Warnings - Austin

Warnings - Austin
The moment Taylor’s movement faltered, I knew the wolfsbane had finally started to burn its way through whatever corrupted magic he’d been running on. His snarl warped into something sharper—panic disguised as rage. He tried to push up, but the bear trap’s iron jaws had severed the muscle clean through. His leg buckled, and he collapsed to one knee, breath heaving like a bellows.
Good. Let him feel something real for once.
Warriors surged forward in a coordinated sweep, circling him from all sides. Chains clattered as Leo led the charge, looping thick iron links—each soaked in wolfsbane—around Taylor’s arms and torso. The moment the metal touched his skin, steam hissed from the wounds like acid eating flesh. He didn’t howl. He didn’t even flinch. He just stared at me with those oil-black eyes, the corrupted magic swirling like a storm inside them.
“You think metal can hold me?” he spat, spittle dark as ink hitting the dirt. “You think pain matters to me anymore?”
“You’re bleeding,” I said, stepping forward. “It matters.”
Rogues still dangling upside down in the traps overhead let out uncertain whines. The herd mentality had snapped. They realized their leader—their unstoppable, untouchable leader—was chained and kneeling. Their fear vibrated in the ground beneath my feet.
A howl broke through the clearing, long and anguished. Others answered, but the cries weren’t threatening. They were mourning. Rogues calling out for a leader who had already lost.
And Taylor heard them.
His lip curled into that same twisted smile he’d worn the last time he’d stood in front of me—the night he murdered his own packmates for power. “Hear that?” he hissed. “They howl for what you’ve taken from them.”
“No,” I said, stepping closer until we were eye to eye. “They howl for what you became.”
His smile strained. I knew that landed.
Behind me, I felt Elara along the bond—steady, strong, proud. Her presence washed over my skin like sunlight. That warmth contrasted sharply with the cold darkness radiating off the man in chains before me.
Taylor tried to pull himself taller, though the shackles dug into his skin. “You’re naïve if you think you’ve won. Those men didn’t die for nothing—they were just the appetizer.”
Gasps rustled through the warriors behind me. A few stepped forward protectively, but I lifted my hand.
“Stand down,” I murmured. “He’s done.”
I stepped into the circle, the air between us tense enough to vibrate. I could feel every warrior watching. Waiting.
Let them hear this.
“Darkness doesn’t win,” I said, voice steady, low, but loud enough to carry to the treeline. “Not in this pack. Not in these lands. Not against us.”
Taylor sneered but didn’t interrupt. His breath was coming shorter now—the wolfsbane was finally overpowering whatever magic had held his body together this long.
“You traded your people for a taste of power,” I continued. “You lied to them. Sent them charging into death traps while you fed off dark magic like a parasite. And for what? To impress a shadow you sold your soul to?”
His jaw twitched.
“You want to talk about naïve, Taylor?” I said. “You call them soldiers. But they use to trust you. Because they believed you were still the man they looked up to. The one who used to train them to fight, not throw them into them.”
A few of the captured rogues whimpered. One whispered, “Alpha…” as if asking a question he already knew the answer to.
Taylor glared at him, then back at me. “They followed me because I’m the only one strong enough to lead them.”
“No,” I snapped. “They followed you because they didn’t know they had another choice.”
Taylor’s smile wavered for the first time.
I leaned in, my voice dropping. “And here’s the truth, Taylor: Power gained by hurting your own never lasts. Darkness eats itself. You were always going to end up here—alone, chained, and forgotten.”
A hush fell. Even the wind seemed to stop.
His breath rattled. His leg shook violently where the bear trap still held. But the dark magic flickered behind his eyes one more time, and that wicked grin returned.
“They didn’t die in vain,” he shouted suddenly, looking toward his remaining men. “You were the appetizer. The world will feast soon enough!”
The air crackled with the venom of his words.
Elara’s voice brushed my mind gently. Austin…
I exhaled.
I’d heard enough.
I turned to the warriors and murmured, “Look away.”
Leo obeyed immediately. Elara turned her back but stayed connected through our bond—steadying me.
Taylor let out a raspy laugh. “You afraid your little mate won’t stomach what happens next?”
“No,” I said, drawing a blade from my belt—the same blade we’d reforged to kill corrupted wolves. “I’m doing her the courtesy you never gave anyone.”
His grin faltered—just a breath. “You think killing me ends this?”
“It ends you,” I said.
And before he could speak another poisoned word, I drove the blade straight through his heart.
His breath caught. The dark magic inside him sputtered, flared, then went silent. His body slumped against the chains, the life draining from his eyes until they were just… eyes. Empty. Human.
The forest was completely still.
I withdrew the blade and wiped it on the dirt. My heartbeat slowed. My lungs loosened.
Elara’s presence washed through me again—warm, fierce, steadying.
“It’s done,” I said quietly.
And for the first time since this war began, I let myself believe it.