Chapter 13

Elena tightened her grip on the wheel, her knuckles white as the car sped down the desolate road, they were in the deserted side of Blackthorn. The trees on either side loomed like silent sentinels, their branches reaching out like skeletal arms.

Liam sat in the back seat, his gaze fixed out the window. He hadn't said a word since they left the alley, but the tension in his body was palpable.

"Stacy will be fine," Elena said, breaking the silence.

Liam snorted, his golden eyes flickering to her in the rear-view mirror. "You sound sure of that."

"I am," she replied, her tone firm. "I told you, she's the best there is."

"Even the best can die," he muttered, leaning back in his seat.

Elena's jaw tightened, but she didn't respond. She couldn't imagine the possibility of Stacy falling.

Liam shifted in his seat, his gaze narrowing. "What's your plan, hunter? Because running isn't going to save us. Not from whatever is chasing us."

Elena exhaled sharply, her mind racing. He was right. Running had never been the answer, but what choice did they have?

"I'm working on it," she said finally.

"Not good enough."

Her temper flared. "You have a better idea, wolf?"

Liam's smirk was infuriating. "I do actually. Stop running and fight."

"That's easy for you to say," Elena snapped. "You're not the one who dies over and over again."

The words slipped out before she could stop them and the car fell into an uneasy silence.

The weight of Elena's words filled the car like a thick fog. Liam's smirk faded, his golden eyes narrowing as he leaned forward, his hands still bound.

"Over and over again?" he repeated, his tone low but edged with disbelief.

Elena cursed herself for letting it slip. She had been careful not to reveal too much about the loop to him but exhaustion and frustration had cracked her resolve.

"Forget it," she said, keeping her gaze fixed on the road.

"No," Liam growled, his voice sharp. "Explain. What the hell did you mean by that?"

Elena tightened her grip on the wheel, her jaw clenching. "You wouldn't understand."

"Try me," he shot back, his tone biting.

She slammed on the breaks, the car skidding to a stop on the empty road. The sudden movement threw Liam against his seat, and his eyes flashed with irritation as Elena turned to face him.

"You want to know the truth?" she snapped, her voice trembling with barely restrained anger. "Fine. I've died. Again and Again. Every time I think I'm close to escaping, I get killed and the whole damn thing resets. Some forest. Same monsters. Same hopeless fight."

Liam's expression hardened, but he didn't interrupt.

"And you know what's worse?" Elena continued, her voice breaking. "You're always there. Every time, like some twisted reminder that none of this is real. Or worse, that it's all real, and I'm stuck in it with you."

For a moment, Liam didn't respond. He stared at her, his golden eyes searching her face as if trying to find a lie in her words.

"You're serious," he said finally, his voice quieter than she'd expected.

Elena leaned back in her seat, running a hand through her hair. "Yeah. I'm serious. And I don't have the answers you're looking for, so don't ask."

The silence stretched between them, heavy with unspoken thoughts.

"I felt it," Liam said after a long pause.

Elena frowned. "What?"

"The loop," he said, his voice low. "Every time we fight, every time you die… I feel it. Like a hole in my chest. Like something tearing me apart."

She stared at him, her breath catching in her throat. "You… remember?"

"Not everything" he admitted, his golden eyes meeting hers. "But enough. Enough to know this isn't normal."

Elena's mind raced. She had always assumed she was alone in this, that the loop was her burden to bear. But if Liam remembered too…

"Why didn't you say anything?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Because I didn't know what the hell it meant," he said, his tone defensive. "And because every time it happens, you don't seem to know me. Until now."

The realization hit her like a punch to the gut. If Liam was connected to the loop, then maybe… just maybe, he was the key to breaking it.

Before she could speak, a cold chill suddenly filled the air, snapping both of them back to the present.

"They're coming," Liam said, his voice sharp.

Elena didn't need to ask who. She could feel it too, the oppressive weight of something unnatural closing in around them.

"We need to go," she said, shifting the car into the gear.

Liam leaned back, his gaze fixed on the trees outside. "And when they catch us?"

Elena grip on the wheel tightened. "Then we fight. Together this time."

For the first time, Liam smirked… not out of arrogance, but with something that almost looked like respect.

"About time," he muttered.

The car roared to life as Elena pressed the gas pedal, the forest blurring past them. She didn't know what was waiting ahead, but for the first time, she felt like they might stand a chance.

The car sputtered, its engine coughing before dying completely.

Elena cursed, slamming her fist against the dashboard. "Not now," she muttered, glancing at Liam in the rear-view mirror.

"What's wrong?"he asked, his golden eyes narrowing.

"I don't know," she replied, stepping out of the car and popping the hood. Steam hissed as she inspected the engine, but nothing seemed broken.

Liam stepped out too, his senses on high alert. The air was too still, too cold. His wolf instincts prickled as he sniffed the air.

"Elena," he sharply, his voice low.

She froze, her crimson eyes scanning the darkness around them. The faint rustling of leaves reached her ears, followed by a sound that chilled her to the core, a deep resonating moan.

"Get back in the car," she whispered, her hand moving to the dagger at her hip.

Liam didn't listen. He stepped closer to her, his body tense, his claws ittching to extend.

"Release me"

Elena hesitated for a moment. "Don't make me regret this" she snapped, before cutting the rope tying his hands.

Liam smirked, freeing his arms. "Now that's better.."

From the shadows, a figure emerged. It was tall and skeletal, draped in tattered black robes that seemed to absorb the light. Its face was ghastly skull, glowing green flames flickering in its hollow eye sockets.

"A lich," Liam growled, his golden eyes narrowing.

The lich raised a bony hand, its voice echoing with an otherworldly resonance. "I ….. found….. you.." it intoned, each word vibrating through the air.

Before either of them could react, the ground beneath them trembled. Rotting hands burst from the soil skeletal figures clawing their way to the surface.

"Great," Elena muttered, drawing her dagger.

The lich waved its hand, and the skeletons charged.

Elena moved first, slashing at the nearest attacker. Her blade cut through bone with ease, the silver edge glowing faintly as it cleaved through the animated remains. Liam shifted into his wolf form, his massive body colliding with the skeletons like a wrecking ball. Bones shattered under his claws and fangs, but the undead kept coming.

The lich stood back, its glowing eyes watching the chaos unfold.

"Elena, behind you!" Liam snarled.