Chapter 223: Chapter 223
[SAMANTHA’s Point of View]
Olivia’s presence.
It was gone.
“W-What happened?!” I asked myself, feeling confused and wondering whether it was Killian or the wolf guardian who ended Olivia. A part of me wanted to feel elated now that she was gone, but there was also a part of me that felt terrible after I heard Olivia wailing my name to help her.
I mean... why would she do that?
That thought vanished from my mind when I saw the black smoke that engulfed Olivia billow out, thicken, and begin to spread in front of the arched gate! I started to panic as my eyes grew bigger, scared that the smoke would spread more and swallow everything it reached! How could I move my husband out of here when every bone in his body was broken? No, I couldn’t move Dominic away from this place! I didn’t know how!
As I gazed down at my still unconscious husband, it seemed as though everything had slowed down. I couldn’t hear anything other than his slow, ragged breathing. His heartbeat was steady but slow, and his hands were icy cold as I held and squeezed them tight. My heartbeat slowed with him as I studied my husband’s face. All those bruises, the blood crusting from out of his mouth, the wounds—it shattered my heart to pieces.
There’s one thing that I realized at that moment.
I couldn’t live without him.
I couldn’t live without my husband.
“Dominic,” I whispered to him with trembling lips as tears streamed down my face. “Wake up, my love. Devon and Diana need you. I need you. Please fight for us... You can’t die on me now, Dominic. You hear me? You can’t die on me here!”
It was as if the sky had fallen on me. My shoulders were so heavy, and it was impossible for me to move away or even take a step away from my husband. I stayed there with him, holding his hand tightly as I noticed his heartbeat slowing and his hands growing colder. I was so terrified. I glanced back at the arched gate, hoping the black cloud was gone. To my horror, it only grew bigger. Wider. It consumed everything as it expanded toward the arched gates.
Killian was running away from it, and the wolf guardian started to look concerned about what was happening.
“This is bad,” the old man said as he watched the black cloud melt the trees as it spread throughout the forest.
“What is that?” I murmured in fear, still holding my husband’s hand, scared that if I let him go, I would lose him forever. “What is happening?”
“The miasma,” he answered with a weary voice as he sat down on an old, worn-out wooden chair. He gave a deep sigh, and I could see the exhaustion in his eyes as he looked back at me with a stoic expression. It was as if he were tired of existing—like he had been longing for a rest, but he couldn’t. Because of the duties that he still had to fulfill in this forest. Was this a punishment to him? What did he do to suffer like this?
He continued explaining despite the exhaustion in his voice. His shoulders drooped. “We have to get rid of this. It will poison the forest and the Moon Wolf Spring.”
“What?!” I gasped loudly as the adrenaline in me started to pump in my veins once again. “We can’t let that happen! Please tell me what I should do! We can’t let the miasma ruin the Moon Wolf Spring! I can’t let it take away the chance to break the curse that is destroying my husband’s body!”
The old man remained silent for a whole minute, which felt like an eternity to me. Every second that passed, each heartbeat that echoed like thunder in my ears, was a torment to me. I was so frozen while I was sitting on the ground beside Dominic, waiting for the answer, but my heart skipped a beat when I felt my husband’s hand twitch a little.
“Dominic!” I gasped his name as I leaned closer to him and watched him open his eyes slowly.
At first, he looked confused. Blinked his eyes fast and then moaned as he felt his body slowly healing from the injuries he got when he was attacked by the giant silver wolf. I heard his bones snap in places one by one, and in each snap, groans escaped from his lips, fighting himself not to yell in pain.
I held my breath when Dominic slightly turned his head towards me to stare at my face, which was pale and drenched with tears. His hand that I was holding moved to touch and feel my face, and his eyes slightly curved as if he was smiling.
Like he was so glad he was alive to gaze at my face once again.
He couldn’t utter a word, though. I guess his voice box was still healing after the giant silver wolf rammed him against the boulder, and his throat was damaged from the impact. His neck had a wide patch of purple bruise as he tried to speak, but his voice was too hoarse to utter a single word.
“It’s okay, my love. Please don’t force yourself yet. You need to heal,” I whispered to him as I smiled, pleased that he was slowly recovering and was finally out of death’s grip. “I’m just here. I am here, my love.”
“You have to make your move, Luna of the Silver Crescent Pack. If you stay here, the Moon Wolf Spring will be contaminated, and all the sacrifices your husband made to get you here will be for nothing.” The old man stood, and he looked down at Dominic, and just as I expected, my husband’s eyes widened, thinking that the old man in front of him was really his father.
[He’s the guardian of the forest.] I said to my husband through our mate bond, but I still felt the barrier surrounding his mind.
He didn’t want me in his head. He was still shielding me from the agony that the curse and his injuries were causing him. Dominic was still in terrible pain.
“You need his blood to mix with yours while the guardian wolf of the Moon Wolf Spring is trying to get rid of the miasma, luna of the Silver Crescent pack! You have to move fast to get rid of it before everything becomes too late!”
“Dominic?”
He nodded his head slightly despite that grimace on his face, telling me that it was right. He lifted his hand toward me as if telling me to cut him there to draw blood from him.
The old guardian of the forest handed me a bowl made of gold, and I took it a little aggressively as I placed it under Dominic’s arm.
“Ready?” I asked him as I felt my heart in my throat. He nodded softly once again; his face was a mixture of pain and worry as he looked at my pale face.
My hand trembled as I cut my husband’s arm, letting the blood drip into the bowl. I looked at the old man to see if the blood was enough; he nodded in response. Then, I tied the wound I had inflicted on Dominic and cut my palm to draw blood, mixing it with his.
“Go now! Save the Moon Wolf Spring!”
“But I can’t leave my husband here!” I said with hesitation, holding the golden bowl in one hand. "I couldn’t trust you with my husband’s life. I don’t know you!”
"Then would you rather see him die here? In this hut? With all of you and the people of the packs that surround the Black Forest?”
He was right. If I refused to go, the poisonous miasma would destroy everything and kill everyone in its path, and I couldn’t let it happen. I couldn’t let it ruin my twin’s home and put everyone’s lives at risk.
Dominic’s hazel eyes locked onto mine as he mouthed the words "I will be okay." I felt like crying, but I suppressed my emotions, not wanting him to see me broken into millions of pieces, while I noticed the fear and worry in his eyes. I never wanted to leave his side. I never wanted to let go of his hand, but I had to.
I had no choice.
Without saying goodbye, I stood and went running back through the arched gates. My throat started to swell as tears rolled down my cheeks. I put on a brave face as I glared, focusing on getting past the giant silver wolf while its attention was on protecting the Moon Wolf Spring from the miasma.
I made every effort to avoid the beast’s attention until I successfully entered the arched gate, dashing inside, fearful of what might happen to me as an uninvited guest in its territory. The giant silver wolf saw me, though. Its purple eyes widened as it bared its teeth, but he couldn’t leave the spot he was standing on or the miasma would get inside the barrier he made to protect the ancient spring.
“No, worried!” I yelled at the giant beast, seeing that fear on its face. “I am going to get rid of that poison! I will help you!”
And just as I expected, the beast answered me with an angry snarl.
Without any hesitation, I dashed straight to the spring and splashed my and my husband’s blood on the clear blue water of the Moon Wolf Spring. I lost my balance and fell on the ground, but I didn’t take my eyes away from it and saw how the water turned golden and sparkling—no glittering! Like stars had fallen from the sky and shot straight into its waters.
Despite its baffling nature, a light flashed so dazzlingly that it blinded me for seconds. A scream escaped from my lips, thinking that it was the end of me. But there was no pain. I didn’t burn from it. The light didn’t harm me.
“What the...”
Every inch of me ached. But I turned around, hoping that the miasma was gone, and it was! I smiled in delight as I stood slowly, hearing and feeling the popping of my joints, but froze when I saw that the giant silver wolf started to walk towards me with a grave look in its eyes.
But the purple glow in its eyes was gone, and the giant wolf’s eyes returned to their natural color of pale silver. The rage in it was gone too, and it was more gentle, which made all the tension in my body disappear for seconds while gazing at it.
[Congratulations, Luna of the Silver Crescent pack. The first level has been passed.] said the voice in my head, which belonged to the old guardian of the Black Forest. [But the source of the curse remained in the Wolf’s Tomb.]
“What the f*ck!?” I cursed, my heart sinking in my stomach from what I heard.