"W- why?" She stutters out, blinking back the tears that already threatened to spill at his harsh words and actions. "What's going on, Caleb? Why are you being like this? Did I do something wrong?" she desperately stumbles through her words, and the first shift in his blank expression came in the form of a squint.
"Have the effects of the spell not worn off yet?" he questions, voice oddly different and sending a shiver down Marisol's spine.
"W- what spell?" Marisol inquires, still inching closer to him despite his painfully obvious withdrawal.
He doesn't reply, only shakes his head with a low scoff.
"Caleb?" Marisol presses, her heart thudding against the confines of her chest as she tries once again to seek any form of comfort from her supposed mate.
His jaw ticks as their fingers brush this time before he practically glares at her, "Can you at least read the room and understand giving me some space?!" He growls, sidestepping to put more of a distance between them, and that sends Marisol reeling.
She couldn't understand anything except for the fact that she needed him close, and he was hell-bent on doing the exact opposite. He takes a few steps away, and she follows after him stubbornly, seemingly not registering his words and only just needing the growing ache at being separated from her mate, sated.
"Oh goddess," he groans. "The effects of the spell... they haven't worn off, have they?"
This was the second time he talked about a spell, and Marisol was as confused at his words as she was agitated by his actions. What was he on about?
"What are you talking about, Caleb? I- I don't understand yo-"
"I said, stay back!" He growls harshly, seemingly having had enough of her insistence, "I don't want you touching me, I have a mate!"
Those words finally worked as the wake-up call she needed, the response a jarring blow that shook her reality. Before she could process the implication of his statement, he continued.
"I have a mate, and it is not you. Is that understandable enough for you? You're not mine." he stated bluntly.
His words hit Marisol like a storm. She feels the ground beneath her feet crumbling, the reality she had believed shattering into unsalvageable pieces that she struggles to hold onto with tears pooling in her eyes, chest heaving.
"B- but .... We are mates. I can feel it, " Marisol argues.
"No, we are not, and what you feel is a lie." He said at the same time she felt her wolf claw at her, and it felt like she'd been doused with ice-cold water.
Immediately, she regained clarity, her senses sharpened, and she could now smell another wolf on him, clear as day.
"You!" She growls loudly as she leaps at him, teeth bared.
However, she had barely moved when a sharp blow to her head sent shockwaves of pain reverberating through her, and she crumbled to the ground, the world around her blurred as her consciousness slipped away and everything faded into an inky abyss.
The last thing she heard was Caleb's distant voice, a cold declaration that seemed to echo in her unconscious mind.
Marisol springs back to consciousness with a start. Her chest heaves as panic immediately surges through her in waves. The darkness surrounding her did nothing to ease the now erratic beat of her heart.
Where was this place, and what was happening?
She tries to move but finds that she is stuck in place. Her body feels less like a part of her and more like a dead weight, tying her down. Struggling against unseen restraints, she finally manages to force her head up, and it finally clicks with the muffled sounds of her struggles that she'd been bound and gagged.
Getting the feeling back in most of her body parts, Marisol realizes her jaw, feet, and hands hurt. She wondered how long she'd been left here, wherever this was. Where was she? How did she get here? What happened after the annual ball?
She struggles fruitlessly to set herself free. She seemed to be in some kind of compartment, narrow and suffocating and terror overtaking her senses. Could it be that they were attacked? With newfound determination fueled by the surge in fear and anxiety, Marisol resumes struggling against her tightly knotted restraints, the bindings digging into her skin painfully and enough to cut into her wrists. Each labored breath sent waves of terror through her as the confines of her prison seemed to grow even smaller and all the more suffocating.
Suddenly, an ominous growl cuts through the air, echoing through the darkness. The menacing sound has her freezing in place in fear, breath-catching.
Another growl comes after the first one, and from somewhere deep within the darkness, the growls only continue to emanate. With bated breath, Marisol seeks the source of the terrifying sounds only to regret it almost immediately as it manifests right in front of her eyes. It was here again. The same ominous distorted beast plagued her nightmares. The creature seemed to defy every possible law of reality and existence.
Suddenly, lights flicker on from all around the room, and as her eyes adjust to the new change, Marisol lets out a piercing scream at the sight of what stood before her.
The wolf before her was colossal, its fur a tangled mess of red, adorned with wounds and festering sores. Arrows protruded from almost all sides of its massive form, evidence of whatever past battles had left it battered and scarred. Its teeth laid bare, large and sharp, gleaming in the dim light. Its eyes, which were void of any semblance of humanity, gleamed with a haunting emptiness. The creature's soulless gaze locks on Marisol, sending a shiver down her spine.
Despite the terror raging in her, she finds this creature oddly entrancing. That curiosity and need to figure it out begins to find a home in the mostly muted part of her subconscious again. She was drawn to it, almost feeling its pain, its anger, its strife.
The glass chamber that confined her seemed to shrink, enclosing her in a claustrophobic nightmare. The beast finally moves to circle around her almost curiously, grunting softly as it tries to sniff at her. To Marisol, it seemed as if a clawed hand was squeezing her heart and lungs.