124- A Grave for a Traitor
POV Edric Eldoria:
“You were never anything, Thalira. And you will die that way. I won’t give you an honorable death. I won’t burn your body. I’ll bury you in the middle of this forest, just like the bodies of all the invaders. No one will know where you are. No one will mourn you. And as the years pass, you’ll be completely forgotten.”
I knew she had feelings for me. I just hadn’t known they had turned into a sick obsession.
She laughed—a harsh, broken laugh that brought tears to her eyes—bending forward, pressing an arm over her abdomen.
“You can kill me, but it doesn’t change the fact that I made a fool of you all this time.”
I arched my eyebrows.
“I did absurd things for love, including killing my best friend,” she confessed.
I stepped backward, lethargic, as though struck by something invisible. Thalira laughed harder.
“Did you really think some random wolf invaded your territory and attacked Catalina because he was obsessed with her?” She scoffed. “For years, I tried to catch your attention, to make you look at me and see I was the perfect omega to stand at your side leading the pack—not Catalina. But you were a blind fool in love.”
“What are you talking about?” I growled quietly.
“After all my subtle but completely unsuccessful attempts, Catalina finally managed to convince you to mark her.” She rolled her eyes. “I can’t take that away from her—she was very clever. She waited for your parents’ death to finally convince you. And you, being the great idiot you are, fell right into it. If I let you two mate, it would be my end. We would never have anything; I would never be loved back.” She ran her tongue over her lips. “It was far too easy to find some idiot to manipulate. I promised him a life far from the pack, where we would live a grand romance, if he killed Catalina. I knew you’d find him before he even considered running, and that you wouldn’t give him the chance to explain, driven by hatred and bloodlust. And that’s exactly what happened. My plan worked as expected. You didn’t mate, I got rid of Catalina, and I became your close friend, the perfect shoulder to cry on over her death—after all, I was also suffering the loss of my best friend.”
“I can’t believe you did that.”
“Yes, I did!” she confirmed, lifting her chin. “And I spent the last fifty years pretending to mourn her death, doing everything to please you and make you see that I was the perfect companion—no one else. But then you simply find a bitch in heat in the middle of the forest and decide to mate with her, destroying all my plans. It was deeply unfair to me—to us.”
I dragged my hands through my hair, feeling my wolf seize control of my body again.
I felt like an idiot. Spineless. I had been manipulated by this girl for years. She was right—my thirst for revenge had kept me from questioning the truth about Catalina’s death. I killed the bastard, avenging her, and felt satisfied with that.
I spent the following years torturing myself for having been a terrible mate and an even worse alpha, for allowing her to be killed on my territory, on my lands. When in truth, it had all been a setup by Thalira.
For so long, I had let myself be manipulated by the omega, trusting her, believing every deceptive word that left her mouth.
I was the greatest fool of all.
And again, I could lose the female I loved because of her—because I had been an idiot. I could lose Lunara, my bonded mate, my queen.
My best friend was dead, and my mate had been taken. Because of me—because I let myself be deceived and failed them.
Letting out a roar of hatred, I extended my claws and plunged my hand into the she-wolf’s abdomen, ripping through skin and muscle and reaching her vital organs. She choked, coughing, blood dripping from her lips.
“Die knowing I never felt anything for you beyond gratitude. I will find Lunara and bring her home, where she will live by my side as my mate, wife, and queen of Eldoria, while you rot in this forest like the damned traitor you are. Your name will be forbidden to be spoken, and soon enough, it will be forgotten.” I whispered, my fangs grown. “You made a beast out of me, made me question my position as a leader and my worth as alpha. You killed Catalina, killed Anton, and sent Lunara away.”
“Fen… Edric,” she gasped, more blood spilling from her lips. “I did it out of love.”
A smile stretched across my face.
“You always wanted my mark, so let me grant it—as your dying wish.”
With my free hand, I tilted her head to the side and sank my teeth into the skin of her neck, biting down hard. I didn’t drink her blood—I didn’t want her taste on my tongue. She screamed when the pain hit. It was nothing like a mating bite. It was brutal, cruel, and violent. I tore a chunk of flesh and spat it onto the ground, severing the vein. Blood stained my clothes and splattered across the snow.
Her body gave way, her life slipping away slowly. I released her, pulling my hand from her abdomen and letting her fall onto the blood-soaked snow. She pressed a hand to her neck, trying to staunch the wound, but I had bitten far too deep. Even with her wolf genes, she would not heal.
I watched her from above, seeing her life fade as death approached.
I felt absolutely nothing.
Thalira had been a cursed snake I’d made the mistake of keeping close for far too long. Her death was still too little for me, but I had to go after Lunara—so it would have to do.
Her body convulsed in several spasms, her skin whitening. She blinked one last time.
And then she was dead.
The lying, manipulative bitch was dead. I tore my gaze from her body and looked around.