Mated to the Mad Lord-Chapter 265: Dust

Uva was still calm until Violet burst into tears, and at that point, she could no longer keep quiet as she opened her mouth to speak.

"I-I’m only doing what I know is best!" Uva insisted, her voice trembling slightly, yet still holding firm.

Violet’s sobs were raw and filled with frustration. Her hands clenched into tight fists at her sides, her nails digging into her palms. "Best? Best?!" she choked out, shaking her head furiously. "You don’t get to decide that, Uva! That potion was our only chance! Now it’s gone! Cain is still trapped, and we have nothing!"

Uva took a deep breath, her eyes flickering toward Cain’s unmoving form. "I know you’re scared," she said, stepping closer to Violet. "But that wasn’t the solution. If you had given him the rest of it, you would have killed him. You think I don’t care? That I want this to happen? I stopped you because I refuse to watch you make a mistake you can’t take back."

Violet’s shoulders shook as she wiped furiously at her tear-streaked face. "You have no proof of that! You don’t know if it would have killed him!"

Uva hesitated, her gaze darkening. "I do."

The certainty in her voice sent a chill down Violet’s spine. "What?" she whispered, her breath hitching.

Uva took a deep breath, steadying herself. "I used a spell to look inside Cain’s body before you arrived. I saw what was happening to him, Violet. That black drop you gave him—it wasn’t just a potion. It was something far worse."

Violet’s stomach twisted with unease. "What do you mean?"

Uva had just opened her mouth to explain, but before the words could come out, a deep, guttural growl rumbled through the air, freezing everyone in place.

Cain’s massive form trembled, and then, with a violent jerk, he rose from the ground. His monstrous head tilted upward as he let out a deafening, ground-shaking roar, the force of it rattling the very walls of the mansion.

Henry and his guards stumbled back, hands instinctively reaching for their weapons, fear etched into their faces. Violet herself staggered, her pulse racing, expecting an attack.

His behavior was clearly back to its abnormal state, and Violet could feel her heart pounding and thumping in her chest as she wondered if this attack was the one that would truly kill her.

But then—Cain didn’t lunge. He didn’t strike. He didn’t move to harm anyone.

Instead, his massive body began to tremble, muscles shifting beneath thick fur, bones cracking in rapid succession. His claws scraped against the wooden floor as his entire form contorted, twisting and reshaping itself. The monstrous features that had defined him for so long slowly started to fade.

Realization struck them all at once—

He was shifting back.

A sudden, agonized snarl tore from Cain’s throat as his transformation took a violent turn.

His body jerked uncontrollably, his massive limbs spasming, slamming against the walls with bone-rattling force. The impact sent cracks spider-webbing through the wood and plaster, dust raining from the ceiling as the very foundation of the mansion groaned beneath his violent thrashing.

"Cain!" Violet screamed, her hands covering her ears as another guttural roar shook the air. Her entire body trembled, fear and helplessness colliding inside her.

"Get back!" Henry shouted, grabbing Violet’s arm and pulling her away just as Cain’s tail lashed out, shattering a wooden pillar. The splinters flew like shrapnel, embedding themselves into the walls and floor.

"This is bad! He’s tearing the place apart!" one of Henry’s guards yelled, barely dodging a flying chunk of debris.

Violet was beyond terrified. Not only could Cain bury them under the mansion’s remains, but once he fully transformed back into human form, he would be left vulnerable beneath the wreckage. She wasn’t sure even his regenerative powers could bring him back if he was crushed into pulp beneath tons of wood and stone.

"We have to get out of here!" another guard shouted. "The whole place is coming down!"

Henry gritted his teeth, eyes darting around in desperation. Cain’s claws gouged deep trenches into the floorboards, the structure groaning in protest as holes began forming in the upper levels.

"Not yet!" he barked. "We can’t leave him!"

"He’s in agony!" Violet cried, her voice breaking as she fought against Henry’s grip. "We have to do something!"

"There’s nothing we can do!" Uva snapped, her own voice strained despite the firm set of her expression. "If we interfere, we could make it worse! All we can do is wait!"

Cain let out another soul-piercing howl, enough to make Violet almost scream in pain herself. The sound was unbearable, raw suffering reverberating through every inch of the air around them.

Uva, standing by the stairs, ignored the blood trickling from her ears. She barely blinked, her eyes locked onto Cain’s thrashing form with an eerie stillness. Her fingers twitched at her sides, as if fighting the urge to act, but she held her ground.

The mansion trembled violently, the lanterns flickering wildly, their dim light barely keeping the shadows at bay.

Then—

A sickening crack echoed through the air, followed by a final, gut-wrenching roar that faded into a heavy silence.

The ground stilled. The dust settled.

Cain lay motionless, face down on the floor. Naked as the day he was born.

For a long, unbearable moment, no one dared to move. Then, Henry exhaled sharply, bolted forward as if jolted awake. "Get a cloak! Now!" he barked at the nearest guard, who immediately dashed off.

But Violet was already moving, running toward Cain without a second thought, dropping to her knees beside him. Her hands trembled as she reached for him, fingers ghosting over his bare skin. His breathing was faint but steady, his form now fully human, his body slack with exhaustion.

But her eyes had just focused on his head when she froze, taken aback by what she saw, even as she heard Henry speak to her from behind, his focus still more on the surroundings.