赤裸裸的滑稽故事

When Caleb entered the portal, he knew he planned to do everything he could to destroy the Dark Queen, no matter what.

It had taken every ounce of self-control in his body to force him to walk away from Ashleigh as she lay tangled in the roots on the forest floor. He felt the fear in her heart, the tightness of the roots as they slithered around her body. He felt the way she gasped for air.

He also felt her determination to ensure the safety of their people. How much she needed him to go, how scared she was for the wolves of Summer and Lily.

But once Caleb had crossed the portal, he couldn't feel her anymore. Their bond was immediately blocked, just as it had been every time Ashleigh visited with the original Lunas.

Whether she still breathed or not, he had no idea. Whether he had left his mate to die a slow miserable death alone and helpless… he didn't know.

And he didn't know if he had made the right decision. For the first time in his life, he questioned if putting the needs of Summer before his own would lead to a life filled with regret.

The uncertainty of his mate, his life, his loyalty. All of it filled him with a violent fury.

When he stepped onto the golden road, he felt a terrible pain in his chest at the separation of his connection with Ashleigh. But very quickly, he was reminded of why he was here as he saw the road and the walls of the golden tunnel begin to shudder and fade.

The Dark Queen was already at work trying to consume Lily. Caleb would not let her succeed.

He ran forward, not having to go far before he found a horrific sight.

Before him was an eight-foot-tall creature made of twisted roots and vines, squirming and slithering over each other to bind it together. It faced away from him, but he knew without a doubt that he was looking at the Dark Queen.

From the base of this twisted mass of roots, seven much thicker, larger roots extended to different points along the golden road. Not far from him, one of these roots had pierced the road.

"Oh yes…. That is delicious…." He heard a rasping voice say in a mocking and sickening tone.

The road shook, and the golden walls faded in and out.

"What's the matter, Lily?" the voice called out with a callous delight.

Caleb approached the root that was closest to him. He looked at the back of the monster, vines twisting and turning.

"Feeling a bit weakened?" She continued to mock Lily.

He pulled the obsidian sword from his waist and raised it above him in the air. Prepare to bring it down on the thick root before him.

"Strange, I'm feeling quite energi–AHH!"

Destroying that first root, hearing the excruciating cry from the Dark Queen felt good, necessary even. Unfortunately, she recovered her senses quickly and immediately focused on him.

She whipped her body around to face him. The strange wooden mask of her face wore an angry and wild expression. She hissed, the remnant of the severed root recoiled into her mass of vines and roots.

With an angry growl, several smaller tendrils pulled away from her body, immediately turning toward Caleb and shooting toward him like spears.

Caleb's eyes widened, and he quickly threw himself toward the ground, rolling away just before two tendrils pierced the golden road where he had stood. But, unfortunately, the Queen was not willing to ease her attack. Before Caleb even got to his feet, another wave of speared roots lunged toward him.

Caleb managed to summon a shield into his hand, blocking those he was not fast enough to avoid. The Dark Queen sent wave after wave, seemingly a never-ending supply twisting and pulling from her tangled body.

He knew that he could not stay in this position. Soon enough, his shield would break, or the Queen would find a way around it.

Taking a deep breath and listening for the sound that cut through the air, he waited until she launched another attack. Then, when he was sure of their distance, Caleb lowered his shield and swiped at them with the obsidian blade, quickly cutting through them.

Five tendrils fell to the ground, smoking and black. The Dark Queen let out another scream, but Caleb had missed two. One did manage to cut his arm, and the other penetrated his side.

He stepped back, cutting the root in his side away from the rest of her mass. Caleb yanked the remains from the wound, it fell apart in his hand, and then the ashes dropped to the golden road below him.

He touched his side, there was blood, but the wound itself was not deep. Neither injury was significant enough to slow his movements or alter his course.

Caleb got to his feet, dashing toward the next of the giant thick roots that had forced themselves into the road. Without taking the time to stop, he swung his sword and dragged it across the root, once more drawing a satisfactory scream from the monster.

He managed a third before the Dark Queen could do anything to stop him. And with each separation, the golden bridge became more solid while the Dark Queen hollered and hissed.

She had tried to catch him, but he had avoided her tendrils sweeping at his ankles and trying to grab at his limbs.

Now he was running toward the fourth root. There were four left to remove. From what Caleb could tell, the Queen was not able to regrow these larger, thicker roots. He assumed that there was a reason she was using them to draw on Lily's life force. Perhaps, these roots, in particular, were closer to natural limbs than the tiny tendrils she attacked with.

He dashed forward, avoiding another speeding tendril. It wasn't far now, just a few more steps.

To his surprise, the root separated itself, detaching from the golden road and swinging straight toward him. He was not prepared for the attack.

The root hit his body with a solid thud. Caleb let the sword slip from his hands, sending it sailing through the air toward the entrance of the golden tunnel. The heavy root flung him backward off his feet.

He landed on his back, hitting the golden road painfully as the wind was knocked from his lungs. Before Caleb could recover, two smaller tendrils wrapped at his ankles, slithering to his knees. They immediately started dragging him toward the Queen.

Caleb summoned a dagger into his hand. He growled as he pulled himself to a sitting position, still being dragged. He tried to cut through one of the tendrils on his leg, but it was difficult. They were solid and slippery, much more so than the treants or the hybrids he had fought before.

Another tendril wrapped around his body, pulling his hands back and binding them at his side. He was lifted into the air and hauled before the Queen. Her wooden mask wore an amused grin.

Caleb clenched his jaw and drew on his presence, pushing his will toward her.

The Dark Queen let out a hearty laugh.

"Foolish child," she whispered. "I have fought Queens, monsters, creatures that you silly little puppies would worship as gods and demons. You may have the purest blood of your kind, but you are still just a mongrel."

Caleb swallowed as she brought him closer to her.

"Your power is nothing to me," she continued. "It was meant for leadership. To inspire and deter. To offer your strength to those that would follow and impose your will on those that would defy."

The Dark Queen tilted her head in amusement.

"But I do not recognize any leadership except my own. I do not fear anyone. You and the rest of your mutts can do nothing to defeat me! I will see the end of your species today!" she shouted angrily. "Starting with you…."

"Not a chance!" an angry voice shouted from beside them.

Caleb turned just as the obsidian blade came down between him and the Dark Queen, severing the roots that held him to her. His body was released, and he fell, landing on his feet. He quickly corrected and put distance between himself and the Queen.

The Dark Queen quickly responded, swinging her roots at the intruder as she screamed angrily.

Caleb had been so focused on defeating the monster that threatened his mate, so determined to destroy her, that he had missed the moment when their connection was reignited.

With an angry growl, Ashleigh swept the sword at the tendrils that flew at her. The Dark Queen hissed in her frustration as they shriveled back into her, and she turned her tangled body to block the remaining roots that fed on Lily.

Caleb moved to stand beside his Luna as they stared down the Dark Queen.

"Nice to see you," he whispered.

Ashleigh nodded, keeping her eyes focused.

"Ready to do this?" she asked.

"Together?" he smiled.

"As it should be," Ashleigh grinned.