AllFreeNovel
Share Us
If seeing Byron's death had me a sniffling mess, nothing prepared me for the next round of bodies I saw. Mostly because it didn't make sense, but despite my brain knowing that, it didn't stop me from crying out and feeling like my heart died alongside them.
My mates, all three of them. They were all dead. Left on the ground to rot with the rest of the bodies.
First was Kai, who was flat on his back and seemed to have had his heart ripped out of his body. A trail of blood ran down from the corner of his mouth. His twin was further ahead, his head cocked to the side and a good chunk of his neck was missing. Lastly, there was Joaquin, and by then, my whole body quivered. My poor missing mate was face down in a puddle of what I assumed was his own blood. I counted seven silver stakes sticking out of his back, the flesh that wrapped around them charred and bubbled.
I collapsed on my hands and knees, dry heaving and struggling to breathe. This was why I couldn't feel them. They were gone; all of them. "This.... This can't be real," I wheezed. "This isn't real. It can't be!"
A sick, twisted question came to mind, and I was terrified to find the answer to it. Even so, I pulled myself to my feet and ran to the other bodies across the yard. I found my answer all right, and whether this was a dream or reality no longer mattered in that moment. Whatever it was, this image would still haunt me for the rest of my life. It wasn't just my mates that were here. Everybody was dead. Sabina, Javier, Del, the rest of their harem, even abuelita.
I gripped my head with both hands, strands of my hair tangled between my fingers. My vision blurred as I struggled to breathe. Everyone was dead. Nobody was left, and I was all alone. For the third time since somehow arriving back in Kingsrose, I fell to the ground and screamed in horror.
"Quite the sight, isn't it?" a woman's voice spoke behind me.
I quickly turned around and spotted the same silver-haired woman from before, standing in the center surrounded by all the corpses. Her fingers toyed with that fucking gold thread of hers, and I was tempted to yank it away from her. She frowned as she looked to all the bodies, shaking her head as if disappointed by all the mess.
"Such a tragedy. So many lives lost," she said.
"How did this happen?" I asked in a shaky tone, slowly pulling myself back up. My eyes narrowed as I stared her down. "Did you do this?"
She shook her head. "This wasn't my doing, dear Rosalinda. This was yours."
"What?" I gasped. "What do you mean, this was mine? How could I have done this? And who the fuck are you, anyway? What do you want from me?"
"My name is Atropos. I'm one of the Sisters of Fate, and this—” she gestured the massacre around us—"is your future created from your defiance."
I didn't know what to focus on first; one of the goddesses of Fate in the flesh, talking to me, or her telling me that this was what I had to look forward to since I rejected my mate bond with Pierce. This was the price I'd pay for mating with my guys instead of Pierce; everyone I love perishing.
"Is this really what will happen?" I asked softly, not wanting to accept what was being shown to me.
"I'm afraid so, little wolf," Atropos said.
"But you're the one in charge of everyone's lifespan. Can't you say no to this?"
Atropos shook her head. "It's not that simple. My sisters and I aren't in charge of shaping the future, nor do we get involved in the affairs of the living. We're merely told who's born, who lives, who dies, and for how long. When their lifespan is up, we cut the thread."
I could feel the fight in me dying with every word Atropos spoke. If what she said was true, then what was the point? What was the point in rejecting Pierce? In Joaquin sacrificing himself to help us escape? In my friends, mates and I being on the run? Why continue when this was what our future looked like? This was the result of me trying to be in charge of my life. My destiny. Was I doomed to not have the right to choose?
"The funny thing about Fate, is that it's unavoidable. It's a force not of this world. No amount of free will or mental and physical strength can surpass it. In the end, we're all a victim to its ways. It's the way of the world."
Pierce's words from when we talked for the first time came back to me. I hated thinking he was right, that Fate was unavoidable. Nothing I could possibly do could change the outcome.I lifted my gaze to Atropos. "Isn't there anything that can be done to change this? Is there no way to spare them from this outcome? If I have to sacrifice myself, then so be it. Kill me, but please spare them."
"You'd risk your life for theirs?" Atropos asked with a raised eyebrow.
I nodded without giving it a second thought. "In a heartbeat. My life isn't worth it. If I can't have my freedom, then I don't want to keep living anyway. Cut my life thread if it means the people I love can live."
Atropos' gaze stayed on me while her mind was working overtime. I'd give anything to know what she was thinking. If she thought I was bluffing, I'd gladly prove her wrong. I'd slice my throat here and now if that was what it took. This future would not come true if I could help it.
After what felt like a century later, Atropos finally spoke up. "I can see why Selene has chosen you to bare her gift."
My eyebrows raised up to my hairline in surprise. "What makes you say that?"
"You're willing to die for your loved ones. You're willing to do whatever it takes to protect them. You're like Selene in that sense, willing to break the laws of life and order, but also willing to offer yourself for those you've bound yourself to. Now if only you're able to tap into the full strength of that precious gift of yours."
She knew about the Wolf Moon's gift. Did that mean she knew what it was? "What can you tell me about the Wolf Moon’s gift?"
Atropos unwrapped and rewrapped her hand in that gold thread she had with her. I couldn't help wondering if that was my life thread. The source of my lifespan. If she wanted to, she could cut it and there wouldn't be anything I could do to stop her.
"The gift is a lot of things," Atropos began. "It's a power that not even the magic my sisters and I possess can penetrate. It's a blessing from the moon. It's an essence of Selene herself. Most of all, it unlocks the true potential of a wolf shifter."
