76__In the end

The words had come like the slam of a gong, the sound cracking through Natalia’s mind and startling her.

Chills were running down her back, her breath couldn’t leave her lungs as she stared up at Shadow.

“...What?”

With a smile that could only be described as diabolical, he nodded. “I wish I’d done it myself, but it was my brother who’d gone for the healing stone.”

Stunned into silence, Natalia slowly looked over at Devil. Impossible.

She looked at Shadow. “No, it was you. It has to be you, I sensed it in your aura!”

Raiden looked at her in surprise. “Truly?”

She nodded. “Yes! I’ve known for a while that it was him!”

“It was me.” Devil’s quiet voice silenced her.

Natalia looked at him in shock. It couldn’t be. How could she not have known? He’d been close enough to her to touch, to see, she’d been in his presence several times.

She’d… she’d *befriended* him!

Revulsion ran chills over her skin.

“I can’t… believe it.”

He wouldn’t look at her. The face she’d so falsely believed to be kind and sweet lowered from her view. “I’m deeply sorry, my lady. I’m deeply sorry.”

“You have nothing to be sorry for!” Shadow growled before Natalia was even done processing anything.

How was it Devil? How was it Devil and not Shadow?

“I thought you were… kind…” she said, stunned. God, she’d been fooled. Her hand twitched, itching for her sword. She wanted her sword right now.

Shadow laughed loudly. “Mistake number one! There is no kind fallen alpha. Everybody in this kingdom who thinks I am the evilest thing to ever exist only thinks that way… because they haven’t met Devil. My brother is so much worse than me that both of us decided he would live in the shadows where nobody would see him. After all… this kingdom is not well accepting of fallen alphas. They proved that in the past and we have the physical scars to show it.”

“Shadow, please,” Devil pleaded, closing his eyes. “Stop.”

Evelynn held Devil’s hand between both of hers and looked at Shadow. “Stop now. Dev wants you to stop, you hard-headed creature!”

“But before you judge my brother, you need to know where it started!” Shadow told Natalia.

“I don’t give a damn!” she spat through gritted teeth. “Your little sob stories are the last thing I care about. Give me the healing gemstone! Give it to me right now!”

Shadow scoffed. “We don’t have it.”

Natalia went cold. Her eyes widening, she stared at him. Please, no. “What? No… you have to! You have to have it, I need it!”

“Well, we don’t,” he said cheerfully. “It was snatched out of our hands.” Raising his gaze, Shadow looked at Raiden. “The late queen told us about it, gave us permission to get it, saying we could use it to save our sister. But the moment we had the healing stone in our hands…” His eyes darkened with rage. “She snatched it from us.”

“You’re lying!” Raiden said.

“She did!” shouted Shadow. “She took it from us and our Elena died! We tried to fight but she threatened to turn the kingdom on us. Would a kingdom hesitate to burn alive two fallen alphas who have supposedly attacked their queen? Of course not. They’d harmed Devil before, I wasn’t willing to take the risk!”

“Where is the gemstone?!” Natalia demanded furiously.

“Ask your Alpha!” roared Shadow, his eyes flaming with rage. “She took it from us and used it to cure her son of his illness! There were three fallen alphas and then there were two! If you don’t believe me… ask Manasa. She was the accomplice.”

“Nonsense,” Raiden said. “It’s utter nonsense, Natalia, don’t listen to him.”

“It’s true,” Shadow said, adding salt to the wound as he saw Natalia’s face go pale. “Your Alpha king was the reason you and your sister were attacked. The reason you both nearly died.”

Raiden’s fist flew past Natalia’s face and smacked Shadow in the face.

Blood sprayed through the air as Shadow stumbled back.

“You son of a bitch,” Raiden growled. “I’ll kill you.”

Shadow turned around with rage, but two arms grabbed him back, holding him firmly.

“Leave me, Devil,” he growled. “Leave me!”

“We’re leaving now,” Devil muttered, lifelessly. “I… apologize for everything.”

“He has a collection of healing stones, doesn’t he?” Shadow shouted at Natalia, a sardonic smirk curving his mouth as blood stained his white teeth. “Check it! You’ll find your sister’s gem!”

Natalia stood, lifelessly watching as Devil struggled to hold off Raiden and drag his brother away.

Evelynn spared her one last glance before turning on her heel and strutting to the door.

Before Raiden could realize it, Natalia turned around and hurried up the stairs.

Her heart was pounding in her ears, her head feeling light as she ran. She prayed desperately, deep within herself, whether to the deities of the Vampire Vikings or the gods of Zaire, she didn’t know. She just prayed.

Please, don’t let it be.

Of all things that could happen, of all things that could be, please don’t let this happen.

Desperation made her run faster, her mind not even thinking of transporting as she ran. The noise downstairs was forgotten, ignored until she couldn’t hear it, her legs carrying her through the hallways of Raiden’s castle.

When she reached the doors to his chambers, her lungs burned from lack of air and her heart was pounding with anxiety.

Natalia threw open the doors and ran to his dressing room, knowing exactly where to look.

She found those cabinets and drawers just as they’d been the night she’d first seen them. With trembling fingers, she yanked them open, staring down at the countless jewels.

Reaching in, she pushed around the stones, throwing out the ones she didn’t recognize. Her fingers were cold and shaky by the time she reached the last open drawer and Natalia hadn’t found anything.

With a jolt in her heart, she remembered.

There were locked ones too.

Dropping to a crouch, she tried the drawers of another cabinet. They were locked, just as she remembered.

Barely breathing, Natalia reached down to her boot and yanked out a thick dagger. Shoving it into the first locked drawer, she slammed a fist down onto the handle of the dagger and heard the drawer crack open.

She yanked it open, her eyes wide as they scanned the inside.

It was empty. Her heart both wept and sighed in relief. She was desperate to find the gemstone, but not here. Not here.

She went for the next locked drawer and smashed it open. It was full of gems. Tossing aside the ones she saw, Natalia prayed to close it having found nothing, but found her prayer unanswered.

When her eyes saw it, the sight stilled every move in her body down to the pounding of her heart.

It sat at the bottom of the drawer, just as beautiful as she remembered.

With trembling hands, she reached in and picked up Amethyst’s sapphire healing gemstone.

At the birth of the feeble princess, the Queen of Gadon had sought out the help of a powerful sorceress. The only person in all known magic kingdoms who could create a spell so dangerous and immoral. Her mother had paid a high price for it and, rewarding her sacrifices, the healing gemstone had been made and her daughter had lived.

Tears blurred Natalia’s vision as she stared at the gem on her palm.

But then the gem had been ripped away from them. Their Amie had been bedridden, using and discarding weak, ineffective healing stones, on the verge of death for years.

And for what?

All because a selfish werewolf queen had wanted to get her hands on it. And today, Raiden was cured, as powerful an Alpha King as he could ever be.

And Amethyst? Her dear sister? She laid in bed, left for dead by the bastards who’d robbed her of her life source. Rage burned in Natalia’s heart.

There was a movement in the doorway.

Slowly, Natalia turned and looked.

Raiden stood there, staring at her with such intense anxiety in his gaze.

“Natalia… it can’t possibly be true.”

She stared at him and he saw silent tears stream down her cheeks as her eyes grew dark with thunderous rage. In her palm sat the rare healing stone that had cured him years ago.

A quiet scoff of disbelief parted his lips as Raiden stared at the gem. For a long moment, he only stared at it.

What a cruel twist. After everything. This was it. This was the last thing they could take.

With a sigh, the strength slowly left his body. Acceptance came and flooded his heart, stealing away the last bit of strength he had. The strength to fight them all and the strength to fight against losing Natalia. It all left him, acceptance taking its place. Acceptance that they’d lost.

Mated, they were, but if fate decided otherwise… there was no opposing.

He’d almost won too. He’d almost had her, the woman he loved.

The gods were cruel. So cruel.

After everything they’d faced to be together, misunderstanding each other, losing and finding each other, after everything that had happened, in the end… Natalia had been right.

It had been pointless to hope.