Chapter 40

Ella’s POV

Mountain?

He is the one behind all this.

I want to say that I am surprised, but somewhere I am not. Because now when I think, it makes perfect sense because whenever anything weird happened with us, he was always somewhere around.

Mountain looks quite proud of himself, as if by capturing us, he has achieved something big.

Poor guy doesn’t know that he has written doom in his fate by attacking us.

My eyes shift to Oliver, and I can feel his shock, but he masks his emotions behind his cold expression.

He doesn’t let any emotion slip past his impassive face as his death glare is set on Mountain’s face.

“This bitch is still alive?” Suddenly, his gaze moves to Elena as if he has just noticed her. “I have asked you to inject silver into her system because I want to see her suffer.” He grabs one of his men by his throat.

“I have done as you have said, but I don’t know how she is still alive?” He looks at Elena in shock.

My heart feels like it will explode because if what he is saying is true, then I can lose my sister.

Oliver’s and my eyes move to Elena, but she sends a reassuring smile on our way.

“We don’t have time to waste now. Take them to mother,” Mountain growls in annoyance and pushes the man to the ground. “Tie her up and keep an eye on her.” He snaps his finger in Elena’s direction.

“Don’t mistake to underestimate her. She is dangerous and cunning.” He glances at his men.

“Joseph, why are you doing this?” Finally, Oliver speaks, standing in front of Mountain, blocking everyone from reaching us.

“You will get all your answers before your death, Oliver.” Joseph or Mountain stares back at him, “But for now, I have to take you to mother. She has waited so long for this, and now finally, I can free her.” He looks at me with a crazy look in his eyes.

I look at Oliver and discreetly shake my head, stopping him from doing anything. His jaws tick in anger while he doesn’t hide his annoyance. But begrudgingly, he shifts his gaze down, showing his submission.

“Nobody is going to touch her, and I am not going anywhere without her.” I glare at Joseph, challenging him to defy me.

“It is okay, as you wish.” He shrugs with a smile, “I was just sparing you from the heartache of seeing your sister being skinned alive.”

“Ha. I would like to see you try, Dickward.” Elena raises her eyebrows at him.

“Bring all of them to mother” Ignoring Elena, he orders his men, and then he points at me, “And if someone hurt her, then I will eat them.” His face elongates and turns into a muzzle as he bares his teeth.

“Cringy as fuck, you crazy mutt.” Elena makes a face looking at his weird distorted face.

Our hands are again cuffed as we follow Joseph to wherever his mother is.

It is not easy for Oliver to do nothing and follow my order. I can feel his rage and fury from our bond, and even his wolf seems unhappy with me. He is feeling and being humiliated because of following what I have asked him to do, and to be honest, his anger with me is justified.

But I know what I am doing. If we need to find out what’s going on and truly end all this, we have to wait for the right time. If we kill him now, then someone else will take his place.

But for now, I am curious to find out who his mother is? And what does she have to do with all this?

I am trying to stay calm, which is almost seems impossible at this point. Elena has completely gone silent, and the cold look on her face is terrifying.

I try to form a protective circle around Oliver and Elena, but I realize I am unable to do so. I can feel my protective circle shrinking back when I try to expand it to them.

Blaze low growls echo in my mind and causing me to relax a bit. However, what truly brings instant calm to my heart is the warmth that I am feeling from mom’s protection.

The intensity of the mom’s power ensures me that mom and dad are somewhere near.

I am not surprised to feel their presence near us because the moment they felt that we were hurt, nothing could have stopped them from coming to us.

Mom and Dad will align Heaven and Earth if they need to when it comes to their children.

The thought of them itself brings a sense of relief inside me that I cannot explain in words. Even though it is childish to say this, it seems like if I have mom and dad, they will never let anything bad happen to me or anyone.

My eyes meet with Elena across the room, and even though her hard expression isn’t revealing anything, I can see it in her eyes that even she has felt their presence.

Abruptly, the air fills with the most horrendous smell that I have ever smelled in my entire life. The smell itself brings tears to my eyes, and my nose burns to make it difficult for me to breathe. I am trying hard to keep myself from puking but can’t help but gag at the repulsive smell.

The hair on my body raises, and a chill runs down my spine when a woman limps inside the hall. She is the source of the smell, and why she shouldn’t be because all of her body is decomposing even the flesh on her face is rotten.

Puss oozes from her skin while even I see maggots crawling from some of her rotten flesh.

My powers form a strong protective shield around me, while Blaze comes in the front of my mind. She is defensive and doesn’t want this woman to be anywhere near us. I give her some of the control because it makes me feel powerful.

She walks towards the center and sits on the chair surrounded by black candles.

From my peripheral view, I see Oliver's entire form is covered in a golden sheen, and his eyes are blazing yellow. His wolf is on edge, and the golden glow covering his skin becomes intense with each passing moment.

However, Elena’s vibes are terrifying, and at the same time, they are challenging as she eyes the woman with her icy glare. But something in her gaze tells me that she isn’t looking at the woman but something past her appearance.

Something is up with her, but before I can figure it out, Joseph goes to the woman and hugs her.

“Mother, I have brought a gift for you.” He looks at me with a smile which I definitely don’t like. “She is the reason why we don’t have my brother with us, but now she is going to be the reason which will free you.”

“Feeling confused, Ella?” He raises his eyebrows, “Emmet? Does the name ring any bell?”

This was the last thing I could’ve guessed, and to say that I am baffled is an understatement. However, I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of knowing this. So, keeping my face neutral, I eye him impassively.

“Everything was going fine, just the way Emmet and I wanted.” Joseph walks in front of me, looks at me up and down, and then sighs, “But then you have to come and mess up everything which we had worked for. But I can't blame him for wanting you because who can't want a woman like you beside him.” A sly smile appears on his face.

“These guardians think they have the power to decide the fate of everyone. They think that they are above everyone, but they are wrong.” He growls while looking at Oliver with venom, “They treated my mother as trash and used her but never given her the respect that she deserved.”

“I am Augustus’s son, and my mother was his mate. But he never acknowledged her and never given me the right of his son.” He spits, looking at the ground, “All my life growing up, I used to get bullied because I was called illegitimate. I couldn’t tell anyone my father’s name was no one would have believed me, and also because I know he would kill me because I wasn’t allowed to tell anyone this truth.”

“If my mother weren’t an omega but the daughter of an Alpha, he wouldn’t have any problem with accepting us.” He goes to his mother and kisses her frail hair, “He wanted a powerful mate and a strong bloodline. But he doesn’t know how powerful my mother is. Burton knew, so he was smart to be on our side, but he was just a pawn to get control. ”

“She rules this world.” He smiles and holds her hand, not bothered by the puss, “She became the queen of the black world when she sacrificed Augustus’ heart to our Master and welcomed him.”

People who are into dark magic consider the devil as their master. They worship him because they believe he can give them immense power.

“Master blessed my mother with Emmet, my brother, as a reward for her loyalty and service.” Clenching his jaws, and shakes his head, “We were following the Master’s order to fulfill our dream to become the most powerful servants on this world. First, we would have tainted every guardian. Then we would have expanded our empire to rule every single pack of this world.”

“These worthless humans would have been our servants and our pets.” He looks down at the group of humans who looked hazed and utterly unaware of everything. “And sacrifices for our Master.”

“But you ruined everything.” Gripping his hair in his fists, he paces around in front of me, then points his finger in Oliver's direction, “Since he came back to the clan, I was trying to gain control of him because he was the most powerful guardian. More powerful than any Superior or high-ranking guardians, and those fools were afraid of his strength. That's why they never wanted him to gain his true powers. But for me, he could have been my perfect pet, but you freed him. Earlier I would have kept him alive, but now he would die a painful death because he is of no use for me."

Closing his eyes, he looks up and sighs. Then he walks towards me, looking at me with hatred and lust.

“I was so angry at you. I wanted you dead. Not just for my brother's death but for ruining our efforts. But then, when I saw you for the first time, I realized everything happens for the best.” He lifts his hand to touch my face but then drops it to his side, “You’re worth every sacrifice that we have made. You are the mate which I deserve, the one which will become the reason for our rise.”

The entire place shakes with a terrifying growl that emits from Oliver.

"My mate!" He growls threateningly, looking ready to tear Joseph into pieces.