Chapter 5 - The Save.
1127 Words
Lylah had always imagined what her end would be like. Most humans did.
But being killed was sure as hell not one of them. And the most surest as hell? not by a wolf— or anything inhuman.
She couldn't wrap her head around it. How any of this was real. How these creatures even existed.
She almost still didn't believe it. But her death felt so real now, she would even believe fairies existed in real life. Or did they?
“Dying to say something, Oliver?” Axel voice cut through the silence, husky and commanding.
His beta had been behind him the whole time, quiet as a shadow. Keeping him company.
Of course, Axel had sensed him, even though he had not announce his presence—he didn’t need to be told.
Oliver was the Lycan’s King closest ally. Loyal. Reliable. And although Axel would never admit it out loud, he was a friend.
Oliver inhaled sharply. Said nothing.
“Stop lurking. Come out.”
The Lycan king stood at a towering height,
his aura creating an atmosphere of its own. Intimidating and nerve-wrecking.
Oliver walked up close to him, contemplating within if he would be out of place disturbing Axel's solitude with his disoriented thought.
Probably.
Disturbing or not, he knew he would still say anyway.
“Will you just let her get killed?”Oliver asked in the most subtle approach. He’d served the Lycan King for years and still couldn't figure what or what not could trigger his rage.
The solidarity of their alpha-beta dynamic saved him from being crushed, out of fury. More times than once.
Axel didn’t say anything in response, so Oliver nudged further.
“Aren't you even the least bit curious….how she passed through the mystical portal?”Oliver's face colored with curiosity.
Axel's posture remained slack, relaxed, like he couldn't care less. And yes, he didn't give a f**k.
The wind curled through his silver hair like a spectral hand.
Oliver hesitated. Then continued. He spoke a name he had not heard in three thousand years.
A name he knew would spike Axel's interest.
“She could be a lead on the return of Velthera……”
And just like that, the world froze.
“Pause”
A single word Axel muttered. Everything stopped.
The wind stilled mid-whisper. Leaves hung frozen in the air, caught in a moment that no longer existed.
The steady hum of life—breathing, moving, living—vanished into silence. Time itself succumbed. The universe bowed to him.
Oliver's lips were parted mid-sentence, a breath unfinished.
Axel’s gaze remained downwards, fixed on Lylah’s frozen form far below—soft yet striking.
He could see her clearly now, delicate and undeniably captivating.
Of course, he wasn't going to let her be eaten by lowly omegas. If she were to be food…then his she would be.
A sinister smile slowly played on his lips.
Axel tilted his head, cracking his neck. Claws extended from his fingertips, dark as hypersthene—sharp and long. They carved into the wall of the tower effortlessly as he scaled downwards, his body moving with practiced ease.
He didn't need foot holes. He didn't need ropes. His Lycan side were not bound by human limitations—he made the wall his stairs.
His muscles flexed as he climbed lower, the sound of his claws, digging in and out of the walls, the only sound in the silence.
Within seconds, he hit the ground, landing with ease.
With a lazy flick of his finger everything snapped back to life.
The wind resumed. Leaves fell.
Oliver's unfinished words finally met their end. But no one was listening.
He realized he was alone. Axel was gone.
Oliver sighed. Not again.
He figured the Lycan King had just used his chronokinesis abilities—the ability to bend time itself. A rare ability, even for a total fae.
[Where are you, Alpha?] Oliver spoke to Axel using the mind-link.
His voice echoed in Axel's mind, Axel smirked dryly. He hated that telepathic connection lycan’s shared. But he couldn't break it.
[Getting my lead] He mind-linked back simply.
Oliver senses heightened. Axel was close. He could smell it.
His gaze narrowed downward to where Lylah and the guards stood, eyes searching to pick a trace.
One guard’s eye gleamed brightly, his grip tightening around Lylah’s arm, closing in for a deliberate tear.
The air was tight and back to normal. Almost as if the world didn't notice it was on a standstill few seconds back.
Lylah could feel the guard’s breath against her neck, his fang grazing her skin like a tease.
Her eyes squeezed shut, tears brimming behind the closed eyelids.
Then—
“Sleep.”
A voice came from the darkness, startling Lylah’s eyes open, confined tears poured freely.
The voice was calm yet intimidating. Lylah stiffened.
Axel remained unrevealed in the dark path. He didn't need to use brute force on these weaklings. A psych entrapment was the tenderest he could go.
That one word he uttered was spoken in a whisper, yet it rang through their minds repeatedly like shaman bells, clouding reality.
Lylah’s eyes became too heavy like she was on sedatives. A wave of exhaustion washed over her.
The guard’s grip around her arm had loosened and everything started whirling around.
She couldn't feel her feet and for some reason her eyelids were shutting down against her will. Panic swelled in her chest but she was powerless to fight it.
She tried to keep her eyes open but the world was already slipping away. Her body stiffened and then she blacked out—collapsing into darkness.
One by one, the guards staggered backwards, their minds wrestling in an invisible war that wasn't truly happening.
The surroundings around them faded, replaced by something else—something twisted.
In their minds, the moon burned, the trees moved and the ground cracked open into an abyss of despair. Shadows crawled out from within clinging to their legs, whispering their worst fears into their ears.
They were powerless here. The scent of blood—their blood—filled the air.
Their own minds betrayed them, trapping them in a nightmare Axel had woven just for them. Meanwhile, in the real world, their bodies laid frozen on the ground, trembling, caught between breaths.
In a spur of the moment, Axel stepped into the light. The moonlight glimmered on his face, catching the cruel curve of his lips.
Radiance emitted from the sharp planes of his face. Etherally so.
His silver hair, long and slightly tousled, fell over his shoulders, shifting with every slight movement.
He looked down at the little bird—Lylah— laying rigid and lifeless on the ground.
And his grin widened.
- Writer
