Chapter 81 The Fire Within (Part 2)

Chapter 81 The Fire Within (Part 2)


“Livia…” a deep voice called out, rough and hoarse — one that made her heart stop cold. “I know you’re here.”

Her breath caught.
No. Not him. Not now.

But it was too late — his scent seeped through the cracks of the door, colliding with hers in a storm of primal heat. And the moment it touched her senses, her resolve trembled.

> “Mate…” Lilly purred weakly, her voice drenched in longing.
“No — stop!” Livia hissed, clutching her chest as if she could tear the bond apart with her bare hands. “We’re free. We’re free now. We don’t need him.”

But her body didn’t listen.

Every instinct screamed for her to open that door. Every nerve begged her to run into his arms. And every breath she took made her want — want in a way that terrified her.

Outside, Aldus’s footsteps stopped. He was right there. Inches away.

“Come out,” he said quietly, his voice rough with restraint. “Before you hurt yourself.”

And Livia’s body shook at the sound — because she knew the truth.

If she stayed here much longer, she would break. If he stepped inside, she would fall apart completely. And the terrifying part?
She didn’t know which one she feared more.

The door burst open with a sharp crack. Livia flinched as the wooden panel swung inward and slammed against the wall — and then he was there.

Aldus.

His chest rose and fell with ragged, uneven breaths, his eyes blazing gold in the dim corridor light. The faint hum of his growl vibrated through the space, low and dangerous — the sound of a predator on the edge of losing control.

“Livia…”

Her name left his lips like a prayer and a curse all at once. And the moment their eyes met, the air around them shifted — heavy, suffocating, electric.

She stumbled backward, her body trembling, her back pressing against the cold stone wall as the heat roared inside her. “S-stay away,” she managed, but her voice was weak — traitorous.

> “We can’t fight it…” Lilly whimpered inside her head. “We need him.”

“No,” she hissed through gritted teeth, more to herself than to him. “I won’t let it end like this.”

But Aldus was already moving — slow, deliberate steps that made the small room feel even smaller. The scent of her rut wrapped around him, seeped into his lungs, called to the beast within.

“Do you have any idea,” he rasped, his voice deeper, rougher, “what you’re doing to me?”

He stopped just inches away, his hands curling into fists at his sides, claws threatening to break through his skin. His wolf — Alaric — was clawing, snarling, demanding. Her scent is pulling him close. Her intoxicating sweet scent makes him lose control.

“I said stay—” she began, but her words dissolved when he caged her against the wall, his breath ghosting over her cheek.

The world tilted. Her knees weakened.
And for one terrifying, intoxicating second, she didn’t want to run anymore.

> “One touch,” Alaric snarled in his mind. “She’s ours.”
“No — not like this,” Aldus gritted back, shaking his head as his body trembled. “Not while she’s suffering.”

His lips hovered a breath away from hers, his scent wrapping around her like a second skin. Livia’s hands gripped his shirt — not pulling him closer, not pushing him away. Just trembling. Just trying to hold herself together.

“Please…” she whispered, but even she didn’t even know if she was begging him to leave or to stay.

And then—

“Enough.”

The voice cracked through the haze like lightning.

Both of them froze as Florita stepped into the doorway, her presence as commanding as a storm. She was calm — too calm — but her eyes burned with the kind of power that made even the strongest wolves take a step back.

“Get away from her, Lycan,” she said firmly, her tone a razor edge of authority. “Now.”

Aldus’s chest heaved. His body shook with restraint. But Alaric — his wolf — wasn’t listening. The gold in his eyes deepened, swallowing the usual green until nothing human remained.

Florita’s shield shimmered like a thin veil of moonlight between Livia and the monster that had once been Aldus. Every muscle in her body trembled under the pressure of his presence — the raw, primal force of a Lycan whose wolf had fully taken over.

Alaric had broken free.

The golden glow in his eyes was no longer just a flicker — it burned like twin suns, searing through reason, through control. His chest heaved with ragged, animalistic breaths, each exhale vibrating with hunger and claim.

The faint growl that slipped from his throat sounded nothing like the Alpha everyone knew. This was Alaric — the beast within — and nothing short of death could stop him.

“Move,” he snarled, his voice thick and guttural, every syllable dripping with feral intent. “She’s mine.”

Florita stood her ground, her hands raised as the barrier crackled with magical light. “She is not yours to touch,” she hissed, sweat beading on her temple as his aura pushed against her magic like a battering ram. “Not like this.”

Alaric slammed his palm against the shield, and it wavered, sparks flying as the stone beneath their feet trembled. The sheer power behind his blow forced Florita a step back, her knees threatening to buckle.

“MATE!” he roared, and the sound shook the very walls.

Livia whimpered behind her, her body curled on the ground as the rut consumed her. Her breaths came in shallow, desperate gasps. Her skin was flushed, slick with sweat, and her scent — sweet, intoxicating, dangerously alluring — flooded the corridor. Even Florita’s own instincts strained against her control, but she gritted her teeth and held the barrier firm.

“I can’t…” she whispered under her breath, her magic flickering again. “I can’t hold him for long…”

She knew it was only a matter of seconds before Alaric broke through — before the bond that once chained him to sanity would snap entirely.

Half witch, half wolf, Florita was powerful, but even her strongest spells were nothing compared to a full-blooded Lycan in heat-driven madness.

‘I need help. Now.’

Her mind shot through the pack link like lightning. Anyone in range — ‘now! Lock the Lycan down before he reaches her!’

Within seconds, footsteps thundered down the hall.

Sebastian and Dominick were the first to arrive, flanked by a dozen Blood Moon warriors. The moment they saw Alaric — teeth bared, claws extended, eyes blazing — they knew this wasn’t just a struggle. It was a fight for control.

“Sht,” Dominick hissed, his own wolf pushing forward as he prepared to engage. “He’s completely gone.”

“On my mark,” Sebastian growled, flexing his hands as his claws slid free. “We take him alive — but we take him down.”

Florita’s shield shattered just as the words left his mouth.

Alaric lunged.

He moved faster than any wolf could follow — a blur of raw muscle and primal intent — but the warriors were ready. Sebastian slammed into him from the side, locking his arms around the Lycan’s chest as Dominick swept his legs out from under him.

The hall erupted in chaos — snarls, roars, the sound of claws scraping stone — as the pack warriors piled onto their Alpha, struggling to contain the storm they had unleashed.

“Hold him!” Sebastian shouted, his voice strained as Alaric bucked violently beneath him. “Don’t let him near her!”

“She’s mine!” Alaric roared again, his voice torn between rage and agony. He threw two warriors aside as if they weighed nothing, his golden eyes locked on Livia — trembling, helpless, her scent wrapping around him like a leash.

“No! You’re not touching her like this!” Dominick snarled, delivering a hard blow to the side of his head. It barely phased him — but it bought them precious seconds.

Florita darted forward, chanting a binding spell under her breath. The air around Alaric shimmered as ethereal chains materialized, wrapping around his limbs and torso.

He howled in fury, his strength straining against the magical bindings, but the combined force of pack warriors and spellwork held.

“Now! Lock him in the chamber!” Florita ordered.

With a final coordinated push, Sebastian and Dominick hauled the thrashing Lycan off the ground. It took six warriors to restrain him, their muscles straining under his strength, but inch by inch they dragged him down the corridor toward the chambers — a place designed specifically to contain creatures as powerful and uncontrollable as him.

Even as they pulled him away, his eyes never left her.

“LIVIA!” he bellowed, his voice breaking into something heartbreakingly human for a fleeting second. “Mate—!”

The heavy doors slammed shut with a resounding BOOM, locking Alaric inside.

The corridor finally fell silent — save for the soft, broken sobs of the woman he had nearly claimed.

Florita rushed back to Livia’s side. Luna’s body was shaking uncontrollably, her breathing uneven, her eyes clouded with both pain and relief. Even now, the pheromones pouring off her body were overwhelming — thick, sweet, and so potent it made the air heavy.

“Breathe, my Luna,” Florita whispered gently, brushing sweat-damp hair from her face. “You’re safe. He won’t touch you.”

Livia nodded weakly, her lips parting on a trembling breath. “It hurts… so much…”

“I know,” Florita murmured, voice breaking as she held the girl closer. “I know, child. The worst is yet to come — but you are free now. And no one… no one will force your choice ever again.”