Defy The Alpha(s)

Chapter 452: You Can’t Run Forever

Where the hell was she?

Violet Purple stood in the middle of an unfamiliar hallway, her senses on high alert. Strange looking lights lit up the path toward a bold red door ahead that pulsed slightly as though it was waiting for her.

Her brows furrowed. What the hell is this?

A hand landed gently on her shoulder and she spun around on instinct, already halfway to a defensive strike until she saw the familiar face.

"Asher?" she breathed, stunned to see him. "What are you doing here? What’s going on?"

Before Asher could respond, there was a loud grunt and a dull thud.

Roman and Alaric materialized from thin air, crashing to the floor in a heap.

"Dude, why are you so heavy?" Roman wheezed from underneath Alaric.

"Speak for yourself," Alaric muttered, pushing off him.

But before either could fully stand, a third body fell right on top of them.

It was Griffin.

"I think I just broke a spleen," Roman grunted again, his face mashed against the floor.

"What is going on right now?" Violet muttered, flabbergasted as she stared at the literal pile of alphas.

Griffin rolled off the others, dusting off his pants like he hadn’t just crash-landed on two people. "Where are we?"

"You’re welcome," Roman muttered, staggering to his feet with a scowl aimed at Griffin.

Alaric stood up with a tight expression. "Okay, what the hell is going on? Asher?" He already suspected this was his handwork.

"Don’t look at me." Asher growled at him."I can only link with one mind at a time and I didn’t initiate this. All of us being here at once is not something I can pull off. If anything this feels like a —". noveldrama

"A dream," Violet finished for him. "Think about it, the last thing I remember is falling asleep."

"Same," Alaric said.

"Well, technically, you fell asleep with us," Roman grinned, wiggling his brows like that was the best part of the night.

"Wait," Griffin said to Violet. "So we’re in your dream?"

"How is that even possible?" Alaric asked. "Griffin didn’t even lie down with us."

"He’s right." Griffin said. "I didn’t leave my room. I figured you guys needed space. I thought maybe if you all spent more time together, more mate bonds would be triggered."

Asher nodded in agreement. "Griffin’s her mate. It makes sense that she dragged him along notwithstanding the distance. We don’t even know what Violet’s capable of and the extent of her powers yet."

Roman gave a low whistle. "So we’re all stuck inside Violet’s dream. What juicy secrets are you hiding in that subconscious of yours, sweetheart?"

And with that, he dashed off toward the red door.

"Roman—wait!" Violet called out, but it was too late.

He twisted the knob and yanked it open. At once, a searing light exploded from within, forcing all of them to shield their faces as the brightness swallowed the hallway whole.

When it faded, they found themselves in a vast, sterile white chamber. But that wasn’t what stopped Violet in her tracks.

"What in the name..." she whispered.

At the far end of the room was Lila, or what was left of her.

She was tethered to a twisted tree, her limbs sunken into the bark like it had grown around her. Her once-vibrant skin was now ghostly pale with strange green veins pulsing unnaturally in her skin.

Her eyes were shut and ringed with massive dark circles. Her lips were cracked, dry, and colorless while her fae grace was gone. Lila looked starved and terrifyingly hollow.

No one spoke a word. They could not. The sight of Lila, half-consumed by a tree silenced even the talkative Roman.

"Lila.... " Violet gasped out, stepping forward only for Asher to grab her arm.

"We don’t know what we’re dealing with here," he shook his head in disapproval.

But Violet shrugged out of his grip and walked towards Lila while the boys exchanged concerned looks. They did not trust what was going on but there was nothing they could do.

Each step felt so heavy that by the time Violet reached there, her body felt like lead.

"Lila?" She called out but there was nothing but silence.

"L-lila?" Violet choked out, lifting trembling hands to feel her face. She was so cold to the touch.

"No..." Violet rasped, tears beginning to blur her face. "That can’t be." Lila can’t be dead. She had gone to the Fae realm to see her mother, not this.

"Lila, who did this? You have to tell me so I can avenge you atleast."

As if she had heard her, Lila’s eyes suddenly snapped open and Violet flinched.

"Lila?" hope crept into her voice.

Lila looked disoriented at first only to gain focus. "Violet?"

"Yes, it’s me." Violet announced happily, except Lila did not share the same excitement as her.

"You can’t be here!" her face further paled as she realized what was going on. "You’re dream walking."

"Dream walking, is that what it is?" Violet asked out of curiosity.

Lila looked behind her to notice the alphas. "And you brought the alphas with you too. An admirable feat for a first timer if it wasn’t a foolish one. You know nothing about dreamwalking, Violet. You’re making yourself vulnerable to attacks. Baron can get hold of you like this. Go now!" She thundered.

"Baron?" Violet picked up. "Is he the one that did this to you? I’m going to kill him!"

"My overconfidence blinded me and I fell into his trap. And it’s that same foolishness to think you can stand up to Baron." Lila said with regret.

"Then how do I get you out of here? What is this?" Violet reached for the tree, trying to pull her free all to no avail.

"It’s a carnivorous tree and you cannot free me. " Lila told her.

"What about my mother? I’m sure she’s powerful enough to get you out of here if she knows your situation. How do I reach out to her?"

"That is what Baron wants and you won’t fall for that. So listen to me carefully, Violet... " Her voice was serious now. "The situation at court is more dire than I thought. I don’t know how Baron did it but he’s siphoning powers from Queen Seraphira. That is why she’s weakened. I believe he’s somehow manipulating the life force between them. "

"What can I do? "

"You do nothing!" Lila warned her. "The queen would soon realize my absence and would come for me. That is why you must leave now! You cannot give chance for Baron to.... "

Lila was still speaking when she suddenly gasped, her eyes rolling to the back of her head. When they focused again, something had changed. Her demeanor was sharper now and the look in her gaze wasn’t Lila’s.

"So we finally meet, princess."

The voice came from Lila’s lips, but Violet knew it wasn’t her anymore.

"Baron," Violet spat, disgust curling in her voice. She didn’t need confirmation. Lila had already called him out.

"Lilarin has done well cloaking your appearance," he mused. "Even here in the dream realm, I cannot see your true face. It keeps changing... shifting. "

His tone was calm. Far too calm. There should have been frustration, anger, but instead, there was something far more unsettling : patience.

Baron tilted Lila’s head slowly, wearing her face like a second skin with his eyes glittering with cruel delight.

"But Lilarin should have warned you," he said with mock sympathy, "about the dangers of dreamwalking without experience."

Before Violet could respond, the tree in front of her creaked. One of its thick, bark-covered trunks shifted, groaning unnaturally as it lashed forward and coiled around her throat.

Violet gasped, hands flying up to pry it off but it was no use. The bark was rough and unrelenting, crushing into her windpipe. Her vision blurred at the edges.

"Perhaps I don’t even need to find you in the human realm," Baron mused, his voice calm, and cruel. "I’ll just end you like this."

At his words, the trunk constricted tighter.

Panic seized Violet’s chest, her nails tore at the wood while her feet scrambled for leverage that didn’t exist. Her lungs screamed for air, and her body began to tremble. She was going to die at this rate.

Then she heard them.

"Violet!"

"Violet?!"

Her mates were shouting from behind, their voices piercing the fog of darkness that was threatening to drag her under. They sounded far away, distorted and frantic.

And then there was Asher screaming at her. "Take my hand!"

Violet didn’t even look, her fingers simply reached toward him desperately. Her vision was fading and her body was failing, but somehow she found him.

Their hands touched and in that instant, the tree let go. The pressure vanished as well as the dream fractured.

Not just Violet, but all of them disappeared.

But just before Violet was pulled from the dream, Baron’s final words slithered into her mind like venom.

"You can’t run forever, princess."