Chapter 222 A STORM.

Chapter 222 A STORM.


AVERY’S POV:

I was back home, dressed in full black combat gear that hugged every curve of me with intentional ease, reinforced with the tactical belt strapped above my hips and the pregnancy support belt around my waist. It cradled the child inside me, keeping my growing bump secure while still allowing me movement.

I made my way to the bed, where my husband still lay in an unmoving sleep—so beautiful, it hurt to look at him. His skin had a pale cast from weeks without sunlight. The man I knew as fire and steel, now still as stone.

I sat beside him quietly. My body felt heavy. My bones, heavier.

Reaching for his hand, I took it gently, lifting and pressing to my cheek. I leaned into it, as if maybe I could remember how it used to feel when he held me. Maybe I could feel it again. But all I felt was the stillness.

I lifted it to my lips

I kissed each knuckle, slow and reverent, lingering on the roughness of his calloused skin, like I could somehow force him to wake through skin-to-skin hope.

Then I placed it back by his side, careful not to disturb a single wire.

But my eyes blurred. And then it began.

Tears.

Soft at first—then uncontrollable.

Cedric, who had been sitting on the far side of the room, stood. His boots shifted on the tiles, the subtle sound of movement.

He was going to offer me a hug. Comfort. But I couldn't take it.

“Don’t,” I stopped him.

“Avery—” he began gently.

“Give us a second,” I murmured, not looking up.

He hesitated, then nodded. “I’ll wait outside.”

He walked out with a deep sadness shadowing his face. Like he already knew something in me was unraveling.

The door clicked shut behind him.

And then I broke.

My shoulders shook violently as I let the sobs come. The kind that pull from your gut, loud and ugly and primal. I collapsed. My forehead fell against Axel's chest, my tears soaking into the fabric of his shirt as I wept.

“I did it, Axel,” I whispered, barely coherent through my crying. “I killed them. I stabbed them over and over. And I felt...nothing."

I swallowed hard, gasping for breath.

“I thought I’d feel something. Guilt. Fear. Anything. But there was nothing inside me. Just... silence.”

I slammed my fist lightly on the edge of the bed, frustrated at myself. “That’s what scares me the most. I feel nothing. Not for any of them. Not for what I did. What’s happening to me?”

I wiped at my face with the back of my glove, though it did nothing to stop the tears. “I wish you were here, Axel. I wish I didn’t have to face any of this without you. I don’t care about empires or revenge or power anymore. I just want you. God, I need you so much. I can't do this alone anymore."

I bent my head again, voice trembling.

“If you can hear me—please, please come back to me. I need you when I get back. When all of this is over, I swear I’ll do what you wanted." I reached for his hand again and clutched it. "We’ll gather what’s left of our family and disappear. No more blood. No more war. Just peace. I promise. Just you, me, and our babies.”

My breath heaved as grief fractured my chest, each sob crashing into the next. My nose was running now, tears streaking freely. My throat burned. I couldn't stop it. The more I tried to breathe, the more it ached.

After a while, the storm inside me began to calm. I leaned over him one last time, pressing my lips softly to his. My tears dropped onto his mouth as I whispered into the quiet.

“I miss you so much. Please come back to us. I’ll make our family whole again—I swear it.”

I pulled away and braced myself to stand. My body was slow, stiff. I rose halfway—

When Axel’s eyelids fluttered.

I froze.

Then, suddenly—his eyes snapped open.

But they weren’t the warm, molten copper I loved. No... they were red. Bloodshot and glassy, dilated like someone who hadn’t slept in years or had been dragged through something otherworldly.

My heart skipped.

“Axel?” I breathed, stunned.

My joy was cut short.

Before I could reach for him, his hand flew up—lightning-fast—clamped around my throat, squeezing hard.

"Axel!" I gasped, clawing at his wrists.

His fingers dug in, squeezing as he stared at me with something I’d never seen on his face before.

Not confusion. Not pain.

Disgust.

With terrifying strength, he flung me like I weighed nothing. My body slammed into the metal storage unit across the room stocked with medical supplies.

The force sent it crashing over, medical supplies rained down around me, glass bottles shattering, instruments clattering to the floor in a chaotic rain of metal and noise.

Pain exploded across my back and ribs, the impact knocking the breath right out of me.

Dazed, I looked up.

I gasped, struggling to move—my hand automatically wrapping protectively over my belly.

My ears rang.

Through the blinding pain, I saw him sit upright, his chest heaving as his head jerked in my direction like a predator catching scent.

His face…

His jaw was clenched so tight his teeth looked on the verge of cracking. Veins pulsed across his temples. His nostrils flared. His pupils were blown wide, rimmed in red, like he was seeing a stranger in front of him.

There was pure, blistering hatred. Brow furrowed. His lips curled into a snarl as his eyes locked on me.

"Axel," I whispered, voice raspy. “It’s me. Baby, it’s me. You’re safe, I swear—”

But he didn't hear me.

He didn’t answer.

He ripped the wires from his chest and arms, monitors flatlining in a scream behind him.

His eyes scanned the room like a predator choosing his weapon.

Then they landed on the IV rod.

He sprang from the bed, bare feet slapping the floor.

With one swift motion, he yanked it from its stand, grabbing it with one hand. The metal base hit the floor with a clang.

He charged towards me, his shadow falling over me as he raised the rod high over his head, aiming to drive it down into me—

And I still couldn’t move.

Not in time.

Not fast enough.

Not before the man I loved tried to end me.