Chapter 212 The Closure

Chapter 212 The Closure
Adrian’s POV

Selene stood there under the floodlights like she was performing on a stage built just for her ego. 

The battlefield around us had gone eerily quiet…the last of the rotten rogues either dead or pinned down by our warriors. All eyes were now on the three traitors and my queen.

She raised the roughly carved totem higher, turning it slowly so the dark symbols caught the light. A smug, victorious smile stretched across her face.

“Oh, sweet child,” Selene purred, her voice dripping with mockery. “You really think you’ve won? How adorable. This totem was carved from the sacred bone of your birth cord the very night you came screaming into this world. A little insurance policy, if you will.” 

She glanced at Ariston with a possessive gleam. “How else do you think I’ve kept this useless puppet dancing on my strings for decades? One whisper, one pulse of power through this little beauty, and he becomes whatever I need him to be.”

Her gaze snapped back to Kira, eyes glittering with malice. “The same applies to you, Abby. Or whatever you’re calling yourself these days. Blood calls to blood. I poured enough of my essence into this totem while you were still in my womb. You were never meant to be free, child. You were always going to be mine to control.”

She took a dramatic step forward, voice rising like a storyteller spinning a grand tragedy. “You have no idea how far I’ve come, little girl. The years of whispers in the right ears. The slow poisoning of minds and alliances. The sacrifices I made…bodies buried, souls broken…just to climb this high. And you? A mere fetus I pushed out between my legs thinks she can destroy everything I built? I will not be undone by my own creation. Not in any lifetime."

The air grew heavier, thick with dark energy that made my wolf snarl inside me.

Kira didn’t flinch. She tilted her head, lips curling into a cold, sarcastic smile. 

“So you went through all that trouble… just to stay in control? Wow. You’re even more pathetic than I gave you credit for, Mother. All that effort, all those years, and you still couldn’t make anyone love you without magic and manipulation. It must be exhausting being this weak and dumb.”

Selene’s face twisted with rage. She raised the totem higher, the carvings beginning to glow with a sickly red light.

“Run your mouth all you want, girl,” she hissed. “Very soon you’ll be back in the palm of my hand where you belong and when you're right where I want you to be, this kingdom will be mine.”

I felt pure panic explode in my chest. I tried shoving Kira behind me, but she wouldn’t budge. 

She kept glaring at Selene with those cold, fearless eyes.

“Fucking do your worst,” Kira spat.

Damn it, Kira, stop edging the crazy woman and let me think! I thought desperately.

I mind-linked Sheila immediately. ‘Sheila! Front of the entrance, now! I don’t know what Selene is pulling with that totem, but I need you here. Just in case it turns into a voodoo war.’

‘On my way, Your Majesty,’ Sheila replied, voice tight.

Selene began chanting low, ancient words that scraped against my ears like nails on bone. 

The totem glowed brighter, pulsing like a heartbeat. Her laughter rose…wild, unhinged, echoing across the blood-soaked field.

“Arabella Ravryn, hear the voice of your mother…come to me!”

I almost smiled to myself hearing her. There’s no way this voodoo shit will work. Kira wasn’t Abby anymore. She is stronger. She is my mate.

But before the thought could finish forming, I felt Kira stiffen violently beside me.

Her body went rigid. Then she started moving…slow, mechanical steps forward. Her eyes were wide open, completely blank. Both arms rose stiffly in front of her, like a zombie from those human horror movies, ready to attack.

My heart slammed against my ribs. What the hell is going on? Why is this affecting her? She’s Kira now, not Abby!

“Kira!” I shouted, rushing toward her while still yelling inside my head for Sheila. ‘Sheila, faster!’

I grabbed her around the waist, trying to hold her back. She twisted with terrifying strength and sank her teeth into my arm. 

White-hot pain flared, but I didn’t let go. Not until she shoved me with such brutal force that I stumbled backward, nearly falling.

She kept walking. Straight toward Selene. Arms still raised in that unnatural, horrifying way.

I charged after her again, refusing to let whatever this was take hold. “Kira, fight it! You're stronger than this! Come back to me!”

But she stopped right in front of Selene, standing perfectly still like a puppet waiting for its master’s command. The totem’s red glow bathed her face in evil light.

I stared, heart still thundering in my chest, ready to tear Selene apart with my bare hands.

That was when I saw it…

The corners of Kira’s mouth twitched slightly…just the tiniest movement, like she was fighting so hard not to burst out laughing. 

Her eyes, though blank a second ago, now held a spark of pure mischief.

Only then did it hit me. She wasn’t under any spell. She had been playing them the entire time. 

‘Oh, you chaotic little queen. You got me right there,’ I said to her through the link and she chuckled.

My shoulders sagged with relief even as fresh adrenaline surged through me. I didn’t let my guard down completely…not with these snakes standing right in front of us, but a grin tugged at my lips.

I quickly mind-linked Sheila. ‘Don’t bother coming. The Queen has it all under control.’

‘Understood,’ she replied, sounding both relieved and amused.

Goddess, I love this woman. Pride swelled so fiercely in my chest it almost hurt. 

My queen wasn’t just surviving…she was toying with her enemies like a cat with mice. 

Chaotic, mischievous, and absolutely brilliant. She had turned their grand, dark ritual into her own personal comedy show while the rest of us were losing our minds. 

How did I get so lucky? This fierce, unpredictable force of nature was mine. All mine.

Just then, Kira’s hand shot out like lightning. She snatched the glowing totem from Selene’s raised hand, held it up for a dramatic second, and smashed it violently to the ground. 

The carved relic shattered into pieces under her boot as she crushed it with a wild, satisfied grin.

Selene screamed…a raw, piercing sound of total disbelief. Her eyes bulged as she stared at the broken fragments on the bloody grass.

“What happened?! It was supposed to work!” she shrieked, voice cracking. “You are my child! I carved drops of your blood into it before we sent you off to marry the king. The plan was perfect…once you became his queen and earned his trust, you would kill him in his sleep! The throne would finally be ours! What went wrong?!”

Kira started clapping slowly, the sound sharp and mocking in the tense silence. “Wow. What a great plan, Selene. Truly Oscar-worthy. Too bad I’m not Abby anymore.” She smiled sweetly, tilting her head. “Better luck next lifetime.”

The three of them stared at her like she had completely lost her mind.

Liana’s eyes filled with tears as she reached out desperately. “My princess…what has he done to you? Come with me, okay? I’ll take care of you. I’ll make sure no one hurts you ever again.”

“Shut up!” Selene snapped at her viciously. “The only reason we saved your pathetic life was because you promised you could help us capture Arabella. Shut your mouth or go kill yourself already.”

Kira interrupted them with a bored wave of her hand. “You’re both being too loud and wasting my time. None of you are leaving here alive today.” 

She pointed directly at Selene. “You manipulated your husband into framing my father…Tristen Ravenwood…as a traitor. You destroyed my family before I was even born. You never let Abby have a single moment of peace from the day she came into this world. You did all those terrible things… and instead of dying miserably in some forgotten forest, you thought it was smart to come here with an army of feral wolves and try to control me with some cheap wood carving?”

I couldn’t help myself. I reached out and touched her arm gently, letting my fingers brush her skin. 

I just needed to feel her. To remind her…and myself…that I was right here beside her. That she's not alone.

Selene, Ariston, and even Liana looked at Kira like she had gone completely insane. But I knew better. She hadn’t lost her mind. She was burning with clarity, with justice, with every scar Abby had carried.

“You’re still my daughter, Arabella!” Selene screamed, face contorted with rage. “I gave birth to you! I gave you life! And I’ve come to control it…or collect it!”

“Your daughter is dead! I am not Abby,” Kira said coldly.

Selene screamed and made a stupid, desperate lunge toward Kira with her claws out.

But then, Liana stepped in…