CHAPTER 69~GABRIELLA'S POV~“Marie, are you okay?” I asked as I stared at her petrified body with worry on my face. The wall of flames had grown taller, and it was now harder to see her.“I'm really not liking this one bit, and it's getting really hot in here; I feel like I'm being cooked,” I said.“It's okay; I'm sure Marie will be fine. We're almost completely out of time, but I think we can figure something out,” Valerie replied, sounding a little unsure of her words.We stared at the flames a bit longer, and they suddenly vanished. The entire room became cool again, and both I and Valerie fell to the ground, breathing heavily.“Does this mean the test is over?” I asked.“Yes, yes, it does,” Valerie replied.We both turned to Marie; the test was over, but she was still standing in the circle in front of the stone wolfhead. I got up from the ground and walked to her.“Marie,” I said as I placed my hand on her shoulder. She remained silent for a moment, then turned around and wrappe
CHAPTER 70~3RD PERSONS POV~“What?” A surprised expression grew on Gabriella's face as she stared back at Valerie. She wasn't sure she heard her correctly. She rushed toward her and collected the card. As she read through the writings on it, it dropped from her hand, and she fell on my knees.“Forget what the card said; let's try to free Marie,” Valerie said, pulling Gabriella up from the ground. They rushed to the large slab holding Marie, and as they got closer to it, it moved a distance through the path in the ground toward the lava pit.They both stopped in their tracks. "No, this can't be happening. If we move any closer, Marie will be dropped into the pit,” Valerie said.“Hurry up and think of something, guys; I don't want to be cooked in a pool of lava,” Marie yelled from where she hung. She still wasn't able to move her hands or feet, and her face was already covered in sweat.“Okay, umm, the card says you should yell Marie's name if you choose her, but what if we both yell h
CHAPTER 71~GABRIELLA'S POV~“VALERIE!!!” I screamed at the top of my voice as I watched Valerie leap into the well of lava. As she dropped in, I went completely silent with a shocked expression on my face.“No… Noooo!” I yelled again as tears filled my eyes.“Oww!” Her voice sounded after a loud thud from inside the well.“Huh?” I raised my head to face the well again and got up from the ground. “Valerie? Are you okay?” I asked, walking toward the hole in the ground.I hadn't gone any distance when I saw Valerie rising up from the ground. She had landed safely on top of the large circle, which served as the top of the tower elevator and covered the lava well. She rose to the level of the ground I stood on and stopped.“I'm definitely not okay; I think I broke a bone trying to sacrifice myself,” Valerie replied. I burst into laughter, tears streaming from my eyes as I rushed to hug her.“What happened? I thought you were a goner,” I said, placing my palms on her cheeks.“I'm not sure,
CHAPTER 72~GABRIELLA'S POV~My heart raced as I stared at the name continuously. Ever since I left my family's mansion, I never thought I would have to return to it again. I let out slow breaths in an attempt to calm myself, then turned to the ground to try and figure out what was going on.“Calm down, Gabriella. This is just a test; you're not actually back in this hell hole,” I said to myself, closing my eyes and breathing steadily.“What are you doing?” A familiar voice sounded from behind me. It was a voice I hated so much and hoped to never hear again after leaving the mansion. My heart jumped the moment it sounded, and I slowly turned around.“I asked you to take up those leaves over an hour ago; why are you standing here, doing nothing?” Aralynn Montgomery, my mother, spoke again with a scornful look.It had been a while since I saw her, but it felt like I had only left the mansion a day before. She had the same hairstyle as the day she sent me off to the Darkmoon pack. And wo
CHAPTER 73~GABRIELLA'S POV~I got back on my feet and walked away from him. I could hear the other maids giggling as they watched me. One of the maids, who was about the same age as my younger brother, stepped forward with her item. Her entire body shook in fear, and she had a worried look on her face.Even without looking back, I could tell she had gone through something traumatic at the hands of Elvis. He had committed so many atrocities with the maids in the past, and his mother and father never said anything about it.As I walked toward the exit of the hall, I heard him say, “Drop your item along with the others. Come meet me in my room later tonight; if you don't, I'll send my guards to come find you.”“Ye-yes, my lord,” She said it softly, trembling, and her voice was barely audible. She dropped her item on top of the pile and walked away, tears streaming from her eyes. She walked past me, and I turned to her. I couldn't tell who she was because my family had numerous maids in
CHAPTER 74~GABRIELLA'S POV~“This little maiden was sent here by our enemy pack, and last night she was caught running back to them to deliver important information. Information about our defenses; information that would allow them to kill us all,” Elvis said, standing up from his seat. He walked around elegantly, like the rich brat he was, waving his hands around as he spat more rubish.“Today we are going to show you what happens to spies and/or traitors. We shall behead her and feed her to critters in the forest,” he continued with a sinister smile.He turned to the large man who stood beside Estela, then gestured with his hand for the execution process to begin. The large man nodded and raised his large axe. He paused, waiting for Elvis to give him the order to swing it.I could see on Estela's face that she had already given up on living. She wasn't even bothered by the fact that she was being executed; it seemed all she wanted was for her pain to end. I could see tears tainted
CHAPTER 75~GABRIELLA'S POV~Elvis slapped Aralynn, then pushed her to the ground. He kneeled before her and continued to punch her repeatedly, his eyes filled with rage and insanity.As I watched in silence, tears filled my eyes. I didn't know why, but somehow I felt a bit of remorse for this woman who had tortured me all my life. Elvis continued to hit her, and blood started to pour out of her mouth.He raised his hand, and claws shot out of his fingers. I tightened my fist and clenched my teeth as my brows furrowed. My eyes turned a firey blue, and as he swung his claws at my mother's face, I kicked the door open and rushed toward him.“You ungrateful imbecile!” I yelled angrily, tears streaming from my eyes. With power I never knew I had, I grabbed my brother's throat and slammed his head into the wall repeatedly until he spat out blood.“After all she's done for you, this is how you repay your own mother!!” I yelled, throwing my fists at him in a fit of rage. Each punch I landed o
CHAPTER 76~GABRIELLA'S POV~“Can you hear it?” A female voice I couldn't recognize sounded softly in my head.“Hear… what?” I asked. My eyes were closed, and I could see nothing but darkness.“That song. The song you and your mate danced to in your dreams—the song she sang to you when you were still a youngling,” the voice replied.“I can't… I can't hear it,” I said.“Focus,” The voice whispered into my ear, fading away just as it came.I listened into the depths of the silence, and suddenly, the sound of humming got louder and louder.“I can hear it; it's clear." I said, smiling.“Good, now… Sing it,” the voice replied.I let out a soft breath, then gently pressed my lips against each other. I made a humming sound, following the melody of the beautiful song that played in my head. As I hummed the song, I could hear laughter, and I could feel the warmth of home in my heart. Colorful lights started to appear; they danced around to the rhythm of the song, and when it was over, I opened