Chapter 106 : Battlefield 1

Karenina

That's for sure. Xavier was right. Then her eyes narrowed on Nathan. Although Xavier had stolen more than she could have imagined, Nathan was still her enemy, and although she did not remember anything that happened after her conversation with Nathan until she woke up in Xavier's arms, she was not stupid. Although her spiritual energy was gone, perhaps gone forever, somehow she could still sense the fragments of the sacred moonstone. There was a large piece that belonged to Nathan, nestled in his chest, in what should have been his heart, but there were two separate fragments inside of her.

She could practically sense their dark presence deep in her chest, dark and riddled with corruption. Nathan had played this game many times before, not only controlling Karen in the past but also many other people he controlled using the damaged fragments. She didn't know what she had done while under Nathan's control, but from the scent of Xavier's blood, and Nathan's blood on her nails, it was clear that she had attacked him without realizing it.

What had she done? How badly had she hurt Xavier? Just the thought of making him bleed made her heart sink. Yes, Xavier had stolen everything from her, but she still loved him, and the thought of hurting him was heavy on her shoulders. Perhaps, after they took care of Nathan, her feelings would change to a complete loathing of the Alpha of Westwood, but for now, Xavier was her ally against an evil being that had to be wiped out.

Her mind was sharper than ever. Within seconds, she was able to make connections and sort knowledge through her brain like a sponge without difficulty. That was the mind of a predator. Thinking. Learning. Moving forward. But above all, killing.

Ignore it, she told herself firmly.

Soon, both she and Xavier would have a long talk. For now, all of her pent-up hatred and fear would be unleashed on Nathaniel.

"I know your game, Nathan," she scowled, reaching out to place a hand on her chest, where the fragments were embedded deep inside her. Her claws dug deep into her flesh.

It hurt like hell, but she couldn't let the tainted moonstone fragments remain inside her body, which might give Nathan an opening to get inside her mind and control her again. Despite her efforts, she could not purify it, so she had to remove it, painstakingly, slowly, dragging it out of her body. Blood gushed profusely, spilling out as she punched small holes in her chest.

"Karenina, what are you doing?" Xavier demanded, stiffening around her as the scent of her blood reached his nose, and he looked down to see what she was doing.

"Don't call me that, Xavier," she snarled at him, her anger at him making her snap.

His body stiffened against her. But she didn't care. He should have been wary of her, as she doubted it had escaped his attention that she was no longer the guardian of the sacred moonstone let alone the hybrid priestess of light she once was.

A dark priestess corrupted by black magic. She gritted her teeth at the thought and the pain that the fingers tracing her nerves would cause. Then she felt it - finally. Her fingers had buried the first knuckle deep in her flesh when her nails scraped over the two fragments embedded in her body. Holding them, she jerked her hand back in an irritated gesture. The pain intensified. Blood flowed from the two small holes that she had made in her chest, and fell to the ground.

She held it up for Nathan to see, her blood coating over the black fragments and dripping onto her fingers.

"Don't you know any other tricks, Nathan?" She sneered at Nathan, before placing the objects into a small pouch around her neck without looking at him, never taking her eyes off her enemy. "Maybe you're losing your skills? You're becoming very predictable."

Nathan growled at her ferociously, anger contorting on his face in a vicious snarl, his fangs bared at her. But then he surprised her. The look on his face calmed and then he chuckled.

"Predictable, isn't it? Why change tactics when they keep paying off? You, the guardian of the sacred moonstone, are controlled by the power of the stone itself. How ironic. But then, are you really the guardian of the moonstone now? How could you possibly hope to defeat me without your precious power, little sweetie?"

Nathan threw his head back and laughed, and she stiffened.

"I don't need my spiritual energy to destroy you, Nathan!" She shouted, shoving Xavier away and raising her hands.

Somehow, her strength came easily to her. Her tainted spiritual light power became hers to command as easily as her spiritual power, but more so. The energy of her wolf aura mixed with it, merging with her dark energy, creating a more powerful attack with its combined power. However, her attack was still a little off. Instead of the energy blast she was trying for, the arrows shot from her claws like daggers, black in color and pulsing with purple streaks of lightning. Too fast for Nathan to dodge, the arrows slammed into his chest, sizzling through his flesh like acid, eating away at it.

Nathan howled before swinging his hand at her to counter her attack. Both of his hands flew towards her, intending to slam into her. Before she could move, Xavier wrapped his arms around her and jumped to safety. Without hesitation, Nathan turned around and chased after them, forcing Xavier to lunge at him. Out of nowhere came the wolves, and they all chased after both him and Karen. The wolves looked wild and ferocious. He tries to stop them, but Nathan can force the wolves to keep moving.

One of them creeps up on him, and Karen hits it with her strange new powers. In a burst of acrid smoke that scorched its nose, the animal burst into flames, burning hotter than hellfire, and within seconds, no charred remains remained, just a blackened spot in the grass.

Both she and Xavier separated from each other, but they remained close, side by side. Xavier draws his blade, reminding her that she is not holding her weapon. She misses her bow and arrow, feeling empty without them, especially when attacked when she needs them most. All she could do was provoke. This new body of hers was foreign to her, her powers strange, but she would adapt. She had no time to lament the loss of her spiritual energy or not having a weapon.

Then Xavier attacked, with his blade at the ready. Black mist poured out of Nathan in unexpected waves, blackening the surroundings with its poisonous gas. Purple clouds enveloped Xavier, covering him from her sight. A slight concern for his safety entered her mind.

Just then, a figure emerged from within the cloud of black mist. At first, she assumed it was Xavier, but a second later, she saw fiery crimson eyes staring deadly at her. His hand reached out towards her, a sharp dagger protruding from within his grip, pointing straight at her.

Taken aback by the unexpected attack, she instantly recoiled, jumping backward as hard as she could in a fighting stance. With her newfound strength and speed, she darted back like an arrow, but she was too late, too slow, and the dagger managed to embed itself in her body. Just before the dagger pierced through her chest, out of nowhere, Xavier was there, intercepting the attack by blocking Karen and the dagger. A large palm slammed into her chest, sending her sprawling backward even faster.

The blow - although not intended to hurt her on purpose, she knew - cracked several of her bones, and she bounced through the air, only to land painfully on her back, stumbling several meters before coming to a stop. She might have screamed in pain as her newly broken bones felt sickening and scraped the flesh inside her body, but the air that had been in her lungs was sucked in on impact.

When the air finally filled her lungs, the only sound she could make was a groan of pain as she forced her elbow back and propped herself up. What she saw just a step or two away from her outstretched legs was Xavier which made her let out a horrible sound of panic.