Chapter Five

The ladies followed Jeremy and a squadron of Callisto wolves out of the ballroom and down a stairwell to a white-lit basement corridor. Aaliyah's mate, Jeremy guided each female into a lift, one at a time, with only a five-minute interval between each one.

The wolves stood guard so close to them that they could only exchange uneasy glances, barely speaking to one another. Maybe they were finally realizing the severity of the ritual. Taylor turned around to look at her and Elyssa gave her a small smile. With Taylor ahead of her, she would be the last to go in, and judging by the look on her face, Taylor only just realized how dangerous this was going to be.

Soon after, she watched Taylor enter the lift, descend slowly while smiling nervously and the five minutes that followed were the longest she'd ever had to suffer through. Jeremy held the lift open for her and Elyssa stepped in with a gulp.

"Good luck," Jeremy said to her as he released the door and watched the lift descend.

Luck had nothing to do with this; she had to get ready to shift and fight for her life.

The room at the bottom of the lift was dark and desolate, save for a white light that revealed four tunnels just ahead of her. She sensed a chill creep up her spine, along with the smell of dirt and water, and remembered Aaliyah’s advice.

Go Left.

Her eyes darted between the four paths, which one had Taylor taken? There was no way she was taking a different path from her. What if she got injured or killed out there? Taylor was the sweetest person she knew, and she wasn't going to let her obsession about finding a mate do her in. 

Elyssa plucked her heels off and tossed them gently aside, then she took a deep breath and listened beyond the tunnels ahead. She could smell the ashen scent of the forest, as well as the sound of flowing creeks and trees. Her eyes snapped open, and she turned toward the tunnel on the left.

That was the only path leading away from the Labyrinth. Aaliyah was right to point her towards that path.

But Taylor's scent whiffed to her from the second tunnel on the right and Elyssa groaned in frustration.

“What the hell, Tay?” Elyssa hissed.

As she went after Taylor, she cursed bitterly. The tunnel was pitch black with water dripping from the pipes above, and no matter how hard she tried to duck, the filthy drips still soaked through her robe, making her skin crawl. She continued down the narrow tunnel, feeling along the corners as she went.

Once she had emerged from out in front of the tall lush mazes that formed the labyrinth, Elyssa gasped. The labyrinth outside Peskington was said to change with the season, and at the moment it was a plush green field of interconnected passages towering over ten feet high. Green vines and branches twined along the walls, and they twitched and moved as if they were alive.  Elyssa crawled down the passage ahead, and stopped when the tall wall in front of her peeled open to reveal a secret chamber.

“How?” Elyssa murmured.

The number of layers within the labyrinth was unknown, but a secret chamber was so deep in the heart of the Labyrinth that no one had ever reach one. But it was believed that there's a direct link to the goddess in the core. How had the Callisto’s built a path to a secret chamber from their tunnels? She continued into the chamber and as the path closed behind her, Taylor’s scent went dead.

Elyssa froze, spinning around to take a good look. She stood in the darkness, against the wind blowing so hard and for a minute, it almost drowned out the growl of the creature heading her way. In a flash, she braided her hair up and scurried to the left, away from what was coming. Following the maze as it curved and led her away, she picked up her pace, sprinting into a run as the creature continued after her.

The deeper you went into the labyrinth, the move vicious and monstrous the creatures got. Right after her family's demise, she'd ran straight out of Peskington only to end up in the outer chambers of the labyrinth and if Zuker hadn't found her, she'd be dead. 

Her scent; she needed to mask her scent. After a glance at the full moon, she realized she’d only be able to get away faster if she shifted, but she didn't want to risk anyone seeing her snow-white fur and figuring out that she was an azure. 

Then she heard the howling cry of an injured wolf, and she screeched to a stop.

Taylor.

“Damn it!”

That better not be her friend or the Callisto's would pay! There was something off about this entire ritual. They had barely entered and yet were already on a path to imminent death; she couldn’t navigate her way through a path that seemed to have its own mind. More than anything, she needed Lucian to show up now. As Elyssa scratched at the eerie sensation ringing in her ear, she forgot about the creature chasing after her.

It growled behind her and with her hands gripping the Labyrinth wall shrubs that appeared to be welded shut, Elyssa froze. She turned to face it, and swallowed a gasp. It was black, and thrice as large as a regular wolf.

“Goddess,” she slurred, leaning back against the wall and wishing she could disappear into it.

It watched her with red-shot eyes that bore into hers with a wickedness that spiked her pulse. She remained still, watching with bated breath as she pondered her next move. Then the wall behind her yielded, and she fell back through the rift into a path that spun and closed before the creature could move on her.

Elyssa looked around before she sprung to her feet. Black dirt stuck to her skin and robe, and she smeared more on herself. There was no way she could survive below ground or without a good hiding spot. Chances were the wolves would have a tough time finding the females this deep in the Labyrinth, so they had to survive for much longer on their own.

“Damn Taylor and the Callisto’s for this,” Elyssa murmured.

Perhaps it wasn’t such a bad thing after all. If Lucian came in here for her, she could get her revenge. But her clutch with her weapon was back in the changing room; she couldn’t fight Lucian.

Her only option was to use the Labyrinth to her advantage. As she looked around, she tried to pick up a scent or sound, but everything seemed to be quiet, so she kept following the match. If she could only find her way to the outer part of it, where she learned to hunt and stay ahead of the smaller, more manageable creatures there.

Lucian Callisto would be her prey.

But, she could not err against the goddess by hunting the wolf she matched her with. Her mother believed in the goddess' way, and so did she until Lucian. Elyssa pressed her forehead against the wall in front of her as she took a deep breath, why was Lucian her mate? She wanted to know why, and maybe she could. Yes, she would make her way to the heart of the Labyrinth, and confront the goddess.

Lucian would have to wait.

After pulling herself off the wall, Elyssa looked around. She had no idea where to go, because the Labyrinth sent wolves where the goddess would have them be. Whether it was to their mate, out of the labyrinth or to the goddess, whatever it took, she needed to know what twisted fate paired her with Lucian.

Following the path paved before her, she went on her way without any attempts to hide herself or climb above ground. Once again, she would put her trust in the goddess’ will and see what would come of it.

Out of nowhere, a passage suddenly popped up in her path, blocking her way, and Elyssa halted, waiting for another path to open up. To her right, it slowly spun; its lush leaves opening at the same time as she heard the growl of the savage beasts. The stench of blood tingled Elyssa’s nostrils as she came face to face with two creatures similar to the one from before, their jaws dripping with fresh blood.

“Goddess.”

Elyssa bent forward, watching them intently as she prepared to shift and take off as fast as she could. If she tried to take them, they would rip her apart, as they already did with some unfortunate female. Then she heard the howl, and the creatures turned from her as she caught the familiar scent of sandalwood.

Lucian.