Chapter 206 Euphoric Dome

Chapter 206 Euphoric Dome
ZANDER'S POV

"Are you sure this is the way to the Euphoric Dome?" James asked the guards, who kept eyeing each other every few seconds as they led us down hallway after hallway and through doors stacked on top of doors. By now, you would have thought we'd be there already.

"My balls are itchy, and I really need to shower," Dimitri complained.

"We're almost there, don't worry," the taller guard answered, but my wolf's ears perked as we picked up on the uncertainty in his voice.

I was about to snarl at him when a bright light caught my eye at the end of the corridor. We stepped out into the open, only to realize we had entered some kind of oval containment. My eyes watched as the corridor we had just stepped from disappeared completely.

"Is that normal?" James asked, but the guards only cleared their throats and ignored his question. "This place is beautiful, though," he added, his gaze drifting across everything around us as he quickly forgot about the vanishing hallway.

The structure rose before us like something pulled straight out of a dream, with smooth, opalescent walls that shimmered with shifting colours and caught the light in ways that made it impossible to look away for too long. Gold veins ran through the glassy surface, pulsing faintly, almost like veins beneath skin, while the air around it felt warm and inviting, thick with a sweetness that settled deep in our lungs.

A wave of calm rolled through me, and the tension I constantly carried eased in a way that made my shoulders loosen without my permission. My muscles relaxed, my breathing evened out, and I could tell the same thing was happening to the others as well.

It felt like ultimate peace. Euphoric in every sense of the word.

"Bloody hell," Dimitri muttered beside me, his British accent cutting through the haze. "If this is how they welcome guests, I might not want to leave."

James let out a low breath, his hands curling into fists even as his eyes softened. "I don't know," he said slowly. "It feels... nice. Too nice."

Isis said nothing, but I felt the shift in her energy the way one feels a storm gathering miles away. Her steps slowed, and her posture stiffened, as though she were bracing herself for something dangerous.

The guards led us forward in perfect silence, their armor gleaming and their expressions unreadable.

That alone should have warned me.

At first, I allowed myself to take in the illusion. The Dome's interior was vast, impossibly so, stretching far beyond what its exterior suggested. The ceiling arched high above us, painted with constellations that shifted and rearranged themselves as we walked, while the floor beneath our boots felt warm and almost alive, subtly responding to every step we took.

Something wasn't right, and then I heard something to confirm it. 

The sound was so faint at first that I thought it was nothing more than my imagination, but I slowed anyway as my senses sharpened and every instinct roared to life.

I took another step, and the distorted whisper deepened into a growl.

My head snapped slightly to the side as my ears strained to focus. The Dome still glowed, and the warmth still pressed against my skin, but beneath it was something foul.

Then another sound reached me.

A scream.

It sounded distant, stretched thin and warped, yet I could sense the pain threaded through it, followed by the unmistakable snarl of something tearing flesh from bone.

My heart was beating violently against my ribs, and I stopped walking.

The guards continued forward for two more steps before realizing I was no longer behind them. They turned slightly, confused, but I barely registered them.

Because the sounds were multiplying.

Growls layered over snarls, and screams overlapped with desperate pleading. Bones cracked, flesh tore, and the air itself shifted as something else crept in beneath the sweetness.

Rot.

Blood.

Decay.

I inhaled sharply as my wolf pushed against my skin, furious at the deception.

Beside me, Dimitri stiffened.

"Oh," he said quietly, too quietly. "That's not good."

"You hear it too," I said.

He turned to me, his pale face losing some of its usual smugness. "Unfortunately, yes. And before you ask, no, it's not just your imagination. I know exactly what those sounds are. Souls."

James swallowed, his nose wrinkling as he finally caught the scent. "You might be right?" he said. "It sounds like people dying, and the smell in here—" He grimaced. "It's repulsive."

Isis stopped walking entirely.

Her eyes began to glow as bright white light spilled from her pupils. She raised a hand, her fingers curling as if she were grasping threads only she could see.

Then she stomped her foot.

The Dome trembled.

"Shit," she cursed.

"What is it, Isis?" I demanded, already knowing I wouldn't like the answer.

Her gaze snapped to me. "We need to turn back. Now. Something is very wrong, and there are dangers ahead that even I cannot fully see."