Chapter 65: Chapter 65

ERIK

My world crumbled before my eyes in mere moments. I watched as Jasmine shivered at Morgathis’s revelation that it was all her scheme. I could feel her desperation seeping into me.

And her fear. Nothing was more heart-wrenching than seeing her scared.

I glanced around, witnessing our fortunes in the battle take a turn for the worse. My men, who had been holding the upper hand, were now being swallowed by dark magic. Sebastian’s wizards tried to retaliate, but their efforts fell short.

I moved toward Jasmine, my body instinctively yearning to shield her. All I wanted was to hold her close and whisk her away from this nightmare.

The battlefield was a whirlwind of chaos, bloodshed, and cries of agony. My vision clouded with rage as I fought off the witches encircling me. Every inch of me was screaming to protect her.

But I was trapped, battling against the dark magic, the shadowy figures that cut through the air like knives. I could feel the dark magic wrapping around me, gripping me, lifting me, rendering me immobile.

But my mind refused to surrender. I wouldn’t give up. I needed Jasmine to survive. There had to be a solution.

My muscles ached from the struggle, but fear was eating away at me. I ran through every possible scenario in my head, but none offered a way out.

I was paralyzed. My soldiers were falling around me, helpless. It felt like the end. Panic washed over me. I tried to move, to fight back, but nothing worked.

The worst-case scenarios started playing in my head. Morgathis wanted to kill her, wanted to wipe us all out. And when she said she would kill us first, I felt a selfish sense of relief—relief that I would die before having to watch her die.

Then I saw it. Morgathis grabbing Jasmine by the throat, lifting her in the air, snatching the dagger from her hand. And then, in a moment that my mind refused to accept as reality, Morgathis plunged the dagger into Jasmine’s abdomen.

“Jasmine.” The breath was knocked out of me, just as she fell.

I stood frozen, the world around me fading into oblivion. She fell so slowly, almost serenely, like a feather floating down—but I knew. I knew.

A flicker of movement caught my eye—Sebastian’s lifeless body, suspended in the air nearby. Dead. Gone. It took me a moment to comprehend…

Of course, he would have cast a spell on her, and for a moment, I felt a pang of jealousy. He would die and be spared the agony of losing her.

Despair gripped me, raw and relentless. I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think beyond the unbearable pain of losing her, losing them both. Everything I had, everything I had fought for, was gone.

But it couldn’t be true. She couldn’t be dead.

For a fleeting moment, I convinced myself it was a trick of the light, that it wasn’t her, that Jasmine couldn’t be…

“No!” My voice cracked, my body rebelling against my will. I needed to rush to her, to cradle her, but a dark force held me back.

Morgathis. Jasmine was dead.

Every memory of her flashed before my eyes—her laughter that filled my heart, the way she looked at me when she thought I wasn’t looking, her whispered promises as we lay side by side. These memories were only fueling this never-ending nightmare.

Morgathis’s shadowy figure materialized beside me, her eyes gleaming with malice as she held me captive with her black magic. My muscles strained, my heart pounded as I fought against her grip.

I was screaming, but it was as if I couldn’t hear myself, my voice raspy, my mind unraveling as I watched the life drain from Jasmine, powerless to do anything.

~It’s not real. It can’t be real.~

“Do you see now, Erik Bellator?” Morgathis hissed, her voice dripping with venom. “All your strength, your love, it means nothing. She was always destined to die.”

Her words pierced me, each one a dagger twisting deeper into my soul. I fought harder, my desperation reaching a fever pitch.

“I’ll kill you,” I snarled, my eyes wild. “I’ll kill you for this.”

But Morgathis only laughed, a chilling sound that echoed across the battlefield. Her grip on me loosened, and I stumbled forward, free. I barely registered it, my only thought now was to reach Jasmine.

I sank to my knees next to her, the harsh bite of gravel digging into my skin. But that was nothing compared to the gut-wrenching pain that ripped through me as I looked at her.

Jasmine, my Jasmine—she lay motionless, her eyes shut, as if she were merely sleeping, waiting for me to rouse her. I reached out, my hand shaking, gently pushing a loose strand of hair from her face.

Her skin was cold under my touch, a harsh reality that she was no longer with us, and a piece of me died right then.

“How am I supposed to go on without you?”

I had loved her since the moment I first saw her. Every moment we shared was etched into my soul. Those secret nights, her body against mine, her lips warm and passionate.

The way she’d gaze at me, a spark in her eyes, as if she knew the hold she had over me. She was my flame, my liberation, always pushing me to my limits, challenging me in ways no one else ever had.

The passion between us… It was unparalleled. She was wild and untamed, a tempest I could never rein in, and I loved her all the more for it.

She made me feel alive in ways I never knew were possible. Every touch, every whispered word, it was as if she reached into the darkest corners of me and illuminated them, showing me who I could be.

Without her… there was only darkness. “Who am I without her?”

I couldn’t believe this was the end. I couldn’t accept it. I clung to her, my face buried in her shoulder, holding her as if I could somehow restore her warmth, bring her back.

My world was shattered, a cruel, empty shell without her in it. “What’s the point of living if she’s not here?”

But I knew I couldn’t bring her back. No amount of strength, no fight I could put up would change the fact that she was gone.

All the battles, the victories, the vows I’d made as an alpha—they felt like dust in my hands. Every purpose I’d once held onto was ripped away in a moment, leaving nothing but the raw, unbearable truth that my soul’s other half was gone.

The grief ripped through me, raw and ruthless, and I felt myself shattering in ways I never thought possible. She was the only one who ever truly understood me, who ever saw ~me~, and now she was gone, leaving a void I’d never be able to fill.

“Jasmine,” I whispered, pressing my forehead to hers, my voice breaking. “Please…please wake up.”

But Morgathis’s voice cut through my sorrow, sharp and taunting.

“I could bring her back,” she said smoothly. “Your beloved Jasmine doesn’t have to stay dead.”

I looked up at her, my vision blurred with tears and fury. She smirked, knowing she held the power.

“All I ask is that you give me everything. Your packs. Your lands. The Seraphium.”

My mind was spinning, torn between the raw agony of my love for Jasmine and the terrible implications of Morgathis’s offer. The words landed like stones, each one heavy with an unbearable price.

I felt the weight of what she demanded, the sacrifices that would doom everything Jasmine had cherished and fought for. The thought of sacrificing everything, watching my people fall into ruin, sent a chill down my spine.

I hesitated, my heart screaming at me to agree, but a sliver of doubt held me back.

And then Aaron’s voice broke the silence.

“Yes,” he said, his voice firm and unwavering.

I looked over, shocked. Aaron’s face was determined, resolved, and for a moment, I felt a strange mix of relief and horror.

Aaron had made his choice. There was no turning back.

Morgathis had won.

End of Book 1.