Chapter 24

This song really sets the tone for this chapter! Listen to it while you read, it'll be like a movie playing in your head.

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Berlin

My eyes burned with unshed tears as I haphazardly crawled my way to the pale, lifeless body. Sobs tore through my chest with a renewed vengeance and my knees chafed against the bloodied carpet, my arms threatening to give way with each movement I made. My ears drowned out the sickening chuckle that drifted through the stale air, stained with the stench of death. The only thing on my mind was getting to him.

The sight of Osias's lifeless body laid at the feet of the only person I'd ever want to kill left me feeling as if a hole had been drilled to the very depths of my soul, leaving only a void of pain and hollow despair. A scream of overwhelming grief finally tore its way out of my throat, waves of dark emptiness almost knocking me over as I pulled his head into my lap, feeling a sick sense of deja-vu. His beautiful, light blue eyes locked into a final stare into nothingness. My hands trembled as I frantically wiped back bloodied hair from his forehead, my screams of anguish echoing throughout the entire room.

Why?

Why me?

Why again?

I asked, sending up a silent plea to the Goddess, hoping that She would somehow hear my cries. Even so, my chest seemed ready to burst into flames with every harsh breath I took, a waterfall of tears flowing down my cheeks and landing onto the handsome face of my dead mate.

And just like that, the sliver of hope that I clung to was gone.

How could I raise our child without Osias? I couldn't subject our own baby to a life devoid of happiness from not knowing their father. It would be cruel.

I knew what I had to do.

There was only one way that we could all be together.

I sent Corey and Ortiz a small, sad smile, the sight Corey fretting over his unconscious mate like he was the most precious jewel in the world causing my heart to ache in an agonizing torture. They'd make amazing leaders, I just knew it. I wouldn't even be surprised if Corey found himself in the Alpha position while Ortiz became the Luna.

With that, I gently laid my head on Osias's still chest, my blood-stained fingertips brushing against his soft lips as I admired the feel of his features, attempting to train each one to memory. His sharp jawline, down to his scruffy chin, before heading back up to his smooth cheeks: dusted with a five-o-clock shadow that made him look all the more rugged and sexy.

"I love you." I whispered out to him adoringly, my body suddenly calm and composed as I thought about him hearing my words from the Goddesses' paradise, where he surely resided.

I wasn't scared anymore.

"Wow, he sure looks better when he's dead." an obnoxious snort sounded from a few feet away as the demon licked at a bloodied knife which he clutched tightly in his hands. He was far from unscathed, with his clothes that were almost completely torn from his body and long gashes that ran the length of his torso, but he was most definitely alive.

"It should have been you!" I cried out, my small hands clutching at Osias as I held him as close as possible to my body. I began to shake with rage from the audacity this... thing held to even breathe in anyone's presence. This rapist, necropheliac murderer deserved to rot in hell.

"Oh but we see who the Goddess favors, don't we?!" he bellowed, his tone confident and strong as his blazing gaze settled on me, his knife clutched so tightly in his hand that his bloody knuckles were strained. "She obviously knows who you belong to, since she let this weak piece of shit die!" Max's insane chuckles once again filled the room, escalating until he suddenly doubled over in laughter, the deep gashes on his chest or bullet wound in his leg seemingly not bothering him in the slightest. "She's obviously also enthralled with my collection as well, and thought that your little mate would be a wonderful addition!"

The knife dropped to the ground as he began clapping, a crooked grin sliding menacingly over his features and causing his dimple to pop out of his cheek.

"And now, we can raise our family together..." he growled out suddenly, dropping to his knees while reaching both of his bloody hands out towards my stomach. Rage boiled within my body, seizing my limbs as I screamed out, pushing his hands away frantically.

NO!

He couldn't touch the most sacred thing in my life. He couldn't taint the perfect being that Osias and I created out of our love for one another. I wouldn't allow it.

"You DARE defy me?!" he screeched, reaching down to yank my long, blonde hair into his grip before roughly pulling me away from Osias's lifeless body. I had no more power to fight back, a sad smile gracing my lips as I ignored the pain of him yanking at my scalp; I had much more emotional pain that outweighed anything else. I simply stared at him blankly for a moment before my eyes fluttered closed and I finally accepted my fate.

He'd won. But there was a much better place I was headed to.

"You've taken everything away from me." my voice cracked as silent tears streamed down my face. I would've thought that my tears had gone dry by now, but alas they continued to flow like a stream down my cheeks. "I have nothing left." I croaked, breathing in a strangled breath of surprise as I suddenly felt the sharp blade of his knife at my throat.

Still, I wasn't scared.

I smiled at him softly through my never-ending tears, reaching out one shaky hand to place it over the spot where his heart would be. As my hand shook, I whispered out to him in a genuine gesture.

"Max... I hope you find peace." my throat scraped against the knife as I spoke, my voice soft and laced with sincerity. Max's nostrils flared as he looked at me with an enraged expression, pressing the blade even harder against my neck and I choked at the force, sucking in a strangled breath while I still could. Blood dripped down from the slowly deepening gash that formed from the knife, but I'd already accepted my fate.

"SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP!" he screamed out, stomping his foot with each word. I could barely breathe as he pressed the blade harder and harder, but I simply looked up to the ceiling, smiling silently and praying to the goddess to let me into her beautiful gardens when I got there. I could hear Corey's growl of rage in the background of my mind and the flutter of heavy feet from across the room but I knew he wouldn't make it in time.

The room around me was quickly growing black around the edges and I gurgled out a breath as I felt the knife penetrate my throat and blood spill from my mouth before my head fell lifelessly to the side.