CHAPTER 306: _RESEMBLANCE

"Wakey, wakey, little hybrid..." A silvery female voice whispered in my mind after what felt like an eternity of darkness.

My eyes jolted open as I gasped, scanning my gaze around my surroundings. I realised soon that I was lying on the floor.

A cold, black marble floor...

My body shivered as I subconsciously touched my stomach, sitting up. But then my eyes widened at what I felt.

My bump had disappeared. Like... It was completely gone!

My mind reeled as I remembered the miscarriage and all the emotions I felt back in Blood Oak started hitting me again. I felt a suffocating despair that made me blink at the floor silently.

Until...

"Don’t tell me you thought all of that was a nightmare?" That silvery voice from earlier echoed again, this time followed by approaching footsteps echoing toward me.

I raised my head, my gaze falling ahead of me.

It was then that I noticed the throne placed on a dais that loomed above the rest of the dimly lit room, as if a god were sitting on it. A figure covered in shadows sat silently on it and even though I couldn’t see their eyes... I knew they were looking at me.

Apart from the figure on the throne, a beautiful woman with raven black hair, pale white skin and a stylish black gown walked toward me.

She was the owner of the silvery voice from earlier and walked with a seductive confidence that made me unsettled.

Her lips curved into a sly smirk when she saw my unease but she didn’t stop until she was standing a few meters in front of me.

Her face looked oddly familiar but I couldn’t remember where I had seen her before.

"Stay the fuck away from me." I sneered, getting on my feet and glaring at her. My fists clenched beside me but before I could even summon any magic, a force tightened around my neck, causing a constricted gasp to escape my throat.

I wrapped my hands around my neck, a cold shiver running down my spine when I felt the cold metal coiled around it like it was a part of it.

"Oops. I forgot to give you a heads up." The goth lady sniggered, eyeing me with amusement before she began circling. "We can’t possibly have you having an outburst here so we placed that enchanted silver necklace to... Seal your magic."

My heart dropped to my stomach.

Silver? Seal my magic?

"Anytime you try using any of your abilities, you’ll feel the pain from the necklace." She continued casually, her footsteps on the marble floor only adding to my anxiety. "Like a... Friendly reminder of your situation."

My eyes flicked to the figure on the throne who was still covered in darkness. As I stared at him... I realised soon enough who he was.

Of course...

"Ryker." I rasped, my jaw clenching as I stepped forward, fixing my gaze on him. "You’ve wanted me all along, right? What did you do to my baby bump? What are you—"

Before I could finish that last sentence, a hand wrapped around my wrist from behind me. I swerved my head, gritting my teeth when I saw the goth woman’s smug smirk.

"I wouldn’t do that if I were you." She whispered and it was then that my mind went down memory lane.

The charity Ball from months ago... I had bumped into her and we both apologised.

She seemed innocent at first until Caroline and I found out she was the "witch" Celine and Gamma Zane had turned to to help with the illusion used to frame me and Marcellus AND to give them access to magic abilities for their coup.

I’d completely forgotten about her with Celine and Zane dead... Until now.

"That’s enough, Regina." A domineering voice boomed from Ryker’s throne, bouncing off the walls and pillars.

Regina, the goth woman, showed some hesitation before eventually letting go of my wrist. I stared at her with squinted eyes for a few seconds but then Ryker continued speaking.

"About your baby bump. You mean you would have liked me to leave it that way? Even with your baby dead?"

My eyes twitched as I whipped my head back in his direction. Slowly, he rose from his throne, stepping down the steps of the dais.

Each step forward seemed to expose his body more to the dim lights, starting from his legs.

"YOU took my baby, Ryker!" I snarled, stepping forward again with my fists curled beside me. "You took my happiness. You—"

"As much as it would be... Interesting to take credit for that, I didn’t kill your baby." He interrupted plainly, his face finally becoming visible when he got to the final step of the dais.

When I saw his face... my breath caught in my throat.

That... face.

It wasn’t the horned devil I’d seen in the mirror three nights ago. No monstrous grin. No grotesque, twisted features.

Instead... silver eyes I’d traced a thousand times in the dark. The same black hair my fingers had tangled in on restless nights, except this was short. The same strong jaw that pressed against my forehead when Kaelos thought I was asleep.

My heart skipped—no, stumbled—because for a split second, my mind wanted to believe it was him.

But it wasn’t.

The only difference was the jagged slash over his right eye, the fact that he seemed slightly older... And the way those silver eyes didn’t hold warmth, or love, or safety.

They were cold. Predator’s eyes.

And the worst part? My brain was screaming "Kaelos" even as my soul whispered "Run".

"What the..." My chest heaved as I took a step back, blinking at him and shaking my head. "You... You—"

"Have a striking resemblance to your mate, right?" He chuckled dryly. "Blame our father’s genes for that. The fact that I’ll have to share similar features with that little chinchilla for the rest of my life... Ugh."

I gawked at him like he had grown two heads. He might as well do that, and it would be less mind-boggling than what I was hearing right now.

"Our father?" I repeated his words hoarsely, swallowing hard at the implication. "Does this mean—"

"Yes. Kaelos is my younger brother." He responded with a casual shrug, walking closer. "I mean, I have a few decades on him from our father’s... Whore phase. But your darling mate isn’t aware of my existence."

I felt like I was going to pass out, placing my right hand on my forehead. I couldn’t believe it, but his face...

His face was all the proof I needed.

"Oh, darling." Ryker sniggered with mock pity, his voice chilling my bones. "If you think that’s shocking information, wait until you hear what else I have in store... Like who killed your parents that night?"

I blinked, raising my head and staring into his piercing silver eyes. Gosh, I was so used to using that description with Kaelos but here I am...

"What are you talking about?" I muttered, squinting my eyes.

He raised his chin, smirking before he cleared his throat.

"The wolf who murdered your parents that night, when you were only five, was the Gamma leading the raid on your coven. And the Gamma... Was Kaelos."