Cecily
We all turn as one to hold Silas within our gaze. I don’t have to ask him for an explanation, for I know he’s about to give it to me whether I want it or not. “Here’s the deal, girl.” Silas adds emphasis on saying girl, as if my gender is a huge insult to him, like he can’t believe he’s lowering himself to speak to me. “It’s either you or me. Enter my shield and transfer every drop of your power to me, or break my protection and kill your mate. This bubble is tied to his life. As long as he lives, so will its protection over me.” Dread drops into my stomach like a lead brick.
I glance between the red hue of the bubble to William’s face and back again. The thrum of changing color matches the beating under my palm. My fingers squeeze into William’s flesh over his heart, and I know Silas speaks the truth.
“Hey.” Will’s gruff voice pulls my attention to him. The moment my eyes meet his, I’m sucked into his orbit. Everything else fades out of existence, it’s just the two of us here. “Don’t worry about me, my love. You need to destroy him. My life isn’t worth the souls of the rest of our people.” I move to object, even though I know he speaks the truth. He cuts me off before I’m able to make a sound. “Your destiny brought you to this point. Every moment in your life has led you here. You just need to keep your faith in the Fates. Everything will work out in the end. You’ll never lose me, even if I’m just living on in your heart and through my twin. I love you, Cecily. Trust in your powers. Trust in my determination to never leave you. We were already parted once; it’ll never happen again.”
The determination in his eyes begs me to trust in him, but the fear gripping my heart won’t release. I don’t even attempt to hide the wail fighting its way up my throat. I cling to his shirt and he pulls me into his grasp, his arms wrap around me, trying to offer comfort. My chest feels like it’s being crushed, and I can’t force any words to the surface. A void is trying to swallow me whole. And if I’m honest, the idea appeals to me.
“This is the way things were always meant to be, Darling. Poetic justice and all that. I was the hand behind the movements to destroy you the first time, now it’s your turn.” His joking tone falls flat, and I pull myself tighter into his hold. Why does he have to make it sound like he’s saying goodbye? It’s ripping my soul into shreds. Doesn’t he know I’ll be an empty shell without him? There’s no me without him. He pulls back and wipes my tears with his thumbs. After a moment of staring into my gaze, he gives me the sweetest kiss we’ve ever shared.
As he withdraws from me, it’s like my heart is no longer beating in my chest. There’s a hollowness where it should be. But I’m okay with it. I know I left my heart with William. He holds my happiness; my destiny is in his hands. I can’t bring myself to say I love him back right now. I believe in our traditions of never saying goodbye before a battle. “I’ll see you soon, my love. I’ll talk Alex into letting you choose tonight’s movie,” I whisper to him instead, wanting to hold on to the image of him being with us at the end of this horrific day.
He smiles up at me as I stand, and I burn the memory of it into my mind. “I’ll start thinking of options,” he plays along, knowing I need to hold on to the picture of hope. The deep breath I take does nothing to calm my nerves. It does, however, help in spiking my anger, which is probably better. If my world is about to implode, I’m sure as fuck going to take Silas down with me.
As I withdraw my full attention from William, the world around us comes back into focus. My mates are glancing around and relief fills their eyes when they land on us. “Fuck, I knew you were still here, but when you disappeared, I panicked for a moment,” Alex admits. He puts a hand on my shoulder to reassure himself that I’m still here in front of him. Derrick and Klaus are standing behind him with somber expressions. I had no idea my magic shielded William and I from view, but I’m thankful our moment was kept private.
Marcus glances at me from where he kneels beside me. “You have to take him down, baby. I’ll stay with William and make sure he’s okay. You’ve got this.” He further encourages me to do what I know is right. I take one last glance at William. Love shines from his eyes and I use its power to form my emotional shield. My eyes track over every millimeter of his face, memorizing everything it has to offer in this moment. I take a deep breath and spare one last glance at all of my mates, including William.
“As soon as the shield is down, I’ll transfer our shared magic to you. We can’t lose him, Marcus.”My words are for his ears only, and he gives me a sharp nod in response.
I turn my full focus onto Silas and the red dome around him. Instead of the slow probing I was doing before, I send the entire force of magic at my disposal into bringing down the protection it offers. With the bubble being tied to William’s life, it seems like getting this over with quickly would be better than drawing it out and making the pain last longer.
Silas’ eyes grow wide with my decision to take him down instead of saving my fated mate. He severely underestimated my devotion to my people. His smile fades with each passing second, it’s slowly replaced with fear, his eyes grow wide and his mouth drops open. I wish I could find joy in his reaction right now. Maybe someday I can look back and revel in the moment.
I try my best to ignore the stuttering beat of the red hue before me, but it’s impossible when my own heart seems to be following the pounding rhythm. Fissures of weakness spread out through the dome, and with each addition, the beating of my heart slows. The echo of William’s pain enters my chest, and the power flowing out of me screams in protest. Tears stream down my face as my heart breaks physically and emotionally.
The red fades from the bubble and there’s so many cracks, it’s almost impossible to spot Silas inside. Shattering echoes around me, signaling more than just the protection bubble bursting. The moment the sound explodes into existence, my heart briefly stops in my chest. My soul is engulfed in pain, a shredding agony wholly consumes my existence. My life comes to an end, there’s no joy left for me here…
In the next moment, an icy chill spreads from the center of my chest. My emotions suddenly flee, and even though I can’t experience it, something in my mind says it’s a sweet relief. My pain ends, my worries disappear, and my thoughts clear. The only thing I have left is the desire for revenge. It’s the only thought fueling my body, keeping me moving forward.
Thin wisps of red smoke float in the air on the edges of my narrowed vision. I don’t spare a glance for my mates as I send the full force of our magic into Marcus’ control. Murmuring spreads through the crowd of my people, but I ignore that too. I have no thoughts but those pushing me forward into reaching Silas. He lets out a barely audible yelp, which I’m sure would have brought me pleasure if I could experience such a thing anymore.
Rage consumes me. How dare this monstrosity before me even conceive he could get away with taking something of mine? Life is precious. From the moment the Fates brought us into existence, we’ve known our presence was to nurture life. And yet, here’s Silas thinking he can bend the will of our very essence. Thinking he’s better than everyone else and can just rewrite history into making himself the god of our people. Well, he has some lessons to learn.
My fury is so strong, it feels as if lasers should be slicing into Silas’ skin, cutting it from his body in excruciating slivers. I barely make it five steps before his panicked mind catches up with the situation. He desperately searches for a way out, but finds himself cut off from his followers and surrounded by my soldiers. Fear etches his features, but it doesn’t hold enough pain for my taste.I’ll change that.
There’s a pulling sensation from the middle of my chest and I know Marcus is now using our magic to do everything possible to bring William back to us. My mind isn’t used to the numbness my emotions are encased in. It tells me there should be some kind of reaction to knowing Marcus is trying to bring back my love... but there’s nothing filling the empty void.
I advance two more steps, cracking my knuckles and biting my lip with thoughts of what I’ll do first when I reach Silas. He takes in my expression and I watch as his smug confidence of having already won flees his stance. Before I can take my next step, he shouts out, “I challenge you to an Alpha battle.”
My eyes squint in irritation. The queen hasn’t been challenged for her throne since we were born into existence. It only took a few challenges before her subjects realized the Fates chose wisely. She never held back in the battles and several shifters lost their lives to arrogance. The Queen’s line has always been strong, and I can attest to us doing our due diligence to make sure we’re the best. Asking for an Alpha battle with the Queen is known as a social faux pas, and yet, Silas is doing it anyway.
His request creates a magical binding on my actions, preventing my advances in their tracks. There are rules when performing an Alpha challenge, ones tied to the very essence of our magic, and there’s no way to get around them. Our powers are restricted, only allowing us to shift into wolf form. I’m not sure exactly how Silas will be bound from using his blood magic, but I have faith in my own abilities.
Fighting breaks out once more from Silas’ followers. They attack my people, trying to reunite with Silas once more. I can’t spare them any attention, because Silas tries to use the distraction to sneak around to my back. A bubble forms around us. It’s similar to the one I just destroyed, except this one is shimmering between gold and silver.
We’re locked inside this bubble until one of us either kills the other, or someone submits. Silas reaches for one of the vials of blood at his waist. With a flick of his thumb, he pops the cork holding the contents inside the tube. He tips it into his mouth and tongues the opening with a moan, trying to get every drop.
He immediately moves to take off the belt holding the rest of his vials and places it on the ground. The soft thud causes one of the tubes to roll out, and I barely give the yellow tube any notice. With his new rush of stolen magic coursing through his veins, Silas shifts into his wolf form. The hulking black wolf crouches as wisps of black mist float off his fur. Seems his appearance matches his pitch-black void of a soul.
Before I have a chance to shift into my own wolf form, Silas is already lunging for my neck.Doesn’t surprise me the asshole is fighting dirty.I dive to the side just in time, and shift as I roll to my paws. Without pausing, I pounce to the side again, knowing he’ll already be trying to get his jaws around my neck. As expected, his teeth snap together on empty air in the space where my leg was just resting.
As his body sails past me, I swipe his side with my razor-sharp nails. A savage growl rips out of him, but his reflexes are well matched with my own, so my nails don’t sink as deep as I wish. He quickly resumes his crouched stance, standing right in front of me. We circle each other for a few rounds, never letting the other move from directly in front of us.
Every few steps, Silas tests my reflexes and lunges for one of my legs. Just as I begin to anticipate his pattern, and prepare myself to counterattack, he switches up his tactics. He jumps up and brings his paws over my head, trying to pin me to the ground. I quickly move to evade his attack, but his paw still hits the side of my head, his nails catching on my ear.
I wasn’t expecting the stinging pain and stumble to the side.Fuck this!A savage, angry growl vibrates from my chest. There’s a gleam of victory in Silas’ eyes, which my pride won’t allow me to ignore. I fake a lunge toward the left, but shift my weight at the last moment. My teeth snap around Silas’ front leg, and I lift my paws to push his head away from me. His head whips around, trying to slip my hold and sink his own teeth into my flesh.
