Six
DEARIL POV
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"This is the end for you witch, I suggest you stop if you want a painless death," I said in a cold voice and the witch turned to face me as she stood at the edge of the cliff, her eyes darting around and over the other wolves that surrounded her.
"I did nothing but serve the pack. I don't deserve to die for it. I was told I'll be safe if I kept to the east of the forest".
"You broke that pact when you killed one of the pack member's pups and those humans who got lost in the forest for your damned rituals" I roared and bared my teeth, the rage that had clouded my brain at discovering the dead pup growing in my chest until it threatened to burst out in mayhem.
"I killed those humans because they broke the law, they came into Etral to desecrate it, and they trespassed a land that wasn't theirs, as, for the pup, I tried my best to save him. I'll never go against the pack who sheltered me when I needed one" she answered with her head held high, no ounce of fear in her clear blue eyes.
"Pathetic story, do you think I'm so stupid to believe the words that come out of your filthy mouth? You and the vampires, you're both the same, all you want is to destroy and drain people of their blood".
"We're all fucking the same, but I will never harm a child. I have a daughter of my own, why will I kill a defenseless little creature" she yelled back at me
"The fact that you're referring to him as a creature tells me all the things I need to know about you, and for that sole purpose, we'll reciprocate by killing your precious little creature right before you meet your demise" I delivered with a smug smile.
Her eyes widened in terror as the voice of her screaming child reached her ears. Her gaze darted to Black who held on to the petrified little child as he walked toward her mother.
The witch fell to her knees, then crawled to my feet, tears stains falling down her pale white cheeks in a matter of seconds." Please, don't hurt her. She has nothing to do with this. Let my child go and I'll take my punishment. I swear it, please" she said, reaching to touch my feet. I stepped back from her evil-laden touch. I wasn't going to kill the child because she was innocent of her mother's crime but I also wanted the witch to go down willingly for her crimes, and she wouldn't do that if she thought I was just bluffing.
"You brought this upon yourself, witch! Kill her" I ordered, signaling Black who held on to her to hold still.
"No!" She roared, pointing a hand in the direction of her child and screaming a string of words. Thunderstruck between the child and the wolf that held unto her, the force of it flinging the girl over the cliffs. The mother cried out in horror as she watched her child plunge to her death with a shrill scream. Then it was quiet. Moments passed, and the witch lay on the floor, looking almost lifeless. Little quakes in the earth alerted me to her magic. The ground shook as she got to her feet, her eyes blazing white.
"Attack" I roared, and the wolves surged at her intending to cut her head off if they got close enough. The witch flipped them off with the snap of her hand before they could even touch her, her fury channeling the energy of the sky. Clouds gathered overhead and lightning struck at my wolves who scampered to find safety as she attacked without mercy. The whole place reeked of charred flesh.
I flew at her, shifting into my wolf form, midair, my claws aimed for her throat. They hit their mark. Four large gnashes laced her neck, and they were cut so deep that her head hung back at a weird angle. She fell to the floor with a scream, her hands clutching at her throat as she chanted spells to heal the fatal wounds. I shifted and grabbed her, turning her to face me. I noticed the wide-eyed look of terror and terrible loss on her face, but I gave her no room to recover. I sank my claw into her chest until I grabbed her pulsing heart in my hand. The witch gasped, the whiteness disappearing and her normal eyes returning. The rain fell all over us in a torrent, my hand lodged within her warm skin.
She grabbed at my hand, her eyes fixed steadily on mine, the accusation clear before she uttered them.
"Y… you killed my daughter" she gasped, clutching at my hand so I didn't pull out her organs.
Her words cut like a knife because I was in a way responsible for the child's death, but everything had already happened, and there was no turning back time. I steeled myself, looking directly into her soul.
"No, you killed your daughter".
Blood trickled out of her eyes, her body quaking but she still held onto me. A smile touched her lips, her eyes growing dark, as her dark nail dug into my skin.
"You'll become that which you hate the most on every full moon Dearil Vaughn Lyall" she gasped out, dark red blood spilling out of her lips, and the pain in her eyes despite the wicked smile was gut-wrenching. "You'll be a fucking monster, and you'll be at war with your wolf, you'll also never be able to find your mate, and even if by some miracle you find her, you'll be the one to kill her. You'll live hated, despised, lonely and in pain until the blood moon, then you'll become an animal, roaming aimlessly through the forest while I laugh in the grave as I watch you wish for death, yet unable to find it" she said, holding my gaze, her voice ringing loud and clear for everyone who stood near to hear.
Goosebumps trailed over my skin and I decided that I'd heard about enough from her. "I don't believe a word that comes from your mouth, witch".
She smirked. "You will. Finding your mate is the only thing that can save you, but shame, you'll be the one to kill her because you'll never know she's yours" she said then shoved at my hand with all her strength and her heart that was clutched in my grip ripped out with it.
A soft gasp left her lip as she slumped back, her eyes wide open, her gaze fastened on mine even in death.
********
The memory of that night haunted my every waking hour, and the longer I struggled with my wolf, the more I felt that her curse had been real and that I was going to be destined for a life of suffering, but it didn't matter, I was going to enjoy every minute of the pain I felt by destroying the happiness of other people around me.
I cried out as my bone ripped out of my skin causing me to hunch over, my lungs squeezing in pain as I transformed into my wolf form. The skin bunched up as more bone snapped into place, twisting and stretching until it was almost hard to see straight. The chain held me in place, restricting my wrist and ankles causing my body to twist grotesquely as my wolf tried to force its way out. Hairs grew out, and I roared, wishing for the pain and the haze to go away.
The restraints made me more frantic as my wolf's cry for blood grew louder in my head. I wanted to sink my claw into flesh and rip it apart, I needed to destroy, cause havoc, and rip the head off the throat of anyone that crossed my path. More bones snapped into place putting a stop to the feeling of killing anything that breathed and moved as only burning pain swept through my system.
I howled as my snout grew out, my face splitting in blinding pain. Fangs extended and I snarled, snapping at the bind.
The shackle on my ankle gave as my legs increased in size, the strength of it snapping the iron chains off as if they were melted butter. The wrist cuffs also came off and I snapped the rest off with my extended claws.
The strength of my wolf burned through my core as I stood free of everything that held me back from doing exactly what my wolf craved, what I craved, and ultimately what we craved.
This time, there was no stopping us. I grinned and sprinted for the door, the wood splitting open from the strength that I exuded.
In some seconds, I was leaping through the woods, the howl of the other wolves a beacon that called to me. I was going to kill them all.
The moon shone brightly above and the wind rippled through my fur, Making me feel alive, more than I'd ever been, then I heard the distinct sound of people fighting, I could hear the mocking laughter of up to twenty men, laughing and poking fun. The fury in the voice of whoever it was they were mocking drew me in like a magnet and I turned, running towards the sound, accelerating my speed because my wolf was fucking impatient.
I came to a clearing, my gaze immediately zeroing on the wet black hair that shone with a bluish hue under the glare of the moon, swirling around the face of a scantily dressed female as she gave the man she was fighting a flying punch with a roar. She turned to face the man who went down like a rag doll and then crouched over him. Her emerald green eyes sparkled with rage touching at something deep within me as I watched her stab the man beneath her repeatedly with the dagger clutched in her fist, the blood of her victim streaking across her face and creating a beautiful pattern down her lower chin, her slender neck and down the neckline of her dress that stuck to her breast.
The men stood up as they sighted me, their roar of creatures of the night reaching me even from the distance I stood watching them. Their leader raised the crest of the Detinos wolf pack, but my wolf didn't care, all it wanted was chaos and nothing was going to get in my way. Damn all the consequences.
They rushed to get their weapons as I approached them, my wolf howling its excitement the closer I stalked my prey.
The girl in the cage watched me, still kneeling over her kill. Two men lay dead beside her. Her nostril flared as she took in my form. There was no fear in her gaze.
I leaped onto the gathering as they started firing shots at me. the bullets felt like flicks against my skin as I ripped through the first man, the taste of blood making me feral. Their scream echoed through the night as I tore them limb from limb, the sound of it with the shots being fired at me joined together to form a cascade of the euphoric symphony of death.
I spun around with a gasp as a dagger sliced through my fur, lodging Into my skin before it was yanked out with a grunt and I came face to face with green angry eyes. Her eyes seemed to regret the move she'd made. Her dagger dripped in my blood, and my wolf growled, the bloodlust building in my chest.
I stalked towards her, knowing that despite my intrigue, my wolf wasn't going to stop until it sank its fangs into her warm pulsing throat.
