Chapter 13 : Black Heart

Maya

—Back to present—

Whenever she remembers Alicia's betrayal, the pain is still there, but hidden behind her need for revenge. After teaming up with Nathan, she hunts down the two lovers with the help he promised and sends them to the afterlife, just as they tried to do to her. However, revenge wouldn't taste as sweet if she couldn't inflict the same pain on Alicia as she did to her. She wants to break her heart like her own, so that the woman she once loved can fully understand the evil deeds that broke her heart.

As Alicia watches, she kills her lover in front of her disbelieving eyes. Hearing her cries of anguish and seeing the sadness on her face made her feel the same pain that Maya felt as she lay in a pool of her own blood, looking at her as she turned away from Maya.

She had killed the person she thought she loved the most. Then the pain overwhelmed her and brought her to her knees, staining them with her own blood.

She shook her head, trying to get rid of the memories she did not want. Then another thought crossed her mind. Maybe Karenina was the light that could save her broken heart.

Just by thinking of her, all those painful memories disappeared and new possibilities formed. Or at least try to. She was forever indebted to Nathan for giving her a new life and for taking revenge. She couldn't go back and betray him. She had sworn allegiance to him and refused to dishonor that agreement.

Besides, hadn't Nathan once said that he was in the same situation she was in? He was shunned for being a hybrid and having black witch blood, just as she was shunned for her sexual preference. And now, as he strives to become a full werewolf and master all the alphas, he is being hunted. Despite being a full werewolf, Maya never looked down on hybrids or humans or witches. It was not her fault if they were of those races. It was not her fault if she was born with an attraction to her own sex.

Maya felt it was very unfair that he was being hunted down for trying to fix what many people thought was wrong. He had witch's blood running through his veins.

Normally, she did not get involved in other people's problems, but Nathan's suffering was so similar to the discrimination she had experienced that she could not help but feel sympathy. She would help him become an all-powerful werewolf, as the man wanted, and then ask to be released from her devotion to the man so that she could pursue her girl, Karen, with a clear heart and mind.

Surely this debt would be repaid once the man rose to the ranks of the strongest Alpha, right?

Even though honor demanded that her not betray her partner, she still missed Karen. Her light wanted to be embraced by her. However, she did not know why she missed her so much.

Suddenly, the poisonous black fog ended and she was on full alert, not wanting to let her guard down in case Xavier could somehow get close to her trail. The thought of Xavier Westwood brought a flash of anger to her. She had no idea what Xavier had in mind for Karen and vowed to kill him if he ever did any harm to the girl.

She wasn't too worried about Karen being forced into a sexual relationship with Alpha Westwood, since everyone knew he didn't like hybrids and humans. No, she only worried if he hurt or tortured her in other ways. Karen had been hurt when she was forced to leave her.

She had almost taken Karen with her, but she knew Karen wouldn't want to come with her. And she had her vows to Nathan to think about.

She wasn't aware of the fact that she had a smile on her face at the thought of her.

Then she frowned. "Her girl? Why is she so possessive of a hybrid who has holy powers and is clearly one of those who hates her partner and has no interest in her as a woman? What if this girl has betrayed her like Alicia?" The thought sent shivers down her spine. She would not be able to face such a betrayal. Her heart would be lost forever.

Then her fear of being betrayed for love vanished as she remembered the light Karen had, her kind nature. Surely such a good person would never be capable of such a despicable act? The more she thought about it, the more she could convince herself of the girl's worth. Her girl.

Suddenly, she saw the barrier that Xavier had created when he challenged all the she-wolves in the world to accept the challenge and fight for the right to be his mate. She wasn't sure if she could find him, but as long as she left Karen unharmed, she didn't care.

She saw movement on the other side of the barrier and stopped, then took cover behind a tree, unsure if it was friend or foe. In her hiding place, she stared at what appeared to be three tall and well-built men, one carrying what appeared to be a not-so-long spear with a crescent and a glowing symbol, and the other two wearing ordinary clothes but with unusual auras, a girl with straight black hair in a single ponytail, black clothes that fit her body, and a large brown wolf.

Then she stopped breathing as she saw the shape of one of the men's faces. A handsome face with a sharp nose and a firm jaw, like Xavier Westwood. Her eyes narrowed to get a better look. He was the half-brother of Xavier Westwood and one of Nathan's enemies as well as his friends. She was filled with anger at the group, especially at Xavier's half-brother for daring to try to kill Nathan.

The man before her immediately filled her with hatred for being a hypocrite. Nathan had told her everything about himself. How he wanted to be the strongest werewolf, but rejected other werewolves who had the same ambition. Her lips curled back in a snarl as her claws dug into the bark of the tree she was hiding in. Her sense of injustice threatened her common sense. Karenina.

The thought of the girl of her dreams came back and drove away most of her pent-up anger. If that girl was the guardian of the sacred moonstone, then this group was her friends. A flash of lightning entered her too-weary eyes as she realized once again that her attraction to Karen collided with Nathan.

Maya has orders to kill Xavier's half-brother and his friends at any cost.

She also had the desire to integrate with them, to learn more about the girl, hoping to get to know her better and fit in better.

All this internal conflict made her head hurt. She tried to listen to their conversations to get an understanding of how they interacted, but there seemed to be nothing but arguments and quarrels between them, mixed with worries about Karen's whereabouts.

To hear the name of the girl of her heart escape the lips of the man who was Xavier's half-brother was not to her liking. Why did her girl insist on accompanying this insolent man? She could not understand. She gritted her teeth as the memory of her conversation with Nathan came back to her. The man had once said that Karen was in love with Xavier's half brother.

"That girl, I know she's in love with Xavier Westwood's half-brother," the man suddenly said as the two of them talked about their mission.

She was surprised by the man's sudden statement.

"What, she's in love with Xavier's half brother? How is that possible?" She asked confused.

"Hahaha, of course it's possible. I've been watching her the whole time. I don't know, I don't understand that girl's way of thinking either. But obviously this will be a good opportunity for my plan to take revenge on this guy by exploiting this girl's weakness," Nathan replied with an evil smile on his face.

Maya felt her confusion grow. She didn't know how to respond to his statement about his plan to capitalize on Karen's feelings.

"But Nathan, isn't that too dangerous?" she asked worriedly.

He raised his eyebrows, expressing his displeasure at Maya's apparent doubts about his plan.

"You don't have to worry about that. I know how to control the situation. I will use her feelings to get close to him and when the time is right, I will attack Xavier and his half-brother Rylan from within and make them suffer before finally destroying them," he said, his voice full of menacing.

She could not understand the attraction between them. Her girl was the type of person who could look beyond the things that pleased a person and care on that level, yet her heart was captivated by a man who dared to criticize others for his own desires. "Maybe the girl is a bit gullible? Too trusting?" Perhaps she did not know the man's true nature.

Once again, Maya's mind struggled with itself. On the one hand, she was eager to show her beloved the true nature of the foolish man, to prove that the man was unworthy, but on the other hand, she did not want her beloved to feel the pain of her betrayal. Maya knew how painful that was. "But how could she let her girl live a lie? Wouldn't it be better to open her eyes to the man's lies?"

Her mind was made up. She was not going to let her girl continue this charade.

Although it was a little frustrating, Maya did not feel intimidated. She had nothing to fear from this group. She knew they were too trusting, especially when she got the news about Karenina.

No, Her Karenina. She corrected her own name.

A plan quickly formed in Maya's mind. She knew that this attempt to kill her friend would look bad in Karen's eyes, but if she disguised herself as someone else, then her friend would never know that she had committed the murder. In fact, she could comfort her as she grieved, and somehow make herself look better!

The thought that she had befriended Xavier's half-brother and his group only to betray them in the end did not bother her in the least. The thought never crossed her mind, and therefore she did not have to wonder why she was using the same despicable trick as Alicia. Every time her mind tried to grasp the elusive thought, an image flashed through her mind and made her forget the effort.

Her mind set on the course she had set for herself, Maya once again used the power granted by Nathan to change her form into one of the many women she had killed and absorbed power from. Eventually she chose the form of Elena, the last she-wolf she had taken into her body, as it was the form she was most comfortable in. When she took on her new form, even her clothes changed.

Long black hair pulled back with a red ribbon, a beautiful red dress decorated with pink flowers over her red outfit, which had purple fabric above and below like petals. The dress hung loosely around her legs so as not to hinder her movements.

Satisfied, she stepped out of her hiding place and glided slowly toward Karen's friends, stopping only a few feet from Xavier's barrier. They spotted her immediately, scrambled to their feet to defend themselves, and glared at her approach.

"Who are you?" demanded the man in the red shirt and black leather jacket, who was none other than Xavier's half-brother, facing them with a wary stance and a ready pounce.