The Wolf Series #3: Between Two Worlds

Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Her brown curls stick together...dripping in blood. Her blood. Those eyes, so full of pain and terror, lazily roll up to meet my gaze. She wants me to do it...to end her suffering.

But I am frozen beside Orion. I can do nothing but watch as my son looms over Mirabella with a curved blade and continues to gut her like a pig.

"My mother used to tell me of her trainings at The Order," Ismael circles her fallen, bedraggled body like a rabid animal. She flinches with every movement. "So I'll ask you the same question you asked her and all your Prophets, High Priestess. Who do you give yourself to?"

"The Moon," Her words hold so much conviction, despite knowing what that answer will bring her. She sobs as my eldest brings the blade down on her again. She's lost yet another finger, but it does little to weaken her resolve.Her eyes flashes bright gold and her palms begin to crackle, "The Moon!"

"The Moon! What has Your Moon done for you? What is so powerful about these so-called Goddesses who are letting you bleed out on your enemies' stone?" Ismael's words cause her to grow very silent. He kneels down and growls viciously in her swollen face, "You will get your wish, High Priestess. I will give you to Your Moon—limbless and lifeless and lacking the once steadfast faith you had in Them."

"You cannot, Ismael," Orion leans against his palm, as if he is bored by this horrific spectacle of our son's violent tendencies. His gaze flickers between Ismael and Mirabella, "Not yet, at least."

I stiffen as Mirabella slowly lifts her head up. Her eyes are molten gold, narrowed and hateful as she glares at my son. He only grins, too arrogant to notice her hand slip underneath her torn robes. I know what she's reaching for, and I stand up abruptly.

"Ismael, move!—" I scream just as she removes the ring that links all her chains together. Mirabella is consumed by a blast of light, and so are we all.

Moonlight bleeds from her eyes, nose, and fingertips. Her entire being is radiating the full power of Selene, in a final attempt to defend herself. A last resort to stop the destruction of everything she stands for.

"The Goddesses will not succumb so easily," She roars and knocks Ismael off his feet. The blood spilling from her wounds now burns bright and sets everything it touches to fire. Orion does nothing while the spectators of this execution begin to flee. Ismael crawls to his feet, but Mirabella strikes him down again, "I will give myself to Her, but not before I rid her world of you—"

She doesn't make it any further. I lower my hand and the shadows disappear from her chest, leaving a gaping hole where her heart used to be. Slowly, I make my way down the stairs. My Darkness crawls along the floor and extinguishes where her flames were burning so brightly. Ismael gets to his feet and pushes Mirabella down to her knees.

He snarls at me, "I didn't need your assis—"

My palm connects with his cheek hard enough to make him fall to his knees. Blood drips down my nose, but I don't wipe it. He stares at it and then at The High Priestess. A dawning realization crosses his gaze, as if he only now realizes that he had been absolutely no match for her. Even I, the closest to her equal in power, strained myself defeating a weakened Mirabella.

"If she had not been bled out, this would have ended differently," I slap him again for good measure. His eyes don't meet mine, not even as I grip his chin and force his head towards me, "You are a monster, Ismael."

"I'm my father's son—"

"No. You're just like me," I hiss through my tears and finally wipe the blood streaming from my nose. "There is no mercy. There is no empathy. Only the need to forge a path to power. But unlike your father or I, you kill without reason."