Chapter 131 The Shadow That Shouldn’t Exist

Chapter 131 The Shadow That Shouldn’t Exist


Zion’s POV

The slam of the door against the wall echoed down the hallway, sharp enough to make my wolf bristle. I’d been pacing outside Trinity’s chambers for the better part of ten minutes, restless, fighting the urge to interrupt whatever was happening inside and at the moment that scent rolled out into the corridor, my body locked up.

No, that couldn’t be right and my hand hovered barely above the doorframe, fingers shaking and torn between entering or running in the opposite direction. The weight of recognition fell into my chest like a rock. My heart ached, then raced so fast it made my head spin.

I pushed the door open wider, eyes locking on the individuals inside.

Nasir was on the other side, half-changed, claws out, shoulders shaking with rage or fear and I couldn't say which. Trinity had her arms around him, her face pale but her eyes sharp, darting back and forth between him and the figure in the doorway and the figure...gods have mercy on us all.

The voice came first, low and familiar. Too bloody familiar "Miss me, brothers?"

The air was electric with tension and my lungs recalled how to breathe.

Nasir stepped forward, teeth bared "You should be dead"

"Should be" the figure agreed, stepping into the light at last.

I nearly choked. The sight worked bile creeping up my throat, making memories I'd buried claw their way back to the surface and I stepped forward before I realized it, my voice grating "No, this isn't possible."

Trinity's voice shook with weak whisper "Who… who is he?" he asked

Neither Nasir nor I replied, the truth hung between us, choking us both.

The figure sneered, eyes gleaming with an unnatural light, one I'd never seen in them before "What's wrong, Zion? You look like you've seen a ghost"

"Because you are" I spat, though my voice cracked halfway "We buried you"

Trinity gasped, her gaze jerking between us with confusion hardening into horror "Buried? What are you saying?

Nasir growled, his whole frame trembling with anger but his eyes spoke a different tale, pain, grief and shock "Leave now before i rip you apart for good this time"

"For good?" The man scoffed, cold and cutting like breaking ice "Tell me brother, did it feel good? Did it ease your conscience when you shoved me into the ground and abandoned me?"

My jaw was clenched so hard it ached and my voice was choked "Shut up"

But he didn't. He stepped nearer and the moonlight was sliding over his face and over features that were ours like a distorted mirror.

Trinity's hand flew to her mouth and her whisper cracked like glass "Oh my goddess… He looks just like you"

Her words hurt more than claws because she was right.

Nasir's growl turned wild, vibrating through the air but the man only tilted his head and his composure more unsettling than rage could ever be.

"Tell her Nasir" he whispered, a soft and almost gentle voice "Tell her who i am"

Silence strangled us and Nasir's fists clenched, claws digging into his palms but his throat worked noiselessly.

Trinity's gaze darted back and forth, frantic with desperation searching for answers "Tell me what's going on!

I breathed shallow and fast then my body screamed to protect her and to shield her from the truth unraveling before her eyes but how was i to protect anyone from this?

Nasir finally spoke, his voice gritty and barren "This is our brother."

The words rang out like a curse and the world stumbled beneath the weight of them.

Trinity stepped back with her head shaking "Brother? But there are just three of you triplets"

"Not always" the figure interrupted, smiling like he knew the darkest secret in the world. His eyes locked on her unblinking and almost hungry "There were four"

I shivered down my spine to say it aloud was to make the walls close in, the air thickens and harder to breathe.

Trinity pressed closer to Nasir with her voice cracking “But you’re supposed to be dead”

“Supposed to be” he echoed again, that twisted smile never leaving his face “But death didn’t want me. Something else did, something stronger”

My chest constricted and dread coiled in my gut like a serpent and his voice carried something unnatural now, something laced with darkness that didn’t belong to any wolf.

Nasir's voice was venomous and bitter "You're not him and you can't be"

"Oh but i am" the figure said, his voice heavy with scorn "I'm what you discarded and I'm what the ground vomited back up when you attempted to get rid of me"

Trinity's hand trembled where she clutched Nasir's arm "What is he talking about?" she whispered but neither of us could answer because the truth was staring us in the face.

Our brother, the one we killed, the one we lost was alive in Trinity's bedroom and not alone.

For when he smiled, the light in his eyes altered, violet creeping into amber, something not human moving behind them like a shadow biding its turn to speak.

"Tell me" He whispered, voice almost soft, "Did you ever truly believe you could bury me?" he asked.

The air was thick and charged with tension that raised the hairs on my arms and my wolf wailed in the back of my mind, sounding a warning cry of fear.

Trinity whispered one word, broken and terrified "No"

The man moved another step closer, the floor creaking under him and his smile widened.

“Don’t worry little mate” he said softly, eyes locking onto her with chilling precision “This time, I’m not here to stay dead”

The silence that followed was alive, pulsing and drawing out each heartbeat into the space. Lucian's claws pulled halfway back, not from peace but from uncertainty, his wolf poised between tearing Kael apart and demanding answers. Nasir's amber eyes burned dangerously, strings of control breaking with every breath Kael drew in their sanctuary.

Trinity's chest was breathing too quickly, her hand still on Nasir's arm and even when her eyes locked onto the intruder. There was something in Kael's eyes that showed a hint of pain, a storm half-leashed that shot ice through her veins and it was not just recognition. It was history.

Kael's lips twisted but the cracks in his face spoiled it. His voice was rough like years of not speaking had ravaged it raw.

You can try to kill me, Lucian. You too, brother but if you do, you will forfeit the one chance you have to avert what's coming."

The words crept through the room like honey poisoned, dangerous and tempting all at once.

Lucian stepped forward, shadows writhing behind his figure like living things.

"And what is it that's coming, Kael?

Kael's smile failed and his eyes glowed dull red.

"Her"

The walls trembled like the word itself had summoned something just outside the door.