The Alpha's Curse The Enemy Within

I was surrounded by blue light. It was warm and peaceful, but abruptly, everything changed. I felt myself being pulled away into the darkness. It was different and unwelcoming. I felt a deep pain rooted in the core of my chest. It was sharp and piercing for a second,

Killian's point of view forcing me awake.

Weakly, my eyes fluttered open and I tried my hardest to keep them open. My vision was blurry. The pain in my chest had subsided. I tried moving, but that was impossible. Then I heard a drone of voices. I couldn't make out anything they were saying, and when I forced my gaze to the direction it was coming from, everything was a blur.

I shut my eyes, taking several breaths, before pulling them open. My vision wasn't perfect yet, but much better. I scanned around, and I couldn't recognize where I was. How the hell did I get here?

Just then, the door pulled open and a figure came into view. A woman, wearing a long brown dress. I closed my eyes. I felt the woman move close to the bed. Before her hand could touch me, I gripped it, pushing her closer to me, and I had my hands on her neck. "Hey, relax. I swear I mean no harm," she held her hands up in the air. "I'm a friend."

"Who are you?" I firmed my hands on her neck, fighting off the dizziness that had invaded me.

"Zena," She sounded quickly. "Don't exert yourself too much. You just woke up, you need some rest-"

"Where am I?"

"Somewhere safe. Let go of me first, and I will explain everything slowly and calmly," she voiced softly, her hands still held up.

I loosened my hold on her neck, about to set her free when the sound of a familiar voice made me snap my head to the door.

"What in the goddess' name is this? You wake up and this is the first thing you do?" My eyes fell on Kaiser, as his deep hazel eyes inspected me.

"Kaiser?" My brows crippled in confusion, as I let the young woman go.

"Yeah, it's good to see you too," he said, tossing a shirt at me.

"What on earth are we doing here?" I asked sharply. "Sheila? Where is she?" At the mention of Sheila's name, I felt Ryker's presence within me. He was weak. I tried pulling up from the bed, but Zena grabbed me. "You should lay still. You may be all healed up, but you've been unconscious for a long time."

"Unconscious? What are you talking about?" My eyes darted from the woman to Kai. "What the hell is going on, Kai?"

She picked up a cup from the table and handed it to me. "Drink this. It'll help."

Kaiser moved closer to me. "One question at a time, Killian. Firstly, you should drink that. You'll need it," I gulped down the liquid in the cup, dropping it on the table.

I pushed myself up from the bed, forcing myself to stand. "Where is this place?" I asked, walking to the door, which led me to another room.

This wasn't my pack. How on earth did I end up here? "Where's Sheila? Morgan?" I turned to Kaiser who was now leaning on the wooden wall, his deep hazel eyes watching me. "Say something, Kaiser."

"Seriously, you don't remember anything?" he sounded. "What was the last thing you remember?"

My eyes narrowed on him as I tried recollecting my memories but at every attempt, I was greeted with a torturous ache in my skull. I groaned.

"You don't remember the attack, do you?" Kaiser's voice sounded again, still leaning on the wall, while Zena settled on the wooden chair next to me.

"The attack? What are you-" I paused on my thoughts immediately, as short images flashed through my mind. I remembered. The ball and the attack. My eyes rounded. It was the Dark Circle. They had attacked the pack, searching for Sheila.

I lifted my gaze, and they connected with that of Kai. "Please tell me, where is Sheila?"

"She was taken during the attack by the Dark Circle," he said, and I felt as though something within the core of my chest stopped.

It took me several seconds before I could recover from what Kaiser just told me. I grabbed a handful of my hair. "I don't remember."

"Because she was taken right after you were murdered by the Dark Lord's warlock," Kaiser voiced, pointing at my chest.

"What?" A sudden coldness enveloped me as I followed his gaze, and I could see the small scar that was seated on my chest.

"Yeah. I know this is too much to take in at once. But we don't have time, Killian. When you died, Sheila lost it, and her magic brought you back, placing you in some kind of slumber. I doubt she even knew what she did, because right after, she was taken by the Dark Circle army through some portal. I jumped in, chasing after her. By the time I regained consciousness, you were here too."

"Here? What do you mean by that?" I said, roving to the door. I pulled it open, stepping into the midnight darkness. The entire surrounding was unfamiliar.

"It's called Oasis," Kaiser came up behind me. "You can call it Vladimir's prison world. This is why we could never find him. This f*****g place is heavily guarded by magic."

"How long has it been?" I asked him.

"It's eight f*****g weeks since the attack, Killian, and you have been unconscious since then. We tried everything to wake you up, but none of it worked. Not until now," he replied.

"And Sheila? Where is she?" My amber eyes found Kaiser's deep irises, and instantly, the look on his face changed.

Kaiser sighed. "About that, I think you need to sit down to hear this," he muttered seriously and that scared me.

*****

Kaiser's point of view

"And that sums it all," I apprised him of everything, including Sheila's new situation, without leaving behind a single detail. I stood against the wooden wall, and my eyes were fixated on Killian.

He was seated right opposite me. His face was buried in his hands. I had no idea what was going on in his mind, but he hasn't muttered a damn word since. To be honest, I was surprised he hadn't flared up yet, especially when I informed him about what was happening with Sheila, that she had a mate now, and he was the Dark Lord himself.

Killian rubbed his face with his hands, gently. "I can't feel her," his voice was low, barely above a whisper.

"That's expected," I nodded. "You died, Killian, that must have broken your bond with her, and now that she's mated to that imbecile, there's no way you will be able to connect to her."

"No. No, that can't be. Something must have happened to her. I am certain that bloody bastard did something to her," Killian was up from his chair.

"Yeah, I thought so too-" I started, but he cut me off with haste.

"I have to see her," Killian moved closer to me.Copyright Nôv/el/Dra/ma.Org.

"I've spent eight weeks in here, Killian, and I've been unable to see her. Vladimir had her locked up in the Fortress, and when she steps out, she's always accompanied by his f*****g witches." "There must be some kind of way to get into the Fortress," He began pacing back and forth.

"None that I know of. It's heavily guarded."

"f**k it, Kai. I have to see her. Sheila needs to know I'm alive!"

I regarded him for a second, before moving to Zena. "The only way we can get to see her is outside the Fortress. She constantly goes to the Dark cave, but with company. That's the only way we can get to her." "Alright, that's fine. How do we do this?" He stood next to me.

"Zena and I have a plan," I exhaled. "Zena will be joining Nikolai's coven tomorrow, and will gain access to her magic. She could help us take care of Vladimir's watchdogs, buying us time to see my sister." Killian's gaze traveled to Zena. "Zena's my mate. And a witch too," I answered his unsaid question.

"I could help, but it won't take long. I may be getting my magic back, but there's a limit to what I can do," she muttered, pulling her sleeve up and showing us the pyramid symbol on her wrists.

"What's that?"

"Vladimir's way of keeping Oasis in order. Every prisoner has one of those, stripping them of their magic and abilities. And only Nikolai can undo its magic," I explained.

"Alright. I just need Sheila to know I'm alive. So as long as I can see her. it'll do," he muttered.

Zena nodded, standing up. "For now, I advise you to get some rest. You need it."

"She's right. You'll need all the strength you can get in this place," I settled in one of the wooden chairs, watching Killian, and I could see his mind drift far away. Deep down, I knew there was no way he was getting any rest.