Chapter 34: Too Late

CLARA

I was “treated” to a movie of my life to this point on fast-forward, with all of the corresponding emotions attached.

The first half was okay, but as soon as Grant appeared, tears began flowing freely down my face. I watched the years of abuse flicker past and the way the light went out in my eyes.

I watched myself sobbing in the bathroom during my mother’s funeral because I’d lost my only support.

I watched the fights and the beatings, the scars, and the breaking point. And then…I watched myself get up, dust myself off, and get out. I saw the court proceedings, the job interviews, and the day I arrived in Melville.

And then there was Elias.

I felt like my chest would burst when I saw the light slowly returning to my eyes as I met him and learned about his world. I hadn’t noticed it day to day, but seeing the last six weeks sped up to seconds made it obvious.

After seeing my whole life laid out before me, it became abundantly obvious that he was the best thing that had ever happened to me.

But that wasn’t the end.

Suddenly, I found myself in what had to be Elias’s memories. Just like mine, the scenes flickered past like a film.

I watched him grow up the apple of his father’s eye and his mother’s pride and joy. I watched him prepare to take over the pack, believing he had plenty of time.

Loved one after loved one died as battle after battle played out. The memories seemed to slow for a moment when Elias and his father were pinned against the flat stone in the clearing.

I saw Xavier as a wolf latch onto the other alpha’s throat and rip it out, while Elias struggled to pull him away. I watched Elias stand over his father’s body and weep until he collapsed to his knees and hugged his chest in agony.

Then I watched him rise, wipe his face, and return to the pack as alpha.

I could barely watch as he transformed in anger again and again, throwing himself at the walls of the cabin so he wouldn’t harm anyone in his fury.

I saw him transfer the fading light in his own eyes to canvas after canvas, while all the other males in the pack found their mates and moved out of the pack house. I felt his despair and loneliness that he never allowed anyone to see.

And I felt his hope grow every time I returned. Seeing how he began to love me bit by bit caused my heart to ache.

I’d never realized how much I actually meant to him. By the time his memories had faded, I could feel his hand curled into a fist against my chest and the other gripping my left hand as if afraid to let me go.

Deep in my belly, I felt something stir. I opened my eyes and found the world to be intensely clear. I could see the individual leaves on the dark trees and the blades of grass at the other end of the meadow. I could smell the grass, the earth, and the wildlife that inhabited the forest.

I wanted to wrap my arms around Elias and express how sorry I was for all his pain, but we didn’t have a chance.

The symbols on the altar flickered out, and when I searched for the Seer’s guidance, I found she had disappeared.

The sound of howling broke the silence, and at the edge of the clearing, I spotted the familiar form of a black wolf. I could feel his anger from here.

Elias stepped in front of me and took a deep breath.

“I guess it’s time to test our vows, Clara. Graveridge is here, surprise, surprise.”

A now-familiar black wolf stalked into the clearing, his hackles raised.

I stood behind Elias, painfully aware that I was still topless. Elias fully hid me from Xavier’s line of sight, standing at his full height.

“You’re too late, Xavier. We’ve already completed the bond. Clara is officially my mate in every way, and there’s nothing you can do about it. Any claim to bloodline you might have thought you had is null and void.”

“~That can’t be true! The girl is my daughter, and I will have her back where she belongs. I don’t care what you think you gained from the ancient ritual. My blood runs in her veins.~”

Xavier rushed into the clearing, his massive paws pounding the earth.

Elias lunged forward, transforming into his wolf as quickly as if he had jumped through a portal and come out the other side changed.

“My~ blood runs in her veins now too, and hers in mine. You’re the one who started murdering every unmated female in my pack because of the prophecy only you believed in, you scumbag!~”

Their titanic forms met with a sound like a sledgehammer slamming into a piece of meat. Both wolves let out a yelp and tumbled to the ground for a moment.

Elias regained his footing first and pounced on Xavier, who rolled over onto his back and repelled Elias with all four of his paws.

“~You might have been correct that the prophecy was real, but your obsession has to end. I have the bond, and unlike you, I don’t want to exterminate your pack to finish the fulfillment.~”

Elias’s powerful jaw snapped at Xavier’s throat as he struggled to get close enough, but he couldn’t.

“~Obviously I wasn’t the only one who believed in it. You’re the one out here doing rituals in the dead of winter!~”

Xavier retracted his legs and used them to push Elias back as hard as he could, sending him flying ten feet before crashing into the ground.

“Elias!” I cried, but he quickly returned to his feet and shook his silver fur.

A deep growl rumbled through the clearing, and I could feel him growing angrier through our bond.

“~I only tried it as a last resort! You killed a ~human~, Xavier! You crossed an unforgivable line. If folklore was the way to get the bloodshed to stop, then it was worth a try. Then the Seer showed up, and that put any doubt to rest.~”

Both wolves again rushed at each other—and the earth shook beneath their weight.

Elias reared up and slashed at Xavier, laying open his muzzle nearly to the bone. Xavier let out a roar of pain, and his blood began speckling the grass.

“~Marius!~” he howled, and the second black wolf charged into the fray.

Marius leapt at Elias’s back and grabbed a mouthful of scruff, dragging him to the ground by his skin.

Elias snarled and kicked out, managing to knock two of Marius’s legs out from under him. The black wolf’s jaw hit the ground, hard, and released.

“~There is no line when it comes to fulfilling the prophecy and regaining the power my pack was always intended to have! My daughter’s pet human shouldn’t have gone sniffing where he didn’t belong.~”

Elias got back to his feet just in time for Xavier to lunge for his throat. Elias attempted to dodge, but his paw slipped on the grass, and he instead fell sideways.

Like the scene from Elias’s memory, the black wolf latched on to his throat and began viciously whipping his head back and forth.

As much as Elias kicked and thrashed, he couldn’t dislodge Xavier.

“Stop!” I screamed, picking up rocks and throwing them at the black wolves. “Stop it! Stop fighting, especially over me!”

But no matter how many rocks I hit them with, none of the wolves even seemed to notice my presence.

I could see that Elias was starting to flag. His blood ran down Xavier’s jaws from deep puncture wounds where the black wolf’s teeth were still lodged, and Marius had managed to get a solid hold of Elias’s flank.

“Elias! Don’t give up!” I screamed, throwing all the energy I could into our link.

A growl rumbled deep in his throat, and he dropped suddenly, bringing both black wolves down with him. He deathrolled like a crocodile, managing to break loose.

“~She was never your daughter, Xavier. You threw her away without even knowing she existed. Threw away her mother over a lie about infidelity. Threw away your chance to know Clara and love her as she deserved to be loved.~”

“~All of the pain she suffered? It’s your fault. She’s a damn amazing woman, and none of that is because of you.~”

Elias had struck a nerve. Xavier leapt up from the ground and grabbed Elias right by the jugular, his iron jaws snapping shut. He shook his head violently, and blood splattered all across the grass.

I opened my mouth to scream, and a droplet landed on my tongue.

At that point, my fear turned to fury. I could feel that stirring in my belly again and called to her.

I couldn’t let Elias die. Not for me, and not by Xavier’s hand.

“You. Will. Stop,” I demanded, and my voice echoed over the trees.

I felt myself growing taller, my bones cracking and shifting within my body as black fur began tearing through my flesh.

I let out a scream of agony and fell forward, finding myself standing steadily on all fours.

My pants became little more than shredded scraps of fabric as my body grew and changed.

Within moments, I had become a massive beast of pure muscle and rage.

A howl ripped from my throat, and the clearing itself seemed to freeze.

As soon as the transformation pain subsided, I felt an empowering rush. I ran toward the fighting wolves and slammed my head directly into Marius’s shoulder, dislodging him and sending him flying into a tree with a sickening crunch.

I then turned and kicked at Xavier’s face with my back paws, making solid contact with his jaw. But he wasn’t as easily removed as Marius had been. His teeth remained lodged in Elias’s neck, and I could see Elias’s eyes beginning to roll back in his head.

“~Elias, you can’t give up~,” I ordered. “~Fight~.”

I latched my jaws into Xavier’s shoulder and bit down as hard as I could, feeling the flesh part for my teeth. Blood filled my mouth, and I allowed it to roll down my throat.

My father unlocked his jaw, and Elias fell to the ground, making a horrible gurgling sound.

Using all my strength, I launched forward and pushed Xavier into the stone altar. I felt his shoulder break under the impact, but he snapped it back into position and broke free.

“~You stupid, stupid girl! Do you really think you can defeat me? Your own flesh and blood? Do you really choose that pathetic silver wolf over us?~”

He lifted his muzzle to point to Marius, who was regaining consciousness, and then to the tree line where an untold number of wolves paced back and forth, just waiting for the word.

“~Graveridge will destroy both you and the entirety of his worthless pack unless you choose to return to your rightful place~.”

I rose to my full height, feeling the sheer strength of my wolf thundering through my veins.

“~I am Luna of this territory. Elias is my alpha, and together we will fulfill the prophecy. We will lead the Forest Echo Pack, and you can either choose to join it, or be defeated~.”

“~Well, you are a prideful one, aren’t you? You’re no alpha and you’ll never lead any made-up pack. You’re just a rogue from birth who thinks she’ll ever be something without me.~”

“~My rightful place is the ruler of this land. I am no alpha; I am Moon-Chosen. The Seer has declared it, and together Elias and I made it so~.”

Xavier snarled and knocked my feet out from under me, leaving my belly exposed for a split second.

He took that second to shred my abdomen open, allowing my entrails to tumble out.