Calvin’s POV
The eerie silence of the Helion Forest did nothing to settle the storm raging inside me.
Towering trees loomed on all sides, their skeletal branches twisting toward the sky like gnarled fingers. The scent of damp earth and decaying leaves filled my nostrils as I followed the path Sherelle’s message had led me to.
A cabin stood in the middle of the clearing, old and unassuming, the wooden panels slightly weathered from years of neglect. It looked like the perfect place to keep someone hidden.
Or trapped.
I stepped forward, my boots crunching against the leaves, and knocked on the door.
No response.
I knocked again, harder this time.
Still, nothing.
My jaw clenched as I reached for the handle and pushed. The door creaked open easily-unlocked.
Suspicious.
Keeping my guard up, I cautiously stepped inside.
The cabin seemed deserted, like it had been out of use for a while. Had I come to the wrong place?
“Sherelle!” My voice echoed through the empty cabin, bouncing off the wooden walls. “I’m here. Show yourself!”
Silence.
My jaw clenched.
The air inside the cabin was thick, heavy, tinged with an underlying scent that set my nerves on edge. Blood. Decay. Something unnatural.
I scanned the room, eyes roving over every detail, searching for something-anything-out of place. The dim glow of the dying lanterns flickered against the aged wood, casting elongated shadows along the walls.
Something felt wrong.
Then I saw it.
The rug at the center of the room.
It looked slightly… off. The fabric was bunched up at one side, as if it had been moved recently but not properly put back into place.
Suspicion flared through me.
Cautiously, I stepped forward and yanked the rug aside.
My breath hitched.
A trapdoor.
The handle was old, rusted, but well-used.
This was it.
The sinking feeling in my gut intensified.
“Do you really want to go down there?” Fenrir’s voice rumbled in my mind, edged with unease.
I exhaled slowly, tightening my grip on the handle.
“I don’t care what happens to me,” I muttered. “As long as I can keep Kamrynn safe.”
Without another thought, I wrenched it open.
Darkness greeted me.
A set of narrow, winding stairs spiraled downward into the unknown.
I didn’t hesitate.
I descended.
The underground air was cool and damp, laced with the scent of burning oil. Lanterns lined the tunnel walls, their golden glow casting eerie, flickering patterns against the rough stone.
The passage stretched forward into uncertain darkness.
I moved cautiously, my boots making little sound against the compact dirt floor. The only noise was the distant drip, drip, drip of water from somewhere unseen.
“Stay alert,” Fenrir murmured. “This could be a trap.”
“I know,” I replied silently, my fingers twitching at my sides.
“Sherelle!” My voice echoed through the tunnel.
Silence.
Annoyance flared in my chest.
If she’d lured me here for nothing then I-
I paused in my tracks as I laid eyes on the woman of my dreams.
A sharp stab of fear shot through me.
Kamrynn.
She was slumped against the cold stone wall, her body motionless.
Her hands and legs were tightly bound, the thick ropes digging into her skin. Her head lolled to the side, her dark lashes resting against her pale cheeks.
My heart clenched.
“No-”
I lunged toward her-
And everything went black…?
A CRACK. And then agony.
Blinding, searing pain exploded at the back of my skull.
A brutal impact sent me crashing to the ground, my vision splintering into a haze of white-hot stars.
A deep, ringing hum filled my ears.
The taste of blood pooled at the back of my throat.
I groaned, my fingers instinctively gripping my head, trying to steady myself, but the world refused to stop spinning.
A warm, wet sensation trickled down my neck.
Blood.
“Shit.”
My breaths came ragged, uneven.
I tried to push myself up-
But my body wouldn’t cooperate.
A familiar voice cooed mockingly above me.
A voice that had once been my mate’s.
“No…”
I forced my gaze upward, blinking rapidly against the blur of my vision.
And there she was.
Sherelle Delamorte.
Standing above me, smiling.
She looked down at me with lazy amusement, tilting her head as if surveying a broken toy.
She let out a mocking tsk.
“You look like you’re in bad shape, love,” she mused, pouting. “Need some help?”
Rage burned through me.
I wanted to snarl, to lunge. Rip her throat out for hurting Kamrynn.
But even the thought of moving sent searing pain through my skull.
The world tilted violently around me. My breaths came in ragged gasps, and the warm, sticky sensation of blood trailing down my neck only fueled my rage.
Still, I forced myself to speak, my voice hoarse, broken.
“What… do you hope to achieve from all of this?”
Sherelle simply sighed, as if bored, as if my question was too simple, too predictable to be worth answering.
When she opened her mouth, something unexpected came out.
“Lorien.”
She called the name lightly, like a sweet invitation, and from the shadows of the dimly lit corridor, he appeared.
I sucked in a sharp breath.
The man- if he could even be called that- who emerged was otherworldly, beautiful in the most haunting way.
Long, silky red hair, woven into a single intricate braid, cascaded down his back, the deep ruby strands catching the dim glow of the lanterns like woven fire. His sharp, angular features looked like they had been sculpted by gods.
His skin was pale, flawless, yet almost too perfect, too ethereal-like a porcelain doll carved with delicate, cruel precision.
Then there were his eyes.
Inhuman. Crimson.
The color of fresh-spilled blood, of embers burning in the darkness. Slit pupils, glowing faintly, gleamed with an emotion I couldn’t quite place.
Symbols-ancient, intricate, crawling like whispers of power-glowed faintly on his forehead.
Power radiated from him.
Not like an Alpha.
Something older. Something far more dangerous.
He leaned against the doorway lazily, examining his nails as if this entire situation was nothing more than a mild inconvenience.
Then, in a cool, indifferent tone, he spoke.
“I thought this would be a lot more interesting.”
Sherelle smirked, stepping toward him like a cat preening before its master.
“Oh, it will be,” she purred, trailing a finger down his arm. “I promise it’ll be worth your time.”
Lorien didn’t seem impressed. His ruby eyes flickered toward me for a brief moment-then toward Kamrynn, still unconscious against the wall.
I gritted my teeth, the pain in my skull throbbing with every heartbeat.
I forced out a low, bitter laugh.
“So this is it, then?” My voice was rough, strained. “Your new lover? Is that why you ran away? Faked your death?”
Sherelle froze-then threw her head back and laughed.
Mocking. Sharp. Cruel.
“Oh, Goddess no,” she giggled, her eyes gleaming with amusement. “I wish I could say it was love that drove me to do that, but thankfully, I’ll never be that stupid.”
She tilted her head, gazing at Lorien with something close to bemusement.
“Though Lorien is certainly desirable,” she mused, “he’s only my partner in crime.”
Then, she lifted a single delicate finger-
And pointed it directly at Kamrynn.
“The one he desires… is her.”
I bristled, my body screaming in protest as I tried to push past the pain, forcing myself onto my feet. My head throbbed violently, the warm trickle of blood down my neck making my vision swim, but I didn’t care.
Sherelle’s words rang in my ears, her casual dismissal of Kamrynn as if she were nothing but a pawn, something to be handed over like a gift.
No.
I would not allow it.
I gritted my teeth, my hands clenching into trembling fists as I fixed Sherelle with a glare sharp enough to cut steel.
“Never.” My voice came out low, rough, a growl barely contained.
I forced myself upright, my body swaying slightly, but I planted my feet firmly.
I would not fall.
I leveled a murderous glare at Sherelle, my chest rising and falling with each ragged breath.
“You think this is a joke?” My voice was hoarse, broken, but laced with pure venom.
I lifted a shaking hand, pointing a bloodied finger at her.
“Say something like that again, Sherelle, and I swear on the Goddess-I’ll rip out your damn tongue.”
Sherelle arched a brow, her lips curling into something amused.
I wasn’t finished.
I turned my gaze toward Lorien, the bastard who dared to lay claim to what was mine.
“Kamrynn is my mate,” I snarled, the words ripping from my throat with undeniable finality. “And I will never-ever-let anyone take her from me.”
Sherelle sighed dramatically, rolling her eyes like a mother tired of a child’s tantrum.
“Honestly, Calvin,” she drawled. “This obsession of yours is exhausting.”
Her hand flicked slightly.
A silent command.
And then-
Pain.
White-hot, blinding pain.
Lorien moved faster than my eyes could track.
A blur of motion-then an impact like a warhammer against my ribs.
The force lifted me off my feet.
My body collided violently with the stone wall behind me, a sickening crack echoing in the chamber.
I coughed, a sharp coppery taste flooding my mouth.
Blood.
Before I could even process the pain, another brutal blow slammed into my stomach, forcing the air from my lungs.
Then another.
A vicious jab to my side-a sharp kick to my ribs-a backhand that sent my vision spinning.
Lorien didn’t just hit.
He dismantled.
Effortless. Precise.
Every strike landed with cold, calculated force, each one designed to break me apart piece by piece.
My knees buckled.
I tried to fight back-tried-but my body was too slow, too broken.
A heavy boot crashed against my chest, slamming me to the ground.
I couldn’t breathe.
My world blurred, pain roaring through every nerve as I lay on the cold, damp floor, my body torn and battered.
Blood dripped from my mouth, staining the dirt beneath me.
Everything hurt.
Distantly, I heard Sherelle’s voice.
“That’s enough, Lorien.”
The relentless onslaught stopped.
I barely registered the absence of pain, too lost in the sheer agony of what remained.
Footsteps.
A presence crouched beside me.
Fingers-delicate, ice-cold-gripped my chin, forcing my head up.
I barely had the strength to open my eyes.
Sherelle’s face was inches from mine, her expression mockingly sweet.
Her grip tightened.
“Now, Calvin,” she murmured, her voice sickly smooth.
“When I speak-
You’ll listen.
Like a good boy.”