Chapter 75: Chapter 75

KAIROS

I was left alone with my thoughts, unsure of what to make of them. Yes, I loved her so much that I would do anything to ensure her safety, even if it meant she was a thousand miles away from me.

Even if she was holding another man’s hand, I would watch her happiness with a broken heart. I wanted her to be happy. It was that simple. I always knew the answer, but I didn’t want her to stop loving me.

Now, I didn’t care anymore. As long as she was happy, I would find peace.

I made my way to my weapon house and entered quietly, but Madeline was already awake.

She hadn’t eaten much, despite the wide variety of food I’d had brought to her. But how could I blame her for not having an appetite?

“How are you feeling?” I asked her, even though I knew I wouldn’t get a satisfactory answer.

~“Have you found out anything new?”~ she asked, ignoring my question. ~“Can we get her back?”~

How was I supposed to answer that? I couldn’t just do this without her knowing anything. She needed to know the plan.

“There is something. We don’t know much though—” I started, but she cut me off.

~“What?”~ she asked, her attention fully on me.

It was heartbreaking to see her look at me with so much hope.

I knelt down so I wouldn’t be towering over her.

“There is no known solution to keep you both. We only know that there is a way to separate you from Adelie, but you would be completely gone from her soul,” I explained.

She waited for me to say more, but I had nothing else to add. I’d told her everything.

She turned her back to me and walked to the other side of the room, stopping at a glass case and looking at her reflection.

~“Doesn’t Kye want to talk to me?”~ she asked, seemingly out of the blue.

I’d expected her to question me about what I’d just told her.

I knew he heard her. I knew he understood, but he remained silent. He didn’t want to talk. I let out a heavy sigh. “No,” I said simply.

She looked down. ~“Okay, bring her back. But you need to do it as soon as possible because the more time passes the less I feel her,”~ she said, sinking to the floor and letting her head drop.

“I’m sorry…I…I don’t know what to do. I don’t want you gone, Madeline,” I confessed.

She was still a part of Adelie. I didn’t want to take that away.

~“But we both know that she has more to offer to life than I can. Besides, I wouldn’t want to live in this body forever anyway.”~

She said it so nonchalantly, but she couldn’t even meet my gaze as she spoke.

I turned to leave, opening the door and glancing back at her over my shoulder. “I’m sorry,” I repeated, then left to find John and Esty and tell them we were doing it now.

They were in my library, everyone I needed: Esty, John, Michael, Nathan, Maeve, and even Fala. I stood before them, waiting until all eyes were on me.

I glanced at Fala and she nodded, already understanding what I was about to say.

“We will separate Madeline from Adelie,” I announced, and they all exchanged surprised looks.

I suppose they didn’t think I would make such a decision.

John stepped forward. “Alpha, are you aware of what will happen? She won’t be a werewolf anymore,” he warned.

“But she will be back, right?” I asked, and he looked at Esty.

“I suppose so,” he replied.

“Then we need to do it as soon as possible. That’s what Madeline said,” I stated, and John nodded, leaving the library with Esty trailing behind him.

Nathan moved ahead. “Alpha, are we sure this is the only option?” he questioned. “Could we possibly explore other alternatives?”

Maeve chimed in. “Nathan and I have searched high and low. If we haven’t stumbled upon any other leads by now, it’s unlikely we will.”

She breezed past me. “Let’s bring her home,” she declared.

Nathan trailed behind her. Michael and Fala remained, lost in thought.

“What’s going on?” I asked, trying to decipher the silence that was only heightening my anxiety.

Michael slowly made his way towards the exit. “Don’t be shocked if everyone here feels a sense of sorrow. We all understand what the wolf signifies to them.”

I was aware that everyone would empathize with her, but I didn’t want them to.

Fala approached me. “Everything will be okay. The priority is to bring her back, alright?”

I nodded in agreement. “Sure.”

We stood in the open field. A crowd had gathered, curious to see the outcome.

Esty and John were the ones tasked with this, but I stayed as close as possible, as did Maeve and Michael. Maeve held a robe ready to cover her when she transformed.

Esty held one of those dreadful syringes in her hand.

I approached her. “Are we certain this will work?” I questioned, still skeptical about everything that was transpiring. What if something went awry? What if she couldn’t return?

Esty looked at me for a moment too long before responding. “We’ve thought it through. We’ve rehearsed it multiple times to ensure we don’t fail.”

“I’ve heard that before. What makes this time any different?” I probed.

She rolled her eyes at me. “This isn’t as risky since it’s been done before. It shouldn’t go wrong, but you should be aware that there are always risks,” she explained.

“Esty! If anything happens to her, I’ll hold you accountable!” I warned her, but I was past caring.

I needed Adelie back. And if she didn’t return, would I even have the strength to do anything other than weep?

Punishing Esty would be the last thing on my mind, but I didn’t want to dwell on it. I wanted to focus on the best possible outcome.

Perhaps it was even more difficult when I saw Nathan guiding Madeline towards us. She came willingly, ready to meet her end.

I approached her, noticing that she looked even more frail than before. “Are you prepared?” I asked her, and she nodded.

It might be the most horrific way to die, just waiting for the end.

I wouldn’t want to know when I was going to die. If I knew I had a week, I would overthink about doing the right things and those moments wouldn’t even feel genuine.

When you don’t know when you will die, you have so much more to anticipate.

“Madeline…I…” I was at a loss for words, unsure of how to converse with her at this moment. “I am so sorry that this is happening,” I blurted out, concerned that my words might not be comforting.

~“It’s okay, Kairos. I’m not angry, nor would I want it any other way. Adelie needs to return, she deserves to be back. I’m willing to do everything for her,”~ she assured me.

She proceeded to the center of the circle, surrounded by guards in case she resisted.

Esty advanced with John. “We will inject Madeline in the neck,” she announced, raising the needle.

“But this won’t be enough, it will only numb the pain for the wolf”—she glanced at Madeline—“so she doesn’t suffer.” She said it with such empathy, almost as if she cared.

“John will then pierce her chest with a sword coated with wolfsbane extract. It will seep into her system, slowly taking her life.

“Once the wolf is gone and she’s human again, we’ll administer a counter-injection.” She glanced around. “It should bring Adelie back.”

The risk was high, too high. How could I stand by and watch? What if I ended up losing them both?

Esty approached Madeline with caution, then with a swift motion, she jabbed her neck. Madeline let out a low growl, causing Esty to flinch, but she held her ground.

Madeline’s body slowly crumpled to the ground, her gaze fixed ahead. A single tear escaped her eye, and I couldn’t hold back my own tears any longer.

John gripped the sword, knelt beside her, and gently rolled her frail body onto her back. He raised the sword with both hands and drew it across her chest.

She didn’t wince, didn’t make a sound.

But I could hear the sickening sound of the sword penetrating her flesh. The crowd watched in silence, no one daring to make a sound.

John withdrew the sword and stepped back, his gaze never leaving her. Not a drop of blood seeped from her wound.

They both stood there, waiting for her to awaken, waiting for the wolf to leave her. Why wasn’t it happening?

John and Esty exchanged glances. “Nothing’s happening,” he said.