Chapter 82

Chapter 82: Chapter 82

Chapter 82

LEO’s POV

His legs took him as deep into the forest as they could. The night was the darkest Leo had ever seen, and he’d seen quite a lot.

His uncle was dead. His backbone had been snatched from him.

What else remained?

He had completely lost.

The pain was far more excruciating than his brain was able to cope with, and so it preferred to numb itself, leaving Leo to trip. He tumbled down the sloppy ground, wet leaves sticking to his face. He couldn’t bring himself to care about it.

Like a spotlight, the rays of moonlight shone through a tiny opening beneath the trees’ canopy.

And there, Leo cried his eyes out to the night.

His failure and his loss were a heavy burden that sulked at him while his cheeks burned as the tears slid down his jaw and met the ground.

From the time he’d lost his parents at a young age, his uncle, Barry, had taken over the parental role, and because of his vision, he’d lost his uncle to the cause.

And right there, from his perspective, he vowed to end them all.

All those who’d taken his joy.

After all, what else had he got to lose?

∆∆∆

ALEX’s POV.

I didn’t know where to begin. There was so much that had transpired, and though it had happened too fast, it had gone according to the drafted plan and had been very necessary.

"I know you’re not in the mood to listen to this, but you almost died. Yes, the antidote worked, but the effects could have been brutal." Marcellan was the first face I saw when I woke up.

The sickbed left my bones cramped and my neck somewhat stiff.

"How did you know Alpha Frederick was going to show up?" He continued.

My trembling hands helped me sit up. With a hiss, I dropped my feet and prepared to stand.

"There’s something called the Aetherblood Resonance," I answered.

"You can’t walk yet."

"Where’s Kai?" I disregarded his warning and changed the conversation.

Marcellan looked away from me.

"He probably hates me."

"You know he can’t. Even if he wishes to." He attempted to convince me.

He said that like I was supposed to laugh, and perhaps at another time I would have. But I felt like I’d just woken up from a tombstone like the other time, except this time, power wasn’t surging through me, pumping me with energy.

I said nothing further as I stepped towards the exit.

From behind me, Marcellan barked, "what does Aetherblood Resonance mean?"

"I can read people," I answered subtly.

My feeble walk led me out. Through the bond, I made my way to the edge of the forest. A willow stretched over the area, rooted beside a lake, and beyond that, everything else when one stared into the distance was nothing but mist-laden forest. With winter coming, the fog had gathered even more.

Even as I breathed, my exhalation was caught in the mist.

"I’m sorry."

Kai’s back was turned to me. Seconds stretched awkwardly and unnervingly into what felt like minutes. Kai eventually turned to face me, but he looked at me differently.

"Do you wish to kill yourself? You’ve had me reacting all this time. I’m done."

"But..."

"You keep hurting yourself to prove points that don’t matter."

"Leo was caught red handed. Because of me," I retorted. "I’d been the one reacting all this time. To when you waltzed into my life. To when Leo cast me aside like I meant nothing anymore. Circumstances controlled my life more than I did for myself, but now, I finally have the chance to do things."

"By daring fate at the expense of your own life?"

"Yes, if that’s the only way I know how," I claimed. "I knew Leo. I’ve known him for the longest, and I knew he was only predictable when frantic, and so I made that happen."

"You orchestrated what could have gone horribly wrong."

Kai heaved a sigh.

"You know, I’m a hypocrite. I keep letting this shit happen over and over. What if Frederick hadn’t come? What if your magic hadn’t held? What if our babies were hurt?"

"It’s not confirmed to be twins yet," I offered for a comical release.

But Kai didn’t buy it. "I don’t fucking care."

I shrugged. "I protected them with magic. I could have healed myself without the wolfsbane, but I channelled all my power into protecting your heir."

My voice came out more like a shout.

"Why do you wish so much to die?" Kai asked again, this time knotting even more unease in my belly.

"I don’t wish to die. I simply made a plan. We can’t get to Nathan if we don’t put fear into Leo. Now he’ll run to wherever Nathan is and get him out for us. This is the time you need to finish this."

Kai shook his head, his hands on his hips as he stared anywhere but at my face.

"Whatever," he remarked before he left.

The sunset left traces of pink and orange in the sky. The colours merged in such an enriching manner that I was left speechless. But it seemed my mind had much to say within the flesh.

Now, a little recap; it had all been planned.

From the time we’d had that gathering at the resort to going to Leo’s banquet, I’d set the plan accordingly, and I only needed Leo to take the bait.

Knowing how he’d completely crack once he was under pressure, I’d orchestrated the spell that turned one of the captured pirates into Nathan. To the eye, he appeared in Nathan’s image, but it was merely an illusion.

And that was the only push I needed for Leo to finish the ploy himself.

The poisoning had been expected. Knowing Leo, I knew poisoning through food would be a possibility, and what else was effective enough to kill a Luna if not wolfsbane? So I’d requested help from Alpha Frederick in exchange for the promise of submitting Nathan to him once captured.

However, the death of Count Barry wasn’t included.

Now Leo would be on a pensive killing spree, and so we needed to be prepared.

This wasn’t the time for Kai and me to disagree, but then I did understand his plight.

Because what if it hadn’t gone the way I’d assumed?

I turned back towards the castle’s entrance, my head low, and I wondered what was next.

Would I have to risk my life again when it came to capturing Nathan?

He wasn’t as predictable as I’d found Leo to be, so what would I do when the only ploy I knew how to play became the wrong move?