King Novel novel Chapter 44

Chapter 44

Chapter 44

SERAPHINA

I don’t walk into the Riverstone Pack’s territory. I fucking crawl.

My legs barely work, my feet raw and cut open, burning with every step as I drag myself over the border. A few more inches and I collapse, face–first, into the dirt. Gravel bites into my palms, but I don’t even care. The pain is just another reminder that I made it. That I survived.

The air is cold this early in the morning, crisp and sharp as it fills my lungs. The icent of pine and damp earth should be comforting–it means home, safety–but it just makes my stomach turn. Because safety is a fucking lie.

There’s a second of silence, and then-

“Holy shit. It’s the Gamma’s daughter!”

Boots slam against the ground. Voices blur together, frantic and disbelieving. Hands grip my arms, hauling me upright, but my body is too weak to fight them off. My head rolls forward, my hair falling over my face in a tangled, sweaty mess.

“She’s barely breathing,” someone mutters.

No shit, genius.

I hear the murmurs, the frantic shuffling, but I don’t react. I just stare. Stare at nothing. At the sky, the trees, the faint glow of the rising sun that makes everything look softer than it really is. My mind is still back there, in the dark, trapped in the stench of blood and damp stone, where monsters speak in whispers and smile while they break you.

Someone lifts me, and the movement sends a sharp wave of nausea crashing through my gut. I groan, my stomach threatening to empty itself right onto their boots.

“She needs the healer. Now.”

Distantly, I register the motion of being carried, the hushed voices, the shift in temperature as I’m taken inside the infirmary. The warm air wraps around me, a stark contrast to the ice still sinking into my bones. They lower me onto a cot, and I sink into it, my muscles giving up entirely.

Someone pries my fingers apart, checking my pulse. Another set of hands wipes the grime from my face, cleaning the shallow cuts lining my skin. I should say something, maybe tell them what happened, but my lips stay shut.

Because if I open my mouth, if I start talking, it’s real.

And I’m not ready for that.

A thick blanket is draped over me, but it doesn’t stop the shaking. My body is betraying me, trembling like a leaf in the wind, useless and weak. I hate it. I hate that I was taken, that I was powerless, that I’m here now, wrapped up like a fucking fragile little thing when I should be spitting fire.

But I know someone out there is having it harder than me.

Taryn must have been punished harder than we already had been.

“Seraphina.”

A loud voice calls.

I don’t have to look to know who it is.

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Chapter 44

Kallias.

His scente–embers and leather–hits me before I even see him. He worms into the room, his boots clicking against the floor. and suddenly, the space feels suffocating

“Where the hell have you been

1 fin my head–barely My lips part, but nothing comes out.

Because what do I even say? That I was ripped from my own facking life because of the tyean King? That was held captive in some rotting pit with Taryn, of all people! That they hart we, that they–

No.

I damp my mouth shut.

Kallias doesn’t wait for an answer. He grabs the edge of the cot, leaning in. His brows are furrowed, his jaw tight, his whole body coiled with something I can’t quite place. Worry? Anger?

“Taryn,” he snaps. “Where is she?*

That’s when the air shifts.

It’s instant. The atmosphere drops, heavy and thick, as a storm rolling in. The scent of raw power slams into me, sending a shiver up my spine.

Not Kallias.

Someone else,

Someone worse.

Where,” the voice rumbles, deep and guttural, “is Taryn?”

My breath stutters.

I don’t have to look to know it’s him.

Enoch.

The Alpha King.

He’s standing at the threshold, towering, forest green eyes burning, his massive frame cutting through the dim light like something out of a nightmare. His hands are clenched into fists at his sides, his jaw locked so tightly I swear I hear his teeth grind. His entire presence is one giant fucking threat, a living, breathing promise of destruction.

His fingers curl around the bedframe, the wood groaning under the pressure.

“Where?” His voice is barely human. More growl than words. More demand than question.

I freeze.

I could tell him. I could open my mouth and let the truth pour out–tell him where she was when I last saw her, that she was still breathing, still fighting in the warehouse miles from the borders.

But then my eyes flick to Kallias.

To the way his fists are clenched at his sides. To the way his whole body tenses at the mention of her name. To way he’s looking at me, like he’s waiting–waiting for something, for anything.

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Chapter 44

For hope.

And in that moment, I realize something.

If Taryn never comes back, maybe Kallias will finally let her go.

Maybe, just maybe, he’ll stop looking at her like she hung the fucking moon.

The thought plants itself in my chest, roots itself deep, and before I can think too hard about it, before I can let the guilt sink its claws in-

I lie.

“I don’t remember.”

Enoch’s reaction is instant.

The frame of the cot snaps under his grip. The walls seem to tremble, the air pressing down an invisible force.

I swallow hard. Fuck.

“They blindfolded us,” I whisper, forcing my voice to tremble. “I didn’t see anything.”

Enoch doesn’t move. He doesn’t breathe.

For a second, I think he’s going to rip me apart.

But then Kallias steps in.

“She’s been through enough,” he snaps at Enoch, stepping in front of me, shielding me. “Let her recover first.”

Enoch stares at him. Then at me.

Then, without a word, he turns on his heel and storms out.

The door slams behind him, the sound echoing long after he’s gone.

I exhale, my pulse pounding in my ears.

I just bought myself time.

And if Taryn never returns…

Maybe I won’t need it.

I tell myself I did the right thing.

Again and again, until the words lose meaning.

I stare at the ceiling, the faint glow of moonlight slicing through my window, casting long, jagged shadows against the walls. My body is still sore, muscles aching from running through the forest like some feral animal, but it’s nothing compared to the gnawing feeling in my chest.

It’s been days.

Enoch hasn’t stopped. He barely sleeps. He barely eats. He’s turned the pack inside out, tearing through every inch of the land like a fucking madman, and no one dares stop him. Not even Kallias. Nor the Alpha.

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Chapter 44

They know who he is.

Because Taryn’s missing.

And I’m the last person who saw her.

I curl my fingers into the sheets, squeezing them so hard my knuckles burn. I should be relieved. This should be a fucking victory. That bitch is finally gone, and I don’t even have to lift a damn finger. But-

My stomach twists.

I roll onto my side, staring at the wardrobe across the room. The door is slightly ajar, a sliver of darkness peeking through, and my pulse kicks up. It’s stupid. Irrational. But something about it makes my skin crawl.

I sit up slowly, pushing the blanket off. My legs are shaky when I stand, but I make my way over, yanking the door open before my own cowardice can stop me.

The scent hits me first.

Faint. Coppery.