Casper
“Marina,” I muttered. A small smile played on my battered and bloodied face.
“Join us. This family misses you.” Her angelic and soothing voice rang in my head, sending a shrill of satisfaction down my spine.
I missed it.
Fixing her blue eyes on me, she held out her hand, stretching it towards me.
At once, a blinding light demarcated us, sending me to fall against the ground.
The strange light caused a barrier between us, and while I was on one side, she was on the other side, in a strange face with my kids.
She smiled, urging me to hasten my speed. I watched her delicate slender fingers poking out of the other dimension through the light.
Picking myself from the floor, I moved towards the big bright light, using my hand to shield my face as it seeped into my eyes, causing it to ache.
The mate bond between us formed a strong force, pulling me towards her in a firm grip.
Leaning towards her as our fingertips were barely inches away, my name suddenly resonated in the air, followed by a strong wind that shattered the mate bond.
“You are not going anywhere, Casper!” With those words, Marina lost balance and vanished into her world while the giant blinding light trembled before fading away.
Turning to the origin of the voice, I locked gaze with Lilith, whose eyes stopped watering. She ran towards me, wrapping around me before burying her face in my neck as she inhaled my scent.
“You came…for…me?” I stammered, watching her in bewilderment. My fingers swept past her hair, tucking it behind her ear to cup her face.
“I am sorry, Alpha, I can’t let you go.”
It was at that moment I jerked awake.
Lilith saved me again.
But this time, I wasn’t mad at her for stopping me from uniting with my family.
Though, I always longed to be with them, but since Lilith came into the picture, the desire to be with them vanished into thin air.
The bond between Marina and I was shattered, and I had to move on with my life.
Marina, Taylor, and Tyler are my past, and they exist only in my memory.
Lilith’s beautiful face was the first thing I saw when my eyes flung open, but after a while, I found myself in the dungeon, bound to the ground with heavy chains like a prisoner.
My body reeked of wolfsbane, and my eyes were blurry as if I was about to pass out the second time.
It was a miracle that I survived the anguish of this year’s curse.
*****
Author’s Pov
Calix paced about the room impatiently, tapping his foot against the floor with his phone hanging on his ears.
He cleared his throat, swallowing as the call got connected.
“Boss,” he greeted, inhaling sharply. “I have news.”
“Go ahead. I hope it’s about that Lilith girl and how you’ve captured her,” he replied boredly, anger lingered in his harsh voice.
“Soon-”
“Soon?! I gave you one job and you can’t handle it perfectly.” He roared in rage, blasting Calix with terror. “Just get me a tiny little girl, but you act like she is more powerful than you.”
“If Rodrigo ceased to be our potential client because of your lackadaisical attitude, I will disown you as my son before killing you with my bare hands!”
Chills ran down Calix’s body as his father’s threats resonated in his ears.
“I’m sorry, father…I mean…boss.” he corrected himself quickly before muttering an apology.
His father hated mixing personal life with business.
“I need your help. I need men.”
“For what?” he asked irritatedly.
“Rumours reached me that Alpha Casper is weak, and this is the best time to capture him. If this goes successfully, we can take all of his possessions, including Lilith Parker.”
“It is done. How many men do you need?” His father asked, a deadly grin stretched on his face as he purred in satisfaction.
*****
Lilith
I ran as fast as my weak legs could carry me, getting off Ricky’s territory after signing a contract that I barely read before racing to the hospital with the cash in my hand.
I hope I wasn’t late.
After depositing the money, I watched them wheel away my unconscious mother into the theater.
I charged after them, almost opening the door, but I got stopped by the security who insisted I wait outside or go home since the surgery would take hours.
I spent some time in my sister’s room before I decided to go home in the evening.
Carefully observing the lonely path to the estate as the threat from Calix’s rival echoed in my head, I hastened my footsteps.
Once I got into the house, I heaved a sigh of relief, knowing I was safe.
“Hey,” Anna’s voice jerked me as I crashed on the sofa tiredly. “Where are you coming from?” she asked, firing me a suspicious look as her brows arched.
“Long story,” I murmured, trying to dismiss her as I wasn’t in the mood for her unending questions. “Nothing serious.”
“I’m not a fool, Lilith. You left in a hurry, I saw you rushed out of the gate from my room, and you haven’t been home for the past 2 days. What is going on? Where have you been?”
I knew she caught me, and there was no point in lying, but then, I felt uneasiness settled on the tip of my tongue.
I wasn’t completely sure if I should trust Anna. Her attitude and jealousy throw me off.
“I went to check up on my mum. It’s nothing serious,” I insisted, my voice reeking of boredom as I stood from the chair and started making my way upstairs.
I needed quality sleep.
“You went to check up on your mum, yet you look a mess. Your eyes are so red and puffy like you’ve been crying, and you barely sleep.” She observed, fixing her sharp eyes on mine.
“Where is the Alpha, and how is he?” I asked, intentionally diverting her attention.
She withdrew to herself immediately, scratching her head as she tore her eyes away from me.
“I…I don’t know,” she mumbled, fixing her eyes on the floor.
“I know you are aware of what is happening to the Alpha, but you chose to be silent. But sooner or later, I will find out!” I threatened, hissing loudly in annoyance before entering my room.
I lay to sleep after a long bath, switching off the light and covering myself with a comforter.
*****
I woke up to a series of messages from another unknown person who sent chills down my spine.
It was like a bucket of ice was thrown on me, leaving me trembling in great fear.
Your days of running are over, Lilith. We know where you live, and we are coming for you!