Chapter 94

ERIA POV

Surrender

I took one last glance at the words in the sky and slipped out of the strongholds before anyone could notice me. My hands tightened around the light pen in my pocket.

It was now or never.

For once in my life, I decided to be selfish. Every inch of my body screamed that it was wrong and I was going to regret it. Without the promise of help from the other packs, we were doomed to fighting a losing battle. But I couldn't bear it. My battle was within. There would be no victory in winning the war if I had to spend the rest of my life with someone I didn't love. And so, I didn't look back as I drew a portal to the mystic pack, stepping through without a second thought.

No one noticed, I knew. The clouds swirled with green mist, even at the other side of the world. I sucked in a breath. Such magic was unknown. And yet, I knew that Darian was behind it. It had to be him.

The streets of the mystic pack were covered in snow. All around, people ran for cover, kids yelling and pointing at the sky.

I drew my jacket tighter around my shoulders, shivering from not just the cold. A woman stopped and stared at me.

"...Not our pack... Alpha's bride..."

I could catch bits and pieces of conversations as I passed. The people moved away from me, staring in a mixture of wonder and distrust.

I wasn't here for them, I thought, racing down the streets. Get to the pack house, end the engagement, and return back to Vance.

I went over the plan in my head. And I needed to do it before anyone realized I was missing.

I arrived at the pack house. It was crowded with people despite the rain. What's going on? I thought. The people were supposed to be scrambling for cover. Instead, yells rose from different places. I felt someone shove me to the side. It was pure pandemonium.

Maybe I came at the wrong time? I muttered, holding the light pen tighter for moral support.

"Everyone, keep calm!" Someone yelled over the noise, coming to stand on a raised platform.

They were scared, I thought. A council was called, but then why was everyone so rowdy? They didn't even seem to notice an outsider in their midst.

I pushed past the people as best as I could, my eyes searching for Alpha Michael or Dominic. I couldn't shake off the feeling that something was seriously wrong. I could still turn back...

I caught sight of a man, dressed in war clothes. I recognized him as the guide at the estate. Finally, someone I knew.

I made a beeline for him. "Where's the alpha?" I asked.

He looked at me with a frown. His voice measured, without the slightest hint of panic. "That is a good question," he said. He might as well be commenting on the weather.

"What?" I sputtered, at a loss for words. Their own alpha... Now I knew why there was pandemonium. The alpha was nowhere to be found.

"Do you know an even better question?" he continued, putting a hand over his head like the rain was nothing but a minor annoyance and not the post effect of a demonic rising. Thunder struck above us. The hall seemed to quiet down for a fraction of a second. My eyes darted around, searching for a shade.

"What are you doing here? You're not luna yet."

I braced myself. If we were being fair, he might as well explain what everyone was doing outside.

"I want to meet the alpha. I have business. There would be no engagement, and I'm here to terminate it," I said, keeping my voice firm.

"Well that's bad," he gave me a strange look.

"Klaus!" Someone on the platform, who I suspected was an elder, yelled.

He turned around. "I have to go now. I'll be with you in a bit. Go inside. Follow the stairs leading up, and you'll find the alpha in the second room to the right," Klaus instructed and turned, disappearing into the crowd before I could ask any question.

I gritted my teeth, but there was no time to think about it, so I did as he said and darted into the main building. Pictures of wolves lined the walls. I could make out something that looked like a family tree. I wasn't paying attention as I spotted the stairway. It creaked under my feet. I remembered the cracked walls of the obsidian spire. Did the mystic pack house encounter something similar? Was that why everyone had evacuated the halls?

It was all but silence as I traced my way to the second room. I saw the door slightly ajar. I pushed it open without hesitation and stood dead, staring in shock at the scene in front of me.

The alpha was on the ground in a pool of his blood. Dominic stood over him, his back to me.

I clamped a hand over my mouth, stifling a scream.

Run Eria, run!

But Dominic turned to look at me, and I felt rooted to the spot. He retracted a clean dagger back into his suit, his expression calm. Too calm. That was when I turned around and raced out of the room.

I didn't get a glance at the alpha's face. I didn't want to, and I certainly didn't stick around to find out what happened. I ran because my life depended on it. Footsteps chased after me. Strong hands grabbed me. I yelled, kicking. My hands were twisted behind my back, and I slammed against the wall.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Dominic's cold voice sounded next to my ears.

I let out a scream. He cursed and turned me, clamping a hand over my mouth, the second one firm around my throat. Not tight enough to block out my airway, but the pressure was enough to show me who was in charge. I stared at him, hate sizzling through my veins. My arms lay limp by my sides. I didn't dare move.

"I have no intention of harming you if you behave," he whispered harshly.

This was his domain. I could never win against him here. I nodded reluctantly. He removed his hand from my mouth, and I resisted the urge to spit in his face.

"You killed him!" I glared instead. "You liked your father?" Even as I said it aloud, it didn't make sense. Why would he do that?

His eyes searched mine. "Would you believe me if I told you that when I came there, he was already dead?"

I shook my head. "I saw the knife! I know what I saw. You killed your dad!"

Dominic rolled his eyes. He stepped closer to me, his body pressed against mine, and whispered, "Go on and sue me for patricide then. All the men had evacuated the mansion, except my father. I threw open his room to find him dead, and an outsider, a member of the obsidian spire, is among us."

His lips twisted into a smile. "Killed him because she didn't want to marry me."

I stared at him in horror. "That's insane! You can't do that!"

He smirked. "And who do you think they're going to believe? An outsider that they don't trust or the alpha's son himself?"

"You! Psychopath!"

He stepped back from me. I saw in his right hand, my light pen. I didn't realize when he took it. Fuck, I needed to get out of here.

But I knew that if I ran away now, he would tell everyone the story, his fucked up version.

"You know, in the past, when a man wanted to become alpha, he would challenge the present alpha, and if he killed him, he would ascend to his position. It wasn't considered murder," Dominic said, stepping back from me.

I shook my head, feeling tears gathering at the back of my eyes. "You're a monster. You had no right to do it!"

"But I did," his voice rose. He turned back to me, his eyes flashing in anger that I found myself shrinking back.

"Darian is back. Michael was going to send the mystic pack into a war that we could not win. Don't you see? Darian is the new order. And I choose to be on the winning team."

Klaus walked in at that moment, he looked past me like I wasn't there, his expression very neutral as he turned to Dominic.

"The people are waiting and are starting to fret."

"He killed the alpha," I yelled desperately. Someone had to stop this psychopath.

Dominic leaned down to whisper. "He can't hear you," he smirked, "and as for you, I didn't have use for you before, but since you're here, I suppose I could do with a Luna."

"No no!"

"She's tired," he stood straight, and buttoned up his suit, looking at Klaus. "It's quite a journey, coming all the way from the obsidian spire at such short notice. Put her in a room and ensure she is well rested."