Henry****My body trembles, my breath ragged as I strain against the restraints holding me down. My wrists are bound to this cold, unforgiving chair, the ropes digging into my skin, but it’s the pain inside my head that’s worse. The darkness has seeped into me, suffocating me from the inside, and now it’s coming for me, trying to consume everything I’ve ever been.The room around me is dim, the air thick and heavy, pressing down with each breath I take. But it’s the shadows that get to me the most. They claw at me, whispering from the corners where the light never reaches. I can feel their cold fingers creeping into my mind, wrapping around my thoughts, twisting them into grotesque shapes.Give in, Henry. There is nothing left for you but me.The words are soft at first, like a murmur in the back of my mind, but they’re getting louder, growing louder with every second. I grit my teeth, trying to shut them out, but it’s no use. They won’t stop.You’re nothing without me. You were alway
Xavier***The flickering candlelight cast restless shadows across the wooden walls, the air thick with unspoken tension. Dust hung heavy, stirred only by the occasional shift as I turned another brittle page. The weight of our task pressed down like a storm cloud ready to break.My fingers traced the ancient ink, my mind racing with the implications of what I had read. But no matter how many times I reread it, the answer remained the same: to save Henry, I would have to make the ultimate sacrifice. The truth of my family’s dark history loomed large, and I knew that to protect Henry, I had to make a choice that could change everything.“We need to be sure,” Diego murmured, breaking the silence. His deep voice held a rare edge of hesitation, a side of him I seldom saw. “There has to be another way. We can’t rush into this without exhausting every possibility.”I exhaled sharply, frustration tightening my jaw. “I don’t have time, Diego. Henry doesn’t have time. The darkness is consuming
Xavier***Diego stood motionless, his fists clenched so tight I feared his knuckles would burst. His body trembled, but whether it was from rage or the fear of facing Fiona’s impossible return, I couldn’t tell. I could see it in his eyes—a father’s anguish, a mate’s despair. The ghosts of the past had clawed their way back into the present, threatening to swallow us whole."“How?” Diego finally managed, his voice hoarse. “How is that possible?”Cody’s eyes darkened as he stepped further into the room. “She was sucked into darkness, and I stood there, helpless, as she was torn away from me.” His voice cracked, betraying the weight of the memory.“You think she’s been... alive all this time?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper, unsure of the enormity of what we were discussing."Not alive—not in the way we know it," Cody answered grimly. "She was caught in the fold between life and death, a soul trapped in darkness, manipulated by something far more ancient than anything we've eve
The silence in Henry’s room was suffocating, a heavy, oppressive weight that seemed to press down on his chest with every labored breath. His surroundings were shrouded in darkness, yet the air felt thick, as if the shadows themselves were alive, watching him. Henry was awake, but the world around him was a hazy, half-formed nightmare, its grip on him unyielding. His fingers, sticky with the remnants of blood, curled and uncurled in confusion. Was it his own blood? Or someone else’s?A whisper slithered through the darkness, curling around his senses like icy fingers grazing his skin. A shiver raced down his spine, though the room itself was uncomfortably warm. His breath hitched, the faint taste of iron—a coppery tang that could only be blood—clinging to the back of his throat. Was it his? Or someone else’s?"You feel it, don’t you?” Lyra’s voice hissed through the shadows, the words curling around him like a cold wind. “The hunger, the thirst gnawing at your very soul? You’re alread
The weight of Xavier’s words hung in the air, thick and undeniable. The Guardian. A name whispered in old legends, a force that had once stood against the darkness and lived to tell the tale. If anyone could help Henry, it was them.Diego’s expression darkened, his jaw tightening. “That’s impossible,” he said. “The Guardian disappeared years ago. No one has seen them since.”“But they’re real,” Xavier insisted. “And they’re our only hope.”Diego exhaled sharply, rubbing a hand over his face. He had spent years searching for answers, for a way to keep his son safe. The darkness had stolen too much already. If the Guardian was still out there, they had to find them.Henry stirred, his fingers twitching against Xavier’s arm. He was still too weak to stand, his breathing uneven. "We... we don’t have time,” he rasped.Xavier’s grip on him tightened. “We’ll make time.”Determination set in Diego’s eyes as he turned toward the door. “Then we leave now.”***The journey through the dense fore
***Henry****“Where do you think you are going?” A voice is behind me as I walk through the living room of the pack house with the load of laundry in my arms. My step stopped as I knew the danger of being caught snooping around where I wasn’t supposed to be. The voice belonged to the pack warrior, Cody, who had a stern expression on his face. I quickly stuttered out an excuse about looking for the laundry room before making a hasty retreat.“Stop right where you are,” Cody, one of the pack warriors, said, putting his hand on my hip as he pointed his finger at me. “Henry.” A smile formed on Cody’s lips as he pushed my body to the ground, making the load of laundry fall to the ground with a loud thud.“What are you doing?” I shouted, trying to stand up, but Cody put his feet on my chest, pinning me down. “You’re not going anywhere,” he growled, his eyes filled with malice as the surrounding people laughed seeing me struggling.“Leave me alone, Cody,” I shouted, feeling a surge of fear a
***Henry****I shook my head, trying to get up, but the pain in my leg was too intense. But I somehow managed to stand up, gritting my teeth through the pain.I wish I could just lie down and rest and not have to do anything else for the rest of the day. The throbbing ache in my leg was a constant reminder of the pain and abuse that had happened to me earlier.A cough broke from my mouth as I leaned to pick up the dirty laundry from the ground that Cody and his friend had crushed under their boots. I winced as I straightened up, the weight of the laundry causing a sharp pain to shoot through my ribs. I knew I had to finish this chore or I might not get any dinner tonight. The thought of a warm meal waiting for me was the only thing keeping me going as I pushed through the pain and exhaustion.I somehow managed to go to the laundry room and put the clothes in the washer before collapsing onto the couch.My body is aching, and my mind is foggy, but at least the laundry is started. I’ll
****Xavier*****“Did you find the culprit behind the incident?” I asked, brushing my hair in front of the mirror. “No, not yet,” my beta replied with a worried expression.“Five years have passed since the incident, and we still have no leads,” he added, his tone filled with frustration. “Maybe you should let go of the past and focus on the present,” he suggested, placing a comforting hand on my shoulder.I closed my fist, turning my head towards Dean, my eyes filled with determination. “I will rest until I catch the one responsible for what happened,” I declared, feeling a renewed sense of purpose. “Just do what you have asked to do,” I stated, wearing my shirt and heading out the door, ready to start my day.Dean bowed his head in understanding, knowing that I was not going to give up until I found the one who ruined everything in my life.As I walked out into the morning sun, staring at the horizon with a steely gaze, “What day is it?” I asked, walking towards my car.Dean opened t
The weight of Xavier’s words hung in the air, thick and undeniable. The Guardian. A name whispered in old legends, a force that had once stood against the darkness and lived to tell the tale. If anyone could help Henry, it was them.Diego’s expression darkened, his jaw tightening. “That’s impossible,” he said. “The Guardian disappeared years ago. No one has seen them since.”“But they’re real,” Xavier insisted. “And they’re our only hope.”Diego exhaled sharply, rubbing a hand over his face. He had spent years searching for answers, for a way to keep his son safe. The darkness had stolen too much already. If the Guardian was still out there, they had to find them.Henry stirred, his fingers twitching against Xavier’s arm. He was still too weak to stand, his breathing uneven. "We... we don’t have time,” he rasped.Xavier’s grip on him tightened. “We’ll make time.”Determination set in Diego’s eyes as he turned toward the door. “Then we leave now.”***The journey through the dense fore
The silence in Henry’s room was suffocating, a heavy, oppressive weight that seemed to press down on his chest with every labored breath. His surroundings were shrouded in darkness, yet the air felt thick, as if the shadows themselves were alive, watching him. Henry was awake, but the world around him was a hazy, half-formed nightmare, its grip on him unyielding. His fingers, sticky with the remnants of blood, curled and uncurled in confusion. Was it his own blood? Or someone else’s?A whisper slithered through the darkness, curling around his senses like icy fingers grazing his skin. A shiver raced down his spine, though the room itself was uncomfortably warm. His breath hitched, the faint taste of iron—a coppery tang that could only be blood—clinging to the back of his throat. Was it his? Or someone else’s?"You feel it, don’t you?” Lyra’s voice hissed through the shadows, the words curling around him like a cold wind. “The hunger, the thirst gnawing at your very soul? You’re alread
Xavier***Diego stood motionless, his fists clenched so tight I feared his knuckles would burst. His body trembled, but whether it was from rage or the fear of facing Fiona’s impossible return, I couldn’t tell. I could see it in his eyes—a father’s anguish, a mate’s despair. The ghosts of the past had clawed their way back into the present, threatening to swallow us whole."“How?” Diego finally managed, his voice hoarse. “How is that possible?”Cody’s eyes darkened as he stepped further into the room. “She was sucked into darkness, and I stood there, helpless, as she was torn away from me.” His voice cracked, betraying the weight of the memory.“You think she’s been... alive all this time?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper, unsure of the enormity of what we were discussing."Not alive—not in the way we know it," Cody answered grimly. "She was caught in the fold between life and death, a soul trapped in darkness, manipulated by something far more ancient than anything we've eve
Xavier***The flickering candlelight cast restless shadows across the wooden walls, the air thick with unspoken tension. Dust hung heavy, stirred only by the occasional shift as I turned another brittle page. The weight of our task pressed down like a storm cloud ready to break.My fingers traced the ancient ink, my mind racing with the implications of what I had read. But no matter how many times I reread it, the answer remained the same: to save Henry, I would have to make the ultimate sacrifice. The truth of my family’s dark history loomed large, and I knew that to protect Henry, I had to make a choice that could change everything.“We need to be sure,” Diego murmured, breaking the silence. His deep voice held a rare edge of hesitation, a side of him I seldom saw. “There has to be another way. We can’t rush into this without exhausting every possibility.”I exhaled sharply, frustration tightening my jaw. “I don’t have time, Diego. Henry doesn’t have time. The darkness is consuming
Henry****My body trembles, my breath ragged as I strain against the restraints holding me down. My wrists are bound to this cold, unforgiving chair, the ropes digging into my skin, but it’s the pain inside my head that’s worse. The darkness has seeped into me, suffocating me from the inside, and now it’s coming for me, trying to consume everything I’ve ever been.The room around me is dim, the air thick and heavy, pressing down with each breath I take. But it’s the shadows that get to me the most. They claw at me, whispering from the corners where the light never reaches. I can feel their cold fingers creeping into my mind, wrapping around my thoughts, twisting them into grotesque shapes.Give in, Henry. There is nothing left for you but me.The words are soft at first, like a murmur in the back of my mind, but they’re getting louder, growing louder with every second. I grit my teeth, trying to shut them out, but it’s no use. They won’t stop.You’re nothing without me. You were alway
The room closed in on Xavier, the air thick with a suffocating weight. Shadows clung to the corners, twisting and warping in a dance of mocking whispers, echoing his deepest failures and fears. The journal lay on the table before him, its presence a cold reminder of the sins that had brought him to this point. His fingers hovered over the worn leather, but he could not bear to open it. The vision of the altar—the blood, the hollow, accusing eyes of his mother—replayed in his mind like a tormenting nightmare. He had been born of violence, of rejection, forged in the darkness of his father’s cruel design. And Henry… his mate, his salvation, now stood as nothing more than a pawn in that same twisted game of shadows."You don’t get to say that, Xavier," Diego snapped, his voice raw, full of unspent anger. "You didn’t choose this. You didn’t choose him." His frustration rippled through the space, but beneath the edge of it, Xavier heard something else—something softer, more understanding.
The journal felt heavier in Xavier’s hands, its leather cover cool and damp, as if it had absorbed the decay of time itself. The scent of aged parchment and faded ink hung thick in the air, dust swirling like a specter, choking the space between them. His fingers trembled as they hovered over the pages, each turn more agonizing than the last.Diego stood beside him, his silence more piercing than any words. A steady presence in the growing storm of revelations, his watchful gaze never leaving Xavier’s face.The ink on the brittle pages pulsed, shifting like something alive, whispering secrets long buried in the abyss. Xavier’s breath hitched, his chest tightening as he turned to the next page.“The Ritual of Darkmoon is not meant for mortals to wield. But I had no choice. Power is not given—it is taken, demanded from the abyss itself. And so, I made the sacrifice.”Xavier's hands shook violently. The words twisted inside his chest like a rusted dagger, leaving a trail of ice in their
Xavier****The words hung between us like a death sentence—heavy and unyielding. My heart pounded in my chest, each beat a painful reminder of the choice I faced. Diego stood before me, his jaw clenched, eyes burning with determination, but I could see the flicker of pain beneath his resolve. It mirrored my own, twisting in my gut, tightening my throat.Lyra’s gaze flicked between us, her expression unreadable. "One soul," she said softly, her voice almost lost in the deafening rush of blood in my ears. "Only one of you can make the sacrifice."A bitter laugh escaped before I could stop it. "So, we fight over who gets to die?" The absurdity of it all made my head spin. I had spent so long trying to save Henry, and now... now it came down to this.Diego exhaled sharply. "It won’t be you, Xavier." His voice was unwavering, the finality in it leaving no room for argument. "I won't let you."My throat tightened, words threatening to choke me. "You can’t ask me to stand by and watch you do
Xavier****The grip around my neck tightened, and panic surged through me like wildfire. Henry’s hands, once a source of warmth and protection, had become a vice, his fingers pressing into my skin with an unnatural strength. His eyes—golden and wild—held no trace of the mate I had fought for, the mate I had desperately tried to save. The demons that plagued his mind had claimed him completely, twisting him into something unrecognizable.I gasped for breath, my heart hammering against my chest as I struggled to free myself. "Henry, stop!" I croaked, my voice hoarse from the pressure in my throat. But the man in front of me—if it could even be called that—did not respond. He only smirked, his lips curling into a grotesque smile that sent an icy chill down my spine."You always think you can save everyone, Xavier," he whispered, his voice low and laced with venomous sweetness. "But you can't even save yourself."His grip tightened further, cutting off my air supply. I could feel my stren