Chapter 224: Chapter 224
[ALPHA KILLIAN’S Point of View]
My eyes were blurry and I couldn’t comprehend what was happening.
Did I fall unconscious? I looked around and saw a large billow of black smoke that was poisoning every living thing in its path. The adrenaline in me started to kick in, but I was too weak to move. I felt too heavy to even lift a finger and do something to get out of the boulder I was leaning against and save myself from the horrible death I was facing as the poisonous, dark smoke slowly spread toward me.
I had to move! I had to get out and leave, or I would die just like how Olivia died!’
That realization still couldn’t sink into my head after I watched her being swallowed whole by that poisonous gas and saw her succumb to it. No. I couldn’t end up with the same fate as her! I had to get up and move! I had to go back to my pack, where Brianne was waiting for me. I couldn’t fail her. I couldn’t leave her broken if I didn’t make it back alive.
With all the strength I could muster, I moved my arms first to lift myself up and then roared, my heart beating fast against my chest as I watched the black clouds getting near to me. Horror began to coat my mind, and I started to lose hope as I saw the trees rot and wilt after the poisonous gas enveloped them.
Inch by inch, it came closer. Inch by inch, I started to accept my fate that it was the end of me. That I wouldn’t be able to get back to my mate. That I would die there, from the most horrible death I had ever imagined in my life.
Heart filled with grief and pain, I closed my eyes and just accepted it.
I thought about my mate’s face—my Brianne’s charming smile.
Then I frowned. I was confused when there, in the middle of my thoughts, appeared a face I had never thought would, like a soft ray of sunlight in a clear morning sky.
By that moment, the poisonous gas should have consumed me completely, but the pain didn’t manifest. I expected something burning on my skin. Something excruciating. But nothing. There was nothing.
I gradually opened my eyes, feeling too weary to even care what would happen to me. My eyes widened, though, as I saw a blue hue of a barrier between me and the black poisonous gas that started to climb upwards as if trying to find a way to get inside.
“What the...”
I was breathless when I saw the giant silver wolf standing mightily, facing the black smoke like the gas was some kind of nemesis that it had been trying to fight for centuries. Like the giant silver wolf knew this enemy, and it looked as if it wasn’t the first time that this had happened before.
The giant silver wolf was struggling. I saw it flinch from the black smoke as the gas started to turn darker and bigger, as if it was turning into something like a giant shadow wolf with purple eyes that glowed like lightning.
“KILLIAN, WHAT THE F*CK ARE YOU DOING THERE?!”
I turned my head violently towards that familiar voice and saw Samantha lying on the ground near the Moon Wolf Spring. My eyes widened as I watched the water turn sparkling golden in front of her while the blood drained from her face.
Seconds later, a dazzling light exploded in waves, blinding me as I screamed, expecting that this would be the end.
But I was surprised at the pleasant feeling of it—like a newly lit fireplace in the middle of a cruel winter. The feeling was like the soft warmth of sunlight touching my face in the early morning of spring. It was delightful, and it heals. The kind of amazing thing that you will never expect in a terrifying place like the Black Forest.
I tried to get up, but my legs were still numb. My eyes widened when I noticed Samantha was not moving. No... No! She couldn’t be dead! She couldn’t die here after all the sacrifices I made just to keep her alive! I had to move! I had to know if she was alright! I had to—
“No... No! Samantha, wake up! Wake up! You can’t stay there!”
My whole body trembled as I saw the giant silver wolf turn around, as its attention went to Samantha. That’s when I noticed that the poisonous black smoke was already gone and the barrier had disappeared as well.
“SAMANTHA!!!” I screamed. I started to panic. What should I do?! How could I get her away from there?! I couldn’t f*cking move! I tried, but my legs were too heavy for me to even lift them! Oh, Moon Goddess, please! Give me enough strength to save Sam! I couldn’t let her die! Not in front of me! Please!
The giant silver wolf started to move towards Sam, and I heard my heart thunder in my ears. Cold sweat started to form a bullet in my head as I watched the giant guardian walk like a silent predator ready to jump on its prey as silently as it could.
Still, Sam lay on the ground unresponsive.
I snarled, trying to ignore every pain that was screaming all over my body. I forced my feet to move as I leaned against the boulder, trying to regain my balance and hoping not to fall to my knees after I successfully stood, with every muscle in my legs shaking.
“I won’t let you die on me like this, Sam...” I snarled to myself as I bared my teeth. I was about to step away from the boulder, but then I stopped.
A tall, big silhouette appeared and came walking towards Samantha in steady, slow steps. I froze, my heart hammering against my chest.
Dominic appeared in the white fog that surrounded the Moon Wolf Spring. He stood there, looking down at Samantha with soft, sorrowful eyes, and I thought my heart sank in my gut. Was she alright? Was she still breathing?! I wanted to scream and ask him what was happening, but I couldn’t. A lump that formed in my throat started to choke me, and I couldn’t speak. I just felt my throat swell and my eyes well with tears.
Please, f*cking tell me she is still alive...
However, I couldn’t believe how Dominic had recovered so fast after all those lethal injuries he got from the giant silver wolf. What happened to him? After the attack shattered his bones, how did he recover in that short amount of time?
Could it be that the curse had finally overtaken his body?!
Horror filled me as I watched how Dominic kneeled to check on Sam, who was still unconscious. To my surprise, the giant silver wolf sat down and watched him as if it recognized Dominic as its master. I began to feel uneasy as I saw the strange calmness on Dominic’s face, but then I couldn’t move. I just watched, waiting for what would happen next.
Dominic carried Sam in his arms, and there was this ache in my chest that I couldn’t ignore. I shouldn’t feel it that way, and I had to remind myself over and over that Sam was just someone I swore to protect with my everything because she was that kind of special to me. Olivia had seen through my feelings for Sam.
I was only here to help her because she deserved to be happy. I wanted her to be happy. I wanted her to be safe. To have a life with her twins. And even though it hurts me to admit it, I had to accept that it would be Dominic she would always choose.
I had to accept that Dominic would always be there, no matter what I did. No matter how I sacrifice for her.
With a heavy and defeated heart, I leaned back and watched as Dominic kissed Samantha on her forehead while she was still unconscious. I swallowed the lump in my throat, and I felt as if a hundred cold knives were stabbing my chest. I love Brianne, but why did it still hurt to see Samantha in the arms of the man who betrayed her so many times? I believed I was the hero of her story. But it seemed that she needed him more to bring back the life she had been dreaming of for her children, and I understood that part. I understood that all she wanted was a whole family with the man she really loved.
And I should be feeling happy for her.
But g*dd*mnit, it hurts!
Closing my eyes tight, a tear fell down my chin, and I swallowed hard again, trying to calm my heart and mind down. Enough punishing myself for loving a woman who was never really mine from the start. Enough feeling these emotions that only made things complicated for me and Brianne.
I had to forget Samantha.
The question was how?
My mind was distracted by a sound that made me frown. Not too far away from me was a phone. Dominic’s phone? I struggled to get it because of my lack of mobility, but with a little effort, I grabbed it and saw that Liam was calling.
“Liam?” I said, suppressing myself from groaning from pain. “What’s happening there? Are the twins safe?” I asked, full of worry. I looked back to where Dominic was standing, and he and Samantha weren’t there anymore. Where did he take her?
A fear emerged in me. What if Dominic was not himself anymore?! I had to go and check—
“Devon’s wolf cub. I think it has something to do with what is happening there, Alpha Killian. I see that the cub is also cursed, and I still have no idea what to do with it. Devon and Diana don’t want me to go anywhere near the animal.”
“Okay, I will go back and check if I can do something about it.”
“Wait, how is Alpha Dominic—”
I answered with an exasperated tone. “They’re fine. We succeeded in taking over the Moon Wolf Spring. Dominic and Samantha are probably now heading somewhere. I am not sure where, but I believe they know what they are doing.
After I ended the call, I heard a familiar voice in my head through the mind-link.
[Killian?]
My eyes widened in relief as I heard her voice. She was alive! [Samantha! What happened?]
[We are heading to the Wolf Tomb, Killian. I need you to head back to Silver Crescent to check what’s happening there.]
I chuckled, glad that she sounded alright and not hurt. There was this bittersweet feeling in me that I couldn’t explain. [Yeah, I am thinking of heading back there now. I don’t think I have use to you and your husband now that I am badly wounded.]
[Thank you, Killian. Keep safe.]
And then that’s where our line was cut, making me sigh deeply.
I was about to get up, but my chest suddenly hurt until I had the urge to cough.
Blood spurted out of my mouth.
Only it wasn’t crimson but purple.