chapter 10
1301 Words
Chapter 10 – The Betrayer in the Shadows
Serena’s POV
The night burned with screams.
Flames licked the treeline, sparks crackling as rogues lunged at the wave of Nightspawn spilling into the clearing. Shadows twisted into shapes barely wolf, barely human—fangs glinting red, claws dripping hunger. Their eyes… gods, those eyes glowed like pits of molten fire, locked on me. It looked like I was watching a horror movie. My heart rate faster n my body froze from the terror.
“Asher—” My voice broke as one lunged straight for me.
Silver streaked across my vision. Asher was faster than I thought. His blade arced clean, splitting the creature’s throat. Black ichor sprayed, sizzling as it hit the dirt.
“Stay Behind me.” His growl rumbled like thunder, raw power vibrating through the air. His hand shoved me back, his body a wall of steel and fury.
But the Nightspawn didn’t stop. They poured from the trees, dozens—no, hundreds—snarling, hissing, snapping at me. The rogues fought, but for every beast cut down, two more rose from the shadows.
Panic slammed into my chest. My wolf clawed beneath my skin, howling.
“Asher, they are not here for you!” My scream was swallowed by the chaos. “They are after me!”
His silver eyes snapped to mine for a heartbeat—sharp, burning, knowing. Then he tore another beast in half with his claws. “I know.”
---
Christopher’s POV
The bond burned like molten chains, dragging me into the heart of battle.
I should’ve stopped. Should’ve turned back. But the moment I saw her, I couldn’t breathe any more.
Serena.
She stood behind him—behind Asher. The Rogue King’s silver shadow engulfed her, his body shielding hers while blood sprayed around them. And my chest cracked open because even here, even now… he looked like he belonged at her side, taking her away from me.
“Serena!” My roar tore from my throat, desperate, breaking.
She spun—her eyes locking with mine. For a second, hope lit her face, fragile, trembling. Then the bond ripped again, shoving me forward.
Cassandra appeared at my side like smoke, her black hair whipping in the firelight, her smirk sharp. “See how she looks at you?” she hissed. “But look again. Watch how she stays with him.”
“Shut your mouth.” My claws ripped through a Nightspawn lunging for us. I didn’t even look at her. My eyes were only for Serena.
Her lips moved. A single word.
Christopher.
My wolf howled, breaking inside me.
---
Serena’s POV
The world blurred into blood and ash.
“Asher!” I cried as another beast pounced. He caught it mid-air, his arm snapping around its throat with a sickening crack. His silver eyes glowed brighter, almost unearthly, his power pouring out like a storm.
But then—
“Serena!”
My heart jolted. I whipped around. And there he was—Christopher—ripping through shadows, his golden eyes burning like suns.
For a breath, everything froze. The fire roared, the rogues screamed, but all I saw was him. My first bond. My rejection. My ruin. He was here for me.
“Asher—he’s—” My voice faltered.
Asher’s snarl ripped through the night. “Stay away from her, Alpha. You don't deserve her.”
Christopher’s chest heaved. “She’s mine!”
“Yours?” Asher bared his teeth, dragging me back against his chest. His voice was a blade. “You threw her away when she needed you the most.”
“I made a mistake!” Christopher’s voice cracked with rage and something deeper—despair. “Serena, I’ll fix this. I’ll fix everything. Just give me a chance.”
Asher yanked my chin, forcing me to meet his gaze. His lips brushed my ear, low and venomous. “Tell him, little wolf. Tell him you don’t need him anymore.”
My throat closed. Both of them—burning me alive from opposite sides.
“I—” The word strangled out, half sob, half scream. “Stop it ,you both!”
---
The Nightspawn struck harder, feeding on the storm between us.
One slammed me to the ground, claws tearing at my arms. Pain shot like lightning. I screamed. My throat burned.
“Asher!”
He was there in an instant, ripping the beast off me, his claws shredding flesh. His face was wild, feral, his silver eyes glowing so bright they almost looked… inhuman.
Christopher lunged forward too, cutting another away from me, his golden eyes locked on mine. “I won’t let them touch you!”
I scrambled back, my hands shaking, torn between them, the fire, the blood. The Goddess’s voice whispered in the back of my mind, soft but merciless.
Sacrifice. Choose. Or everything burns.
---
Cassandra’s POV
Fools. All of them.
The chaos made my blood sing. The Nightspawn were beautiful in their hunger, their shadows licking the earth like flame. And Serena—the key, the cursed wolf—their eyes were fixed on her.
Every thing was going according to my plan.
Christopher still thought me his ally, his guide. Poor Alpha. He never saw the knife behind my smile.
And Asher—Asher thought he could keep her, claim her. He didn’t know the darkness in her blood wasn’t meant for him. It was meant for me.
My lips curled as I whispered the words I’d buried in silence for years. Old words. Forbidden. The shadows answered, hungrier, turning their blazing eyes toward Serena.
“Soon,” I hissed, raising my hands. “Take her. Take the cursed one to pitch of the darkness where she belongs.”
---
Serena’s POV
The air shifted.
Colder. Sharper.
I felt it before I saw it—something tugging at my veins, at the fire in my chest. My wolf shrieked inside me, thrashing against invisible chains.
“What—what’s happening?” My knees buckled.
Asher’s arms clamped around me, his growl shattering the air. “Someone’s summoning them. Someone’s feeding them you.”
Christopher stumbled closer, panic in his golden eyes. “Serena, hold on! Fight it—”
But then she stepped forward. Cassandra.
Her face glowed in the firelight, her smile cruel, her eyes alight with venom.
“Cassandra?” I whispered, disbelief tearing my throat.
She laughed, soft and sharp. “Oh, poor little wolf. You still don’t see it? You were never meant to survive this bond. You’re a key. A vessel. And tonight…” Her hand slashed the air, dripping blood. The Nightspawn shrieked, lunging closer. “You belong to them.”
---
“No!” Christopher’s roar split the night. He surged forward, but shadows slammed him back. His claws ripped, his golden eyes blazing, but Cassandra’s magic held.
“Asher—” I gasped, clutching him, the bond between us burning.
His silver gaze locked on Cassandra, a snarl ripping through his chest. “You dare—”
But she only smirked. “I don’t dare, Rogue King. I win.”
The ground cracked beneath me, shadows clawing up my legs. I screamed, my body dragged toward the darkness.
“Asher!”
“Serena!” Christopher fought like a madman, golden fire against shadow. “Don’t let go—don’t—”
---
The last thing I saw was Asher’s silver eyes blazing, his claws reaching, his roar shaking the world.
Christopher eyes were wide with shock n disbelief.
And Cassandra’s laughter cutting through it all.
Then the shadows swallowed me whole.
---
Cassandra reveals herself as the betrayer, summoning the Nightspawn with blood magic.
Serena is dragged into the shadows, leaving both Asher and Christopher powerless.
-------
- Writer
