Chapter 39

-Hastie's POV-

"We will?" Druid asked in doubt. I shot him a glare, of course, it wasn't fine. But Ray, Nathan, and Alex are stronger, and they have things that they should settle. So, we have to take on these two.

I dart into the brightly lit corridor, darting through the thorny rose vines that were threading all over the path. The larger-sized cloaked figure clapped his hands and the vines burst into flames. Druid cursed and snapped his fingers twice. Immediately, all the surrounding vines rot and dropped lifelessly on the floor. I quickly backed away.

"Sorry, I didn't expect there to be a wizard." Druid apologised. I just huffed in response. It seemed to be a pretty bad match-up for us. The woman is also giving off dangerous vibes, she is at least a Beta, if not an Alpha, with all the crazy power-ups a rogue gets. Well, she pretty much just has better instincts.

"Any plans?" I shot him a question. He looks at me and shook his head.

"I thought that you had a plan?"

"Well, I just didn't want the rest to be stalled here. Aren't you older than me?"

"So your good idea was to jump in here with no plan or backup. And age has nothing to do with this."

"Well, if you put it like that..."

"I guess you're right, Nathan is meant to get rid of the boss. As his knight and servant, I should stop pests from getting in his way." Druid sighed.

"Wait, if you're his knight, then what about Alex?"

"Alpha Alexandria is the king."

"So that makes Nathan the queen?"

"Well… It can always be two kings."

"So, you think of him as the queen. At least we can agree on something." Hastie smirked. Energy bolts hit us square in the chest and we were flung into the wall behind us. I grunted in pain; my vision blurred out for a bit. In that short moment, I manage to spot a figure rushing towards Druid. I gathered my strength and flung myself, tackling Druid onto the ground. I slapped my hands onto the floor and twisted my hips, swinging my legs, kicking the woman away from us.

"Alice!" The male screamed.

"Alice?!" Druid coughed out.

"Don't speak my name so casually," Alice growled lowly. "You! Of all people it had to be you!"

"Druid? Do you… Argh!" I screamed in agony as my eyes felt like it was on fire. A silver light robs me of my sight. I pressed my palms onto my eyes as images started flashing.

20 years ago

I hovered above, in the sky. This isn't a vision or my memories, I wonder whose is it?

The crackling sound of fire, plumes of smoke that tainted the night sky, a village that went up in flames. Desperate howls sounded off in the distance. A family, body covered with ashes, ran into the woods. Hastie didn't recognise the pregnant mum or the dad, but the teenager that looks strikingly similar to Alice. You could tell that the girl was desperately trying to keep her fear in check.

"Run, Eloise! Bring Alice to safety. I'll keep him here for as long as possible." The man shouted, pushing his pregnant wife and child towards the civilisation past the woods. They will be safe when they get there.

"Daddy!" young Alice shouted, unable to hide her fear any longer. The mother grabbed the little girl up and ran as fast as she could. The father shifted into a wolf and howled loudly. It wasn't a wolf that attacked him.

A thorny vine shot out from the forest trees. The wolf quickly sidestepped the attacking vine and clawed at it angrily. The wolf was quick on his feet and countered the assailant. He ran in the direction of the vines. The wolf was clearly in his own territory, navigating through the forest with ease.

But before he could get any closer, several vines shot from the ground, catching him in surprise. He growled in pain when a vine caught him on the side, ripping open his fur coat with its thorns. The wolf stumbled and crashed onto the ground. Before he could recover, the vines snaked their way towards him and pierced right into his heart. The wolf whimpered lowly, hoping that at least his pregnant mate and precious daughter managed to get to safety.

Near the border, the mother was still running, fuelled by fear and motherly instinct. She has no choice but to trust that her mate will come back safely once she and her daughter were safe. That was why, the moment her mate died, agony ripped through her heart, and she collapsed onto the ground.

The little girl cried out when her knees scraped the ground. Tears were streaming down her face as she helplessly watched her mum writhed in pain. Despite the emotional pain she is in, the mother did not miss the danger that was heading her way. With her remaining strength, she pushed her daughter hard. The girl screamed in fright as she was sent tumbling out of the forest, onto a concrete walkway. A couple passing by saw the fainted little girl and screamed.

The mother gasped when the vines pierced through her. The screams of strangers brought a smile to her face, at least her daughter will be safe. I mentally gasped at the scene. This was Alice's past that I'm seeing. The vines, it clearly is Druid's powers. It doesn't take a genius to know what had happened. My attention was brought to the burning village, two men that I recognised stood at the side.

"Your skills have improved." Terui praised.

"Was this really necessary?" Druid questioned.

"They are aiding the enemy, there isn't a choice." Terui deadpanned.

"You killed her family?!" I yelled out in anger the moment I was snapped back into reality. Druid and Alice stared at me in shock. However, the man's expression seemed to darken.

"How did you…?" Druid wanted to know, he never told anyone about what he used to do. He wasn't proud of it.

"Moon Gazer." The man answered, eyes shining a dull shade of black.

"Babe?" Alice seemed unsure that her mate was going to be revealing important information.

"Those who received power from the gods, powers that reside within their eye. Cursed eyes." He spat out angrily.

"What do you mean cursed!" Druid doesn't believe that anything from the gods is cursed. It would mean that Nathan and Terui are both cursed. But…

"Shouldn't you know it the best?" Alice chided, seemingly to have read Druid's mind. Druid seethed but didn't say anything. He can't say anything. Neither Nathan nor Terui had a good life, and they are supposedly blessed by gods and goddesses.

"Is that why you are fighting us?" Starting to realise what the man is trying to say, I needed to get some answers.

"I have the same eyes as you, I'm a Death Gazer." The man revealed. "It isn't your time to die, there is no point in this fight."

"You can predict death?!" Druid shouted in disbelief. So would I, if I didn't have similar abilities. But the reality is that I don't understand this power of mine.

"Alice, let's go." The Death Gazer pulled Alice close to him and started a teleportation spell. Unlike Milo's purple or Kalen's gold magic, his was pitch black. "Hastie Southwind, if you want to know more about yourself, come to me. My name is Rust Malice."