<h4>Chapter 182: Inside The Dark Mind</h4>


    <strong>Dean POV</strong>


    The world around me twisted and blurred, shifting until I was no longer leaning against a tree in the forest. Instead, I was inside Elena’s mind.


    But this wasn’t just her consciousness—it was something darker.


    The air was thick, heavy,ced with the scent of sex and something rotten. Shadows pulsed along the walls of wherever the fuck I was, shifting unnaturally like they were alive.


    And there she was.


    Elena.


    She was standing in the middle of the room, naked, her body covered in a thin sheen of sweat. But it wasn’t just her appearance that made my stomach clench—it was her eyes.


    Pitch ck.


    Empty. Endless. Wrong.


    She wasn’t alone.


    There were figures around her, all faceless, their hands reaching for her, touching her, worshipping her. She arched under their touch, her body writhing as they dragged their hands over her skin. But none of them were real. They flickered, like illusions, or maybe... manifestations of whatever the fuck was inside her.


    A low, breathy moan left her lips as she tilted her head back, eyes rolling.


    Her hands slid up her own body, nails dragging along her skin, her hips shifting as if she was riding some invisible force.


    "Elena." My voice came out sharper than I intended, but fuck, I needed to snap her out of this.


    Her ck eyes snapped to me.


    I froze.


    For a moment, I wasn’t looking at my mate. I was looking at something else.


    Something ancient. Hunger. Lust. Darkness.


    A slow, wicked smile stretched across her lips.


    "Dean," she purred, her voice syrupy sweet, but tainted. "What took you so long?"


    She took a step toward me, her hips swaying, and I caught a sh of sharp fangs. Not like mine. Something worse.


    I tensed, instinct screaming at me to move, but the second she reached for me, her fingers brushing my chest, I felt it.


    The pull.


    A force so strong it nearly made me stumble forward. It wasn’t the mate bond. It wasn’t even lust.


    It was something else.


    Something that wanted to devour me.


    "Elena, stop," I growled.


    She justughed. A slow, sultry sound that slid down my spine like a de.


    "Why?" she whispered, stepping closer, pressing herself against me, her hands trailing down my stomach. "You want me, don’t you? I can feel it."


    Her fingers wrapped around my cock, and fuck—she wasn’t wrong.


    I was hard.


    Even knowing this was wrong. Even knowing she wasn’t fully in control.


    Her hand tightened.


    "Give in, Dean," she murmured, brushing her lips along my jaw. "You’re mine."


    Fuck.


    I had to get out of here.


    I clenched my jaw, forcing my hands onto her shoulders, pushing her back.


    "Elena," I said again, forcing the dominance in my voice. "Wake up."


    Her smile faltered.


    Something flickered in her ck eyes.


    A sh of confusion.


    Then—pain.


    She gasped, clutching her head as the faceless figures around her screeched and began to dissolve into ck smoke.


    The shadows flickered, the world around us shaking.


    I was still inside her mind.


    And I was losing her.


    Elena stood before me, naked, her body glistening with sweat, her pupils dted and ck as the abyss. Her lips parted, her breathing out in ragged pants, her fingers curling at her sides as she watched me.


    No—she was hunting me.


    This wasn’t just Elena anymore. Something else had taken root inside her.


    And it wanted me to give in.


    Her voice came out in a soft purr. "Why are you fighting it, Dean?"


    She stepped toward me, her hips swaying, seduction in every movement. The pull between us crackled like raw electricity, my vampire instincts screaming at me to take her, im her, mark her.


    But I wouldn’t.


    Not like this.


    "Elena," I growled, keeping my feet nted despite my own raging need. "This isn’t you. You need to fight whatever the fuck this is."


    She sighed, rolling her head back. "You’re making this so difficult."


    Then her gaze snapped back to mine, something wicked shing across her face.


    "If you won’t give me what I need..." she whispered, licking her lips. "Someone else will."


    And that’s when the shadows moved.


    A dark figure emerged from the inky ckness, faceless, towering, its body shifting and flickering like it wasn’t bound by the samews of reality. It was humanoid, but wrong—unnatural.


    And it wasing for her.


    Elena didn’t resist when it reached her, its shadowy hands sliding over her bare skin, gripping her hips, her thighs. She let out a low moan, tilting her head back as the thing pushed her down onto all fours.


    What. The. Fuck.


    A snarl tore from my throat.


    "Elena!" I barked, stepping toward her, my hands curling into fists.


    She ignored me.


    Her back arched as the figure behind her positioned itself, its form shifting, taking on something more solid—something it was about to use to fuck her.


    I saw red.


    Pure, violent, bloodthirsty red.


    "No one touches my fucking mate while I’m around!" I roared, lunging forward.


    I swung hard, my fist connecting with the shadow’s chest.


    But instead of feeling solid, it dissolved.


    The fucking thing just—disappeared into thin air.


    I stumbled forward, my rage turning into confusion as I watched the shadows around us shift and swirl, as if they wereughing at me.


    Elena let out a frustrated whimper, her ck eyes shing.


    "Why did you do that?!" she snapped, ring at me like I had just denied her the greatest pleasure of her life. "I needed that!"


    My entire body went rigid.


    "The fuck you did," I growled, stepping closer to her. "You needed me to pull you out of whatever twisted hell this is!"


    Sheughed.


    A low, taunting, sinful sound.


    "I don’t need saving, Dean," she whispered, reaching out, trailing a single finger down my chest.


    I shuddered.


    Because it wasn’t just her touch.


    It was something deeper.


    A pull so carnal, so dangerous, that even I—a fucking vampire—felt like I was on the verge of losing control.


    "Elena," I exhaled, my jaw tightening. "This isn’t real. That thing wasn’t real. It’s fucking with you."


    She blinked, her lips parting slightly.


    And for a second—just a second—I saw something flicker behind her ck eyes.


    Something human.


    Something afraid.


    I grabbed her wrists, forcing her to look at me. "Fight it," I demanded. "I know you’re still in there."


    She shook her head. "It’s toote."


    "No, it’s not."


    She was trembling now, her breathing in short, sharp gasps.


    Then the world around us shuddered.


    The shadows pulsed, the figures flickering before they disappeared.


    Something was changing.


    Something was breaking.


    And just before I was ripped from her mind, I saw it.


    The real Elena.


    Terrified. Helpless. Screaming.


    And then—darkness.


    And just like that—I was ripped away.


    I gasped awake, my body jerking violently as I was thrown out of her mind.


    My breath came in sharp, ragged gulps.


    Kane was crouched in front of me, eyes narrowed. "What the fuck happened?"


    I wiped the sweat from my forehead, still reeling from the intensity of what I had just seen.


    "Elena," I exhaled. "She’s... not herself."


    Kane’s eyes darkened. "What do you mean?"


    I pushed off the tree, my entire body still shaking.


    "I mean, whatever the fuck is inside her? It’s winning."