Chapter 56
Beatrice’s POV
My back hits a tree. I didn’t even realize I’d been retreating until the rough bark digs into my skin. Raphael keeps closing the distance, step by agonizing step. His eyes are nothing like the friend I used to know. They're darker, colder, almost glowing with something… unnatural.
“I don’t understand,” I say, my voice trembling. “What are you talking about? You were my friend, Raphael.”
He stops, a shadow of pain flickering in his expression. “I am your friend. I was your first protector. Your first partner. You just don’t remember, not yet. But it’s all still in there, locked away in that pretty little head of yours.”
“You’re not making sense,” I whisper. “You're scaring me.”
“That’s because you’re still clinging to who you think you are,” he growls. “Beatrice, that name doesn’t belong to you. Not really. That was your cover, your leash. But me? I know what you are.”
My breath catches. “What am I?”
He smiles, slow and twisted. “Mine.”
No. No, no, no.
“I’m not yours,” I snap, panic sharpening my voice. “You can’t just say things like that! You don’t own me, Raphael!”
“You think Caleb does?” he says, spitting the name like venom. “You think he can save you from what’s inside you? He doesn’t even know the half of it.”
His hand shoots out, grabbing my wrist. I jerk away, but his grip tightens. “Let go of me!”
The forest seems to shift with our struggle. Shadows bend unnaturally. The wind dies. The birds go silent.
“I was sent to watch over you,” he says, jaw clenched. “From the moment we were planted in Nadine-West. You were kept weak on purpose. Kept blind. But I remember everything now, Raven.” That name again. Raven.
He doesn’t call me that like Caleb does, like it’s a discovery, a revelation. Raphael says it like a claim. A possession.
“Let go,” I say, louder this time. “Let me go or I’ll scream.”
“I want you to scream,” he says too calmly. Then his grip loosens just slightly. I take that chance and shove him back with all the strength I can muster. He stumbles, just enough and I bolt.
Twigs whip at my arms and face. My lungs burn. The forest blurs past in streaks of green and brown. I don’t know where I’m going, only that I need to get away. Behind me, I hear his footsteps. Chasing. He’s fast. Faster than a normal wolf. Faster than he should be.
“Trice!” he yells, voice echoing like thunder behind me. “You can’t run from this! From me!”
I keep running, but the forest is no longer familiar. It's like the trees have moved, shifted their positions to trap me. No paths. No light. The world becomes a maze of dark leaves and clawed branches. My foot catches on a root, and I go down hard, crashing onto the damp earth.
Pain explodes in my elbow. I scramble to get up, but before I can, A hand grabs my ankle.
“No!” I scream, kicking wildly.
Raphael’s face appears above me, feral and breathless. His pupils are blown wide, his hair wild. He doesn’t even look like the man I knew.
“I’m sorry,” he pants, straddling me, pinning me down with ease. “But this is the only way to wake you up. To make you remember.”
I thrash beneath him, heart pounding like a drum of war. “Raphael, please, please don’t do this...”
“I don’t want to hurt you,” he says, almost pleading. “But you’re not listening. You need to remember who you are before they twist you completely, before he twists you. You are meant to be mine Raven and you need to remember that...” A sudden howl cuts through the trees. A deep, savage howl. Not Raphael’s but Caleb's.
A tremor runs through the ground, or maybe it’s just me, shaking. Raphael freezes, his head snapping toward the sound. Another howl answers. Closer this time. He curses under his breath, looking back down at me. “He shouldn’t be here yet. Not now.”
“You need to leave,” I whisper, my voice shaking. “Whatever you think I am… this isn’t the way.”
Raphael studies me for a long moment. His eyes soften, just a little.
“I’m not your enemy, Raven,” he says, gently brushing hair from my face. “You’ll understand soon. When the storm comes, and the truth rises from the ashes… you’ll see.”
Then, just like that, he’s gone.
Not running. Not walking. Gone, like a shadow vanishing into the forest. I lie there, stunned, my chest heaving.
Moments later, heavy footsteps crash through the trees and Caleb bursts into the clearing, eyes wide, teeth bared, radiating fury and worry all at once.
“Trice!” he drops to his knees beside me. “Are you okay? What happened?” he asks helping me up and wiping all the dirt on me. I want to answer him but something stops me.
"Yes I am okay Caleb." I lie.
"Why are you here then Raven." He asks a little enraged. "I was so worried." He adds, making me angrier.
"Please Caleb can you stop." I utter looking straight at him.
"Stop what?"
"You are being too much, can't I go outside? Am I supposed to be cooked up in that room forever? Just stop okay, I don't want you to care about me. Just let me be, I'll deal with my life by my own terms." I say. Saying the words burn me from the inside, but I figure that will be the only way to protect him from whatever is to come. I can’t have him risking his life for me each time. I don't Raphael to turn on him. And I'm also sure the creature isn't just Raphael there are more of them.
"Please Raven don't say that." He pleads trying to take my arm but I pull away. The pain in his eyes is unbearable to watch so I just walk away ignoring him. I hold myself as hard not to break down.
He walks behind me, slowly. The forest paths clear, but I can feel foreign eyes on me.