Offered to the Triplet Alphas

[Asher]

Why did I bring you here, Xanthea?

Out of all the beautiful places I could have taken you, why did I bring you into this darkness?

Is it because no one in all the three realms knows of this place-not my family, not even Raven and Ezra?

Or is it because I wanted you to know this place? But why?

You make me question Xanthea. You make me question myself, but you leave me with no answers because my mind can no longer comprehend my actions and the reasons behind them. And to ask you directly is not even an option. One question will lead to another and another. And I have only limited answers. I do not know how much of myself I should reveal to you. How much of me would you be interested to know about? Or if you would be interested at all? I don't know how you'll see me beyond the facade I put before you, for there is a darkness in my soul blacker than the one that fills this room. Like a rotten apple, corroded at its core, I keep polishing my outer cover, keeping it shiny and desirable. But beyond it, there's nothing to be desired.

I never had a problem sharing anything with my brothers. But you, Xanthea. You.

I want to keep you all for myself.

I need something from you, expect something from you. What? I can't tell, but it's something only you can give me.

And that is why I can't be with you the way I have been with everyone else all my life, from my family to my peers.

I want to show you the real me, but I am not sure if you'd like what you see.

If I shed my masks before you, would you stay by my side? Would you look for me in my hollowness, the way you are looking for me in this dark room? Or would you want to escape?

***

Before teleporting, Icifer wanted to take Xanthea somewhere private. Somewhere it would be just the two of us and nobody else. I still can't believe this was the first place that came to my mind, almost as if it had been planted there by

someone.

My wolf, my mind, and my body have been acting unexpectedly and uncontrollably when it comes to her. Even so, I found myself humbly surprised tonight.

Even though she was my mate, there was no reason for me to bring her to a place this deeply personal to me. So personal, I never wanted to share it with anyone.

Maybe I was here because Icifer didn't want to share Xanthea with anyone, either.

Xanthea stretched out her hands. Her eyes opened wide as she tried to grope her way through the nothingness of this room. She was breathing heavily, as though the bitter air of this room strangled her.

She strained her eyes, trying to see through the dense darkness that hung heavy around her. A darkness so dense it seemed to have materialized, tightening around her like a shroud.

Although I highly doubted she'd be able to figure out where we were, she wouldn't be able to see a thing in here, anyway.

This room had a touch of cold and stale death, especially designed to impair all the senses of whoever was in here. Especially sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch.

I don't know how she would perceive this place, but a few hours of isolation in this place was enough for an immortal with a powerful wolf's spirit to lose their mind.

From their hearing to their wolf's senses, would be highly impaired. Things like disturbing hallucinations, hearing voices, reliving one's darkest traumas were common symptoms. This place brought to reality one's deepest emotions, fears and memories through the illusion of one's bewildered mind.

And I could see Xanthea already struggling with them as she crumbled to the floor, her eyes wide with horror.

I wonder what she was hallucinating about?

"Please don't. Please don't lock me here again. It's too dark. I promise I'll be on my suppressants all the time. I am sorry! I-I shouldn't have wanted it. I shouldn't have craved it, enjoyed it! Luna! Luna Meesa! Please don't leave me here! I don't want to be alone! It's scary..." she cried, impatiently hitting the air as though she were banging on a door.

She stopped banging as though someone had opened the invisible door.

"No... No! NO! I am not dirty! I am not a slut! Open the door! Get me out! Get me out of here!" she broke into sobs, shutting her ears as though she was hearing too many voices, catcalling her at the same time. 'Asher! She's gonna lose her mind! Take her out of here!' Icifer growled.

I contemplated her stoically.

Icifer was my wolf, but recently he had been more hers than mine.

Xanthea looked around frantically, her breaths turning into desperate gasps. She shook her head. Disturbed, she clenched her hair into her fists, shaking her head.

'Fucking stop it! You are hurting her!' She went through a little pain and Icifer turned feral.

I kept peering at her, replying to all of Icifer's restlessness with my silence as I observed Xanthea closely.

"This is not real..." she mumbled to herself, tears streaming down her face. "It can't be real. Not again. I can't be back at the Virgo palace. I can't return to that life. No. No. No. This makes no sense." She scrubbed off the tears from her cheeks, fighting through the illusions of her mind.

"They can't control me! I won't let them! Ezra..."

She clenched her chest, shutting her eyes as she chanted Ezra's name, as though it were a source of strength for her.

That didn't make much difference to me, but it seemed to have pissed Icifer off.

Clenching her belly, she curled up her knees closer to her chest. The jitter in her body went to an absolute standstill.

'Let me go close to her. I'll take her out of here,' Icifer said, restlessly.

I narrowed my eyes. She was mumbling something to herself again.

'Just watch,' I thought to him calmly.

"I am hallucinating. This has to be an illusion of my mind. There's nothing to fear. I was with Asher..."

Inch by inch, she crawled on the floor until her fingers brushed against the wall. She banged on the wall as though she hoped there was someone beyond those walls to hear her plea. But there was no one far and wide.

"Mother always said it's not the darkness, but the unknown we fear. If I can't see, I'll imagine something familiar, something known, something peaceful. I won't be trapped again. Not even in my own mind! Never again!" She sounded like she was challenging the darkness.

Her eyes glared through the dark, pulling away the web of fear that messed up her mind. Her heart raced, her breaths ragged with determination as she scrambled to her feet.

She got up with the support of the wall. Crouching low, feeling the wall and floor with her hands and legs alternatively, she began trudging. Her hands were shaking, but not from fear, but the adrenaline rush. I could sense it in the way her scent grew stronger.

That was unexpected.

I cocked a brow when her fingers glided against the wall, gently tracing the ridges and grooves, the texture and patterns of the wall. She was looking for a door.

'Doesn't look like your mate is losing her mind anytime soon, Icifer,' I said. 'She is adapting. Trying to find a way even though it's futile because there is no door in this room or a window or ventilation. It is just a big box, holding the world's most malignant darkness.'

I peered at her blankly.

"Asher? Are you here? This is a game, right? You want me to find you?" Her voice was shaky and uncertain.

I widened my eyes slightly.

Instead of succumbing to the darkness' illusions, she created a counter reality. She imagined a scenario where this was all a game I planned.