Chapter 28 Accident?
Calus POV
"Where do you think you are going?" Elder Rue’s voice shrieked through the stone corridor like a dying bird. She stood there, her face twisted in a mask of pure hate, her gnarled fingers pointing at Aurora. "Capture her! Lock her in! Do you think just because you have a wolf now and you feel powerful that you are untouchable? What are you without the Hollow King? You are nothing! Guards! Take her and lock her into the deepest chambers and make sure she doesn't move a single muscle!"
I didn't stay to watch the guards try to grab her. I knew the girl could handle herself now—I had seen that blue fire in her eyes. I had a more pressing mission: I had to find my King before he did something suicidal.
Leaving the palace in a blur of motion, I led a small group of elite guards across the veil that separated our world from the humans. We didn't stop at the border to look for Thorne’s scent; the trail didn't lead to a battlefield at all. Instead, it led to a place I hadn't visited in years. We arrived at the Hollow King’s private mansion—a fortress made of glass and steel, hidden away from human eyes in the middle of a bustling city.
I found him in the grand study, standing by the floor-to-ceiling windows, staring out at the city lights below. He looked smaller than usual. The regal, untouchable Alpha was gone, replaced by a man who looked haunted by his own thoughts.
"Sire," I breathed, bowing low until my head almost touched the floor. "We were surprised to find you here and not at the border. What are you doing here, my King?"
Deacon turned slowly. His eyes, usually a burning, bright gold, were dull and tired. "I am slowly dying, Calus," he whispered.
The admission hit me like a physical blow to the chest. "For the first time in my life, I am afraid," he continued. "Before I met Aurora, I didn't care about dying. I welcomed the void. I wanted it all to end. But now... now I don't want to die. I want to walk on the same road as her. I want to see her grow."
He suddenly slammed his fist onto the heavy mahogany desk, the wood cracking under his strength. "But I am afraid! What if the mate bond is rejected by the Moon Goddess? I can see now that I am not the problem—my wolf wants her. He screams for her. But what if, on the day I claim her in public, the Goddess rejects her? What if she is not the one destined for me?"
I stepped forward, dropping the formalities because my friend was hurting. "Sire, if you like her so much, you have to get her pregnant. That is the way of our people. At the very least, you can keep her as the mother of your heir, even if the bond rejects her. You can keep her by your side forever."
"But I will have to die if the curse isn't broken!" Deacon snapped, his voice cracking with emotion. "I won't stay here just to watch her and my child from the shadows of the afterlife. I want to be here."
"Do not worry about that right now," I urged, my voice firm. "You came here to hide, while she has been looking for you everywhere. Have you forgotten what you saw at the Moonstone pack house? You said you weren't going to tell her anything about it until the ceremony. Are you just going to sit here and let her suffer alone while Thorne is out there?"
I moved closer, trying to reach the warrior inside him. "Have you forgotten that you are the only person she has in this world? If it wasn't for you, she would still be a stripper in that hellhole, or something even worse. Get up, Sire. Time is running out. Starting tomorrow, you will only have four days left for the ceremony. Don't you want to spend your last moments with her? Come on, Your Highness. You can do this."
He stared at me for a long, quiet beat. Finally, I saw it—the old fire flickered back to life in his pupils. He stood up, pulling his shoulders back and standing tall once more. "You're right, Calus. I have been a coward, hiding in the dark."
"But how did you even get here?" I asked, looking him over. "I heard you can't shift anymore."
"I couldn't," the King admitted, a grim, painful smile touching his lips. "But in a moment of pure rage at the border, I forced it. I broke my own bones to make it happen. I shifted, and that was how I landed here so fast. But it nearly tore my soul apart to do it. I don't think I can do it again so soon."
"Can you try? Or do you want us to use the carriage... or the machines?"
Deacon looked out the window at the sleek black vehicles parked in the driveway. "Let's use the machines. The cars are faster for this terrain, and I don't have the strength to shift again."
"Very well," I turned to the lead guard. "Ellen, get the car ready! We are going back to the palace. Now!"
We piled into the reinforced black SUV. Deacon sat in the back, his gaze fixed on the road ahead, his hand gripping the leather seat so hard I could hear the material tearing. I sat in the front, checking my watch. The transition back to Prussia would be dangerous at these speeds, but we had no choice. We had to get him back to Aurora.
"Faster, Ellen," Deacon commanded, his voice dark.
We hit the highway, the engine roaring as we sped toward the rift point that would take us back to our world. The city lights became a blurry smear of yellow and white. I looked in the rearview mirror, seeing the King’s reflection—he looked like a man ready to reclaim his world and his woman.
Suddenly, a strange, high-pitched whistling sound filled the cabin of the car.
"What is that noise?" Deacon asked, his brow furrowing in confusion.
I looked down at the dashboard, and my heart stopped. Every single light was flashing red. The brakes hissed, and I saw the steering wheel lock in Ellen's hands. She yanked at it, but it wouldn't budge.
"Sire! Something is wrong! The sensors are—"
I didn't get to finish the sentence. A deafening BOOM rocked the entire chassis. Fire erupted from beneath the hood, blinding us for a split second. A second explosion, even louder than the first, tore through the rear axle.
The world flipped upside down. I felt my stomach drop as the SUV tumbled off the road, rolling over and over. It was a fireball of twisted metal screaming through the night. Glass shattered, flying like tiny knives through the air.
As we rolled, the last thing I saw was the King. He wasn't trying to save himself. He wa
s reaching out his hand toward a girl who wasn't even there, screaming Aurora’s name into the roaring flames.