Reclaimed By My Alpha (Natalia and Andrei) novel Chapter 519

Andrei’s POV

“Do you know who I am?” the figure asked. His voice echoed in the quiet forest. It was no longer the overlapping timbre of many voices, but one. Deep. Resonant. All-consuming. As if it sucked all other sound out of the air around us.

I tried to speak, but my throat closed up. The air reeked of sulphur, thick and acidic. It burned my nose, eyes, and mouth, and made me cough.

“I am the Lord of Hell. The King of Blood and Refuse and Filth and Agony.” He removed his hand from my shoulder and walked around to face me. Up close, I could see him more clearly. His skin was as black as night with no discerning features, like he was made of void. His eyes were hollow pits with red coals burning within. His horns were twisted and jagged. Somehow, I knew if I touched the tip of one, it would slice right through my finger.

I quickly looked away. This was not real. It couldn’t be.

“Oh, but I am real. I have existed since the dawn of time. Long before your kind was created by that Moon bitch of yours. And I will exist long after this world turns to ash and your so-called Goddess abandons everything.”

I blinked. How had he heard that? My thoughts?

“Because your mind is mine, boy. You killed the Winter King. You took his place. And now you belong to me. The moment you pushed him into the portal to my house, your soul became mine.”

“I’m not yours.” I managed to choke out the words, but they sounded hollow and far away.

“I beg to differ. Look at what you’ve become. A monster who blacks out and kills animals. A husband who can’t even sleep in the same bed as his wife. A father who terrifies his own children.”

“Shut up.”

“You’re already mine, Andrei. You just haven’t accepted it yet.”

I lunged at him, but my fist swung through empty air. The demon dissipated into a dark mist, and for a moment, I thought I was alone. That I had imagined this, just like everything else.

“What ritual?” I asked. I looked at the deer carcass. “This? This… abomination?”

“This one was just practice. The real one, the one I’m training you for, will give you the power you need. Real power. The kind of power only my most loyal disciples possess. Even the Winter King did not possess such abilities.”

He waved his hand, and an image appeared in the air, shimmering above his right shoulder. It was cloudy at first, but then I recognized that face. It was the male from the bonfire. The one I’d beaten to a pulp for no good reason. Isaac.

The man from the pictures.

Rage began to swirl within me. I tried to quell it, but it wouldn’t go down. Whatever this thing was doing to me—it was making me irrational. Angry. Jealous.

“Kill the traitor,” the creature went on. “The one who foolishly claims he can become my chosen one. Offer his blood to me, and I will grant you the Winter King’s throne. Then, once you fulfill my commands, I will allow you into my kingdom. Forever.”