Zara

Christmas Day passed amidst emotional turmoil, exchanging gifts, and devouring delicious food. I really wanted to eat more, especially meat, but I couldn’t.

Marcus left that evening, and Luna retired to her room. Alpha went to the gym; he never missed a workout, even on Christmas Day.

Suddenly feeling tired, I returned to Alpha’s room, changed, and lay down. Picking up my phone, I began scrolling through my social media feed.

The phone beeped, and a notification from an unknown number appeared on the screen. My heart sank.

With a trembling index finger, I clicked on the message and saw the words written in blood-red bold type.

"Merry Christmas, Almighty Queen! I hope you enjoy our little message."

Attached was a link to a video. Horror washed over me in waves, but I still clicked on the video to see what shadow was up to.

The video began playing. Darkness enveloped my screen, and fear slowly ran down my spine.

A bead of sweat appeared on my temple and trickled down. A figure appeared on the screen, and I nearly jumped in fear.

The background was pitch black, so I could only stare in horror at the figure.

It wore a terrifying brown mask, seemingly stitched together with thick black stitches. It looked like dead skin. Its sunken eyes resembled two glowing red coals instead of pupils, and the area around its lips resembled peeling, wrinkled, and shriveled skin.

The longer I watched, the more terrified I became, until the person behind the mask began speaking in a distorted voice.

Having a wonderful Christmas? "Have fun while it lasts, it won’t last..." His head tilted and moved closer to the screen, so all I could see was the horrific image of his mask. I felt sick and almost threw up when he spoke again in a terrifying voice: "We are coming for our heir."

My body was shaking so violently that the phone fell from my hands, and a nauseous taste filled my mouth.

Standing up, I rushed to the bathroom barefoot, covering my mouth with my hand. Soon, I defecated in the toilet, trying to hold back my tears. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

All the Christmas food fell out of me. Gasping for breath, I lifted my trembling body from the floor and ran like a zombie to the sink. I washed my face and rinsed it off, trying to comprehend what I had just seen.

So why me?

And maybe it was shadows’ trap? I hadn’t seen the body of the man who’d just sent me the video, so I couldn’t know for sure.

Gathering myself together, but still lost in my anxious thoughts, I left the bathroom and went to get some water. After Asbela left, these little things often went unnoticed, and I’d forgotten to get some.

Emerging from the room with the pitcher on my chest, I went downstairs and found an eerie silence all around.

Where was Alpha? Shouldn’t he have finished his workout at the gym by now?

Filling a glass with water, I drank it down in one gulp to get rid of the unpleasant taste in my mouth.

Leaving the kitchen, my curiosity gave in. I headed toward the gym. Or maybe I was specifically looking for it and didn’t want to be alone.

His presence, regardless of his behavior, gave me a feeling of confidence. My feet carried me toward the glass-walled gym, but the light was dim, and it seemed empty.

I peered inside, my gaze wandering.

He wasn’t there.

Where was he?

I moved further through the villa, into the parts I hadn’t had a chance to explore, and reached a door. It was locked and had a keypad, meaning a code was required to open it.

Why would Alpha need such a door?

This thought troubled my mind, which had been in constant fight-or-flight mode lately and was full of negative thoughts.

Is he hiding something?

The slow sounds of someone climbing the stairs on the other side of the door made my heart pound, and I quickly retreated, not wanting to be discovered.

I ran as if someone was chasing me until I reached the kitchen. Rushing inside, I grabbed the pitcher and began filling it. I drank the water, my racing heart pounding in my chest.

The sound was so loud that I was afraid Alpha would hear it. As expected, Alpha soon appeared and also headed for the kitchen.

I tried not to look in his direction, but it was impossible to ignore his imposing figure as he opened the refrigerator next to me and pulled out what looked like a protein shake.

Finally, I turned around and saw him leaning against the refrigerator, his eyes fixed on me.

He was taking long gulps from the bottle. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he drank the green drink, his toned legs crossed at the ankles.

He was terrifying at the same time.

"Intense workout?" I asked casually, knowing full well he wasn’t at the gym.

But my heart was pounding.

It was so fast, and I couldn’t stop shaking.

He pulled his lips away from the bottle, leaving them damp.

"Yeah, just finished." He ran his hand through his dry hair. Alpha always showered after training and wasn’t a big fan of blow-drying his hair.

So why was his hair dry?

That meant he hadn’t showered in a while, and goddess only knew what he was doing behind that door that led to where?

Seeing me frozen and blushing, he asked, "Are you okay?"

Looking away, I hugged the jug to my chest and replied. "Yes! I have to go to bed."

Hoping he hadn’t caught me off guard, I left him and the kitchen behind. Caught with my hands full.

***

Kane

After the gym and a shower, I decided to head to my secret room underground. The urge in my wolf form to run away in the woods overwhelmed me, but the damn storm caught me off guard.

It was supposed to last another day or two, with howling winds and more snowfall. Hunter and the others were working hard to clear the gardens and the road of snow.

I just wanted to distract myself and not fall into her trap. My self-control was on edge, and I wasn’t sure how much longer I could hold back.