Chapter 176
[ 1,661 words ]
[SAMANTHA’s Point of View]
“The key… the crown… believe me…”
I couldn’t take my eyes away from Dominic, who was still unconscious on the floor, his head shaking gently as he murmured the words in repeat. I wanted to check on him, to feel his sweaty face with my hand but Devon and Diana were around me, wrapping their arms around me as they trembled in fear.
“How are we going to get out of here, Mom? What happened? Where’s the cabin?” Devon asked as soon as he recovered from what happened to him. I pulled his face closer to mine to check on him more thoroughly, and I noticed that he was still pale with slightly purplish lips, which made my heart sink into my stomach.
“We’ll look for a way how to get out of this cage, sweetheart. I just need you to stay with your twin, and both of you, watch over your Dad, okay? I’ll go help your uncle Killian.”
Diana held me tight as she buried her face on my thigh. ”No, Mom. PLease just stay here with us. I am scared!”
Devon looked at his twin sister and then at me with worry. He knew I needed to help Killian figure out how we could break free from this place. So he took Diana’s hands from me and then embraced her while smiling at his sister, saying, “It’s okay, Diana. I am here beside you. Mom just needs to do something so we can finally go home.”
A soft smile escaped from my lips as Devon gave me a short, serious look on his face, telling me he got his sister. I couldn’t believe how quickly he matured after moving here to Silver Crescent. At the same time, it made me feel so guilty and sad because they shouldn’t be experiencing things like this.
But then they are werewolves. They came from a powerful bloodline and from a strong Clan of Alphas that had been ruling this part of the continent. They were destined for bigger things and this will shape them into powerful leaders one day.
If it was the Moon Goddess’ will, then I will do my very best to protect them with my life.
I mouthed to my son, “Thank you,” and then walked towards Killian, who was studying the bones in front of him, looking for that part where he could easily destroy it without burning himself. We noticed that the bones weren’t just ordinary bones but were also coated with silver, a cage that made sure no werewolf would ever get out from it.
“This is harder than I think it is,” Killian said softly, not wanting the kids to hear the despair in his voice.
“We have to get out before the enemies find out we are trapped here,” I said to him, almost hissing. My eyes were sharp as I tried to touch the bone with a finger, and I perplexedly moved away from it after it sizzled my skin, immediately burning it.
“Damn it!” I snarled as I checked the burn, shaking my hand to ease the pain.
Killian smirked and then looked up at the sky, sighing deeply. But then he frowned and closed his eyes as he massaged the back of his neck. A growl escaped from his throat. I found his behavior was too strange, so I asked him anxiously, “Are you okay, Killian? You have been acting weird since we got into this place. Is something wrong?”
“No,” he grunted, but kept on massaging his nape. “I just feel a little weird since we got out of the Ancient library—like I’ve been so restless and anxious lately.”
“All of us are anxious,” I tried to calm my mind, knowing what he’s feeling was normal. “As long as we are here, it’s normal to feel scared and restless.”
Killian stared at me for a minute. I raised a brow and eyed him as I blurted, “Focus!”
He shook his head as he laughed softly and then whispered as the smile on his face disappeared, “I want to tell you something, Sam. But I worry you’ll think differently of me if I tell you this.”
“Stop it, Killian. You risked your life for all of us. If you weren’t here, Dominic and I would have already died and gotten buried under those boulders.”
He cleared his throat. “It’s not about you or Dominic, you know. It’s for Brianne.”
“I know.” I smiled at him. I know Killian was just trying to look as if he didn’t care about any of us, but I knew he still cared about me and the kids, as a friend. Of course. “But I am still grateful,” I added.
“You’re welcome,” he smiled, and yet the worry still lined his face. “What if I am not the person you think I am, Sam? What if—”
All of us ducked when we heard a rustling sound coming from the forest that surrounds us. I quickly ran towards my kids and wrapped my arms around them. Diana ran away from me, thought, and wrapped her little arms around her father’s head instead as if protecting him from what’s coming.
“F*ck it!” Killian growled as he flexed all the muscles on his upper body, shifting halfway into his werewolf form.
My eyes widened, realizing what he was going to do, and I couldn’t stop myself from yelling at him, wanting him to know it wasn’t a good idea at all.
“Don’t you dare do it, Killian! You’ll kill yourself!” I snarled at him as I kneeled beside my husband while protectively embracing the kids. “Stop it!”
“I don’t care anymore about what will happen to me, Sam! I need you and the kids to be safe away from here! When I say you run, RUN! I will take care of Dominic!”
“There is no f*cking way I would let you kill yourself over this! We’re in a cage! It means they all want us alive, Killian! You don’t have to do this!”
Killian turned his back on me and started crushing the bones in front of him with his bare hands.
Devon and Diana’s eyes widened in terror as we all witnessed how Killian’s hands sizzled and burned so badly that we smelled the flesh roasting against the poisonous silver on his hand.
Killian roared in pain, but he held onto that bone with all his strength until it crumbled in his hands and destroyed it, making a gap just enough for a person to get out of the cage. When he released the bone, I noticed that both of his hands appeared severely burned because of the poison.
“Killian—”
“Don’t mind me!” He snarled sharply in pain, barely glancing at me as he held both of his burning hands in the cold air, trying to ease the pain from the cold breeze. “Just go, Samantha! Take Devon and Diana away from here, quick!”
I was panicking as I saw how serious his injuries were, but Killian was right. There’s no time for me to shut down in that kind of moment, so I immediately scooped Diana away from Dominic and into my arms as Devon ran straight past Killian and out of the cage, not wanting me to worry about him and so that I could focus more on his sister.
“GO!”
Glancing back at my husband, I went outside the cage with Diana in my arms and waited for Killian as he threw Dominic on his shoulder. He grimaced when he had to hold Dominic with his burned hands and made sure my husband wouldn’t slip down and that they could safely get out of that deadly, poisonous cage.
“D*mnit, Dominic! I swear to the Moon Goddess, you have to pay me handsomely for saving your life multiple times!” Killian was infuriated as he dropped Dominic on the ground in front of me and Diana without a care. Diana gave Killian a vexed look, though, making the Moonstone Alpha apologize to her.
“Mom, what was that?”
Devon looked around. His werewolf instinct picked up something that was roaming around the area like predators watching their prey. Killian immediately noticed it too and then looked around, keeping us behind him protectively.
A freezing, violent wind blew. The clouds were swept from the sky, revealing the bright moon.
From the trees of the Black Forest, we all saw the creatures—the werewolves with purple eyes glaring at me and the children. Devon glared back, baring his razor-sharp teeth despite the fear in his ocean-blue eyes.
Dark energy reeked throughout the place.
Diana tugged the hem of my shirt as she looked at me with big, curious eyes. “Look, Mom. Uncle Killian’s eyes look so much the same as the eyes of the enemies behind the trees!”
At first, I thought Diana was just throwing a tantrum and wanted to make fun of Killian. But when Killian glanced at us, I saw in the corner of his eyes that Diana was telling the truth! That his eyes indeed had the same glowing purplish color as the dark werewolves that surrounded us. I froze, unable to believe what I saw. I was so horrified that my mind went blank for a minute. Killian turned around to look at us and even Diana and Devon were so shocked in fear.
“Killian! What is this?!” I asked him, betrayal and fear crawling up to my neck, making me almost choke as a lump formed in it. “What happened to you?”
As soon as that look in his eyes was revealed, the burns that he got from the bones with silver coating started to heal so fast that his skin was looking brand-new again in just a few seconds. Like the burn didn’t happen. I flinched, not knowing what to think.
I saw the sadness in Killian’s eyes as he saw the terror in mine.
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