Chapter 18
Chapter Eighteen
Lex
I’m just about to rip someone’s throat out when all of a sudden, I’m blinded by the worst physical pain I’ve ever experienced in my entire life.
It’s even worse than when the witches incapacitated us. I fall to my knees, Titus letting out the most agonizing howl.
Somewhere in the distance, I hear two more of the same distinctive piercing cries. But I don’t need to look around though to know who’s doing it.
I can feel it.
I can feel everything.
Red…
The wolf I was fighting looks at my shrunken frame, impending victory beaming on his face. With his teeth bared, snarling, it almost looks as though he’s grinning.
I can’t even bring myself to push through the pain, to fight him off. Everything inside me is dying, my soul ripped apart as my world shatters.
She’s gone.
My mate is gone.
The opposing wolf charges at me, but I’m ready. He can kill me.
I know I should fight and keep going for my pack. But I’ve already lost Knox. And now that I’ve lost Nyx, there’s nothing else to live for.
We’re fighting a losing battle. It’s over anyway.
It's as if every alpha instinct in my body ceases to exist. That pull I usually feel, the unwavering urge to lead is gone. Nothing exists now except pain and desolation. I feel hollow, empty.
Incomplete.
My hand clutches my chest over my heart, the ache getting even worse.
I’ll be with you soon, Red.
I feel him closing in, ready to sink his teeth in and rip me to pieces when suddenly… he’s gone.
Not gone like Knox and Nyx… but actually gone. Literally.
Then I hear it. The change in sound.
It seems ridiculous but there’s no other way of describing it. All of a sudden it gets eerily quiet which is perplexing given the amount of wolves in the vicinity.
Through the haze of pain, I turn my head to look over my shoulder, surprised to see more than half of the wolves have just vanished into thin air.
Like the disappearing packs.
Everyone looks around in bewilderment, just as confused as I am. My chest stops moving entirely and I suck in a breath as my eyes find the carnage of bodies along the ground.
It's a literal battle field, the casualties a horrid reminder of what we've just lost.
What I've lost.
Somewhere along the edge of the field near the training facility, I hear a woman’s echoing scream, wild sobbing violating the air.
I don’t know how I do it, but I stand, feet moving without a second thought as I follow the noise.
There’s a group of people forming a circle, and I shove past them carelessly, dread filling me as I know what I’m about to face.
Nyx’s mom is bawling loudly, face buried into her mate as deep sobs wreck her entire body.
Cade has beat me there, naked frame on his knees as he cradles Nyx’s body.
“Come back to me,” he whispers, gently shaking her as if she's merely asleep.
Maverick comes barreling through the crowd of people, eyes wide as he takes in the scene before him. He freezes, trying to process what he's looking at, shock clearly evident on his features before he drops to his knees too.
I step over to them, finding space as I crouch down to look at my beautiful girl.
She looks so peaceful, her face exactly how I so vividly remember it. How she looked every morning in my bed.
“What the hell happened? Who did this?!” Cade asks in a cracked voice, hand brushing over the protruding instrument in her chest.
I don’t have an answer for him. For any of us. But I damn need one right now.
Somewhere behind us, a broken voice that sounds like Lena croaks out, "Nyx did it…"
New pain explodes in my chest as I try to process her words. They don't make sense. She may as well be speaking another language. Why would Nyx do this? To us?
Why would she kill herself?
The crowd parts and I glance up, watching as Daxton appears with Alix. He takes one look at Nyx, lips parting in disbelief and devastation before gazing at the three of us with a pitying, apologetic expression.
Before he can speak, someone calls out over the crying.
“Alpha. We found someone alive from Orson’s pack.”
There’s a loud growl and it takes me a few seconds to realize it’s coming from me. I stand up, pushing people out of the way as I go searching for this asshole.
I’ll kill them. I’ll rip every inch of skin from their skeleton, slowly, until they bleed out and die like they deserve. And then I'll find a way to bring them back just so I can repeat it.
A hand swings out to stop me, resting firmly on my chest.
“Lex, let me handle it.”
“Get the fuck out of my way, Daxton,” I warn, glaring at him. “You have no right to stop me. I'm done taking direction from you.”
Daxton nods slowly in agreement, attempting to deescalate the situation. It makes me even angrier and I'm about three seconds away from killing him too if he doesn't get the fuck out of my way.
“There has to be a reason they didn’t vanish. Let me question them first. Then you can have them.”
Gasps of shock erupt behind us as Maverick aggressively shoves people aside without care.
“She's dead! Fucking dead, Daxton," he yells in the alpha's face, pushing him backwards.
"Our mate is dead because of them. You have no say at all what happens now.
I don't give a shit that this is your land.
This is our right. Our decision. And if we want revenge and retribution, we'll take it. Fuck your questioning."
I nod angrily in support, happy that we're on the same page.
I need vengeance. I need to hurt someone. I need to do something other than just stand by while my mate starts to go cold. There's a fucking jagged piece of rock sticking out of her chest.
She killed herself for us. For him and his pack. The very least we can do is avenge and honor her.
Daxton looks at the both of us with a pained expression. “I promise you, this is your decision. But as Nyx's alpha, I need to find out everything I can while we have the opportunity. Please."
"You're not her alpha," Cade says from the ground, still cradling Nyx. "We are."
I can't even look at them. Out of the corner of my eye, I see my brother walk up to Cade with a blanket. His hands are shaking as he lays it over Nyx's naked body, covering her modesty.
We make eye contact and I give him a little nod of appreciation before turning back to Daxton. "No, Daxton. They took her from us. Now we get to take their life as well."
"She did it for all of us," he says cautiously. "Don't let it all be for nothing. All that research she did, all the information she unraveled, we owe it to her."
"Don't you dare guilt us into agreeing with your decision by using Nyx against us," Maverick spits back. "It's irrelevant now."
"No, it's not."
I stare wildly at the two witches, angry that they are teaming up with Daxton. Cade must share my sentiments, jumping to his feet. He refuses to let Nyx go though, still carrying her against his chest.
"Marie, back off. As your alpha, I command you to stand down."
"You aren't my alpha," Marie replies coolly. "My son's, yes. Not mine. But Lydiana is correct. You're missing the bigger picture."
"The picture is solely the fact that Red is dead," I growl. "Nothing else matters."
Lydiana steps over to Cade, despite his deadly glances at her. She touches Nyx's cheek, stroking it gently with her index finger. "She overturned the cosmic balance. A sacrifice for the greater good. She paid the ultimate price, and in turn, she was rewarded by the Moon Goddess."
"We could have taken them," Maverick says frantically, pacing with his hands on his head. "She didn't have to do this."
"You were losing," Marie points out. "Look at all the lives lost. Look at the devastation. Nyx saw an opportunity and she took it. She was the only one who could have ended it. It was her ruthless fate to endure."
I shake my head. "Why didn't she use the white light? There has to have been another way. How is this the answer? We're—" I shut my mouth, unable to finish the words.
We're mateless now. Three alphas. One dead luna.
"We cannot question the Moon Goddess and her decisions. But perhaps we could try something..."
Maverick stops his pacing. "Try anything for fuck's sake!"
Lydiana throws him a look of disdain before ignoring him, motioning for Cade to lay Nyx on the ground. He hesitates for a moment before slowly lowering her.
Marie steps around Nyx, the two witches kneeling on either side of her.
My brows furrow in confusion as they join hands over Nyx's chest, their palms brushing over the top of the jagged rock. Silently, they start chanting as everyone falls into a quiet hush.
I don't dare to let myself have hope. But my eyes stay glued to Nyx, watching impatiently, wondering what they are attempting to do.
Around us, the sky suddenly darkens, wind picking up. With the sun gone, an early full moon incredulously glows in the distance.
Leaves rustle and sweep around us, the air becoming chilly as their chanting increases in volume, the words foreign to my ears.
Even Maverick is frozen still, eyes locked on Nyx.
Marie pulls the blanket down slightly, small wrinkled hand grasping the rock. Gasps and quiet shrieks sound out around us as she pulls the bloodied stone out. Fixing the blanket back up, they hold their open palms over Nyx's chest, the roaring of the wind picking up speed.
Then suddenly—nothing.
I blink a few times to adjust to the sunlight as it returns, the wind immediately disappearing.
Stepping closer to Nyx, I stare intensely at her, that shattering pain flaring when nothing happens.
Then slowly, her eyes open.
"Nyxie!" Her mom cries out, rushing forward and dropping to her knees.
"Mom?" Nyx's weak voice asks, confusion on her face. "What happened?"
Jules can't answer, only sobbing harder as she buries her face into the blanket draped over Nyx.
I push forward, my knees slamming into the ground as I fall beside her. "Red…"
She swivels her head to look at me, a tiny smile appearing on her lips. "Lex."
Cade is beside me a second later, and poor Jules is nearly propelled aside as Maverick launches himself to Nyx's side.
"You're okay," I mutter, stroking her hair. "You're alive."
"Why the hell did you do that?" Maverick croaks out, finally losing control as he hunches over in quiet tears. "Don't you dare ever leave me again."
Like a light bulb moment, she looks around at the circle of people. "Did we win?"
Cade laughs in relief, nodding. "We won, baby. You did it."
There's a flash of solace on Nyx's face before it's gone, a pained expression taking its place. "Mira's gone…"
"No, I'm not," I hear, puzzled for a moment until it dawns on me that Titus is mind linking Mira.
Nyx freezes, tears welling up in her eyes. To anyone else outside of the four of us, they must be confused, not privy to our private conversation.
"But how?" Nyx asks.
"I was captured by the necklace," Mira answers, and Nyx touches the chain around her neck. She looks at Maverick, the two of them sharing a look of astonishment.
"The necklace?" He questions in the mind link, and I spot the opal resting on her collarbone.
An unfamiliar voice answers for him, his wolf I presume. "Your father had it blessed by a witch. To protect his mate's wolf."
"And the stone Luna Eve gave Nyx for protection ensured we'd always have a light to guide us back home."