CHAPTER 184 - SOUL DELIVERED TO THE SHADOWS

I stopped, staring into his narrowed eyes, noticing the distress reflected in them. Harvey shared the same anguish, feeling the pain and despair of the pup. He restrained himself, resisting the urge to tear apart the witches who were trying to help us.

“Damn it, he'll never trust us again!” I hugged Harvey, tears mixing with mine.

“We'll figure this out,” the alpha whispered, caressing my hair.

More bolts of power were directed at Conan's body, which was trembling compulsively. The sky darkened even more like a huge shadow was approaching.

“Lycan King!” Morgana shouted.

“Shit!” the alpha roared, transforming into his lupine form.

“What's happening?” I asked, wiping my eyes.

“The Dark King has noticed what we're doing; stay alert!” he instructed.

Dark laughter echoed in the area, mixed with malevolent whispers. The air became dense, impregnated with a rotten odor, while dark creatures hovered like shadows in the sky and among the mountains. The ground began to shake, as if an earthquake had started, causing me to fall to my knees. I looked ahead and saw that the stone where Conan was had split in half.

“Damn, he's going to break free!” Elara shouted, approaching and casting reinforcement magic on the chains.

The pup's body lunged forward, floating over the stone with arms outstretched, still bound by the chains. His voice carried something sinister, and in place of the heart, a bright red light blended with darkness.

“Step back, Elara, it's too dangerous!” Morgana warned. “Look at the center of the essence.”

“Child... No!” Elara sighed, looking from Conan to me. “Sophie...”

“Please, save him… Tell me what I should do to help?” I pleaded, realizing that the Dark King had partially taken control of him.

“Aunt?” Conan's voice resonated: dark, calm, and cold. “Do you all want my power?”

He turned his face in my direction, pulling his arms and breaking the magical chains from his wrists. He caressed the spot, hovering in the air and looking around, stopping in front of Elara. With a sinister smile, he moved swiftly, lunging at her and grabbing her by the neck, lifting her off the ground, and choking her.

“Conan, no!” I shouted. “We're trying to free you from the Dark King!”

As I said this, creatures seen in the labyrinth began to appear, emerging from the ground and descending from the dark night-like sky. Selena and Morgana kept their magic directed at Conan, trying to restrain him and extract the soul of the Shadow King. Orc stones hung as pendants around their necks, with one of them around Elara's neck.

“Please, let her go!” I pleaded, taking a few steps toward him. Harvey fought against the surrounding creatures, threatening us with death. Howling, the beta, and other wolves from the pack joined forces to confront the shadows.

“Do you desire my power so much?” Conan laughed uncontrollably. “How could I be deceived by you, Aunt Sophie? My mother was right. You are the worst of all, pretending to care, love, and protect, only to stab me in the back.”

He turned to me, lifting Elara off the ground with just one hand—extraordinary strength for a teenager.

“Conan, I have always loved you and will always love you, regardless of what happens... I never wished you harm; I'm not lying to you, please!” I tried to approach again, seeing him take a step back.

“Regardless of anything, huh?” He smiled possessively, tilting his head and tightening his claws even more around Elara's neck, who whimpered.

“Let her go; don't hurt Elara; she has nothing to do with this!” I tried to maintain a neutral tone in my voice, even though his scent had changed. The malevolence emanating from Conan was palpable.

“Do you want her?” He smirked. “You all want to control me, take my power, and hurt me... At least the Shadow King was honest about his intentions; he didn't pretend like you always did!”

“They've manipulated him since he was a pup!” I shouted, approaching and touching Elara's arms. “Release her, and let's talk, please.”

Laughing uncontrollably, Conan fixed his eyes on me.

“Feel the fury of my power!” He yelled, and a beam of dark light covered his hand, gripping Elara's neck, causing her head to explode and splattering us with blood, with pieces of the elder's flesh flying in all directions along with blood particles.

“No!” Selena screamed desperately, lowering her hands.

“Selena, pull yourself together; the seal is going to break, and he will escape!” Morgana shouted in alarm. “Selena?”

“You damn bastard, I'm going to kill you!” Selena cast spells in his direction. With a lazy look, Conan threw his headless mother's body onto her, knocking her down.

Hovering his palms, a sparkling black powder was released into the surroundings, breaking and erasing the engravings on the floor. He floated higher into the sky, freeing himself and laughing. I stood there, static, not knowing how to react. That was not my nephew; the chains fused to my soul burned, signaling that the creator of that punishment was present!

“What's wrong, Auntie? Cat got your tongue?” The shadow king spoke through Conan.

I clenched my fists, casting magic against his body, trying to bring him down. He skillfully dodged; in the blink of an eye, he stood in front of me, sending me flying with a punch to the stomach.

“Enough, you won't hurt her!” I heard Conan's voice resisting.

“Conan...” I sighed, wiping the corner of my mouth where blood was trickling. “Let me help you!”

“Don't deceive yourself, Aunt. I won't let him kill her today, but you will pay dearly for betraying me like this.” He turned his back, growling. “I thought you were my family.”

“And we are; please listen to me!” I ran towards him, trying to hold him by the arms. Conan pulled forcefully, staring at me with completely dark eyes. The Alpha threw himself in front of me when the pup smiled.

“DIE!” He shouted, transforming the creatures into an acidic rain of shadows that burned everyone's skin. Morgana dragged Selena away and formed a protective shield over us.

I kept watching as he walked away without being bothered by the acid breaking his skin. The wolves howled in despair.

“Luna, focus!” The Lycan king roared, bringing me back. I looked around, seeing many wolves dying from the rain. “AMPLIFY!”

I increased Morgana's shield, protecting our pack. Pieces of creature bodies fell from the sky, and it didn't take long for the rain of acidic blood to stop. I fell to my knees, watching Selena run to her mother's body, screaming and crying desperately. Oliver was all battered, trying to support her along with Morgana.

Harvey crouched in front of me, lifting my chin to look at him.

“Are you okay?” He growled between his fangs.

“He's gone... We lost him once again to the shadows.” Tears streamed down my face, despair taking over. I gasped as if all the air had vanished. “We handed him over to the Shadow King on a silver platter!”