Chapter 207: Siren Death (Wyatt's POV)

There was something about seeing two individuals who had maintained nothing but complete calm since we’d met panic. The hair on the back of my neck was standing on end as they ran— and I’m talking full-on running from the killer in a horror movie— out of the hospital and toward the woods. Fear seemed to tinge my taste buds.

It wafted off of me and was also radiating from my mate. Reika had separated from her, pounding ahead of us on the pavement. I took that as my cue and shifted mid-stride. Lyall took over, shoving ahead. The howl that erupted from the center of our chest was to notify Aksel to shift. Mentally, I barked out the order, Be prepared for anything.

There was no response. My paws dug deeper into the earth, kicking dirt up in all directions. As we reached the eye of the storm, I realized how much it had escalated in the very short time since Lucky and I had left. The clouds were now a mix of maroon, purple, and black. They swirled dangerously around Finn’s suspended figure. Lightning was cracking every ten or so seconds now, and the sky was emitting a constant rumble of thunder.

Vincar’s eyes were locked on the sky as he skidded to a stop beside me. The healer’s pale gaze was locked on Finn’s unmoving body. Molpe and Lucky stepped up beside us. The siren cursed, kicking the dirt in front of her. Her hospital gown had fallen off at some point during the run, leaving her in nothing more than her underwear.

A golden-hued glow was emitting from her ebony skin. Vincar took note and rested a hand on her elbow, voice low, “Tell me what to do.”

“I don’t know,” she screamed, gripping the sides of her head as the wind seemed to pick up. It was as if it was trying to drown her out. Molpe spun to look at me. “Where’s the guard?”

Aksel approached, already shifted. He and Reika nodded at each other before meeting my gaze. My mate’s wolf said softly, Finn is doing something to the Sirens. Look at Lucky.

Sure enough, my mate had stopped beside Molpe, eyes transfixed on Finn. Her skin was emitting an iridescent glow. A humming sound started as the storm strengthened. Molpe grabbed Lucky’s elbow. Her eyes met Vincar’s, wide with panic.

When did the storm start to get worse? I questioned Aksel, beginning to pace the forest floor directly beneath Finn.

As soon as you and Lucky left, he reported, I didn’t have much of a chance to warn you. I got hit with a gust of wind and smacked into a tree.

Reika sighed, padding over to Lucky, I need to return to her. Perhaps I can counteract whatever he’s doing to the Siren part of her soul.

Do what you need. I gave a nod of approval before turning back to Aksel. Stay shifted. Run if anything starts to go wrong. Keep everyone away.

Before he could respond, I shifted back into human form. I stepped up beside Vincar, goosebumps littering my skin as a cold wind whipped between the trees. Just as the healer opened his mouth to speak, Reika snapped back into place within Lucky’s body. At the same moment, Finn’s head snapped, turning in an unnatural arch. His gaze seemed to sear into my mate.

The glowing of her skin had stopped, but she’d frozen beneath his gaze. She took a step forward, her arm slowly extending upward. Molpe screeched, leaping toward Lucky. Her body shielded my mate’s as a lightning strike hit with fiery precision. The bold wracked through Molpe’s body, which began shifting between different forms rapidly. She fell to the floor, smoke billowing around her figure.

A smile slowly spread across the Vampire King’s face.

My head whipped around to Aksel, who immediately took off running to the packhouse. Black and red lightning bolts hit the ground at his heels with almost every step. I turned my attention back to the scene at hand. Lucky was now kneeling beside Molpe, trying to get a grip on the rapidly shifting Siren. Nothing she was doing seemed to be working.

Dark, shadowy figures emerged from the wolves behind them. Vincar dropped to the ground beside them as the lightning storm continued its relentless barrage of bolts down toward them. The Reapers took shape, two of them glancing up at my mate as tears ran down her face. Then, they looked right at me. Their fingers were trailing over Molpe’s ever-changing hair. The shapeshifting began to slow as they touched her.

Vincar’s eyes shot to mine. I was frozen, unable to say anything to him or the Reapers. Molpe continued to slow down her shifting until she had returned to her ebony-skinned body. Her hand reached for Vincar’s as she blinked slowly. I could barely make out her strangled words: “Get him out of the sky, Vincar. Get him out.”

A final breath emitted from her chest, low and rattling. Lucky let out a raw wail, throwing herself over Molpe’s body. As Vincar climbed back to his feet, turning toward me, a ghostly version of Molpe appeared beside the Reapers. She exchanged words with them, getting a curt nod.

My eyes glazed over as her spirit approached me, her voice soft. I was the cost, Alpha King. She turned to look at Lucky once more. She will be okay. As will he; sadness edged her voice as she reached up and tried to brush her fingers against Vincar’s cheek as he passed her. The Vampire King is the key to winning this war. Tell him that at the end of this journey, he will find the peace he has created galaxies and crossed universes to find. He will come back to you.

“And what about you?” I questioned softly, “Will you be okay?”

Vincar froze, turning to face where my gaze was transfixed. Molpe smirked at me, nodding, Tell him I can hear my father again. My mother. My sister. They’re all waiting for me.

She slowly faded from view, her smile radiating warmth. I turned to Vincar. “I—” I stopped myself short. “Later. I need to figure out how to speak with Finn.”

Thunder rumbled loudly in the sky. Then, a voice similar to Finn’s -- but much colder -- rang out around us: “You already can. I can hear everything and see everything from where I am. The Siren lies. There will be no peace. Only death.”

My vision went black as the ground opened up beneath me.