“Reed.” He turned back immediately.
“You know magic comes with a cost, and you have asked me for way more than what you deserved,” Hecate said, her voice so cold and clear it could cut through glass. Reed nodded and walked outside the house. I followed him and walked out the door, but before I could match his pace, the whole place dissolved into mist.
There was nothing but darkness. I could hear some faint voices in the darkness; suddenly, they grew louder and clearer. In the next second, there was a loud shriek before everything turned silent.
I looked everywhere in search of anything and slipped on something. My clothes were soaked in the sticky liquid. The smell was foul, and I could throw up any second. I quickly stood on my legs and walked in the direction from where I assumed I heard the scream. I walked till I saw a dash of light and soon found myself in front of the very familiar door of the castle.
I opened the door, and there he was, standing in all his glory, his body drenched in blood. Holding the head of alpha Andrew in one hand and the blade in the other. There was an evil smile plastered on his face, the one I saw when he beat my father. One by one, he mercilessly killed whoever tried to stop him. I closed my eyes when I couldn’t take it anymore.
“Stop.” The word escaped my lips before I could stop it. He stopped in his tracks but didn’t move. After a long pause, he turned slowly, and this time his eyes met mine as if he could see me. I lifted my hand to touch him, only to notice my hands were also soaked in blood. My face turned white in horror.
I looked at my clothes, and they were also drenched in blood. Before I could make any move, all of it dissolved into thin mist, and in another second, I found myself in the middle of nowhere.
The forest, but it was way different than other ones. It looked like it had been untouched for ages.
Suddenly the ground beneath my legs shook. The trees started to move angrily. The sky turned black, covered with black smoke. In another second, lightning struck the earth, and everything started burning. The hairs on my neck stood up.
“REED.” A lady appeared from the mist. Her white hair was so long it reached her knees. It was flowing in the air. Her eyes were the best contrast of silver and blue, and for a second, I thought I had seen her somewhere but couldn’t put my finger on when and where.
“REED.” The lady shouted this time with more force, and the trees surrounding her started burning. Suddenly I heard footsteps behind me. I turned around only to see the familiar ocean blue eyes, no sparks, cold and devoid of every emotion, just like I had always seen them—the eyes of the most feared alpha, my mate.
Reed walked toward her, his shoes barely chafing against the ground. He walked until he stood face to face with the lady. He looked completely unfazed by the gaze of the woman.
“You…” The lady pointed her finger at his chest. “You killed everyone. You killed the alpha. You killed….” She stopped as if saying the words themselves hurt her. The voice of thunder filled the silence between them. Neither of them broke eye contact.
“And I am not guilty about it, Moona,” Reed said arrogantly. The sky filled with more thunder, and for a second, my heart stopped beating in fear. He called her Moona. She is…she is the moon goddess. That’s why she looked so much familiar. Everything about her was divine.
“What you did, it isn’t a crime. It is a sin.” The moon goddess lifted her hands into the sky and said something in a foreign language. The weather worsened, if possible, and thunder escaped the clouds and fell directly on Reed. He cried in pain and agony, and soon the sky cleared. Reed’s body turned black due to burning.
“No.” I tried to run in his direction, but it was like my legs were frozen at the spot. I couldn’t move.
“What did you do to me?” he cried in pain, and my heart ached to see him in pain. The moon goddess looked at her with fury and some other emotion I couldn’t contemplate. Maybe sorrow.
“You have been a curse since you were born. I told Selene to leave Andrew, but she was blind in love. I took you in my care thinking you were innocent, but how could I be so naïve; the apple didn’t fall far from the tree.” Her voice was also pained. “You are a curse, a fruit of sin. And now you will live your entire life living with this sin every day.”
Reed cried in anguish and pain. His body was healing but at a very slow pace. Seeing him like that, suffering, was itself a torment. “They deserved it. He killed my mother, your sister. You didn’t do anything.”
As I watched her, she put her hands together, and suddenly a ball of light appeared from Reed’s chest and fell into her hands. Reed’s cries filled the forest before he collapsed on the ground unconscious. Tears were flowing from my eyes uncontrollably.
I didn’t remember anything when I opened my eyes. I couldn’t tell if I was still seeing the vision or I was awake. I didn’t know where I was. Darkness surrounded me. The tears on my cheek were still fresh. I wanted to know so badly where I was.
My heart beat erratically. I felt the fabric under me, and I realized I was in bed. But…it wasn’t my bed. As I tried to sit up, my consciousness started to come back properly. I was able to recognize his scent in the air instantly. Suddenly, the realization dawned upon me. I was not in my room. This was Reed’s room.
But where was he?
I saw two ocean blue eyes blink in my direction near the foot of the bed. I stopped breathing at once. My chest tightened while my stomach dipped. It took some time for my vision to focus on him before I could make out his details.
He was like a sculptured stone statue sitting on the chair placed at the foot of the bed opposite to me. The room turned fifty shades darker.
His eyes were regarding me heatedly. They had enough intensity to light me on fire. Both of us didn’t say a word. My mind was playing with me, and soon one by one, the flashes of the vision crossed through my eyes.
I put my hand on my heart, trying to slow down my rapid breathing. Now I knew all of it. The rumors were true. I was mated to a monster. I was a crying mess by now.
How come a single man could go through so much in his life. Yes, he killed people, but he wasn’t cruel. Circumstances make him cruel. I put my hands on my head. This was way more than I had asked for.
“So, you have seen everything.” The voice interrupted my train of thought.
My eyes collided with the pair of ocean blue in the darkness, and my heart stopped beating for a second. As if it feared to make any sound in front of him. He leaned forward and wiped the tear escaping my eye with his finger.
His eyes were filled with possessiveness, and the feeling was overwhelming. I could feel it from the mate bond.
“Now you know all about me.” His voice was dangerously low.