Chapter 222


    Tessa and Zeke ceased to exist as my vision tunneled,pletely centered on Rowena’s prideful


    expression.


    “You killed my brother.” I barely recognized my own voice.


    The savageness in it was foreign to my ears, a quality I’d only ever seen Asher possess. I never


    thought I was capable of blind hatred, the kind that devours everything good about a person until all


    that’s left inside of them is ckness, but I’d been wrong.


    I hated Rowena. I hated her with every fiber of my being, with every breath I took and with every beat


    that shuddered my broken heart.


    The edge was so close that my skin began to tingle with the familiar sensation of falling, but I didn’t


    lose my bnce until Rowena opened her mouth and spoke.


    “Well, technically your mate did that, darling. We did need another sacrifice, after all.” She rolled her


    eyes, inspecting her nails,pletely oblivious that these were the final moments of her pathetic life.


    “It’s rather inconvenient your grandmother survived, though. I’ve never failed to stop someone’s heart


    before. It seems the old broad had more strength than I gave her credit for.”


    My body moved on its own, disconnected from my head as I lunged at Rowena.


    Rowena glided backwards, my ws missing her face by inches. She waggled her finger at me, smiling


    coyly like I was a child throwing a tantrum.


    “Ah, ah, ah. Can’t have you doing anything rash and ending the fun.” She giggled, emerald eyes


    dancing in the darkness. Besides, there’s so much to tell you now that you know the truth. I’m going to


    savor that look on your face. You know the one I’m talking about, don’t you? When you realize how


    royally you messed up, and that every problem you and your pack have faced has all led back to you.”


    One second I’d been drowning in rage, and the next I was struggling to breathe. A phantom hand


    mped down on my throat, squeezing every drop of air from my lungs. I couldn’t gasp-couldn’t make


    a sound as I wed at the nothingness choking me out.


    “Don’t even think about it.” Rowena hissed at Tessa and Zeke. “I’ll kill her right now if either of you take


    so much as a step. Don’t think for a second that the blood-witch can’t reanimate her corpse.”


    I didn’t look at either of them, especially Zeke. I didn’t want to see my friend, an Alpha whose strength


    nearly matched Asher’s, mourning my death with his eyes.


    The phantom grip on my throat loosened, but only barely. I gasped loudly, sucking in just a pinch of air


    before it mped back down again.


    “So, L. Do you remember that story I told you about my childhood? The one with the little witch next-


    door that taught me everything I knew?” Rowena hummed, not bothering to wait for my response since


    it wasn’ting. “You see, I never mentioned why she left. I woke up one morning to find that her


    family had moved away. As it turns out, they were running from something, from an Alpha the mother


    murdered many years ago. That little girl I was friends with,


    Freya was her name, not only was she his daughter, but she also grew up to be the most powerful


    blood-witch our kind has ever seen.”


    Freya, half-sister to my dad’s mate, Flora.


    Her grin brightened at the horror and fury on my face. She was soaking this up, every fucking drop. It’s


    why she kept loosening her hold, allowing me the smallest bit of oxygen before mping down once


    more.


    “That’s right, L. The blood-witch taught me how to harness the darkest parts of my magic. You think


    any other Natural would dare stop someone’s heart? Bah, they all fear their power! I, on the other


    hand, I bask in it.” She eximed, her head tilted back, and eyes closed as she breathed in deeply. Her


    eyes met my own once more and in them I saw fragrant disappointment. “If only you had such vision,


    L. You could’ve stopped all of this before it ever started. Oh, well. You’ll lose consciousness soon,


    and when you wake up, you’ll get to meet Freya for yourself.”


    She was right in more ways than one.


    The hand around my throat tightened hard enough to bruise. Panic red to life when the first of many


    dark splotches filled my vision. My thoughts lost their sharp edge, dulling like the de of a knife. In a


    spider’s web. Every move I made only tangled me further.


    When I felt that familiar jolt of electricity, I would’ve cried out with relief had I any air in my lungs.


    Get her off of me.


    The phantom hand cutting off my air supply and squeezing the life from my body twitched. A numbing


    wave of exhaustion began to take hold, spreading from my chest as it tugged at my eyelids and turned


    my bones to led. 1


    The amulet around my neck began to warm


    Wait, a second. The amulet.


    Rowena’s gift to me, the one she said would strengthen my power and help me focus it.


    All this time, I thought there was something wrong with me. Every time I used my magic to conjure


    something I’d feel absolutely wasted.


    I stopped wing at my throat, trying and failing to pry her magic off my windpipe, and instead grabbed


    the amulet where it rested along my sternum. The gold-framed ruby was hot to the touch, stinging the


    palm of my hand the tighter I held on.


    “What are you doing?” Rowena said, her voice cold and so very distant. “Don’t you dare, L!”


    With a sharp tug, I ripped the amulet away from my chest, smiling as the thin chain snapped in half.


    A loud crack split the air. Perhaps it was from my teeth smashing together, or from my body hitting the


    ground. I had no clue, nor did I care.


    I threw my hand out in Rowena’s direction, fingers outstretched.


    Air filled my lungs in a single great whoosh, sending the ck spots scattering. The urge to cough and


    hack was strong, but the power


    7243


    I felt held it at bay.


    How had I not noticed the hold that amulet had over my magic, how it sucked my energy and scattered


    Property ? of N?velDrama.Org.


    my thoughts?


    Freedom felt like power, sheer power that crackled at my nerve endings and begged- no, demanded, to


    be used.


    Shadows snaked from the forest, gliding across the ground, passing through the dome of magic with


    ease. They surrounded


    Rowena, twitching like leeches desperate for a drop of blood, their bodies ck and shiny under the


    might of the full moon.


    She tried valiantly to remain calm and unfazed, but I was too fixated on every square inch of her face to


    miss even the slightest tells. Her upper lip twitched, and pupils dted with unease.


    Without lifting a finger or speaking a single word, two shadows shot up from the ground, wrapping


    around her wrists and pulling her to the forest floor. Like chains of festering darkness, they kept her


    rooted in ce. A third snaked around her throat before attaching itself to the ground, forcing her to


    remain upright.


    Maya was getting nervous now, but anger and betrayal were louder than any voice, stronger than any


    bond.


    I had invited this woman-this witch into our home, our pack. I alone made the decision, and I alone was


    to me for every bit of damage she’d done.


    There would be no forgiveness for me, but I’d happily take revenge.


    This wasn’t to soothe my own guilt. No, this was for Carmen and Lars, for Cordelia and Breyona’s


    parents, for everyone hurt or killed at their hands.


    This was for Asher, the weapon they used to kill not one, but three werewolves.


    I didn’t need Rowena to confirm what I already knew. The pieces had clicked together the moment


    Breyona told me it was Asher that had killed Sean. The moment she said his name, I was pulled back


    to what the Shadows had said-to the curse they warned us about.


    Now all that’s left to know is how and why.


    “That amulet wasn’t to focus my magic, was it? It was just another tool to manipte me, to keep me


    weak.” I scoffed, pulling myself up off the ground.


    Rowena lifted her chin at me, defiance shimmering in her eyes as she pressed her lips together. I let


    out a dry, sardonicugh.


    “What happened to all those secrets you wanted to share? Not feeling generous now, are you? That’s


    alright. Now that I’m free of your influence…” I nudged the shattered amulet with the toe of my shoe,


    digging it deeper into the dirt. A twisted smile graced my face when I met her eyes a second time.” …I


    have a few ideas on how to get you to share.”


    Thriving and feeding off the chaos, the shadows holding her to the ground trembled and hissed. Each


    one pled for a taste of her blood, their fiendish voices ovepping one another.


    “Go ahead, my children. Taste her blood.” I cooed. Lifting my pointer finger, I knelt down to eye the


    shadows around her wrists and neck. “Not too much, understand?


    There’s information she has that I need.”


    ‘Yesss, Massster…’ ‘One sssmall tassste…’


    I held Rowena’s eyes the entire time, watching as the shadows sliced into her skin. Pain shed in her


    eyes, and I knew from the way she clenched her slender jaw, that she was biting back a scream.


    Blood welled like the velvet soft petals of a rose, spilling from the thin skin that stretched over her wrists


    and throat. The shadows were vibrating, singing off the potency of her magical blood. As their strength


    increased, so did mine.


    “L…” Zeke’s raspy voice pulled me from my haze of bloodlust. It was weak, drawing my attention to


    his pale face and the spot of blood on his shirt which had grewrger these past few minutes. “We


    need to get out of here before I bleed out.” 1


    “No.” I hissed, hackles raising at the thought of leaving Rowena alive and breathing, not a single


    repercussion for what she’d done.


    Zeke didn’t understand. How could he? It wasn’t his brother, someone he grew up with, someone he


    both loved and hated on the best and worst days. No, I wouldn’t- couldn’t leave.


    My head snapped over to the elemental witch at his side, the one currently supporting half of his


    weight. Her affinity was earth. From what I’d seen, her magic was very much physical, but there was


    still a chance my hunch could be right. Everything -whether it be human, werewolf, vampire, or witch,


    came from the earth.


    “Tessa, this is your one chance to make a difference. Which side are you on?” I asked her.


    Through the rage, the guilt, and the pain, I tried to show her with my eyes that this was what she was


    meant for. The man at her side, who couldn’t help but look longingly at her when she wasn’t paying


    attention, was her future. She didn’t have to be a nameless faceless minion in a war where millions


    would die.


    She, Tessa, Luna to Zeke’s Pack, could change things all on her own.


    Tessa looked own at Rowena, the two of them locked in a stare that felt almost like a conversation.


    She squared her shoulders and said, “I’m on the side of life.”