The hybrid nobody wanted

Chapter 12:Taken

The cave was silent.

Dorian's mouth opened. Closed. Opened again.

I waited.

The bond pulsed between us,his fear, his guilt, his shame. All of it. Raw and real.

He took a breath. "Raya, I need to tell you"

A howl tore through the night.

Close. Too close.

Dorian's head snapped toward the cave entrance. "No. Not now."

I grabbed his arm. "Dorian, finish"

Another howl. Closer. And this time ,voices. Vampire voices.

"They're here." Dorian pulled me up. "We have to move. NOW."

I grabbed my dagger. We ran toward the back of the cave.

But before we reached the exit, shadows flooded the entrance.

Dozens of them. Vampires. Surrounding us.

And at the front, cold and smiling...

The Vampire King.

"Going so soon?" His voice echoed through the cave. "We were just getting acquainted."

Dorian pushed me behind him. "Stay back."

The King laughed. "Still protecting her, Dorian? Even after all these years?" He tilted his head. "How... touching."

His eyes moved to me. Cold. Hungry.

"The hybrid." He smiled. "I've waited twenty years for this moment."

I raised my dagger. "Come closer and find out what happens."

He laughed. Genuine amusement. "Feisty. I like that." He snapped his fingers. "Take her."

Vampires surged forward.

Dorian moved. Fast. Too fast.

He grabbed two vampires, threw them aside. Grabbed my hand. "RUN!"

We ran.

Toward the back of the cave. Toward a narrow tunnel I hadn't seen before.

Behind us, the King's voice echoed: "After them! DON'T LET THEM ESCAPE!"

We ran faster.

The tunnel twisted. Turned. Narrowed until we had to squeeze through.

Dorian went first. I followed.

Behind us, vampires shouted. Chased. Gaining.

We burst out of the tunnel into the forest.

"Keep running!" Dorian gasped.

We ran.

Trees blurred past. Branches scratched my face. My lungs burned.

Behind us, the chase continued.

Then Dorian stopped.

Froze mid-step.

I skidded to a halt. "Dorian? What"

His eyes went wide. Blank. Wrong.

"No." I grabbed him. "Dorian, NO!"

The King stepped out of the shadows. Smiling.

"Did you really think you could outrun me?" He walked toward us. "I've been controlling him for three hundred years. A little bond doesn't change that."

Dorian's hand reached for me. Trembling. Fighting.

"R-Raya..." His voice was barely a whisper. "Run..."

I grabbed his hand. "I'm not leaving you."

"You have to." His eyes met mine , desperate, terrified, loving. "He'll use me against you. Please. RUN."

The King snapped his fingers.

Dorian screamed.

Fell to his knees.

His hand slipped from mine.

Vampires surrounded him. Dragged him away.

I lunged forward..

Two vampires grabbed me. Held me back.

"NO! DORIAN!"

The King walked to me. Slow. Calm. Smiling.

"You can run, little hybrid." His voice was soft. Cruel. "Go ahead. Run back to your bar. Hug your little found family. Pretend you're safe."

I struggled. "I'll kill you!"

He laughed. Rich. Deep. Genuinely amused.

"That's the spirit." He tilted his head. "I've been hunting you for twenty years. Watching from shadows. Waiting for the right moment." He glanced toward Dorian. "And now I have the perfect tool to break you."

My blood ran cold.

"Dorian will never hurt me."

"Dorian won't have a choice." The King's smile widened. "By the time I'm done with him, he won't remember your name. He won't remember your face. He won't remember anything except the order I'll carve into his soul: Kill the hybrid. "

I stopped struggling. Stared at him.

"Run, little flame." He turned away. "Run fast. Run far. Train. Fight. Become everything you're meant to be." He glanced back. "Because when I send him after you,and I will ,I want it to be a challenge."

He snapped his fingers.

The vampires holding me let go. I fell to the ground.

When I looked up, they were gone.

Dorian was gone.

The forest was silent.

Just me. Alone. The bond pulsing in my chest,weak, twisted, agonizing.

Dorian's pain. His fear. His fading love.

I lay on the cold ground and screamed until my voice gave out.

I don't know how long I lay there.

Minutes. Hours.

When I finally moved, it was because the bond pulsed again. Fainter. Like a candle flickering in the wind.

Dorian.

I stood. Wiped my face. Grabbed my dagger.

The King wanted me to run.

Fine.

I'd run straight to the bar. Straight to Mira. Straight to Jax. Straight to anyone who could help.

And then I'd come for him.

I'd come for Dorian.

And I'd burn the King's whole kingdom to ash.