CHAPTER 51: THE ACCIDENT

Power. That was what he sought. At least, that was what he just told her.

They had driven past the burning church and were driving out of town. It should take them almost an hour to get back to the mansion from here, but Aaliyah was shaken with fear and wanted to leave the car.

"What is the meaning of this?" Aaliyah’s toes were curled as she questioned sternly, at the same time trying to rip her hands away from his. She thought holding his hand in the car was helping her overcome her fear of cars, but now it had become a big Mistake, "Let go of my hand, Alastair!"

His grip between their intertwined fingers tightened even more.

"I’m warning you. Let go of me!!" She yelped and once again tried to pull her hands but he wasn’t letting go.

The click sounds that came from the car doors indicated that he had just locked them shut, frightening her even more, "I cannot see the Maqbath. I have not the ability to give you more power. Stop this madness and let me out of this car,"

She thought about screaming since they were still in town. But it was as if he had read her, and the look he shot in her direction was unlike any other. The hair on her body stood up, and she could feel her fingers going numb because of the way he was holding them.

"We will soon be home. Be a good girl and stay quiet,"

Aaliyah stiffened, her lashes trembled. The man was heartless. He does not have the emotion to let her go, he does not feel pity for her and is serious about making her pull out the Maqbath.

Now that she thought about it, it was the first time since she returned from the hollow that he was behaving terrifying again. He’s been nothing but nice, so what changed again?

As Aaliyah thought about everything that had happened till this point, she remembered that today was the last day. Theodore had asked her to make him Softer, and today at midnight, her time would run out completely.

It doesn’t seem like he’s come any softer than he was two weeks ago when they got married. His eyes were still...mortifyingly bland.

"Alastair," She called softly, swallowing.

The usual ’ Yes, Little Siren ’, never came.

"I’m not scared of you," She continued, "Let go of me before I make you crash this car,"

They had just ridden out of town as she said that. The silence between them steepened, and she tried to shake her fingers out of his but his grip was too much and numbness had taken over her fingers.

"Alastair!!" She whipped her head to face him with a deadpan expression. If for a second he thought she was joking then he was about to regret that. It didn’t matter if they suffered terrible injuries.

She reached in and had just grabbed the steering wheel when his hard indifferent eyes flickered to look at her when he saw something approaching them fast from outside her window.

At the same time, Aaliyah’s eyes reflected the sight of a large trailer with its headlights right in her eyes. It was so close, and their car would not be fast enough to evade the hit.

Everything happened so fast. A large body covered her, and she felt like she had been shoved into a boulder and trapped there. Her head pounded as a loud noise filled her ears, and she felt herself rolling around.

It was as if she was being crushed and flung around at the same time, and her ears were ringing. She couldn’t hear anything other than that, but her head was heavy from pain. The pain, heaviness, and terror lasted for a while, and the whole car looked as if it was spinning.

When Aaliyah opened her eyes, she was lying on the bare ground with blood running down the side of her face. When she tried to stand up, the aftereffects of the accident had her body trembling and she fell back down again.

There was blood on her hands and legs, and parts of her clothes were torn. The second time she tried to stand, she stood on her legs that were ready to give up on her again. She was breathing heavily and was trying to decipher what had just happened.

Behind her, she found two trailers distanced from her, but their fronts had been destroyed. Far from the trailers was what was once the BMW she and Alastair had been sitting in, looking like it had gone through hell.

The car was lying upside down and had been destroyed completely and there was only a tire left.

What the heck?

"Alastair!" Aaliyah yelled his name. Where was he? Was he alive?

She made to head to the BMW when someone’s cry caught her attention. Looking closely, she saw two people behind the trailer. One was on his back, trying to crawl away from the one who was standing over him and covered in blood.

The person covered in blood reminded her of Alastair... and he did look like Alastair. Aaliyah took a step back as the sight had her recalling the man also covered in blood holding the car from falling off the cliff with the simple strength of his hand.

Suddenly, the man snapped his gaze at her...and those empty-looking eyes was all the confirmation she needed. She could no longer breathe at all, and the fear struck her so hard she also fell on her butt and started to crawl away from him.

Who the hell was Alastair?

"Please... please...," The other man crawling away from Alastair cried out, and Alastair’s gaze shifted back to him.

With a shift intake of breath, Aaliyah had taken advantage of the distraction and started to run away. Pain spiked up her left leg, but it didn’t stop her from dragging it as she ran.

She could hear the man still pleading for his life, and when dead silence finally took over the dark night... Aaliyah shuddered.

The level of fear she had could not even be compared to when she was in the hollow. There’s one thing about being trying to get killed by creatures that were built to have blood and malice in their hands, but another to see the person that matters the most to you covered in blood that was not his.

Did Alastair really...kill someone?

Thinking about it was making her freak out even more. It wasn’t the first time she had perceived the smell of blood from him.

Turning around, she saw that she had run very far away from the initial position. She had put a lot of distance between her and Alastair, but that did not stop her from slowing down.

She knew well that the darkness of the night would not shield her from him.

How on earth did she survive that car crash with minor injuries like this? Even if she had flown out of the car at some point, shouldn’t there be many cuts and more broken bones than this?

And what about Alastair? How is he standing there with no wound?

His injuries should have been bad, probably even worse than hers.

"You may be free from the church..." A familiar deep and piercing voice that brought darkness and fear whispered hoarsely behind her, and Aaliyah’s eyes almost popped out of their sockets. Her heart was pounding against her chest, and she could feel her bones shaking.

She tripped on a stone and fell on both hands. The thick smell of blood invaded her nostrils as his face appeared next to hers, his eyes haunting hers as he completed his sentence, "But...You’ll never be free from me, My Little Siren,"

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Hello Dear Readers,

Here is my heartfelt gratitude to everyone reading this book, especially those who have supported me in little and big ways.

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You guys are the best!

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Once again, I appreciate you all!

~ Aniverse.