Lycanthropy

A/n: Have fun!

Marius, looking at the scene that was about to play in front of him:

I had managed to break out of Emerson’s cell, as one of the wolves came close enough for me to command him into releasing me.

Soon after, I had heard howls and now stood outside, on the side of the mountain, looking at the massacre that showed itself in front of me. Everywhere laid dead bodies, and upon looking closer I noticed that most of them were that of our people. Almost every Nightstalker that we had brought along, laid lifeless, some undamaged, on the cold ground.

It was strange to witness, as I couldn’t understand what had happened.

A single wolf, probably one from border patrol, saw me and came closer. I looked into his eyes and commanded me to tell what had happened.

Apparently an EMP bomb had gone off, killing every Nightstalker in the near vicinity. But I hadn’t been killed, so I guess that being captured in that cell, deep in the mountain, had protected my body from the electrical surge.

And I guess that the ones that stood in front me now, had saved themselves as well. Except for one, one that I didn’t want to see dead. One that I didn’t expect to die anytime soon, but I guess that she couldn’t come back now. Otherwise her mark would have done it already.

I mourned a little for her being dead as she is actually a really good person.

Curiously I looked at the people who tried to bargain a deal for Emerson’s life.

My brother still wanted her, as his obsession for Emerson never wavered. So, even in this state, he managed to make Aron, her mate, think over Radu’s suggestion.

Aron’s love for her, is stronger than Radu’s obsession, any foolish person could see that from miles away. And after hearing Radu say that he won’t save her, unless she is in his mansion, Aron, very much reluctantly, wanted to give her body to Radu.

Only, there was something else going on as well.

There was this female wolf, with those legendary crystal blades, made of the stone of a meteorite that crashed on earth a long time ago.

We had managed to destroy most of the blades, except for the dagger that was in Radu’s possession, now in hands of his so-called new wife, and of course the blades that had killed our master.

She nodded, almost unnoticeably towards Emerson’s grandmother, and took a stance to stealthily approach Radu from behind.

I don’t know what her plan was, and why she thought that she could actually approach him, and then even kill him, but it wouldn’t matter. She wanted to kill Radu, and that would make the perfect distraction.

Still holding his dead mate:

“Will I ever see her again?” I asked Radu.

“No, but I will promise you that she will be safe.” He replied.

“But she wouldn’t be happy!” Frida suddenly yelled towards me, and came down the slope of the mountain, together with Amy.

“You know she wouldn’t! The only one that she ever wanted to be with is you! And even though she broke our hearts, by dying, she would never want to go with him!” She translated Amy’s words, but she wasn’t saying this only out of Amy’s emotions. The emotion was hers as well.

“Please Aron, don’t do this. We will find another way, another Nightstalker who can save her.” Frida pleaded with me.

“But that won’t be in time, as no Nightstalker here, knows the words that will grant her, her life back.” Radu said, smirking.

He was winning, and I didn’t see another way out of this. If I wanted her alive, I have to give her to him. I will find another way to find her and Radu’s house, I will scour the earth, once again, but it would only matter, if she would be alive.

“Sorry Amy, but I have to do this.” I said to her, and even though she couldn’t understand a word I said, she understood the intonation.

She yelled, cried and begged for me not to give her away. But there was no other way.

I turned my body towards Radu, gave my love one last kiss, and lifted my arms.

The bastard raised his arms, to receive her from me, smiling from ear to ear.

This is going to be the most hardest thing I have ever done in my life.

I closed my eyes and waited for the weight to be taken over from me.

But it never came.

“BITCH!” Radu suddenly yelled and I opened my eyes again.

Radu had been grazed at his back, with the blue crystal blades carried by Magda. She had failed her, assumedly own mission of killing him, and was busy fighting him now.

Quickly, I had pulled Emerson closer to me again, and hollered for Magda to stop.

“No, I have to do this! This is the only way!” She had shouted, and I didn’t understand what she meant, until I felt some air brush against me from behind.

“Aron, quickly put her on the ground. Sent out all your wolves against him, and you yourself too! GO!” Marius suddenly yelled to me, raising up a mild form of confusion as he was out of his cell.

I had been fighting him before, and he was my enemy as he is a Nightstalker, but he also saved Emerson from Radu’s hold, and they were friends in some weird twisted way. I didn’t trust him completely, but I could grant him a little leniency. Hoping that he could bring her back.

And I was actually glad to be given another choice to get Emerson back.

“Do you know how to save her then?” I asked him.

“Yes! Radu is not the only one who read the Forgotten Pages, and I know how to do it the right way! Go and distract him with all your power!” He said again, and I looked backwards towards Yrsa, who nodded to me in agreement and without a second doubt I put Emerson down.

“You heard him! ATTACK!” I shouted to every able wolf, that was on the battle field.

They were a bit baffled, but soon started to shift and ran towards us.

I looked for one second longer, towards Marius, as he was chanting something in a strange language. I didn’t know what he had meant by the Forgotten Pages, but I didn’t want to linger on to it either. This was the only moment, the only chance for her to come back to me.

Radu’s left over assassins came flashing in towards us, joining in on the last battle. This battle was going to mean everything. As it was to keep Radu busy, while his brother was getting my love back to me.

“TRAITOR!” Radu yelled towards his brother, and tried to get over to him.

But he would not slip through my fingers this time.

“Buddy, sorry for cutting you off, but are you ready to give it all?” I asked Úlfur.

“Always.” He replied and surged me a lot of his power, to enhance our strength in Lycan mode.

I stood in front of Radu, and pushed him backwards.

“You will never get her!” I roared, pushing my head forward, arms and legs spread wide, to shield my love from his approach.

He came at me with incredible speed and I ran forward. We clashed mid-air and I blocked his attack by crossing my arms and being pushed back, dragging my feet through the dirt behind me.

His jaws being stretched, just as his imposter had done yesterday, he showed his fangs and hissed towards me.

With blackened nails he took a swing at me, which I barely dodged as a light scratch marked my chest.

Some of the assassins had been killed, and thus the wolves that were attacking them, could now help me, including all the other wolves that were here for Emerson. The ones that we have made our friends.

Together at once, we all ran forward, claws drawn, fury arisen.

Yrsa, with a crystal dagger against her throat:

I had nodded towards Aron, as he could continue his action, just as I had seen in my vision. The only thing was, that I didn’t want to die, but my own daughter had me trapped with the dagger.

“Sigrid, this isn’t you! Stop this nonsense and help them fight Radu!” I pleaded with her.

Somehow I was hoping that underneath that stupidity, my true daughter was still in there, somewhere deep in her mind.

“Shut up! You are the one that made me! You are the one that stupidly believed him in the first place! And now that I’m with him, you don’t want me to? Hypocrite!” She shouted back.

I could feel her fingers around my body, draining me from my energy slowly.

“Yes! I made a mistake, a big one too, and I don’t want you to do it as well! Learn from my mistake!” I said, all the while she pushed the dagger closer to my skin.

“No! I love him! I will become his wife!”

“No, dear daughter, can’t you see that his heart is beating for her? For your daughter?” I pleaded as I looked at Emerson's lifeless body, being touched and spoken to by Marius.

Marius is a good man, he has rescued both me and Emerson from Radu’s obsession, and now he was trying to do it again. Trying to save her life, with an ancient ritual.

I don’t know if he truly can save her, but he chose to defy his own brother, and he is believing it, I can see it in his eyes. And like so many people here on this field, I do hope that the Goddess will grant her another life, even though her mark is gone now.

And even though I haven’t seen her coming back again, in my vision.

Dimitri had said that a Nightstalker isn’t truly dead, unless killed by the blue crystal blades, and that it would only require some blood to return, but that isn’t entirely true. And not entirely that simple.

It requires a sacrifice, a mean one.

And Radu had used the wrong one on my daughter, because that was the only way for her to come back at that moment.

I had hoped that it wouldn't have made her this evil, but he had used the lives and blood of unwillingly people, thus making her this way.