[ Infirmary - Crimson Moon Pack ]
A soundless gasp ripped out of Amara's throat.
Her lips parted, but no air rushed in.
Her chest jolted once, then locked again.
She wasn't fully awake…her body was still heavy, pinned down by something she couldn't fight…her consciousness wrapped in utter darkness…but that hand around her neck, crushing, choking, dragging fire into her chest… made every nerve flare in terror…despite the unconsciousness.
Her lashes trembled, her brows furrowed faintly, the barest twitch of resistance.
Somewhere through the blur, through the pounding in her skull, came a voice.
It was low,venomous,shaking with rage…was it familiar?
"Die, bitch."
Amara's sluggish mind froze.
The words slithered into her half conscious haze.
"Die. Why won't you just die?"
She stirred again, but her limbs were lead, useless. Her throat convulsed, tried to draw in even the smallest breath…but failed miserably. The pressure didn't let her.
The voice leaned closer, dripping poison with each syllable.
"You dare cause trouble for the Alpha again? You have been causing nothing but nuisances from the moment you set foot in our pack. Always fucking trouble. You think we don't see it? What a pathetic asshole!!"
The chokehold tightened. Spots of light burst behind Amara's eyes.
Her body screamed.
Her heart was a war drum, frantic, slowing…
"Enough of your games,bitch, " the venomous voice hissed, sharp nails pressing harder into the soft skin of her neck. "Enough of your cursed, shameless presence in my Alpha's life. You caused him enough trouble…enough pain."
Amara's lashes flickered, the world shifting in dull grays and blacks. She still couldn't move. Couldn't scream.
But now she was very certain, she definitely knew that voice.
Even in this haze of suffocation… she knew it.
Delilah.
Lila.
Beta Archer's sister.
Amara's mind recoiled. What the hell did that woman want from her? Why was she after her life?
Her chest burned…hot, tearing. Her throat rasped, airless. She tried to reach…outwards, anywhere. To scream through the pack bond…only to realise it didn't exist. To claw her way into anyone's mind… someone… anyone.
Nothing.
Her screams were as if locked inside, trapped with her last scraps of breath.
The pressure crushed harder.
"Die whore!" Lila spat, venom like acid in her tone. "Make it quick,come on. You think you are so fucking important don't you? You think he will let you linger? You are filth, just entertainment in bed and a stain on this pack…"
A faint something like a plea left Amara's throat somehow.
The grip didn't falter. It only tightened further.
The curse grew bolder.
"I won't let you stay. I won't let you crawl your way back into his sight. Enough of your cursed breath, enough of you…"
Amara's lips parted this time and another faint, broken gasp… and the world tilted, dimming.
Her body convulsed weakly.
Her eyes rolled back into the abyss of darkness.
The fire in her chest roared higher…while Lila hissed more obscenities.
And Amara could do nothing.
Nothing but drowning in silence.
Amara's body slackened completely.
The fire in her chest dimmed into ash. Limbs heavier than ever… mouth parted in a silent plea.
"So this is it…"
Her vision blurred at the edges, folding inward… she was ready to bid the world farewell.
Then out of nowhere…a loud crack split the air.
The pressure at her throat vanished in an instant.
Air rushed back, sharp, tearing down her lungs. She choked, coughed weakly, her body convulsing at the sudden freedom.
"Delilah!!! Are you out of your fucking mind?!"
A man's voice. Fierce. Furious.
Something crashed. Loud. Wood and glass shattering. The sound scraped across Amara's ears like thunder.
Her lashes fluttered. The shapes before her swam, fractured, but she understood faintly. The crash was the medicine counter. The heavy clatter of jars, roots, and vials exploding across the floor.
Delilah had fallen against it.
"You…" her shriek tore through the haze, venom dripping. "Archer you hit me for this bitch!!!What the fuck are you doing here anyway?!"
Her voice shook the air like nails on stone.
"Me?" Archer's rebuttal cut sharp, "You are asking me what I am doing here? Well, it looks like I am saving your sorry ass from sure execution, Delilah! What the hell were you thinking…strangling Amara that too when she is lying there unconscious, defenseless?"
His words cracked like whips.
Delilah's hiss snapped back. "That bitch is better off dead, brother!Trust me. "
Amara's heart lurched. Her weak hand twitched against the sheets, her throat rasping, trying to drag in more air. The world tilted between voices and broken breaths.
"Delilah!" Archer's growl shook the walls.
He was about to say something more but just then heavy footsteps thudded closer.
Delilah could almost feel her brother's looming shadow over her shudder a little.
There was a sound…sharp, brutal…of his palm cutting the air again.
Delilah's breath hitched, like she flinched… but her voice spat, louder, shameless.
"Go on! Hit me! Do it! Why do you even care about her, huh? This whore… this slave… this fucking stain on our Alpha's life!"
Archer's snarl rumbled like a storm barely held back. His boots too scraped against the floor, advancing. "Delilah, I swear…"
He stopped.
A heartbeat stretched.
Amara stirred faintly.Her fingers curled weakly against the sheets.
The room went taut, every sound magnified.
And then the sound of the footsteps tore nearer through the silence.
Not just any footstep…Thunder.
Violent, echoing closer, shaking the ground with each stride as his voice filled into Archer's head.
Alpha Dante!!! He was desperate…
Amara knew it before the door even rattled in its frame.
Archer's eyes darted to the door. "Fuck!"
He spun to Delilah, grabbed her arm, dragging her towards the back window.
"Get out! Now! Go straight back home. Stay the fuck out of sight till I return! You will do this if you want to live!Or else I can not save you from the Alpha's wrath!!!"
Delilah's gasp snapped against the walls. "Archer, you can't…"
"Shut up! Go!"
Another crash against the door.
The knob rattled. The thunder grew louder.
Archer shoved her harder, almost pushing her off the sill. "Move, Lila. Move…before it's your fucking head he rips off next!"
Lila grunted one last time as she slid down, sparing Amara one last loathing glance. "It's not over, bitch!!!"