Stolen Fate: Bound to Seven Alphas

WILLA

Nyra’s voice was the loudest I had ever heard it.

It pierced through my mind like a siren, sending a violent shockwave down my spine and into every limb.

"Come to me, Willa," the other voice whispered again — soft, sweet, and dangerously dreamlike. "It’s time to pay for your oath."

My oath. Damn it.

A strange, warm feeling bloomed in my chest. My head throbbed. My vision dimmed at the edges.

For some terrifying reason, I wanted to sink to the ground and listen to that voice. To obey it. To ignore the darkening sky and the rain threatening to fall.

I knew none of it was my own will. Yet I couldn’t fight it.

"Willa..."

"Run!" Nyra snarled, slicing through the seductive pull like a blade.

I lurched forward, snapping back to reality. My vision cleared. I spun around, blinking rapidly as I scanned the forest.

"What is going on, Nyra?" I breathed, clutching my chest. A deep, unnatural ache had formed there.

I didn’t expect her to answer, but her voice came again, raspy and strained, like she was fighting to speak.

"You need to run, Willa. Go far away from here."

"Why?" I murmured, frowning at the tree directly in front of me.

Something was horribly wrong.

The twigs and branches began to twist and snap, contorting into weird shapes. They looked like hands. Not the bony skeleton from before. This time they were pale, scrawny, and far too real.

The trunk elongated with a sickening creak. My eyes trailed upward as the top of the tree reshaped itself into a crude head-like structure. The leaves shifted and lengthened, forming strands of sickly green hair.

"Please, Willa," Nyra urged again, her voice weaker now.

"You have to give me a reason," I whispered.

Really? What other reason did I need than the living nightmare forming right in front of me?

I couldn’t tell if I was hallucinating again or if this was real.

There was only one way to find out.

I exhaled slowly, steeling myself, and took a cautious step forward.

"Stop!" Nyra cried out. "You are making a grave mistake!"

Was I?

"Don’t go closer to that tree," she continued, her tone thick with warning.

"For someone who abandoned me the moment I arrived here, you sure have a lot to say now," I said.

"You have to listen to me," Nyra whined. "I am your wolf. I would never do anything to hurt you."

"But you already did," I shot back. By leaving me alone.

I stepped closer to the tree anyway, ignoring every caution from Nyra and my own instincts. I paused when a sharp sting pierced my palm.

"The sigil..." I mumbled.

I gazed at my hand as black smoke began to coil around it.

A powerful burst of energy — unlike anything I had ever felt — zapped into me. It was so intense my knees nearly buckled.

"Fight it, Willa!" Nyra hissed desperately. "You have to!"

But I didn’t want to.

I lifted my palm, ignoring her. The black smoke shifted colors — red, then yellow, then a deep, glowing blue. It felt like it was reading me, digging through my thoughts and emotions to decide exactly what it wanted to become.

My mouth fell open in awe as an unexpected warmth spread through my veins. This wasn’t coming from Nyra.

"Come to me, child," the voice murmured, smoother and more seductive than before.

I looked around the forest again, trying to locate where the voice was coming from.

I could feel the heavy pressure on my neck, the suffocating presence of the monster nearby... but I still couldn’t see it.

I looked back up at the tree for answers.

Wind glided through the leaves and shrubs, lifting dead leaves from the ground and gently wrapping around me.

A soft, delighted laugh escaped my lips.

"There is nothing funny about this situation!" Nyra snapped. "That voice trying to push me out is controlling you. Don’t give in—"

The connection between Nyra and me suddenly snapped, sending a dull, throbbing pain through my skull.

"Are you ready for the adventure of your life?" the voice rasped.

"Where are you?" I demanded. "Show yourself." I needed to see who I was speaking to.

The voice was too sweet, too gentle to belong to the monster that had been hunting me. Or maybe I had become too trusting, too quickly.

"Touch the tree," it commanded without hesitation.

"The tree?" I frowned, staring at my hand and then back at the twisted trunk.

"No!" Nyra reconnected sharply. "Whatever you do, stay away from it! Don’t touch it!"

"You have to trust me, Willa. He’s the bad guy. You can’t do what he says!"

Once again, I didn’t listen to her.

"Why am I—" My words were cut off as a powerful force slammed into me from behind.

I stumbled forward, eyes wide with panic. I tried desperately to control my fall, stretching my hands out to avoid the tree.

Nyra’s frantic voice rang in my head.

But all my resistance was useless.

The invisible force dragged me toward the tree. I dug my heels into the loose soil, teeth clenched, fighting with everything I had.

The wind turned violent. Thunder rumbled louder overhead.

This didn’t look good at all.

"Please, Nyra..." I hissed, hoping she would lend me strength to fight the pull. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

But I couldn’t feel her anymore.

Instead, the other voice returned — no longer soft and sweet. It was now creepy, ancient, and completely emotionless.

"I am done trying to persuade you, little brat," it snarled. "If you won’t do it of your own will, then I shall make you."

I gasped as the tug became brutally stronger.

"Nyra," I cried out one last time.

I didn’t know who else to plead with. This was my fault. I had made a deal with the devil, and now I was paying for it.

But I didn’t want to die yet.

There was only one person I could speak to, even though I had never tried it before.

My eyes snapped shut.

Please... Goddess Selene.

Something inside me snapped almost immediately.

My eyes flew open.

Just inches away from the tree, my hands jerked sideways at the last second. My head slammed into the trunk instead. I didn’t even have time to register the pain before the impact sent me flying backward into another tree. The back of my skull cracked against the rough bark. All the air rushed out of my lungs.

White-hot pain seared through my head. An ear-splitting scream tore from my throat before I could stop it.

Darkness danced at the edges of my vision. I tried to push myself up, but my legs collapsed beneath me.

"Somebody..." I croaked, my voice barely audible even to my own ears.

I slid slowly down the length of the tree and crumpled into the dead grass.

Before my eyes fully shut, I saw a bright light speeding toward me — fast and blindingly intense.

"Help me..."

Then the darkness swallowed me completely.