The Alpha King's Reluctant Bride (Ava and Grayson) novel Chapter 104

-Grayson’s POV-

The heat from the fire was almost consuming. I stood there, rooted to the ground, watching as it licked hungrily at the walls of the mansion, spreading faster than I thought possible. There was something dark and twisted in the flickering glow, and for a fleeting moment, I felt a glimmer of satisfaction creep through me.

I had wanted this. I had planned for this.

The thought filled my mind as I stared at the roaring flames, my hands trembling at my sides. I wish I could see his face right now. See him struggle, hear him scream as he tries to get out. But he wouldn’t. He couldn’t. I had made sure of that.

Maria’s magic had sealed the house shut. There was no escape.

I took a step closer, the heat pressing against my skin like a warning, and that’s when Elaine’s voice shattered my thoughts.

“Why are you just standing there?!” she screamed, her voice sharp, raw with terror. “Our parents are in there!”

Her words slammed into me like a physical blow. My heart stuttered in my chest, and for a second, I couldn’t breathe.

“No,” I said, shaking my head, my voice trembling. “No, that’s not possible. They’re not supposed to be back until later. They weren’t supposed to-”

“They came back early!” Elaine’s voice cracked, her small frame trembling as she grabbed my arm, shaking me with surprising strength. “They’re inside! Go get help!”

The panic hit me like a tidal wave, crashing into me with the force of a thousand regrets. Not because of him. But because my mother and my aunt and uncle were inside.

No. This wasn’t supposed to happen.

I turned toward the house, dread curling in my stomach and twisting up my spine. My feet moved on their own, carrying me forward even as my mind screamed at me to stop, to rewind, to undo what had been set in motion. The fire raged louder, the smoke thick and suffocating, making it hard to see, hard to think.

Wolves were beginning to arrive, their howls echoing in the distance as they raced to the mansion. Some of them had shifted, their massive forms clawing and biting at the structure, trying to pry open the sealed windows and doors. But it was

no use.

I knew it wouldn’t work. I had made sure of that.

My legs felt like lead as I moved closer, the heat scorching my skin even from a distance. And then I heard it- a sound that made my blood run cold.

A scream.

Her scream.

My mother’s voice pierced through the roaring flames, filled with a kind of terror I had never heard before. It froze me in place for half a second before I turned, sprinting toward the back of the house, the panic now clawing at my throat.

“Mom!” I screamed, my voice breaking as I reached the backyard The flames were more intense here, consuming the walls and windows with an unforgiving ferocity. But through the smoke and fire, I saw her.

She was pounding on the glass, her face twisted in desperation, her lips forming words I couldn’t hear over the deafening

roar of the flames.

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“Mom!” I screamed again, grabbing a rock from the ground and hurling it at the window. It bounced off uselessly, the glass refusing to shatter.

I threw myself against the wall, over and over, the heat searing through my clothes, the smoke choking me with every breath. “I’m here! I’m right here!” I shouted, slamming my fists against the wall. “Hold on! Please!”

But it was too late.

The fire was too strong, the smoke too thick. And Maria–Maria had made sure the spell would prevent anyone inside from shifting into their wolves.

I had done this.noveldrama

My knees buckled beneath me, but I didn’t stop. I couldn’t. I screamed her name over and over, slamming myself against the wall until my body ached, until my throat was raw, until there was nothing left but the sound of her screams and the flames devouring everything.

And then, just like that, the screams stopped.

The silence was deafening.

“No…” I whispered, my voice barely audible as I fell to my knees. “No, no,

no…”

I pressed my hands against the ground, the reality of what I had done crashing over me in waves. My mother was gone. Elaine’s parents were gone. All of them, trapped inside because of me.

My head snapped up as movement caught my eye.

Elaine.

She was standing in the corner of the yard, her small figure illuminated by the firelight. She wasn’t screaming, wasn’t crying, -she was just standing there, rooted in place, her wide eyes fixed on the flames.

She looked… frozen.

“Elaine!” I called out, my voice breaking as I stumbled to my feet “Elaine, don’t-”

But she didn’t move. She just stood there, watching, her face pale and blank as the fire consumed everything.

And that’s when it hit me.

I felt the weight of it settle over me, crushing and suffocating, as if the fire wasn’t just outside but inside me, burning away everything I thought I was.

This wasn’t supposed to happen.

The world around me blurred as I turned back toward the house the flames still raging, the smoke billowing into the night sky. The wolves were still trying, still clawing and tearing at the house, but it was no use.

I had made sure of that.

I stumbled back, my legs shaking beneath me, my heart pounding in my chest. My vision blurred with tears as the realization sank in..

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