Chapter 72

Chapter 72
Calix's POV.

The storm howled wildly as I walked down the streets of Tyr. But I paid no mind to it.

My cloak billowed in the wind, my boots leaving imprints in the mud after each step.

In a moment, I arrived at the port, and just like the rest of Tyr, I find it empty except for the vessels floating on the water.

Suddenly, a bolt of lightning struck next to me. Without a doubt, it was the witch trying so hard to scare me away as though I was some child. A smirk tugged at my lips.

My resolve unshaken, I continued walking/teleporting down the port, and arrived at the foot of the mountain.

A reverberating thunder rolled across the sky

I exhaled sharply and willed my claws to emerge, and then dug into the closest rock.

The rain slicked the stone, making each grip precarious, but I pressed on, climbing the cliffside with steady determination.

A sudden gust of wind slammed against me, nearly prying my fingers free. Gritting my teeth, I drove my claws deeper into the next rock and anchored myself as I fought against the elements.

Taking a deep breath, I resumed climbing, higher and higher the precipice. My cloak billowed in the wind behind me.

Half way up, a loose chunk of stone crumbled beneath my grip. My foot slipped, sending a shower of debris sumbling into the void below. Sht!

For a heart-stopping moment, I dangled in the air, the storm raging around me. Then, with a growl, I swung my body forward and sank my claws into the nearest ledge, hoisting myself back up.

Lightning flashed again in, illuminating the jagged peak just above me.

I resumed climbing. But suddenly, my mind drifted to that moment I picked up the letter in the Sacred Moonlit Court.

'Dear Randolph...you need to know the truth. I am not sick. I've been faking it. The episodes, the laughter, the distant stares-it's all an act. A necessary deception.

"Love is kind, love is patient, love is not deceitful. You don't go about hurting people that love you, bella!"

A wave of sadness swept through me. It's true she has hurt me, she has done the unimaginable. But there was no way I'm going to abandon this mission and go back to the castle, you witch!

With a loud growl, I pushed forward and propelled myself over the edge. Rolling onto solid ground, I rose to my feet and stood at the entrance of the cave.

I took a cautious step forward, my boots crunching against loose gravel. The air smelled of damp stone, moss, and there was another smell-something acrid and metallic.

The tunnel widened into a massive chamber, an eerie stillness pressing around me as I moved. The storm still raged outside.

A few steps in and the darkness lifted, granting me a view of the cave.

Thick roots coiled around the stone walls, like green snakes. For a moment, I was certain I'd seen one move. A human skull hung from the ceiling, suspended by twisted black strings.

And then I saw them, a pile of human and animal bones by the corner. One skull in particular caught my eye-a wolf's, its hollow sockets staring straight at me, as if it recognized me.

Gulping, I continued down the cavern and then saw it-an altar. It stood at the heart of the cavern, bathed in an eerie crimson glow.

Black candles burned around it, their flames flickering unnaturally, casting distorted shadows across the walls. At the center of the altar, a pot boiled low in the hearth, filled with a thick bubbling red liquid.

Blood.

There it was! The pot, shrouded in eternal darkness.

A sudden gust of wind slithered through the tunnel, carrying with it a distant laughter.

"You should have turned back while you still had the chance," a feminine voice cut through the air.

glanced around the space and saw her standing behind a black pool, its surface ippling despite the absence of movement. "Hello, King Calix." Her crimson lips curled into an evil smile.

"You know exactly why I'm here. It's either you destroy the pot or I'll do it myself."

"Careful, Lycan King! You do not come to my lair and command me," she hissed.

"Command you?" I smirked. "The last time I checked, your lair is on my lands. And as a matter of fact, you're no longer welcomed here. I'll give you the last chance to destroy your coven yourself."

"Why do you care about her? She betrayed you, lied to you. She stabbed you in the back!"

"How about you that have been haunting her using my face? Didn't you stab me in the back?"

"I only wanted revenge on Alpha Thane."

"By pitting us against each other? By severing our bond?" I retorted and scoffed. "Emily was not even born when Thane left you. Yet you have haunted her since she was a child. As if that wasn't enough, recently you took a strand of her and used it to conjure madness into her."

The witch threw back her head and broke into a cackle. "Oh, I like to see her mad. It's such a perfect payback to Thane for not only leaving me, but ordering his men to burn down the ship I was on." Adria hissed and glared at me. "Turn back, King Calix, now that you still have the chance to."

It was useless, debating with this witch. I didn't come all the way up here for that.

I turned towards the altar only for footsteps to echo behind me. It wasn't the witch-she was still standing behind the pool.

A familiar figure emerged from the dark and I froze in my spot. "Mr. Westley?"

"Hello, Alpha Calix."

A growl rumbled deep in my chest at beholding the traitor from my pack. What are you doing here, Westley?"

came to see my friend," he said.

"Your friend?" My hands clenched into fists. "You did not only betray me, you turned to the witch?" My gaze narrowed and a gasp escaped my lips. "Is that what I'm thinking? Did you connive with this witch to betray my father?"

"Wow, wow!!" Mr. Westley laughed and clapped his hands. "I didn't expect you to figure it out so easily, way to go, Calix."

A growl rumbled in my chest. "How long have you known her?" I barked.

Mr. Westley didn't flinch, rather, he squared his shoulders. "I have known her since the night she and her mother approached your father, Alpha Quimby. You know, after Thane killed your uncle (your father's brother), your father was bereaved. And then the witches came to your father that night, suggesting an alliance against Alpha Thane. At first, your father rejected the offer. After all, his brother had looked for trouble first by trying to ra,pe Thane's mate. That's where I stepped in."

You convinced him to go after Thane knowing it was a suicide mission. And he thought of you as his friend!" I snapped.

"It wasn't easy watching your father have it all. Firstly, I watched the moon goddess bless him with the most beautiful woman-your mother. Your father and I were visiting Cathena that fateful afternoon; it was their trade-fair, when we stumbled upon your mother. We were both immediately smitten by her, but who gets to take her home? Your father, because of the stupid mate bond. And then they had you, their precious baby."

"You betrayed your friend because he found his mate and started his own family?"

"Not when you put it like that, Calix. What about me? Why haven't the moon goddess bless me with mine? It was hard watching your father have it all- a lovely family, the love of the Tyrese people as their King, while I wasted away in the shadows. I deserved to be happy too!"

By betraying your friend? By unaliving him? Why couldn't you just pick any other she-wolf and start a family with her?"

"I have always wanted your mother. After I met her, I couldn't even look at another female the same again. But even after she and your father separated, she wouldn't still give me a chance."

"And then you tried to set me up just like my father. You fed me with hate for Alpha Thane until I was grown, so I would meet my waterloo just like my father. Not only that, you wrote to the Nirian parliament behind my back!"

Westley's smile twisted into something darker, more sinister. "I just had to finish what I'd started. You were the only thing standing in my way from becoming Alpha and King of Tyr. I had to find a way to destroy you." He dragged a breath. "You were always so easy to manipulate, Calix-You were just a boy seeking revenge for his late father, you blindly accepted whatever cooked up story I dished. However, I didn't expect the moon goddess to be cruel by matching you with the daughter of your enemy. More so, you falling stupidly in love with her!"

A wave of sadness surged through me, quickly twisting into a pang of fury. "You turned my grief into a weapon, twisted my mind with lies, and all that because of jealousy?"

Westley scoffed, shaking his head. "Jealousy? No, Calix. It was justice. Your father took everything from me-your mother, who was the love of my life. All I want now is the throne of Tyr."

I threw my hands open and snarled. "Then claim it, Westley. Let's see if you have the strength to take what you think you deserve."

The witch chuckled, her laughter slithering through the cavern. "Oh, this is delightful. A reunion soaked in blood."

Westley lunged at me.

I grabbed him and effortlessly hurled him across the space.

He crashed on the floor and scrambled to his feet. He peeled off his cloak and let out a loud growl as his body contorted into a large grey wolf.

With a snarl, Westley lunged at me again.

I didn't move. I simply stood and waited.

And just as Westley's jaws parted, aiming for my throat, I sidestepped effortlessly and grabbed his scruff. My claws grew and all it took was one swipe.

Blood spurted as his head detached from his body. His lifeless body slumped to the floor and I tossed aside his head.

Suddenly, a dark force hit me and I crashed into a rock.