novelraw Chapter 119: The Trap
Chapter 119: The Trap
Third-Person POV
The air in the room was thick with a strange, sweet smell that Liam couldn’t fight. His body felt like it was pinned under a mountain. Every time he tried to lift a hand, his muscles gave out.
"Scarlett?" he whispered again, his voice cracking. "Is that you?"
The figure stepped into the room, her long chocolate hair falling over her shoulders just the way he remembered. She sat on the edge of the bed, her weight dipping the mattress.
"Yes, my love," she whispered, her voice soft and airy. "I’m back. Did you miss me?"
"I... I missed you every second," Liam breathed, his mind a hazy mess of grief and the drug. He reached out a trembling hand, but his fingers barely grazed her arm before falling back. He frowned, his wolf stirring weakly in the back of his mind. "You smell... different, Scarlett. Like flowers and... something sharp."
"My scent changed over time, Liam," she murmured, leaning over him. "Death changes a person."
He tried to push himself up, his Alpha instincts screaming that something was wrong. "No, I need to see... I need to see your face clearly."
But the female figure placed a firm hand on his chest and pushed him back down into the pillows. She was surprisingly strong, or perhaps he was just that weak. Before he could protest again, she leaned down and captured his lips in a kiss.
Liam tried to move his head away, but he couldn’t. His body was a prison. He felt her hands moving to his waist, her fingers working on his belt with unsteady speed.
Fight it! his wolf roared, but the voice was muffled, as if it were underwater. This wasn’t just a drug; it was a powerful spell fueled by his own blood, stolen from him weeks ago.
The figure unbuckled his belt and unzipped his trousers. He felt the cool air hit his skin as she freed him from his clothes. He groaned, a sound of protest and confusion. He tried to grab her wrists to throw her off, but his arms only twitched.
She didn’t waste any time; she knew the clock was ticking. His Alpha blood was already fighting the toxin, trying to burn the impurities from his veins. She had less than ten minutes before his system overrode the charm—but the strain of the internal battle would drop him into a dead sleep. It had taken months of dark magic to prepare this; she only had one shot, and she had to finish before he lost consciousness completely.
She lifted her gown, revealing that she wore nothing underneath. Slowly, she positioned herself over him. Liam’s eyes were wide, staring up at the ceiling as he fought for control of his own limbs. He felt her sink down onto him.
A sharp gasp of pain escaped her lips as she took him in. She was tight—untouched. She winced, her breath coming in painful hitches as she forced herself to sit all the way down, breaking her own purity to tie herself to him forever.
"You’re mine now," she whispered, leaning down to kiss his sweaty brow. "You’re finally mine."
She began to move, her rhythm slow and desperate. Liam’s mind was screaming, with images of the real Scarlett clashing with the physical sensation of the woman on top of him. He tried one last time to buck his hips to throw her off, but his strength faded completely. Then, he felt the darkness swallow him whole.
A few minutes later, the woman stood up. She dressed quickly, her hands shaking. She looked down at the bed, at the bloodstains on the white sheets—the proof she needed. She looked at Liam’s unconscious, pale face and felt a cold sense of victory.
She stepped out of the room, where Sir Lennox was waiting in the shadows of the hallway. He looked at her, his eyes full of a deep, dark shame.
"It is done," Camilla whispered, her voice no longer sounding like Scarlett’s.
Lennox took a deep, shaky breath. He felt disgusted by what he had helped her do, but he was also a father who was terrified that his sons would wither away into nothingness. He believed he was saving Liam’s life by forcing this future on him.
"You remember the plan, Camilla," Lennox said, his voice cold. "Remember what you will say when he wakes up. You stay here. I will handle the rest."
Camilla nodded, her eyes hard.
Lennox stepped into the room. He moved Liam’s limp body into a more natural position and pulled the duvet halfway over him. He took several empty beer bottles from a bag and dropped them on the floor, making them clatter against the wood. It had to look like Liam had stayed up drinking, had brought Camilla to his room in a moment of weakness, and had passed out afterward.
Lennox took one last look at his son, a flicker of regret crossing his face, before he turned and walked out, closing the door softly.
Inside the room, Camilla stripped off her dress and crawled into the bed beside the unconscious Alpha. She lay close to him, staring at the ceiling, waiting for the morning.
While Liam was lost in a drug-induced nightmare, Leo was walking down the hall toward his own wing of the mansion. He felt a strange heaviness in his chest, a sudden fatigue that made his legs feel like they were made of stone.
"What the hell..." he muttered, bracing his hand against the wall.
He managed to push open his bedroom door and stumble inside. The air here was the same—sweet, thick, and suffocating. His wolf was clawing at his insides, sensing a trap, but the spell was too fast and strong. Leo tried to reach for the lamp on his nightstand, but his coordination failed him. He slumped onto the mattress, his vision swimming in a sea of hazy shadows.
"Leo?" a soft voice called from the darkness.
His heart jumped. He knew that voice. He had heard it in his dreams every night for two years.
"Scarlett?" he gasped, his tongue feeling thick in his mouth.
A slim figure emerged from the corner of the room. In the dim light, she looked exactly like the girl he had lost. The same height, the same long dark hair, and those eyes that haunted him. She stood by the bed, her hand cold against his burning forehead.
"I’m here, Leo. Don’t fight it," she whispered.
"You’re... you’re dead," Leo choked out, even as his heart begged for it to be true. "How are you here?"
"I came back for you," she lied, her voice a perfect imitation of Scarlett’s gentle tone.
She leaned down and kissed him, and for a split second, Leo let himself believe. He let the drug take hold, wanting to disappear into the feeling of her. But as she began to unbutton his shirt, his Alpha instincts flared one last time.