Defy The Alpha(s) novel Chapter 452

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 —".

"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.

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

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