Chapter 66: CHAPTER SIXTY-SIX | FLAMES
CHAPTER SIXTY-SIX | FLAMES
UNKNOWN POV
The forest was thick and unforgiving, branches clawing at their clothes as they ran. The woman kept one arm around the smaller-bodied child and pushed the other forward, forcing a path through thorns and wet leaves.
“Keep running,” she whispered breathlessly. “Don’t stop. Please.”
Her breath burned, but she didn't care because behind them, boots were crunching close enough to hear.
“Mommy, I’m tired,” the older child cried.
“I know,” she said quickly. “Just a little more.”
She stumbled when a shadow stepped out ahead of them. The children cried out and clung to her legs. The man smiled like he had been waiting all along. The woman dropped to her knees, dirt staining her dress, her voice breaking.
“Alpha Darius,” she said, bowing her head. “Please. Let us go. They’re just children.”
Darius laughed, the sound echoing too loud between the trees. He grabbed her by the hair and dragged her head back.
“Not a chance,” he said, laughing again, his breath hot against her face. “You should have stayed hidden.”
The children sobbed harder.
“Please,” she begged. “I’ll do anything. Anything you want.”
She reached for the children, but Darius kicked her hand away.
“Don’t touch them,” he snapped.
She turned to the children quickly. “It’s okay,” she whispered, even as tears ran down her face. “Be quiet. Please be quiet.”
“Mommy, what’s happening?” one of them asked through sobs.
Darius waved his men forward. “Take them.”
“No!” she screamed as they grabbed her and the children, forcing them to their feet.
The forest path opened into a clearing where a small house waited, crooked and silent.
“Please,” she cried again as they dragged her inside. “You don’t have to do this.” She cried, but he didn't care. Instead, the door slammed shut.
The room smelled of damp wood and old smoke. The children cried openly now, clinging to their mother.
“Shh,” she murmured desperately. “I’m here. I’m here.”
Darius circled her slowly, boots scraping the floor. “Where did you hide your husband’s magic book?”
“I don’t know,” she said, shaking her head. “I swear I don’t know.”
“Liar,” he said calmly.
“I swear,” she repeated, her voice cracking. She pulled the children closer, trying to shield them with her body.
Darius laughed again, then slapped her hard. The sound rang through the room.
One child screamed. “Stop! Please stop!”
Darius grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him, rage flashing in his eyes. “Tell me where it is!”
She tasted blood on her lips and swallowed. “It’s gone,” she said softly. “I don’t know how it happened, but it’s gone now.”
His face twisted with disgust and sudden hatred for the woman before him.
He stepped back and nodded to his men. “Tie her.”
“No, please!” she cried as they grabbed her arms. The children fought, screaming her name.
“Mommy!”
“I’m here,” she said quickly. “I’m right here.”
The ropes cut into her skin as she was dragged toward the center of the room.
She closed her eyes for a second. “Please,” she whispered. “Let them live.”
Darius leaned close. “One last chance,” he murmured. “Where is the book?”
She didn’t answer.
The children cried her name again. She met their eyes and forced a small smile.
The firewood stacked nearby caught her eye, and she understood. Her heart broke quietly, but she stayed silent, choosing them over herself.
Darius straightened and stepped away from the woman like she no longer mattered. His face was calm, almost bored, as if the decision had already been made long before this moment.
“Take the children outside,” he ordered.
The guards hesitated for half a breath, then obeyed. They pulled the two girls away from their mother. The woman screamed, twisting against the ropes, her voice tearing through the room.
“No, please! Don’t take them!” she cried. “Please!”
The girls reached for her, fingers straining through the air.
“Mommy!” the younger one screamed. “Mommy!”
“I’m here,” the woman sobbed. “I’m right here. Don’t let them take you.”
But the door opened, and cold night air rushed in. The guards dragged the children outside, their cries spilling into the forest. Darius followed them out, boots crunching on dry leaves, not looking back even once.
The girls were forced to their knees a few steps from the house. They clung to each other, shaking, eyes wide as they watched Darius turn to his men.
“Burn it,” he said simply.
The words landed heavier than any scream.
One guard hesitated for a second while the other bent and struck flint. The fire caught fast, like a hungry prey, licking the dry wood of the walls. Smoke rose into the trees.
The sisters screamed badly.
“No!” the older twin cried. “Our mother is inside!”
The flames climbed, orange and cruel. The heat pushed outward, and the house began to crack and groan.
The younger twin broke free first, panic snapping her fear in half. She twisted out of the guard’s grip and ran.
“Stop her!” someone shouted.
But she was already moving, her small feet pounding the ground. She ran straight toward the fire, calling for her mother, smoke swallowing her voice.
“Mommy!”
The guards lunged but missed. The flames roared as she disappeared inside the burning house.
The older sister screamed so hard her throat tore. “No! No, no, no!”
She fought, kicking and clawing, trying to break free.
“I have to go!” she cried. “That’s my sister!”
She wrenched forward, almost slipping from their hands, but one guard swung the butt of his rifle and struck her head.
The sound was dull as she fell, her body hitting the ground. Her eyes fluttered once, then closed.
Darius watched without expression. “Take her,” he said. “She’ll be useful.”
The guards lifted the unconscious girl while the smoke thickened behind them. Inside the house, the fire raged, beams collapsing, screams swallowed whole.
Darius turned away and walked from the forest, leaving the burning house behind. The flames lit the trees, shadows dancing wildly, but he didn’t look back.