Chapter 87- End of a Chapter pt. 2

Salara’s POV

I suck in a steadying breath, unsure if I am ready to face my husband once again. Before I know what is happening, Leigh has taken control of my body and has us running in the direction where the previous hoard of wolves came from. Standing there in the middle of the field with his eyes widened in shock is none other than Henry.

But something looks different about Henry. His body mass has grown in size, causing him to rival even my Alpha for his height and bulk. Something I never thought I would see on Henry’s small frame. There is also a different aura surrounding him than what I am used to, this one is much more calm and less menacing.

“You are alive.” He whispers out, his eyes roaming over my body in hunger when we stop a few feet away from him. Watching him take in my curves with such hunger does things to my body that has me feeling ashamed. I should not feel this way for anyone other than Derrick, and the guilt causes me to lash out.

“No thanks to you I hear.” I grapple for control of our body and pull my arms up to cross over my chest, watching as Henry’s eyes go dark as he watches my movements. I can feel my nipples harden beneath my arms, but I choose to blame that on the coolness of the night and the fact that I didn’t put on a bra, something I am now regretting.

Pain flashes through Henry’s eyes, the sight taking me by surprise and causing me to loosen the tight hold that I had of my upper body. Beowulf must be the one standing in front of me, if everyone is to be believed that is, because Henry has never showed an ounce of pain over anything concerning me.

‘Beowulf, my love.’ Leigh whispers huskily in my mind, her voice clearly making its way into his mind as well because his body stiffens and his eyes widen.

“You have come back, my sweet Leigh.” He moves to take a step closer to where we stand, but I hold up my hand and take a step back, causing him to halt his movements. He lets out a saddened sigh, but doesn’t make another move in our direction.

“Why are you here?” I ask him, wanting to get straight to the point so I can return to my Alpha before he can worry about my absence.

Beowulf’s eyes darken at my question, making me feel nervous that he might have come here to cause me harm. “That Alpha failed to protect you from that foolish human that I was paired with, and I came here to make him pay.” His jaw clenches as he tries to contain his rising anger.

His words circulate through my mind, the wording not making much sense to me when I think about it for a while. “Was paired with?” I don’t know why I asked the question, but despite everything that we have been through, Henry is still my husband and the father of my daughter, and I wouldn’t wish ill on him.

Beowulf lets out a snort of disgust. “I have regained my full powers today, on this full moon night and I have banished that pest from my body for good.” My eyes widen. Does that mean that he has killed Henry and taken over his body? Is that possible? And will Leigh now do the same thing to me so she can be with my mate?

‘I would never harm you, Salara, we have been together many times in our lifetime and we are a part of each other.’ For some reason Leigh’s words don’t bring me the comfort that I need, it only brings up more questions that I will have to find time to get answers for another time. Right now I need to deal with Beowulf and figure out how to get him out of here before he causes more problems.

“Why are you here?” I ask again, forcing my voice to be firm in order to make him give me a straight answer this time.

He lets out an amused chuckle. “You always were the impatient one, my little bird.” His pet name for me flows over me, bringing me joy that I should not be feeling towards him. “I came here to get revenge on the Alpha who did not protect you, but if you come with me then I will leave him and his pack alone.”

I let out a gasp, my hand flying up to cover my lips as I take two steps back away from him. Meanwhile, Beowulf stands in his spot, perfectly calm and unbothered by my reaction. Why does everyone want to take me away with them today? I am nothing special.

‘You are more special than you know.’ Leigh says, and I can feel her desire to go to her mate and wrap him in her arms, but thankfully she is holding back and leaving the choice up to me. Something I will be forever grateful for.

“And if I refuse?” I ask him, though I am sure I already know the answer, the same thing that those Alpha’s said when they demanded that I go with them as well. Only this time, our ranks are weakened and if another fight breaks out I am not sure that our side would win.

“Then I will burn this pack to the ground until there is nothing left that would keep you tied to it.” Power oozes from him, surprising me with the strength of it, but not affecting me as I thought that it would.

Wolves begin to move out of the woods behind Beowulf, with witches coming out in front of them, their numbers staggering to my eyes. There is no way that Derrick and his pack can fight against this many wolves and witches. Maybe before those foolish Alpha’s showed up, but not now.

“So what is it going to be, little bird?” He extends out his hand to me in offering and I bite at my lip as I think over my options.

Derrick’s POV

I got stopped along the way to visit my mother, and to my surprise, Salara was not already there. I expected her to rush upstairs to get dressed and to have beaten me to the pack hospital. My eyes roam around the large hospital in search of my mate, but I can smell that she hasn’t been here yet.

A sense of foreboding rushes through me and before I know it I am rushing out of the hospital without checking on my mother and running back towards the pack house. I follow Salara’s scent out of the back door until I can see her standing in the distance with that useless husband of hers, though I can tell from his aura that the one driving is definitely not Henry.

Behind Henry’s large body is an army of wolves and witches that sends fear into me because I know we don’t stand a chance, but there is no way I am allowing them to touch my mate. Henry extends his hand out to Salara, his words carrying to me on the wind, “So what is it going to be, little bird?”

I make a dash in Salara’s direction in a bid to get her away from the ancient wolf, but I slam into a wall, flinging me backwards and knocking the oxygen from my lungs. I get back up quickly and cautiously move back towards where the wall had appeared, meeting resistance with my outstretched hand.

I bang on the invisible wall, screaming out for my mate that clearly can’t hear me. She suddenly turns in my direction with tears shining brightly in her eyes, her lips moving to say ‘I’m sorry’ before she places her hand in Henry’s outstretched one and they all disappear before my eyes.

The instant they disappear, the wall in front of me vanishes and I fall to the soft grass with a loud thud. My head moves back to face the brightly lit up moon and a painful howl emerges from my lips, causing tears to flow down my cheeks for all that I have lost. The answering howls from my pack mates only intensifies the pain of losing the woman that I have waited a lifetime for.