Chapter 100: Chapter 100

Adelie

I made my way over to where Maeve was perched, her gaze lost in the horizon. “Adelie,” she greeted me, her voice laced with a sweetness that felt out of place. “I mean, Luna.” She corrected herself with a shake of her head.

“Cut the crap, Maeve,” I retorted, settling down beside her. I crossed my arms and legs, mirroring her distant stare.

“You’re aware I was never your Luna. I’ve never been a Luna. I’ve always been just Kairos’ mate. To you, I was an object of scorn, born to the wrong parents.

“And to think, ~you~ were the one my parents warned me about.

“I also understand why you hold your Alpha in such high regard, why you’d do anything to serve him. You admired his cruelty. I softened him. Some say I broke him.

“You appreciated his readiness to be cruel to protect his pack. All because you were ready to be cruel to save yourself.” I could feel her eyes on me, but I didn’t flinch.

“What else do you know?” she asked, her voice trembling.

“Enough to know that you’re a liar and a terrible person. You were part of the tribe that hunted me. It’s a pity you didn’t find me sooner,” I taunted, a smirk playing on my lips.

“They might have made you their leader and let you chain me up yourself. You ~are~ that kind of awful.” She gasped softly.

“But aren’t we all,” I continued. “At this point, I’ve had enough mentors to teach me how to be the cruelest person ever. Hans, Jasmin, Aldred, Esty, Kairos, and you.

“I finally get it. My powers give me an edge over all of you. I can do so much more with that. And I will create the safest and strongest pack I can, using every cruel cell in my body.” I laughed.

“And to think how guilty I felt when I didn’t let you go. This is what people mean when they say we don’t seize the good opportunities that come our way.

I’ve been thinking a lot, and I’ve finally reached a conclusion. I need to free myself from all those who stand in my way. This is my pack.

“And I think it would be better for me to be the only one in power here, you know. I need to eliminate everyone who plots behind my back.”

“From the beginning, I was worried that you hated me. If only I had known that your tribe was the one that wanted to capture me. If only I knew that you were the one I was trying to hide from.

“I suppose it’s to my advantage that you killed them. And I don’t particularly care why you did it, but it is helpful.”

I locked eyes with her. “You were right. You don’t belong here. You have no place here.”

She inhaled sharply. “I was young and foolish. It was all I knew. I killed them when I found out what they had done. When I finally realized that I didn’t need to be like them.”

“Don’t you think that summoning a killer creature was a bit extreme? Wasn’t that enough to make you realize?” I snapped.

“I didn’t choose that. I never wanted it, but they didn’t give me a choice. James was the only sensible one. That’s why he respects you so much. He feels guilty.

“But he was also a lot smarter than them. He was the only one who knew where you lived. He knew you, yet he didn’t say anything. Not even to me.” Her eyes dropped to her lap.

“Would you have captured me then? If you had known?” I asked.

“I’m sorry!” she repeated. And I knew she was saying yes.

“Maeve, you don’t belong here,” I reiterated.

“What are you trying to tell me?” she whispered, her voice trembling. “Adelie, I didn’t know you then. I didn’t understand why they wanted you. It felt wrong to me.

“Despite how wrong it felt, I killed them all because I knew they were up to no good. I tried to rescue you, Adelie. I tried to undo everything.

“But I was naive then, and I didn't know what I was getting into.” She was in tears, but I remained unaffected.

“At three o’clock in the morning, a car will be waiting for you and James, right at the edge of the forest bordering the city. The driver has been paid and will take you wherever you wish.

“He also has money for you to start over. Join a new pack. A vampire coven. Or live in the city. I don’t care. Just vanish from my sight. As far away as possible.

“Do it discreetly though, so I don’t have to come up with a bunch of excuses,” I said, standing up and straightening my jacket.

“You can’t be serious,” she said, disbelief etched on her face.

I tilted my head at her and smiled. “You can’t possibly be a killer, right? You can’t possibly be one of those people my mother warned me about.

“You can’t possibly be the one who lured Christopher to harm me but ended up hurting Kairos instead. You can’t possibly be a heartless liar, right?” I brushed her cheek with my hand, causing her to flinch.

“This is me being generous, Maeve. Leave. And never return. Because this time, I mean it when I say I will kill you, Maeve.”

Her eyes widened and she froze in place.

I left to return to my home and found Esty sprawled on the couch. Some Omegas were tidying up the house.

I peeked into my library to see if Burton was there, but he wasn’t. I searched most of the house without finding him. I asked the Omegas, only to learn that he was in Kairos’ study.

There he was, with the door ajar. He was rifling through papers. Pack papers. “I believe that information is confidential to the pack,” I said.

“Confidential?” he questioned, laughing. “That’s a human term. These papers don’t contain anything that might pique my interest. But this does.”

He tossed the folder on the table and moved on to the next.

I picked up the folder, recognizing Kairos’ handwriting. “These are Silver Moon’s pack documents,” I informed him. We were allies, so it shouldn’t be anything unusual.

“And?” he asked.

The paragraphs in Kairos’ handwriting stood out. “Pack modifications, pack rearrangements, pack movements. Wolf execution. One leader.”

It hit me a little too late. “He wants to take over both packs? Does he realize that he has to kill Archibald?” He could only become the true Alpha of another pack if he killed that pack’s Alpha.

“What concerns me, is why hasn’t he done it already?” Burton said, pacing back and forth.

“He was here all alone. No one to stop him. Archibald wouldn’t see it coming. Christopher is cunning. He would seize the opportunity. It wouldn’t even be a fight for him. It was so simple. So why did he wait?”

“Burton, we need to act. Now!” I declared. “I don’t want him to harm Archibald or anyone else.”

“Let me think.” He sat down, pressing his fingers to his temples.

I needed to alert my pack. And I still needed to free those humans. I didn’t want to keep them here any longer. Why were they even here?

It was obvious that they had no reason to be here to pay for their crimes in the human world. I didn’t want them here any longer.

Stepping into the armory, I was taken aback by the absence of their usual boisterous banter and catcalls. My eyes struggled to adjust to the dimness. Once they did, I saw them.

Their lifeless bodies were strewn across the cold, concrete floor. The metallic scent of blood hung heavy in the air. My breath hitched, and I began to cough.

My gaze swept over the blood-soaked scene. It was hard to believe that so much blood could come from a human body. Imagining it was one thing, but seeing it—a sea of deep red—was another.

I didn’t need to touch them to know they were gone.

I bolted from the room, spotting Death in the distance. He was casually flipping coins from one hand to the other.

I didn’t wait for him. I knew he’d find me later. I was headed for Esty. She was the last one I’d seen. She’d claimed she was here to help.

She’d convinced me she was on my side this time. Because I was desperate and no one else was stepping up.

She was in my kitchen, legs crossed, cradling a cup of tea. Her eyes lifted to meet mine as I entered, a small smile playing on her lips. But it faded quickly when she saw my face.

“You look a bit pale!” she quipped, but quickly realized I wasn’t in the mood for humor.

“What happened to those people?” I asked, struggling to keep my voice steady.

She arched an eyebrow. “What do you mean? The ones in the jail? Did they escape?” she asked, not waiting for a response.

“Well, good for them. They were just taking up space. Regardless of their crimes, they don’t belong here.”

“So you killed them?” I asked.

She set her tea down. “Why would I do that?” I knew she wasn’t the most compassionate person, but I wanted her to show some respect for the dead.

“You were the last one to see them, and you told me they were okay!”

“Don’t accuse me without proof!” she snapped back. “I have no interest in killing weak humans. And I won’t let you interrogate me about it.”

Could I trust her? Or could I not? “Remember, you’re here to assist Kairos. Unless I find evidence to the contrary, I’ll consider you guilty.

“I wouldn’t put it past you to be that heartless.” She didn’t react. My words didn’t seem to affect her.

I had to find out who was responsible. I couldn’t let my pack live like this.

As I headed for the door, I noticed a dried blood trail on the wall. Then I spotted another small, red stain. I followed the trail, which led me to the basement. The doors were ajar.

I flicked on the lights at the top of the stairs, revealing blood-stained steps. With trembling knees, I descended, bracing myself for what I might find.

I couldn’t suppress a gasp, but quickly covered my mouth and pressed on.

Tears welled up in my eyes. The room was littered with corpses.

Could Christopher have done this? It seemed likely. I took a deep breath. I didn’t recognize any of them. They looked human. They were dressed like humans.

~Why?~

I rushed back to the armory to investigate. The doors were still shut. Shaking, I pushed them open but stayed in the doorway, gripping the dagger Kairos had given me.

As if I could fend him off. As if I could plunge a blade into his heart. My only real advantage in a fight was my connection to nature, not my physical strength.

For a moment, I thought I’d rather die than harm him. But now I had a child to think about. I wasn’t alone anymore. I wasn’t just living for myself.

All at once, I was at a loss. I couldn’t bear the thought of ending Kairos’ life. And the idea of taking my own life, especially if I was carrying a child, was unthinkable.

Kairos was there, standing in the center of the room. The only source of light was a single, yellow bulb hanging above him. His hands were a deep, dark red.

The chains that had once bound his wrists were now discarded on the floor, shattered.

His gaze found mine, then slowly drifted down to where my hand was clenched tightly around the dagger at my side.