Lycanthropy

“NO!” I shouted to her, as the humming of the machine had reached its climax.

A loud bang was heard.

A strange sensation followed, as without the actual damage, the blow of a bomb went right through our bodies.

Every UV light on our bodyarmour and the big ones that lit up the field, instantly stopped working.

Everything went quiet.

Darkness succumbed the area.

It was as if life had stopped, right this instant.

It did.

For all of the Nightstalkers in our vision, and..

...For her.

That same moment when the blow went through our bodies, Emerson's body dropped down. Caught by my arms, a mere limp body, hanging like a wet towel, clinging between the hold of my muscles.

For a moment I couldn’t comprehend what went on.

A pain, so violently, struck my heart, knowing that this was my mate's true end.

After a few moments, her life-giving mark glowed, brighter than ever, and for a second I thought that I had been wrong about her being dead for good.

Failing to send through my wishes, for her to come back to me one more time, the glow of the mark that had been there, dissipated and left the side of her head, not granting her a new life again, as she hadn’t started to breath once more.

She had died, giving up her life, for us to be saved. The Goddess had no more lives to grant her, as this sacrifice of hers, was her last. Somehow I knew that she knew this as well, otherwise she wouldn’t have come to me, to say those final words. She must have felt different, as her cocky attitude had vanished, while speaking to me one last time.

No more scouts or assassins came running out of the forest, but I didn’t care if they still had been. They can take my life now too. I have no other reason to fight on anymore.

Whispers started, as all the wolves that were present here, came towards us.

Tears were shed from plenty of people, seeing their Queen, lifeless.

Amy fell apart in her mate’s arms and Frida cried while being soothed by Daniel.

I closed my eyes, shut the mind link to everyone, including Úlfur, and dropped myself to the ground. She laid so beautifully in my arms, so serene, so delicate, almost as if she was going to take a breath again. This just couldn’t be the end, it just couldn’t.

I used Úlfur’s strength and shifted to my Lycan. Then, I used up every ounce of energy to shoot through the sky, the most loud and amazing howl that I have ever let out in my entire life.

One by one, every other able body, who still had some energy left, howled along with me, and the whole field was engulfed in a dreadful tone of desperate howls.

“No! She shouldn’t have been here!” Terrence suddenly yelled behind me.

“You knew what could happen?!” I hoarsely croaked out.

“Yes, but she told me that I could use it! I told her to run away!” Terrence yelled and wanted to get close to her.

I lifted her lifeless body, shielding her from his approach.

“Don’t you fucking dare!” I yelled to him.

He dropped to his knees, realisation striking him, as he knew that this was his fault. He had pulled the trigger for her to die.

“Please just kill me now.” He whispered.

First I did want to kill him, but it wouldn’t have mattered. It wouldn’t bring her back to me.

Suddenly I heard some clapping sounds and turned my gaze towards the forest.

“Well, well, well, that was quite the show.” Radu said while coming nearer, as he clapped lazily with his hands.

He stepped over his lifeless people and didn’t even bother to look mournful at losing them. He truly is a monster.

Behind him, came some other Nightstalkers and Emerson’s mother, holding a blue crystal dagger against her mother’s throat. Yrsa was being threatened by her own daughter, ready to be killed in cold blood, if Radu didn’t get what he wanted. Whatever that may be, as his prize is gone now anyway.

I wondered for a second how or why Radu was in the possession of one of those crystal blades, as that is the only thing that could actually kill a royal, but I let it go for now as it wasn’t important.

“When I saw Yrsa run, I knew something was up. So, I followed behind her, and caught her, until I realized what had actually happened. It was definitely not what I expected from you lowly wolves.”

“Was this what you did expect to happen then?!” I yelled to him, pointing at Emerson’s dead body.

“No, actually. But now that she is dead, you guys will be easier to take control over.” He simply stated.

I couldn't understand how he was still this arrogant! His complete army had just been annihilated and he was still believing that he could kill us all?

“You fucking monster!” I roared, while getting up, gently putting Emerson on the ground.

“Don’t attack me, if you want her grandmother to stay alive.” Radu said.

“I don’t care about my life, Aron just kill him!” Yrsa shouted, and for a moment I wanted to launch myself at him, but hesitation sank in.

I looked at Emerson’s body, and knew that she didn’t want her grandmother to be dead as well. My mate had sacrificed herself, for all of us to be saved, I can’t let that go in vain now, only to get my revenge.

Every single Nightstalker, besides the ones that stood near to Radu, had been killed. They were no longer a threat, as I assume. So, I just turned around and picked Emerson’s body up again.

“I can save her.” Radu suddenly whispered close by, as he had flashed to stand right behind me.

“How?” I asked him.

“Give her to me.” He said.

“Never! She is mine.” I roared.

“What is more important to you? For her to be with you but dead, or for her to be with me but alive?” He asked me.

“You are not getting her, she will just end up like her mother, if you revive her!”

“No, she wouldn’t. Her body is still intact, her mother’s wasn’t.”

“Then do it here, revive her here!” I yelled to him.

Magda, looking at Yrsa and her daughter:

My newly acquired crystal blades carefully put back in the covers on my back, and my black hood pulled down, I looked at Yrsa.

I know what both Dimitri and Yrsa had said to me, when I had arrived and went up the mountain, and I know what I had to do now, but it was hard to believe.

Everything had happened the way that Yrsa had visioned, as that is what her royal power is. She could see a possible future, one of which had the highest possibility to happen for real.

She had seen how the battle would commence, she had even lied to Emerson about not knowing what Radu was up to, and that he was going to revive her mother. She had even seen Emerson’s death, she had seen it all, but couldn’t do a thing about it.

If I had told Aron what was going to happen, things would have gone differently, things would have been so much worse, as Aron would have prevented Emerson from using the machine, the one that had killed her. And every single wolf would have been dead now, taken or drained, by the Nightstalkers, as we would have lost the battle then.

Emerson being killed by the machine, was the only possibility for her pack, and that of Aron’s, to live through this.

Her sacrifice was the only way, for all of the wolves to be alive.

And her grandmother knew that this was the way that Emerson wanted it as well. Even though it was the hardest decision she would ever make.

Even if her grandmother would have told her about her vision, Emerson wouldn’t have changed a thing, knowing that everyone would survive.

From what Amy has told me about her sister, and seeing everything that she has done the last couple of days, I knew that Emerson had a big heart. She never showed it to anyone, but it was there.

If anyone would write a story about her, it would be about her being a hero. Someone who managed to save the world, with her decision.

And even though Yrsa said that I was supposed to be the one to attack the monster with these blue crystal blades, the monster who led the bloodsuckers to this moment, to this place; It wasn’t going to be my action that is going to save the day.

Emerson is the one that took the hard decisions, and she is the one that saves the day with it.

I don’t know if Radu will kill me, I don’t know if I’m strong enough to run the blades through him, but I believe Yrsa’s vision, as everything else had played out like she had told me, too.

I nodded to Yrsa, and she understood that I was ready to play my part of her vision, and attack him.