Chapter 122

Chapter 122

I glanced at us, my heart pounding.

Gabriel softly spoke, "They only wanted to do their best to protect you, Luna," as Derrick put his hand on the small of my back. "If they're coming from the east, that means we haven't got much time left before they surround us." Everyone was keeping a close eye on me and waiting for an order, but the only one I could hear was coming from myself.

I had to make sure everyone in this pack was safe, and I could only do so by maintaining my concentration.

"Someone locate her brother and get him out here right now." Derrick's voice remained firm. "And then take your positions; no one will be taking anything from us today." I fell to my knees and dropped my half-eaten sandwich to the ground as his words echoed through the pack. My hands were on the ground, and I was waiting for the inevitable.

Something moved slightly, a steady shudder that confirmed the army was headed our way.

Whispers began to filter through the group. "There have to be thousands of them," I said. Did Kyle's statement about being outnumbered imply this?

Fuck, none of us would have survived without him.

The minutes ticked by in a tight silence as fear and a grim determination gripped everyone around us. Despite their training, none of the warriors present had encountered a situation like this before. They had not experienced the power of magic to destroy entire civilizations as I had; none of them knew.

Kyle remained nowhere to be found as the wolves began to break through the tree line. They halted a foot from the force shield I had established, growling viciously all around us, their paws pressing into the earth and their jaws snapping.

Grasping me from the floor, Derrick's primal instinct pushed me aside.

"Where the fuck is her brother?!" He let out a loud cry, realizing that the army in front of us was too strong for me to defeat on my own.

The feral wolves waited patiently for their next command, unlike the last time, when they wasted their energy cackling against my force field.

My pulse raced as I tightly held onto Derrick, sensing her presence before everyone else.

My mother walked with a confidence I had no idea how to summon, moving carefully through her army of wolves.

When she eventually emerged, she was barefoot, and her long black dress was ripped, causing it to billow in the wind. She appeared to be dancing as her feet tapped the ground in a staccato rhythm and her hand twisted in the air.

Her footing faltered as her gaze finally found me.

She had assumed that killing my partner and taking his throne would be simpler when its ruler was grieving, so it was clear that she was surprised.

She raised her hands in applause as she gazed between us, and there was a heavy hush.

She walked the last few meters in our direction, clapping her hands slowly.

"So, has it really come to this? My own daughter imprisoned your own brother while he tried everything to support you, influencing her partner to turn against me, and now attempting my death." She sneered. "Now that I've done everything for you—?

With a roar, I sent out a rippling force field full of lethal energy.

Her eyes glowed with recognition as she staggered backward while laughing hysterically.

"I see that you've completed your bond, and now you're here wasting your power away for what—so that he can put you to bed with some hugs and kisses?" Her chuckle subsided as she turned to look at my partner. "Pathetic." Even though it was a straightforward word, it had a powerful effect.

"It's not going to be your day to win, " Derrick replied, advancing towards the shield I had erected around himself and his group.

My mom disregarded him.

"That's what you are, isn't it—a useless, pathetic little toy?" She went on, saying the same things that she had told me for days on end when I was a kid.

"I wonder how long it will take for him to realize how damaged you are?—how long it will take for him to chew you up and spit you out when he realizes how useless you really are?" I recoiled when her fingers began to shoot magic at me.

"Your mind was always so much weaker than your brother's—I was glad the day he got rid of you." Her magic flared, and I could feel my own splintering and my hold on Derrick releasing.

Even though it had been years since she had made me feel so unworthy, I couldn't help but regress as she repeated the remarks she had made to me when I was a child.

"Kylie, look at me." With his hands tracing over my body and drawing me out of the past, Derrick begged. "She can't hurt you again; you have control." Despite his words, I couldn't stop myself from spiraling out of control.

My mother's magic struck the force field I was maintaining, and she let out a loud cry of annoyance at my mate's interference.

"So stupidly pathetic, thinking you'll win this just because you've completed your mate bond." She gave a startled screech. "When I rip out his heart, I will make sure to put you right back where you deserve." With determination, she struck the shield once more, hoping to breach the barrier I had created with my power.

I could sense that the force field would be short-lived due to the intensity of her attack as it began to ripple. She had the insane, self-centered appearance of the wicked witch these wolves had been told tales about.

I shouted as I shoved Derrick away from me, breaking the force field while I was still in control of it. The ground shifted beneath us, the sudden surge of energy transforming into a tangible force as it stabbed at my mother. They pierced everything in their path as they struck outward.

The front ranks of the wild army my mother had brought down were slippery and drowning in their own blood, and silence and shock took possession of everything.

My mother was the first to recover from the shock of the action, using her own power to deflect the deadly spears and giving the order to the rest of her army.

The savage wolves charged, making a beeline for the fighters I had promised to keep safe.

Her power went faster than mine, reaching out to the one person I would kill to save her, and that small window of weakness was all she needed from me. Her magic's tendrils blended with my silver tone like liquid night. I attempted to undermine her author and break her bond with him, but I required more strength.