Chapter 67

Davina's Point Of View

My worst nightmare was happening. My fears were all emerging, suffocating me. Killing me from the inside.

I couldn't stop the screams, the deathly howls that kept echoing in the corner walls of my mind. I couldn't drive away the gruesome scene from my mind.

I didn't know how to deal with everything I had seen and what I was feeling. I felt tears prickle at the corners of my eyes, but I shut them down. I didn't want to break down. Not yet. Otherwise, I fear I may never get back up.

I felt Cameron's intense stare on me, but I couldn't even look at him without relieving everything over and over again. I had closed off our mates’ link the instant we returned to the courtroom.

Without a single trail of emotion in my voice, and on my face, I informed the entire court of what I had seen in Elle's mind. But this wasn't from her memories. Idalak had done this, showing me exactly what he planned on doing. It ended in the same result as I saw in Cyrene's stone. The end for us all.

But this time I didn't just see that. I saw something else. Something I hadn't seen in Cyrene's stone. A different vision. Both of them led to the moment and the outcome where we battle against Idalak and his abominations. Leaving me confused as I don't know anymore which is real and which is fake, but neither of those visions ended well. One we all ended up dead, and in the other, I was forced to watch the soul-wrenching scene of losing her for the second time.

This had to be an unfair joke from the goddess and the gods of fate. It has to be.

I shut my eyes, only repeating what I had seen from Cyrene's vision. I couldn't bring myself to voice out the second vision. But until I knew exactly what it meant and found a way to stop it.

In both visions, we tried, but we failed. It felt like there was nothing we could do that could stop him from unleashing his darkness and tearing down the void.

As I finished speaking, a grave silence choked the air. I could smell everyone's fear. It was stronger than ever.

For the first time in my life, I do agree we have all the right to feel such emotion.

My blue eyes fell on my son, Theo, moving on to Benjamin, and Blake. I felt my chest burn with ferocity, remembering their screams, my helplessness, and our end.

We ended the meeting, and even as we headed back home, I still couldn't bring myself to face Cam.

I went straight to our bedroom, moving towards the balcony. In less than a second, the door jerked open and I felt his presence. With big strides, he was next to me, and without saying a word, his large arms spread around me, swallowing me up in his arms.

I nestled against his chest, and before I knew it the dam broke loose. My tears rushed for freedom and wouldn't stop. I felt Cameron's arms lift me from the floor and we were now on the bed.

He held me in place, his presence and shoulders to cry on exactly what I needed. We remained like that for a long time, until there were no tears left to cry.

“Oh God, Cam.” I breathed him in, my voice still a broken mess. But it didn't stop me from talking. “It was horrible,” I added, and he began to stroke my hair gently. “It was different this time. It felt like I was right there, experiencing it all. You, Theo…” I sobbed. “... everyone. All…” I couldn't even bring myself to finish my sentence.

“Shhh,” He cooed, kissing my neck tenderly, intensifying the sparks looming on my skin.

“I have no idea what to do. How to stop it all. We always try, but the result is always the same. We fail. We all die and He wins,” I added, completely drained and exhausted.

******

Asher's Point Of View

As soon as I jumped into the portal, going after Zayden, it transported me to the middle of a large meadow, completely unfamiliar to me.

Then I felt the strong presence that appeared behind me. I turned around and I was face to face with the first-order demon, Zayden. This was the moment I had fantasized about for days now.

I looked him up carefully, but there was nothing else I could see beneath the black cloak that he was wearing until he pulled down the hood over his head, ripping off the cloak from his body.

The moonlight illuminated the face of the devil before me in a sleek black suit. The man responsible for the deaths of several innocent humans and Mum. He had a symmetrical face with brown hair that touched his shoulders and eyes that were abyss to everything dark and evil in this world.

He cocked his head sideways, his dark eyes regarding me. “You look just like Lucia, but unfortunately, have that mutt's eyes,”

Azalea snarled in my head, the rage within me beating like a drum. “The Conclave prefers you back in your cage. But I prefer to put a permanent end to you instead,”

“Delightful. Perhaps, you would last longer than Lucia did,”

At his words, Azalea charged forward, sharing control with me. ‘Let’s get this over with,’ He said.

I held my left palm up. On my wrist where a symbol had been inked. I placed my other hand over it and a soft glow appeared in it and it materialized into a special weapon. The devil's blade. It belonged to the Nightshade bloodline and was a gift from Daemon.

Zayden's eyes shimmered as he caught sight of the blade. “Interesting. This would be fun,”

His eyes gleamed a malevolent red, his demon seething just beneath the surface.

Quickly, he raised a hand and a sword appeared in his hand.

The skies turned gray, and lightning drew across and thunder growled.

We encircled each other before we both engaged in a sword fight. Sparks flew as our swords clashed.

He moved swiftly with speed and precision, and I matched his speed, my hands extending into claws as I came at him. But as quickly, he faded into dark smoke appearing behind me.

His eyes had a blinding glow of red as he twirled his hands, the air suddenly crackling with dark energy sending it at me.

Swiftly, I sidestepped his attacks, conjuring a force of flame and sending it at him, before moving in superspeed. I landed a blow at him, sending him through the air. I was about to pounce on him once more when his telekinetic abilities sent me crashing against the earth, and he was on top of me, knocking me senseless.

Azaleas gnarled, and I could feel him completely taking over my body. His large claws dug into the earth, causing a mild earthquake before dispersing into the darkness, and reappearing right next to him, and finally, I was able to get my claws into him, but it wasn't good enough.

A huge fireball formed in his hands and he threw it my way, Azalea managed to create a shield to protect us.

He laughed, “Impressive,” He gritted his teeth and made two boulders from the earth fly my way. I tore them to pieces, and the next thing I felt was his inferno hands around my neck, cracking the bones within the soft flesh.

“I must confess, not bad for a runaway prince. You should have been my heir you know, if Lucia hadn't traded me for a mere wolf,” The red glow in his eyes bursting with rage.

My hands clenched tightly around his hand on my neck. “You know, she made the right choice,” with a loud growl, I ripped off his right arm holding me in place, kneading him in the guts.

Immediately, I regained control of my body, turning his ripped arm into a pile of ash.

A guttural roar tore through the air from Zayden, reaching the sky and making the earth tremble.

I turned around to find Zayden in his true demon form. His eyes had a murderous glow. At fast speed, his hand penetrated through me and a deathly gasp left me as a deep sickly feeling engulfed me. It felt like a force penetrated through me, and it felt like my soul had left me and sent me crashing against a rock.

I groaned, unable to connect with Azalea, my hand clutching the deep injury he had created in my stomach.

“Fuck. This looks bad!” Ryker groaned internally, charging to the surface.

He gripped me again, throwing punches at me, before pulling me up. “Let's go for a ride, shall we?”

A dark storm encircled us and his wings spread out from his back, as we shot from the earth far into the sky. His smoky hands punctured through me and I could feel the metallic taste of my blood in my mouth.

“Beg for your life boy, just as your mother kept begging for hers,” He snickered, and an angry growl tore from Ryker and I shifted abruptly into my wolf form, freeing myself from Zayden and falling.

Before we reached ground level, Azalea's roars filled the walls of my consciousness and shifted. I teleported mid-air, landing on the ground with Zayden hot on my tail.

‘Let's finish this,’ Azalea said, and I nodded in agreement. He gave me back control not before starting the fusion. I took out the devil's blade.

I felt his presence almost at me, I turned around with a smirk on my face, feeling a surge of power within me. I shook against the darkness, watching in slow, steady motion as Zayden rushed with me at speed.

My smirk ran deeper as I moved with the fastest speed against Zayden, moving the devil's blade with intent and precision, cutting off Zayden's wings.

He snarled and turned, red eyes wide with a swirl of shock, rage, and disbelief. Without giving him a second to process what was about to come for him, I gripped him tightly by the neck, bathing in the pleasure of seeing the fear in his eyes.

“I would have said ‘go to hell’ but even hell doesn't have a place for you,” I whispered in his ears, before sending the devil's blade straight to the center of his chest.

I took a step back and watched bright light burn from his insides, until it enveloped him completely, till he was nothing but a pile of ash, blown away by the wind.

I groaned, feeling intense pains from my injuries with my hand on my stomach and neither Azalea or Ryker having any more strength to heal at the moment, nor get me the hell away from here.

I fell on my back, my eyes on the gray sky, as the night's coldness encamped me and my eyes became too heavy to keep my eyes open.

Then I felt a warm sensation starting from my soul. The warm sensation spread across my whole body. And the pain all around my body slowly faded until there was nothing left and I slowly felt stronger.

“Mate!”

My eyes pulled open as I felt a pair of hands on my face that awakened sparks and a tingling lingering sensation on my skin.

“Oh my goddess, Ash!”

Cirilla's beautiful face filled my vision, her eyes filled with unshed tears.

“Stay with me! Please,”

I'm going nowhere, love. I wanted to say but the pain in my stomach grew worse, and darkness was slowly enveloping my vision.

And the last thing I heard before it consumed me was Azalea’s snarl and the weak sound of his voice.

‘Blood! I want hers!’

‘Fuck! No,’ I yelled, fear cracking within me, intensifying my pain.

‘Shut up and sleep,’ He snarled weakly.

‘Azalea. No!’ I protested but instantly, I felt him kick me to the crib of darkness taking over completely.

*****

Cirilla's Point Of View

As soon as we returned to the pack from the Council, Mum went straight to her room and Dad followed after her. She didn't say anything, but I could feel it in my bones, something was wrong. She had seen something far worse than what she had shared with the Council in Elle's mind. But what could it be? What could be worse than a vision where everyone dies? What could have broken her beyond that?

I shut my eyes as the look of horror and fear of Mum's gaze entered my mind from when we were still in the cell. That look in her eyes was similar to the one she held that night eighteen years ago when Emily had switched me from Mum's womb to Jasmine. A look that meant she was losing something precious.

I groaned at the tug in my chest and the weird sensation that followed.

Just as I opened my eyes, my phone vibrated in my chest. It was a call from Wren.

Wren's panicked voice sent a cold, deadly shiver down my spine, and I felt the organ beating in the walls of my chest almost stop at his words.

“Ci, I think something's happened to Asher?”

“What happened to him?” I could barely get the words out.

I didn't know what was stopping me from breaking apart as Wren filled me in on what happened with bated breath.

Asher had gone after Zayden and it's been hours now, but they haven't been able to connect with him and couldn't find him either. They weren't sure if he had fought with Zayden or maybe… He didn't say, but I could hear the unsaid word loud and clear over the phone. Or maybe Asher was injured, or even worse, dead.

“Where are you? I'm coming,” As I hung up the phone after Wren told me their location, it took me almost two minutes to do a location spell on Asher. The map showed he was still in Las Vegas, in fact, close to Wren's location and another five minutes for Kayla and me to transport Julia, Dorian, and me to Wren's location.

As soon as we found Wren and the others, we scattered ourselves, searching deep and wide into the forests.

I let Nina take control and shifted into my wolf form, tracking Asher down with his scent. At first, it was hard to pick up anything from him but as soon we got a whiff of his scent and followed the trail up to a large field. To my horror, I saw a badly wounded Asher on the ground.

“Oh my goddess, Ash!”

I felt a raw, knife-piercing fear as I saw Asher's wounded body lying almost motionless on the ground.

Panic instantly filled me as I ran to him, pulling him into my arms. The sound of his beating heart was the only thing that stopped me from going insane.

“Stay with me, please!” I was about to call the attention of the others searching the woods for him when his eyes snapped open, and there was no sign of his usual emerald green but instead, complete darkness. But I wasn't scared a bit.

I cupped his cheeks. “Ash—”

“Hello sweet mate, it's nice to meet you again,” The timbre of his voice was deeper and darker than usual. I didn't need anyone to tell me who was in control.

“Azalea?” I asked, still cupping his cheeks, and he smiled as if pleased I remembered his name and I was right.

“You remembered my name,”

“Of course I do, why wouldn't I? You are a part of Asher just as Ryker is,”

He grunted and smiled. “At least someone else agrees,” He groaned, clutching his stomach.

“Azalea, can you give Asher back control?”

He snapped his head towards me and didn't look pleased. “So he would build a barricade between you and me again?”

I was stunned at his sudden outbursts for a second. I had thought Asher and Azalea had begun to get along and understand each other.

“He has slowly accepted me,” He replied, reading my thoughts. “But he's never going to trust me with you, and he doesn't seem to understand you are my mate as much as he is yours. And I need you as well,”

“Okay, I'm sure we can sort all of this out later, but for now, I need to —” I said, pulling my hand to his stomach to speed his recovery, but Azalea gripped my hand instead.

“I need blood,”

“What?”

“He doesn't understand, but you will. I need your blood. It's only then I can fully be whole and not have my ass handed to me by a mere first-order demon. I need you to survive. He doesn't get it because he never listens. He thinks I want to hurt you but still don't understand, I could never,”

I felt a light squeeze in my chest. It was so deep that caused my heart to ache for him. Weirdly, I understood him.

“I know you'll never hurt me,” I leaned closer and kissed his lips.

“Then please, tell him that,” I heard Azalea’s voice at the back of my mind as he let me into his mind.

It was completely dark in there but I could find Asher in the darkest corners as if trapped in a cage.

“Let me out, Azalea!” He released an angering growl with a murderous look in his eyes as his claws kept hitting the cage, trying to break free. He was sharing control with Ryker. “Do not hurt her!”

“He won't,”

“Ci. What are you doing here?”

“Trying to talk some sense into you, obviously,”

“Get away from him. He cannot be trusted,”

“He won't hurt me,” I said with confidence, crossing my arms around my chest.

“Did he tell you that? You don't understand—”

“You are the one who doesn't understand him. He's not this big bad demon you think he is. He just wants you to listen to him, Asher, trust him,”

Asher's eyes flashed yellow. “And I do trust him, but that's an entirely different matter when it comes to you. I can't risk him hurting you,”

I rolled my eyes. “Seriously? Azalea has never hurt me, although you have, countless times in the past. But like an idiot, I forgave you,”

His eyes shut close, leaning against the cage. “Azalea is conniving—”

I cut him off again. “Because you keep fighting him. You have to understand, Ryker, Azalea, and you are completely the same. He seems different because he's a demon but that doesn't make him any less of you…” I stopped talking as I felt Asher's deep stare on me and lips wide with a smile. I sighed. “Seriously, why am I the one telling you all this,”

“Beats the hell out of me. No wonder he called you,” His smirk grew as he teased. “When did you get this good?”

I rolled my eyes again. “In case you didn't notice I'm trying to be serious here,” I fought my smile. “Azalea needs you and he needs me as much as I need all three of you,”

“That's a lot of needs in one sentence, love,” He cocked his head, smiling naughtily, and I momentarily, I could see Azalea in him.

“You think you both are so different, but trust me, you share a lot in common. So please, listen to him and you'll see he's not a crazy demon that wants to drink me dry,”

Asher chuckled and I heard an exhausting groan within the darkness.

“Are you two done flirting?” Azalea stepped out of the darkness, completely shirtless as he glared at Asher for a second and softened his gaze as they moved my way.

“Nicely played, demon,” Asher leaned back, folding his arms.

“You left me no choice, human. You are so stubborn that it's frustrating to put up with you every single day,”

“Right back at you,” Asher said and a minute of silence enveloped the darkness.

“I would never hurt her. She's mine to protect with my life. And I need her to survive. We haven't initiated the blood ritual—”

Asher pulled both hands to the cage. “Blood ritual?”

Azalea nodded. “Yes. Just like how wolves mark themselves. Demons have theirs and it's the blood ritual. I will never fully be whole, not until I get a taste of her blood and the ritual is completed,”

“What?” Asher brow’s creased. “That's what you've been going nonstop about? Why didn't you just tell me?”

Azalea shot him a murderous, infuriating glare.

Asher was about to speak when his eyes flashed yellow again and Ryker took control. “Don't worry, you'll eventually get used to the feeling of wanting to rip out his heart,”

“How are you able to put up with him every single day?” Azalea asked.

Ryker thought for a second. “Frankly, I still don't have a clue,”

“Okay, that's enough badmouthing, you two!” Asher regained control and I forced myself not to burst into laughter at the mini-drama before me. But I failed, and both Asher and Azalea turned my way.

“Is something funny, princess?” Asher wriggled a brow, a smile dangling at the edge of his gorgeous lips.

“Perhaps, she thinks we are comedians right out of a show. We will need to punish her thoroughly,” Azalea muttered.

“I like the sound of that. Do you have any ideas?”

Azalea smirked, his lustful eyes raked my body. “I think I might have some interesting few,”

I felt turned on instantly. Gosh, they were all driving me into combustion. How would I be able to handle all three of them?

“Trust me, darling, we will,” Nina's purr in my ears made my heart swell in delight.

“Okay, I think I'm done here,” I close my eyes, forcing myself out of Asher's mind.

I healed Asher's wounds as soon as opened my eyes. Wren and the others found us and we were transported to the pac