Page 69 of The Wolf

I take a cautious step closer, my stomach churning. Her perfect features come into view—the high cheekbones, little Hollywood-type nose, lush lips. But there’s something wrong. Her posture is too rigid, her head tilted at an unnatural angle, her eyes fully dark.

“Um, Emily?” I gasp, my voice cracking.

She smiles—an icy expression that doesn’t belong to her. “Emily is not here right now,” she replies, her voice filled with mockery.

A chill races down my spine. “What do you mean?” I whisper, my throat dry.

“Exactly what I said.” She laughs, and a hollow, abnormal sound reverberates through the clearing. “But you did her dirty, you naughty girl,” she adds, her voice lilting like a taunt. “To avenge her dead lover, she prayed for this. Oh, she prayed so hard, down on her knees, crying every night… Okay, maybe she didn’t pray exactly forthis, but I couldn’t resist to answer. And that moron thought she was speaking with heavens.”

I freeze, my feet rooted to the ground. “What are you talking about?”

“It’s always the biggest believers who get fooled the easiest, Isn’t that funny?” she continues, disregarding my confusion as she takes a step closer. “Chanting for Angels, Saints, Mary… You’d think they’d know the book better than that.” Her eyesgleam with a sinister light but are still so dark, as though her pupils have blown up completely, and her smile stretches wider—too wide. “But here's the kicker—white magic isstillmagic. And every magic opens the door for us… As they say, the road to hell is built on good intentions.”

A dread settles over me. “Who are you?”

“You’re not very bright, are you?” Her laughter dies, and her gaze sharpens, pinning me in place, paralyzed. “I’m Lilith.”

My blood runs cold, and I feel it in every nerve in my body, a primal, instinctive fear. My knees weaken, but I can’t even fall. She has me right where she wants me.

Alex, I think desperately, squeezing my eyes shut.I love you. I’m so sorry.

Nothing. The connection is gone, severed. I can’t feel him. He can’t hear me. It was all a lie.

Panic claws at me, but I force myself to keep her talking. Stay calm. Stall her. Hope for some kind of miracle.

“How—”

“How am I here?” she interrupts smoothly, her tone dripping with condescension. “Oh, I’ve been busy breaking the seal that keeps me locked away. I’ve learned a few new tricks.” She takes another step closer, her presence oppressive, suffocating. “And how did I manage to lure you here?” she continues. “I only needed your blood—or blood from your bloodline—to tap into your brain and break your mating bond.” She stops, her smile twisting into something cruel. “Don’t worry, it’s only temporary. Think of it as a blind spot.”

A heavy burden lifts off my shoulders, only for a moment before her other words sink in. “My blood?” My mind races, trying to piece it together. Then it hits me, and my stomach ties in a knot. “What did you do to my mom?”

All the fighting, the sacrifices, my mother’s new life with her memories erased—all that for nothing.

Lilith’s smile falters, replaced by a fleeting look of amusement. “Relax,” she snorts with a dismissive wave of her hand. “Mommy Dearest is fine. Contrary to popular belief, I don’t hurt innocent people. I just borrowed some of her blood for the spell.”

“What do you want from me?” I ask, my voice trembling, but my tone firmer now.

She tilts her head, staring me down with a predatory gleam in her eyes. “Oh, Julia,” Lilith whispers, drawing out my name like a caress, her voice a sickly sweet venom that chills my blood further. “So many things.”

Her words send a fresh wave of nausea through me. She steps closer, close enough that I can feel the unnatural cold radiating from her.

“Well, I don’t actually care about you, little worm,” she goes on. “But I do care about Marduk.” Her long nails, somehow sharp as knives, trail down my jaw, sending a line of searing pain that feels as though it could strip away my skin. “Ah, and to think that his life is tied to such a stupid, fragile girl. What a waste.”

Her grip tightens, talon-like fingers seizing my chin so fiercely I swear my jaw might shatter. My breaths are shallow, quivering, but I refuse to let her see my fear.

“You have no idea how long I’ve waited for this,” she purrs, her sulfurous breath suffocating me. “I’mreallygoing to enjoy it. But right now?” She takes a short pause. “You see, I need Dahlia’s firstborn. He’s the last ingredient to break the seal. You know, the whole end-of-the-world thing and all. And then I will have my wings back and walk free again as the god of this earth.” Her voice has a deep longing, and I almost catch myself empathizing with her.Almost. “So, right now, be a doll and call him.”

“No,” I spit out with a strength from deep within me.

Her face contorts with rage, and the morbid black glow of her eyes burns into my soul. “CALL HIM!” she screeches, her voice a hellish cacophony that slams into me like a tidal wave. The force is so intense that my eardrums scream in protest, and I feel a trickle of warmth spilling down the sides of my neck. Blood.

I barely have time to register the pain before it starts.

Fire. Fire in my veins, fire in my mind. An unholy invasion of agony that sears every nerve, an inferno that makes me convulse. Her magic rips through me, burning, clawing, tearing. It feels as though my very soul is being flayed alive.

I scream. So loudly that I can hear myself over the deafening pounding in my head. I scream until my throat is raw, until my vision darkens at the edges. But even through the unrelenting torment, I cling to the only thing keeping me from crumbling completely.Alex. My Alex.

“You know, Satan told me about you,” I whimper through the pain.

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