Lycanthropy

A/n: This is the last chapter! But don't forget to read the epilogue! 💛

Aron, running towards the river in the south:

Fuck she is fast!

“What is she?!” I yelled over towards Yrsa, while me, her and a lot of the other wolves ran over to where Emerson was fighting Radu.

“She is still the same, only she has been granted an immense power!” Yrsa yelled back, while flashing forward.

It was hard to comprehend that she was even stronger than before. But evidence showed it, as I heard loud crashes of trees and even the cracking sounds of rocks, splitting apart.

It took us several minutes, in wolf form, to reach the place where they were fighting, and I was stunned by the sight of all the rampage.

A complete path of savage claw marks, uprooted trees, and gashes through the dirt, where their bodies had dragged each other, was formed all the way south.

Wood from branches and complete trees, splintered in million pieces, flowed through the air, laid on the ground, and filled up the river to the south.

The boulder that once stood there, at the edge of the river, six feet high, was broken in two, where smaller rocks that had chipped off of it, laid around it, littering the river, making the water flow in a different direction.

And in the middle of all the rubble, she stood, as high as Radu, shifted in a full white Lycan.

But her fur wasn’t smoothly running over her back. No, there where her spine is hidden under the fur, spikes were sticking out. Her ears were rounder, to catch more sounds, her muscles were bigger, showing off more strength, and her tail was longer, to grant her more stability. And last but certainly not least, her claws from both her hands and feet, were longer and sharper, just as the massive set of teeth in her mouth.

And while moving and turning, the moonlight that shone upon her fur, made it glow as if it was made of silver.

She is an amazing creature to see, beautiful and strong, and quite intimidating.

But her enemy was just as intimidating as she was.

We both had fought Radu, and we both had found that he was stronger than any other Nightstalker. We had made plans to weaken him first, and then attack him with multiple methods, but Emerson was going at him, all on her own now.

Even though he had shifted himself into a darker creature as well.

As in those few minutes that we had been chasing them, his skin had turned black, his ears had become more animalistic, stretched out and round as well. Also his muscles had grown and he looked more like the monster on the outside, matching the one within him.

He dashed out a blow to her chest, and she stepped backwards, only to show him the same curtesy. Then she swiped her claws at his back, and bit him in his leg.

He roared out in pain, but then kicked her in the stomach.

We had kept a safe distance, but when he picked up a large rock and threw it to her, she dodged it and it came soaring towards us.

Quickly we stepped aside, and the rock lodged itself in a big tree behind us.

Radu flashed, but Emerson caught him right in it, pushing her claws against his chest and swung him to the ground.

Radu flashed again, but this time ended up behind her, and pushed his knee on her shoulder, knocking her off balance.

Fighting him:

He has transformed into this monstrous form, of which I hoped he couldn't grow further. Because I am at my ultimate now, and we were equal in strength and agility.

This battle all depended on experience and skills.

I stepped sideways, regaining my stability, and grabbed Radu’s hand to prevent me from stumbling further.

“We could rule the world together!” He shouted, while pulling me towards him, locking my body in between his arms.

The rotten breath that came out of his awful contorted mouth, nearly poisoned my rational thinking.

“You won’t rule anything, when I’m done with you!” I roared back, with an animalistic deep voice.

“You are stronger than any werewolf, why choose such a weak mate?” He said while crunching up my body, and nearly breaking one of my ribs.

“Weak? From all the men that roam this earth, which includes you, I couldn’t wish for a better one!" I yelled, and bit into his shoulder, biting through and took a chunk out of his muscle.

He roared in pain and let me go.

My mouth was filled with cold flesh and rotten blood, which I spat out on the floor.

“What does he has, that I don’t?!” He yelled again, while grabbing his shoulder with his hand, and I couldn’t believe that his obsessiveness towards me, made him that ignorant to his own character.

"You really don’t understand, do you?" I asked him.

I didn’t have to think twice about the answer for his question, but I was still hesitant to say the words. I know that I have told Aron that I love him, and that was a huge deal for me to even commit to. But saying it to someone else, that I have that emotion, is the next step of accepting it.

"For you, us fighting here, has only been because you still believe you can persuade me to come with you. But that won't ever happen."

"What are you talking about?" He said confused.

"You might be the strongest creature I've ever seen, but you will never have me, no matter how strong you are. Aron has something that no one else has, and he will always be the only one to ever have it. But, it is also something that he didn't have before." I said and looked towards Aron for a moment and I smiled.

"Your jealousy towards Aron is misplaced, because this fight isn't about what he has, it is about what I can give." I continued to say, as I looked into Radu’s eyes.

Radu didn't say a word. He just stood there, bleeding from his shoulder, looking confused and angry towards me and Aron. He was waiting for me to continue, to explain myself even further.

“It's my unconditional love.” I said.

I was heavy panting by all the fighting that we had done already, and it made me realise that there was truly no part of Nightstalker blood left inside my body. Me coming back had granted me the ancient mark, but it had also cleansed my body from that bad part of me.

But even though my energy has been drained, and I used this moment to regain some of it again, I wasn’t done.

He still has to die.

“Love?” He laughed. “Is that why you are this determined? Love isn’t real! Love is a lie!” He roared and flashed forward.

I thought that he was coming my way, but he went over towards Aron.

He is planning to kill him, and I couldn’t let him do that.

I ran forward, and when he was inches away from Aron I grabbed him by the waist, lodged my claws in his flesh, and pulled him backwards.

While he was in pain, I pulled him in front of me, facing me, and took hold of his wrists.

Radu, looking her in the eyes:

My gut was bleeding, my faith was falling.

Those words she said, made everything clear to me.

She swung me upwards, into the air, while keeping hold of my wrists, lodging her claws in my bones, making sure I couldn’t go anywhere.

My feet swung high, the world swirled by upside-down.

I have lived for over thirteen-thousand years, and I never had to use this transformation and all my strength, ever since I had killed the great-grandparents of Yrsa. The last bearers of the most powerful mark there is.

But, knowing that the Goddess had granted Emerson with her ancestor’s mark, and seeing that she was more determined than her ancestors ever were, I knew I couldn’t win this.

Besides the lowest ranks of Nightstalkers, who were still in the mansion, and my brother Marius, every other being from my army has faced her wrath, and had been killed by her.

And now my own determination and reasoning had crumbled as well, as she was unleashing that same wrath on me. She would never become mine, not now, not ever.

I had lost Yrsa, a long time ago, and I truly thought that with reviving Emerson’s mother I could get Emerson back for me. I hoped she would have been happy to see her, no matter the condition she was in, but I was wrong. I had lost Emerson too.

My obsession for her, has been my downfall.

Slowly I could see the canopy of the trees coming in my vision again, as I was lowered behind Emerson’s back.

My feet landed on the ground, my wrists still bound to her claws, our backs were facing each other.

I could see Emerson’s mate standing at the treeline, he didn't have a smug face, or a happy smile. I was hoping to see some arrogant show of him, to let me know that he wasn't right for her, but he didn't. He was worried, yet proud, as he looked towards his mate.

By now all their other wolves came near us, ready to defend their Queen, if something should happen. And looking at all those faces, I knew they were dedicated more to her than I ever could.

Emerson took in a deep breath, and then pulled her arms in front of her, pulling my body against her own.

The air escaped my lungs from the impact, pain no longer present, as the bony spikes on the back of her Lycan body, penetrated my spine, breaking the vertebrae, severing the nerves. My brain wasn’t able to connect my head to the rest of my body anymore.

She shifted back to human, as I knew, not because I felt her fur leave my skin, or her spikes retract and leave my body, because I couldn’t feel a thing anymore; But it was because my vision had changed and I looked upwards, towards the night sky, as she put my body on the ground, and I saw her beautiful face.

I was paralyzed from the neck down, and could only speak, see and hear. Nothing more, nothing less.

A thud was heard next to me, and I could see in the corner of my eye, that Emerson laid herself next to me.

“The sky is beautiful tonight, isn’t it?” Emerson asked me, with an exhausted breathing pattern.

“Yes, it is.” I said, while looking towards the star filled sky.

“How did you become like this?” She asked me now.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, I know what the reason is, that I lost ‘love’, but what is your reason?” She explained.

Of all the things that she could do now, even besides killing me, or torturing me even further, she asked me this question? When I lost ‘love’?

I had to think hard.

“I don’t know if it was when I was made a Nightstalker, or a Revenant, as my master used to call us, many years ago; Or the fact that my wife had left me for another man, after killing our children in cold blood; But those events made me certain that ‘love’ is a lie. That ‘love’ can’t be true, as it is only made up by stupid people, who wanted to give their connection a name. It has always been nature’s rule to make people be able to produce, to pass on intelligence and knowledge. But actual ‘love’? No, that is something that even after thirteen-thousand years is something that I still have not found.” I said to her.

“Then I am sorry, and I pity you, for not finding it in such a long time, that you have been on this Earth.” She said.

“I thought I had found it with you. But I guess I was wrong.”

Lying next to him:

I had taken the blue crystal dagger, that my grandmother had given me. It was in my right hand, all the time I was listening to his story.

I truly felt pity towards him, that he had suffered such a fate. It made me understand, how he had grown so merciless, so resentful, towards everything that occurred in his life.

But still, even though that he had been through some rough patches, he could have decided to live his life differently. He still had decided to massacre complete packs, murder people who had loved ones, and even decided to attack me and my pack.

Rolling on my belly, while lifting my torso up on my elbows, I looked at him.

He could see my face, by moving his eyes towards me, and I came closer, hovering over his face.

Looking at her beautiful silver eyes:

“I told you that I was going to be the one to end you, and I haven’t changed my opinion on that.” She said to me.

“I know, and I’m glad that it is you.” I said, sincere.

“Remember my face.” She said, and I took a few moments to take in every inch of her skin, her silver eyes, her little nose, her reddened cheeks, bright shiny hair and her smile.

That smile of hers, one that I had rarely seen in my mansion, one that I could dream about, was so serene, so pristine and honest, that I could not ever imagine to forget about it.

“Close your eyes.” She said, and I did.

There was nothing for me to refrain myself from listening to her command.

I felt her breath warm up my cheeks and nose, as she came closer.

Her lips brushed against mine, a heavenly soft feeling, invaded my senses.

A tear fell down my face, as I knew I had been so stupid, so ignorant, to this beautiful woman right above me.

I was right, I had been in love!

A few breaths taken, her lips pushed harder onto mine, and the whole world around me shattered by this blissful feeling.

I don’t know why she was granting me this feeling, this present of hers, before she was going to end me, but I’m grateful for it. I savoured every moment, every touch.

I could hear a faint sound, I could smell a faint burning scent, but it didn’t matter. She was kissing me, and I could take that feeling with me, forever and ever. To whatever place I was going to.

THE END