Chapter 186

Chapter 186
RYDEN

Finally. I caught a shuddering breath as our greatest foe stumbled. His body fell and slumped to the ground, creating a blast and mini-earthquake. I could sense a little triumph even though he was still alive.

And I would have never imagined that I could contain the power within me— the three elements without killing me, but when in times of hopelessness, you learn to risks, even if it could kill you in the end to save the majority.

“Zarah! Samarah!” I called them to open the gate of hell as the powers of the air, water, and fire flowed through me, and I formed them in my palms in a ball of energy and forced them towards the demon, pushing them to the gate.

The ring of fire began to form, the sigil appeared in the air, and then it created a void just like what Margaret had done earlier. Thankfully, while we were fighting, the remaining unshifted werewolves took her body to the pack house. I still felt the pain of losing her. We weren’t even close unlike Zarah, but maybe the grief came from the water wolf herself.

Amelia came to help using the pulsing wave of her power to push the demon that started to get up. She ran towards the demon again, jumping on top to stab him in the left eye.

“Amelia, you have to get out of it now or you will be dragged into the void!” I called out but she wasn’t listening.

“Amelia!” We started yelling her name to catch her attention.

I breathed shakily as she managed to get off. The gateway to hell was complete. Zarah and Samarah started stepping back as the gravity pull became too strong to avoid, sucking everything around it.

“Guys, step away!” I called everyone as the demon was closer to the portal. They began running away towards the woods and to the pack house.

“Ryden, that’s enough!” Ren and Nora came to pull me away as my feet started to slip off the ground.

“Just get as far as you can!” I just stepped away, but the demon began to crawl out away from the portal. “Shit!” 

My heart pumped so hard as I was scared it could get away again. The next time the director grew his strength back, he would be undefeated, and we would be all dead.

My eyes widened as Amelia went back to the escaping demon. I could hardly breathe as I used all my powers to push the demon toward the fissure.

“Amelia!” Lucius yelled at her. 

She looked at us as if she were talking through her eyes.

“I’m so sorry, Ryden. I love you so much.” Her voice came through my thoughts.

“No!” I ran towards her as I thought about what she was about to do. A powerful surge of dread swept through me. The elemental powers disappeared in my palms.

She thrust the sword into the demon’s chest, and it activated. Its power rippled through the sword like an aftershock of a dropped atomic bomb, exploding out around us, throwing her away with the sword, crashing her to the ground. 

The demon’s body began to burn, turning into glittering ashes. The blinding light flashed through the sky, creating a beam of light. The demon screamed. From where it stabbed, it started to burn and its ashes were pulled into the portal of hell.

“Oh, shit.” I instantly noticed what was going on. Amelia was getting dragged towards the portal.

“Zarah, do something!” It was Lucius shouting for help.

“Amelia!” I managed to grab her by her arm. As the pull got stronger, we were both struggling to hold on to our weight.

“I got you.” Lucius came, wrapping his arms around me.

“We got you guys!” It was Zeph, and the others might have followed, helping us out, away from the gate to hell.

“Zarah, now it’s the time to shut it close!” My body shook. My eyes widened as Amelia’s half-body was already inside the portal.

“I can’t close the portal or Amelia is gonna die! You need to pull her out.” Zarah said without sugarcoating, and I growled in anger. 

I couldn’t even do something with my powers inside me. With one hand, I opened my palm towards the hole to the darkness, to counter the pull, and it wasn’t working. 

“Zarah, my powers are getting weaker,” Samarah said from behind.

“Great. Pull us guys! Harder! Until Amelia is out.”

“It’s okay, baby.” Tears formed, rolling to the corners of her eyes. “Let me go.” She released one of her hands.

“No fucking way I let you go! If you go, I go or I’d rather die. Do you hear me? We fought many battles and cheated death many times. Now we’re winning, you’re dragging yourself into hell? I won’t let that happen!” I gripped her arm tightly, pulling her out.

“Amelia, angel, now is not the time to play hero. You already are. I thought you wanna hear about the prophecy! I saw it before my mother died,” Lucius said, gripping me tight, but we were both slipping through toward the damn hellhole. 

“I made so many mistakes! This wouldn’t have happened if not because of me. People wouldn’t have died if it weren’t for me!”

“Bullshit. That’s not fucking true, Amelia! You saved lives, even as irredeemable as Victor, you didn’t leave him to rot!”

“Amelia, listen to me! You’re a lot of things, but this wasn’t your doing. Before you were even born, this evil and demons have already walked through the earth, amongst us! Come on, angel. We’re winning! Don’t let me celebrate your life!” Lucius said. “I want you alive. I still need you, and so does everyone else here. They didn’t come to fight with me and Ryden. They came marching for you.”

“Pull us, guys! Come on!”

“I’m sorry, Ryden!” The way she looked at me I knew she was trying to redeem herself. She blamed herself for letting out the demon that we fought earlier.

“I don’t give a fuck even if I have to share you with this asshole. I don’t care even if he kissed you or whatever he did in your dreams! I love you, Amelia. I can’t live without you. Please, ladybug. Fight for us! Amelia please?” Now was definitely not the time to batter with mixed emotions, and I was failing it. I was getting dragged into the hole, and I was failing to save her, my own mate. I could barely see her through the tears in my eyes. Even my tears were thrown into the hole. “Then I’m coming with you.”

“No!”

When you were losing hope and something miracle happened, the first thing I could think of was crashing that person who made the miracle into the tightest hug. My eyes widened as I saw the roots and vines wrapping around me and my arms, looping and twisting into Amelia’s arm to pull us out.

“Holy shit! It’s Earth!” Amelia stared at me with wide eyes, hope flashing.

“See, my love? This is a miracle! It’s not the right time for suicide. You can do community service if you feel like you need to atone for your mistake.” I grinned like stupid. A thousand emotions crashed into like a tidal wave.

We got slowly dragged away from the portal. I looked over my shoulder. All of us were working together, which made us all stronger as one.

“Zarah!” I called her to shut the portal as the roots dug deeper into the ground and its vines snaked around the trees.

Before we could celebrate, her eyes widened in shock, and pain crossed her face as she stared at me. I watched her chest bleed as the demon’s claw punctured through her heart before the portal shut off.

I gasped. My chest clenched and the searing agony that I felt like the demon tore my heart out of my chest.

“No!” We dropped simultaneously to the ground with the cut-off claw, felt like staring to mock me that he still won. “No!”

Amelia!” An ear-splitting scream tore from Lucius’ throat.

Breathing hard, I crawled towards her with my trembling body as Lucius released me. “Amelia. No!”

I scooped her into my arms. With my trembling hand, I pressed my palm against her bleeding chest, and the blood from her punctured wound flew through it, and it wouldn’t stop.

Squeezing my eyes close, I drew a deep breath, hoping for some miracle that the powers within me would heal her. It only warmed the wound, but did nothing.

I opened my eyes. To my disappointment, no miracle this time.

“Son of a bitch!”