197 Chapter 197
Cain didn’t go far.
Just enough to be away from the warriors, from Xander’s gaze. He sighed, feeling his muscles strain.
He sighed, shoulders heavy with exhaustion, muscles coiled with strain. Every part of him throbbed.
He settled against a tree, its rough bark against his back. With a sharp exhale, he yanked off his top, teeth gritting as he exposed the wound that had been gnawing at his side since the fight with Callum. The fabric had stuck to the gash, and peeling it off had him hissing out.
Blood smeared his skin.
Cain reached for the flask of water tied to his belt and poured it over the injury. The sting was blinding. His jaw locked as he dug his fingers into the dirt just to keep from crying out. His eyes squeezed shut. Sweat trickled down his temples.
A few deep breaths. He tore a strip from his already ruined shirt and pressed it to the wound, tying it tight around his torso. It wasn’t clean, but it would hold.
From where he was, he could hear the warriors talking, their voices echoing in the dense forest.
His body slumped, exhausted. The tree behind him bore his weight as he tilted his head back and shut his eyes for just a moment.
Just one breath.
Just one-
The forest was laughing. Mocking.
It wasn’t a sound exactly; it was a feeling. The kind that slid down your spine and left your skin cold.
Cain’s eyes snapped open, but the woods weren’t the same.
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The trees were alive. Twisting, breathing. Their roots slithered like serpents. The sky was gone, swallowed whole by black branches. He stood and looked around, but everything was wrong. There was no camp. No warriors. No path.
Just endless and thick forest. One that made his skin crawl from how eerie it looked.
What was happening? Where was Xander? The warriors? Weren’t they just taking a break? What happened?
“Xander!” He yelled, looking around for a path.
He got no response.
“Xander!” He yelled again. Silence still. It only stretched more.
It was soft at first, then suddenly it got louder, mocking him. The forest laughed, never going out of breath. Then it went silent, still.
Cain’s heart beat thundered, he was sweating harder than ever. His instincts flaring, his wolf growling inside of him.
Then the voice came, deep, like something ancient that had waited too long to be awakened. “You’ll never save her.”
Cain spun around, eyes wide, chest heavy. “What?”
The voice came louder this time, much mocking. “Avery. You will never save her. She’s slipping through your fingers and you can’t stop it.”
“Shut the fuck up!” Cain growled and began to run; he had to get the fuck out of this forest. He had to catch up to Xander and the warriors. He shoved past the low branches and vines that clawed at his skin. The forest stretched endlessly like a never–ending puzzle. Every turn looked the same.
–“Avery!” he roared, voice raw. “Avery!”
The forest laughed, closer than ever before even as he ran. “She can’t hear you. Nobody can hear you.”
“Fuck off!” Cain growled, sprinting away; his mind was a mess, his brain couldn’t catch
- up.
“Xander!” He yelled, eyes darting around.
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“Avery!”
The trees blurred past him, roots rose from the ground like the forest itself wanted to trip him, stop him, bury him alive.
“I’ll find her!” he screamed, throat raw. “Do you hear me? I’ll find the heart of Celeste! I’ll find her! I will bring her back.”
The laughter grew louder now. “You really think you can save her? You’ve always been too late, Alpha. Couldn’t even save your own mother. You failed her, and you will fail Avery too.”
Cain stumbled, eyes wide. What did it just say?
It continued, “How will you do that? When you couldn’t save your mother. How then will you save Avery? It will be just like that night. You heard your mother scream, but you did nothing. You were always too slow. Too weak.”
“Shut up!” Cain barked, voice cracking in fury. “You don’t know anything!”
“Don’t I?” The forest laughed again, “I was there. I watched you crawl through the
you take your blood. I watched her die choking on her own breath. Just as I watched father’s life.”
“Tell me, You’ll hold Avery’s hand next, won’t you? While she dies. While her life is ripped away from her and you do nothing.”
“No!” Cain roared, fists clenched, knuckles white.
“No? But you let them take her. You watched it happen. What kind of mate are you?”
Cain’s breath hitched. His chest tightened like iron bands were wrapped around it.
“Stop,” he growled. “Just stop…”
The laughter continued, louder, deeper, mocking.
Cain pressed his hands against his ear, wanting to drown out the laughter.
Suddenly, The laughter died, replaced by a silence so thick, it rang in his ears.
Then he heard it… A soft weak voice echoed in the air. “Cain..”
His heart stopped, “…Cain..” the voice came again.
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It was her.
It was Avery.
Not the forest, not some voice conjured to torment him.
It was her, crying, soft yet desperate.
“Avery! Where are you?” He roared, spinning.
The forest seemed to close in tighter. The roots shooting out of every tree, trying to stop him.
“Don’t leave me,” her voice trembled, softer now, more fragile. “Cain, please…”
“I’m coming!” he roared, legs moving before he could think. “I’m coming, I swear!” Branches clawed at him, tore at his arms, his face. Blood smeared across his cheek, but he didn’t care. The sound of her voice kept him going.
“I love you,” he yelled, his voice hoarse. “Do you hear me? I love you, Avery! I’ll find you. I’ll die trying!”
Suddenly, hands grabbed his shoulders. Cain jolted awake with a gasp, drenched in sweat. He looked around in a frenzy. Xander was crouched in front of him, gripping him tightly.
“Alpha, Alpha. It’s me.”
Cain looked at him, certain it was Xander. He was no longer trapped in his dreams. “You were screaming,” Xander said quietly. “You wouldn’t stop screaming her name.” Cain didn’t speak at first. He just stared at the forest. Elder Loris had said it. ‘The forest will mess up your mind, but you mustn’t let it.‘
He looked at his hands, still trembling. Dirt under his nails. Blood on his skin. “She called for me,” he said finally. “She was crying… she was right there…”
He dragged his hand over his face and stood up, glancing at where the warriors were. “We have to keep going. I have to find The Heart of Celeste. I can’t fail her. Not again.”
