The Final Gambit

As the shadowy person that had controlled everything around them moved forward, the ground under Leah's feet began to tremble. Eliot looked to her, his sweet eyes now filled with a disturbing malice, and every ounce of terror and hatred in her seemed to surge. The weight of the reality before her was overwhelming as she looked down at the guy she loved—or at least who had been the man she loved.

Leah muttered, more to herself than to the evil force that threatened to devour them, "I will not allow you convert him into this."

"Child, do you think what you do matters?" The dark figure scoffed. As though the air itself had frozen, his voice sounded icy. "It is impossible to stop anything that has been started. Not by anybody, not by you.

Eliot growled, his shape changing in response to the force of the rift behind him, while Leah's heart thumped in her chest. Now there was no doubt that this was about more than a wolf. It dealt with the last conflict between fate and free will, light and dark. And now it was taking place.

Her heartbeat accelerated. "I must save him."

Anna watched helplessly, her eyes wide as the scene played out. "Leah, please do not act carelessly!"

Leah, however, hardly heard her. The confusion was drowning her mind. Never before has she felt so powerless. The link to Eliot was almost like a thin thread, slipping through her fingers, and she could hardly feel it anymore.

Eliot's eyes blazed with that same evil radiance as he suddenly lunged for her. Leah narrowly escaped when he struck the ground where she had been standing just a moment before.

Once more, the ground rumbled, but this time it was not merely the pull of the rift. Something, something far worse, was coming from it. With their black shapes moving in the unsettling light, an army of shadows started to appear. They were not merely observing. They awaited the stroke of a signal.

With her mind racing for a way out of the hellscape that had encircled them, Leah stumbled to her feet. Eliot was still battling the force within him; he could not control the shift. His body twisted with the force of the transformation, his claws ripping at the ground as he screamed in pain.

"Stop!" The stress of it all made Leah's voice raspy as she yelled. "Listen to me, Eliot, please!"

But it was like talking to someone you did not know. He did not know who she was. Anger and the force that had taken over his senses distorted his perception. Additionally, the dark figure in the backdrop was merely observing and watching, seemingly relishing every agonizing moment of the conflict.

Leah felt her heart tighten in her chest. This was no longer only a matter of survival. The goal was to preserve the core of the man she loved.

With a gloomy chuckle, the shadowy figure moved into the light, his features becoming faintly familiar, like a shadow from a long-forgotten past. "You still believe that this can be changed? You believe you can influence what takes place here?

Tension permeated the air as the wind howled all around them. Both breathing and coherent thought were impossible. His words struck her with striking clarity.

The man said, almost mockingly, "You believe you are strong enough to reverse what hath been fated for you?" "Leah, you are merely a pawn in this game. And you have been all along."

There was a sharp screech that rang across the air before Leah could react. Someone—something—was on the way. She had no idea what it was, but the strength smothered her desire to fight, like a wave smashing over her. Something... no, *someone* came forward, an ancient creature that Leah could sense in her bones as the rift pulsed once more.

Leah inhaled deeply as she tried to gather her thoughts in spite of the pandemonium engulfing her. Somewhere within the wolf that had turned into a monster, she could still sense Eliot's presence. She was unable to give up. She refused. Not right now, not while there was a remote possibility of saving him.

However, the shadowy individual, whatever he was, was ensuring that chance was passing quickly. He replied, "Your struggle is with me, Leah," in a spooky whisper that was barely audible in her ear.

In disdain, she spat back, "Then let’s end it," her eyes flaming. She could not be afraid any more. She was unable to pay for it.

There appeared to be a brief stop in Eliot's shape, a glimpse of something familiar behind his amber eyes. She could feel a slight throb in her chest as the thread connecting them sprang back to life. It remained. Not totally.

"Eliot!" she said, extending her hand as though it might somehow bring him back. Everything paused for a second as her fingers touched his fur. The world seemed to be holding its breath as the rift, the shadows, and the heavy air all came to a rest.

Eliot's head snapped back, and his eyes narrowed as though he had just seen her. "Leah...?" He spoke in a rough, confused, and anguished voice. "I... I can't—"

A low, threatening laugh came from the guy behind them. "You believe this is finished? Leah, reconsider. Love always comes at a cost: blood.

All of the world around them appeared to crumble in on itself as the rift behind them suddenly rushed forward.

The shadows moved in closer, their shapes rippled like storm-tossed water. Dark energy crackled on the shifting ground beneath them. As though to dispel it, Eliot shook his head, but the force from the rift continued to draw him in.

Leah stumbled forward, barely conscious of the words spilling from her lips, yet she said, "I will not lose you."

Her hands were shaking as she reached for him, and a surge of excitement rushed through her as their fingertips met. They seemed to be reconnected, but it was not sufficient. Not quite yet. Not for the conflict they were about to face.

Eliot was still inside, somewhere, as his eyes wavered. The small spark of the man she knew was palpable to her. He was still there. Not quite yet.

“Fight, Eliot!” Desperation building in her chest, Leah implored. "This is something you can overcome! You are welcome to return!

They were surrounded by swirling, tighter, and denser shadows. The figure grinned contentedly. "Leah, you are still not sure you understand? You have already lost. This marks the end.

Eliot's cry shook the earth as his body twisted, trapped between the beast he was becoming into and the man he used to be. Leah knew in her heart that this was the moment when all would change when the last fragment of the fissure and the ancient creature that had emerged from it met her eyes.

Even though the ground underneath them started to break and shatter, Leah refused to back down. The force was becoming more potent and devastating. Around them, the shadows that had started to take shape appeared to be alive, bending in illogical ways.

Eliot was still having trouble. His features alternated between those of a wolf and a man as his body erupted violently. However, something—something in his eyes—was there. He remained inside. She knew and loved Eliot, and he was struggling against the darkness.

The figure chuckled, his voice like a dagger slicing through the confusion. "He cannot be saved. No one can be saved by you.

However, Leah had stopped paying attention to him. She was unable to pay for it. This delicate thread between light and darkness held the key to everyone's destiny.

"Eliot," she said once more, this time with greater ferocity. "Your monster is not you. The man I adore is you. Return to me.

When he heard her words, the mayhem appeared to stop for a moment. But it only need that.

After a brief minute of clearing his eyes, Eliot rushed. Not at her, though.