Chapter 902 - PAINFUL MEMORIES

Calleb lowered his head beside Sterling's bed, he didn't believe the information that he received from Lidya.

It was impossible, right?

Raphael couldn't be dead…

It was impossible…

Yet, the pain in his heart told him otherwise. It was the pain that clearly indicated the bond that had been broken. The bond with someone who was very close to him.

Calleb had been with Raphael way before Torak had named him as his Gamma. The Beta was with Calleb when the latter lost his sister in the rogue attack too.

And now he lost him…

The feeling was almost the same like when Calleb had to accept the fact that his sister was no longer could stay with him.

The feeling was the same, because Calleb always thought of Raphael as his brother…

There were a lot of things that they had gone through… a lot of things…

"Argh," Calleb grunted softly, while clutching his chest. He lowered his head and a tear fell to the floor…which was followed by another, until the quiet room filled with his whimpers.

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"Come on, Lana!" Sophie held her hand to help Lana climb a rock, while Keira pushed her from below. "You can do it."

Bree looked around her and her small face soon contorted in fear. She tugged Rossie's clothes beside her and pointed to the dark area.

"I see something there…" Bree said softly, her voice was shaking and her body was trembling. "I see eyes…"

Rossie looked into the darkness where Bree had pointed out, yet she couldn't see anything that could backup the little girl's fears. "It's okay Bree, there is nothing there. Your eyes just playing a trick on you…" she comforted her, yet she kept her eyes trained onto the same point, just in case…

On the other hand, Lana finally managed to climb the rock and they started to run again, as fast as Lana's legs could take her.

Since Lana couldn't shift into her beast, the rest of them chose not to shift in theirs. However, if the situation got any worser than this… Sophie didn't have a choice…

"We have to cross the river!" Keira panted heavily, as she helped Sophie to support Lana. "That's the only chance we have!"

Those beasts would easily track them through their scent and no matter how fast they ran, they would find them in the end.

Therefore, maybe by getting rid of their scent, they would have a bigger chance to survive.

"Where is the river? Is it still far?" Bree asked, her voice was like a whisper, since she was afraid that by talking loudly they would attract those beasts' attention.

"Not really…" Keira looked around her, it had been so long since the last time she was in this part of the forest, so her memory was slightly unreliable, but she was sure that there was a river around here. "The river must be ahead of us…" She sharpened her hearing in order to catch the sound of the current, yet aside from their footsteps and the wind, there was nothing she could hear.

Meanwhile, Lana's body was drenching with sweat, her vision started to get blurry by the moment as the pain in her head increased.

The only thing that was in her mind was to take one step after one to get away from this place, to deliver her son safely.

However, she wanted to do nothing aside from this single task ahead of her. Lana had to numb her feelings in order to keep her sadness at bay, and not allow it to intervene with her efforts to survive.

Lana didn't want to think about Raphael, despite the fact the pain in her chest couldn't be ignored, still she tried to lie to herself that nothing had happened to Raphael and she would meet with him soon.

Rossie walked ahead in front of the others, trying to catch the sound of the river flow. She didn't talk much ever since they left the tunnel. It seemed to it was her own way to cope up with her sadness.

They needed to survive from this first and they could mourn later.

"Blood," Bree said, she sniffed the air once again before her eyes landed on Lana. "I smell blood from her."

Upon hearing that, all of them stiffened. They were too focused on finding the river and were not aware that Lana started bleeding.

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Ethan opened his eyes and let out a small groan when he felt the pain coursing through his entire body.

Every inch of his skin felt like being stabbed by a thousand silver needles. Added to the fact that he didn't wear anything when his n.a.k.e.d body writhed on the floor. He curled his body into a fetal position.

"You are awake…" a voice greeted Ethan and he heard some heavy footsteps that approached him.

Out of instinct, he tried to move his body to avoid this stranger, yet there was a wall that prevented him from doing so.

"You don't need to fear me," said that voice again.

This time, Ethan forced himself to open his eyes, despite the pain that was still gnawing his skin.

At first, he just saw the light from the torch inside this small room and a shadow of someone, who was kneeling down in front of him, but when the other person's figure got clearer, he could see a familiar pair of eyes staring back at him.

"Lord… Bayle…" Ethan said his name. He had met this dragon lord a few times during the training.

"Yes, me." Bayle smiled.

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Raine was staring at the rain through the window, as she leaned her body against Torak. She was way calmer after crying her heart out now upon knowing the fact that Raphael was no longer with them.

Raphael was like a brother to her, just like Calleb. She felt as if a dagger kept twisting in her heart constantly. The pain tore through both her mind and heart at the same time.

Raine didn't need this bond between them to feel the pain of losing him.

She loved him more than one could love their own sibling…

And now he was no longer with them…

Raine felt even worse when she remembered all the interactions between the Beta and the Gamma. And now, she wouldn't be able to hear how Raphael and Calleb always argued upon trivial things any more.