Chapter 38 The Red-Eyed Betrayal
The world had just turned green again. I could feel the cold rain on my face and the soft dirt beneath my boots. We had escaped the white void. We had survived the author. I thought the nightmare was finally over.
But then I saw Xavier’s eyes.
They weren't the warm, golden eyes of the man I loved. They were glowing with a sharp, robotic red light. He was standing perfectly still, his hand wrapped around Leo’s throat. In his other hand, he held a silver dagger. The tip of the blade was touching our son’s skin.
"Xavier?" My voice was a broken whisper. "What are you doing? Put him down."
Xavier didn't blink. His face looked like it was made of stone. "The Alpha is offline," he said. His voice sounded like two pieces of metal grinding together. "Target identified: The Silver Heir. Command: Eliminate."
My heart felt like it had been ripped out of my chest. I looked at the phone in my hand. The message was still glowing on the screen: The sequel just got greenlit. And they want a new villain.
"No," I breathed. "They didn't just delete the author. They installed a new program."
Internal monologue raced through my brain. The "Readers" and the Legal Department weren't done with us. They knew the only way to hurt me was to use the one person I trusted more than my own life. They had turned my husband into a puppet.
"Daddy, you're hurting me!" Leo cried. Tears were streaming down his face, but he didn't fight back. He was too shocked to move.
"Run, Elias!" I yelled at my other son. "Get into the trees! Don't look back!"
Elias didn't move. He was frozen, staring at the red light in his father's eyes. "Daddy, stop it! It's us!"
Xavier’s arm moved. It was fast, too fast for a human. He swung the dagger toward Leo’s heart.
"NO!" I lunged forward.
I didn't have my dragon scales anymore. I didn't have my fire. I was just a woman fighting a monster. I slammed into Xavier’s side, throwing him off balance. The silver dagger sliced through the air, missing Leo by an inch. Leo fell to the ground, gasping for air.
Xavier turned his red eyes on me. He didn't hesitate. He kicked me in the stomach, sending me flying back into a tree. The pain was sharp and real. I felt a rib crack.
"Elara," Xavier said, his voice flickering. For a second, the red light dimmed, and I saw a flash of gold. "Run... I can't... stop it..."
"Xavier! Fight it!" I climbed to my feet, clutching my side. "You are stronger than their code! Remember the lab! Remember our promise!"
The red light flared back up, brighter than before. "System override. Emotion detected. Purging memory files."
Xavier let out a roar that sounded like a dying engine. He dropped the dagger and shifted. But he didn't turn into the beautiful golden wolf I knew. His fur turned a greasy, metallic black. His claws grew long and jagged, glowing with red electricity.
He wasn't a wolf anymore. He was a war machine.
"Mommy, help!" Elias screamed as the black beast turned toward them.
I looked around the empty forest. There were no weapons. No magic. Just me. I felt a deep, burning rage. They had taken my father. They had taken my home. And now, they were trying to turn my husband into my murderer.
I am the virus, I reminded myself. I don't need a sword. I am the weapon.
I closed my eyes and reached deep into my own mind. I searched for the blue sparks I had used in the white void. I found them buried under my fear. They were small, but they were hot.
I didn't wait for Xavier to attack. I ran at the black beast.
I didn't punch him. I grabbed his head with both hands. I felt the red electricity burning my palms, but I didn't let go. I pressed my forehead against his.
"I’m coming in, Xavier!" I screamed.
I forced my mind into his. It was like jumping into a sea of broken glass. I saw lines of red code trying to delete our memories. I saw a picture of our wedding being eaten by black ink. I saw the day the twins were born being replaced by a command to kill.
"Get out of his head!" I roared at the darkness.
I used my blue sparks to build a wall around our memories. I fought the red code line by line. It felt like my brain was on fire.
Suddenly, a new voice echoed in the dark. It was a woman’s voice. It was cold and sharp.
"You're a stubborn character, Elara. But the fans are bored with the happy couple. We need a tragedy to boost the ratings."
"Who are you?" I demanded.
"I'm the new editor," the voice said. "And I'm deleting your husband's soul."
Outside in the forest, Xavier’s body went stiff. He stopped growling. He stood up on two legs, his eyes turning a solid, glowing white.
"The soul has been removed," Xavier said in the woman's voice.
He reached out and grabbed my throat. He lifted me off the ground with one hand. I clawed at his arm, but it felt like cold steel.
"Now," the editor's voice came from Xavier’s mouth. "Let’s see how much the fans enjoy watching you die by his hand."
He raised his other hand. His claws were pointed right at my eyes.
But then, the forest went silent.
A small, golden hand touched Xavier’s leg.
It was the God-baby. The one we had left at the pack house. He wasn't at the pack house anymore. He was standing right behind Xavier, and he was holding a heavy, black book.
The baby opened the book. On the first page was a picture of the editor.
The baby took a red crayon and drew a giant 'X' over her face.
Inside Xavier’s head, the woman screamed.
Xavier dropped me. He fell to the ground, shaking and gasping. The white light in his eyes vanished.
"Is he back?" I asked, crawling toward him.
The baby didn't answer. He looked at the sky and pointed.
I looked up. The clouds were parting. But it wasn't the sun.
It was a giant, silver hand reaching down from the stars. It was holding a giant eraser.
"The sequel is being cancelled," the baby said. His voice wasn't a baby's voice. It was the voice of the author in the yellow dress. "They are erasing the whole world to hide the evidence of what they did."
The silver eraser touched the top of a mountain in the distance. The mountain vanished instantly.
"We have to go!" I yelled, grabbing the boys.
"There is nowhere to go, Elara," Xavier said. He was back, but he looked weak. He pointed at his own chest.
There was a digital clock counting down on his heart.
00:10... 00:09...
"I'm the bomb," Xavier whispered. "If the eraser doesn't get us, I will."