Riley’s POV
Everything blurs in my vision as the creature runs with slung over his shoulder like I am nothing but dead weight.
The wind slaps my face hard, my stomach twists violently, and my head keeps bouncing with every long stride he takes. I cannot tell where we are going. All I know is that the speed is insane and the world around is nothing but flashes of dark shapes and shadows.
My head starts woozing badly.
My thoughts scatter.
I feel sick.
"I’m going to pass out," I whisper, but my voice sounds weak even to my own ears.
Just when I think I am about to lose consciousness completely, the creature suddenly stops.
I barely have ti to react before I am flung off his shoulder and thrown to the ground like trash.
Pain explodes through my waist and back as I hit the hard floor, the air knocked straight out of my lungs. I gasp and cough, clutching my side as my body curls in on itself.
"Ah—" I groan, tears instantly stinging my eyes.
Before I can even lift my head properly, sothing impossible happens right in front of .
The beast starts to change.
Bones crack loudly. The massive body shrinks. The thick skin pulls back. Fur disappears. Limbs twist and reform. In seconds, the horrifying creature is gone.
And standing there instead is a man.
I stare at him in shock, my mouth falling open.
He is bizarrely striking, tall and lean, with sharp features and dark eyes that glow faintly in the light. His presence feels heavy, dangerous, like the air around him is charged with sothing wrong.
"What the hell just happened?" I whisper to myself.
I shake my head hard and rub my eyes, blinking rapidly like that will fix whatever hallucination my brain is throwing at . But when I look again, he is still there, standing calmly like he did not just turn from a monster into a man seconds ago.
Then he laughs.
The sound is low and amused, and it sends a shiver straight through my body.
"Isn’t it interesting?" he says casually, like we are having a normal conversation.
My heart slams against my ribs.
He can talk.
He can actually talk.
"Oh Jesus Christ," I mutter under my breath. "I’m not crazy. I’m not crazy. This is real."
He tilts his head slightly, studying like I am so kind of object. Then he steps closer, and instinctively I crawl backward, my hands shaking.
"I can sll them on you," he says slowly. "You must be special."
I swallow hard.
"Tell ," he continues, his voice suddenly sharper. "Who are you to them?"
My throat tightens.
Words get stuck.
I stare at him wide-eyed, my mind racing but my mouth refusing to cooperate.
"Answer ," he commands.
His tone changes completely, and there is sothing deadly under it that makes my body go cold.
I shake my head quickly, panic rising fast. "I—I’m no one," I stutter. "Just a normal human."
"Lies," he growls.
The sound is deep and animalistic, and my fear spikes so high that my hands start shaking uncontrollably.
"I’m saying the fucking truth!" I yell, my voice cracking as tears gather in my eyes.
He steps closer again, looming over . "Then why do you sll like them?"
I freeze.
"What?" I whisper.
"Why do you sll like the Triarch Alphas?" he says, his eyes narrowing.
My heart drops straight into my stomach.
I blink rapidly and lift my wrist to my nose, sniffing myself desperately. I do not sll anything strange. I sll like sweat and fear and dirt. Nothing else.
"I don’t know who you’re talking about," I say quickly. "I swear."
He smiles slowly, and that smile terrifies more than his growl.
"Got you," he says.
My chest tightens.
"No one in Obsidian Veil," he continues, circling slowly, "or the whole of Crescent Hollow, does not know the Triarch Alphas, the CCG brothers. You saying you don’t know them simply ans you do."
He stops right in front of .
"A pretty human in Obsidian Veil," he adds softly, "is very interesting."
Before I can react, before I can scream or move, he bends down and strikes the side of my neck sharply with his hand.
Pain flashes.
Everything goes black instantly.
Darkness.
Complete darkness.
I float in it for a while, not knowing where I am or how long I have been there. My body feels heavy and sore, and my head throbs painfully.
Slowly, I start to co back.
The first thing I notice is the sll.
It is awful.
Oil.
Rust.
Iron.
It burns my nose and makes my stomach churn.
I open my eyes slowly, but I cannot see anything. The darkness is thick, pressing in from all sides.
"Hello?" I say softly.
My voice echoes faintly, then dies.
No response.
Fear creeps back in.
My heart starts beating faster as I try to sit up. Cold tal presses against my palms. The ground is hard and uneven.
Then I hear it.
Footsteps.
My breath catches.
Just then, the door creaks open, and suddenly bright light floods the room, making hiss and cover my eyes. I squint, trying to adjust.
A young woman steps inside.
She looks about my age, maybe a little older. Her clothes are dark and rough, her hair pulled back tightly. She carries a tray of food and walks toward without looking at my face.
She drops the tray on the ground in front of .
The sound echoes loudly.
"Hey," I say quickly, my voice desperate. "Please. Where am I?"
She pauses.
Slowly, she turns her head and looks at .
Her lips curl into a wicked smile.
"Tithers Town," she says.
My heart sinks so hard it feels like my chest caves in.
"T-Tithers Town?" I repeat, my voice barely above a whisper.
She straightens and takes a step back toward the door. "Eat," she says flatly. "You’ll need strength."
"For what?" I ask quickly. "What do they want from ?"
She laughs softly, shaking her head. "You’ll find out soon"
"Please," I beg, tears burning my eyes again. "I don’t belong here. I’m just human."
She looks at one last ti, her eyes cold. "That’s exactly why you belong here."
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