Page 63 of Rejected Alpha Mate

“Y-you said you wouldn’t run anymore…so don’t you d-dare leave me….”

As Nicholas refuses to respond, my vision blurs, my energy draining in a rush.

The last thing I feel is Nicholas’s hand, cold and unmoving under mine, my forehead sinking to his ice-cold shoulder.

The last thing I hear is someone screaming my name.

And then…everything goes dark.

Chapter 22 - Nicholas

Darkness presses around me like I’m suspended underwater, weightless, soundless, trapped in a void where even breathing feels like a forgotten skill.

Then, a flicker of gold cuts through the darkness, like an olive branch of goodness, a small flicker of hope.

At first, it’s just a speck in the distance, trembling like a candle flame in a cavern. But it grows brighter, expanding, until the dark void splits open, and I’m dragged into a scene I know too well.

The clearing.

Donna.

But everything is warped, like I’m seeing it through thick, frosted glass. Shadows pulse at the edges of my vision, and the air is heavy with the echo of my own ragged breathing…except, I’m not breathing.

Not really. Not as I should be.

Donna is on her knees beside my body. My lifeless, unmoving body. I can see myself lying there on the ground, chest torn open, blood mixing with earth, my lips and eyes empty.

Donna is crying. No.

She’s begging, her voice cracking with a desperation that hits me harder than any blow I've ever taken.

“Nicholas! Nicholas, stay with me! Please!” Donna wails, and I try moving toward her, but my legs don’t work. My arms feel anchored to nothing and everything all at once. Panic claws up my throat, but I can’t even move my hand to it.

Donna’s hands glow, golden and trembling as she presses them over the wound in my chest, but the darkness in the gaping hole spreads like overflowing ink, swallowing her light and guzzling it down as if it's sustenance for the darkness.

“Donna!” I shout, even though I’m not sure my voice exists outside this place where I’m stuck. The sound echoes like it’s trapped in a metal chamber, resounding in my own ears and not going further than that.

She doesn’t hear me.

She can’t.

I take a step back, but slam into something solid. Invisible. Cold.

Bars of black magic rise in front of me, tall and twisting, sealing me inside a cage. I grip the bars instinctively, and agony bolts through my hands like electric fire. I roar and yank, but they won’t budge. They only pulse, sealing tighter with every breath I take.

Donna gasps suddenly from where I can see her crouched over my body, and her power explodes outward. Golden light erupts from her palms, shooting skyward, swirling around her like a violent storm. Her hair flies back, eyes blazing, tears streaking her face. She appears to be the epitome of chaos, fury, and power.

She’s becoming something more, something powerful, ancient, and terrifyingly beautiful. Once again, I’m left in awe of her, but I can’t reach her; I can’t tell her that she’s turning into something beyond my wildest imagination. Like the Moon Goddess Herself, Donna is becoming a magnificent being, wielding extraordinary power.

The bars around me constrict, pulling me back as if the dark magic is trying to drag me deeper into unconsciousness. At the same time, I can sense the immense energy emanating from Donna, and it’s frightening now, alarming.

“Donna!” I choke, a warning, a plea, slamming my fists against the bars. “Stop! You’re burning yourself out!”

She rises to her feet, golden light roaring from her like a star imploding, and the wolves fall, freed from their curse. Morganna screams, staggers backward, shadows tearing away from her body.

Donna doesn’t stop.

She can’t stop.