Chapter 121 121

Chapter 121 121
~ARLINA~

I hit her with everything I had.

Purple energy wrapped around Nessa's body and slammed her into the ground three times.

She coughed out a thick lump of blood. "You…can't..stop me—"

"Watch me."

I pulled on my hybrid nature deeper than I ever had before. The purple energy shifted, becoming something more. Something that touched on the wolf part of me, the telekinetic part, the part that had been experimented on and changed.

Power flooded through me. Raw, violent and unstoppable.

Nessa's eyes went wide. "What are you?"

"Stronger than you thought."

I pinned her to the ground with my telekinesis. She struggled but couldn't break free.

"The spell," I said. "Break it now or I break you."

"Never—"

I applied pressure and her bones creaked.

"I'm not playing anymore. Break the spell or I'll kill you and figure out how to break it myself."

"You don't have the strength—"

"Try me."

I increased the pressure and a bone in her arm snapped.

She screamed. "Okay! Okay! I'll…I'll weaken it! But I can't break it completely! Only the victim fighting from inside while someone attacks from outside can fully break compulsion this strong!"

"Then weaken it. Now."

Her hands moved in shaking patterns. The black magic around her wrist flickered.

And through the damaged mate bond, I felt Zayne stir. Felt him push against the spell from the inside.

"More," I demanded.

"I can't…I'll die if I release more, the spell is tied to my life force—"

"I don't care."

I pressed harder. She screamed again and the magic around her wrist started to crack.

But then she smiled. Blood-stained and broken.

"You fell for it."

Too late, I felt the spell shift. Felt it redirect all its remaining energy away from me.

Toward Zayne.

"No!"

Through the bond, I felt him convulse. Felt the spell attacking him with everything Nessa had left.

She was killing him. Using her last moments to make sure he died too.

"Stop it! Stop or I'll—"

"You'll what? Kill me? I'm already dying." She laughed. "But I'm taking him with me. That was always the plan. If I can't have my revenge on both of you, if I can't make you both suffer, then I'll settle for his death and your guilt."

The bond pulsed. Weak and was fading.

Zayne was dying.

I had maybe seconds to choose.

Kill Nessa and hope breaking her would break the spell.

Or abandon her and pour everything I had into Zayne through the bond. Not enough time for both.

I let Nessa go and ran.

Toward the training facility where Zayne was dying.

My legs burned. My lungs screamed. But I ran harder than I'd ever run.

Through the bond, although faint, I could feel him slipping away.

"Hold on," I whispered. "Please hold on."

The facility doors burst open when I hit them with my telekinesis. The healer looked up from where she was still chanting over Zayne.

"The spell is attacking him. I can't counter it—"

"Move."

I didn't wait for her to step aside, I threw myself down next to Zayne and grabbed his hand.

The moment we touched, the bond flared. Damaged and weak but a bit alive.

I poured everything into it. All the power I'd used fighting Nessa, all the hybrid energy, all the love and rage and desperation.

"Zayne! Can you hear me?"

No response. His body was convulsing, blood running from his nose and ears.

The spell was killing him from the inside. Nessa's last revenge.

"I'm here," I said. "I'm right here. You're not alone. You're not—"

Through the bond, I felt him. Barely conscious. But at least he was here, and that gave me trickles of hope.

“Arlina—”

"Yes! I'm here! I'm coming for you!"

I closed my eyes and dove into the bond. Followed it down into the darkness where Zayne was chained.

He looked worse than before. The spell's final attack had torn him apart. Blood everywhere. Burns covering every inch of skin.

"Arlina…you came—?”

"Of course I came. You're my mate. I'll always come for you."

"The spell is too strong…I can't—"

"You don't have to fight it alone. I'm here now. We'll break it together."

I reached for him. Our hands touched and the bond strengthened. Not much. But enough.

"The healer weakened it from the outside. Nessa's dying, which means the spell is dying too. But we have to push. We have to break it before it takes you with it."

"I don't…I don't know how—"

"Yes you do. Your wolf knows. Let him out. Let him help."

Zayne's eyes changed. His wolf was there, battered but not broken.

"Together?" he asked.

"Together."

We pushed aainst the chains holding him. Against the darkness suffocating us. Against the spell that was trying to drag us both down.

It fought back hard.

Pain exploded through the bond. Through both of us. I screamed and felt Zayne scream with me.

"Don't let go!" I shouted.

"I won't!"

We pushed harder. The chains started to crack.

In the real world, the healer was still chanting. I could feel her power joining ours, attacking the spell from the outside while we attacked from within.

The darkness around us shattered and light poured in.

And with a sound like breaking glass, the spell broke.

The chains holding Zayne vanished. He collapsed forward and I caught him.