CHAPTER 190 - THE MISGUIDED LEGEND

He hurled the silver wolf towards me, and I gripped it tightly, chanting magic to keep our bodies in place. Shadowy hands emerged from the rift, grabbing the beast's paws and pulling with force; it roared, attempting to resist. Harvey grabbed my arms, still with closed eyes:

“My essence... the beast!” He fainted again, his almost transparent life thread visible as a line, connecting to the beast.

“I understand, Alpha, I understand...” I kissed his forehead, releasing him and allowing the hole to pull me, feeling the force of the rift.

The beast held me tightly, grabbing my wrists.

“Are you mad, Hybrid?” The beast roared. “You'll be consumed by darkness as soon as you pass through the rift.”

I smiled at the creature, which widened its eyes in shock.

“I will save both of you, close the rift, and bring Nyxara to be by your side... Now I understand.” I sighed, smiling. “You were never the curse; you were the alpha's essence; you came as a guardian, but the shadows corrupted you before.”

“I don't understand what you're saying, human.” The beast roared, digging its claw into the earth, trying to keep us safe.

“It wasn't fair to you; you don't belong to the shadows, Beast... You're just a corrupted fragment of the alpha's soul. I will free you from the darkness; you won't be drained, creature!” I shouted, kicking its body and freeing myself from its hands before being pulled into the rift.

“NO!” The beast roared, letting go and grabbing my waist, holding the rift's doors, where shadowy hands emerged in greater numbers.

“You can't save him and then sacrifice yourself like this!” I looked back, facing the monster holding me; the beast was our guardian, and now I understood its role—our role.

I turned my eyes back to the rift, chanting:

“With words whispered to the wind and ancestral gestures, I weave the magic that binds the veil between the shadowy world and the essential. With my mystical strength, I close the rift, sealing forever the shadows on the other side, where light shines, and darkness no longer creeps.”

The rift began to close, shadowy creatures shrieking loudly, but before everything was sealed, those malicious eyes appeared through a small crack. Red-dilated pupils with a devilish smile stared at us until the rift closed completely.

“Who was...” I stammered, being pulled upward by the beast.

“The king of shadows!” The creature replied, staring at me. “You could have handed me over to him and freed your alpha from the curse...”

“Creature, you are part of the essence of the Lycan king and don't deserve such a fate.” I smiled, realizing that my mind was being forcefully pulled back.

“We'll meet again soon!” I was forcefully ripped away and thrown against a tree.

The darkness that was coming towards me had more than half of her body destroyed, all burned and panting, with her dental arch fully exposed.

“You cursed hybrid, you almost killed me!” She shouted furiously, delivering a strong slap to my face. “You ruined my army!” She struck again, and I smiled, wiping the blood from the corner of my lips.

“Is that all you've got?” I laughed, tearing his belly with claws, grabbing him by the neck, and slamming him against the tree several times. “So weak now...”

“Cursed!” The witch screamed, trying to chant a spell in vain; a spark ignited and went out. “Save me, king, I beg you!”

She shouted into the fire's depths, where a white wolf with some black spots passed by. It was Conan; even his fur was being affected by the shadows.

“Conan?” Tears rolled down. “My brave, are you okay?”

His snout turned towards me and then to the witch.

“You are useless to us now; return what was granted to you!” He smiled through his fangs, leaning towards her, and black magic began to be drained from the witch's body.

“No, please... I can serve for a longer time; let me change my form, please, no!” The dark witch screamed.

“Conan?” I shouted, trying to touch him, but he disappeared and reappeared back in the fire, walking to the depths.

“Don't look for me anymore, Auntie!” He roared, vanishing.

I turned to the witch, who was limp in my hands, releasing her to the ground. I took a few steps back, shocked at what I saw...

“You're not Phillipa... You're not my mother!” I covered my mouth, watching the body contort.

“That idiot wasn't as strong as she seemed, dear niece!” Lilith, my mother's sister, smiled: “Your mother was the first powerful vessel I obtained after sealing the pact with darkness.”

“What? When?” I yelled, distressed. “I saw the memory; Phillipa was the one possessed by the shadows.”

“Your mother gave up the pact before sealing it; that idiot renounced power for love...” The dark witch laughed, expelling black blood.

“But she tried to sacrifice me to the shadows when I was a baby...” I sobbed.

“Thanks to the torment of the mind I inflicted on her, it was hard to make your mother give up her body..., But with the death of her great love, she fell ill, becoming weak and unable to distinguish reality from hallucinations.” She laughed. “She believed that if she handed her body to me, I would keep her girls safe and take her soul to the side of her alpha. So pathetic; you two have that in common!”

I snarled furiously, grabbing the witch by the neck with hatred.

“You manipulated her; you made me hate her!” I roared angrily. “My father believed his wife was corrupted.”

“How much drama! You're a cursed family; thanks to toxic love, the shadows would achieve imbalance in this world...” Lilith smiled. “You have no idea what's about to happen; it was never about your alpha, niece; the cursed wolf that came to destroy and aid the shadows in fully resurging was always the hybrid pup!”

“Conan?” I snarled, squeezing her neck tighter: “He's not part of the legend, not cursed with a beast.”

“The beast was never a curse; it was just corrupted... A little experiment with the king of shadows.” She laughed. “You all did everything he wanted, like pieces on his little chessboard!”

“The twin sisters in the legend were Agatha and me; you're lying!” I exclaimed, breathless.

“Am I? Think about it, dear niece: a twin brought the pup of a powerful alpha into this world... A wolf as strong as the father himself and with immeasurable powers from the witches' clan, nephew of such a powerful hybrid!” She clicked her tongue, smiling. “Your sister has already fulfilled her role, being trapped in the power-draining source, and soon, you'll join her!”

“I will free my nephew, but you, aunt, won't be here to see it!”

I snapped the dark witch's neck, feeling my body weak and trembling; my leg faltered, and before falling to the ground, I felt strong hands supporting me, and turned with wide eyes.

“You're alive!” I smiled with tears in my eyes.

“I didn't want to awaken your fury; what if you killed me?” Harvey grinned, as handsome as I remembered. He kissed my lips, picking me up. “Rest, let's go home!”

I nodded, leaning against his chest, looking again at the sky where the symbol had disappeared; the moon was in its full sparkling form.

“Goddess, thank you...” I whispered, aware that it was she who had awakened and relieved me from the sleeping enchantment, going against the gods' rules of not getting involved.

A light breeze passed through our bodies; ahead of us, Nyxara was injured with only two sisters.

“So glad you're alive!” She smiled kindly. “You look awful.”

“Your sisters?” I spoke with a faint voice, feeling that I would soon fade away.

“They weren't as lucky...” Nyxara lowered her head, looking at the two sisters who hugged her.

“I'm so sorry...” I sobbed, looking around, realizing that only the beta had returned within our reach. “I'm sorry for everyone...”

“We knew the risks; it's okay!” The Succubus replied.

Harvey stopped, putting me down and rubbing his temples.

“What happened?” I asked anxiously, watching him slump forward and faint. “ALPHA!”

I screamed, feeling my vision fade away as well.