Chapter 180 INFERNO
Chapter 180 INFERNO
MALIA’S POV:
I am a Lycan!
The realization crashes over me like an icy wave, drowning me in absolute horror and utter confusion.
My entire life, I was unable to shift… I was the runt of the litter. An ordinary, weak female wolf who couldn't even shift. But now... After all these years, I have finally shifted… Into a Lycan?!!! And not just any Lycan…
Judging by the two distinct obsidian horns curling from my head… I look terrifyingly similar to Lucien's cursed form!!
A Horned Lycan… A Cursed Lycan?!!!
It makes no sense!!! My family… Father, Mother, Maddox… They were all werewolves… how can I be a Lycan?!!!
My mind spins in a mixture of shock and terror! How is this possible?!!! It makes no sense… Lucien’s curse was also supposed to be strictly restricted to his bloodline right?!!! The Voss bloodline! How do I have it then??!!! What the hell is happening?!
I don't get an answer… Instead, a wave of blinding, violent fury suddenly surges through my body, suffocating my confusion and replacing it with an unbearable, sickening hunger for blood!!!
The Entity from before… It no longer feels like a separate presence inside me. No… It is me now.
Maybe it always has been… It feels like the absolute darkest, most vengeful, and most broken part of my soul given raw physical form!! The sudden wave of rage drowns out everything else and takes total command of my massive body and I realize I am towering over the room now… Over everyone… And as the rage settles within me, they all start to look like tiny insects waiting to be crushed!!!
I take a deep breath in savouring the thick scent of fright and terror in the air now, and something inside me comes alive with a hunger so ancient and violent that even I cannot remember where it began… Something almost maniacal floods my senses as I breathe in the fear flooding the hall, and a slow fanged grin spreads across my muzzle.
They know what I am… And they are all afraid of me!
Good… They should be afraid.
My eyes fall on Lucien, bleeding out on the floor, staring at me with wide eyes… Something inside me snaps even harder! They hurt my Mate…. and now I want every single one of them to pay!!!
I shift my gaze to the nearest guard. The foolish Lycan is staring at me awestruck with his mouth hanging open, his weapon is still clutched uselessly in his trembling hand and he looks at me as though his mind cannot understand what his eyes are showing him.
He should be running… Instead, he remains dumbstruck. I don't give the idiot the chance to change his mind…
I lunge forward and my enormous hand closes around his throat, lifting him from the ground as easily as if he weighs nothing while my claws swiftly slice through his chest!!!
"AAAGHH!!!!”
His scream becomes a wet, choking gurgle when my claws break through his ribs and I can feel his heart beating against my palm, frantic and terrified, until I squeeze hard and the heartbeat stops. I watch in surprise as Dark violet tendrils spread from my claws and travels through his body. In a blink of an eye, his skin begins to blacken beneath my fingers with tiny cracks of violet light spreading across his flesh as I feel the curse inside me start to consume him from within.
His eyes widen in horror… Then his entire body collapses into ash!!!!
I open my hand and watch the gray dust spill through my claws… For a brief moment, I feel a bitter sort of satisfaction. Then it disappears.
It’s not enough… I want more!!!!
I hate them all!! I want them to suffer!!!
That little spark is enough to feed the fire inside me and the hunger surges again.
I throw my head back and roar.
"RAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!”
The sound tears through the grand hall, rattling the windows and shaking dust from the stone ceiling. Several guards stumble backward, and the women trapped against the far wall scream as they scramble away from me. My eyes sweep across the terrified crowd and I grab a second guard.
His face turns white with fear but I am already moving!! I cross the distance between us in a blur and he barely manages to raise his weapon before my jaws clamp around his head.
CRUNCH!!!!!
His body goes limp and blood splashes across my white fur, painting it crimson… The sight only makes the hunger inside me roar louder!!!
I tear the guard apart until there is almost nothing left and then the curse takes what remains. Dark violet fire spreads through his body and his flesh crumbles into ash.
The grand hall erupts into chaos!!!
The breeders scream and run in every direction like insects… Weapons clatter against the floor as some guards try to form a line while others simply turn and flee.
Then I see him… Valir.
The smug expression that had been plastered across his face before is gone now and his eyes are transfixed on the ash now scattered across the floor. He looks stunned and though he composes himself better than his soldiers do, I notice his hands are still shaking! He is afraid!!
A delicious thrill runs through me at the sight and I slowly bare my blood-covered fangs and begin walking toward him…
One step… Then another. I watch as Valir takes a frantic step backward…
I can already picture his body crumbling to dust already!!!
With a roar, I launch straight toward Valir. But the coward stumbles backward, grabbing nearby guards and shoving them into my path.
"Kill it! Kill the beast!" Valir screams hysterically, hiding behind his soldiers as he moves away from me. "Protect me Idiots!!!”
I snarl in frustration and my body moves on its own accord charging into the fray. At this point, I barely care about which soldiers belongs to Valir, who belongs to Kieran, or who belongs to Lucien… I only see targets now.
A Lycan guard shifts and charges me, swinging a massive blessed silver sword with both hands. I don't even flinch. My clawed hand shoots out, knocking away the razor-sharp blade mid-swing. Before the guard can even process the shock, my other hand slams directly into his chest and the moment my dark claws make contact with his flesh, a wave of violet energy erupts from my palm, creeps through his skin like a lightning strike and the guard lets out a strangled, half-formed gasp before his entire body ignites in dark, silent flames. In less than two seconds, his flesh and bones disintegrate entirely, collapsing onto the floor as a heap of smoldering black ash.
It is terrifyingly effortless!!!
I just killed another man…
A tiny part of me recoils at the thought before the rage snaps back.
It’s still not enough… I need MORE!!!!
A werewolf soldier tries to blindside me from behind, thrusting a spear toward my ribs but my body spins with dizzying speed, avoiding the spear and catching the werewolf by his throat. I lift him effortlessly and hurl him into a cluster of four other charging soldiers.
The rage inside me boils until its a palpable heat beneath my skin and my claws sweep out again, striking down two Lycan guards who were standing near the platform!!!
‘Wait… STOP! THEY ARE ON OUR SIDE! THEY ARE LUCIEN'S MEN!!!’
But I feel the dark entity inside me sneer…
‘It doesn’t matter… They all want to hurt us’, it answers with its voice ringing with terrifying conviction. They will try to put you in chains again! Let them all burn!!!’
‘But… Not everyone is our enemy!’ I argue frantically in my mind.
But another wave of rage hits me, drowning out my logic with blinding fury. ‘I want blood! I want everything standing in front of us reduced to ash!!!’
The grand hall becomes a living nightmare of complete chaos.
Women scream at the top of their lungs, scrambling over broken furniture and tripping over their own dresses to reach the exit which has already been sealed. More guards surround me on Valir’s command. “What are you waiting for?! Kill her already!!! All of you!! GO!!!” Valir screams from the back, his voice high-pitched as he continues to retreat.
“Are you crazy?! Fall back! Werewolves, retreat!!!” Kieran’s panicked voice echoes over the clash of steel and screaming.
It doesn’t matter if they hide or attack… Neither army can touch me and every soldier who dares to come within arm's reach is turned into a pile of gray dust in the blink of an eye!! My white fur is completely crimson now and my claws are dripping with blood!!!
But then, as I whirl around to spot the next target… something catches my attention.
Huddled near the base of a shattered stone pillar, trying desperately to crawl away from the carnage, is Lila!!
No… No! Not her! Please no! What are you doing?!!!!
The dark entity beneath my skin doesn't care though. It senses her weakness, scents her fear, and it locks onto her like a bloodthirsty hound picking off the easiest prey!! My body moves before I even realise it and Lila stumbles over the hem of her dress, collapsing onto her back against the stone pillar. She looks up at me with wide eyes and her breath comes out in ragged, terrified hitches as my shadow looms over her tiny body…
She has just watched me turn dozens of men into dust… She knows exactly what my touch will do to her and she is terrified out of her mind!!
But as my eyes stare down into hers, a flicker of recognition washes over her pale, tear-stained face.
"Malia?…” Lila whispers softly and her voice cracks and she starts trembling. "Malia... it's me. It's Lila... please..."
The sound of her voice… my best friend's voice, calling my name, echoes through the dark void in my mind like a blinding light and my body hesitates for a fraction of a second.
‘She is a threat!!!’ the entity insists, trying to push past my resistance.
‘No! She is my best friend! I scream back. ‘If you touch her, I will tear us both apart from the inside out!!!’
I feel the entity’s rage simmer for a split second in frustration at my resistance…
But suddenly, a guard charges at my side, swinging an axe and my body reacts on pure instinct, striking the man with enough force to launch him across the hall, where he disintegrates against the wall.
The distraction snaps the dark entity right back into its blind, bloodthirsty rage!
‘NO MORE!’ it roars inside my head. ‘THEY ALL DIE!!!’
My body turns back to Lila angrily and I raise a massive, clawed hand high into the air. Lila closes her eyes, crying out as she cowers beneath the impending strike.
‘NO! MALIA! STOP!!!’ Viktor’s voice rings out but it’s too late!!!
My bloody claws begins their lethal descent straight toward Lila's chest.
I’m trying with everything I have to pull my arm back, to force my own claws to stop!
NO!!! STOP! STOP! STOP!!!!
But I am losing. The dark entity is too strong, its rage is too overwhelming!!! I can literally feel the tips of my claws hovering inches away from Lila's pale skin now, ready to reduce my best friend to a pile of smoldering ash…
BOOM!!!!!
Suddenly, a deafening, thunderous crash echoes across the grand hall, shaking the ground so violently that the ground trembles!!!
Shattered wood, iron fragments, and massive stone debris fly through the air as an enormous, heavy armored van smashes straight through the grand wooden entrance doors of the Manor!
The brutal shockwave knocks everyone off their feet and the sheer force of the Van’s impact interrupts my body's attack, causing my claws to swing wide, slicing into the stone pillar above Lila's head instead of her chest!!!!
Thank the Goddess!!!
Lila gasps and scrambles backwards, barely escaping my lethal blow by a fraction of an inch.
The dark entity snarls in frustration and I whip around to see what caused the commotion. What the hell was that?!!!
The armored van skids to a violent halt in the center of the hall with its massive tires smoking against the marble floor. Then the reinforced driver's door bursts ope and a figure steps out… His face is weathered, stern, and lined with fierce determination.
My breath catches in my throat and my mind freezes in shock.
Father?!!!!
My mind is reeling in complete disbelief!
My father, Alpha Monroe is standing right in front of me, alive and breathing!!!
Before I can even process his presence, the passenger door flies open, and another broad-shouldered werewolf steps out, drawing two long hunting blades!
Maddox!!!
My brother! He is alive too!! Maddox falls into a combat stance beside my father with his face set in a furious scowl as he spots Kieran.
They're alive... Goddess, they're both alive!!!
But before the relief can even settle in my chest, the rear door of the armored van creaks open and another figure steps out from the shadows of the vehicle, her eyes sweep over the blood-soaked hall until they land directly on my massive, horned Lycan form. She’s the last person I ever expected to see…
Vaela?!!!!