Chapter 77: Breaking Point

Claire’s POV

Jared was on his knees, the weight of his failure bearing down on him, his face bruised and bloody.  The conflict was over.  He had either lost his warriors to the woods, or they were dead or captured.  The Alpha of Midnight Moon, who had once ruled with an iron fist, had changed in appearance.  He appeared disoriented and defeated.

But, I was not here to sympathise.

I took a step forward, my wounds burning and my body hurting from the battle, but I was more determined than ever. Derek, a few feet away, had a calm, unflinching expression.    Theo and Rowan stood on either side of him, watching for any more danger. The smell of smoke, blood, and betrayal filled the air.

With hollow, dark eyes, Jared raised his head.  "Are you here to boast?"  His tone was harsh and resentful.

I balled my fists up.  "No.  I came to force you to confront reality.

He laughed icily, but it was a hollow laugh.  "Reality?  What is the truth?  He stumbled a little as he stood up.  "That I was defeated?  That I have lost my pack?  That I was a fool?  Blood was spat onto the ground by him.  "I already know."

With a firm yet low voice, I took a step closer.  Then speak.  Recognise it.  You ruined everything.

He clenched his jaw.  He had no desire to.

I went on to say, "Midnight Moon was strong once."  "You had strength.  But you allow power and greed to rule your life.  You gave in to Lila's manipulation.  You allowed your fighters to turn on you.  Now take a look at what remains.  I pointed to the battleground.  The blood of wolves that had once followed him blindly was on the ground, and bodies were lying all over the place.  "This is your legacy."

Jared's hands balled into fists as his breathing became laboured.  "I took the necessary action."

"No," I yelled.  "You acted in your best interests.  To your people, you betrayed them.  And you have nothing now.

Something unreadable burned in his eyes—remorse, anger, perhaps both.  He growled, "You think you are better than me?"  Do you believe that Redwater is any different?  Claire, power transforms people.  You will see.

I looked at him without flinching.  "Those who are too weak to use power inevitably perish."

The words struck him hard.  I could see it in the tenseness of his shoulders and the glint of uncertainty in his eyes.

Jared appeared to be a man who genuinely realised what he had lost for the first time.

His pack.  His place.  His arrogance.

Worst of all, he was himself.

He shook his head and lowered his eyes.  "Now what?"

I looked from Jared to Derek and back again.  "That is up to you."

He looked up into my eyes, probing.  "Then kill me.  Put an end to it.

I paused.  For so long, I had wanted him dead.  For everything he did, the suffering he inflicted, and the lives he destroyed.  It would be simple.

However, something inside of me resisted.

"No," I muttered.  "The easy way out is not available to you."

As though those words were more painful than any blade, Jared winced.

"You are alive," I added.  "This is a part of your life. With all of your actions.  You live with the knowledge that you have everything and throw it away.  I stepped forward once more and met his eyes directly.  "You live with the knowledge that you will never rise again."

His breath became laboured.  He mumbled, "You think you have won?"

I cocked my head.  "Have I not?"

A perverted grin appeared on his face.  It was bitter and broken.  "You ought to have killed me."

A shiver went through my body.

Jared's hands flexed at his sides as his body shook.  Even though his inner wolf was still alive and present, something about it felt... strange.  False.

Derek must have felt it too, because he stepped forward abruptly.  "Claire, back off."

However, it was too late.

Jared's eyes flashed red—unnaturally red—and his body trembled.  A strange energy crackled around him, and dark veins pulsed along his arms.

His wolf was not the only one.

There was more within him.  Something that is not natural.

The realisation was like a kick to the stomach.

Jared had been involved with more than just traitors and rogues.  He had agreed to something much worse.

Whatever it was, it was waking up now.

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Jared's breath became ragged and uneven as his body shook violently. 

Instead of the usual crimson of an Alpha in a fit of rage, his eyes had a dangerous red glow that was a different and darker phenomenon.

His veins pulsed beneath his skin like charred roots, extending out across his arms and neck like a blight.

Derek felt stiffening his muscles, and he moved forward.

"Back off, Claire.

Now.

I was frozen, though.".

Wolves were vying for dominance besides Jared's.  Something was wrong here, something different altogether.

It wasn't his normal growl, yet it was low and guttural.  It was lower, layered and twisted like two voices talking together.".

When he began slowly to raise his head, my heart was thundering against the ribcage.

Glowing red light had filled his eyes with an inhuman emptiness.

His lips curled into an inhuman evil smile.

"Did you think I would fall so quickly?"

   He used tones of coldness and age.

Chills crawled down my spine.

Derek moved a step closer, his posture firm.

"Jared, what in the name of the devil have you done?"

Jared let out a low, gut-heaving laugh.   He curled his fingers at his sides and pulled out his claws, but not like any normal wolf.   His nails grew jagged and black, curled in like talons.   His skin turned dark, and a sickly grey colour appeared on his arms.

Something worse than the ash and blood of war took the place of the smell that clung to us.  a stench of rot and decay, something that does not belong.

Jared's lips curled back in a merciless sneer.

"You do not think I was ready for this?"

He said it in a mocking voice as he cocked his head.

"You all believed I needed assistance Weakk.

Shattered. 

He smiled, nearly uncontrollable.

"But I had a different plan."

I balled my hands into fists.

"What did you do?"

He inhaled deeply and allowed his chest to rise and fall, as though he could sense the fear in the air.

 He said in a barely audible voice, "I made contact," in a whisper.

"To a bigger thing.

 To something that could grant me the authority I so richly earned."

Derek's voice was firm and compelling.

"Who?"

Jared's smile was hard.

"You will learn soon enough."

He convulsed wildly.   His head snapped back and his mouth twisted in a soundless scream.

The earth beneath our feet gave way.

A wave of dark energy flowed through Jared's frame, repelling us.  

I crashed to the ground with a force that clanged my ears. 

Some of the warriors fell to their knees as they reeled around us, while others clapped their hands to their heads, seemingly with their brains splitting in two.

With a gasp, I hauled myself upright.

  The air was filled with the odour of something else, something unpleasant.

My vision went hazy for a second, and then I looked at Jared.

He was more than a wolf now.

Something had changed inside him, but not in the typical way.

His body had grown taller, and his limbs were impossibly long.

Shadows wrapped around his body like living vines, curling as if they were alive.

His eyes were a malevolent red, and his once gold-furred body was now black.

I knew that this wasn't simply a transformation; this was corruption.

Derek pulled me up, holding me close.

  "We have to leave, Claire."

I swallowed the fear rising within me and nodded.

"What is this?"

Rowan groaned to rise and swore in revulsion.   "Dark magic is what it is."   His voice broke.   "There is something strange about him."

Jared spoke in a growl no longer his own.   "It is obstinate," he said into his voice.   "You have never known power like this."

I gritted my teeth and shook off fear.

"We will destroy it later."

Jared charged forward.

Derek shoved me out of the way just as Jared's claws tore their way through the air.  The sheer force of the assault shook the ground, further tearing it open.

Derek and Jared's crash was thunder when they pounded each other.   But Jared moved much quicker than he had any business being able to.   His limbs were stiff and uncoordinated, and his limbs stretched out in impossible directions.

Derek merely avoided another blow, and his face twisted in focus.   But even he hadn't been ready for the attack that followed.

Jared's body grew weaker.

One moment, he was in front of Derek.

  The next, he was behind him.

Derek didn't get a chance to respond before Jared's clawed hand slammed into his side.

Derek let out a loud, pained grunt.

  Blood splattered across the floor.

"Derek!"

  I screamed.

He stumbled, but Jared was too late to strike again, and Theo and Rowan ran into him and pushed him back.

Jared's corruption overwhelmed him, and he collapsed, snarling, his body convulsing.

Derek gasped for air and sank to one knee.

Blood trickled between his fingers as he held his injured side.

I fell beside him and pushed my hand into the wound.  I breathed gently, "Hold on."

Derek ground his teeth and gave me a look of anger.

"You have to stop him, Claire."

I took a deep breath.  "Not by yourself."

Rowan and Theo fought to restrain Jared, but the evil force within him was becoming more powerful.

Jared tilted his head in that strange manner and laughed again.  "It is too late.  You have already lost.

Derek gripped my hand tighter.  "No, we haven't."  Pained but determined was his voice.  "You know what you need to do, Claire."

I understood his meaning.

Was I strong enough, though?

Jared's body shook as the ominous energy surrounding him grew stronger.  Something oppressive charged the air, making it heavier.  The battlefield shook under the weight of whatever hideous creature he had turned into, and the ground below us split open wider.

I looked directly into Jared's eyes, my heart racing.

He believed he had triumphed.

However, he had overlooked something important.

There was no more Midnight Moon.  His soldiers had deserted him.  He had lost the support of his Beta.

Most significantly, he was alone.

For power, he had given up everything.

In the process, he had already lost.

I inhaled deeply before moving forward.  "Jared," I uttered steadily.  "You have already ruined everything you owned.  Already, you have lost your pack.  Your heritage.  And now?  You have become someone else.

He twitched his face.  Hesitancy flickered behind his red eyes for the first time.  I doubt it.

It was just what I needed.

With my body shaking but my determination unwavering, I took a step closer.  I said, "Look around you."  Do you believe this to be power?  This is a curse, nothing more.  You are drowning in it already.

Jared's body flickered with erratic energy as he clenched his jaw.  He desired to deny it.  He desired to engage in combat.

But he knew in his heart that I was correct.

Then there was a final crack in the ground beneath us.

The sky erupted in a thunderous roar.

And Jared's inner darkness erupted, getting out of control.

His entire body trembled violently.  He screamed—a sound of sheer pain, of something shattering.

The corruption was eating him up.

Furthermore, it was unstoppable.

With my heart racing, I backed up a little unsteadily.

Derek's voice sounded raspy.  "Claire...  How do we proceed?

I took a deep breath and looked at the man who used to be my partner.  The man who had sacrificed everything for power and turned into a monster as a result.