The Alpha King's Wrath

49 Dark Figment

"You failed," an unfamiliar voice hisses from the darkness that surrounds us. "She trusted you and you let her down." The eerie feel to the clearing multiplies tenfold with the disembodied voice.

"Stop it!" Chris growls, lashing out at the darkness as he curls protectively over the body he clutches in his arms.

Instincts scream at me to run away but Selena's words echo in my mind.

'Remember who you are...'

I have dominion in the dreamspace, not whoever or whatever is poisoning this place. My trembling legs carry me cautiously towards Chris, each step gaining a fraction of confidence.

"She's dead because of you," the voice rasps, bouncing around the clearing.

"I tried," Chris whispers with pain and anguish in his voice like a knife to my gut.

"You failed! And now she's dead because of you!" Hisses the response.

"No!" Chris growls, lashing out once more. Eerie laughter echoes around us in sick delight, sending a shiver down my spine.

My heart stops as my eyes land on the woman in Chris' arms. For a moment I'm shaken, frozen in place, and staring down at myself. Gruesome wounds cover my body and lifeless eyes stare into the sky as he cradles the body carefully.

"It's not real," I choke out in a small broken voice that barely sounds like me.

Chris snarls and turns to face me, his face contorted in rage, eyes wide and red with tear streaked cheeks. Seeing him so broken crushes me, but I force myself to hold back and not rush to him.

His gaze snaps away from me and lowers back to the mangled woman in his arms. He's torn between wanting to believe that I'm standing here and fear that I'm just another trick.

"It's not real," I reiterate, more confidently and take another step forward.

"This is a trick," he growls, gently setting the body down and getting up. His shoulders roll forward, fingers curled into claws, and he takes a threatening step forward.

"Stop!" I order, pushing all of my energy into that one word. Lucas' warning about this world being real haunts me, leaving my only fear Chris.

"Have you come to torture me some more?" he sneers. "What way will you die this time? By a witch's curse? Drained by vampires? Slaughtered by rogues?!"

I take a step back from my feral mate, stunned by his words.

This time!? How long has this been going on?!

"Chris, who am I?" I ask, trying to get him to realize I'm real.

"Another dark figment of my imagination," he spits, narrowing his gaze at me. I use everything in me to keep from flinching back as he towers above me.

"No," I say, shaking my head. "You know I'm not-"

"Liar!" he growls, raising his hand and readying to strike. My body tenses for the impact but I hold my ground.

"Never," I whisper, raising my palm slowly to touch him. Chris flinches away then pauses and I take the chance to make contact. The moment my skin touches him, the sparks that only a mate can feel dance between us.

"How?" He gasps, dropping his fist as his shoulders slump. "I thought you were-"

"It's a trick," the corpse hisses, locking it's black eyes on us.

Anger like I never knew existed in me flares into existence at the perversions polluting my mate's mind. Channeling all of my emotions and energy, I feel the air around me begin to shimmer and crackle.