chapter 17
1393 Words
AVELORA
“Khyrix?” I called carefully. Had I pissed him off?
He didn’t answer. My heart dropped when I saw his eyes. It wasn't him, they were glazed over. There was no warmth in that gaze, no comfort. Instead, I saw...
... Fear?
It ran through him in violent waves, so intense that his entire body seemed locked in place, every muscle drawn painfully tight as if he were holding himself together by sheer force. My smile faded.
“Khyrix…” I said again, softer this time.
A sound rumbled from his chest, low and rough, and every hair on my body stood upright. it sounded like something trying to claw its way out of him.
My breath caught, and instinctively, I tried to lean back to look at him properly. His grip tightened immediately.
“Don’t.”
The word came out strained, almost broken, like speaking alone was costing him everything. I froze, the control he always carried was nowhere to be found.
I touched him to get his attention. His muscles corded at the contact, a quiet hiss tearing through him as if I had burnt him. My gaze traveled down his arm to his claws. My whole body broke out in goosebumps. I had seen wolves shift from far away, but this was the first time I was seeing it so close.
I instinctively shifted back as Khyrix reached out, his hand wrapping around my wrist. “Khyrix, you’re hurting me.”
The second the words left my mouth, he let go so abruptly that I stumbled backward. He moved even faster, one second he was in front of me, and the next, he was across the room, bracing both hands against the wall like he needed it to stay upright.
A sharp crack split through the room. I flinched, realizing a moment later that the sound had come from the wall itself. He had cracked it. My stomsch twisted.
“Khyrix…”
“Stay back.”
It sounded more like a growl, but I knew Khyrix was in there somewhere. But it felt like a second presence sharpened every word until it sounded wrong, like two beings were speaking from the same mouth. For the first time since I’d met him, genuine fear crawled up my spine.
Slowly, he turned toward me. I forgot how to breathe.
His eyes were gold. Not the usual soft glow they flashed, this wasn't anything remotely human. They glowed like a wild predator ready to burn the world down. I had spent most of my life wondering what it would be like to have a wolf. Standing there, staring at Khyrix transforming into what I could only classify as a nightmare, I had never been more grateful that I didn’t.
“Avelora.” My name sounded tortured on his lips. “Listen carefully.”
I should run. Every logical thought in my head was screaming at me to run, to open the door, to get as far away from him as physically possible. But I couldn’t. He had confided in me, told me he was hurting. I couldn't let him down by leaving him helpless
Or, maybe I was just plain stupid.
“There’s silver,” he choked out, his breathing uneven and violent. “Left side of the bed. Headboard compartment.”
I stared at him. What?
“Bracelet,” he forced out. “Use it.”
My chest tightened painfully. “No.”
His expression changed so suddenly that I quickly took a step back, his wolf was gaining control.
"Mine." The hollow word traveled through the room. It was so deep and possessive that it rooted me to the floor. That wasn't Khyrix.
But then his body jerked sharply, as if he were physically battling himself, and his fist slammed into the wall again.
“NOW!” he shouted.
That was all it took, I ran. My hands shook so badly I nearly tore the bedding apart, but then my fingers brushed against cold metal hidden beneath the headboard. Behind me, Khyrix let out a sound that made my blood freeze.
I turned too quickly and dropped the bracelet.
"You dumb thing," I muttered under my breath, dropping to the floor to grab it.
The beast followed.
His claws had torn through the wooden floor, carving deep marks, and his entire body was trembling violently as if every bone inside him were at war. And still... he was dragging himself backward. Away from me.
Protecting me.
Tears stung my eyes. He was suffering, and his first instinct was to protect me.
“Khyrix…”
His head snapped up, those monstrous gold eyes locking onto mine. For one awful second, I couldn’t tell who was looking at me. The rumbling roar that tore through him confirmed it.
Khyrix was gone. He had lost the fight.
I picked up the bracelet, my eyes locked onto his. He studied me. He slowly stalked toward me, his form complete. He was the largest wolf I had ever seen. He stood right in front of me, my breath became shallow. He could kill me right here and nobody would ask questions.
I knew how stupid this was, but I called out his name. "Torin."
Recognition flashed behind his eyes and he slowed down. He came closer, sniffing me as if he were getting a dose of a drug he lacked.
"Mine," he growled again, lower than before. My breathing slowed. I raised my hand slowly, throwing caution out the window. It felt as if he were drawing me in. My fingers entangled in his fur, it was soft.
He didn't move as I touched him.
Everything felt strange because it felt as if Torin was actually listening to me. Even as I bent slowly with the silver in my hand, he didn't react. He just stared.
"This might hurt a little," I whispered.
The second the silver wrapped around him, a scream ripped through the room. I had never heard pain like that before, it was raw, violent, and unnatural.
Smoke rose where the chain touched his skin, but before I could recoil in horror, he began to transform back.
“Avelora,” he gasped, his voice barely holding together, “leave. Now.”
“No.” I don’t know where the word came from. He wouldn't hurt me, I was sure of that. And for some reason, his wolf hadn't hurt me either. I was staying until we solved this.
His pain hurt me. Every whimper felt like it was digging into my own skin. I wanted to reach out and pull the bracelet away, but the closer I got, the further he backed away.
"Khyrix?"
“No?” He souunded more bewildered than threatening. I stepped closer before common sense could stop me.
“No,” I said again, my voice shaking but firm. “I am terrified right now, in case that wasn’t obvious, so you need to control yourself.”
His breathing faltered. "You really need to leave. You need to run."
He was human again, but his eyes were still that terrifying gold. His skin was slick with sweat, and the silver sizzled against him.
Instead of listening, I placed my hand gently against his cheek. "You need to fight harder. You need to win."
He shifted away as if my hand burnt him more than the silver did. For one moment, everything stopped. The growling, the trembling, the gold.
And then Khyrix collapsed straight into me.
The force sent us both crashing to the floor, but somehow, I managed to keep his head from hitting the ground. For several seconds, all I could do was sit there beneath his weight, shaking so badly I thought I might fall apart.
His claws were gone. His eyes were closed. The room was finally silent.
I stared down at him, at the man who had looked terrifying enough to destroy me only moments ago, and brushed the dark hair from his forehead with trembling fingers.
“You are so unbelievably stressful,” I whispered, tears burning behind my eyes.
He didn’t answer. He was unconscious
I let out a shaky laugh. Against all logic, my greatest concern wasn't how he could still kill me. It was how smug he was going to be about all this when he finally came to.
- Writer
