CHAPTER 20: EVEN IN DEATH, YOU WON’T BE FREE FROM ME.

But Darius wasn’t done.

"That girl," he said with venom in his voice. "Since she refuses to bow... I’ll break her. I’m not laying with her as she doesn’t worth it. But she’ll regret this day she dared to kiss me."

With those final words, Darius stood abruptly and stormed out of the room...slamming the door behind him.

There was a beat of silence.

"Are you two still fighting?" Zephyr finally asked, his tone tinged with mockery as he glanced toward Auren.

"What do you think?" Auren replied coldly. He too rose to his feet, brushing imaginary dust from his tailored jacket. Without another word, he walked out, letting the door slam behind him just as Darius had done.

Zephyr remained alone in the gleaming white room, stretching languidly before exhaling with boredom.

"Drama queens, the both of them," he muttered under his breath.

******

Meanwhile...

Back on the narrow road just outside the Academy walls, Victoria and Callum were still deep into horse riding practice.

The sun had begun to dip lower. The air was thick with the scent of stirred dirt, kicked up by the thundering hooves of the horse that galloped at full speed beneath them.

Victoria sat atop the horse, posture stiff, fingers curled tightly around the reins. Her jaw was clenched, her shoulders locked with tension as she tried to focus on every detail Callum had instructed.

"Your grip is too tight again," Callum said from behind her, his tone calm but instructive. He sat close, his hands near hers on the reins, steady and assured. "The horse can feel your fear, Victoria. You have to loosen up. Relax your shoulders. Let him trust you, and he’ll obey."

Victoria exhaled heavily, her breath coming out in short pants. Her knuckles were white from the way she held on.

"I’m trying," she replied between breaths. "It’s just....he won’t listen. It’s like he knows I’m not confident. I’m trying to remember what you said, but everything’s going so fast."

Callum chuckled quietly, the sound vibrating against her back. "That’s because you’re overthinking. Horses respond to your energy. Right now, you’re giving him nerves instead of direction. Breathe."

Victoria forced herself to inhale deeply, then slowly exhaled, trying to melt some of the stiffness from her spine.

"Just try again. I know you can’t learn everything in one day, but you still have to try," Callum said firmly, his voice steady with quiet encouragement.

Victoria already tensed and frustrated gave a small nod and adjusted her grip on the reins, doing as she was told. Her body was stiff, clearly unused to the rhythm of horseback riding, but determination burned in her eyes.

Behind them, the stable worker followed closely on another horse, keeping pace.

"Bring it over!" Callum shouted. The worker kicked his heels into the horse’s sides and began galloping forward, quickly catching up to Callum and Victoria.

Victoria glanced back. "What now, brother?"

But before she could process his next move, Callum swung off the horse and leapt onto the other one mid-gallop.

Her eyes widened. "What are you doing?! I haven’t even learned anything yet!" she shouted, her voice rising with panic.

Just as Callum had warned earlier, the horse could sense her fear. It began to respond wildly....galloping faster and faster without guidance. Victoria clung to the reins, her body jolting violently from side to side, struggling to stay seated.

Neigh!

"Lean into the horse! Grab the reins firmly!" Callum yelled from behind her, his own horse now struggling to keep up. "Don’t be afraid! The moment it senses your fear, it takes control. You need to make it trust you!"

"Arrgh! I knew you were a bastard!" Victoria cursed under her breath, her heart pounding in her chest as she tried to follow his instructions. But the horse was moving too fast, wildly making it nearly impossible to find her balance.

"Dammit!" Callum hissed, frustration cracking through his usual composure. Without hesitation, he forced his horse into a sprint, overtaking the stable worker’s mount. He seized control and leaned in, urging it forward with everything he had.

But Victoria’s horse was relentless. No matter how fast he pushed, hers was faster.

Then...without warning, a white horse thundered past him, kicking up a storm of debris and dust. It blinded him momentarily, the figure on the passing horse a blur.

"Victoria!" he shouted, blinking furiously, trying to see through the haze.

"Ahh!" Victoria cried out, still wrestling the reins. For a split second, it felt like she was gaining control but the moment didn’t last. The horse suddenly reared up and bucked her off violently, launching her backward into the air.

A figure surged beneath her mid-fall, cushioning her with the force of his own body. They hit the ground together, the wind knocked from her lungs. Her hands trembled as they pressed against a solid, muscular chest.

And then... she caught the scent. That familiar, intoxicating scent.

"You..." she whispered, her voice ragged with shock and utter disbelief. Her trembling gaze traveled up from the broad, strong chest to meet his piercing eyes.

Darius.

"Greetings, Alpha Darius," Callum said as he finally reached them. He dismounted swiftly and strode toward them with urgency, concern etched across his face. He bent down and offered his hand to Victoria.

"My legs," Victoria gasped, her voice strained. Pain coursed through her muscles. "I.... I can’t move. I think I’ve cramped.."

Before she could finish, Callum swept her into his arms in a protective bridal carry, her body stiff with surprise. Fear and humiliation warred on her face as she clutched his shoulder, her cheeks flushed.

"Thank you for saving my sister, Alpha," Callum said coldly, his voice clipped and polite. "We’ll be leaving now."

But as he turned to go, Darius’s voice rang out.

"You better stay alive," Darius said, his tone low and threatening. "Because even in death, you won’t be free from me. "

Callum froze mid-step, but before he could respond, Victoria pushed against his chest and slipped out of his hold. Fury blazed in her eyes as she turned to face Darius directly.

"And what exactly do you mean by that?" she demanded, her voice sharp with anger and defiance.

Darius didn’t answer with words. He mounted his horse instead, yanking the reins. The horse reared with a loud neigh, its hooves pounding the ground. Startled, Victoria stumbled backward and fell hard onto the dirt, a sharp cry escaping her lips as her backside hit the ground with a thud.

"I’m telling you," Darius growled from atop his horse, his gaze burning into her, "you don’t get to die....not yet. Not until you’ve received every punishment I have planned for you. Until then, keep your pathetic life intact."

And with that, he galloped away without another word, vanishing into the distance, leaving behind a swirl of dust and a storm of emotions.