The other pushed into him immediately.
Growls, howls, claws, and canines at each other.
They were fighting!
Luck had found her sexy again!
Latya tried to stand, but she couldn't. With the following event, she didn't even have to try, because suddenly the cave rocked with an explosion.
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Latya woke up to the smell of hot tea, the comfort of a warm bed, and the low playing of her favorite song.
"If I had a dream, it would be one with you in it
Little melodies…."
Her ankle did not hurt, nor did her hand; she was also in a blue robe. It was a dream. A Nightmare! Seeing Big Ben standing at the door with a cup of tea confirmed it. Latya felt complete relief.
"Big Ben!" She sprinted out of bed and hugged him, he patted her back stiffly.. "I had the most horrible dream!" When she pulled away from him, he handed her the mug of tea, she collected it and took a sip. "Thank you, you are the best and I love you!"
Vodka would have been better, but Juliet hated it so much, and Big Ben hated Juliet complaining. He would usually not say anything, but Latya could usually sense some of his feelings.
"Have you seen my phone? I need to call Juliet." She walked away, still holding the cup in her hand, her other hand going up to her chest. "And Manuel. I'm worried about him for some reason."
She chuckled.
It was a nightmare. A whole nightmare. She still had to appear in court today because her judgment hadn't been declared yet, she was confined to this house and not a holding cell because of her connections had gotten her bail, she hadn't seen Manuel in forever, Juliet had been here yesterday and wasn't here yet because she had an important presentation at work that she had worked all week on, and the cave? Those men who became wolf-like creatures? Well, it was all a dream.
Nightmares were usually filled with ridiculous things.
If it weren't a dream, she wouldn't be here. Big Ben would be dead and—
"It is not a dream, Miss Latya."
Her mug slipped from her grasp and crashed against the floor. Big Ben stepped forward, picked her up.
"Thankfully, we have enough time for an explanation and the perfect escape plan to avoid them totally."
Latya's heart raced.
Avoid them.
The monsters.
Her mind was overwhelmed with questions. It wasn't a dream, so how was he alive if he had saved her from the monsters? Was he the one who saved her? What was going on?1
He set her down in the dining hall.
"Miss Latya, I want you to listen to me very carefully——"
The house rocked like an earthquake was happening, and Big Ben froze, his eyes filling with... fear?
No, it couldn't be.
Big Ben was never afraid.
This time, when he picked her up, he was swift with a sense of urgency and terror.
Fuck, he was afraid!
As they ran, he said, "They are coming for you. It should be impossible! They shouldn't be able to— I KILLED THEM!'
Oh, goodness. So the explosion had been Big Ben after all. Something about thinking of those wolf guys as being killed by Big Ben did not sit well with her. Or maybe it was about thinking of them being dead at all that was it.
It was an illogical feeling.
She didn't even know them.
The next time she came back to her senses, they were in the safe room, and Big Ben was jamming the red button. The steel door slid shut immediately. He set her feet on the floor and held her face between his palms. Something in his eyes did not look right; it was beyond the fear, beyond anything she could think of. "I'm sorry that I couldn't protect you from this."
"What the fuck is going on?" Her voice trembled with a nervous chuckle. "I'm scared. I'm fucking terrified because you are."
"You cannot let the wolf-shifters have you, Latya. It will begin the wheel, it will start everything, and you will not survive. I hid you away from them and did everything to keep you alive, so this fate will never find you. I have failed you, I am sorry."
His words terrified her because she couldn't understand them, but what terrified her the most was the tone with which he spoke. He didn't talk to her formally, but like… almost like… a father to his daughter.
"Big Ben?"
"This… Shadow!"
Her eyes widened. "You knew?"
But before Big Ben could respond, the sound of howls cut through the air, and they both turned to look at the door.
They were getting closer.
Big Ben wore her a necklace, and that pulled her attention away from the door to the pendant of the necklace. It looked like a relic.
"When they ask, 'Of what house is the Karlic? ' Tell them, 'Delroy, House of the Right, Son of Lyudon, has given you has bestowed me the Karlic."
"Those are so many words. Why didn't you tell me beforehand so I could start practicing earlier?" She laughed, her eyes watery with tears, as the feeling of doom settled in the air.
He smiled too, and that made tears well up even more in Latya's eyes. This would definitely not end well.
"You look so much like her."
"Like who?"
His jaw tightened.
The howl sounded so close this time that she trembled.
"They will tear down this door, I have seen them."
"They will not have you, I promise that on my life."
"If they don't get me, will they go for Manuel?"
He is of no relevance to them."
"What—"
"Your ignorance will be your only protection, you must keep it. Know nothing, be nothing, and the wheel will never begin. If you don't try to fight, then you will not be found. He pressed his forehead against hers, and she watched tears stream down his cheeks.
Her heart raced.
Fuck!
"Forgive me, my poor Latya."
Then he pushed her away and pulled a gun out, pressed it against his head, and fired. To Latya, everything played out in slow motion. She watched Big Ben slump to the floor slowly, the wolf men tear into the room with their claws going through steel, how they tried to reach for her but couldn't as a strangebshinning door that had developed out of nowhere consumed her.
Portals were not real.
What—
Then, all around her in the portal, she could hear two deep voices speaking to her as one.
"We will find you, wherever you go. You are ours, Latya.'