Chapter 329: _It Ends Tonight
Althea was able to open a portal that led us straight to the eastern walls of the pack.
Janelle and Thorian tagged in, the latter seeming like he’d rather be anywhere else.
My jaw clenched as I scanned my gaze around the perimeter, my eyes trailing up the large stone wall which towered over twenty metres high.
The shouts of soldiers around the area sent shivers down my spine, my eyes flicking to a growing thick fog which was spreading rapidly.
Marcellus.
He was definitely in it.
"It’s a trap!" One pack soldier yelled out, but suddenly got caught by a coiling tendril of dark green energy.
My breath caught in my throat as I watched it happen, Kaelos grabbing my arm instinctively before I could move any further.
The soldier was lifted into the air despite his screams, his body lighting up with a dark green energy as if his cells were burning up. His blood-curdling scream tore through the night, but all it took was a few more seconds for him to combust into specks of dark green light.
"By the goddess..." Janelle whispered behind Kaelos and me.
Kaelos yelled at a soldier beside us. "What’s the situation?"
The man’s voice was shaky, filled with terror. "We thought we had him cornered but then when we asked him to surrender... He got surrounded by that fog."
He pointed at the fog which seemed to be taking the form of a shapeless monster, rising higher into the air. A whoosh echoed through the night, like the cries of tortured souls.
"He’s absorbing life force." Althea blurted, stepping forward to my left. "If he’s the same culprit who’s been terrorising this pack all these months, that’s how he functions. Life force feeds his magic."
My muscles tensed up, my eyes locking on the fog.
Kaelos’ grip on my arm tightened. "Now I can’t let you confront him. He’s too—"
"He’s still only an artificial hybrid at the end of the day." My tone was firm as I gently yanked my arm free of his grip. "I’m a true hybrid. And I’ll show him the difference tonight."
Before Kaelos could say anything, I stretched out my arms, preparing myself for a spell.
"Odessa, the dark sigils connecting you to the Vein are still very much active." Althea’s voice was a warning. "We can’t risk you accidentally tapping into it."
I glanced at my arms, feeling the ache in my veins. In my blood.
The dark sigils were asleep but they were still there, waiting for me to tap too deeply into my magic.
But I wouldn’t need to.
"And we can’t risk Marcellus killing any more people." I clenched my hands into fists, glancing at my aunt Althea one last time. "Trust me, Aunt."
Without another word, my body ignited with violet flames as I flew into the air, my eyes still fixed on the fog.
The soldiers close to it had backed up, looking into the sky at me as I approached. They froze with a mix of fear and awe but I ignored them, shouting out to Marcellus instead.
"Marcellus! You may have fooled us for so long but it ends tonight!"
Suddenly, the air seemed to shift, the pressure increasing for just a second. Then a dome of dark green energy spread around for over a hundred meters, trapping me and the fog.
"Odessa!" Kaelos yelled behind me as I scanned my gaze around the dark green dome, my pulse spiking.
’I guess it’s just you and me in here.’ I said mentally to Sirena who howled in response in my mental space.
’And that’ll be more than enough.’ She said with confidence as a maniacal laughter boomed from the fog.
It parted slightly at the centre, revealing Marcellus, who was stepping forward with a crazed look in his eyes. His fists glowed with a dark green light, his tattered clothes flapping into the wind.
"So, it has finally come to this, Dessa." He sniggered, shaking his head. "I’ve always imagined what it would be like to fight you. A true Hybrid. The Vein Born."
My face remained stoic, the violet flames surrounding me flaring brighter. "Oh, trust me... You’ll know soon enough."
Even now when I stared down at him, all I could see was the first person who accepted me in this pack.
The man who acted as my guide, introducing me to werewolf customs patiently and even defending me whenever I faced the scrutiny of Kaelos’ council.
And now he stood down there, a monster and a man responsible for so much pain and death. Responsible for taking away my only true friend in the pack.
Caroline’s blood was still fresh on his clothes, as well as the ash and debris from their battle before he killed her.
"You think everything is black and white, Dessa?" Marcellus sneered, his fangs bare at me. "Sooner or later, the wolves of North America will have to decide if they still want to be under your husband’s rule or join Ryker in a new age. When that time comes... You’ll be left with a choice."
My eyes were unblinking as my lips curled into a smile. But it was humourless, my mind’s way of holding me back from snapping.
"I’ve made my decision already, Marcellus," I said plainly, my voice echoing like divine judgment. The wind picked up, blowing my lush hair around me. "And part of that decision involves painting this pack with your blood."
Suddenly, Marcellus punched his right fist at me, causing dark green energy tendrils to sprout from it before heading for me.
But I went into the defensive, evading the tendrils by flying, keeping myself above him.
"You’re beyond naive if you think I’ll go down easily!" Marcellus yelled out, levitating into the air with his arms outstretched. "I am the lord of the North’s right hand! I’ve practised magic while you were still a lowly, powerless witch in your coven."
I snorted, tilting my head. "You done talking?"
Marcellus smirked, the glow in his fists swelling until it blinded the fog around him.
"Very well. Let me show you what your precious Caroline saw in her last seconds."
Suddenly, the air cracked like thunder and before I could even move, my world went white.