“Alex?” I called him, my voice trembling.
“Help me, Sophia,” he said, his voice laced with pain.
My heart stopped beating. Was Lex hurt?
I jumped out of bed, but I didn’t know where to go or what to do. It didn’t seem like his voice was coming from his bedroom. It seemed like it was coming from the outside.
I rushed to the window and opened it.
“Lex?” I called him. “Where are you?”
The night was cold and the air was crisp and biting. The stars twinkled like diamonds in the sky. The night was so still that not even a leaf rustled, and the silence was almost palpable. Despite the lack of wind, a chill lingered in the air, causing my breath to steam with each exhale.
I could see him anywhere.
‘Where is he, Stella?’ I asked my wolf. ‘Can you talk to Axel? Get him to tell you where he is.’
I started climbing down my window. I didn’t want to go through my house and wake my parents up. I didn’t want to worry them.
Stella didn’t respond. I couldn’t even feel her.
What the hell was going on?
I used the oak tree in our backyard to get down. Lex and I used to climb it all the time. I knew every branch and I already knew where to step so I wouldn’t fall.
“Alex?!” I called my brother again as my feet touched the cold ground.
The ground was hard and unyielding beneath my feet, and the crunch of frozen grass echoed through the stillness. I was worried it would wake my parents up so I tried to walk around softly.
“Alex?!” I whisper-yelled. “Where are you? What happened? If this is like that time you fell and twisted your ankle, I will kick your ass.”
When we were about 13 years old, Alex snuck out to go to a lake with Mason. He twisted his ankle jumping over some fallen tree and called me for help because he knew our parents would ground him.
If he did something stupid like that again, I would fry his ass for worrying me.
Why the hell did he leave the house in the middle of the night anyway?
“Sophia,” Alex cried out again, making my heart stop beating.
His voice was coming from the forest behind our house.
I started running toward his voice. I needed to help him. I needed to save him.
‘Stella!’ I screamed at my wolf.‘ Where is he?!’
She didn’t respond.
My heart raced. What the hell was wrong with her? Where was she?
What if Lex was hurt so badly that she retreated to be with Axel?
I started running faster. My lungs hurt.
I wanted to use my magic, but I was afraid after what happened today. One wrong move and I could release the darkness.
“Alex!” I screamed as I stopped running and looked around.
The forest was thick and I could barely see anything. I couldn’t even see the stars anymore.
“Sophia!” he called me again.
His voice sounded like he was tortured. My heart stopped beating.
“Alex!” I screamed again as I ran deeper into the forest.
Did someone hurt him? Oh, Goddess.
I didn’t hear him leave the house! How did they get to him?!
“Alex!” I screamed as a sob broke through my l*ps.
I felt the darkness in my ch*st grow. I felt it consuming me. I couldn’t breathe anymore.
“Sophia!” he screamed again, making my legs move faster.
“I am coming, Alex!” I screamed through my tears. “I am coming!”
I couldn’t see where I was going. My tears blurred my vision completely. The darkness had reached my heart and I could feel it choking me.
I couldn’t breathe.
I stumbled and fell on the cold ground.
No!
I had to get up!
“Alex…” I mumbled as I tried to lift my body from the ground.
I was in pain. I was in so much pain. The darkness was now squeezing my heart. I could feel it in my stomach.
My body convulsed and I screamed.
My mind was a complete mess. I couldn’t see anything. I couldn’t breathe anymore.
I felt a hand on my shoulder.
Someone fl*pped me to my back.
Was it Alex?
“Alex…” I mumbled as I tried to reach for him.
Was he okay? He had to be okay.
“Hello, Sophia,” I heard an unfamiliar voice. “It is nice to finally meet you.”
Who was that? Where was Alex?
I never got my answer because my eyes rolled to the back of my head and all I could see was darkness.
Alexander’s POV
“Good morning, honey,” my mom said as I walked into the kitchen.
She was making coffee and breakfast.
“Is there coffee for me?” I mumbled as I sat down on the bar stool next to my dad.
I slept like shit. I kept having one nightmare after another, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t wake up. I don’t even remember what the nightmares were about, but they were terrible. I woke up in a cold sweat.
Also, Axel was nervous from the moment I woke up. He kept stirring and making me feel tense. I asked him what the hell was wrong, but he didn’t know.
“Of course, honey,” my mom said as he opened the cupboard and took out a mug.
“What’s wrong, bud?” my dad asked as he took a sip of his coffee.
“I didn’t sleep well,” I mumbled as I took the mug out of my mom’s hand. “Thank you.”
“You are welcome,” my mom said, smiling at me. “Where is Sophie?”
She turned around to continue making breakfast.
“She is probably still asleep,” I said. “Leave her. She needs it after yesterday.”
Dealing with darkness always tired her out.
“It was a bad one,” my dad mumbled, making me nod.
“Yes,” I agreed. “I want to talk to Anna and try the transfer thing before she leaves. I am afraid that Hunter won’t know what to do if it gets bad again.”
I thought about it a lot last night. I wanted to talk to Hunter and ask him to stay a few more days so we could try to transfer it to me. I was afraid to let her go to his pack without me.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.