Page 34 of Kraved By Krampus

“Clara.” Her name falls from my lips as ice crystallizes along the walls. Magnus’s energy signature warps, the usually steady pulse of protection magic stuttering like a faltering heartbeat.

I press my palm against the nearest wall, seeking closer connection with the house’s consciousness.What happened?

Magnus’s response comes as a frantic swirl of images—Clara at the door, her hands glowing faintly on the doorknob as she pushed against the magical barriers, the door giving way despite Magnus’s attempts to keep her inside.

Why didn’t you alert me immediately?

Another cascade of impressions floods my mind: Clara’s awakening magic temporarily interfering with our connection, creating a delay in Magnus’s warning system.

“Fuck.” The temperature plummets as I shift into my true form, shadows writhing around me. Her magic is growing stronger, faster than I anticipated. Strong enough to disrupt ancient wards, even if only briefly.

I throw open my study door, moving with inhuman speed through the halls. The front door hangs open, winter wind whipping snow across the threshold. Clara’s magical signature trails into the darkness like golden breadcrumbs, but it’s tainted by something else. Something ancient and malevolent.

She walked right into its trap.My claws extend as rage builds in my chest.I should have told her everything. Should have prepared her.

A scream pierces my brain—Clara’s voice, filled with terror and confusion. The sound rips through me, awakening something fierce and protective. My horns lengthen as I launch myself into the night, following her magical trail towards the woods.

Hold on, little mate. I’m coming.

Chapter eighteen

Clara

Cold seeps through my sweater as the creature drags me deeper into the dark forest. The fog has thinned a bit so I can see, but my feet barely touch the ground, the entity’s grip like bands of iron around my chest. Each desperate attempt to break free only makes it hold tighter.

What was I thinking coming out here alone?

Branches whip past my face. The shadows between the trees seem alive, writhing and dancing in ways that can’t be natural. The temperature plummets with each passing moment, my breath forming crystals in the air.

A low growl echoes through the trees, and the creature holding me freezes. The sound isn’t like anything I’ve ever heard before - primal and filled with rage.

Krampus.

The entity’s grip tightens painfully, drawing a gasp from my lips. It moves faster now, practically flying between the trees. My head spins as we twist and turn, the world becoming a blur of darkness and snow.

Another growl, closer this time. The shadows around us pulse with red light.

“Let. Her. Go.” His voice rumbles through the forest like thunder.

The creature hisses, a sound like breaking glass. Its grip shifts, and suddenly I’m pressed against what feels like ice, something sharp pressing against my throat.

My heart nearly stops. Through the darkness and mist, a massive figure emerges. This isn’t the sophisticated being I’ve grown used to seeing around the cabin. This is something else entirely—ancient and terrifying.

Krampus towers before us, completely transformed, his obsidian horns gleaming in the moonlight, stretching toward the sky like deadly spears. His fur-trimmed cloak writhes with living shadows, moving as if caught in a wind I can’t feel. Chains wrapped around his massive frame chime with an otherworldly resonance, each note vibrating through my bones. The sound isn’t random - it’s a harmony that makes the air thick with magic.

Oh god, he’s huge.

He must be over eight feet tall. His muscled form is covered in armor that seems to absorb what little light remains. The obsidian plates shift like liquid darkness as he moves, and my writer’s mind struggles to process the impossible way they flow.

His legs are different too—powerful and covered in thick, dark fur, ending in hooved feet that leave smoking impressions in the snow. But it’s his hands that make my breath catch. Those elegant claw-tipped fingers I’ve watched hold teacups and turnpages have transformed into deadly weapons, with claws longer than any I’ve ever seen.

This is what he truly is. This is what he’s been hiding.

The raw power emanating from him makes my knees weak, even as the creature’s grip keeps me upright.

“I said.” His voice is deeper, more guttural than I’ve ever heard it. “Let. Her. Go.”

The creature makes that glass-breaking sound again, pressing whatever’s at my throat harder. I try not to swallow, feeling it bite into my skin.

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