Bloodbound to the Beastly King

Adina's body shuddered with dread the moment they crossed into the Crystal Moon territory. Kora had slipped her hand into hers, and she held on tight.

In less than ten minutes, the carriage rolled to a stop, and they had finally arrived at the very place every pup of Crystal Moon had been told to stay away from the crypt.

It was where troubled souls were buried, the elders had said. It was a place the living should never step into. Anyone buried or tossed into the crypt was considered troubled. Originally, Roman was going to toss her right into the crypt but thought better of it. Sending her to the king seemed like a much worse punishment to him, and Adina had never been more thankful for that.

The carriage's door opened, and standing right outside it was Radek, his creepy gaze settled on Adina, and he grinned. "We've arrived," he said, "The Crypt of Noctra."

Adina was yanked out behind Kora and Mason, she stumbled from the force. Finally steady, she looked up to see the rather rusted gates of the crypt. The insides were filled with overgrown trees. It looked like an abandoned forest. Of course, it was abandoned; no one went to the crypt.

The air was suffocating. The trees stretched tall, their branches clawing at the sky. Adina's skin prickled. Her wolf whimpered inside her. She swallowed hard, fists trembling.

She had prayed so hard for the moon goddess to somehow help her. She didn't need to be told what would happen if Carter and the witch ever got their claws on the core. Reawakening Khaos would be a disaster for the realm. And her being the passageway for this…

"The Crypt of Noctra…" Alma voiced out, her eyes gleaming with hunger. "The resting ground of traitors, murderers, and the forsaken. Isn't it such a wonder that the core would end up in a place like this?" She said.

Carter stepped forward, studying the place. "Who cares why it is in here. All we should concern ourselves about is finding that core."

"How do we begin to comb through a place like this, my lord?" Radek piped up.

Alma smirked, facing Adina. "That will not be a problem at all. Aetheris core only responds to the blood of the sage, and look who we have with us. The sage." She said, grinning.

Carter cleared his throat, signaling for his beasts to pull the rusted weak gates apart, and they did. He stepped into the place, pausing right by the gates to look at Adina.

"I will leave this godforsaken place with that core in my hands. I don't mind cutting you open and draining you dry if that's what it takes."

"Lord Carter!" Mason snarled, jerking forward against his chains, but he's held back by a beast.

Adina's chest tightened, but she kept her chin up. She would not give Carter the satisfaction of seeing her tremble. So with all the bravery she could muster, she followed him into the crypt.

A chilling shiver ran down Adina's spine the moment she stepped into the place. The warnings the pack alpha and Luna had given the pups came echoing in her ears, but it was of no use. Not today.

Adina was pushed forward by a beast, "Move!" It barked, making her stumble forward.

Carter stopped at what seemed like the middle of the place, turning to face her. His brows raised. "Well?" He barked.

Adina froze, sweat beads trickling down her forehead. She shook her head. "I don't feel anything."

"Of course you wouldn't." Alma barked behind her, her tone dripping with impatience. The witch stepped closer, "The core does not reveal itself so easily. It requires a sage's blood. Yours."

Adina stiffened, her fists balling at her sides. She could feel Carter's glare burning into her.

"Do it," Carter growled, stepping nearer. "Do it or I'll gladly slice you open myself."

Adina's heart pounded hard in her chest. She shook her head again, lips parting. "Even if I wanted to, I don't—"

Her words were cut short as Alma suddenly lifted her hand and slashed across Adina's palm with her claw. Adina cried out as her skin tore, blood dripping freely onto the ground.

No, no, no, no.

Instantly the ground trembled, like an earthquake was coming. The birds flew out of the trees, squawking loudly in the air.

The overgrown trees creaked as though they were in mourning, and the air thickened until Adina could hardly breathe. The pull was undeniable, a strange force yanking her chest, guiding her steps forward.

Adina didn't want to move, didn't want to obey, but her body betrayed her. She took a shaky step forward, feeling Kora's worried gaze on her back, Mason kept thrashing and growling in the beast's hold, furious but she couldn't stop.

Adina walked, and the others followed. She didn't stop, not even when it felt like she'd rounded the crypt twice. Her legs began to ache yet she couldn't make herself stop. The pull grew stronger with each step.

Suddenly she stopped, gaze flicking over the part of the crypt she was in. She couldn't see what it was she was searching for, but she could feel the pull so deep in her chest. It had to be here. She knew that.

She shut her eyes and walked a few steps more then stopped. She opened her eyes only to find herself at a gravestone. Adina's breath hitched, and she jumped back in fright.

"What's that?" Carter barked from behind her.

Adina's lips parted, but no sound came out. Her trembling hand reached out, brushing the moss off the gravestone. The stone was cracked, the letters faint, but she could still read them.

Virelya of the South.

Daughter, Adina Varkaine.

Her knees nearly buckled. She staggered back, chest heaving, heart pounding so hard it echoed in her ears.

Her mother's remains were buried here? In the crypt.

Tears filled Adina's eyes. Did her adoptive parents do this? Did they know who her mother was, or did they just do her a favor? Her surname was Varkaine? All her life Adina had only been known by one name. Adina.

"What is it?" Carter barked, about to step forward and shove her right out of the way, but Alma's hand shot out, she shook her head.

Carter paused, jaw clenched hard.

Adina knelt down, tears filling her eyes as she brushed the overgrown weed off her mother's gravestone. "Mother." She whispered, and Carter stiffened from behind.

Adina's tear fell. The moment her tears hit the cracked stone, the ground trembled again, harder this time.

Adina gasped, stumbling back, her bleeding palm throbbed harder now. A faint blue glow began to seep from under the gravestone. The pull in her chest grew unbearable, dragging her closer.

"No… please, goddess, no." she whispered, shaking her head, but her hand was already reaching forward on its own. Her fingers clawed into the dirt, ignoring the sting in her palm as she began to dig.

"What is she doing?" Radek muttered, face scrunched in disgust.

Alma grinned sinisterly. "She's finding it."

The soil gave way too easily, almost as though it wanted to be parted. Adina froze as her hand touched something. She dug harder, pulling away more dirt until she could see it. a blue glowing crystal, large as her fist.

The Aetheris Core.

Adina swallowed hard and carefully lifted it out, cradling it in her hands. The moment it touched her skin, energy surged through her body, it felt like the river Thessra had spoken about had now flooded through her body.

Adina fell back, gasping in pain, eyes squeezed shut.

And when she'd open her eyes, she was no longer in the crypt. Instead, she was in a room. She stood still, eyes on the two figures stood before her. She could tell they couldn't see her. A woman with long white hair that gleamed even in a small enclosed room like this. The woman wore a long white dress, a frown etched on her face. It was her mother.

And across from her, was a man cloaked in a dark robe, his dark long hair was tied, radiating power so dark it rivaled the woman's pure energy. He was a total opposite of the woman before him. His face was to Virelya and thus, Adina couldn't see him.

"Please," Virelya's voice trembled, she held onto his robe right. "You don't have to do this. Restore the kingdom. Restore what we built together."

The man visibly stiffened, anger rolling off him. "You stood against me. You drained me of my power. You are no longer my beloved. You are my enemy."

Adina's breath caught in her throat.

The man pushed past Virelya angrily, heading towards the door. Virelya turned, "If you step out of that door. Our bond will cease to exist from hereafter. Choose wisely, Khaos Varkaine."

The name echoed, vibrating in Adina's bones.

The man halted in his steps and hope flashed in the woman's eyes but it crumbled just as quick. He stormed out of the room, shattering the remnants of their bond.

The woman's knees gave out, and she fell to the ground, cradling her flat stomach as a tear slipped down her cheek.

The vision shattered as the core is snatched out of Adina's hand, jolting her back to reality.

She gasped out loud, clutching her chest. The name—Khaos Varkaine—still echoed in her head like a curse she couldn't scrub out.

No. No. No

Her father… was him.

The monster Carter was trying to revive.

The man that had ruined the realm.

The very evil who murdered Thorne's former mate and pup.