Chapter 69
Around us, the sounds of war seemed to fade into insignificance. There was only my world shattered into fragments, and Mia's loathsome presence desecrating my anguish.
But I needed to pay attention to my mate, just as I gathered my strength to pour life into Dominic's wolf form, the cold muzzle of a gun pressed against my temple - Mia's hand holding the weapon steady.
"Drop the corpse and step away from it, dear sister," she hissed venomously.
My heart shattered once more, but I carefully laid Dominic's body back on the blood-soaked ground and stood. Tears streamed down my cheeks as I met Mia's cruel gaze.
"Why are you doing this?" I asked, feeling pissed and angry. "Haven't you already accomplished ruining me in the past?"
Mia threw back her head in a fit of wicked laughter. When her eyes bored into me again, they burned with sadistic glee.
Instead of the mocking laughter I expected, Mia's expression contorted into one of pure venom and hatred.
"Me? Ruin you?" She spat the words like tasting something foul. "You're the one who ruined our entire family!"
"Your the reason Father ran away and became a rogue, abandoning us, if I remember clearly, your the reason why our mother became a horrid shell of herself who treated me with disgust."
How could I have ruined our family when I couldn't even recollect my own childhood, let alone these accusations she screeched at me?
"You're the one who ruined our entire family!" Mia spat, jabbing the gun barrel viciously against my head.
White-hot rage blew up inside me at her venomous accusation.
How dare she?!
"Correct me if I'm wrong but you and mother were the ones. who used me throughout my years growing up!" I lashed out.
I was getting sick of this, I should be helping my mate, not arguing about some petty useless thing of the past!
Mia sneered as if sensing my confusion. "Don't play innocent now! You were always the perfect little angel while I suffered in your shadow. After you left our precious mother turned on me all because you left. My mate rejected me! Do you think I'd ever make you get to live happily ever after? Don't you think I wanted a happily ever after too?!" She screamed.
If it wasn't clear then, now it is very clear.
Mia was a psycho.
"And how is mother dearest? I guess she's proud now knowing her little white wolf is Luna and you managed to have a precious son for the alpha." she continued to sneer.
"Mother has changed, I'm sure if you put down the gun, and think rationally she will apologize for all her wrong doing." I advised her.
"Maybe if I saw our dear mother Clara right now, I'd shoot her in the head too just as I'm about to do with you. I'll never let you ruin my past and take my future. If any of us should've been Luna then it should've been me!" she hissed.
Mia's twisted perspective came from a place of such deep-rooted jealousy and bitterness that she had constructed her own distorted reality over the years. One where I represented everything she despised about herself, every source of her psychological torment.
I felt a sudden pang of pity for this broken, hate-consumed woman before me. Somewhere along the way, Mia's spirit had shattered beyond repair, leaving only a husked monster fixated on lashing out at any perceived slight or imbalance.
"Step aside so I can save Dominic. After that..." I allowed a breath to escape. "We'll discover which of us is truly ruined."
Mia's lips peeled back in a disturbing snarl, her eyes burning deep hatred and malice. The gun rose inexorably until the barrel hovered squarely over my forehead.
I hissed, feeling the silver against my skin.
I braced myself, staring defiantly into the barrel of Mia's gun. My wretched sister's finger tightened on the trigger, hatred twisting her features.
But before I could create a shield around me and my mate, a shimmering cloud of dust exploded over Mia from behind. Thalia emerged, having blown dust-like9 substances into her face. Mia's eyes rolled back as she dropped to the ground, unconscious.
Not wasting a second, I turned around and flung myself down beside Dominic's lifeless wolf form. I pressed my hands to the grievous bullet wound, channeling every ounce of my power.
Flesh and fur knit back together as vitality surged back into Dominic's body. With a mighty indrawn breath, his eyes flashed open, locking onto my own. A triumphant roar escaped him as he regained human form.
Thalia, dug into a very small pouch of hers which held very large objects in it, she then handed a cloth to put over him.
"Thank you," I told her warmly.
We crashed together in a desperate embrace, and I savored our reunion after he had brushed death off. For a brief moment, the raging war around us ceased to exist.
"Freya..." Dominic's voice was rough with emotion as he cradled me against him.
I opened my mouth to speak, but his lips brushed against mine in a searing, passionate kiss. I melted into him, returning the ardor with every fiber of my being. We had defied death itself to be reunited like this.
When we finally broke apart, I was breathless and my heart racing. Dominic's eyes smoldered with a combination of desire, relief, and...aggravation?
"You defiant little mate," he growled, though his tone held more wonderment than rebuke. "I ordered you to stay behind the pack's shield where it was safe."
My eyes widened at his protective nature.
"I'm happy you had gone against my words or else I wouldn't be here today." Dominic said with a smile, "thank you."
Dominic drew me into another passionate kiss and I soaked into his loving allure.
Then reality returned. Dominic drew back, his alpha urgency focusing him despite his near-death experience. One look at Alpha Lucas dead and Mia's unconscious form was enough - he knew they had lost the war.
Rising in a boundless surge of power, Dominic's roar shook the air, demanding every able warrior's obedience. I fell beside my mate, happy to have him back from the dead.