Chapter 45

Cirilla's Point Of View

I felt it all.

I sensed it all.

And heard it all.

Even the tiniest sounds of owls hooting, the night animals' movements in the dark, the sounds of the trees shrieking under the little force of the windy, cold midnight air.

The sounds of the twigs crying under my footfalls, dried-up leaves shattering against the dust. I heard it all and they made the ache in my bones, against my joints, the pain that coursed through my veins, and the throbbing in my head worse.

I could feel the nerve-wracking energy within me, and the dark whispers in my head, reached the gates of my soul, wanting blood.

I had no idea what state I was in, but my only thought was on finding Jasmine. I needed to see her. I had to.

My inner vision was bloodshot red, and even so, in the darkness, it was clearer than in the day. I was in the woods in Greengrove and was moving with great speed, tracking the cabin Jasmine had mentioned in her text.

Before I saw it, I heard the deafening growls of beasts, sharp screams and voices, breathless gasps and roars of chaos filter in my ears, forcing my legs to quicken their speed, as I weaved my way out of the woods, and what I saw caused my legs to seize all motion.

Blood. Chaos.

It was everywhere, sipping from the dead bodies on the ground, creating several puddles of red, slowly soaking into the earth.

I shifted my eyes from the bodies to the ongoing fight. They were not only wolves but witches as well, dressed in cloaks and some in random clothing. The enormous amount of magic thrashing around was too much not to notice as more bodies kept falling to the ground, dead.

I took a sniff in the air. There was something wrong with it. Something dark. It was fucking powerful, and almost familiar, reaching me as if wanting my attention.

I glanced around the field, trying to find who it was, but I couldn't pinpoint it. It was exuding from the wolves, and a few witches.

Who were all these people?

My eyes snapped to my left as I heard the fast movement of a wolf charging at me in human form with claws sticking out and fangs protruding from his teeth. The thumping sound of its heart drummed in my ears and all I wanted to do was rip it out of its chest.

To my horror, and soon surprise, the bloody organ hanging in his chest jumped out, leaving a cavity that sent the wolf straight to its death, falling to the ground right before me.

I was numbed with a shock that lasted for a fleeting second, suddenly noticing the familiar symbol of the pyramid on his wrist.

How did they find Jasmine?

My heartbeat spiked up to maximum as I searched around for Jasmine but couldn't find her.

I dashed into the cabin. There was blood and lifeless bodies everywhere as well. I could smell the lingering scent of her cheap perfume and the coppery smell of her blood. She was here. I scanned through the sea of dead bodies for her, but thankfully, she wasn't one of them.

Then, I felt it again. That dark, familiar energy around. It was so damn close, watching me.

I raced out of the cabin, sensing it further away in the woods, chasing after it. I hadn't gone far when painful screams filled the air and I dropped dead in my tracks, recognizing Jasmine's voice.

I swerved toward the direction of her screams, speeding through the thick and branchy trees,

It was a fraction of a second, that was all I needed to find Jasmine in the most horrible and shocking state. Drenched in her blood, still bleeding, and at the mercy of the two rogue wolves that were ferociously attacking her.

I froze.

I should have rushed in to save her the second my eyes laid on her. I should have. I knew that, but I didn't. I didn't want to.

And for a second, I relished the sight before me, ignoring everything in the field of my vision. I kept listening to the faint thumping of her heartbeat. It was getting weaker. A part of me couldn't wait until it was over, until she lay there without any motion, dead.

The thought sounded so evil in my head, but I didn't care. This was the woman who made my entire life as miserable as she was. A woman who never cared, a woman who had nothing to do with me, a woman who I had done absolutely nothing to, who I had hurt in no way but made it her life's mission to destroy everything I was. This was that woman and to the heavens, I wished she was dead.

A shaky breath pushed its way out of my lungs. I wished she was dead, but not yet. Not until she told me everything I had to know.

My thoughts were drawn back to my apparent surroundings when the wolves on Jasmine were suspended in the air and in a heartbeat, their necks were snapped.

My eyes traveled south, and for the first time, I noticed the woman in blue. As more wolves raced towards Jasmine, she repeated her previous action, and they ended up dead.

My eyes zoomed in on her, she wasn't at all familiar. I had never seen her before. As she tried once more to save Jasmine from the wolves almost at her, propelled by a magic force, she was sent crashing against something and then surrounded by wolves and witches, all reeking of that familiar dark energy.

It was here.

I could feel it, spreading and swallowing everything around. My bones trembled for a cursed second, and a lone shiver shook my spine.

I started towards Jasmine in speed, and before the wolves could reach her, I concentrated on the organ furiously beating within them as I did earlier. That was all I needed. I could almost feel my hands around it, and just at the thought of wanting them dead, they all dropped on the ground, dead.

A whooshing breath left my lungs as I was beside Jasmine. Her heartbeat was getting weaker with the passing second. I snatched the shirt around my waist, placing it on her bleeding wound, hoping the pressure would keep her alive longer.

"C-Ci—" A weak gush of breath vibrated from her lips as her hand fell on mine.

"These people, who are they? Why did they come for you?" I rushed with my eyes zeroing in on the wolves charging at us. I stopped them before they could take any step further. More of them sprung out from the woods. It was clear they wanted Jasmine dead. But why?

She gasped, spilling blood. "You fucking brat caused this—" It barely left her lips but that was what those sandy eyes of hers she fought to keep open were saying.

Next question.

"I need a name, Jasmine. His name," The urgency and silent plead could be heard in my voice. I didn't need to say more, she knew who I was talking about. I needed to know who he was. The man I knew with all my heart I needed to find. The man who had supposedly abandoned me. I needed to know who he was. "Jasmine!"

"He…." Her voice was strained and breathless. She signaled me to lean closer and I did, bringing my ears to the shell of her lips, urging her to keep talking. "He… He…" Her voice was getting weaker. "... You have no idea what's coming for you. There's no escaping it this time, brat," With great effort, her lips tugged an unnoticeable smile.

"You will be the end of every fucking one of them," Involuntarily, my eyes shot up at her, my eyes almost popping out of its cage in shock and confusion at her words. "Even with my death, you'll never be free. Emily will find you and my revenge on that bitch will only be complete with your death," She croaked. "You are—" I hung on her every word, waiting for the rest, but what came out was something unexpected, something that sent another round of shivers cascading down every joint in my body. "It's here!"

Her two words caused my body to lose its warmth and that familiar energy I sensed earlier, became stronger than ever.

"What's here?" My lips pushed out, hastily. "Jas—" Her sudden gasps for air startled me, and her body began trembling against my hold.

Her full sandy brown eyes were pinned to mine, as she continued struggling for air. Blood began to rush from her eyes and nose. Her fingers gripped hard onto mine as if begging me to save her. But when I looked up into those eyes again, I saw it all there. Hate. Pain. Mockery. "Y-you are c-cursed," A loud painful cry jerked from her lungs one last time before I heard the sound of her heartbeat no more. She was gone.

Jasmine was dead.

I looked down at her wrist to find that familiar symbol burned into her wrist. The cold energy around became stronger, settling in the air like darkness sucking in everything within. And then, it clicked. I remembered this feeling. This darkness. I had always felt it and more frequently in my dreams.

It was here.

I gasped as the bright blue sky was covered immediately by darkness. I jerked on my black shoes and at a quick speed the woman in blue was almost beside me. Her eyes glossed over me longer than a second and an emotion deeper than she showed swirled in her round gaze. Her blue cloak was drenched in her blood.

"You have to leave now!" Her voice cracked with fear as she killed the rogues that charged from behind her.

"Who are you?" This was far from the best time for questions. But it was important I knew because everything around here was fucking wrong and I could feel the dark cloud in the sky spread like vines, soiling the air around and creating a gaze.

She hesitated a second, and that gaze of hers swept through me again, warmly, and her eyes clouded by emotions that caused her eyes to glisten. "A friend. And we've been searching for you for too long, princess—" She stopped talking, her eyes left mine to scan around the haze.

In a quick rush, her hand clamped around my wrist, and there was a fearful and hard tremor in her voice that came from her throat. "No, No," Her gaze swirling around as she kept swerving in the fog, clutching her bleeding stomach tightly.

A strong force swept through us, making a shudder settle in me and the woman spun around. It moved fast behind me again, making the air turn colder. I narrowed my eyes in the mist, and even with my vision I couldn't see anything but suddenly, my whole body stilled, and slowly, my head turned left and without warning, they caught a pair of shining red eyes from a distance.

Unconsciously, my legs moved a step away from the woman with my eyes still trained on the red gaze as it was on me. That familiar energy was emitting from the figure, filling the air up. Those red gazes watching me, almost interestingly. That figure was it. It was the one Jasmine had spoken about, the one in my dreams, the one that had been after me. The one that had been seeking me out.

As quickly as it appeared, it took off in a flash. At that moment I was about to run after it but a firm hand stopped me and immediately, a white shield circled us. She was doing it with her magic. With a single word leaving her lips, the shield solidified and shattered into shards of glass, and she sent them flying in the mist. She groaned and fell to the ground.

It was then I felt the intense magical energy surrounding us, and loud groans sharpened their way into the sky.

Her clammy palm clamped my wrist, and her eyes met mine and her lips parted. "Run!" Her loud, frightening yell startled the shit out of me. "Now!" It came out louder, "I'll hold them off, but you have to leave now. You must. You want to know about your father?" I stilled at her question, hoping an answer would follow next. And it did. "Find the King of Wolves. He's the only one that can help you—" She released a loud gasp, choking out blood.

I followed her gaze down to the single line on her neck and soon, it reddened, giving passage to her blood that flowed out effortlessly.

Instinctively, her hands gripped her neck as I grabbed hold of her, it was of no use. She knew it. I knew it. We were surrounded, and— I felt the wave of magic coming at us. Lifting my hands, and mimicking what I had just witnessed her do, I created a shield, blocking whatever was coming at us, and just by thinking of what I wanted, it solidified into glass. Muttering the lone word that left her lips, it shattered and I sent it flying around, and the groans echoed around.

"Trust no one, and find the Crescent Moon—" She trailed off, struggling to get the words out. Like they were more important. "The Alpha…Alpha…." She drew in another deep, loud inhale, before breathing her last in my arms.

I could hear the many footfalls approaching, and these weren't rogues. With one last glance at her, I abandoned the body on the ground, jerking on my boots. The only thought on my mind was getting out of here. I took off with speed, running through the woods and being chased. But not by the witches.

I kept running, turning to my side, and my eyes locked with the burning red gaze, running with similar great speed. Eyes pinned on me in the mist as if baiting me to follow and I fought the reckless urge to go after it.

I was distracted by it, and couldn't prepare myself for what was about to happen. I could only make out the blur that moved in the haze and an entirely different force hit me hard, shoving me against some trees and almost crashing when I felt Nina take control immediately, charging forward.

I groaned against the dirt on the ground, my bones vibrating in a deep unusual tremor. My joints were aching like they were tearing up, my blood boiling like molten lava and without realizing it, my nails had sharpened into claws.

"They are every-fucking-where!" She growled in my head, and as I felt silent, hasty steps rushed to me.

I sprung up, moving as quickly as I could with Nina in control, using the loud throbbing hearts to pinpoint them. We were fucking quick, killing everyone we came by. I moved on to the next but was attacked instantly.

Through my wolf's eyes, I noticed a witch swing at me. I dodged his attack, striking him down with my leg. Before he could recover, I slit his throat and he dropped down to the ground, bleeding from his throat.

I felt a sharp pain in my neck and something cold began to mix with my blood, running in my veins.

My body went weak instantly. I swerved around to find a witch pulling out the empty syringe from my neck. I staggered back, my vision began to spin, and my legs were seconds away from giving up.

The witch with a sinister smile stepped forward, and before she could take another step forward, her neck was completely uprooted from her body and the face I would have never expected entered the field of my vision. Before I could mutter a word, my legs gave up and the last thing I saw was him racing towards me, shielding me in his arms.

Grey eyes bored down at me, whispering words I couldn't here and all I could think about before my mind gave up as well was, what the fuck was Mason Hartley doing here?