Chapter 94 Cold death

Chapter 94 Cold death
Chapter 94: Asher

I finally had Willow in my arms.

The same woman who had tricked me into thinking hurting my own mate could give me the revenge I wanted… that it could give me back my lands.

Lands that were never even taken away from me to begin with…

Yet Willow had lied to me that I could hate my mate for the sins of her forefathers. And I believed her.

I took her words as the truth and I lied to myself. Now it was too late.

I no longer had a mate. My people hated me for bringing this type of war to their doorstep. My thirst for vengeance made me blind to their needs and I couldn’t be fit to be king anymore.

And I knew that after this war, it was all over for me.

But before the curtains closed for my story, Willow was going down first.

My claws pressed down on her even harder, hoping the silver blade would do its job and end her wicked life.

But her black magic came to her rescue in a blink of an eye.

She suddenly twisted in a way that I didn’t see coming.

Before I could recover my bearing, her shadows exploded out of her fingers again. This time, sharper and fiercer.

I tried to avoid the move, but they were intent on their goal— which was me. Before I could move out of the way, they grabbed me.

Their movements were so fast that I couldn’t even escape it.

My claws slashed around me as fast as I could, hoping to cut down their blade like tendrils of darkness, but I was too slow.

They held me captive, preventing any sort of movement as they pressed me together like a ball.

In my desperate attempt to break free, I dropped my sword and tried to pry them open with my claws.

But that turned out to be my mistake. Nathan was right.

These shadows that came alive at Willow’s own command were definitely stronger. My claws were useless!

Before I knew it, they coiled tighter around my throat crushing air from my lungs.

“Shshhhhh!” I winced as my breath grew helplessly jagged.

Blood shot to my brain and the realm became slow in my eyes. Like in a typical time break, the world stopped before my eyes.

All I could hear was my heart. It hammered violently in my chest like thunderclaps in my ears, threatening to end my life long before the shadows even took it.

I clawed into empty space, trying to regain hold of a part of her, but she kept escaping, sending more of her shadows.

“You should have stayed my puppet boy king… your life wouldn't have ended today… it would have started!” She cackled, laughing as she watched me struggle with death.

The world changed colors before my eyes as my life force started dwindling. Everything was in a faded blue like a twisted version of the black and white films I watched as a child…

The shadows were taking away my life force and somehow…

Yes, somehow… I let them take it. I couldn't fight anymore… my life was not important.

Scarlett didn't know me anymore. What was the point of staying alive?

The world then slowly turned from the faded blue to pitch darkness and I knew it was over.

I was dead.



My body began to fall.

I knew that I should have been scared. I should have been screaming and grasping at whatever I could find to cushion the fall.

But I stayed calm. If anything, it felt free. I was free.

I welcomed the fall. I welcomed whatever pain that would come with it.

Because I deserved it. I had failed.

I could only pray that Fiona found a way to counter Willow’s magic. If not, they might not stand a chance.

My Scarlett might not stand a chance…

“Asher!” A familiar voice suddenly called my name in the void I was falling into.

My head instantly swiped to the direction of the sound and I felt the whole of me stand on edge.

I knew that voice.

It was Scarlett. My Scarlett.

“Asher…” she called again and this time, I saw her.

She was suspended just a couple of feet away from where I stood. Her face was as beautiful as ever as she watched me with that calming smile of hers.

“Scarlett…” I whispered, my heart flipping with relief and confusion all at once. “What are you doing here?”

I blinked as pain suddenly shot through me. If I was dead, and Scarlett was here… could she—

“No, Asher,” she said, her smile growing even larger. “I’m not dead. At least not yet.”

Again, multiple emotions shot through me. I felt relief, confusion and fear, all at once.

“W— what do you mean at least… not yet?” I stuttered, as my body stopped before hers.

The smile on her face faded into sadness. “If you don’t kill Willow, her shadows will take over the entire realm… you are the only one who can defeat her…”

My dead heart stirred in my chest and I felt a lump of shame form in my throat. “But— but I am already dead… right?”

“No, you are not yet dead. Your body just shut down because you didn’t give it a reason to fight…”

Her words hit me hard but it was true. I had no reason to live…

“I thought you vowed to protect me…” she blurted and my thoughts froze. “You said you will stand by me and make sure I was safe… but how can I be truly safe when Willow is still alive?”

My throat burned and I felt my fingers tremble with tremors of my pain. “How…” I whispered in a broken voice. “How can I defeat her magic without my wolf?”

“Asher, your wolf isn't gone. It's just hurt by what you did,” she replied, her tone growing urgent. “We are running out of time. You need to wake UP!”

The second she yelled the last word, the void exploded into bright light and in that instant, my dead heart jump started.

And my eyes immediately snapped open as my body jerked back to life.

The sound of war around me had grown even louder and Willow was still looking down at my face with that unsettling smile.

“I see you don’t want to die before seeing the destruction of what you wanted so badly, boy king…” she cackled, twisting her fingers to stir up her shadow claws around me.

But I wasnt the same Asher that died a few seconds ago, my body was super charged with energy.

And before she knew it, I slammed my forehead straight into hers, our bones hitting hard.

She staggered in shock and the movement sent her shadows loosening just enough for me to wrench free.

I collapsed to one knee, dragging in a ragged breath, as I slowly stared back at her.

She caught her balance and so did her shadows; and this confirmed my suspicions. She was the heart of it all.

Once she was dead, the shadows would go along with her. And that was what I planned to do.

Dragging up another breath, I forced myself up and motioned to her to come.

She glared at my move and threw her head back in laughter. Her face splitting with the madness of her rage.

“You think you can beat me now?”

“I am going to end you, Willow! Come on!” I growled. “Come at me, or are you scared your little pets won’t survive another hit?”

“You fool!” Her face darkened with rage and her arms spread on either side, raining down rivers of shadows towards me.

But as she threw them at me, I was quick to jump, slashing the first beast by the neck.

The second hit my back, but the third wasn't so lucky.

“Look at you… broken and weak!” She hissed, obviously trying to distract me. “You’ll die here, and your precious little mate won’t even remember your name.”

As much as I tried to ignore her, the last part of her statement hit me deep. My chest clenched as pain filled me.

But as hard as it was for me to swallow, I pushed the pain into my strength, stirring the remnants of my lycan soul alive.

“Scarlett might not remember me, but I have her memories… and that is my weapon!” I roared and then like a mad feral, I charged at her.

I moved blindingly fast, cutting off her intercepting shadows till I appeared before her, plunging my sharp claws deep inside her heart.

She tried to counter the coming attack but she was slow.

More shadows lunged at me but my desperate fury was enough to keep me rooted there, plunging my claws deeper into the dent my silver blade had made on her armor.

The shadows cutting into me started to burn and Willow realised there was no turning back.

She tried to flip us once more like she had done before, but I had already learned the hard way.

My claws remained rooted into her causing the force of her move to drive us hard unto the ground— in a way enabling my attack.

The satisfying squashing sound of my claws hitting her heart filled my ears and she let out a deafening shriek as she fought one last time.

But I would rather die there than break away.

Her dwindling shadows desperately clawed and cut into me, hoping to pull me away from their mistress, but I was as stubborn as a leach.

My only goal was squashing Willow’s heart from within. And it paid off.

Her shriek suddenly stopped as her body buckled and blood spurted from her mouth.

And for the first time, Willow looked surprised… as if she never thought the cold hands of death could come for her…

Her lips trembled, as her eyes widened in acceptance, but then… she suddenly smiled.

That same haunting smile she carried…

“You think this is victory?” she whispered, her breath hot with blood against my cheek. “Oh, Asher… this is nothing but delay…”

My eyes narrowed as I squashed her heart even more…

But like a dying mad woman, she smiled through the pain; “Shadows don’t die, Asher... I will return. And when I do, I will come for all Lycans. Every last one of you...”

Then her body went limp.