Chapter Fifty-One

N I C C O L O

“You are my son.”

The words continue to reverberate in my head like a lost echo, and everything around me starts to get muted. The sounds of the battle outside, Florence calling my name, the beating of my own heart...

I don’t want to believe him. I want to think it sounds far-fetched. I was only a child when I killed Alpha Magnus, and even then I had only seen him once. I thought I would remember every detail of his face and how he laughed when he'd killed my father and violated my mother. I was wrong.

It turns out that I never really remembered. Perhaps it’s because of the pain that I experienced. Perhaps it’s how my brain decided to deal with the trauma. Perhaps it’s just buried deep down in my mind.

Or perhaps Alpha Magnus, or Alpha Isaac, managed to erase my mind before he died and I’m only remembering him now. Because the longer I stare at Alpha Isaac now, the more I see that he is indeed Alpha Magnus.

Chills run down my body. Memories of that awful night start to replay in my head until all the anger and the pain well up in my throat, escaping from me in a loud guttural scream.

“Niccolo,” Florence is calling me. “Niccolo, please.”

Only when I hear her voice do I realize that I’m slowly advancing toward Alpha Isaac, who is also approaching me with a grin.

“Do you remember what I did?” he taunts me, opening his arms as though beckoning me for a hug. “Do you remember what you didn’t do? You didn’t kill me, my son. You didn’t succeed. Do you realize what this means? It means we are meant to find each other again. We’re meant to reunite.”

The words coming out of his mouth are drilling into my ears. I swallow hard, trying to control my anger, but it’s too late.

When we lock eyes, my rage reaches its peak. Slowly, my body starts to grow. Thunder and lightning roll overhead.

Florence screams and backs away from me, and as much as I want to comfort her, I feel like I’m far too gone to listen. All I can hear is the pounding anger in my ears; all I can feel is the white-hot flame of vengeance burning on my skin.

All I know is I want to kill my own father, to finish the job once and for all.

So when he tries to lunge at me, I summon all the power and strength that I have and meet him halfway. I collide against him, and even in his human form, he can push back my shifting body. I growl, and instantly my fangs spring out. I open my maw to bite him in half, to destroy everything—

But Alpha Isaac grabs my jaw and tries to break it. I roar, trying to shake him off, but he holds on and exerts more strength in his attempt. That’s when I see that he will not give up. He will not let go of me until he gets what he wants.

I look to my side and see Florence finding something to throw. On the other side, I see the sky and the ground below.

Suddenly, an idea forms in my mind.

“You can still join me,” Alpha Isaac croons, his tone half-teasing and half-serious.

I’m beyond that now. “Or you can join me.” With that, I redirect all my weight toward the broken section of the wall. Gravity takes hold, and before I know it, Alpha Isaac and I are now heading toward the ground at high speed.

“No!” Florence yells, her voice getting more and more muffled the faster we approach the cold ground. “Niccolo!”

Alpha Isaac tries to let go, but it’s too late. By the time I hit the ground, he’s already with me. And unlike me, he didn’t manage to reposition himself on his feet.

He lands on his side, his bones cracking against the concrete.

In the distance, the war continues. There are fires in the cabins now, and all over the pack I hear my men and his men yelling commands and calls for backup.

Once on the ground, I let myself shift to my fullest form. My body grows to the size of the packhouse, my fur thicker than ever. Rain starts to fall from the sky, partnered with flashes of lightning and thunder.

A low growl escapes my mouth, and it’s unlike anything I ever heard before. It’s deep and almost primordial, as if darkness itself can make a sound. It makes the walls hum, and I notice that a low layer of frost begins to cover the floor where I am standing.

I crouch on the ground, ready to ram into Alpha Isaac and tear him to pieces...

But then he gets up and shifts into his wolf form too.

To my surprise, our forms are identical, apart from his completely black eyes.

He roars and, as fast as the lightning, launches himself at me and scratches my leg. His sharp nails draw blood, but I retaliate by biting him on the neck. He growls and bucks me off of him with a force I didn’t expect.

My body gets flung against the packhouse, destroying a whole section of the wall. Around him, some of his warriors start to form, throwing spears at me. I take them all down with one swipe of my paw, ramming myself into Alpha Isaac and knocking him to the ground.

He tries to bite at me, claw at me, but I keep him pinned down, my nails digging into his side. He whimpers as my nails sink deep into his fur, and a rush of dark satisfaction overcomes me when I see his blood seeping into the ground.

Then his voice rings in my head. “Did you really think you would win against me? Your warriors are dying, my son.”

I’m about to crush him under my weight when suddenly, he fills my head with pictures— images of my warriors, dying and bleeding on the ground, some of them beaten and bruised but still fighting an army that doesn’t seem to deplete. I watch them get hit with spears. I watch them shift and use the last of their powers to take down as many enemies as possible.

But they’re hopelessly outnumbered.

“The only way to end this curse is to join me.” Alpha Isaac’s voice invades my mind. “Give them all to me. Let them join me. Your warriors, your people... even your mate.”

My chest hardens and my resolve becomes whole. “No.”

As soon as I say that, his whole demeanor changes. A dark shadow escapes his body and pushes me away. I find myself soaring through the air, thrown to such a great height. I land on a tree and my whole body explodes with pain. He wastes no time and pounces on me, positioning his claws against my neck and slowly extending his nails to gradually sink into my body.

Then he severs my veins.

I force myself to get up, but I can only choke on blood. Alpha Isaac shifts back to his human form, watching me shrink into mine as well. I grab my neck to stem the flow of blood, but he just takes me by the collar, presses me against the wall, and watches as I bleed out.

“I’m sorry, my son,” he speaks in a fake regretful tone. “Nothing personal.”

With that, I think of everything I lost. Everyone I lost. My parents, the warriors, and my people back home. I think of all the hardship I put everyone through, all the suffering that I have shared unwittingly with everyone who's cared for me. I think of Florence and her love, and I think of the wonderful future we could have together.

All of that rests on me right now.

I close my eyes, and suddenly, a strong surge of power invades me. I look behind Alpha Isaac and see Florence walking towards me, extending her hand like she’s lending me her power.

Everything slows down.

I reach for Alpha Isaac, using the last of my strength to pry his hand off me. As soon as my hand makes contact with his skin, a strong blast of light engulfs the entire pack.