31 Chapter 31: The fight in the clearing

Zack's POV

Zack was shocked, seeing the entire area being consumed by a fire that gave off a blue light. He didn't know that his mate was this powerful. No wonder she made enemies as soon as she surfaced on the Island, Zack thought. The creatures that were all too visible to him at the moment were shrieking in pain as they were caught in its fiery embrace. Although the light was too much for his eyes to bear, Zack didn't once look away. His eyes were focused on the only thing that mattered to him- his mate.

Through the haze, he could see that Elize was losing her balance. Her body swayed once, and she immediately leaned on to the nearest boulder for support. He knew that she was tired. He wanted to reach out and hold her, but he couldn't.

'You better come fast or else I will personally see to your death Mikail!' Zack thundered through his mind link, tears sliding down his face.

'Alpha we're almost there! Wolves are appearing out of nowhere and are obstructing our path!' Mikail's once deep voice reflected a sense of fear as he replied.

Zack could sense the fear in his subordinate. But at the moment he didn't care. All he knew was that his mate needed him and he was helpless inside the shield. Although he couldn't see the boundaries of the barrier, his heightened senses could feel the static coming off of it. Since him trying to break out was only hurting Elize, he could guess that the shield was somehow a projection of herself. Hence, he didn't dare try anymore. That only left him with the other option- summon his subordinates who were supposed to stand close by.

Before him, he could see Elize struggling to turn towards him, putting all her weight on the rock. Zack's heart ached, seeing her like this. As he moved forward, he felt it- the static coming off of the shield was getting weaker. Alarmed, he looked at Elize who was now smiling weakly at him from the distance.

Suddenly he heard an explosion from the edge of the forest along with a loud noise of people shouting together. He looked towards the direction only to see the whole surrounding shattering like a huge mirror. He looked back at Elize, a sense of panic reflecting off of his features.

"Don't be sad baby. It's over." She said weakly, looking at him with a smile on her tired face. Her voice had a tinge of sadness as it reached him. It violently shook his insides as he tried his best to be patient. He knew that one wrong move towards the shield, and she would get hurt.

Soon Elize started coughing terribly. Zack watched helplessly as she turned away from him slightly and continued coughing while closing her mouth with the back of her hands. His palms itched to break out of the shield, but he held back. He peered to get a better view of her. He could see blood on her hands as she withdrew it from her mouth even from the distance. Before he could react, her body shook terribly and she started falling down.

Just as she was falling, he could feel the shield around him dissipate. Without wasting another second, he lunged forward screaming her name. Before her body hit the ground, he reached the place and tugged at her lifeless hand, swinging her body towards him. A small smile was still on her face as if she was dreaming.

"Elize please wake up! Please baby! I can't live without you!" Zack begged, tears streaming down his face.

Elize's face remained serene, as if she was in a beautiful dream. It didn't show any signs of waking up.

Zack sat down on the ground, holding on to her lifeless body. He swayed with her in his arms, whispering senselessly into her ears. Somebody was shouting at him in the background but he couldn't care less. He wanted his mate to wake up. Maybe she would wake up hearing his voice, Zack thought desperately, continuing his whispers.

"Alpha look out!" Suddenly someone screamed.

He saw from the corner of his eyes, a wolf lunging towards them. He growled in a menacing voice, before extending his claws from his right hand as he held on to Elize with his left. With one swift strike, the wolf fell down on the ground, injured. One of its legs were completely torn off and a black liquid was gushing out from the wound. It whimpered in pain as Zack mercilessly tore off its other limb as well. Soon its body turned limp as the last remnant of its life left its body. Zack looked at the dead creature in front of him with confusion. What was this creature? Although it looked like a normal werewolf, it didn't turn back to its human form once it died. That was simply unnatural. And its blood was pure black unlike other werewolves.

"Alpha, let me handle this. Get out of here with her. Now!" Nina said, appearing suddenly by his side.

Zack looked toward his pack mate then at his surroundings. A fight was going on in the clearing. Many of the wolves from his pack were fighting other wolves, who he'd never seen on the Island before. What surprised him was that he could spot witches fighting alongside his pack. His eyes widened as they landed on Agatha and Irina- Elize's friends among them.

"Why did it get out of control? Where is Mikail?" Zack asked Nina, without taking his eyes off of the ongoing fight.

"Mikail is on his way. It is as we predicted. Someone has their eyes set on Elize. But what we didn't know was that they have a witch on their side. If it were not for Agatha and all, we wouldn't have been able to break through the illusion." Nina replied sternly.

"Summon the rest of our pack. We should end it today. None of them shall leave here alive."

"But what about the mastermind? If we kill all of them then how would we know who it is?"

"Nina, just do as I tell you to do. If the mastermind behind this plan is as powerful as we fear, then I bet he wouldn't turn up here on his own. Besides, I think I know who it is already." Zack replied.

"But-"

"Don't you see? These are not normal werewolves. I don't think it would be of much use even if we catch one of them alive."

"You're right about that." Agatha said, appearing slightly above their heads. She was floating in the air as if it was normal.

Surprisingly, Nina's reaction towards the witch was not one he foresaw. He could see his pack mate smiling at the witch hovering above their heads.

"Oh we got past our differences. We found something common between us, and ever since then we're literally like best friends!" Agatha said while flying down towards where Zack stood with Elize.

"Oh? And what would that be?" Zack asked, his expression remaining passive towards the witch.

Agatha smiled at him, baring all her teeth. "Our love for the girl in your hand." She replied.

Zack couldn't help but smile at the reply.

"May I?" Agatha asked, pointing towards Elize.

Zack reluctantly nodded. He retracted his claws on his right hand and gently sat down holding Elize's body close to him. He then placed her head against his shoulder and supported the weight of her body on his chest.

Agatha leaned in and took hold of Elize's wrist. Her face registered confusion as she checked her pulse.

"What is it? Tell me. How is Elize?" Zack asked desperately.

Agatha sighed. Then looked straight at Zack and told, "She has a faint pulse, but I guess you already knew that. Apart from that, I am not able to feel her magic. It is as if there is a screen that is blocking my access to it."

"Is that bad? When will she wake up?" Nina asked, butting into the conversation.

Zack was feeling annoyed. She was asking the same question that he wanted to ask. It made him feel inferior.

"Well it is not bad per say. But this is the first time I'm experiencing this. Maybe it's because of her unique identity. I think we need Aileen to wake her up. I don't exactly know what is happening to her." Agatha replied.

"How bad is her condition?" Nina asked again, looking around her. She continued, "It won't be easy getting past all these wolves."

"I don't care Nina. Leave. Now." Zack said, in an irritated tone.

"But-"

"No buts Nina. End it quickly and ask someone to contact the head witch. Elize's condition is bad. Her pulse is weak."

Nina paused hearing that, then nodded her head in agreement. She took one last look at Elize's body in his arms and disappeared into the midst of the fight.

"Don't worry, I've got her back. We won't let any of your pack members die tonight." Agatha said, looking towards the direction where Nina disappeared to.

Zack nodded, without looking at the witch. His eyes had a crazed look in them and they were trained on Elize. He didn't notice when Agatha rushed into the fight.

Zack sighed looking at Elize. If he knew that it would come to this, he would never have taken her out here, even if it was to lure the enemy out. It seemed that he underestimated his enemy.

He was over confident in his own skills to protect her. At the end of the day, she turned out protecting him. His heart ached, thinking of her words just before she fainted. She gave her all in order to protect him, despite the danger she faced.

Zack suddenly felt guilty. He started crying, not caring about who witnessed his weak moment. He sat down on the grass and sobbed into her chest, unable to control himself.