The Woman in Red - Valeria's POV

The Woman in Red - Valeria's POV
A woman dressed in deep red glides into the room without uttering a single word.

Her gown hugs her body like liquid flame, embroidered in threads of black that shimmer like oil in candlelight. The fabric trails behind her, whispering against the stone floor as if it remembers every footstep ever taken in this room. Her presence is commanding. The kind of woman who doesn't need an introduction because power announces her before she speaks.

My breath catches as I realize I’m no longer with Ramsey. The forest, the battlefield, even his voice is all gone. The biting scent of smoke and blood replaced by something floral and old, like dried roses left too long on a grave.

I’m lying on a bed I don’t recognize, the sheets beneath me softer than anything I’ve ever felt. The bedposts are carved from dark wood with winding patterns that look like thorny vines, twisted and creeping toward the ceiling. The room is dim, lit only by the dull golden glow of sconces on the stone walls and a flickering fire in the hearth across from me.

My head is heavy. My limbs feel like they’re dipped in lead. But the moment my eyes lock onto the woman’s, I jolt up onto my elbows.

“Who are you?” My voice is raspy and raw, like I’ve been screaming in my sleep.

She doesn’t flinch at my words. Instead, she steps closer, tilting her head with the measured grace of someone who has lived long enough to find everything unworthy of haste. Her eyes are an unnatural shade of violet, which is striking and impossible to look away from. There’s something otherworldly in her gaze, something ancient and hungry, like she’s seen kingdoms fall and didn’t blink once.

The corners of her mouth curve slightly, not quite a smile. Not quite anything I can name.

She stops at the edge of the bed, just close enough that I feel the shift in air between us. Close enough that I can smell something on her. Jasmine, maybe, and something deeper.

“Can you not speak? I demand to know where I am and what is going on? Who are you?”

“So many questions,” she says, her voice almost purring. “You might want to brace yourself for what is about to take place. It may hurt.”

“What might hurt? What are you talking about?”

She lifts her veil, revealing jet-black eyes without a speck of white to be found. “Don’t you know? Your beloved is going to ensure you two can be together forever. There’s just a small problem he has to overcome first.”

I flip the covers back and start to get out of bed, but she is in front of me to stop me before I can get out. She pushes me back onto the bed and climbs on top of me, putting her hands on my shoulders to hold me down. 

“You aren’t going anywhere, my dear. The master demands it.”

“Master? Who are you talking about? I need to see Kendric.”

She laughs. “He will no longer be with us soon. My sister is going to ensure it.”

No sooner than the words leave her mouth, the lights brighten and dim several times. 

“So it begins,” she cackles. “In a few more minutes, it will all be over.”

Pain surges through my chest, making me scream. It feels as if all my nerve endings are being burned alive. My wolf screams out, howling within my mind. It feels as if she’s dying. 

Tears line my eyes and pour down my cheeks as I beg for it to stop.

The pain isn’t something I can take much longer. Not when it feels like I’m going to be ripped apart from the inside out.

“Bear with it a few seconds longer. My sister is almost finished.”

I can’t even begin to imagine what she is almost finished with. All I know is it has something to do with Kendric.

The lights flicker again, and the witch looks up at them. “She’s finishing the spell now.”

“No, make it stop.”

“Stop?” She muses as she glances back down at me. “You can’t stop once it begins.”

A few more seconds of excruciating pain come and then it’s all gone. I inhale a breath, looking up at the witch holding me.

Her gaze returns to me. “You are free to wed your love.”

“What?”

I glance up at her, but I’m not sure what she is talking about. When she finally lets me sit up, I gaze at the mirror on the opposite wall. 

The marks on my throat fade before my eyes.

“No, this can’t be.”

Kendric’s voice is a mere whisper in my mind as he calls out my name one last time and then it is gone.

“Kendric? Kendric, no.” 

The witch walks over and runs her hand through my hair. “You shouldn’t be sad. This was necessary so you aren’t bound by fate. You are free to love who you choose and not who fate dictates.”

“She broke our bond, didn’t she?” Once the words leave my mouth, I feel empty inside. “But how? Fated mate bonds are permanent. We solidified it.”

The door to my room opens a second later, pulling me from my thoughts. Ramsey stands there, a smile spreading across his face.

“Valeria, the love of my life. You are now mine to claim.”

Our eyes meet, but I don’t see love or anything reflecting in his gaze. Just pure jealousy and ownership. I’m nothing more than something to have to him.

“This isn’t love, Ramsey. All you have done is ruin what fate had for me.”

His smile drops. “What are you talking about? Don’t you remember what I showed you? You and I were in love all those years ago. I became a vampire just to have this moment with you where I could make you mine permanently, but the time was never right nor did I have the resources I do now. This is what we have always wanted.”

“It’s what you wanted. Not me.” 

He shakes his head as he comes closer, but pauses when he sees me scooting back across the bed. A snarl forms on his lips. “So, this is how you’re going to play it. I’m the big, bad monster who is taking you away from what fate deemed as yours? Fine, then. Let us go see what fate had you paired with, shall we?”

Ramsey stalks forward and grabs me by the arm, dragging me back across the bed. He tugs and pulls me along behind him, all the way back to the arena. 

Once he’s at the doors, I can hear the growling on the other side.

“Oh, but we can’t go inside. It’s too dangerous. Let me show you to the viewing room.”

He pulls me to the left, forcefully dragging me along behind him until he reaches a room with solid glass windows. I peer out of them and see a spotlight in the center of the arena.

A white wolf stands there, frothing at the mouth. Vampires surround him, poking him with long sticks.

As they jab at him, he lunges and growls at them.

“What are they doing to him? What have you done?”

All I can see is his red eyes glaring at them. The way he’s acting, he’s not even himself.

“This, my dear, is what fate had for you. He’s completely feral and out of his mind. Of course, I’m not sure if we can end his life. Honestly, it will be best if we do, so he is no longer suffering.”

“He’s feral.” I look out the window, almost pressing my face against the glass. There is nothing more in this world that I want than to run to him and make this nightmare go away. “What have you done?”

“I have fixed the wrongs of the past. Now you are free of your fate and can be with the one who desires you the most.”