Chapter 650
Flora stood in the heart of the Forest of Death. The trees here seemed to lean in, their twisted branches clawing at the moonless sky. She was exactly where Gabriel had instructed her to be.
She checked her phone again for time. Just as she moved to tuck it away, the bushes to her left exploded with movement. She looked up, her breath hitching, to see Alex emerging from the shadows. He looked different, his skin was unnervingly pale, and his eyes held a necrotic glint that she didn’t notice in the morning.
Before she could even unlock her phone to signal Gabriel, Alex lunged. With a snarl, he snatched the device from her hand and hurled it against a jagged rock. Not satisfied, he ground his heavy boot into the screen, crushing the device.
“You told everything to Gabriel, didn’t you?” Alex barked. “You thought you could lead that fucker straight to me p>
Terror seized her. Flora turned to bolt into the thicket, but Alex moved with a speed that defied the laws of the living. Before she could take three steps, he caught her, grabbing a fistful of her hair from behind.
Flora let out a sharp cry as her head was yanked back, her eyes watering from the searing pain in her scalp. She was trapped, and the silence of the forest suggested that Gabriel’s “watchful eyes” might be further away than he had promised.
Knowing she would die anyway, Flora decided to act brave for one last time for Amelie’s sake. “You can’t touch them,” she choked out, her voice trembling but defiant. “My sister, my parents, Zander… They are beyond your reach now. Prince Gabriel will end you just as they ended Ophelia p>
Alex’s face contorted into a mask of pure malice. His fingernails sharpened into obsidian claws, and he pressed them slowly against the delicate skin of her throat. Flora gasped as the points pierced her flesh, a numbing cold spreading through her chest as the first drops of blood began to ooze down her neck.
“You’ve changed, Flora,” Alex hissed. “How can you pretend to care for Amelie? You’re the one who wanted her gone. You begged me to kill her and that mongrel pup in her womb. Did you forget your own darkness? You’re shameless for even drawing breath p>
He leaned in closer with a predatory gaze. “One thing I know about Amelie is that she’s going to blame herself. She’ll be in so pain seeing you’re dead that she’ll walk right into my arms herself p>
He began to tighten his grip, intent on finishing her, when a powerful hand clamped onto Alex’s shoulder. With a roar of primal strength, the figure yanked him away from Flora.
Alex was launched through the air, his body crashing violently into a massive stack of rotting wood and stone ruins behind him. The impact shattered the timber, burying him under the debris.
Flora collapsed to her knees, clutching her bleeding throat, and looked up to see Gabriel standing over her. His violet eyes weren’t just glowing; they were burning with a fury.
“Gabriel!” Alex snarled, rising from the wreckage. He brushed the dust from his clothes with a chilling calmness as his elongated fangs slid from his gums. His eyes didn’t just glow; they burned with the sickly light of the grave.
Flora scrambled backward while keeping her hand on her neck as she sought cover behind the thick trunk of a tree. She pressed her back against the rough bark, her heart thundering so loudly she feared it would give her away.
Both men unleashed a roar of pure dominance, a sound so primal and terrifying that flocks of birds erupted from the canopy. Small animals scurried into the deepest burrows, sensing the arrival of two apex predators.
“I can’t die,” Alex hissed with a sinister smile before transforming into a massive wolf of matted, dark grey fur. Gabriel didn’t even wait to fully shift; he launched himself forward with human strength before his body exploded into his towering white wolf with violet eyes.
The two wolves collided with a bone-shattering impact. The force of their heads meeting sent a shockwave through the clearing, triggering a windstorm that whipped dead leaves and dirt into a frenzy.
’Gabriel, tell me how’s my son? Did you tell him that I’m his father?’ Alex’s voice slithered through the mindlink, even as they tore at each other.
’Shut your fucking mouth. You were never his father p>
Valko, Gabriel’s wolf, roared in fury. He lunged, his claws sinking deep into the back of Alex’s grey form, shredding flesh and fur. Raven-black blood oozed from the wound, but as Gabriel watched in confusion, the skin knitted back together within seconds, smooth as if the injury had never existed.
Alex’s wolf lunged for Gabriel’s throat, but Valko was swifter, pivoting on his powerful haunches to dodge the snap of those necrotic jaws. Realizing brute strength wouldn’t end a man who had been resurrected from death, Gabriel forced a mindlink across the distance to his mate.
’Amelie, I need the sword. Bring it to the Forest of Death p>
Back in the royal chambers, Amelie jolted upright, her breath hitching. “Gabriel… He needs the sword. We have to go to the Forest Of Death,” she gasped.
She scrambled off the bed and rushed to the heavy oak cupboard. Katelyn and Casaio exchanged bewildered looks, but their confusion turned to alarm as they watched her pulling out the sword from the bottom of the rack.
“Kate, stay close to Noah. Do not let anyone near him, especially outside family members,” Casaio commanded. He didn’t wait for an answer. He grabbed Amelie’s hand, and teleported them straight to the forest.
The sudden silence was broken only by Noah’s piercing cry. Seeing his mother vanish into thin air, the toddler began to sob, his small hands reaching out for the empty space where she had just sat.
“No, Noah! Don’t cry,” Katelyn pleaded, her heart racing as she scooped her nephew into her arms. But the toddler was inconsolable. He thrashed his small limbs with a strength that caught Katelyn off guard, nearly slipping from her grasp.
“Noah, your mother will be back soon! Please, don’t be like this!” Katelyn tried to soothe him, but the boy seemed possessed by a frantic energy.
His cries weren’t just the whimpers of a scared child; they were a thunderous mourning that seemed to vibrate through the very walls of the palace. He kicked and pushed, his face turning a deep crimson as he wailed for the only person who could calm the storm inside him.
“MAMA Noah screamed, his voice cracking with desperation.
The doors swung open and Zilia rushed into the chamber, her face pale with concern. “Kate, what’s wrong with Noah? Wait, where is everyone? Where is Amelie p>
Katelyn quickly narrated the sequence of events. Zilia took the struggling boy from Katelyn’s tired arms.
Zilia began to pace the length of the room, rocking Noah steadily. She hummed a song for Noah, stroking his back as he buried his tear-streaked face in her shoulder. “Hush now, little prince,” she whispered. “Your father and mother are coming back for you p>
Noah’s cries slowly subsided into jagged, shivering breaths, though he kept his eyes locked on the spot where Amelie had vanished while still clenching the tiny fists.