146- The Pact Devoured
POV Edric Eldoria:
“The pact is now truly broken.” I lifted his head by the hair, blood dripping onto my feet, and studied his features. “I need to bring Alessio a little gift. Nothing personal.”
Kellan was an arrogant piece of shit, just like his son. I didn’t need him to tell me where Lunara was—she was my mate, and I could find her through our bond. But he was far too ignorant to know that.
They never took females as their mates, believing them too weak, unworthy, a needless vulnerability.
Yes, Lunara was my vulnerability—but I didn’t regret, not even for a second, making her mine. She was half of my soul.
I caught my reflection in the mirror of the open bathroom door. I ran my free hand through my hair, now gleaming in a vivid, blood-soaked red, stained by the many Eclipse wolves I had killed. My skin was spattered and filthy, as were my clothes.
I tried to fix myself a little, pulling the curls that fell over my forehead. I was about to see Lunara again after days apart. I didn’t want to frighten her, but with my appearance, there was no avoiding it.
Taking a deep breath, I gave up on looking even slightly better for her—I still had more people to kill, more chaos to unleash.
I turned on the gas, letting it fill the house. I lit one of the stove burners and tossed a napkin onto it, setting the object ablaze.
I walked out of the house, holding the head in my right hand, heading in the direction Kellan had given me—feeling deep in my chest that it was the correct path.
Kellan’s blood dripped, leaving a trail beside my footprints in the snow.
After a few steps, the house exploded, turning into fire—just like the alpha of the Eclipse pack, who was reduced to ash along with it, except for the small piece of him I carried.
I looked around, watching the village turn to dust.
The bodies of the Eclipse wolves lay scattered, growing in number, covering the ground like a shroud of death. I walked among them while the flames danced at my sides, celebrating my victory as I rose above them all like the lord who brought chaos, destruction, and reduced them to nothing.
(...)
POV Lunara Grimwald:
Alessio threw me into the grotto with rough force. My body hit the ground with a hard thud that left me dizzy, black dots flashing across my vision because of my dislocated shoulder.
I took a deep breath, trying to stay conscious and not succumb. I couldn’t make things easier for him.
I dragged myself across the sand, away from him, and leaned against the stone wall. The silver chains bit into my wrists. My displaced arm throbbed with a sharp, piercing pain at every attempt I made to move it.
I cast a look around, studying Alpha Giovanni’s den.
The grotto was cold and damp, the rough stone walls exhaling an ancient, earthy scent. A narrow bed stood in the farthest corner, covered with a coarse, dusty sheet. Near the entrance sat a simple wooden table with a chair of rustic design. On the opposite end, a small, makeshift kitchen held a camp stove and a few utensils.
Everything there looked as though it had been abandoned for a very long time.
Ever since he had become the oldest living wolf of the packs, Giovanni had lived in isolation, preferring the forest’s silence to the constant whispers of the village.
“When did you kill Alpha Giovanni?” I asked, coughing to clear the humidity from my lungs.
“A few months ago, after he refused to help me.”
The she-wolf with the pup moved toward the bed and sat down, always keeping him in her arms as her most precious belonging in the world.
“To help you with what?” I pressed, shaking my head.
My body couldn’t heal—not while I wore the silver chains and my shoulder was out of place. The bone needed to return to its socket for my regeneration to begin.
Clenching my teeth, I let out a groan of pain as I gripped my dislocated arm with my other hand, feeling the joint throb in agony. Simply touching it was like a thousand sharp blades slicing my skin.
I needed to be whole when the moment came to defy him and fight for my life—and my pup’s.
With tremendous effort, I gathered every ounce of courage I had and, with a swift and precise motion, forced the arm back into place. A wave of searing pain surged through me, making my back arch and my teeth grind together as I fought to contain a scream. My vision blurred for a moment under the sheer intensity of it.
When the bone finally settled back where it belonged, a mixture of relief and persistent pain washed over me.
I drew a deep breath to steady myself, feeling weak and trembling.
Alessio hadn’t noticed what I had done, too busy rummaging through the dead alpha’s belongings.
“To break the bond with that damned alpha. Giovanni was the oldest in the pack—only he knew how. When he refused to help me, I had to torture him until I ripped the truth out of him and, at last, killed him.”