Chapter 23 Chapter 23

Chapter 23 Chapter 23
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Fenrir’s POV

The door shut behind us with a heavy sound that echoed deeper than it should have.

It didn’t just close.

It sealed.

The kind of sound that made it clear—whatever was ahead of us wasn’t meant to be disturbed.

I didn’t like that.

Not one bit.

The air inside felt different from the rest of the pack. Colder. Thicker. Like every breath had weight to it. The kind of place where silence didn’t feel empty… it felt like it was waiting.

I stepped in first.

Not because I doubted Aveline could handle herself—but because something in me refused to let her walk blindly into whatever this was.

“Stay close,” I said quietly.

She didn’t respond immediately.

Her attention wasn’t on me.

It was ahead.

Focused.

Pulled.

Like something was calling her.

And the worst part?

She was answering.

I could see it in the way she moved.

Not cautiously.

Not uncertainly.

But like she knew exactly where she was going.

That unsettled me more than anything.

“Aveline,” I called again, sharper this time.

“I can feel her,” she said.

Her voice wasn’t normal.

It wasn’t panic.

It wasn’t relief.

It was something in between… something deeper.

Like she was speaking from instinct instead of thought.

I clenched my jaw.

That thing again.

Whatever had touched her—it wasn’t done.

It was guiding her now.

And I didn’t trust it.

Not for a second.

We moved further in.

The torches along the walls flickered weakly, barely holding back the darkness. Shadows stretched across the stone floors, shifting in ways that made it hard to tell what was real and what wasn’t.

Then I heard it.

A faint sound.

Breathing.

Uneven.

Weak.

Aveline heard it too.

Her steps quickened.

“Aveline, slow down.”

“That’s her,” she said, her voice breaking slightly. “I know it is.”

I moved faster, stepping ahead of her.

Every instinct in my body was on edge now.

This was too easy.

Too clean.

Too convenient.

Nothing in this place had been straightforward since the moment she arrived.

Why would this be?

We turned the corner.

And there she was.

A woman slumped against the wall, chains wrapped around her wrists, her head hanging low. Her body looked fragile… like it had already given up long before we got here.

“Aveline…” she whispered.

The sound was weak.

Barely there.

But it was enough.

I felt Aveline’s body go still behind me.

For a moment, she didn’t move.

Didn’t breathe.

Like her entire world had just stopped.

Then—

“Mother…”

The word came out of her like it hurt.

Like saying it cost her something.

She moved.

Fast.

Too fast.

I grabbed her arm immediately.

“Wait.”

She turned to me sharply, her eyes wide, filled with something raw.

“What are you doing?”

“That’s your mother,” I said, my voice low, controlled. “And that’s exactly why you need to slow down.”

Her expression hardened instantly.

“You think I don’t know my own mother?”

“That’s not what I’m saying.”

“Then what are you saying?” she snapped.

I glanced back at the woman.

Still slumped.

Still weak.

Still breathing.

But something—

Something didn’t sit right.

“I’m saying this doesn’t feel right.”

Aveline let out a sharp breath, frustration flashing across her face.

“Of course it doesn’t feel right!” she said. “She’s chained in a dungeon, Fenrir! What do you expect it to feel like?”

“That’s not what I mean.”

“Then explain it!”

I couldn’t.

Not in a way that would make sense to her right now.

Because this wasn’t logic.

This was instinct.

And mine was screaming.

“Aveline,” I said again, softer this time. “Just give me a second.”

She stared at me.

And I saw it.

The war in her eyes.

Fear.

Hope.

Desperation.

All fighting at once.

Then her voice broke.

“I don’t have a second,” she whispered. “I don’t have time to think this through. I need to see her.”

That hit harder than anything else.

Because she wasn’t wrong.

She didn’t have time.

Not with everything she had already lost.

Not with everything hanging over her head.

I exhaled slowly.

“Stay behind me,” I said.

She didn’t argue.

That alone told me how much this meant to her.

I stepped forward.

Each step slow.

Careful.

Watching.

Listening.

The woman didn’t move.

Didn’t react.

Just sat there, breathing weakly.

“Aveline…” she whispered again.

Aveline stepped beside me.

I felt her body shake.

Just slightly.

“It’s her,” she said, her voice cracking. “It’s really her…”

I didn’t answer.

Because I still wasn’t sure.

And that uncertainty—it didn’t sit well with me.

“Aveline,” I said quietly, “don’t touch her yet.”

She turned to me again.

This time, there was no patience left in her eyes.

“Are you serious?”

“Yes.”

“That’s my mother!”

“And something is wrong.”

Her breathing grew uneven.

“You keep saying that,” she said, her voice trembling now. “But you’re not giving me a reason to believe you.”

“I don’t need to.”

“Yes, you do!” she snapped. “Because you’re asking me to stand here and do nothing while she’s right in front of me!”

I stepped closer to her.

Lowered my voice.

“I’m asking you to trust me.”

Silence.

Her eyes searched mine.

Looking for something.

Anything.

And for a moment—

I thought she would listen.

Then she pulled her arm free.

“I can’t,” she said.

The words were quiet.

But they hit like a blow.

“I’m sorry,” she added, her voice breaking. “I can’t take that risk.”

And before I could stop her—

She stepped forward.

Reached out.

Her fingers brushing against the woman’s arm.

Everything happened at once.

The woman’s head snapped up.

Too fast.

Too sharp.

Her eyes—

They weren’t weak.

They weren’t tired.

They were wide.

Dark.

Empty.

And wrong.

Aveline froze.

The chains dropped.

Clattering loudly against the floor.

Not broken.

Not forced.

Just… falling.

Like they had never been holding her at all.

I moved instantly, grabbing Aveline and pulling her back.

“Move!”

Her body hit mine as I dragged her away.

“What—what is that?” she whispered.

The woman stood slowly.

Her movements unnatural.

Too controlled.

Too deliberate.

Then she smiled.

And something about that smile made my stomach turn.

“Aveline,” it said, her voice twisting unnaturally. “You came.”

Aveline’s body went rigid.

“That’s not my mother,” she whispered.

“No,” I said. “It’s not.”

The thing tilted its head.

Watching her.

Studying her.

Like she was something interesting.

Something valuable.

“I told you I would find you again,” it said softly.

Aveline shook her head.

Fear creeping in now.

Real fear.

“No… no, this isn’t real…”

“Oh, it is,” it replied.

I stepped forward.

Positioning myself between them.

“You’re done talking,” I said.

It looked at me then.

For the first time.

And the way it looked—

Like I was an inconvenience.

Like I didn’t matter.

Annoyed me more than it should have.

“You’re still here,” it said.

I didn’t like that.

Not one bit.

“Walk away,” I said.

It smiled.

“Or what?”

I didn’t answer.

Because I was already moving,I closed the distance in a second. My hand locking around its throat.Lifting it off the ground.

Just looked at me.

Calm.

Amused.

Like this meant nothing.

“You shouldn’t have touched her,” I said.

Its lips curved slightly.

“And you shouldn’t have interfered.”

Something hit me.

Hard.

Like a force I couldn’t see.

I was thrown back instantly, my body slamming into the stone wall behind me.

The impact knocked the air out of my lungs.

Pain shot through my ribs.

But I pushed it aside.

Got back up immediately.

Ignoring it.

Because Aveline was still there.

And that thing—

It hadn’t moved.

Hadn’t even stepped back.

“You can’t protect her,” it said.

I wiped the blood from my lip.

“Watch me.”

Aveline moved beside me.

Too close.

Too exposed.

“Stay back,” I said.

“I’m not leaving you,” she replied.

“This isn’t—”

“I’m not leaving!” she snapped.

“Aveline—”

“I said don’t.”

Her voice was firmer now.

And something in my chest tightened.