97
LEON'S POV
Our footsteps echoed through the space as we trudged forward.
My sense of time seemed to fade, slipping from my grasp like loose sand in the desert. The claustrophobic walls and the darkness were suffocating.
But my team had bravely held on. The silence was deafening, accompanying us.
Just then, my eyes sighted a light at the end. I squinted; the change made me uncomfortable, but I couldn't deny the relief it brought along with it. My ears picked out the tiny sighs and relaxed expressions from my team members.
After walking through what felt like a tunnel, there was finally an end. I fisted my hands beside me, desperately trying to suppress the restlessness that arose within me.
It's not the end yet, I spoke to myself. We're still not sure of what's at the end of the tunnel.
But my footsteps quickened. The uncertainty had clearly taken its toll, no matter how insignificant.
Apart from that, a tinge of impatience bred within me. I wanted to swiftly go through all this and return to the pack.
I had left my beta, David, in charge.
But when we got closer to the entrance, I signaled the team to slow down. My irritation could not make me lose sight of safety. They crowded behind me. We still had to be ready for anything that might happen.
With that, my foot crossed the clear demarcation of light. Instinctively, I squeezed my eyes shut. Hot, searing pain flashed; the world turned blinding white.
I covered my eyes with my arms, shielding them.
“What’s happening?” My face grim, the fragile composure that had suffered bouts of blows from the tunnel crumbled.
“I can’t see!”
“Arrgh!”
“Damn it!”
Exclamations and curses mixed with panic and frustration rang behind me. In that second, the exclamations took a swift turn, changing into screams of pain, a sickening squelch of flesh being sliced, and a dull thud.
“Formation!” I shouted, despite my watering and stinging eyes. My eyes flew open, grasping onto the nearest person and throwing them away from me, blocking the dagger with my arms crossed over my face.
I gritted my teeth, blood trickling down my arm. In a split second, my eyes clashed against his. I stared dead into the masked man’s dark eyes. Shoving him away, I distanced myself.
Surveying my environment.
And it was chaos. Teammates—people who I took as my family—lay strewn on the floor. It was a disaster. It was carnage. The floor and walls were painted red.
Then, among the piled bodies, while defending myself against the men in black attacking me from all directions, I saw a familiar figure.
Instantly, an unnatural chill crept up my limbs, freezing me in place. The world blurred away. Even as I was knocked down to the floor, my face pressed against the darkened surface, I kept staring at her.
The light in my eyes faded. Right there and then, my heart died.
“Sofia!!” Her name tore from my lips, even as I was buried beneath a pile of bodies.
“Leon!” A hand tapped me, startling me. A concerned face blurred into focus—it was…
“Sofia?” My brows furrowed. “How?… How?” I choked, a lump forming in my throat.
Moving away from her, I traced towards my other team members, each staring at me with equally concerned faces.
You’re all still alive…
“You suddenly froze just as you were about to come out and wouldn’t awaken no matter how we called you.”
Finally, someone, unwilling to hold back anymore, asked, “Alpha, are you okay?”
No. I wasn’t okay. But I couldn’t say that. Instead, I gave a strained smile in response.
A finger swiped my forehead—it was Sofia. Her actions caused a waft of her unique scent to surround me for the briefest moment, but it also made me realize that I had been sweating—cold sweating.
I felt a chill. The corners of my lips pulled into a frown as I stared at the demarcation, clearly showing darkness and light.
I scoffed. Which light? More like death.
Beyond this light, death awaited us—all of us.
Numerous thoughts flickered through my mind. I lowered my gaze to the floor, the same floor that I was pressed against.
‘It came at such a time. Should I call this a blessing or a curse?’ I tore my thoughts away, unwilling to dwell on something that was… that I had been promised—why it came back.
My main focus was on what we could do. I ran through my memories of the incident.
From what I remembered, they outnumbered us by the slightest margin, but the ambush had taken us by surprise, basically handing over the advantage to them.
“Eyes ahead, there’s an ambush in front of us,” I announced in a low voice, ignoring the flicker of surprise and shock that went through everyone’s faces.
My eyes froze over someone’s face, marking it. Unlike others’ reactions of surprise, hers was more like shock, but it passed so quickly that I wasn’t able to confirm my suspicions.
Ignoring everyone, I came to a stop close to the mouth. There was no way I could explain how I knew, so I chose to keep silent instead.
I added, “Once we step through that line, place your eyes on the floor. Don’t look up.” I dished out instructions once again without explanation.
That should tone down the effects of the glaring floodlight. They had employed a simple but effective strategy that normally I wouldn’t have thought of. Probably that’s why it worked so well.
“We are heading out now. Remember the instructions I gave you. They might as well guarantee your lives.” I tore off the sugarcoating. If anyone was stubborn or forgetful because of it, it’s my conscience that’ll bear their brief moment of recklessness.
On second thought, I looked back, storing where Sofia was in my memory.
Taking a heavy breath, I moved my foot, crossing over the line.
And just like a replay, everything happened all over again. But this time, we were prepared.