273- When the Beast Breaks the Gates
POV Aldren Valmorin:
The sound of my feet tearing through the wet forest ground was the only noise in the night’s stillness as I made my way toward the Tharnak.
Each step felt as though it burned the soles of my feet, as if they were flayed raw. My healing power was weakening, and I feared I would no longer be able to mend myself in time to find her alive.
Hunger, thirst, and exhaustion could not stop me.
Not when my life depended on the survival of my female.
For days I had ingested nothing—not even the food offered to me on the jets. The only thing I needed to keep breathing was her. To find my Elowen and put an end to that malignant plan.
I ran in savage desperation, my heart pounding as I swerved past trees and brush. With every fiber of my being, I prayed the elders had received my message—sent through my guards—and had not touched a single strand of her hair.
Rage burned inside me when I thought of Korlina. All her schemes had been revealed to me by Nerin in a painful sequence of text messages.
Even if it had not been her intention, that witch was the architect of the suffering Elowen was enduring.
Wretched old bitch! She had life-or-death information and kept it from me!
I should have ended her when I had the chance.
And Nala… that betrayal would not be forgotten. Her death was certain. I should have decreed her end the first time she defied my authority.
Is this the fucking reward for trying to be good and just?
For giving your own life to protect your people?
Because if it was, in that moment I would choose to be a cruel alpha without a shred of mercy. A monster. I would be a monster.
Elowen was paying the price for my hesitation. For my need to have proof before exterminating every threat.
Unfair, fuck! Unfair!
I did not care if witch’s blood also ran in her veins. Nothing mattered except being by her side.
My beast had chosen a female for the first time, and I was completely aligned with it. Our fated one. My mate.
The closer I came to Noctheria, the heavier my legs felt, my muscles seeming to lose their strength.
But then my beast filled my vision with something desperate.
A vivid image of Elowen—possibly wounded and terrified, alone in that place so foreign to her. The worst of all the nightmares I had ever had in my long life.
The thought reignited a tearing fury, fully awakening the beast inside me, which clamored for vengeance and protection.
At last, the ancient stone walls of Noctheria rose before me. Without slowing, I hurled my body against the iron gate, which gave way beneath my monstrous strength.
The beast within me roared, and I let it loose.
I entered the castle, my eyes adjusting to the dim torchlight that partially illuminated the main corridor.
My roar of fury and despair filled the space. Her name tore from my lips in a guttural cry.
“Elowen!” The roar echoed through the ancient stone, shaking the walls with my anguish and pain.
It did not take long for the elders to appear, their tense figures lining the corridor.
I was half-shifted. My human form struggled to keep the beast contained—just enough not to tear apart everything around me. Including them. So that I would not ruin everything by killing the ones who had been like parents to me.
“WHERE IS SHE?” My voice thundered with menace, heavy with a promise of violence if my female were not returned to me unharmed.
The elders approached with their hands raised, asking for calm, aware of the power I held and the destruction I could unleash if she had suffered any harm.
Every beat of my heart was for her. I would move heaven and earth to find her and take her back home—to our home, to my life.
“WHERE IS SHE?” I roared louder, causing the ground to tremble.
The elders hesitated for a moment. Two pairs of frightened eyes measured the danger I posed. The eyeless one stepped forward.
“Aldren, your fury is understandable, but we need calm now. Elowen is safe, under our protection.”
Protection?
The word sounded like an insult. How could they speak of protection when they had torn her from our home based on baseless accusations?
“TAKE ME TO HER. NOW!” I demanded, my tone leaving no room for negotiation.
The elder without ears signaled to the others, and together they began guiding me through the castle’s dark corridors.
Each heavy step tested my patience, while the image of Elowen—possibly terrified and alone—hammered in my mind like a dagger of thorns piercing my brain.
“And what do you intend to do about the accusations against her?” I could not contain my growl. I fixed a hard stare on the elder walking beside me.
“We will address that after confirming her condition. The laws of the Tharnak are clear, but they are also just, my son.”
I did not want to discuss laws or justice. I wanted Elowen back.
Safe and in my arms.
The pain and guilt for being away when she was attacked gnawed at me, but the fury of my beast would give me strength to bring down that castle if they did not return my mate to me.
I was utterly incredulous when I realized we were heading toward the prison.
How had my guards not informed me that this was where they had escorted her?
Stopping at the passage to the stairs—where I would need permission to proceed—I loomed over them menacingly.
“OPEN THIS FUCKING DOOR BEFORE I GO THROUGH THE TERRITORIES RIPPING OFF HEADS UNTIL THERE ARE NONE LEFT!” I demanded, my voice guttural.
The eyeless one touched my shoulder, and I shoved his hand away.
“My son, calm yourself. Elowen does not allow the sentinels to enter the cell and refuses food. She has spent the days sleeping. You are part of everything we have, and we love you, but the laws must be upheld. See her, and then come upstairs so we can talk.”
“OPEN IT!” I roared.
The moment the door opened, I did not look back or to the sides.
I did not descend the stairs—I leapt from them at the first spiral turn, landing with my claws striking the ground.
Roaring, I searched for my female by scent. A painful scream from her snapped the last thread of my humanity.
With inhuman speed I reached my guards, all of them exhausted.
“Guard the stair entrance!” I ordered, watching them scatter.
My view of the cell opened—and the scene I saw drove me mad.
Elowen writhed on the floor. Her pale skin was red as fire, and her claws were beginning to emerge.