…
Hey loves! 💗 I just wanted to give a quick update. I'm still building my website, and trust , I've been coding day and night. I almost run mad every single ti, but we move! 😭✨
While working, I suddenly got a very interesting idea for a new beast novel… but I'm keeping that one exclusive for my site. I'm praying to launch next month or early next year, fingers crossed!
Once it's up, I'll be dropping all kinds of stories: beast novels, Christmas vibes, romance, drama, chaos… everything. Thank you for waiting for . I love you all! 💕
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