Chapter 14 Chapter 15
Chapter 14 Chapter 15
Fenrir’s POV
She didn’t move.
That was the first thing that told me something was wrong.
Aveline wasn’t the kind of person who froze. Not when she was cornered, not when she was afraid, not even when the entire world seemed determined to break her. She fought. Even when she was losing, she fought.
But now—
She stood there, unmoving, her eyes fixed on something only she could see clearly.
And whatever stood between us… it knew it.
My hand tightened around the hilt of my blade, every instinct in my body screaming at me to cut it down, to tear through whatever stood in my way—but instinct alone wasn’t enough. I had already tried that. Steel didn’t bite into it the way it should have. It shifted. Slipped. As though it existed only when it chose to.
Still, I stepped forward.
Slow.
Measured.
“Move,” I said, my voice low, controlled.
It didn’t respond.
It didn’t even acknowledge me.
Its attention remained on her.
That alone was enough to set something dark and dangerous loose inside my chest.
“Aveline,” I called, sharper this time.
Her lips parted slightly, but no sound came out.
The thing took another step closer to her.
And she let it.
That was enough.
I moved.
Fast.
I didn’t think. I didn’t calculate. I didn’t care if I understood what it was or not.
I closed the distance in a heartbeat and drove my blade forward—
This time, it didn’t pass through empty air.
There was resistance.
Not flesh.
Not bone.
But something.
Something that pushed back.
The moment steel met it, the air in the cell snapped violently, like something had been stretched too far and finally broke.
A sharp, ear-splitting sound tore through the space.
Aveline gasped.
The thing recoiled.
And for the first time—
It reacted to me.
Not to her.
To me.
Good.
I stepped in again, not giving it space to recover, my body positioning itself firmly between it and Aveline.
“You don’t get to touch her,” I said, my voice quieter now, but far more dangerous.
The shape shifted.
Not retreating.
Not advancing.
Just… changing.
Like it was trying to decide something.
Behind me, I heard Aveline’s breathing—uneven, unsteady.
She was still there.
Still conscious.
That was enough for now.
“What is it?” she whispered.
Her voice was small, but not broken.
Not yet.
“I don’t know,” I admitted.
I could feel it watching me now.
Measuring.
Weighing.
And I didn’t like that.
Not one bit.
From the corner of my eye, I caught movement—Luca.
Still standing.
Still watching.
Too calm.
“You brought this here,” I said without looking at him.
A soft exhale.
“No.”
My jaw tightened.
“Then start explaining.”
Silence stretched for a moment.
Then—
“It doesn’t belong to me.”
That wasn’t an answer.
My patience was thinning fast.
“Then why is it here?” I demanded.
This time, he didn’t respond immediately.
And that pause—
That hesitation—
It told me more than his words ever could.
“It followed something,” he said finally.
Something.
My chest tightened.
I didn’t need him to say it.
I already knew.
“It followed her,” I said.
Another pause.
Then—
“Yes.”
Aveline inhaled sharply behind me.
“I didn’t bring anything,” she said quickly. “I swear, I didn’t—”
“I know,” I cut her off.
Because I did.
This wasn’t her doing.
But it was because of her.
That was the problem.
The thing shifted again.
Closer.
Not to me.
To her.
My grip tightened on my blade.
“Stay where you are,” I said, stepping slightly to block its path again.
This time—
It didn’t stop.
It moved.
Fast.
Not attacking.
Not striking.
Just—
Passing.
Through me.
The cold that followed it wasn’t like anything I had ever felt before. It wasn’t the chill of night air or the bite of winter. It was deeper. Colder. Like something reaching inside you and dragging its fingers across your bones.
Aveline gasped.
My body reacted before my mind could catch up—I turned sharply, grabbing her and pulling her back again, forcing distance between her and whatever that thing was trying to do.
“Don’t let it touch you,” I said.
Too late.
Her hands were trembling.
Not from fear.
From something else.
“I can hear it,” she whispered.
That made my chest tighten.
“Hear what?”
She swallowed.
“It’s… talking.”
I stilled.
“What is it saying?”
She shook her head slightly, like she was trying to clear it.
“I don’t—” she hesitated, her brows pulling together, “it’s not words.”
Of course it wasn’t.
Nothing about this was normal.
Behind us, Luca shifted slightly.
“You should listen,” he said.
That was it.
I turned on him instantly, crossing the distance in two steps and grabbing him by the front of his shirt, slamming him back against the wall.
“You’re going to stop speaking in half-truths,” I said, my voice low and sharp. “Right now.”
He didn’t resist.
Didn’t fight.
Just looked at me.
Too calmly.
“You’re wasting time,” he said.
My grip tightened.
“Then give me a reason not to end you right now.”
His gaze flickered past me.
To her.
“You kill me, and you lose your only chance of understanding what she’s turning into.”
Everything inside me went still.
Slow.
Dangerous.
“What did you just say?”
He didn’t answer immediately.
Just watched me.
Like he was waiting for something.
For me to understand.
“You heard me,” he said finally.
I released him slowly.
Not because I wanted to.
Because I needed him conscious.
For now.
“You’re going to explain that,” I said.
He straightened his shirt slightly.
“Not here.”
That was the wrong answer.
My hand moved before I could stop it, gripping his throat this time, lifting him just enough to make breathing difficult.
“You don’t get to choose when you talk.”
His lips curved faintly.
“You don’t get to choose what’s already started.”
My jaw clenched.
“What started?”
Before he could answer—
Aveline cried out.
I dropped him instantly.
Turned—
And everything inside me went cold.
She was on her knees.
Her hands pressed against her head like she was trying to block something out.
“Aveline—”
“It won’t stop,” she gasped.
I was beside her in an instant.
“What won’t stop?”
Her breathing was uneven now.
Her whole body tense.
“It’s in my head,” she said, her voice breaking slightly. “I can feel it—”
My hand moved to her shoulder.
Firm.
Grounding.
“Look at me,” I said.
She didn’t.
Her eyes were unfocused.
Like she was somewhere else entirely.
“Aveline,” I said again, sharper this time.
Nothing.
My chest tightened.
I didn’t like this.
Not at all.
“Fight it,” I said, my voice dropping. “Whatever it is—fight it.”
Her fingers tightened into her hair.
“I am trying,” she whispered.
The air shifted again.
Stronger this time.
Heavier.
Like the entire cell was closing in.
I could feel it now.
Not just around us.
Inside the space.
Inside her.
And that—
That was something I couldn’t cut down with a blade.
Behind us, Luca spoke again.
“Now you understand.”
I didn’t turn.
Didn’t look at him.
Because if I did—
I might actually kill him.
“What is it doing to her?” I asked.
“It’s choosing.”
That made no sense.
“Choosing what?”
Silence.
Then—
“Whether she’s worth keeping.”
My grip on Aveline tightened.
“No.”
That wasn’t happening.
Not while I was standing here.
Not while she was—
Mine.
The thought came fast.
Sharp.
Uninvited.
And it settled in my chest like it had always belonged there.
I didn’t question it.
Didn’t push it away.
Because right now—
It didn’t matter why I felt it.
Only that I did.
Aveline’s body jerked slightly.
A sharp breath tearing from her lungs.
Then—
Her eyes snapped open.
Clear.
Focused.
But not the same.
There was something different in them now.
Something deeper.
Darker.
And when she looked at me—
For a second—
It didn’t feel like she was seeing me.
It felt like she was seeing through me.
“Aveline,” I said carefully.
Her lips parted.
And when she spoke—
Her voice wasn’t just hers.
“Fenrir…”
It echoed.
Soft.
Layered.
Wrong.
My chest tightened.
Behind us, Luca exhaled slowly.
“It’s too late.”
My head snapped toward him.
“What did you do?”
“I didn’t do anything,” he said. “I told you—it was already coming.”
I turned back to her.
Her gaze hadn’t left me.
Not even for a second.
“Aveline,” I said again.
This time, her head tilted slightly.
Slow.
Unnatural.
Like she was studying me.
Like she didn’t recognize me.
Then—
She smiled.
And somethi
ng inside me dropped.
Because Aveline didn’t smile like that.
Not cold.
Not empty.
Not like she was looking at something she could break.
“Fenrir,” she said again.
Soft.
Almost gentle.
But there was nothing gentle about the way the air shifted around her.
Nothing human about the way her voice carried.
And for the first time since this started—
I realized something.
This wasn’t about stopping it from reaching her.
It already had.
And now—
I didn’t know if I was standing in front of Aveline anymore.
Or something wearing her face.