Betrayed By My Mate, Claimed By His Lycan King Uncle
Chapter 114: Failure.

Chapter 114: Failure.

Dimitri crouched down slowly behind her, his voice softer now, threaded with curiosity and something else...concern, perhaps.

"So tell me, Sorayah... what is your fear?"

Silence fell between them.

Sorayah swallowed hard, her throat tightening as the memories surged forward....visions of her pack slaughtered, her people enslaved, her once-proud kingdom reduced to ashes by the Werewolves. And then there was him...the man she had once loved so deeply, who had returned her affection with deception. A spy. A traitor.

She should have ended it all the moment they met. That first encounter lingered, the day he saved her from a wild beast in the forest. The day she could have lost her life but got saved by a stranger.

Their relationship thickened since that day ntil she found herself falling....falling for the man who would one day become her ruin.

"Failure." The word tore from Sorayah’s lips. Her voice trembled, and her eyes brimmed with unshed tears. Slowly, she turned to face Dimitri, her expression cracked open with raw emotion. "My biggest fear is failure... Failure to achieve the achieve something I vowed to accomplish. Failure to fulfill the promises I made to people I care about. Failure to protect those I care about in my life right now. Failure to die having done nothing that mattered."

A single tear escaped, sliding down her cheek.

Dimitri inhaled sharply, his throat tightening. The sight of her tears stirred something unfamiliar in him...an ache he didn’t understand. Was it sympathy? Or was it that her fear echoed his own?

He feared failure, too.

The failure of losing everything he had fought so long to protect.

He lifted a hand without thinking, brushing her tears away with surprising gentleness. Sorayah flinched at first, caught off guard, but then stilled, letting him touch her. The warmth of his palm lingered on her skin.

"I see..." Dimitri murmured at last, his voice low and steady. "Then you already have a weapon many don’t possess. Do you know what that is?"

She didn’t answer. Only watched him through tear-stained lashes.

"Self-awareness," he continued. "Most people don’t even know what they’re afraid of. They run from shadows. But you... you’ve named it. Faced it. And that, Sorayah, is power. That is strength. Knowing your fear and still choosing to move forward...that’s what separates survivors from corpses."

Sorayah swallowed again, the tears flowing freely now, though her spine straightened with each word. He was right. Dammit, he was right.

Dimitri stood to his full height, his commanding presence impossible to ignore. Then, in one swift motion, he reached down and pulled her up by the arm.

"Come on. Time to train those arms and legs," he said firmly.

The sudden force nearly sent her off balance, but Dimitri caught her around the waist with ease. Her body collided with his...her chest pressed firmly against the cold hardness of his torso. Her breath hitched.

Silence as they both locked gaze.

"You’re so weak," he finally stated bluntly, his tone edged with a teasing lilt that made her scowl.

"I’m not weak," Sorayah muttered under her breath, brows furrowing, her voice etched with slight anger. "You shouldn’t drag people like that. I’m not some goods. I’m a human. Even a good have to be handled with care if you want it to remain in good condition. "

"You’re angry?" Dimitri asked, the faintest smirk curving his lips. "Well you’re right. You’re a human."

"I’m not angry, Your Highness," she replied stiffly. She pushed at his chest to create space between them, the motion firm but not aggressive. He didn’t move at first....his chest like stone beneath her palms but then he allowed her to retreat, stepping back with a lazy grace.

"So you admit I’m right?" he said with a cocky arch of his brow, the smirk deepening.

"Just because I lost my footing doesn’t mean I’m weak," Sorayah snapped, rolling her eyes in frustration. Her tone was clipped. "Let’s move on to the next training, Your Highness. Dawn is fast approaching."

Dimitri tilted his head, a lazy smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth. "Really? Then prove it to me, Sorayah. Show me you’re not weak." His tone was challenging, almost mocking. "The hunt doesn’t just lead through the forest. It stretches into the mountains. That mountain may be hard to climb, but it can save your life. It might be the only path to survival and if you’re unable to climb it..then it means death."

Sorayah’s brows furrowed but she kept mute.

Dimitri ignored her sarcasm. "Let’s test your ability," he said, and before she could ask what he meant, he stepped closer.

Sorayah blinked. "Wait, what are you...?"

She didn’t get to finish the sentence.

With a firm push, Dimitri shoved her...not onto the ground, but off the edge of the cliff.

"ARRRGH!" Sorayah’s scream echoed through the air as she plunged downward, heart thundering in her chest. Cold air slapped her skin as the world spun in a blur of rocks and wind.

"Grab the rope!" Dimitri’s voice roared from above.

Her wide, tear-filled eyes locked onto several ropes dangling down the cliffside. She didn’t know where they came from or how they were secured, but instinct overruled panic. With desperation coursing through her veins, she lunged for one, catching it just in time.

Her hands gripped the rope tightly, trembling as tears continued to stream down her cheeks. Her legs scrambled until one foot found a rocky ledge. But the fear was relentless. She couldn’t even see the bottom of the cliff.

"That bastard," she whispered under her breath, voice shaking. Her fingers tightened around the rope as she held on for dear life.

Suddenly, a shadow dropped beside her.

Dimitri.

And he was shirtless.

His muscles strained as he gripped a rope a few feet away. His breathing was calm, calculated, as if this were a routine task.

"Are you okay?" he asked. "Did you get hurt?"

That simple question shattered the last of Sorayah’s composure.

"Am I okay?" she exploded, glaring at him with raw fury. "Do I look okay to you? You threw me off a cliff! What if I hadn’t grabbed the rope in time? What if I’d fallen to my death and shattered every bone in my body?" Her voice cracked, her chest heaving with each word as tears continued to roll down her cheeks. "You should have warned me atleast!"

Dimitri stared at her, his face unreadable. Then quietly, he said. "If I had warned you, would you have jumped?"

She opened her mouth, then closed it. Her glare faltered.

"Do you really think I’d push you without making sure you had a chance?" he continued, his voice low but firm. "I don’t do reckless. Every rope was secured. Every plan was laid out. But fear? That’s another enemy you need to conquer, Sorayah. I’m trying to prepare you for the worst, because the worst is coming."

Sorayah couldn’t speak. She looked away again, the anger still fresh, but tempered now by something else....confusion, maybe... or guilt.

"I’m sorry I scared you," Dimitri added after a long pause, his tone gentler now. "I should’ve told you first. You could’ve died. And that’s on me."

There was sincerity in his voice now, but it was quickly overtaken by the slightest hint of sarcasm. "Although, if you hadn’t been quick enough to grab the rope, maybe I overestimated you."

Sorayah sniffled, tears still streaking her cheeks. "What a bastard!" she muttered more to herself, though without much force.

She took a deep breath, steadying herself before glancing downward again. But the abyss below still stirred a primal fear within her.

"Where does this cliff lead exactly?" she asked, trying to sound indifferent, though her voice wavered slightly. "Atleast if we fall, are we going to be safe?"

Dimitri looked down. "A river. If we fall, that’s where we’ll land." He paused. "It’s frozen. Solid ice though."

Sorayah’s blood ran cold. "How far is the drop from here to the river?" she asked, her golden hair plastered to her neck and face by wind and tears.

TWACK!

An arrow suddenly whistled through the air, grazing her cheek by mere inches. She gasped, flinching to the side.

She lost her balance.

Before she could scream, Dimitri’s strong arm wrapped around her waist, steadying her just as more arrows rained down from above.

"Hold on!" he shouted.

"Now what is this madness?" Is this another plan of yours?!" Sorayah yelled with more tears rolling down her cheeks.

Instead of wasting time to reply Sorayah, Dimitri began to swing their rope wildly, dodging arrow after arrow. Sorayah clung to him, gripping his bare shoulders tightly. She didn’t care about the heat of his skin or the way their bodies were pressed together...her only concern now was survival.

More arrows flew, slicing through the air dangerously close.

And then, without warning....

Dimitri let go.

"NO....!" Sorayah screamed as they plunged downward together.

Follow current novels on freewe(b)novel.c(o)m

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.