Chapter 61: How Monsters Are Made

DAISY.

I'm dizzy with the vision and distantly aware of someone calling out my name, but I can't look away. I watch as the scene continues to unfold before my eyes, and the young Witch pulls back from her lover suddenly, shoving Alexander back with her hands against his chest.

"You can't charm and kiss your way out of this conversation, Alexander. Not this time," she scolds him, but she's visibly flustered by his proximity.

Alexander sighs, folding his arms over his chest. "We've already had this conversation. I don't see why we need to do it again."

"Because I'm tired of hiding! I told my Coven about you, despite their judgment. But you won't tell your pack about me, and I'm sick of feeling like something you're ashamed of."

Alexander takes a step towards her, but she staggers back, needing the physical distance between them as if his closeness might cloud her judgment.

"I told you, we'll be together when the time is right," he sighs, sounding tired of the argument.

"And when will the time be right? When you become Alpha?" she asks, and Alexander scoffs. "Tell me I'm wrong, then. Tell me you're not after the title. You know that if your pack finds out you're sleeping with a witch, it'll ruin your shining reputation and hurt your chances of becoming the next Alpha. But I don't need to be your Luna. I don't need to be your mate. I just don't want to be your secret." She steps toward him, reaching out with shaky hands. "I want to be your partner."

"You're being ridiculous. You can't simply-"

"I'm pregnant," the Witch says suddenly, her breath catching. Alexander's eyes widen in surprise, and he glances down at her stomach.

"Is it..?" he trails off, and she laughs as tears cloud her eyes.

"It's ours. Our child," she confirms. "I think it's going to be a boy, but it's too soon to tell." She smiles sadly. "I don't want him to grow up without a father, Alexander."

He shakes his head and pulls her closer to him, wrapping her in his embrace. "That's not going to happen, darling. But I can't just walk away from my pack." She starts to pull away, but he holds her tightly, and she gives in to his touch, slumping into his arms as a tear streams down her cheek. "Just give me time. Our son can grow up surrounded by the care and protection of your Coven, and I will find a way to be with you. Both of you. When I become Alpha, I'll have the power to give you the life you deserve, darling. You'll see. We're going to be a family, just like you always dreamed. I promise."

The mist swirls, and the scene blurs around me, fading away like smoke in the wind before solidifying into a series of new images.

A little boy with green eyes and golden curls is playing in the village of the Ash Coven. My chest aches at the sight of Bastian, looking so young and innocent. The streets are bright and cheerful, and somewhere in the distance, the boy's mother is arguing with another woman.

"You have to let go of Alexander. If not for your own sake, then do it for your son," the older woman says.

The Witch of the Dark bites her lower lip, her hands trembling. "You're wrong about him. He looks after me. He cares about us. One day, he's going to prove you all wrong."

The scene shifts again.

Bastian is older now, in his teenage years. He's sitting by the fireplace in the Witch's hut, reading a book while his parents argue in the next room over.

"It's been years, Alexander!" the Witch shouts.

"And our efforts have paid off, darling." Alexander's voice is loud but controlled, his tone commanding and charismatic even as they fight. "I'm the Beta of my pack now, and it won't be long before I become the next Alpha. Our son just manifested his wolf. In a few years, he'll be old enough to control it and strong enough to stand on his own as a member of my pack. Things will be different, then. I'll be able to bring you both into the pack. We can even get married if that's what you want."

There's a pause. Bastian sighs, lowering his book to glance in the direction of the argument but says nothing.

"You've waited for me all these years, darling, and we are so close," Alexander speaks up again. "You've always stood by my side and always believed in me. I need you to believe in me just a little longer."

Bastian shakes his head, the disappointment is evident on his face as his shoulders sag, and the vision changes again. I'm yanked through time, my head spinning with the movement within my mind.

This time, I find myself outside of the hut. The Witch of the Dark looks slightly older now, her age matching her current state, but lacking the aura of death that surrounds her. She isn't skeletal or covered in tattoos, yet her devastation is palpable. Her body trembles as sobs wrack her, tears streaming from her emerald eyes.

"You promised," she cries, reaching out to grab Alexander's hand, but he jerks it away.

"I'm sorry, darling, but it's not personal. She's my mate. I don't have a choice," he responds coldly.

"Of course you have a choice! You have me. You have our son. You have this family."

"Stop it," he snaps. "We were never a family. Not really. But now that I've met my mate, I have a real chance to do it right. You could never be my Luna, but she can. It's not your fault, darling, but that's just the way of the world."

The Witch shakes her head, disbelief and anguish choking her voice as she gazes at the man she loved all her life as if he were a stranger. Alexander tightens his lips, about to say something, but he hesitates, looking away. Stepping back, his voice becomes calm and calculated.

"I'm sorry. I can't let you ruin this for me. No one can ever know about the indiscretions that transpired here. Out of respect for your son, I won't burn this place to the ground, but you will never show your face to me again."

Her agony morphs into anger, and she staggers forward, gripping the collar of his shirt to force him to face her.

"He's OUR son, you lying piece of—"

Alexander shoves her away with a force that sends her stumbling. His composed façade begins to crack, panic and indignation flickering across his face. He strikes her in the stomach, knocking the air out of her lungs. She gasps, doubling over in pain, falling to the ground. As the hut's door opens, Bastian steps out. His gaze lands on his mother, curled up, struggling for breath. Then his eyes lock onto his father. In his shifted form, his wolf isn't the one I recognize. He appears leaner, limber, with sea-green eyes. His fur remains dark, but he's smaller, softer, yet still strong and threatening. Bastian's wolf charges at his father.

I want to scream his name, but my throat constricts as I'm pulled through the vision again. The mist envelops me, and I'm overcome with coldness and queasiness. It's suffocating, but I can't even gasp for breath, let alone vomit.

As the mist dissipates once more, I find myself still outside the hut. Bastian has resumed his human form. Naked and bleeding, his throat is shredded so viciously that I want to look away. His breathing is ragged, his eyes clouded as his mother cradles him, rocking back and forth between sobs.

"Stay with me. Stay with me, sweet boy," she murmurs, tenderly pushing a golden curl from his face. His hair is matted with sweat and blood.

Ahead, Alexander stands, returning to his human form. He's breathing heavily, his body covered in his son's blood.

Bastian tries to speak, but only a wet, choked cough escapes, making my insides writhe.

"I'm sorry, Sebastian," his mother cries. "I'm so sorry. Stay with me, Sebastian. Please. Sebastian. Sebastian!"

Bastian goes limp in her arms, his blood staining her dress. The ragged rhythm of his chest's rise and fall stops, and life fades from his eyes.

I love those eyes. Seeing them empty, staring blankly, is the most excruciating thing I could ever have imagined. In that moment, I don't care about his lies or his secrets. I just need him to move. To say something foolish so I can argue with him, shout at him, curse him for all of this. I need him to come back to me so I can despise him just long enough to forgive him.

Bastian. My mate. My Bastian.

The moment I saw his wolf, I knew it was something dark and dangerous. I just didn't know it was dead.