Chapter 332

Chapter 332

Finding myself in a void is starting to become normal for me.

At this point, I can’t even be bothered wondering where I am or why I’m trapped in another endless stretch of darkness. The last thing I remember is going to bed with Scarlette. Then, somehow, I end up here.

Again.

Darkness surrounds me on every side, complete and unbroken. The only thing visible is myself. My body stands out with unnatural clarity, vivid against the blackness, yet casting no light. Beyond that, there is nothing. No walls. No horizon. No sky. Just the distant sound of dripping water and the soft rhythm of my own breathing.

The strange part is how familiar it feels.

Not comforting.

Familiar.

Like a place I’ve spent far too long inside. Like a prison built specifically for me.

The thought doesn’t frighten me as much as it should. If this truly is some kind of prison, then I trust Zinnia and Hendrix to find a way to drag me out of it eventually. Until then, all I can do is wait.

“You’ve at least learned to trust them. That’s good.”

I flinch.

The voice echoes through the darkness without warning.

Light.

Melodious.

Almost unnaturally beautiful.

It sounds less like a person speaking and more like music given words.

My head snaps from side to side as I search the darkness. “Who’s there?”

“There is someone here. You simply can’t see me.”

I turn in a slow circle, scanning the empty void. Nothing. Yet I can feel her presence. It’s faint but unmistakable, lingering around me like a breeze I cannot touch.

“Who are you?” I ask. “And how do I see you?”

A soft laugh echoes through the darkness.

“Who am I? That’s an interesting question.”

I stop turning and focus on the direction where her presence feels strongest.

“Then how do I find you?”

Silence follows for a moment.

Then a thought clicks into place.

My eyes narrow.

“Wait... are you the child who keeps appearing in my father’s memories?”

“Bingo.”

A puff of smoke appears before me.

When it clears, the girl stands there smiling with her eyes closed as though she’s been waiting for me to figure it out.

I stare.

She’s barefoot, just as she always is, but everything else is different.

The simple clothes from the memories are gone.

In their place is attire that looks almost regal. Her dress shimmers with the same impossible depth as her hair, as though pieces of the night sky have been woven directly into the fabric, faint stars glimmering beneath its folds. A delicate golden crown rests upon her head, while a matching belt drapes around her waist, strands of gold hanging from it like ornaments. The outfit isn’t particularly flashy or extravagant, yet there is something mesmerising about it. More alarming than her appearance, however, is her presence. The air around her feels heavier, not enough to hurt, but enough to remind me that whatever she is, she isn’t ordinary.

The girl tilts her head and smiles. “You’re adorable.”

I blink at her. Of all the things she could have said, that certainly wasn’t one of them.

“I’m adorable?” I repeat.

She nods with complete seriousness.

Intimidating? Absolutely. Yet somehow, she also looks like the sort of child people would spoil rotten without a second thought.

I shake my head.

“No, we’re not doing that. Who are you?”

Her smile softens slightly. “Who I am doesn’t matter right now. What matters is what you must—”

She cuts herself off mid-sentence. The smile vanishes and, for the first time since I’ve seen her, genuine surprise flashes across her face.

“It seems our meeting won’t happen today after all.”

“What?”

“Goodbye, Sapphire.”

I stare at her. “Wait, that’s it?”

Before she can answer, a violent gust erupts around me. The darkness twists and warps, swallowing the space between us as the girl vanishes from sight. The world immediately begins to spin, vertigo hitting me so hard my stomach lurches.

“Wait, just like that?!” I shout, only to gag from the nausea a second later.

The spinning intensifies before everything abruptly snaps away. I groan and force my eyes open. The ceiling slowly comes into focus above me, and although my head isn’t pounding the way it usually does after these dreams, it feels strangely tight, as though something is pressing against it from the inside.

With a sigh, I push myself upright and rub my face.

Another dream. Another mysterious child. And still not a single useful answer.

“Hey, Zinnia,” I say.

“You got nothing out of it, so let it go,” she replies in a tone that clearly says ‘fuck off, I’m trying to sleep’.

I rub my forehead, trying to ease the tension, then swing my legs over the side of the bed and slip my feet into my slippers. I tighten the belt of my lacy nightdress beneath the short robe and head out of the room in search of water.

Nothing makes sense anymore. I am tired of scraping together half-truths and fragments. Why can they not simply tell me everything? What is the true origin of this curse that everyone handles with such extreme caution, terrified of backlash? One thing I know for certain: it was placed on blood wolves by either a god or a demon. Only beings of that calibre can twist the laws of causality so violently. A god doing it would not surprise me—they have always been quick to curse mortals over the slightest offence.

I finish the water, set the plastic cup down, and walk back towards the bedroom, stretching my left arm high above my head and gripping the elbow with my right hand. A large, warm hand suddenly closes around my right elbow. Instinct tells me to strike, but the sharp sparks of the mate bond kill the impulse before it forms.

He pulls me into the room Scarlette had earlier shoved him into and shuts the door behind us, then presses me firmly against it. I sigh, exhausted. “Couldn’t sleep?”

A deep growl rumbles in his chest. He pins my hands high above my head, pressing his body flush against mine and pushing one knee between my legs. His chest heaves, heavy breaths escaping his lips. His hair is damp, falling over one eye while the other glows a sharp, dangerous yellow.

I chuckle. “I leave you for one night and you lose your mind? That’s pathetic, Alaric.”

He growls again, low and rough. “It’s not funny. That woman is infuriating.”

“Oh, so you’re in there too,” I gasp, jabbing at Hendrix. He snarls, a clear reminder that right now his mind is half-human, half-maniac.

“What were you going to do if I hadn’t woken up?”

“Probe your mind until you gave in.”

“Zinnia would kill you. You know how much she values her beauty sleep.”

His low voice brushes against my ear as his knee grinds slowly against my sex through the thin fabric. “You’re incredibly stubborn.”

“I have to handle you now, don’t I, Hulkulous?”

He snorts. “What?”

“Coming up with new names isn’t my strong suit, so I made one up. That’s it.”

He catches my earlobe between his teeth and tugs gently. “Did you imagine yourself calling me that in bed? How did it sound?” The question seals my mouth shut. He laughs—a sound that feels closer to a broken cry—and watches me closely. “Just call me Drix. I’m fine with it.”

“You know, you are very good at forcing your way in. Why did you hide your true colours until now?”

He chuckles darkly. “You have no idea what my true colours look like. If you caught even the smallest glimpse of what runs through my head, you would run for the hills.” He releases my earlobe and brings his face close to mine, his hot breath ghosting over my lips. “My head is a mess most of the time with thoughts of locking you away, keeping you from the world, having you all to myself every second, every minute, every hour of the day. I—”

He cuts himself off and crashes his mouth down on mine.

My eyes close instinctively. He kisses my tightly sealed lips several times, then gently sucks on my lower lip, asking for entrance. I keep them pressed together to tease him. He growls. “Open your lips,” he commands. The force of the alpha command sends a shudder down my spine. I swallow hard.

“You need to stop using your alpha command on me.”

“Your body enjoys the play.” My face flushes pink. I try to glare at him, but he presses his thumb against my bottom lip and forces my mouth open. “If you keep wasting time, your friend will wake up and catch us red-handed.” He thrusts his thumb into my mouth. The unmistakable taste of his semen explodes across my tongue.

I wrap my hand around his wrist, holding him there. “First of all, there is nothing wrong with a husband and wife having sex. Second of all, were you masturbating?” I glare at him even as I involuntarily suck on his thumb.

“So you’re telling me you wouldn’t mind your precious friend finding you pressed against the door, or the wall, or bent over and getting fucked?” He gathers a fistful of my hair and yanks my head back, forcing my neck to arch. “Are you serious, my shy princess?”

“I don’t feel very shy right now. Probably because I’m still upset about that stupid dream I had.” I pull his thumb from my mouth with a wet pop and press his hand to my cheek instead. He lowers his lips to my neck, tearing into the skin with fangs and hot, open-mouthed kisses. “And I walk in on them smashing almost every time,” I add.

Whenever I try to visit Cooper and Scarlette, they are usually fucking the house down.

“And that still doesn’t answer my question.”

“You can smell it.”

“You’re one horny alpha.”

“Chalk it up to years of patience.”