Chapter 11 CHAPTER 11
Sebastian shivered as he stumbled down the narrow alleyway. Darkness pressed in on every side, thick and suffocating, swallowing every trace of warmth. His arms crossed over his chest as though he could squeeze some heat back into his bones, but it was useless. The cold bit deeper, gnawing at his skin, his teeth clattering with every step.
His stomach growled, hollow and desperate. It had been hours, days, maybe, in this strange dreamscape - since he had eaten. Each breath came in ragged clouds, and when he glanced up, the sky was black as pitch, no stars, no moon, just a void stretching endlessly above.
He reached out blindly, pressing his palm against the damp wall of a building for balance. Then he froze.
The sound. Heavy. Slow. A thud that rattled the ground beneath his feet, then another. His heart leapt, beating wild and frantic against his ribs. He turned his head and saw them.
Two hulking shadows moved at the far end of the alley, giants, their heads nearly scraping the rooftops, their shapes bulging grotesquely against the night. With every step they took, the cobblestones trembled, the air itself seemed to shudder. And in their hands, gleaming swords, each the length of a tree trunk, sharp edges catching the faintest flicker of light.
Sebastian’s throat closed. Instinct screamed at him: Kael.
He tried to reach inward, tried to summon the steady growl of his wolf, but all he felt was silence. A void. Kael was gone.
“No,” he whispered, stumbling backward until his spine hit the wall. His fingers scraped against the rough stone as he pressed himself flat, trying to steady his gasps. He ducked low, sliding behind a stack of sagging burlap bags piled against the alley wall, his chest heaving. “Kael… wake up. I need you.”
But nothing.
The thuds grew closer. A rank stench filled the air, sour and rotten, as the giants’ monstrous faces came into view. Their eyes glowed with hunger, their nostrils flaring as they sniffed the air.
“There you are,” one rumbled, his voice deep enough to make the buildings quiver. He reached down with fingers like pillars, curling them around Sebastian’s tiny frame as though he were nothing more than a toy.
Sebastian kicked, fought, but his struggles were useless. The giant lifted him effortlessly until his terrified eyes met its grin. Yellowed teeth, cracked and stained, lined its cavernous mouth. A tongue, long and slimy, slithered out, dripping with saliva.
“I’m so hungry,” the giant thundered. “And you are just the right size for a meal.”
“No… no!” Sebastian shouted, twisting. He tried again, screaming inward for his wolf. “Kael! KAEL!”
But still, nothing.
The giant’s breath washed over him, hot and fetid, as it opened its jaws wider, dragging him closer. Sebastian could see everything, the slick tunnel of its throat, the ropes of mucus, the quivering hunger.
He squeezed his eyes shut, despair crashing over him like a wave. “Kael!” His voice cracked in desperation. “Help me!”
And then…
A growl. Not from the giant. From inside.
Sebastian’s eyes flew open.
What is the matter with you? The voice was sharp, furious, echoing in his mind. Why did you wake me up this late at night?
Kael.
Relief hit Sebastian so hard his chest nearly broke. “Where were you? I…I called, but you didn’t answer. They were going to...”
Eat you? Kael’s snarl was tinged with disgust. That was not your fear. That was hers.
Sebastian blinked. The giant’s looming mouth dissolved into smoke. The alley melted away. He shot upright in bed, his sheets drenched, sweat dripping down his face. His chest heaved, his hands trembling as he dragged them over his damp shirt. The room was dark but familiar: his room, not the nightmare.
“It was just… a dream,” Sebastian muttered to himself, though the words tasted hollow. “But it felt so real. I was cold, hungry, terrified…” He stopped, his voice trailing off as the truth dawned in Kael’s tone.
You fool, Kael growled, low and dangerous. That wasn’t your fear. Those weren’t your emotions. That was her. Our mate.
Sebastian’s breath caught. “Cindy…”
Yes. The wolf’s voice softened now, though anger still simmered beneath. She’s out there, lost, hungry, alone. You lay here in a warm bed while she suffers, and you dream her pain as though it were your own. Because it is, Sebastian. Her pain bleeds into you, just as yours bleeds into her.
Sebastian pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes, shaking his head as though he could blot out Kael’s words. “Don’t start this again. I don’t want to hear about mates. I don’t care what the Goddess says. Cindy - Cindy is nothing. She’s not even fit to…”
Don’t you dare. Kael’s snarl rattled through his mind like thunder. The Moon Goddess makes no mistakes. Do you think She bound us to her for nothing? She is strong, even if you are too blind to see it.
Sebastian slammed his fist into the mattress. “Strong? She ran from the rejection! She’s weak, she’s pathetic, and I won’t have her dragging me down. Do you hear me? I promised Sara. I love Sara, not Cindy. Tomorrow, I’ll find her, and I’ll make her accept the rejection once and for all.”
The silence that followed was heavy, suffocating. Then Kael’s voice came again, low, steady, dangerous in its certainty.
You can lie to yourself all you want, but you can’t lie to me. I feel it… her heartbeat, her fear, her fight. While you sit here spitting venom, she’s out there surviving. She’s stronger than you realize.
Sebastian’s jaw clenched. “Enough.”
She will not let go of you easily, Kael warned. And you will not let go of her, no matter how much you pretend. The bond won’t break because you’re too much of a coward to face the truth.
“Save your wisdom, Kael.” Sebastian turned, throwing himself back against his pillow. “I’m done listening. I’m going to sleep.”
The wolf chuckled, deep and dark. Sleep then. But don’t expect peace. The bond doesn’t rest. She will haunt you. Every dream. Every breath. Until you accept what you already know.
Sebastian squeezed his eyes shut, trying to will away the voice, the words, the truth clawing at his insides. But Kael’s final whisper curled through his mind like smoke, refusing to be silenced:
She is ours. And one day, you will see.
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Far away in the city streets, Lisa sat within Cindy’s mind, her golden eyes gleaming as she watched her girl sleep peacefully beside her newfound friend, Isabel. Cindy’s breathing was steady, calm - so unlike the storm of pain and rejection that had weighed on her only a day before. Lisa had promised Cindy she would never hurt anyone without her permission.
But Sebastian?
Lisa’s lips curved into a slow, wicked smile.
Sebastian was a dick.
Haunting him in his dreams - feeding him his mate’s hunger, her fear, her cold - wasn’t breaking any promises. It was simply… balancing the scales. Watching him squirm, hearing him gasp Kael’s name in desperation, brought Lisa a dark thrill. Satisfaction curled in her chest like a warm fire.
Sleep well, Cindy, she whispered into the quiet. I’ll take care of him.
And with that, Lisa leaned back into the shadows of her host’s mind, grinning to herself as Sebastian tossed and turned miles away.