"Mom!" Hedwelch conveys a hug with me, wearing his gauntlet.
"What are you doing here?"
"We're supposed to be the ones asking that of you," Zaeramil interfered, who's apparently leading the Omegas.
"Am I not supposed to be here? I mean, my mate is over there, too."
"Exactly. Your mate is over there making a scene with another woman—"
Holding all of my evil thoughts, I walk toward the two casually with Hedwelch as I lock my eyes on Hessuel. His formal clothes are full of bloodstain. His chasing of breath and cold sweat speaks ‘help’ to me, but he's leaning his forehead on another refuge shoulder. Hrista, on the other hand, sees my presence and deliberately pulls Hessuel's face to her.
I was still analyzing the situation when I enchanted my bracelet into a long thread that gripped Hrista's throat and I pulled her away from Hessuel. She shifts into her beast while in the air, bites the thread, and cruelly pulls me. My knees got bruised on the ground. I let go of the thread and magically turn it into a shackle until Hessuel ambushes me in his beast!
Unbeknown to my awareness, something is running in his head to thoughtlessly bite my shoulder and dissect my flesh! "Hessuel!!" I called but he couldn't recognize me. "Aaah!! Stop!!" No matter how painful, I always find it hard to cast an enchantment against him. I was greatly surprised when Hedwelch punched his father away from me.
"Mom!" And then embraces me again. "Dad has been playing monster. You should have known the rules," he reprimands. I could only press my injuries rather than laugh at his supposition! The grass underneath Hessuel grows and binds him, the Omegas position themselves against Hessuel to pin him down.
Hessuel's resistance only hurts himself. "You're not the only one flustered in this situation," Zaeramil thickens the bind, "so don't mess around with our formation. I'm starting to understand what is going on."
"Leave him to me. I will tame him."
He glances at my pathetic condition. "Stop bossing around. I know what to do. I have my own common sense."
"Your common sense can't even quench Elibur's fire," I disturbed even though it's often futile to argue with him.
Hessuel seems exhausted but his resistance shatters what's immobilizing him. Zaeramil shields us behind his enchast as Hessuel charges. Sooner, Hrista hinders his way and effortlessly tames him. "None of you can pacify him but me," she said, "so you won't have to treat him like this! Leave us alone! If you want us gone, then we can fulfill that!"
This woman is triggering my blood pressure again. "How could you say that in front of me and my son?" I contended. "He's not coming with you. He has a family!"
"He doesn't belong to you anymore."
"Excuse me?"
Zaeramil presumes, "Then it means you know the situation well. You conspired with the head of this incident. Arrest her!"
Before anyone else could touch them, Hessuel takes Hrista on his back and runs away as swiftly as the wind. The Omegas chase them and I also request for Acro to do the same. What's happening to him? He was so sweet to me a while ago. It's impossible that he's acting by will. "Hedwelch," I talk to him, "Danteleon was badly injured."
"Where?"
"He's in the refugee mansion. You should keep an eye on your brother."
"I'm sorry."
I rub his chin. "Thanks for saving your mom. You're braver than I thought~ Now go and protect your brother." Maestrelia, who's been watching her brother, takes Hedwelch's hand to the refugee mansion together with some Omegas.
"Are you not coming with the white traitor?" Zaeramil approaches.
"Common sense. They can run around my creation without escaping me. Perhaps it's best to understand the situation first rather than attacking without thinking."
"It's a tactic, not common sense."
Arrogantly, I look at him from head to toe and trample my hill to his foot. The poor aspiring Eldar overreacts. Moving on, we collaborated with our colossal enchasts above that poured heavy rain and cold mist. Elibur's fire is quenched. The additional fascinating outcome is that nothing the fire touched was scorched; the trees, houses, and the palace.
The radiance of the moon blooms the forest even more. The situation inside the palace was the opposite of our expectations. The ball was not damaged, the werewolves were safely sheltering, and the goddess was healing Elibur. "Finally! The mages are here!" Manjiro greeted.
"Is everyone safe here?"
"Safe and sound. The Moon Goddess saves the day— I mean, the night," he said as he made it sound like he was talking about his wife.
"Great. Then I'll take my leave."
"Heeey! Don't you want to hear whatever is behind this atrocity?"
With that cue, we discussed with the goddess inside a private room where they took Elibur to rest. After that, the goddess heals all the queueing werewolves that were injured outside. Watching her from this room relieves me. This planet is safe as long as she dwells. Meanwhile, Matheo and his son help me complete this incident's puzzle.
He summarizes, "The closure of the ceremony was the only thing he could recall before he woke up from extreme pain when Hessuel was devouring him. That was when he fought back. Since Elibur's point of view was unconscious throughout the initial, someone probably controlled him like puppetry. And now, in a different place, five enchanters attempted to kill you?
"Even Hrista was found in the crime scene wherein we also found Danteleon battered. The captain is certainly slaughtering them 23 times. But we must have their statement regarding the truth—whether they conspired with Hrista or not. Let us wait for Afvshaganifs to report. Now, it might be precise to assume that a curse is upon Hessuel. According to my son, Hessuel attacks and devours anyone except Hrista. Just like a charm."
"Apparently," I suspect, "the plan was to kill me, my twins, and steal my mate."
"Good point. And I thought Hrista was your only enemy. Seems like you have cruel haters," Zaeramil commented.
"People will hate you if you're on the top."
"I'm still aspiring for Eldar."
Through this window, we saw an Omega carrying a severely wounded male werewolf to the goddess. We gathered outside as we assumed that this werewolf was the first witness before Elibur approached Hessuel. After he was healed, he generously provided his witness to the goddess and according to him, Elibur took him to a remote part of the forest, beat him, and took out a flesh before he was left hovering between life and death.
The account was not included in Elibur's confession, which means it wasn't Elibur's will to harm this male. With a few presumptions, we agreed that Hrista and Hessuel must provide the best answer. I proposed my plan on Hrista to the goddess alone on the balcony. As a result, she doesn't thoroughly agree.
"I cannot grant her the blessing of the mate bond for she has not proven herself worthy. She made her own notorious history by ruining this very day of a new beginning... but she is still my child. I can grant her the bond, not as a blessing but as a curse." She gave me the power and instruction to bestow her curse upon Hrista. "You are my only way to reach her. I promise wonderful blessings to you and your mate. Can I trust you?"
Another responsibility! "I will. And to let thee know, my only desired blessing is a normal life with him."
"Moon Goddess!" a lamenting female kneels down for the goddess. "Please forgive us for this unpleasant incident!"
"My child, why are you crying?"
"Please... Please don't take away our mate bond... Please take it back... We don't want to part with our mates!"
Hrista's words came into my mind out of the blue. I grope for my bite mark, my chest burns in intensely thumping as I get to the mirror. That was when I realized her purport. I have no clue how it happened.
My mate bond is gone.
...
...
(Hessuel's POV)
I have reached as far as I could, to be exact, the edge of this world. On top of this waterfall is the endless chasm of the unknown. This is the farthest I could go from the smell that makes me lose my sanity. I can't consider being gentle anymore when I drop Hrista on the ground and I hold on to a tree, chasing my breath.
"Alpha—"
"What have you done to me? Why... Why is your smell different? Why is this happening...?"
"I do not know what is going on. I did try to help thee... and it seems I am the only one who can help you."
"That's what I'm trying to know, why? I harmed her... I harmed so many werewolves... and I can't control it!!"
"No, Hessuel, you can! as long as you're with me!" She tenderly touches my cheeks. "We should leave. You cannot harm anyone else again if you're with me. I'll be here to calm you. You can rest on my shoulder anytime you need it. We shouldn't be in a world where everyone hates us. We don't belong here, don't you feel the same way? Let us go."
I step backward. "No. Do you think I would like that kind of life? I can't leave them behind! Hrista, instead of running away, why don't you think of helping me? You said you are the only one who can control me, then help me calm down while we solve this predicament! Don't you think that will change your image into a better person?"
"... It might, but I won't. Because if I do, that Moon Priestess will suffocate you again. You don't have to stay with her. Your mate bond with her is gone. You are free. You can't reason your bite mark to decide which is really helpful for you," she insisted.
I can't feel the carve of my bite mark on my arm. "You know what's going on. You schemed all of these!?"
"Yes, thou hast coped up." Her smile shaped by pain shows up. "Everyone hates you now. You will hurt your family if you insist on seeing them," she said. I can't find the sanity in her eyes. The way she holds my neck and glides upward to my jaw is chilling. "You have no one to run to but me. If I cannot hold thy neck with ease, then I will grip it."
The last string of my patience disjointed, I grasp her throat and press her onto a tree. "Your obsession is suffocating me and even yourself! For your sanity's sake... I already made myself clear to you, I can't love you! Stop begging for what is not prepared for you!! I harmed too many werewolves because of your madness! You used me... and put me in a situation I strived to change. No, you don't love me. You love yourself too much to put us all in danger just to insist on what you think is yours."
She isn't trying to save her life from my hand even though she's on the brink of losing it. Her contusions, her fragility, and other marks of her pains say it all: she's accustomed to this abuse. This can be my chance to shut her up if that will save my family but... I let her go anyway. She coughs, pants, and then laughs.
"I knew it. You can't! Because that's the kind of person you are. You are too kind but everyone sees you as the villain, and that is why I can't let anyone else have you—"
"That's enough, Hrista. I'll—"
"Kneel."
I am surprised that I knelt before her! just like how she tamed me earlier! She lifts up my chin and plays her thumb on my lips.
"You see? You are mine now. In anything I want, you will heed. You will do everything that will please me," she loosens her dress and exposes her shoulder," even if I tell you to leave your bite mark on me and mate with me right now, you will obey."
I can feel my own but I can't take control whenever she commands. Neither my resistance nor holding my breath works. The desire to bite her neck is burning in me but I don't want it to at the same time! I found myself pinning her under me and leaving my mark on her.
Damn it, I don't want this!
"Love me harder... then let me bear you the seed of your new family, far from the persecutions they'd caused us," she added. I ripped her dress off to arouse her sexuality as she pleases and I can't stop it. She seals our mate bond by making her bite mark on my shoulder! It'll be a living hell to link with her. She keeps rubbing salt into my incurable wound. I should stop...
STOP!
["Pervert!"] Acro appeared and slapped me with her claws. Her pestering works to divert my mind but not to restore my control. She shifts bigger and drags me away from Hrista. Hrista was enraged, and before she could speak another command, I shifted into my wolf and howled. I fell on the ground, weak and shaking, in my human.
Hrista feel numb on her knees, too. This turned into a battle of hypnotizing... but something inside me prevents me from doing anything that might harm her. I am already compelled to care for her!
"Hess—"
["Shut up!"] I carefully stand on my own, walking backward without looking back. ["Surrender yourself to the werewolves,"] I ordered. Her confident face quickly switches to grief, a heavy sadness that strongly links into my chest and I have to ignore it.
"Hessuel, don't do this. I only have you."
I guess she's definitely losing her mind because of me, and I might lose mine too because of what she had done. The edge of the cliff is nigh. I have no other way to stay away from her—the best option to escape her torment. "I would rather do this... than become your doll," I said.
"No!! Come back here!!"
I already fall when she commands. The last thing I saw her do was run after me. I can't hear anything else but the sharp whisper of the wind. It's funny yet tragic that I feel calm about this. Whatever is on the bottom of this chasm, come what may.
Instead of Hrista, the woman who jumped off the cliff in Dandeline. I thought I'd seen the craziest woman in Hrista, but this woman who jumped with me at the risk of death is the craziest! I couldn't hear her scream, and I saw her perform magic midair. The mist blocks my view of everything, it rushes into a cluster of clouds. Although I felt the softness of it, I also felt the hard impact of the ground.
I coughed roughly once. Then the dizzying vision turns into darkness.