bChapter /bb256 /b

    Aurora’s POV

    I wake up to a pounding headache, the kind that makes my skull feel like it’s splitting open from the inside out. My body is heavy, unresponsive, as though I’ve been drugged or drained of every ounce of strength. A dull, distant sound fills my ears–muffled at first, then sharpening into something

    unmistakable.

    Crying.

    It’s all around me, surrounding me like a thick fog. Different voices, different tones–some are shaking with terror, others gasping between desperate sobs. My pulse stutters in my veins, and I

    force my eyes open, expecting darkness. Instead, I see… stone. A roughb, /buneven surface beneath me,

    cold against my bare skin. My arms are stretched wide, bound at the wrists, and a sickening

    realization settles in my stomach–I can’t move.

    Panic surges through me, and I struggle, pulling at the restraints, but they don’t budge. My breathes in sharp, shallow gasps as I tilt my head, trying to make sense of my surroundings. That’s

    when I see them.

    My half–siblings.

    All of them, bound just like I am, their rms tstretched, their bodies pressed against the same

    massive stone structure. I can barelyprehend what I’m seeing at first, but then the shape of it registers. A human figure–massive, carved from stone, lying t on the ground. We are bound to it, each of us connected by our outstretched arms, forming a grotesque, human–shaped circle with an

    empty space at the center.

    The crying intensifies. Someone is muttering prayers under their breath, begging for mercy. Another is whimpering, repeating a name–perhaps their mother’s, perhaps a god’s. I turn my head as far as I can, searching for familiar faces, for some exnation, for anything that makes sense in this

    nightmare.

    “W–what’s happening?” My own voice is hoarse, barely more than a whisper, but someone hears me.

    “Aurora…” The voice is weak, trembling. I turn my head as much as I can and meet the wide, terrified eyes of my half–brother. “I don’t know–I don’t-” His voice breaks, and he squeezes his eyes shut as though trying to block out reality.

    I feel my stomach drop, the cold dread washing over me like a suffocating tide. Whoever did this… whatever this is… they bound all of us here together. And that empty space in the middle–it’s

    deliberate.

    I don’t want to think about what it means. But the sheer terror in the air, the way the voices whisper

    prayers to any god that’s listening, the heartbreaking sobs…it’s all an indication.

    Something ising.

    And I don’t think we were meant to survive it.

    The cold, damp stone beneath me sends a shiver through my body, and I gasp, struggling to push myself up, the bindings on my wrists digging into my skin. I try to focus, blinking away the dizziness, but the moment I do, my breath catches in my throat. It isn’t just me.

    My heart stutters as I take in the scene–women. Several of them. All tied up, their bodies slumped against the cold stone walls. Their mouths are gagged, the muffled sobs of helplessness filling the air. Some are older, some younger, but all of them are terrified, eyes wide, faces pale from fear and confusion. Tears stream down their faces, and I can feel my throat close up. I’m not alone in this

    hell.

    “Maggie?” I call out, my voice shaky, panicked. “Ashton? Avery? Violet?”

    My voice breaks as I utter Violet’s name. A lump rises in my throat when I hear the faintest whimper

    from across the room.

    Violet.

    She’s the youngest of us, only twelve, and I can already hear her crying, the sound piercing through the air. My heart aches for her, for all of us. I try to get to my feet, but my body feels weak, trembling from the shock of whatever this is. I nce over to Ashton, his eyes wide with confusion as he also begins to stir. He looks at me with a mixture of shock and disbelief. “Aurora… What the hell is going on?”

    “I don’t know,” I whisper back, my chest tight. “But we’re going to get out of here. We have to.”

    I try to turn my head towards Violet, my breath quickening as I hear her sobbing uncontrobly. She’s just a child, her hands bound like all of us. “Violet, it’s okay. We’re going to get out of here. Just breathe, okay?” I try to sound reassuring, but I know she’s terrified, and I can’t even begin to imagine how she feels.

    Ashton turns to face me, his face hard with determination as he give a small nod. “We’ll figure this out, Violet. You’re not alone, okay?”

    But we can’t see what she’s going through as her cries growing more desperate. She doesn’t understand. She doesn’t know how to make sense of this nightmare, and neither do I. But I can’t show her my fear. I can’t let her see how badly this bis /bunraveling me.

    And just as I think maybe–just maybe–we’ll find a way out of this, a voice chills my blood.

    “Don’t bother,” Lucas sneers from the doorway, his voice dripping with malice. “There’s no way out.

    Not until I’m done with you all.”

    Chapter Comments

    3

    POST COMMENT NOW

    SHARE

    imed by My Bully Alpha