<b>HAPTER </b><b>112 </b>


    Standing in this barrenndscape with a knife pressed to my throat, I knew there was only one way this was going to end–and it would be in blood. One of us was going to die. Whoever it might be, the oue seemed inevitable.


    Arthur’s voice cut through the cold wind. He said he wanted to bleed me dry, but he needed the ck witch’s body first. My stomach churned at the thought. Hopefully, he wasn’t nning to do it here, in the open, without her body that he imed he needed.


    I could feel the knife’s cold steel biting into my skin, a sharp reminder of my fragility. The metallic tang of blood–mine–hung thick in the air. Every gust of wind carried it toward me, mingling with the scent of the earth and decay. My heart hammered, a frantic drumbeat that seemed to echo across the deste in, and yet, somewhere deep down, a spark of defiance red. I wouldn’t go down without a fight.


    “Do you really think you can ruin me and walk away?<i>” </i>Arthur hissed, his voice low and dangerous. Every word vibrated with pure anger. “You survived before… but not this time.”


    I stayed still, my heart hammering against my ribs. One wrong move, one flinch, and I would be finished. Every muscle in my body was screaming at me to run, to react, but I knew that even the smallest misstep could cost me everything. Arthur was severely unstable now, his eyes darting back and forth with a predator’s intensity, and I wasn’t sure how I could get out of this without having my throat cut in an instant. He didn’t have the raw power that I possessed, yet he was patient, watching and waiting for the exact moment when I was most vulnerablepletely preupied with getting everyone else out of here. That moment came, and I felt the cold brush of inevitability. It proved one thing to me: he might be unstable, but his mind was still sharp, calcting, and frighteningly precise. In front of me, Elias let out a low, guttural growl, his eyes glowing in the darkness as his face tightened with tension. The air seemed to thrum with the unspoken threat between us, e y second stretching longer than thest, and I could feel the walls closing in around me.


    “Let her go.<i>” </i>Elias demanded, his voice steady but with a lethal threat.


    Arthur just started chuckling in my ear.


    “Do you really think you have any leverage right now? One wrong move and I’ll kill her.” Arthur said.


    “If


    you kill me now then you know you are never going to get the heart.” I said.


    “Oh. I think you underestimate me.” He said, pressing the knife harder into my throat.


    I felt the blood trickling down my neck and I let out a little chuckle. As much as I could


    muster with the knife there.


    “Be careful. You don’t want to spill too much.” I taunted.


    “Baby. Now might not be the time to upset him.” Elias said<i>. </i>


    “You should listen to your mate.” Arthur sneered. “You don’t get to tell me how this ends. No one does.” He said through gritted teeth.


    I swallowed, forcing myself to stay calm. My senses were heightened–every breath, every movement, every heartbeat around me. I could feel my mate’s tension; he was recoiling on the inside but staying strong on the outside. But I needed a moment–a sliver of control. I let my eyes sweep the space, noting every shadow, every flicker of motion, every subtle shift in the air. My mind raced, calcting, predicting, weighing options, even as my body remained still, poised like a predator. The world had narrowed to this instant, and I clung to it, desperate for rity, for an edge, for something I could use.


    “You think this makes you strong?” I said, keeping my voice steady, “but it only proves you’re desperate.”


    The man chuckled darkly. “Desperate? No… I’m precise. I know exactly what I’m doing.”


    Elias was getting unsteady on his feet, his movements slightly off bnce. A low growl rumbled deep in his chest, vibrating through the air around us. He looked straight into my eyes, and in that gaze, I saw the same thing I always felt whenever I was near Elias–the one unshakable certainty I knew I could rely on. The one thing I knew I would always have, no matter what happened. Trust. Unwavering, solid, and quietly powerful.


    We could get through this. Together. No matter what the situation was. Without saying a word we had an understanding that we were going to get through this together.


    I then did the only thing I could–I tilted my head back just enough to catch e scent of fear masked beneath his anger. It was faint, almost imperceptible, but it was there. He wanted this to feel like control. He wanted me to flinch.


    I didn’t.


    “Enough<i>.” </i>Elias stepped closer, his presence heavy in the dark. “Back off. Now.”


    The man nced at him, then at me. For a moment, doubt flickered across his face. Just a split second, but enough.


    I took it. With a sharp twist of my wrist and shift of my weight, I knocked him off bnce. Elias lunged right away, grabbed his wrist, twisted hard, and ripped the knife from his hand. The de hit the ground with a loud tter.


    < CHAPTER 112


    +25 Points


    I was breathing hard, staring at him. His chest rose and fell fast, his eyes zing with anger -but he wasn’t the real danger anymore. <fnf3cb> Original content can be found at FindN()vel</fnf3cb>


    “This isn’t over.” Arthur spat, getting to his feet, moving back slowly. “You’ll pay for this… all of it.”


    Elias‘ growl deepened as he pulled me behind him. “Not tonight.”


    Arthur’s


    eyes widened as he turned to run from us, but even in human form, we were faster than a normal human.


    Elias caught him in only a matter of seconds and grabbed the back of his shirt.


    Arthur tried to turn to take a swing at him but Elias‘ ws protruded and he shed them across Arthur’s neck.


    The ground started to soak with Arthur’s blood as he gurgled. But once Elias dropped Arthur’s body to the ground, he was lifeless and there was no more sounding from him.


    “Are you alright?” Elias asked, looking at my neck.


    “Yeah. It’s already starting to heal. I can feel it.” I said.


    Then, a low hum rolled through the air, vibrating in my chest. Shadows twisted unnaturally around the edge of the clearing,bining into shapes I couldn’t fully see. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end.


    “What… is that?” Elias whispered, voice tight with fear and anticipation.


    I stiffened, eyes narrowing. “It’s not him.” I said, voice low. “Something else… something bigger. And it’sing for us.”


    Before I could ask more, the shadows surged forward, faster than anythir I’d ever seen. My senses screamed–this was no ordinary threat. They didn’t move like cre tures of flesh and bone; they rippled, stretching long and thin before snapping back into shapes that barely resembled human.


    And just


    bes


    ep


    dark around us. Not the natural dark of night, but something as if the air itsel


    h the trees,


    d almost


    een stolen. The wind howled louder


    ispers that raised the hairs on the guage older than memory, promising


    ing for impact, heart hammering against my Me beginning.


    < CHAPTER 113


    <b>+25 </b>Points