Twisted

Twisted

Lucien Virell POV

The air in the ruined temple still reeked of ash and iron. Vaela’s blood had dried on my hands, flaking like guilt I refused to feel. She was foolish. Obsessed. But she was mine. And now she’s gone.

I stare into the dark chalice. Empty now. Cold. She had promised it would work. Elowen should be ours. But no. That goddess marked bitch slipped through our fingers again.

"Bring me the Lock," I growl, my voice echoing down the bone ribbed halls of the sanctuary beneath the mountains. It isn't a request. It's a fucking summons. Moments later, the Lock appear like shadows given flesh. My elite circle. The sharpest fangs in the dark.

"We rebuild. We replenish. We take from them what we have lost."

I signal the writhing crowd of cultists to part. Ten wolves, shackled and drugged, are dragged forward. Beautiful. Strong. Ripe. The shifter communities had always been so proud of their purity. Let's see how they like them turned.

I walk down the line, inspecting them like livestock. A tawny haired alpha she wolf snarls, even drugged. Fire in her eyes. She reminds me of Vaela. I reach out, tilt her chin. "You'll do."

Kareth, The youngest of the Lock steps forward next. A sadistic glint in his crimson eyes. He selects a white blonde haired alpha wolf girl barely more than nineteen. "She screams pretty," he murmurs.

Damael, Always precise, always quiet. He chooses a black haired alpha female with a broken nose and cold defiance in her stare. "She fights even when it means nothing. I respect that."

Valira, The only female in the Lock. Regal, ruthless. She eyes the line of males and selects the broadest, a golden haired alpha warrior who refuses to kneel. "This one still thinks he has strength. Let's correct that."

Ezekiel, The preacher. The whisperer. The twisted. He circles a redheaded alpha she wolf with luscious curves, sunburst tattoos and a crooked smile. "She hides pain behind laughter. I can mold that."

Lucien looks over them all, satisfied. "Bathe them in the blood of the old," he commands. "And when they rise... they will be ours. Not wolf. Not vampire. Something better."

He raises the chalice. "Let Vaela's death be the beginning of their undoing."

Raelith The Blood Goddess POV

The sanctuary is dimly lit, veiled in crimson shadows and pulsing with the scent of blood, sweat, and anticipation. I hover in the ether, more shadow than flesh, but visible to those bound to me. My essence coils along the walls like mist, thick with intent. The Lock stands ready, their chosen wolves drugged, shackled, yet still brimming with defiance. Delicious.

Lucien tilts his head toward me, eyes wild with devotion. “They’re ready, my queen.”

I drift closer, my form flickering...half woman, half darkness. “Good. The ritual binds them to you now. But hear me, Lucien. I’ve tethered myself to Elowen. Her blood in the pentacle gave me more than power...it gave me access. She's cracked open, and I will pour into her. Slowly. Subtly. Until she belongs to me.”

His grin splits wicked and wide. “You’ll wear her like a skin.”

I chuckle, a rasping, ancient sound. “No. I will become her. Goddess vessel turned harbinger of ruin. They crowned her with prophecy, but they’ll bury her under my throne.”

Lucien bows low, then turns toward the wolves. "Begin."

The Lock steps forward, each vampire approaching their chosen alpha. Kareth is first. He cradles the pale throat of his trembling girl like she’s a violin to be played. “Time to scream for me, little songbird.” His fangs sink in, slow and cruel.

Damael doesn’t speak. He simply tilts the chin of the raven haired wolf and pierces her with precision, as if marking a map only he can read.

Valira, regal and remorseless, pushes her golden haired male to his knees with one hand, then feeds like a queen devouring her prey. His muscles strain against the chains, but she only smiles wider.

Ezekiel hums a funeral hymn as he drains his fiery red wolf, whispering scripture soaked in madness against her skin.

And Lucien? He turns to his tawny haired alpha, who snarls and thrashes even as her strength fades. “Oh, you're going to be my masterpiece,” he croons, piercing her neck as she curses him with her last breath of defiance.

One by one, the wolves fall limp… then gasp. The vampires offer their wrists. Blood meets blood. Flesh meets fate. The wolves drink. They drink like dying things reborn in hunger.

And then, my favorite part, the screaming begins. Their bodies convulse, magic twisting bone and blood into something new. Something mine. I laugh, sharp and echoing, as the sanctuary thrums with the birth of monsters.

“They thought they could stop the storm,” I whisper, fading back into the veil, “but I am the fucking hurricane.”

Elowen POV

I woke up screaming.

My body jerked upward, drenched in sweat, arms flailing against invisible restraints. For a split second, I swore I was still strapped to that fucking altar, cold metal biting into my back, the taste of blood thick in my mouth. Raelith’s voice still echoed in my skull, whispering promises and poison, slithering into the corners of my mind.

She was inside me. She was fucking inside me.

"Elowen!" Daxon gripped my arms, his eyes wide with panic. "Baby, it's okay, you're safe, you’re home."

"Get off!" I shoved him, scrambling out of bed, heart pounding so hard it hurt. Ashrian tried to approach, but I shook my head violently, backing toward the door. "She was there. In my head. I could feel her! She was touching my fucking soul!"

"You were dreaming," Bram said gently from the edge of the bed. "It wasn't real."

"It was," I snapped, breathing hard. "I can still feel her. I can't fucking breathe."

Lachlan stood from the far side of the room, his face drawn and tight. "Elowen, wait. Let me check ye..."

But I was already gone. I burst through the doors and sprinted out into the predawn darkness, my bare feet hitting the cool stone and then the damp grass. Lyssira surged forward, my wolf desperate for freedom, for air, for escape.

"Shift now!" she demanded. Bones cracked. Fur ripped through skin. And then I was gone. I bolted into the trees, paws slamming into the earth, breath ragged. I didn't care where I was going. I just had to move. The shadows of my mates followed. I could hear their voices in my mind, one after the other, begging me to stop.

Elowen, please. Daxon.

You’re not alone. Bram.

Come back tae us, mo ghrà. Lachlan.

Let me help you. Ashrian.

Don't run from us. Vaelrix.

But I couldn’t respond. I couldn’t breathe. My mind was consumed with fear and desperation and panic. I kept running hard and fast. And that’s when the ground opened beneath me.

I didn’t even have time to yelp before I plummeted into the darkness, landing hard in a damp, writhing pit, I shifted back to a naked human before I realized what was happening. Pain exploded through my side, but that was nothing compared to the horror that met me.

Blood leeches. I screamed. Raw terror gripped me as I tried to move away from them. Twisted, squirming, blackened creatures with pulsing red veins and gnashing teeth. Raelith’s foul minions.

They surged toward me like they knew me. I screamed, thrashing, trying to claw my way up, but three of them latched on, one to my thigh, one to my ribs, and another to the side of my neck. Burning pain sliced through me, the corruption instantly spreading like wildfire. My vision dimmed.

Then there were flames. Roaring flames and wings and screaming.

"Get her OUT!" Vaelrix roared.

Daxon dove into the pit, slicing two of the leeches off before Bram and Ashrian yanked me upward. Lachlan cast a barrier around the pit, holding the remaining leeches back while Vaelrix scorched them into ash with a hellish burst of fire from above.

"She’s been infected," Ashrian growled. "It’s inside her."

"Fuck," Vaelrix hissed. He reached down and swept me into his arms, holding me close. "We don’t have time. I'm flying her to the keep. Taya. Now."

"We’re right behind you," Daxon said, already shifting and sprinting.

I could barely hear them. Everything was heat. Cold. Agony. Voices. None of it made sense.

"Hold on, love," Vaelrix whispered as he took off, wings snapping open with power. "You’re going to be okay."

We landed hard on the castle terrace. The others crashed through the doors behind us. Taya was already running down the hall, her green eyes wide with fear.

"Lay her down," she barked. "Now."

Vaelrix placed me gently on the healer’s bed. I thrashed. Screamed. Clawed. My skin burned like it was boiling from the inside.

"She’s fighting it," Taya muttered. "That’s good. But she won’t last long."

Her hands glowed with sunlight. "Everyone out. Now."

"Taya..."

"OUT!"

My mates hesitated, but they obeyed. Taya stepped forward, eyes blazing. "I’m going to save you, Elowen. Just hold on."

I screamed again as the fire inside me turned to ice.

And everything went black.