The Alpha's Borrowed Luna (Abigail Hayes) novel Chapter 261

Chapter 261

EARLIER

The corridors seemed endless, each one idèntical to the last–dim lighting, stone walls, the lingering scent of silver and blood. Frost and I moved cautiously, checking each room we passed. No sign of Kius.

“He must be deeper inside,” Frost whispered, his sword at the ready. The most secure cells would be below ground level.”

I nodded, tightening my grip on the silver dagger despite the burn against my palm. The wound in my thigh throbbed with each step, but the pain was secondary to my rising fear. What if we were too late? What if Caleb had already killed Kajus?

We reached a junction where the corridor split in three directions. “Which way?” I asked, looking to Frost for guidance,

He hesitated, scenting the air. “Left leads down. That’s our best bet.

Before we could move, a familiar voice drifted from the right–hand corridor. “…he’s almost drained. Another dose and he’ll be fully

human.”

Thalia.

I froze, my body instinctively reacting to her voice. Frost placed a steadying hand on my shoulder, his touch grounding me.

“I’ll go for Kaius,” he whispered, gesturing to the left passage. “You should get out while you can.”

I shook my head firmly. “I’m going after her.”

Concern flashed across his face. “Elowen, she still has control over you.”

“Not anymore,” I lied, refusing to admit how her voice alone had made my skin crawl with remembered compulsion. “I have to end this, Frost. She won’t stop until we’re all dead.”

He studied me for a long moment, then reached into his pocket, withdrawing a small vial filled with black liquid. “Take this.”

I recognized it immediately–the same substance that had been used on Kaius, the wolf’s bane extract. “How will this help?”

“It affects all supernatural beings, not just werewolves. She’ll be weakened–maybe enough to break her control over you.” His face was grim as he pressed the vial into my hand. “Be careful. Find a way to inject it directly into her bloodstream.”

I nodded, tucking the vial securely into my dress. “Get Kaius out. No matter what happens to me.”

“I’ll come back for you,” he promised, his ice–blue eyes intense. “Just stay alive.”

We separated, Frost heading left toward the cells while I steeled myself to follow Thalia’s voice. The silver dagger felt heavy in my hand, its burn a constant reminder of what I’d become–of what Thalia had helped make me.

I found her in a small control room, monitoring screens showing various parts of the compound. She stood with her back to the door, her attention focused on a particular screen showing a cell–Kalus’s cell, though I couldn’t make out details from my position.

“So you’ve come to me,” she said without turning. Her voice was calm, almost amused. “You know, Soren has been killed by your

mate.

I tightened my grip on the dagger. “He’s not my mate anymore. You made sure of that.”

She turned then, her ageless face serene. “You are a fool for coming all alone. Drop the sword, Elowen.”

1/3

Chapter 261

My hand trembled, the compulsion immediately taking effect. I fought against it, my knuckles white around the hilt of the dazzer

“I said drop it. Her voice hardened, the command pulsing through my veins like poison.

The dagger clattered to the floor despite my best efforts to hold ont it. Thalia smiled, stepping closer. “Good girl. Now kneel

My knees threatened to buckle, but I drew on a wellspring of hatred and rage, keeping myself upright through sheer willpower. My fingers brushed against the vial in my pocket.

“What? No more smiles and quirky comments? I taunted, needing to distract her as I worked the vial free. “Where’s all that confidence now, Thalia?”

Her expression darkened. “I don’t need confidence to control you. You’re mine, remember? A toy to play with until I’m bored.” She raised her hand, and invisible force slammed me against the wall, pirining me there.

The impact knocked the breath from my lungs, but my fingers finally closed around the vial. As she approached, her hand reaching for my throat, I smashed the vial against her face.

The black liquid splashed across her skin, some of it entering her mouth and eyes. She screamed, staggering backward, her control momentarily broken. I dropped to the floor, lunging for the dagger.

“You little bitch,” she snarled, wiping frantically at her face. But the damage was done–already I could see the effect as black veins spread beneath her skin, just as they had with Kaius.

advanced on her, dagger raised. The wolf’s bane had weakened her, but she was still an elder, still impossibly strong. She lashed out, her nails elongating into claws that raked across my arm.

We fought in a deadly dance, her supernatural strength against my desperation. Blood–hers and mine–spattered the floor and walls. She might have killed me, wolf’s bane or not, if the gunshot hadn’t echoed through the room.

Thalia jerked, her shoulder blooming red where the bullet had struck Frost stood in the doorway, gun still raised.

I seized the moment, driving the silver dagger deep into her chest. Her eyes widened with shock and–strangely–something like relief. A single tear tracked down her cheek as I pulled the blade free, only to swing it in a devastating arc that separated her head from her shoulders.

Her body crumpled, dark blood pooling on the floor. I stood over her my chest heaving with exertion, the dagger dripping blood onto

my feet.

“She’s dead,” I said, more to convince myself than anything.

“Yes… she is,” Frost confirmed, lowering his gun. Blood stained his shirt–fresh blood, not from our earlier encounter.

“Frost, are you alright?” I moved toward him, noticing his pallor, the slight tremor in his hand.

“I will be fine.” He gestured toward the door. “We need to go now.

“What about Kaius…” I began, but was cut off by a tremendous explosion that shook the entire building. The lights flickered, then died, plunging us into darkness.