chapter 185 Killing with My Own Hands

chapter 185 Killing with My Own Hands
Lyra's POV

I led the surviving assassins back toward the main battlefield, my heart pounding with urgency. The failed mission replayed in my mind, but there was no time for regret. Reynolds was dead, and Kieran was very much alive.

Metal clashing against claws, howls of pain and rage, and the unmistakable crackle of supernatural energy colliding in the distance. Dorian's five hundred elite warriors were locked in desperate combat with Eric's combined forces of werewolves and vampires, and they were losing badly.

In the center of the chaos, Kieran moved like death itself. Her pupils had shifted to that terrifying dark red, the color that marked her descent into complete bloodlust.

She was in her feral killing stage, and there would be no reasoning with her now.

"Split up!" I commanded the remaining assassins. "Support the flanking units. I'm going to find Dorian."

I shifted into my wolf form and raced down the slope, my black coat making me nearly invisible in the gathering dusk.

A vampire intercepted my path, fangs bared, but I was moving too fast. I caught him in the throat with my jaws and felt his spine snap before tossing him aside and continuing my charge.

That's when I saw her.

Kieran had broken free from the main melee and was heading straight for Dorian with deadly intent. Her red eyes were locked on him like a predator sizing up prey. Behind her lay a trail of fallen warriors who had tried to stop her advance.

I could see Dorian fighting desperately against three enhanced fighters, his silver coat stained with blood. He was already exhausted from the prolonged battle, his movements slowing despite his alpha strength.

Kieran leaped into the air with inhuman speed, claws extended, aiming directly for Dorian's heart.

Without thinking, I launched myself between them.

The impact sent us both tumbling across the rocky ground. Kieran's claws raked across my ribs as we rolled apart, and I felt warm blood seeping through my fur. But I had succeeded in breaking her attack.

Kieran came to her feet with that fluid, predatory grace, her red eyes now focused entirely on me. For a moment, the killing haze seemed to clear slightly as recognition flickered across her features.

"You're going to get yourself killed," she said.

"Don't kill him," I gasped, shifting back to human form despite the pain in my side. "Please, Kieran. Don't kill Dorian."

"Why?" The word came out like a growl. "Why would you risk your own life to protect this man?"

I could see Dorian struggling to his feet behind me, but I kept my eyes focused on Kieran.

"Because I love him," I said simply.

Kieran's red eyes flashed with something that might have been pain. "You should love the strong, like Eric." Her voice carried a challenge, as if Eric's power and ambition made him the obvious choice over Dorian.

"I shouldn't love the strong; I only love one specific man, and that man is Dorian."

"That's true!" Kieran snarled. "So you choose Elena, not me!"

Before I could respond, she moved with that impossible speed, grabbing Dorian by the throat and launching both of them into the air. They crashed into a tall pine tree twenty feet above the ground before Kieran released him, letting Dorian plummet to the rocky ground below.

Dorian hit the earth with a sickening thud, his body already pushed beyond its limits from the prolonged battle. He tried to rise but collapsed again, blood trickling from his mouth.

"I love you, Kieran. I've loved you since the moment you were placed in my arms. Even though you're not my child, I still love you. I didn't choose between you and Elena!"

Kieran froze, her red eyes widening as if the question had caught her completely off guard.

"Please." I begged, moving toward Kieran with my hands raised. "Elena needs her father. These warriors have children at home who need their parents. Even vampires have families, people they love."

Kieran went very still. "I don't need parents!" she screamed suddenly, her voice cracking with pain.

But I could see it now - the countless small wounds covering her body. Despite her enhanced healing abilities, the constant fighting had taken its toll. She was hurting, exhausted, and no matter how powerful she had become, she was still that frightened child I had once held.

"Are you in pain?" I asked softly.

I wiped the tears from my cheeks and took a trembling step closer. "Like when you were little. Let me bandage your wounds, okay?"

My hand reached out tentatively toward hers, just barely brushing her fingertips. The moment our skin made contact, the red began to fade from her eyes, replaced gradually by the gray-green.

That's when I heard the whistle of an axe cutting through the air behind me.

One of our warriors had spotted what he thought was an opportunity. The silver axe blade was aimed directly at Kieran's head.

I threw my body sideways, using myself as a shield to deflect the weapon's path. The axe blade caught me across the waist instead, and I felt the hot rush of blood soaking through my clothes.

Kieran's eyes flashed back to red immediately, her fangs extending as she prepared to tear apart my would-be rescuer.

But I caught her hand in mine, squeezing tightly despite the pain radiating from my wound.

"Mama," The red drained from her eyes completely, leaving them the soft gray-green of the child I remembered. "Mama."

She sounded exactly like she had when she first learned to speak - that stubborn, scrappy little voice that refused to give up.

"Mama, what happened to you?" she cried.

Then her body convulsing once before going completely limp.

The vial in my hand was empty, its contents now spread across her chest directly over her heart. The paralysis potion designed specifically for vampire-werewolf hybrids.

The battle raged on around us, but I hardly heard it anymore. I struggled to get up and pulled Kieran into my arms, just like I used to hold her when she was a child.

I pressed desperate kisses to this child's forehead, cheeks, and hair.

This child who had never known warmth in her real mother's arms after birth but given me her first precious cry when she came into this world. This child who had given me the will to survive during my three years away from Silver Moon Bay. This child who had shown me that life could push through even the darkest soil to find the light. This child who was powerful enough to tear me apart but had shown me moments of gentle tenderness.

And now I was the one pressing a poisoned blade into her heart.

I drew the dagger slowly, my hand shaking as I positioned it over her chest. Kieran's eyes opened one last time, and she seemed to be trying to say something, but no sound came out. The light gradually faded from her gaze.

Kieran was dead.