by Bella Raven
“He betrayed his kind. He betrayed Cerise.” Her words are sharp. “His fate is his own doing,” she says, as if trying to absolve herself of guilt. I can see the fury in her eyes. The rage in her words. Angry at Ethan for putting her in this position. Forcing her to choose between her blood, and her obligations.
“You don’t care what happens to Ethan at all?” I ask.
“Did I give you permission to speak?” Olivia says.
“So, you’re just going to sit back and let him die?”
“I can’t be responsible for another person’s choices.”
We arrive at Cerise's. The wolves bring us down to the dungeon and line us up like prisoners awaiting a firing squad.
Ethan hangs from the wall, suspended by the same skeletal arms that held Jen and I earlier. Ethan has been beaten and bruised. Shades of red, purple, and black cover his skin. His body is slashed and clawed, coated in dried blood.
“Ethan,” I shout. I lurch toward him, but the werewolves hold me back. He looks up at me with battered eyes. He struggles against the bones.
Cerise enters furious and frazzled. My eyes glance over her neckline, to her collarbone. The rings are no longer visible around her neck. My spell worked. This illusion has unnerved her.
“Where is it?” Cerise asks.
“Where is what?” I say.
“If you want to play games, then we can play games. We could play how many fingers do I have to break before you talk? We could play how many limbs do I have to rip off before you speak? We could play how many eyes do I have to gouge out? That’s my personal favorite,” Cerise says.
“Do you have any friends?” I ask.
Cerise looks at me puzzled.
“I mean does anyone like you at all? Anyone that’s not bound by a blood oath?” I say.
Cerise's eyes blaze into me. “Careful little one. There are even more painful games that we can play.”
I swallow hard as she stares me down.
“You thought you could sneak in here and steal my rings. Escape through my tunnels. Fools,” Cerise says. It’s clear that Cerise thinks we were caught on the way out, not the way in.
I can’t see the rings, but I know they are there, around her neck. Invisible. Hidden from her perception, just like she had hidden Jen’s mouth. I want to snatch them, but she’s too close, and the dagger she holds would find my heart too quick.
Cerise steps to Noah. She kneels down to eye level with him. “Such a cute little boy. And very brave.” She grabs his arm and pulls him close, putting a dagger to his throat.
“It’s amazing what siblings will do for one another,” Cerise says. “You can bicker and fight all day long, but the minute someone threatens the family, you’ll stand up for each other.”
Olivia stands next to her, looking embarrassed. Her eyes flick to Ethan, then away. Her face tenses.
“Tell me where the rings are, or I slit his throat,” Cerise says. She presses the blade harder against Noah’s neck. A trickle of blood rolls down to his collarbone. The scent fills my nostrils. My eyes fix on the crimson dribble.
“It must be difficult to resist your cravings. Especially for such a new vampire,” Cerise says. “Imagine when I open his vein, and all of his blood pours out. Will you be able to resist?”
“I don’t have the rings,” I say.
Cerise's fiery eyes narrow.
“But I can tell you where they are,” I say.
“Speak now, or the boy dies,” Cerise says.
“What was hidden, now it sight. Deceive the eyes with visions of fright.” I chant the phrase over and over.
Cerise becomes enraged that I’m using magic. Her jaw clenches, gritting her teeth.
The invisible necklace transforms and becomes visible. Two hissing snakes encircle Cerise's neck. She grabs the snakes and tosses them to the floor, terrified. Once on the stone floor, the snakes transform into the necklace holding the two silver rings.
Cerise's eyes blaze with fury at the deception. She lunges toward the rings. But Olivia does something I do not expect. She bites into Cerise's neck, transforming into a werewolf.
The room turns to chaos.
The werewolves that were holding me race to help Cerise.
I dash for the rings, scooping them up.
Cerise's blood sprays across the room as Olivia wrenches a chunk of flesh from the nape of Cerise's neck.
The werewolves rip them apart, tossing Olivia across the room. She slams into the stone wall. Debris scatters and the wall cracks. Several of the werewolves pounce on Olivia, devouring her. Razor sharp fangs rip apart her flesh. Ethan struggles against his bonds, screaming at the werewolves to stop.
Two werewolves tend to Cerise as she clutches her wound. Blood pulses through her fingers.
Jake grabs Noah, whisking him away from the fray.
I hold the rings in my palm, chanting the mantra, “Forged and cast by wicked verse, unmake these rings that bind the curse.”
The rings begin to glow. I feel their warmth radiate through my hands and up my arms. I keep chanting. Streams of glowing energy flow around my hands, forming a ball of plasma.
Cerise sees this. “Stop her!”
Snarling fangs race toward me.
I keep chanting.
Harlan jumps in front of the werewolves, tripping them. It only slows them momentarily. They scurry to their feet, only steps away from me.
I keep chanting. The ball of energy grows, finally exploding. The blast bolts a shockwave of energy through the room, knocking everyone to the ground. It’s a blinding flash of light. Time and space seem to bulge and distort for a moment.
Then everything is quiet. The rings are no more.
Bodies are strewn about the chamber. No werewolves. I gaze at my shoulder—the black decaying flesh turns a smooth creamy porcelain. The burning pain subsides. I feel like your normal, average, healthy vampire.
Olivia is dead. Her body shredded.
What were once werewolves are now just regular people. They begin to stir, recovering from the blast. They look about the room, and at each other, bewildered.
Noah sprints into my arms, hugging me so tight I can barely breathe. I see Harlan dusting himself off. Cerise gasps for breath. Blood still oozes from between her fingers as she clutches the gaping wound.
“Destroy her,” Cerise's weak and raspy voice commands.
The former werewolves rise to their feet, glaring at me.
Cerise is pale. The wickedness that once burned in her eyes now fades.
“Destroy her,” she mutters again, then collapses. Her lifeless body withers on the floor. A shriveled sack of skin and bones. I feel a sudden rush of energy. A tingling wave of power enters my body. It feels exhilarating. All of Cerise's power transfers to me. An unexpected consequence of her demise. I am her only living heir.
The former wolves watch this transfer of power with a curious fascination. Cerise is dead, and the wolves are no longer slaves to the blood oath that bound them to her.
The bones let go of Ethan and he dashes to me. I melt in his arms and hug him tight. Before I can speak, he presses his lips against mine. My entire body flutters with excitement.
When we come up for air, I notice all of the former wolves are staring at me.
“What are we now?” one of them asks.
“I don’t know. I think you are just human,” I say.
My words hang in the air for a moment.
“The vampires will come and hunt us down. They will take retribution on us. We are defenseless,” another says.
“You must remake us,” says another.
“We will swear allegiance to you,” says the first.
He kneels before me, and the rest follow, as if I am their new master.
“I don’t know how to do that,” I say.
“You have all the power of Cerise now,” one of them says. “Just as the prophecy foretold.”
CHAPTER 41
ONE BATTLE HAS ended, and it seems another
is just beginning. Harlan’s survival bunker will be our home for the foreseeable future. It is the only place we will be safe from the vampires.
Vincent will avenge Scarlett’s death. Everyone who was once a werewolf is now in jeopardy as well. The vampires are coming. It’s only a question of when. And I am faced with a daunting decision—do I remake the werewolves?
It is a question that is on everyone’s mind. Ethan says he feels like a cat that’s been declawed. Missing a crucial part of himself. Helpless and defenseless. But he tells me one part of his wolf self remains—his loyalty. His love for me is forever.
As difficult as these times have been, I feel greater challenges are yet to come. But for the moment, we are safe.
Forever, I am in love.
The End
Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed this book as much as I loved writing it. As you know, reviews are the lifeblood of indie authors. Please consider rating and reviewing.
--Much love, Bella
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