Defying the Rogue Alpha
Chapter 133: Reality

Chapter 133: Reality

The world around her began to fade. Not gently, but violently. As if she was being yanked out of reality. Her breath caught in her throat.

Suddenly, she wasn’t in the room anymore.

She was somewhere else—someplace ancient. A circular room decorated like a shrine, lit by a thousand flickering candles that made shadows dance on blood-streaked walls. The air was thick with the scent of herbs, burnt offerings, and blood. It clung to her tongue and stung her nose.

In the center of the room was a bowl. Bone white. It pulsed with the same dark magic she’d been fighting. Ava took a step forward, drawn against her will.

Ava saw him—the man. His face emerged from the shadows, carved into an expression that was all hunger and hatred.

"I finally found you," he said. "I’m coming for you. You cannot hide anymore."

The words weren’t just threats—they were shackles, and they wrapped around her psyche with the tight grip of magic, dragging her further into the vision. Ava could feel her mind being pulled under, and worse—she couldn’t feel her body anymore. She was floating, lost, detached. Her limbs convulsed violently in the real world, but inside... inside she was drowning in shadows.

Her hand slipped from Zoe’s, and her body arched on the bed like someone had yanked a plug from her soul.

"Ava!" Lucas shouted. He dropped to his knees beside her and scooped her into his arms, cradling her. Her whole frame trembled, spasming in relentless jerks. Her head lolled back, her golden eyes now rolled up, eyelids fluttering.

Lanaya surged forward, not hesitating. "Her mind is trapped," she declared grimly, eyes already on the glowing red amulet. Without warning, she grabbed Ava’s wrist and yanked the amulet off.

The effect was instant. Ava’s body stilled with a violent jolt. Her chest heaved with a ragged breath as her eyes snapped open. She clutched Lucas’s shirt with trembling fingers. "I saw... I... the evil inside that man. It’s like it breathed. It was alive."

"Shh... don’t speak," Lucas whispered, wrapping his arms around her tighter. He kissed her forehead, fingers stroking her hair. "You’re safe now. I’ve got you. Nothing’s going to touch you while I’m breathing."

Seeing Ava safe, Dennis tore himself away and turned to Zoe. She was still unconscious, but the tightness in her expression had eased. He crouched at her bedside, gently brushing a strand of damp hair off her forehead. "Missy?"

Missy didn’t hesitate. She dropped beside Zoe and checked her pulse, fingers expertly brushing the base of her neck. The glow was gone.

"She’s fine," Missy confirmed with a small, shaky smile. "The fever’s broken. Her pulse is strong. She just needs time to recover her strength."

Dennis released a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding, and without ceremony, laid his forehead against Zoe’s. "Thank you," he murmured—whether to Missy, Ava, or the moon goddess herself, even he didn’t know.

Ava, still in Lucas’s arms, blinked slowly. "I did it?"

Lucas chuckled, the tension easing slightly from his shoulders as he looked down at her. "Yes, you did, my little virgin."

Dennis’s head whipped up from Zoe’s side, brow raised. "Virgin?" he repeated, incredulous. He looked between them. "Wait, hold the hell up. Virgin? You two hump each other like rabbits and she’s still a virgin?"

"Look who’s talking," Missy snapped, side-eying Dennis with a teasing smirk as she nudged Lanaya with her elbow. "Let’s leave the pairs alone before they start something we would all very much like to unsee."

Lanaya laughed as they slipped out the door, their footsteps fading into the corridor.

Ava, still catching her breath, pressed a hand to her chest. She felt like she’d been breathing shadows ever since she woke. "We’re up against magic so dark, it’s... it’s suffocating." Her voice trembled with the lingering weight of what she had seen. "I felt him. Not just his power, but him. Inside my head. Like he was tasting my thoughts."

"Who?" Lucas asked sharply, his hand wrapping protectively around hers.

"Zoe’s father," Dennis responded grimly, glancing at Zoe’s still-unconscious body.

Lucas frowned, piecing together the puzzle, his jaw tightening. "So that’s how the Alpha King got so powerful," he muttered. "He had dark magic on his side."

Ava nodded slowly. "This war just got a lot harder."

"Or a lot easier," Lucas countered, eyes sharpening. "Now we know where the real power lies...it’s not with the Alpha King. It’s with Zoe’s father. He’s the puppet master. Take him out, the King falls."

"Please," Dennis said suddenly, stepping forward. "Let me do it. I need to be the one. That man tortured his own daughter. If anyone gets to end him, it should be me."

Ava’s heart clenched. She knew what vengeance looked like and she saw it now in Dennis’s eyes.

Lucas gave a short laugh, dry and humorless. "And I thought your dad was an asshole," he said, glancing at Ava. "But he doesn’t hold a torch to Zoe’s."

*****

Ava stood before the mirror, staring at her reflection with mild horror and a lot of confusion. She turned slightly to the left, then the right. "Why is there glitter on my elbow?"

"You’re welcome," Zari chirped from the corner, clearly very proud of herself.

"I don’t think this party is necessary," Ava muttered, staring down at her gold-and-cream form fitting, mini dress. "We should be training."

Zari clicked her tongue. "Soldiers live every day like it will be their last. Let them honour you in the way the love to as tomorrow may not be sure."

Ava’s mind drifted again, unbidden, to the shadowy corners of the night before. The shrine. The sickening scent of blood and herbs. But worst of all—Alaric’s face. That twisted smile, that calm cruelty etched into his features, like he knew her. Knew how to unravel her from the inside out. It wasn’t just his power that chilled her, it was the precision of it. The way he made her feel like a piece in a game she hadn’t even realized she was playing. A pawn being summoned to the board far too late.

"You are the most beautiful Luna I have ever seen," Zari’s voice chimed from behind, slicing through the spiral of dread.

Ava blinked and looked up at the mirror.

She offered a soft smile, her voice warm with gratitude. "Thank you, Zari. You always know how to make me feel beautiful."

The door opened and in strolled Lucas—wearing a plain t-shirt and khaki shorts that somehow managed to make him look like a model on vacation. Zari, as if on cue, dipped into a formal bow and zipped out of the room.

Lucas grinned, striding in with an air of lazy confidence that made Ava’s heart skip a beat, even though she’d seen that face a hundred times. "Hey, beautiful," he murmured, pressing a soft kiss to her hair.

"You ready?" he asked, brushing a hand down her arm.

(A big round of applause to one of my loyal fans. She is everywhere! I love you. @Addicted2fantasy)