Chapter 20 - Nicholas
“Aah,” Tobias taunts, his gaze turning to me. “I see you’ve taken my place beside her.”
His words enrage me, filling me with the seething anger that should compel me to shift into wolf form, but instead, I remain in human form.
The other wolves are unmoving, only their chests heaving and tongues hanging, drooling from the sides of their muzzles, while they remain on either side of Tobias.
He’s made an army of ravenous, black-eyed, monstrous creatures, and they’re not in control—just like Donna suspected.
My knuckles snap and distend as far as I can get them into claws as I plant myself steadily on my legs, still half-covered in dirt and blood.
The wind whistles through the fur covering my forearms, my breath matching the sound before it escalates into a firm growl when Tobias’s crimson eyes meet mine.
My vision narrows on him as I keep myself planted in front of Donna, shielding her with my body.
The world…my world…is narrowed down into a single instinct.
Protect Donna.
Every movement, every sound, is caught between the palms of my heightened senses, then sniffed and detected for traces of foul play.
Like Tobias’s breathing, the rise and fall of his chest, the flicker of his eyes from side to side, then the rising of his hand before it comes crashing down to his side, and the eruption of the Loups de Lune wolves charging forward once again.
But Tobias doesn’t move, and I’m prompted to reach back for Donna, a protective hand on her arm, where I can be reassured that she’s safe behind me.
The wolves continue thrashing around us, attacking the others in a frenzy, but Tobias…Tobias only watches me, chest heaving, eyes flickering like candlelight caught between red and pitch-black.
“You…” he rasps from across the meadow, voice trembling between fury and something that sounds eerily like grief, the sound carrying over the thrashing of the others as they fight. “You killed my brother.”
The words hit like a blade driven straight between my ribs.
“No, you’re mistaken…” I stare at him. “Tobias—”
“You killed him!” Tobias roars to cut me off, his voice distorted, warped by the darkness curling around his vocal cords. “You killed Barry! You left him there to die!”
Donna’s breath catches behind me, and my heart drops into a void, memories of that mission resurfacing from where I thought I had them buried.
My blood runs cold. “Tobias…Barry wasn’t murdered. I didn’t kill him.”
“You watched him burn!” Tobias shrieks, stepping closer, shoulders shaking, rage pulsing from him like heat from a wildfire. “The dark lord showed me! He showed me everything!”
My world tilts on its axis, brought on by Tobias’s furious grief, memory slamming into me with brutal force.
Canada…three years ago…the snow-packed forest, and an ambush that came out of nowhere.
Barry was dragged between the trees by a rogue vampire that was faster than any of us could track. I was ripping after them, screaming his name, the scent of blood staining the ice.
And then…
A burst of fire ahead…a spell detonating under the vampire’s feet.
Barry shoved me away in time to keep me from being caught in the blast.
His last words were, “Go. Save the others,” before he pushed the vampire further into the blast, sacrificing himself.
I called out his name again, an anguished cry ripping from my throat, but I wouldn’t let his sacrifice be in vain, and that’s how the vampires were defeated.
It wasn’t murder, it wasn’t abandonment.
It was war, and I have relived it every night since.
My voice breaks, my throat dry. “He died protecting us, Tobias! He was my friend! He died a hero, sacrificing himself for us. No one asked that of him. He gave his life willingly, for the greater good of our kind, so that we wouldn’t be plagued by a greater threat!”
Tobias staggers, confusion rippling through his expression. The blackness in his eyes flickers, wavers, showing an unsteadiness. His bottom lip trembles, grief surfacing beneath the rage.
Donna steps around me, gently but firmly placing herself where he can see her fully.
“Tobias…” she whispers, voice thick with emotion as she appeals to him.
“Nicholas is telling the truth. Please…please listen.” Her voice is a balm even I feel in my bones, and I glance toward her, for the first time taking my eyes off Tobias.
Our hands reach for each other at the same time, my sharp claws retracting to hold her hand in mine, like a show of surrender.
We exchange gentle nods before turning back to Tobias, like a rhythmic unit of two souls who become one in the face of adversity.
My chest swells with pride while Tobias blinks rapidly. His breathing stutters, and the darkness in his eyes recedes for a split second, letting the blue hues return.
Then, out of nowhere, a cold wind slices through the clearing. Donna’s hair whips around her from the impact, and my stomach drops.
The air turns frigid. Heavy.
Wrong.
A woman’s laughter slithers through the meadow, echoing like a chorus of demonic spirits possessing her throat.
Delilah gasps beside Donna and me, the sound shaken and shocked.
“No…” she whispers, shaking her head in disbelief, eyes wild with shock. “No…not her.”
The shadows behind Tobias twist, then morph into a human figure. A woman materializes—tall, elegant, draped in black as if spun from the night itself. Crimson eyes gleam with wicked amusement, her smile like poison as she bares her teeth.
“Morganna…” Delilah breathes, stepping backward. Fear ripples through her voice as she reaches for Gwen’s hand. “One of the dark lord’s witches.”
Arianna sucks in a sharp breath as she steps on the other side, the two of them seemingly protecting Gwen. “The one who cursed Gwen last year…”
“Very good,” Morganna sings, derisively clapping her hands before placing one on Tobias’s shoulder like he’s nothing more than a pet on a leash.
He flinches, but she tightens her grip, long nails digging into his flesh through a wound in his tattered T-shirt.
“Always a clever one, Delilah,” the evil witch smirks, eyes boring into Delilah’s face.
My chest tightens with fury as Donna inches closer to me, her shoulder stiffening defensively as she hides herself behind my arm.
Morganna’s grin widens, wicked and triumphant. “He speaks truth, my sweet puppet,” she coos into Tobias’s ear. “Nicholas did not kill your brother.”
Tobias freezes, eyes widening as he stares between me and Donna.
Donna gasps beside me when she finds a sense of hope in his eyes.
“But…” Morganna purrs, brushing Tobias’s cheek with a talon-like finger, the way one would soothe a rabid dog. “..I needed your rage. I needed your grief. You were far too soft, too loyal, too…moral. I simply corrected that.”
The wolves around us suddenly stop mid-attack, their snarls and growls cutting off, bodies contorting as if gripped by invisible chains. Their limbs lock, their chests tremble, and they freeze in place like grotesque statues, eyes still as black as tar.
Arianna gasps. “She’s controlling them.”
“Of course I am,” Morganna croons, tilting her head in mock innocence. “Pain makes exquisite leash material. It’s the best way to manipulate anyone.”
“We need to be careful,” Delilah whispers through gritted teeth, her voice low enough for only us to hear as our own wolves fall back and spread out around us.
“There were four of them that caught Gwen. And the dark lord is the mastermind behind all of this,” she warns, and there’s a silent understanding within our group.
My wolf snarls inside me, ripping against my chest with violent hatred. I take a step forward, shielding Donna again.
“Let him go!” I demand, eyes pointed at Morganna.
Her eyebrows arch. “Alpha Nicholas Bartalow…” she purrs. “Always so noble. So predictable. It’s adorable, really.”
Donna lifts her chin bravely, stepping beside me, our hands still intertwined. “You twisted his grief! You used Barry’s death to manipulate him! It’s enough now! He’s suffered enough torment!”
Morganna’s gaze snaps to Donna, slowly, like a predator gaining curiosity in its prey. “Ahh…the little witch.” A smirk curves her lips. “The Dark Lord has been…fascinated by you.”
My eyes narrow at the wicked witch, and Donna holds her ground, but I feel her fear spike through the mate bond. My own rage blooms, consuming everything rational inside me.
“You’ll stay away from her,” I growl, stepping forward slightly.
Morganna laughs, a sweet, poisonous sound echoing through the clearing. “Oh, Alpha. What makes you think you can stop me? Stop any of this?” Her gaze burns into Donna. “I’m not here for you. I’m here because she is awakening.”
Before I can react, the air around us ripples with dark magic, and Delilah’s voice instantly breaks through, steady and commanding. “Witches! Now!”
Donna pulls her hand away from mine, only to join Arianna, Delilah, and Gwen in lifting their hands simultaneously, golden, white, and blue light surging from their palms. Energy crackles through the clearing like lightning, and together, they launch a burst of pure witchlight toward Morganna.
The wicked witch lifts a hand lazily, a yawn falling from her lips as she conjures a black shield that ripples like oil suspended in the air. The combined magic of our Golden Tree Sisters slams against Morganna’s dark magic, cracking it…
…but not breaking it.
Morganna smirks. “Pathetic!” she spits, chastising our witches.
The wolves surge forward again on her command, barreling toward our men.
Hunter shifts mid-jump, taking down two. Sean rolls, dodging another. Dominic’s wolf lunges at an incoming attacker, slamming it into a tree, but careful not to kill. The clearing explodes into chaos once more.
I move to leap forward, until a flash of movement catches my eye.
It’s Tobias’s face, torn and fighting, human for the first time since he appeared. He clutches his head, teeth gritted in agony.
“Get out of here, Donna!” he snarls, voice thick with desperation, not malice. “Run!”
Donna’s breath catches while she holds her magic with the others. “Tobias—”
“Go!”
“No!” Donna shouts back at him, magic blazing through her hands like molten gold. Tears blur her eyes as she throws another burst of light directly at Morganna.
The black shield finally shatters, cracks webbing across it like broken glass.
Morganna’s expression twists. “Little girl—” her warning is cut off when darkness lashes outward from her palm like a whip.
I see it before Donna does.
“No! Donna!” I bellow, leaping and shoving her aside, and that’s when the lash strikes my chest.
Agony detonates through me, ripping a cry from my throat. The world spins, the ground slamming into my back as the darkness burns through muscle, bone, and my breath.
I can’t move.
I can’t breathe.
Donna screams my name, her voice raw and panicked, her magic flaring uncontrollably in the sky above me.
My vision fractures as I turn my eyes toward her, and her face blurs in and out. There’s a golden glow around her hands, tears streaking her cheeks, her voice breaking as she drops to her knees beside me.
“Nicholas! Nicholas, stay with me! Please!”
I try to speak, but nothing comes out. The darkness sinks deeper, venomous and cold, slipping through my bones, through my veins. My fingers twitch uselessly, reaching for her but not quite making it. Failing.
The last thing I hear before the world fades is Morganna’s laugh, and Donna’s terrified sob.