Chapter 65: Chapter 65

CHAPTER SIXTY FIVE

ROXANNE

The world around me dissolved into silence, a vacuum of sound as if everyone had vanished. I felt the connection– The woman in the picture exerted a magnetic pull, drawing me into her world with an undeniable force. I couldn't resist her call.

Her dominance was palpable.

I traced my fingers along the frame's edge. Why was this picture hidden away? I wondered. Why did she feel so familiar? Tearing my eyes from her face, I focused on the envelope in front of the picture.

I felt like a snoop but with trembling hands, I picked it up. My heart pounded loudly as I opened it and anxiety wrapped me like a suffocating presence. Inside was a letter. I unfolded it and read:

To lilith,

From a faraway land. I'm someone you don't need to know…

And there was nothing else but the final words seemed scrawled in desperation, ink smudged and splattered.

Lilith,” I whispered, the name resonating deep within me. Who was Lilith? Was she the woman in the picture? Was Ryker’s mother Lilith? Who had written this letter? Did someone send her the letter or was she writing the letter to someone named Lilith?

My eyes widened as sudden clarity struck me. Was this why Ryker had seized the necklace from me? Because it belonged to his mother? His anger whenever I pried into his mother’s past now made sense. But why did she haunt me?

I reached back into the envelope and pulled out a golden bracelet, a match to the necklace I had found before.

The puzzle pieces were falling into place but before I could dwell on it, I slipped the bracelet on. The hum began, invasive and overwhelming, filling my senses. Voices chanted “Lilith” in a cacophony that pierced the silence. I dropped the bracelet, clutching my ears and shutting my eyes against the noise.

A touch, light and insistent, made me flail my hands, pushing away the unseen person. My fingers found the picture again, tracing its edges. Pain shot through me, bringing me to my knees. The hum faded, replaced by an eerie silence. Peace returned again.

When I opened my eyes, I found myself in the dungeon I dreaded most. But this time, it was different—new, clean. The cell door was locked. Turning around, I saw her, the woman from my vision, sitting on the bed.

“What are you doing here?” I whispered, but she ignored me, as always.

She looked sad, writing on the wall with her eyes closed. I approached her and saw she was writing the name Lilith.

A sound made me turn. Ryker stood at the gate, frustration and confusion etched on his face.

“Please help me. Why did you throw me in?” I rushed to him, gripping the bars.

He ignored me, opening the dungeon door without sparing me a glance. My next instinct was to run but I stopped and watched him with bewilderment. We had been on good terms, so why the cold shoulder?

Ryker approached his mother, shouting at her. He shook her shoulders, but she jabbed him in the rib, refusing to break her trance. For the first time, I saw a hurt expression on Ryker’s face. He shouted at his mother but his words were inaudible. He gripped her by the shoulders again and shook her.

Reality glitched, and pain exploded in my head. I curled into a ball, desperate for the agony to stop. I wanted it to go away.

The dungeon gate creaked open. Forcing my eyes open, I saw Selina walk in, holding tea. No sign of Ryker, only his mother, who was now whispering to the wall. Selina looked scared and ready to flee but instead pulled something from her pocket and poured it into the tea.

I glitched again, and when I next opened my eyes, I screamed. Ryker’s mother lay next to me on the ground, her body convulsing violently. Saliva foamed from her mouth, her lifeless green eyes staring into mine. It was horrible, almost like she was having a seizure.

Paralyzed with shock, I couldn't move or speak. The teacup lay shattered, tea spilled everywhere. It felt like déjà vu.

“You have to come back” A distant voice called out. “Roxanne you have to snap out of it.”

Fear gripped my heart. The room felt hot– suffocating. Flames licked the walls and ceiling. Smoke choked my lungs. I dragged myself to my feet, each step a struggle and seemed to take me backwards. A ball of fire erupted, consuming me. I screamed as the heat engulfed me, sweat soaking my clothes.

“Roxanne, are you okay?”

Time slowed. I heard everything and everyone. Opening my eyes, I found myself curled on the floor, thousands of eyes staring at me.

What was going on? Where was I?

I searched frantically but couldn’t see Ryker’s mother. Only Ryker, holding me in his arms. His expression was a mix of disappointment and concern. But my gaze was fixed on someone else.

But that wasn't what mattered.

My eyes searched around till it landed on the one person it was looking for.

“It was you,” I pointed accusingly.

She glared. “What do you mean by ‘it was me’?”I

I stood and approached her slowly. “How could you do that to her?”

Selina looked around nervously as the people watched us like a reality show.

“Roxanne, please stop.”

I pointed at the picture and then back to her, “You did it.”

“Roxanne, stop this madness,” Selina said.

Tears streamed down my face, anger boiling within me. “You killed her. You killed Lilith.”

“Are you insane?”

I shook my head. “You poisoned her! You killed her!”

Selina turned red, and Ryker grabbed my arm. “Enough!”

***

“I saw her Ryker, you have to believe me. It felt real– it happened. Selina poisoned your mother.”

Ryker yanked my arm and dragged me out of the hall while the people's gaze burned my back. I turned around and saw Selina flashing me dirty looks but guilt was evident in her eyes.

I knew she did it.

Ryker’s features hardened. He didn't stop dragging me till we got to his room, upstairs. He pushed me into his room and anger was evident on his face.

“What was that about?” He demanded. “What was that drama about?”

I gulped. “Ryker I swear it, I saw her, it happened.”

“Nonsense! Saying my sister killed my mother before the public eyes and still insisting, is something I won't forgive,” he said.

I shook my head, unwilling to be put down. I knew what I saw. “She's the one from my dream. She's the one I told you appeared to me that day in the cell. That cell you put me in when I just arrived, was the very one your mother had stayed. But why was she in jail? Why did you keep her there?”

Hostility flashed in the Alpha’s eyes. Anger exuded his whole features. He was breathing hard like he was trying to suppress a storm.

I swallowed.

“If you want to know what happened, Roxanne, you have to shut the hell up,” he yelled, causing me to jump.

I nodded, my throat tight.

Ryker opened his drawer chest and brought out that necklace he had confiscated from me, the book that secured the necklace, along with a picture of his mother. He sighed deeply and sat on his bed, looking weary.

He patted the space beside him and motioned for me to sit. I gathered the skirt of my dress and sat beside him, realising what an idiot I was.

“Roxanne,” he called my name tentatively, like he was being careful. Like the sound of my name could cause terror. “Yes Selina has tried to hurt you before and I can't blame you if you're on your guard with her but Selina would never kill anyone.”

I wanted to protest but I bit my bottom lip to prevent myself from talking.

“Roxanne, my mother isn't Lilith,” he said.

“No!” I said and swallowed. “That's all she ever says when she comes in my mind. She says Lilith.”

He pointed to an inscription in the picture that said Freya Wade, Luna of Red Moon. He gave a small smile, “That is my mother's name.”

It didn't make any sense. It just didn't fit.

“Then who is Lilith?” I asked softly, unable to tear my eyes from the picture.

“My mother, like I told you before, was my biggest support. She was all we had, trying to take responsibility when my dad wasn't around and she did it gracefully. Everything was perfect until the day she found this book.”

The same book I had found.

“It looked too precious and my mother decided to keep it, saying it was the goddess’ gift to her but it was a curse. I was too young though, to stop her from keeping it.” He looked into my eyes. “She wore this necklace and everything changed that day. That was the day I lost my mother.”

“She died?” I asked in shock.

“Eventually, but I lost her that night. My mother wasn't my mother anymore. She saw things, Roxanne. She whispered to herself and had nightmares. Then she began writing into this book and…” he trailed off as if trying to gain composure. “She did it with her eyes closed, Roxanne. In her sleep, she wrote in that book. She wrote on the walls with her nails and sometimes it was so intense she would tear herself with her nails.”

I shivered, looking at the necklace with fear in my eyes. That was the exact way I had felt, when I had first worn the necklace.

“The night this necklace was worn by my mother, it awakened a curse.”