Chapter 4

I woke up paralyzed, feeling as though a crushing weight had pinned me down.

I couldn't move, couldn't speak, couldn't even fully open my eyes. My consciousness was trapped, a prisoner inside my own flesh and blood.

But I could see. Through the narrow slits of my lashes, my gaze fell upon the room beyond the sheer bed curtains. The master bedroom was brightly lit by the fire.

There were two figures out there.

Kael had Lyra by the throat, his face twisted in cold, murderous rage.

"How dare you!" he snarled, his voice guttural and menacing. "How dare you use sleeping powder on her? If she comes to any harm, I will make you suffer for a thousand years!"

Lyra choked, her face turning crimson as her legs kicked wildly.

He held her there, letting her suffer for a long moment before violently tossing her aside.

She collapsed onto the floor, gasping for air, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"I only did it because I missed you!" she sobbed, playing the role of the pathetic, innocent victim. "The dust won't hurt her! It just makes her sleep! So she can't see, can't hear..."

Kael remained silent.

Seeing this, Lyra seized the opportunity to crawl toward him, sliding her hands up his legs as she stood. She pressed her body flush against his.

"You can kill me, Alpha," she whispered, her voice trembling with feigned fear, "but I would rather die than live without your touch."

She was wearing a sheer silk robe. With a flick of her fingers, the sash at her waist came undone. The robe pooled on the floor, leaving her standing naked before him. She looped her arms around his neck, bringing her lips to his ear.

"Kael, don't you want me?" she murmured. "Don't you want to feel alive? If you don't, I'll leave."

For one heart-stopping second, nothing happened.

Then, Kael let out a dark growl, his hands shooting out to yank her back against him.

"You little vixen..." he growled, his voice thick with a raw lust I had never heard before.

That sound hit me like a physical blow. I wanted to scream, to run.

But I was trapped, like a living statue, forced to watch it all unfold.

The clothes I had made for him, the tunics I had carefully stitched while imagining his warmth wearing them, were cast to the floor one by one until they were nothing but a meaningless pile of fabric.

The night was dead silent, save for the sounds of their passionate entanglement.

Every rustle of the sheets, every heavy breath from Kael, every soft, euphoric moan from Lyra twisted like a knife in my gut.

I felt like I was being skinned alive, piece by piece.

And then, there was a sound. A faint chime. It was the bell on Lyra's ankle.

Her voice snaked into my mind, dripping with venomous whispers. "The show is just beginning, sister. Did you think that was just a sleeping draught? It was a key. It unlocked the door to your soul, letting my little toy inside."

"This bell... it's called the Bell of Shattering. It will tear you apart, piece by piece. Watching you die will be my greatest joy. Just you wait."

She turned her head, flashing me a triumphant smirk.

Then she turned back, wrapping her legs around Kael like a snake.

His movements grew faster, more frantic, as if driven by some primal urge.

Lyra's moans grew louder. And with every moan, the chiming of the bell became sharper, more urgent.

An invisible force, like a thousand searing hot needles, pierced the very depths of my soul. Pure, excruciating agony tore through my body.

"Alpha," Lyra gasped, nipping at his shoulder. "This bell... it only rings when I'm... pleased. Do you like the sound?"

Kael, lost in a haze of frenzy, groaned in response, his hands gripping her ankles tightly, making the bell chime even faster.

"Louder," he rasped. "Make it ring faster."

An explosive wave of agony hit me.

The red glow emanating from the chimes became almost tangible, manifesting as ghostly vipers that burrowed into my ears, my eyes, my chest.

In that moment, I could almost see it in my mind's eye.

My soul. My fractured, incomplete soul.

I saw the fissures widening, spreading like cracks across a frozen lake.

The pain was so intense I felt it would snuff out my life right then and there.

But then, a soft blue light pulsed from the center of my chest. It wasn't warm or comforting; it was as cold and clinical as a binding contract.

The Arbiter's voice echoed through the void of my consciousness.

"The Soul Contract is binding. In the face of lethal spiritual damage, the contract's power will intervene to protect its property."

The spectral vipers hissed, recoiling under the blue light before dissolving into wisps of smoke.

The pain gradually receded, and with it, my consciousness faded. The world plunged into absolute darkness.