Nora is struggling to keep her contained. She's using a lot of magic to keep the ice as a barrier from the ground, and the white mist around us to prevent her from attacking; moreover, she's the one most exposed. The Black Brothers are now facing more undead wolves, all coming toward us, but they can't cover such a wide area to keep them all from attacking us, the dark hurricane is too wide and Selena and I keep moving around it. At this rate, we're going to get killed by another undead wolf, or Luna will use their attacks to get us first.
“Damn it!” suddenly roars Selena.
A wolf just jumped from behind to bite her, and although she managed to burn him right away, she got stuck on the ground for one too many seconds. A huge blast suddenly comes her way. I raise my hands, trying to prepare a defensive magic circle, but–
“Mara, watch out!”
I’m violently hit from the front just as I thought I had sent the magic circle to protect Selena. Something dark covers my vision, but the shock isn't as violent as it should have been. Something inside rings, like an alarm going crazy. Something's wrong. My inner wolf howls in pain, and I feel as if something inside just got... torn apart.
I painfully roll over and struggle to get on all fours. What just…?
“LIAM!”
That name wakes me up like a slap. I look to my right, and he's there. Liam, lying on the ground. Lying on the ground with... with a large hole in his stomach. My heart sinks. No, no, no, no...
"Liam? Liam!"
I grab his fur, any part of him I can, but he's not moving. He's... Liam's not moving. Not at all. His eyes and mouth are open, but he's not moving. He's... he's not responding. I grab his fur and try to shake him, but no. There's... nothing. I try to feel him with my inner wolf, but it's... faint. Our bond, it's... really... going away.
"LIAM!" I scream. "Liam! Liam, wake up! Liam, don't, don't... Li-... Nora! Nora, please!"
She turns her head to me, conflicted.
“Mara,” she cries in my head, “if I let go here, sh-she will…”
She seems almost stuck where she is, but I don't care. I don't care. My mate is dying! Liam is dying, he's leaving me, he's... I scream, as loud as I possibly can, because I just can't contain it anymore. I scream out all of my anger and frustration, all of my pain echoing on the whole battlefield like a mad woman. Because I am fucking mad, and I can't take it anymore. I won't. None of this.
"...I'll end this," I whisper, tears rushing down my face. "I'll end all of this now. Nora, please. Just... save Liam. I beg you."
She stares at me, her blue eyes so conflicted. I know. I know that if she lets go, Luna will have time to take us all into her hurricane, and Moon Goddess knows what worse. But right now, I can't. I can't even imagine Liam dying right here, like this. Nothing else matters to me.
"Go."
We turn heads, and suddenly, a new chill grows throughout the area. The white mist gets even more dense, and a new layer of ice expands quickly under our feet.
Naptera just appeared, and she's down on her knees, her palms against the icy ground, her eyes on the dark cloud.
"...I'll hold it for you, so you'd better end this, Mara."
Nora runs over as soon as she understands Naptera is taking her place, and gets to Liam right away.
“Oh, Moon Goddess…” she whimpers. “M-Mara, I think it's... too la–”
"Don't say it," I growl, shaking with anger. "Just... Just do whatever you can. I beg you."
I take a deep breath, and leave a kiss on Liam's cheek, caressing his fur gently. I just want to hold on to him, one last time. I hug his body, still warm. My hands are trembling in his fur, shaking so much I can barely hold on. I need to hold on to the little life left I feel in him, and... end this.
I slowly stand up and, determined like never before, walk right into this hurricane.
“Mara, don't!”
"I'm not scared of her damn darkness," I retort, my throat tight, carrying my anger and my pain with me. "She wanted to show me darkness, she's going to fucking get it."
I'm not scared at all. I was born from that darkness.
I am a damn Dark Witch.
Chapter 39
