Chapter 128 Rage of a mother

Chapter 128 Rage of a mother
Maureen

Darkness swallowed everything around me so completely that it felt suffocating, thick and endless, pressing in from every direction until I couldn’t tell where the walls were, where the floor ended, or where danger waited. I had no sense of distance anymore—no shapes, no shadows, no certainty—just sound and breath and the terrifying realization that I was trapped inside a world that had gone silent and blind all at once. My heart pounded violently against my ribs, each beat loud enough to drown out reason, each breath scraping painfully through my chest as panic clawed its way upward.

But beneath that panic—

There was rage.

Hot.

Violent.

Unforgiving.

I had no idea what was happening around me, no idea where she stood or how close she was to my child, but Gods help me… I swore in that moment that if I survived this, if I got even one more chance to touch my babies again, I would kill Celeste with my bare hands if I had to.

“Don’t you dare give her shit!!” I screamed hoarsely into the darkness, my voice tearing painfully from my throat as I struggled against the ropes cutting into my wrists. “You hear me, Vuk?! Don’t you dare give her anything!”

My voice echoed weakly against the stone walls, but I didn’t care how desperate I sounded. Pride meant nothing now. Pride didn’t matter when your child was hanging somewhere in the air, helpless and alone.

Somewhere nearby, Lauren made a soft sound.

A tiny, frightened noise.

That sound alone shattered something inside my chest.

My baby.

My baby was still there.

Still breathing.

Still alive.

And that was all that mattered.

“Please…” I whispered weakly now, my voice trembling despite my efforts to stay strong. “Please don’t hurt her…”

Then came the sound that froze my blood completely.

The sharp slice of metal against flesh.

A blade cutting skin.

Followed by the unmistakable sound of liquid dripping into a bowl.

Blood.

Vuk’s blood.

No.

“No!” I screamed violently, my entire body jerking forward so hard that the ropes bit deeper into my skin. “Vuk, stop! Don’t do it!”

But he did.

I could hear it.

Feel it.

The faint shift in air as magic stirred violently around the room, thick and heavy and wrong.

And then—

Something changed.

A tremor.

A flicker.

A shift in the air above me.

Lauren whimpered suddenly.

Not soft.

Not confused.

Frightened.

My head snapped upward instinctively, my entire body reacting before my mind even understood what was happening.

Her crying changed pitch.

Falling.

She was falling.

I didn’t think.

Didn’t hesitate.

Didn’t calculate distance or direction.

I just moved.

My body lunged forward blindly, ignoring pain, ignoring fear, ignoring everything except the sound of my daughter’s frightened cry cutting through the darkness. I threw myself toward the noise with reckless force, arms outstretched into empty space, trusting nothing except instinct and desperation.

Then—

Contact.

Warmth.

Tiny weight slamming into my chest.

Lauren.

I caught her.

Gods, I caught her.

My knees hit the stone floor hard, pain shooting violently through my legs as I collapsed forward, clutching her tightly against my body. Her tiny hands grabbed weakly at my clothes, her frightened whimpers vibrating against my chest as I wrapped both arms around her with desperate strength.

“I’ve got you,” I sobbed breathlessly, pressing my face into her hair. “I’ve got you… Mama’s got you…”

Hands grabbed her from me seconds later—careful, steady, familiar.

Nyxara.

Safe hands.

Trusted hands.

I released Lauren instantly, forcing myself to let go even though every instinct screamed to hold her forever.

“Take her,” I rasped hoarsely. “Take her away…”

Then—

Rage took over.

Pure, uncontrollable rage.

I heard movement.

Footsteps.

Retreat.

Celeste.

She was leaving.

Running.

Escaping.

No.

Not after this.

Not after everything.

A howl tore violently from my throat before I even realized the sound was mine—raw, furious, feral. I lunged forward blindly toward the noise, throwing my entire body in the direction of her movement without hesitation, without fear, without thought.

My shoulder slammed violently into her body.

We crashed together.

Hard.

The impact sent us both tumbling violently across the ground, bodies slamming against stone as momentum carried us dangerously close to the edge of something wide and open.

Cold air rushed upward.

A drop.

A ledge.

But I didn’t stop.

Didn’t think.

Didn’t care.

All I knew was fury.

My hands found her hair.

Her throat.

Anything.

Everything.

“You will never touch my babies again!” I screamed hysterically, slamming her head violently against the stone wall beside us. The sickening crack of impact echoed loudly as her body jerked beneath my grip.

Once.

Twice.

Again.

Years of fear.

Of stress.

Of doubt.

Of helplessness.

Exploded all at once.

Every slap.

Every strike.

Every scream.

Fueled by everything she had taken from me.

“You hear me?!” I screamed wildly, my voice breaking into hoarse sobs as I struck her again. “Never! Never again!”

Hands grabbed me suddenly.

Strong.

Unyielding.

Pulling me backward with force.

“Maureen! Stop!” Vuk’s voice thundered somewhere above me as his arms wrapped tightly around my waist, dragging me away from her struggling body.

I fought him at first, still blinded by rage, still swinging wildly into empty air.

Then—

Something changed.

A flicker.

A pulse.

A crack in the darkness.

Light.

Faint.

Blurry.

Weak.

But there.

My breath caught sharply.

Shapes began to form slowly in front of me, colors bleeding back into existence as the suffocating blackness peeled away piece by piece.

I blinked rapidly.

Once.

Twice.

And then—

I saw.

Not perfectly.

Not clearly.

But enough.

Enough to understand.

Enough to realize.

I wasn’t blind.

Never blind.

Just fooled.

Just trapped inside her illusion.

And when that realization settled fully into my mind, something cold and furious hardened deep inside my chest, replacing panic with clarity so sharp it almost hurt. The fear that had ruled my body moments ago burned away like fog under sunlight, leaving behind something darker, heavier—something born not from terror, but from rage.

I pushed violently against Vuk’s chest, shoving his arms away from me with sudden force that surprised even myself. His grip loosened instinctively, more from shock than weakness, and I staggered forward again before he could stop me.

“No,” I rasped hoarsely, my voice trembling with fury rather than fear now. “No… she doesn’t walk away.”

Across the room, Celeste lay crumpled against the stone floor, her breathing uneven, her body bloodied from the blows I had already landed. For a brief second, our eyes met—hers sharp, calculating, still burning with that same cold intelligence that had haunted me since the moment she entered my life.

And something inside me snapped.

Not gently.

Not gradually.

Violently.

Pain shot suddenly through my spine, sharp and electric, forcing a broken gasp from my throat as my body jerked violently forward. My fingers curled inward, nails pressing painfully into my palms as heat surged beneath my skin, spreading rapidly through my veins like liquid fire.

At first, I thought it was anger.

Just rage.

Just exhaustion catching up to me.

But then—

The energy came.

White.

Blinding.

Violent.

It burst outward from my chest in a sudden wave of power that knocked the breath from my lungs completely. My vision blurred at the edges, not from illusion this time—but from raw transformation forcing its way through bone and blood.

My hands trembled violently as my fingers lengthened, nails sharpening into curved claws that glowed faintly beneath the flickering light. My teeth ached painfully, pressure building along my jaw until sharp fangs forced their way forward, cutting into the inside of my lips as they grew.

White energy surrounded me.

Not dark.

Not violent.

But ancient.

Pure.

Alive.

Gasps echoed behind me.

Nyxara’s voice broke the silence first.

“Oh Gods…” she whispered, stunned.

“Her Lunar blood…” she breathed again, louder this time, awe creeping into her tone. “She’s transforming…”

I didn’t answer.

Couldn’t answer.

Because the rage flooding through my body had become something larger than words—something instinctive, primal, unstoppable. Every nerve in my body burned with power I had never felt before, every muscle tightening with new strength as the energy pulsed violently beneath my skin.

Across the floor, Celeste pushed herself weakly upright, blood staining her lips as she stared directly at me. For the first time since this nightmare began, something flickered briefly across her face.

Not fear.

Not panic.

Recognition.

She knew what this meant.

She knew what I had become.

And that alone fueled the fury boiling inside me.

“You…” I snarled hoarsely, my voice deepening into something unfamiliar, something edged with animal instinct. “You thought I would stay weak?”

The words came out broken, strained, but filled with raw violence.

Then I moved.

Fast.

Faster than I had ever moved before.

My body lunged forward with terrifying force, claws slashing through the air as I slammed directly into her. The impact sent her crashing backward across the stone floor, her body skidding violently before striking the base of the wall with a sickening thud.

I didn’t stop.

Didn’t hesitate.

Didn’t think.

My fists came down hard against her shoulders, her ribs, her face—each strike fueled by every sleepless night, every moment of terror, every ounce of helpless rage she had forced into my life.

“You don’t touch my babies!” I screamed wildly, my voice cracking into something feral as my claws scraped across her skin. “You don’t threaten my children!”

Nyxara’s voice rang loudly behind me, sharp with adrenaline.

“Yes!” she shouted, fierce excitement breaking into her tone. “That’s it, Maureen! Don’t stop!”

Celeste fought back—of course she did—but her movements were slower now, weaker, her strength drained from the earlier blows and the blood ritual she had forced into existence. She blocked where she could, struck when she found openings, but she was losing ground with every passing second.

And I didn’t stop.

Couldn’t stop.

My claws tore into her shoulders again, slamming her head violently against the stone floor with brutal force. Blood smeared across the surface beneath her, staining the stone dark as her breaths grew ragged and uneven.

Once.

Twice.

Again.

The fight became less controlled with every strike, less strategic, more animalistic. I wasn’t thinking anymore—wasn’t calculating or planning.

I was protecting.

Avenging.

Destroying.

Her resistance weakened quickly, her arms falling slower each time she tried to block another blow. Blood dripped from her mouth now, her breathing shallow and broken as her body struggled to keep up with the punishment I unleashed.

Another strike.

Another scream.

Another burst of white energy tearing violently through my veins.

Until—

Her body stopped fighting back.

Not completely.

But enough.

Enough to show she was reaching her limit.

Her head slumped slightly against the stone floor, her breaths coming shallow and uneven as blood pooled beneath her cheek.

And still—

My hand lifted again.

Ready to strike once more.

Ready to finish it.

Ready to end her.

Then—

A sound broke through the chaos.

Soft.

Fragile.

Terrifying in its simplicity.

Lauren.

Crying.

Not screaming.

Not panicked.

Just crying.

That tiny sound cut through the storm raging inside me like a blade slicing through smoke.

My body froze instantly.

The rage faltered.

The claws trembled.

And just like that—

The white energy began fading.

Slowly.

Painfully.

My fangs retracted, my claws shrinking back into trembling fingers as the transformation receded from my body like a tide pulling away from shore.

Exhaustion slammed into me without warning.

My legs buckled beneath my weight.

I staggered backward weakly, gasping for breath as dizziness blurred my vision once again.

Lauren cried again.

Louder this time.

That sound alone forced me forward.

I turned blindly toward Nyxara, arms reaching instinctively toward the sound of my daughter’s voice.

“M
y baby…” I whispered hoarsely.

But before I could reach her—

Strong arms wrapped around my waist.

Vuk.

He caught me before my knees fully collapsed, pulling me tightly against his chest as my strength drained completely from my body.

“You’re safe,” he murmured hoarsely against my hair, his voice thick with relief and lingering rage. “You’re safe… she’s safe…”

My vision blurred completely then, exhaustion crashing over me like a collapsing wave as I leaned heavily against him.