Chapter 148 Finally Come - Callista's POV

Chapter 148 Finally Come - Callista's POV
The bond went cold, and I was used to it when I felt the demon, but this wasn’t the same. This was the cold of something being extinguished, like a fire that had been burning steadily and just went out.

I felt the moment Riven faded, and the demon slipped into control.

“Riven,” I pleaded. “Riven, please look at me.”

He wasn’t and didn’t. His eyes were locked on his father, looking straight through them. I had heard the last words uttered.

“The demons answer to mine.”

I didn’t know. Nothing I had seen could prepare me for that revelation.

Around us, the clearing had descended into exactly what I had been afraid of. Raze was three feet to my left, completely entranced. His and Riven’s demon’s other halves were also in the same state, as if waiting for the command. 

I understood it all in about three seconds flat. His demon was their leader. 

Slowly, my gaze drifted to his father whose smile had faded and was replaced with something…sinister. This is exactly what he wanted. He wanted all four heirs to be in the same place and let their demons respond to each other.

“Riven,” I said again, my voice a mere whisper. “I know you’re in there and I need you to hang on. Don’t lose control.”

Our bond suddenly was gone as soon as I uttered those words. I felt it break. It was so sharp that it stole my breath.

“No,” I said as his head turned.

He looked straight through me, his eyes as dark as a starless sky. Riven was gone.

His father laughed. “And you thought he’d resist? Now it’s over. Kill them all.”

I fought against the man holding me as Riven, Alric, Raze, and Dorian moved. Time was running out.

My wolf surged forward and I let her come. She was my only chance at stopping this. 

She tore through me faster than she ever had. The shift wasn’t painful as it had been. It was furious, my wolf done waiting and watching while staying put. She came forward like a tidal wave and I didn’t refuse her. I just let her be, because she was right. I was out of options and the man holding me was about to find out exactly what it meant to restrain an alpha’s daughter.

I bit him. My teeth tore through his flesh savagely. I didn’t bother with a warning snap. I went straight for what would hurt. It was deep enough that he dropped me immediately to clutch his bleeding arm with a shout that cut through the silence of the clearing. I was moving before I had fully shifted.

And my first stop was Riven.

He turned at the sound of me coming, and what looked back at me was nothing I recognized. There was no red-gold and no flicker of the person I knew, just the demon. 

“Riven,” I said, trying to hold off the shift to speak.

But as soon as I reached him, he back handed me hard across the chest, sending me back. I hit the ground hard enough to drive the breath out of me. The grass was cold and wet against my palms.

I stayed down for one second, catching my breath and looking up at him. Then I stood. My ribs ached and my hands were shaking. The bond was still gone. 

Somewhere underneath that facade was the man who said he loved me and I wasn’t going to let that be the last thing we ever said to each other. There were too many moments I wanted to have with him.

I heard screams, jerking my attention to the left. People were running, the observers from the tribunal were shouting, and somewhere behind me, someone was barking orders. Ronan was backing away from them with a pleased smile spread across his face.

“Riven, you have to stop. Don’t let him win,” I said as I turned back to him. “I love you. Do you hear me? I love you!”

There was nothing, not even recognition. But oddly, he turned toward his father. Ronan stopped backing away for a split second and then I saw why.

All four of them were advancing. 

Without wasting a moment, I ran. I cut across the clearing at an angle. There was no getting through to him and I didn’t know what to do.

We were all going to die.

I looked back once as I reached the treeline, only to see Riven launch himself at his father. He went down, flat on his back. Raze, Dorian, and Alric dove in, joining the chaos. The last thing I saw before turning away was chunks of flesh and splatters of blood.

“No, no, no.”

Tears streamed down my face as I ran. My family was long gone, that much I was certain of. I hadn’t seen them anywhere when I fled. So I ran alone through the woods, praying that I could get away. 

But I didn’t know if that was even possible. 

I kept moving and pushing on until my legs were ready to give out. Eventually, I was back in my territory, though it didn’t feel possible. I stood there, looking through the trees, only to realize I was in the spot where Riven had marked me.

“What am I doing here?” I looked up at the sky, tears still rolling down my face. “I’m going to die.”

“No, you’re not,” a feminine voice said.

I blinked in disbelief. “Who said that?”

I spun, searching for the source, but not finding anyone. 

“Remember what I told you.”

“That love is the answer?” I asked, my voice cracking. “Is that you Moon Goddess?”

All fell silent for a moment, then, “You’ve always had the answer in you. I didn’t create you to be destroyed. I created you with love, with knowledge, and the will to do great things. You are chosen for a reason. You are the key to saving them.”

I cried harder, almost falling to my knees but finding the will to stand. “But all is lost. Riven’s demon has taken control. I’m next once he finds me. It’s all over. All I’ve done has been for nothing. My vision is about to—”

My vision. Riven said his demon gave it to me, but what if it was reality? What if that was about to happen? No, they didn’t go home, did they?

I looked through the trees, knowing that home wasn’t that far away. What if Riven got there first? What if he got to my family, and that was what I would walk into?

“No, I have to warn them.”

I ran as fast as my legs would carry me, hurtling myself over logs and ducking under branches. My breath came out in ragged pants. 

I made it to my house in no time, only slowing down when I saw the front door ajar. 

My blood ran cold. No, please, no. 

I continued up to the porch, slowly walking toward the door. My heart thundered in my chest as I reached it and pushed it open.

No scent of blood greeted me. 

“So, it’s finally come to this moment. I’ve been waiting for you, Callista.”