The Lycan King's Fate Calling (Shawn Gibson and Sylvia)
Chapter 1126 A Python

Crystal's POV:

'What did it say?" Rufus asked, turning serious now. "I deleted it," I lied without missing a beat.

That message was calling me out by my original name. Rufus must not see it, no matter what, or things would only get even more complicated.

"Do you still remember what it said?" Rufus frowned, his eyes never leaving my face.

I nodded. "I didn't recognize the number, and I have no idea who the sender might be. But whoever it was, they knew my name and made some threats. They even mentioned Beryl."

"Do you think you can recall the phone number?" Rufus asked, never doubting my words for one second. "I can have someone trace its IP address."

"Yes, I remember." I had pored over that message repeatedly last night, unable to sleep. Naturally, I had come to memorize the cursed number.

I cited the numbers without batting an eye, only for Rufus to hold up his hand. "Too fast, I didn't catch it." "Huh?" I frowned in confusion. This man had a photographic memory. How could he have missed a short series of digits?

Nonplussed, Rufus took out his phone and handed it to me. "Add me on your contact list and send me the number."

For one brief moment, I found myself at a loss. What was he up to? But our priority was to find Beryl, so I quickly swapped our contact details on our phones and sent him the mysterious number.

Rufus then turned his back to me and made a few phone calls. When he faced me again, we finally had results. "The IP address was traced back to the imperial palace, and it was last active in... the forbidden forest."

His face turned dark as he spoke, and I knew that I mirrored his expression.

"Let's go there right now." Without a moment to lose, Rufus barked at his men, and we all headed to the forbidden forest.

The place was shrouded with a foreboding aura, just as it had always been.

The only difference I could tell was that the woods seemed to be denser, and a veil of mist seemed to hover among the branches. Rufus divided his men into several groups before sending them out to search the forest.

I was left with Rufus. We walked side by side, our senses keenly attuned to our surroundings.

Perhaps Rufus and Beryl had a special connection, after all, because he strode straight into a certain direction like a homing missile set on its course.

We went deeper into the woods, where the sky turned darker, and the ground beneath us was covered with thick moss so green, it was almost black. If we weren't careful, the moss could swallow our feet whole.

Twigs and vines intertwined on massive tree trunks in a strange, almost symmetrical pattern.

Although it wasn't my first time coming to the forbidden forest, I was still as creeped out as any newcomer would be.

I sneaked a glance at Rufus. Sure enough, he was calm and focused, like he already knew where he was going.

Soon, the scenery around us became more familiar. I didn't realize until then that Rufus had brought us to the spot where Noreen was buried; we just took a different path.

In the distance stood a tall, prominent tree, and I recognized it immediately. This was how Laura and I remembered the spot we chose to bury Noreen.

Rufus turned to me and said, "Beryl is probably over there."

My heart sank. He moved forward, and I trailed behind him. My own intuition told me that Beryl was indeed there.

My mind had gone blank, but I

preferred it that way. I didn't dare to

het

think about anything else beyond finding my daughter. My heart picked up its pace as we drew closer to the tree, until it was hammering so fast inside my chest that could hardly breathe.

I couldn't feel the ground beneath me. It felt as though I was floating, untethered to any semblance of reality.

Then I saw Rufus' men in my

peripheral vision, springing out from the bushes to surround the tree. I balled my hands into fists as I laid eyes on her. Beryl's tiny body was tied to the upper part of the tree's trunk. She was unconscious, her head lolling limply to the side.

Worse still, a flat-headed python was resting in a nearby branch, its black and red scales glistening in the dim light seeping through the branches.

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