24. Ending it all

Aleida’s POV

The days go by, and I have no idea how long time passes. I feel like I’m in constant darkness where the light can’t get through the surface. I don’t feel Elisa; I can’t see or feel, just think. It feels like I’m dead. Is this where we end up when we die? Why am I not up at the moon goddess place where I get to meet all the people I love and lost over the years? I don’t understand what’s going on, and no matter how much I try to remember what has happened, nothing comes to me. It just feels like I forgot something important, but I can’t remember what, in other words, annoying! I’m a hybrid, eighteen years old, my name is Aleida, and I’ve been hurt a lot in my life. It’s basically the only thing I can remember.

“You have to fight it, Aleida,” a soft voice says, and I look around in the dark without finding the owner.

“Who’s there?” I ask, horrified.

The person chuckles softly, and far away, I see the light approaching. The light gets stronger the closer it comes, and eventually, she stands in front of me, the moon goddess. She smiles at me and stretches out her hand to help me up.

“Hello, dear Aleida,” Evita says softly. “I understand that you’re confused and don’t know what’s happening at the moment, which is understandable given the circumstances. A bewitched rogue bit you, and you disappeared into your hybrid; you’re still in there, but you’ve got to resist the power.”

“I don’t understand,” I answer frustratingly. “How am I supposed to get out of this when I don’t even know how I ended up here in the first place?”

“Remember your mates,” she replies, smiling.

“Mates? Do I have mates?” I ask in surprise.

“Yes, you have two mates, Kian and Miliano. Together you have five puppies, two boys, and three girls. In addition to that, you have two brothers who need you, Luis, who protects your pack, and Holly, who currently takes care of your hybrid as if she were a dog.”

What? What’s Holly doing here, and why’s she taking care of my hybrid? Wait a minute... Holly! Slowly but surely, all my memories begin to recur, and after a few minutes, I have everything ready in front of me with a determination I never had before.

“I see your memories coming back,” Evita laughs. “It’s not a day too late; you’ve been in the dark far too long.”

She puts her hands against my temples and closes her eyes. A light breeze circulates us, and I get something up in my head that resembles a movie. At first, I’m confused, but the longer I look at Evita walking through the flower fields, I realize it’s a memory.

~* Memory begins *~

“I have long waited for you to seek me out,” Evita says in a monotonous voice without turning around.

“I’m ready to receive my powers, goddess,” the voice responds, and Evita turns around.

In front of her stands a copy of myself. How’s this possible!? The difference is that if I stood before the goddess in this way, I would bow out of respect; my copy does the exact opposite. She stands there proudly, straight in the back, and grins as if she had just overcome the universe.

“It was unnecessary for you to seek me out,” Evita replies, ice-cold. “I thought you’d deserve the power and appreciate the life I intended to give you, but it’s now clear to me that I was wrong.”

“What do you mean, goddess?” my copy asks, horrified. “I’ve done everything you asked for!”

“Have you treated others with kindness? Forgiven those who hurt you? Did you allow the innocent to live?” Evita asks in a firm tone that echoes before she becomes sad. “No, Alida. You didn’t do what I asked you to do. What I asked you for was that you try to forgive those who did you wrong and accept them in your heart; instead, you did the exact opposite and slaughtered them one by one.”

“They deserved it!” my copy roars, apparently named Alida.

“Did their innocent children deserve to die for the actions of their parents!?” Evita roars back and slowly shakes her head. “I had such great expectations about you, Alida. You didn’t pass the forgiveness test, but let the darkness continue eating on you; thus, you don’t get power from me. If you can go against the will of your goddess, then you can also create your own destiny.”

“I’m sorry, goddess!” Alida exclaims. “Please, give me another chance. Show mercy!”

“Did you give others a second chance? Did you care when they asked for mercy?” Evita asks with a raised eyebrow. “You didn’t listen to them, but chose to be cruel, so why should I show you any mercy?”

~* End of memory *~

The goddess takes her hands off my head and smiles sadly at me. She doesn’t say anything; she lets me process what I just saw. This woman, Alida, looks like me. Is she my doppelganger from another era?

“You think rightly, beloved Aleida,” Evita says, smiling. “Alida failed to destroy the darkness and was eaten up by it instead. You, on the other hand, are her opposite. Not once have you allowed the darkness to eat you completely, even though it has been in your veins since you were born. You belong to a long history of mistakes and betrayal throughout history, long before you or Alida were even conceived. This prophecy has been circulating every thousand years since the beginning, and you’re one of those who sadly got involved. I’m sorry for all the darkness you’ve had to suffer, but I don’t regret it because you made it through.”

She hugs me, and I still feel confused, but instead of the darkness that previously surrounded me, it starts to brighten. I look fearfully at the moon goddess, terrified of what’s happening. But instead of looking worried, she just smiles.

“You have the power; now you’ve got to do what’s right. Follow your heart; it’ll take you back to your mates,” she says, and I close my eyes.

I open my eyelids and am confused about where I am. Majestic trees surround me, and a stream ripples on the side. Footsteps move closer, and Holly suddenly steps into my field of vision. She sits down in front of me with berries in her hands and puts a small pile in front of me.

“Please, Elisa, can’t you eat a little?” she asks softly.

Elisa?

Aleida! I never thought you’d come back. Where have you been!?

We don’t have time to talk memories now; our mates and puppies need us!

I’m with you all the way!

I raise my heavy hybrid body and shake myself. Holly looks anxiously at me, and I transform myself back into human form. This is the first time that it takes a long time, but on the other hand, I may still be fighting the spell that binds me to my animal form.

“Aleida!” Holly exclaims and runs to me.

We land on the ground in a pile, and she cries against my shoulder while I laughingly caress her hair. Holly isn’t much younger than me, but it feels like she’s my puppy, given my maternal instincts. I keep hugging her until she calms down.

“I thought you were gone forever!” she exclaims, and I wipe one of her tears while smiling.

“How could I leave you behind?” I ask and put her hair behind her ear. “Now we need to fix what we missed, don’t we?”

She nods and starts telling me about how the threat in the city is much more significant than it was when I broke out of the cage. The witch thought I wouldn’t be a threat to her, given her spell-casting. What she doesn’t think about is that I have the moon goddess in my corner.

“What’s the first step, alpha?” Holly asks, and I grin back.

“We’re going to take back what’s mine,” I answer, and a grin of her own spreads over her features.

It doesn’t take us long to create a plan and take us to the Rose moon pack’s territory to finish what I once started. All the members who are outside stop when they see my massive shape move towards their quarters.

“Jonathan!” I shout and look up at the office on the second floor when I’ve transformed.

He looks out the window and grins when he sees me. Shortly after, he comes out the door, and I promise you I can hear the “House of the rising sun” by Five Finger Death Punch in my head. I’m walking toward Jonathan until we stand face to face, just a few inches between our faces.

“I didn’t think you would venture back here,” he says in a fatal tone with a smirk on his lips.

“I’m here to take back what’s mine,” I reply and grin. “The Rose moon pack belongs to me after all.”

Other members around gasp and looking marveled at what’s going on between me and their alpha. Jonathan looks around uncertainly, and you can’t miss the fear in his eyes. Good. He should be afraid because now we’re finishing this.

“I, Aleida Mendez, of the Blood fang pack and hybrid Queen at this moment challenge you, Jonathan Goy, for the alpha position!” I loudly shout with a confident voice.

The others look at me in amazement, as if they can’t understand that the little girl they treated badly over the years nowadays is their queen and alpha for one of the most substantial packs in the city. Jonathan is insecure and worried, but he also knows that he can’t avoid this battle anymore.

“I, Jonathan Goy, accept your challenge!” he responds with a dark voice.

This time I can use my skills and do a decent job. I jump on Jonathan right away and throw him to the ground. His breathing disappears temporarily, and I take the opportunity to tear his arm and then kick him into a tree a few meters away.

“You’ve sat on a throne in this pack and called yourself alpha without earning the position,” I begin and slowly move towards him. “For years, I’ve received your punches and profanities without having deserved any of it. All because you didn’t want to tell the members the truth because you know that truth takes away your power in the pack. Your rank shouldn’t be alpha because you’ve never been one. When some of the members began to realize the truth, that the pack was rightfully mine and that my parents never entered an agreement with you to take over completely, you chose to make the despicable choice to kill their mates. Your fear and arrogance have cost the future of “your” members with their families. This is coming to an end today. Submit to me here and now, and I may have mercy on you!”

I show my fangs for extra effect, and given that Jonathan isn’t able to stand up at all at the moment, he knows he’s defeated. Only through two attacks, he’s down on the ground where he always belonged. However, he disagrees with my proposal but is stupid enough to transform himself into his weak wolf form that doesn’t have a chance to battle my hybrid. Jonathan’s wolf runs towards me, ready to attack, and I don’t even have to shift to take him down again. I take a firm grip on the neck of the wolf and throw it down on the ground. With my teeth shown and my growl, Jonathan’s second part sees his superior. He whimpers and shows his stomach, which is a sign of submission. The power moves into me, and I know I’m now their alpha.

“Shift,” I say, and where the wolf previously stood now stands a naked Jonathan. “As of today, I’m your superior. Unlike you, I’m not evil, so I’m not going to kill you. I sentence you, Jonathan Goy, to life in a cell without the possibility of coming out again for your past actions. May the goddess give you peace of mind on your way to rightness.”

I indicate two warriors to bring Jonathan to his proper place down in the basement among the other criminals who now atone for their previous deeds. They take him in one arm each and drag him screaming away while I stand, straight in the back, ready for the respect of my members towards their new alpha. Holly comes up and stands next to me with a big smile on her lips before indicating the members to do as they should. One by one, they get down on their knees and put their clenched hands over their chests before quoting what members are supposed to say to their alpha.

“I hereby promise to honor and maintain my loyalty toward my alpha, Aleida Mendez, hybrid Queen until my last moment,” they say in unison.

I nod to indicate that I confirm their loyalty and that they can rise. Slowly I stroll back and forth in front of my members, studying their faces. The violent path that Jonathan steered my pack with is from now on over.

“Things are going to change now,” I begin and keep eye contact with my members as I walk past them. “To begin with, everyone from the age of twelve will have an opportunity to train to become warriors if they want to, no matter what gender they belong to. Before you begin to comment that women are weaker than men, remember that I’m a woman, your queen, and the strongest living creature on Earth.”

Some young girls giggle at my words and smile broadly at their friends, who seem excited about the changes. However, my smile disappears when I remember that we can’t leave the other packs to fight in the war for our shared future alone.

“The threat is here in the city, as we speak, and I don’t know what you think,” I say. “But I’m not prepared to give up my home because a violent witch happens to be here. Shall we allow it!?”

“No, alpha!” they respond in unison.

“Everyone who’s over eighteen years old and trained, prepare; in an hour, we go to war,” I say, heading towards the office that was once my father’s.

You may wonder why I don’t bring everyone who trains daily, and that’s because I can’t live with a good conscience while tearing families apart by taking their children to war. My goal is to give my pack members what Jonathan took away from them; the possibility of a life with their families.

We run in a united squad towards the center where my mates and brothers are. Kayden, Hunter, and other real wolves join us on the road. With fifty of my warriors and a hundred real wolves behind me, I feel proud of how far we’ve gone. I order my warriors to spread out as we approach to help the injured in the city.

“Well, she’s not here now, is she?” the witch laughs, and my roar thunders over the city.

All my wolves growl behind me, all ready to fight and die for what we believe in; personal freedom. However, the witch just laughs and wipes her tears as if I’m the biggest joke in history. Elisa shows her fangs, ready to kill her on the spot.

“Oh, look! Your queen who lost her mind is finally here!” the witch laughs.

I crouch down to help Holly down from my back and hear Jason whisper “mate” when their glances meet. I’m glad! Jason has been waiting a long time for his mate, and I’m happy that he gets such a healthy and beautiful person as Holly is.

“Oh, what do you know! She has finally met her mate; too bad she won’t get to experience life with him,” the witch laughs and walks up to Jason with a silver knife to his throat.

“Drop. My. Brother,” I growl when I transform to my pissed human form.

“Well, well, well, you’ve finally come up with the truth, haven’t you?” the witch asks with a significant smirk on her lips. “You know what you and I share.”

Of course, I have. However, I wouldn’t understand it if the moon goddess didn’t explain the truth to me and helped me realize that darkness isn’t me but my counterpart, an evil twin from another era. My mates look confused.

“Aleida, what does she mean?” Miliano asks confusedly, and I feel sad that my mates got dragged into this mess.

“Oh, let me show you!” the witch laughs and reads a spell.

Just as I suspected, now stands a copy of myself where the witch previously stood; an evil and vindictive person who doesn’t care about anyone but herself. Her desire for power disgusts me to the point that I’m nauseous.

“Well, why do we look the same, Aleida? Tell your people,” the witch laughs, and a tear travels down my cheek.

“Baby girl, who is she?” Miliano asks.

“She’s me, my dark counterpart,” I reply.

“How is that possible?” Nathan asks.

“Every thousand years, a doppelganger similar to the light is born; she will wipe out the darkness around her and rise stronger than everyone else. If she fails, she takes over the place of evil in hell to forever relive her counterpart’s torments,” the witch laughs again, and I want to punch that disgusting happiness off her face. “Pity only that you didn’t succeed!”

We attack each other simultaneously, and I manage to minimize the flow of blood to her head with a grip, as a result of which she works “more slowly.” However, using hand-to-hand combat and trying to fight a witch is an entirely different thing. She uses her powers to throw me backward, and I land on the ground but is quickly up on my feet again. I won’t give up; therefore, I take a new grip on the witch and put pressure on both her shoulder and elbow. It hurts like hell, at least if you do it right. The witch gets angry and uses her powers to throw me high into the air. I land with a hard thud on the ground and lose my breath, resulting in me coughing. It’s no longer possible to fight her like this; therefore, I transform myself into Elisa’s form that shows her long sharp fangs.

“In tenebris, out vos voco, ascendit contra eam vivere rursus eius opprimere omnium malorum eam!” the witch shouts, and we howl loudly by having to relive through my nightmare that’s my life. “Frange cum ea, in tenebras, et tormentis comprehensos tuam mendacium. Sanctificate super eam bellum!”

Every blow, violation, and insult I ever had to suffer through passes revue inside my head like a movie. Going through everything at once is too painful for my heart, and we can do nothing more than keep howling by the pain. In the end, I fall to my knees, and an electric cage surrounds me.

“How do you feel, Aleida? How does it feel to betray every single one you’ve ever met, once again?” the witch laughs.

“Why are you doing this?” I whisper in a sad tone as I shift back, not understanding how a person I’ve never met before can hate me this much, and the witch turns to me, livid.

“You took everything from me!” she roars.

“I don’t even know your name!” I exclaim, and I begin to get angry at her accusations.

“Alida, and you know exactly what you did! The moon goddess gave you all the power she promised me!” the witch growls back.

“I can’t bear responsibility for what the goddess chooses to do!” I roar, pissed off that everyone always blames me. “All my life, others have blamed their misfortunes and failures on me. And for what!? I’m innocent and can’t be held responsible for anything I’m not involved in at all.”

“A seer told me about my future; I would meet my mates, twin brothers, and have seven puppies. My life would be fine, and that I would gain more power than anyone else in the world,” Alida quietly says, looking sad, before her facial expressions change to disgust, and I understand because that’s the same betrayal I felt after Michael. “Until the moon goddess visited me and said that I wasn’t worthy enough; that I’m not good enough! How do you think it felt to me, huh!? All my life, I was looking forward to living a simple life with my mates, even though we would be of different races. But the moment you were born, everything changed, and you got my mates. And therefore, my future. Unfortunately, I was misinformed, and when I killed your parents, you were already four years old.”

I gasp and feel tears travel down my cheek, not understanding how she can do something like that. Of course, I’ve done my own share of killing throughout my life, but never any innocents. For fourteen years, this has been my most tremendous pain, and this bitch proclaims it like it’s the best thing ever happening!

“Why would you kill my parents!?” I exclaim.

“If your parents died before you were born, then my future would be secure, and no one would be able to stand in my way. I wanted revenge on the moon goddess because she betrayed me, but at the time, I didn’t know that she created a reincarnation of herself; you. But oh, as your dad screamed when his luna fell dead next to him,“ Alida says, walking closer to whisper in my ear. “And your mother, I enjoyed cutting her throat only to see her bleed to death, slowly.”

That’s it! With Elisa’s help, we bend the electric cage open and jump out of it with a roar. The witch uses her powers, and we both fly high into the air at a fast speed. It seems that the lightning is trying to hit Alida but repeatedly misses. Unfortunately, it’s finally me who gets the blow, and the witch laughingly flows down to the ground again while I remain up in the clouds. Why don’t I fall? Suddenly Evita comes flying on a fog towards me with a motherly smile on her lips and caresses my cheek softly.

“I now give you the power, my beloved Aleida,” she says, kissing my forehead. “Finish it!”

She puts her hands on my head, and I feel myself transform before being let down noiselessly on the ground. Michael is standing next to Alida, and no matter how much it hurts, I know what I have to do. I punch through his upper body with my massive paw, and he drops bloody to the ground. Alida backs away with horror and tears falling down her cheeks. She even has the nerve to ask for mercy, such people as she can’t change and therefore won’t receive any. I enjoy hearing her screams as my fangs penetrate her carotid arteries. I look at my mates and transform myself back into human form. They look at me with big eyes and then hurry to embrace me. I hug them back for a moment until I hear my best friend’s heavy breath and fall on his knees next to him. My tears fall on his face, and he smiles up at me. I don’t know what to do or think right now. Even though he had to die for me to kill Alida, I’m not sure if it was worth it. He weakly raises his hand to caress my cheek and wipe away my tears.

“Don’t be sad, Aleida,” he says weakly. “You let me free from the darkness and that person I’m not. I’m free, and now I can move on with the knowledge that you’ll survive. I love you, now and forever.”

With those words, his hand falls back down on his now lifeless body. His eyes close, and I repeatedly say his name in a higher and higher tone until I scream. I shake him and have to hold a hand over my heart because I’m afraid it’s truly breaking. I howl loud enough for it to echo all over the city, and everyone can feel my pain. In the corner of my eye, I see Killian and Holly walking towards me before they fall on their knees next to me. Holly caresses my hair and repeatedly whispers that everything will be fine in a broken voice while Killian reminds me of his promise.

“I’m your protector, have always been and always will be. I have sucked your darkness over and over again to keep you going; I’m always by your side,” he says, and my sobs echo in the area until I hear a voice I can recognize wherever I am.

“Mama!”

In a second, I stand in front of my boys and have them in my arms. I cry with happiness that it’s finally over and the grief over everything I lost. My boys whimper at my state of mind while enjoying having their mom with them again.

“You’re a God, Aleida,” Nathan says, who’s been trying to make me understand for over half an hour now. “The winged lion represents Mother Earth and is part of the moon goddess.”

It doesn’t matter how many times he says it because I don’t care, at least not now that I’m still in pain. My best friend’s death stings inside me, and I don’t know how to get over it. A few days have passed since I killed Alida and Michael. Today is his funeral.

“It’s time,” Miliano says, who has Elias on his hip.

I nod and rise with a sigh. Somewhere I thought everything would feel different now after everything. Instead, I feel empty and destroyed. On the other hand, I did when Clare died too, and I survived that. I know I’m going to be okay again, just not today. Since I’m the queen, I’m also the one holding the funeral. The priest quickly goes through what’s to be said, and then it’s my turn. Oh, goddess, I don’t know if I can do this. With my little men next to me in their tiny cute suits, I get power and start talking.

“Michael wasn’t an evil person, and I don’t give a shit how many people believed it given his recent actions. But I truly knew him, and I know he wouldn’t care what the rest of you think if he were here now. What I do know is that he would care what I thought,” I say, turning to Michael’s coffin. “You were my best friend; I forgive you for everything you did, and um-.”

My tears flow, and I pray a silent prayer to the moon goddess to give me strength enough to get me through this. I inhale a couple of times and close my eyes, pretend that there’s no one else there, and gradually I get back the strength. I caress Michael’s cheek tenderly.

“I love you, Michael, now and forever,” I whisper and kiss his forehead. “You’ll hear our song one last time.”

“Thelma and Louise” by Anna Bergendahl play from the speakers, and my tears continue to fall where I stand; I sing along for his sake. Michael always called us Thelma and Louise; I know he would’ve appreciated hearing me one last time.

“Let it burn

Leave them smoke and take the cash

Then hurry back

And go tell your mother

From the start, a hungry heart is doomed to break

Gold will be gold, for we get old

When we can still be really dumb

And leave no trace, lie to their face

Yeah, we’ll just bite our tongue

I know one day they will put us

Both six feet below the ground

And by then all that is left, our memories

So let’s give them one hell of a story

Put your foot right on the gun

And they can call us Thelma and Louise

And in the flames

I swear, I heard a mockingbird calling my name

And from the dark

Something new will come on through and rise again

Gold will be gold, for we get old

When we can still be really dumb

We are blood brothers, don’t tell the others

You know mum’s the word

I know one day they will put us

Both six feet below the ground

And by then all that is left, our memories

So let’s give them one hell of a story

Put your foot right on the gun

And they can call us Thelma and Louise

Gold will be gold, for we get old

When we can still be really dumb

And leave no trace, lie to their face

We’ll just bite our tongue

I know one day they will put us

Both six feet below the ground

And by then all that is left, our memories

So let’s give them one hell of a story

Put your foot right on the gun

And they can call us Thelma and Louise

So let’s give them one hell of a story

Put your foot right on the gun

And they can call us Thelma and Louise”

When I finish, I kiss the red rose before putting it down on his coffin, wipe my tears, stretch my back, and walk away from the place without turning around.