Chapter 166 Chapter 166
Violet
"Yes," Thelma confirmed, nodding solemnly. "She used them as bait to draw out their parents. The stories say she once killed an entire litter of pups, one by one, while forcing their parents to watch. And when the parents finally couldn’t scream anymore, she killed them too."
I was going to be sick. The room was spinning slightly, and I gripped the arms of my chair to steady myself.
The way they were describing her, the details they were giving, something about it was triggering memories I’d been wanting to forget.
But it couldn't be the same person. The woman I'd seen had been terrified, and desperate. Was she showing me these visions to lure me?
"The worst part," Rosy said, her voice shaking slightly, "was her intelligence. She'd corrupt members of packs, turn them against each other. She'd create situations where we'd kill each other, then swoop in to finish off the survivors."
Thelma explained. "She would make them see visions of their loved ones dying in horrible ways. Some wolves would wake up screaming every night for weeks, driven slowly mad. By the time she actually attacked, they were already broken and easy prey."
"She collected trophies," Alaric said, and there was disgust in his voice. "From the werewolves she killed. She would take something from each one such as a piece of jewelry, a weapon or some personal item. She displayed them in her fortress like hunting trophies."
My hands were gripping the chair arms so tightly I could feel my nails digging through the fabric into the wood beneath.
"Where was her stronghold?" Madison asked.
The pause that followed was heavy with meaning. Everyone seemed to shift in their seats, exchanging glances.
"Here," Rosy finally said. "This very place. Or rather, the fortress that stood on this land before the manor was built."
The temperature in the room seemed to drop ten degrees. The fire flickered, shadows dancing wildly across the walls for a moment before settling.
"She was here?" Veronica's voice had gone up an octave. "In this actual place?"
"For years," Thelma confirmed. "She'd found this location and fortified it. Legends say that she used powerful wards and spells to hide it so that no one could find her. And from here, she'd strike out at packs all across the region. She'd kill and torture and destroy, then retreat back to her fortress where she was untouchable."
I couldn't breathe. The vision flashed through my mind as aunt thelma narrated our blood soaked history…the room with the tapestries and the candles…the woman running, terrified. The figures pursuing her…
And yet she was a monster who showed me that vision to lure me like a siren.
"How did they finally stop her?" Nicole asked, clearly invested.
"It took a lot of time," Alpha Alaric said, and there was pride in his voice now. "Years of planning, losses and setbacks. But eventually, the alphas came together by putting aside their territorial disputes and united against the common enemy."
We all sat silently, absorbing the knowledge.
"My many-times-great-grandfather was one of them," Alpha Alaric continued. "Alpha Aldric. He led the group that finally tracked her here."
"It wasn't easy," Rosy continued. "Even with multiple alphas working together, her magic was formidable. They lost many good wolves breaking through her wards. Warriors who'd survived countless battles fell to her spells."
"But they persisted," Thelma said with satisfaction. "Because if they didn't stop her, she would have continued killing until there were no wolves left. She wouldn't stop until we were extinct."
"They breached her fortress," Alaric picked up the narrative. "Multiple alphas and their elite warriors. They fought through her defenses, through her traps and spells. The battle lasted for months. More wolves died in that final assault than in any single battle before or since."
In my head, I saw her eyes and the way she said Come
"Finally, they cornered her," Aurelia said. "In her chambers and put an end to her reign of terror. The celebrations lasted an year after that, they say."
"How?" Madison whispered. "How did they kill someone that powerful?"
"With this."
Alaric crossed to the mantelpiece, and I noticed for the first time there was a long wooden box sitting there. He opened it carefully, and pulled out something wrapped in dark cloth.
When he unwrapped it, I saw a blade.
It was long and curved, wickedly sharp, with symbols etched along its length. It was the same blade from my vision.
"This is the ceremonial blade that killed her," Alaric said, holding it up to catch the firelight. The metal gleamed with a reddish tint. "It's been passed down through my family for generations."
I couldn't look away from it. That blade had killed the woman in the mirror, had pierced her heart while multiple alphas held her down.
"It's not just a weapon," Aurelia explained. "It was specially crafted by a witch who'd turned against her own kind and sided with us. She forged it specifically to cut through magical defenses and to kill even the most powerful witch."
"But that wasn't the end," Thelma said ominously. "Even in death, she caused problems."
"What do you mean?" Veronica asked.
"She cursed them," Aurelia said coldly. "With her dying breath. As the blade pierced her heart and her life's blood spilled across the stone floor, she used her last bit of energy to cast a dark spell that would span generations."
"And it worked?" Cassie’s eyes were huge.
"We aren’t sure if it was truly her magic or rather a series of unfortunate events that befell all those who contributed to her death," Alaric said carefully, "Some bloodlines ended completely."
The room was completely silent now except for the wind and fire. Even Madison and Veronica had stopped interjecting, caught up in the horror of the tale.
"Some say," Aurelia said softly, her voice barely above a whisper, "that her soul still seeks revenge against werewolves."
"That's just superstition," Alaric said, but he didn't sound entirely convinced. "Ghost stories to scare children."
Thelma said dramatically. "In the old parts of the manor. In mirrors especially. They say if you see her, and if she notices you, you're marked."
"Marked for what?" Nicole asked, her voice trembling slightly.
"Death," Thelma said bluntly. "She'll suck out your soul bit by bit and make you watch as she kills everyone you love, torture you with visions and nightmares until you're begging for death."
I couldn't feel my fingers or my legs because everything had gone numb and cold.
"And then," Rosy continued, "when you're completely broken, when you have nothing left to lose, she'll finally take you. Pull you into whatever dark place she occupies. And you'll be trapped with her forever. Thank the Goddess, she is dead"
"Good riddance," Rosy agreed.