[Chapter {20}]

Callum's POV

I followed Matilda's lead as she went down a shady looking hallway.

"Where are we going?" I asked as innocently as I could.

"To see Nathan, I'm sure you've missed him a lot," she responds a maniac grin on her face.

Yeah, if you didn't kidnap him, I wouldn't be missing him 'a lot'. I didn't say this to her face though, even with my new powers, I wasn't that confident so I went with the old fashioned, "Hmm."

We stopped in front of a disturbingly shiny silver door and if my enhanced senses were anything to go by, Nathan was behind this door.

Despite everything that happened, despite me knowing what I was going to see behind those doors, nothing still prepared me for the sight I was witnessing in front of me.

My heart strained painfully in my chest and it took everything in me not to lash out. Eliza was straddling a mug-shot looking Nathan and they were engaged in a passionate kiss, at least that is what it looked like from the angle I was in.

Nathan arms were around her neck and it looked like he was tugging her closer and despite the obvious pain he seemed to be experiencing considering his injured form, he still managed to kiss Eliza desperately.

I had to consistently remind myself that this was all a trick, but the more I watched Nathan desperately kiss Eliza, the more difficult it became.

Matilda had a pricking hold on my arm as she kept us in shadows so that we could continue watching them.

Nathan untangled their lips and ran his hand through Eliza's hair, I watched as his lids fluttered shut momentarily before they opened back up with fierce determination.

Eliza moved in to kiss him again but Nathan stopped her placing their foreheads together instead, "Callum" he whispered with so much conviction it brought an immediate stream of tears down my face.

I gasped audibly as it hit me, Nathan thought Eliza was me. Nathan was only kissing Eliza because for some ridiculous reason, he thought she was me.

That was all the push I needed to escape from the claws of the vampire beside me. I was by Nathan's side in a second, a considerable improvement in my speed, and before either of them could gage what was happening, I had flung Eliza's lanky body into the wall nearby.

"How is this possible, you're not eighteen so you shouldn't have your powers yet," Matilda yelled a frantic look on her face.

"I guess you can say I had an unexpected visit, what's it to you anyway, scared that I'll finally defeat you."

"Don't get ahead of yourself Callum, just because you have your powers doesn't make you are stronger than me. I'm a five thousand year old vampire, the longest that has ever lived, I know how to deal with situations like this."

"Whatever, you've lived enough anyway, I think it's finally time for you to join your ancestors."

"I wouldn't be so sure of that Callum," she taunted and before I could process what was happening, Nathan was pulled from my grasp in lighting speed.

"Don't you dare hurt him, Matilda," I growled feeling hot red anger rise within me.

"And why would I listen to what you say Callum, you broke our deal remember."

"So your saying striping me off something I pretty much own is fair to you?"

"I never said I fight fair darling," and with that, she stabbed Nathan straight in the chest with a silver knife and threw his crumpled form against the room.

"No," I screamed so loud Matilda visibly winced despite her usually on point stoic expression.

I lunged at her with all my might my vision red and hazy. I could feel a ball of light forming around me, I had no idea what it was but I loved it already.

The thirst to kill was becoming increasingly intense as I threw what could only be described at fireballs at her, I have no idea where these powers were coming from but I was not complaining.

A fireball gets her in the arm before she can fully dodge it. I use her moment of weakness to superspeed towards the discarded silver night on the floor, picking it up, I superspeed past her continuously striking her as I moved back and forth.

She didn't even utter a single cry of pain but I could see from her expression that it was getting to her. A sudden jolt of electricity disturbed my concentration and I was thrown into the wall behind me.

I looked at the cause of it to see Eliza creating a blue power surge that kept growing in size, I had completely forgotten about her.

I narrowly missed the power surge when it was thrown my way but the anguished cry Eliza released gave me a sadistic sense of victory.

In less than a second, I was behind her my hands penetrating into her head to remove that vital piece that gave all witches -including Eliza their powers, this was a fact I had accidentally stumbled on in my mother's library.

She let out a shrill scream and I heard the distant sound of glass breaking as a result of her scream. She fell on her knees completely weak and without an iota of remorse, I enclosed her in a virtual wall of destruction and watched with satisfaction as she crumpled before me, nothing but a pile of ash.

I turned around to search for Matilda but she was no where to be found. I felt my brain work calculations of some sort on its own and suddenly, there where images of Matilda walking into a wall flashing before me.

Only advanced vampires could pass through things and I knew that was what Matilda just what she did.

I walked through the wall too, trying to spot her in the vast amount of wood and cement, I could feel her scent become stronger but before I could go any further, I felt slender fingers wrap around my neck as long fingernails dug into my throat.

My breathing became painfully difficult and I desperately tried to release myself from her hold. I struggled with all my might causing us to fall out of the wall but her hold on me was still strong.

I jabbed my elbow in her stomach but all she responded with was a quiet groan, I could feel my self going limp in her hand but before I could completely slip out of consciousness, she let out a piercing scream and immediately released me.

I turned around and the scene before me both stunned and fueled my resolve. Nathan had aimed the silver knife in Matilda's direction and it hit her directly in her stomach, but I knew that wasn't enough to kill her.

She fumed in anger and for the first time ever, her guard was down and not surprisingly, the only emotion I could spot on her face was rage.

She ignored me and began heading in Nathan's direction but I wasn't going to let anyone lay as much as a finger on him again and so I encased him in a protection ball.

She tried to get to him despite the barrier but with a good amount of concentration, I was able to electrify the neon blue circle knocking her on her back.

She was up in no second but I could tell she was considerably weak and so was I, but I refused to show it.

Matilda did not only try choking me, her piercing my neck told me that she was poisoning me. I could feel the poison her claws transferred in my blood stream and it was only a matter of time before it kicked in.

She was going to be dead before that happened though, she would pay for ever touching a strand of hair on Nathan's head.

I raced towards the silver knife but in my desperation to get there, I sort of disappeared and appeared in front of it, looks like I have teleportation under my least of undeserving powers.

I picked up the knife and appeared behind her stabbing her on the back of her throat, all this happened in less than five seconds.

I appeared in front stabbing her on her forehead and screamed even louder than Eliza's. Her whole chamber shook and I was left wondering why her guards weren't here yet, mom and the rest were probably taking care of that.

I swiftly moved behind her and stabbed her leg causing her to drop to her knees, deciding that I have had my fun with my prey, I go in for the kill.

At one point in my research, I had come across different ways to kill a vampire. Exposing non-gifted young ones to sun for a long period of time was one, stabbing them with a special knife cursed by a priest was another one and gruesomely taking their hearts out was the last and most immediately effective one.

At that time, I had not imagined anybody capable of such gruesome act but looking at the strew of evil in front of me, I've come to decision that sometimes the evilest of things was deserving to the evilest of people.

I put my hand into her chest and ripped her heart out completely unfazed by the dark almost black coloured blood dripping from my hand. I squeezed her heart till it burst into a spectrum of dark light that went through the roof, Matilda surprisingly didn't scream during the whole ordeal, she must have succumbed to her fate at one point in time.

I watched her collapse to the ground with widened eyes that had gone completely black, it was like her iris's and the white of her eyes had merged together.

I felt a certain weight lift from my shoulder once I finally realized that it was over, evil had been defeated, for now, because deep down I knew that this was only the beginning. With great power comes great responsibility they said.

I turned with a gasp when it finally hit me that Nathan was still laying crumpled on the floor.

"Nathan, baby, are you okay?" I asked once I appeared in front of him, then cursed myself a minute later because, obviously he wasn't okay.

He gave me a weak thumbs up before speaking, "you were awesome Cal, I knew you could do it."

"I couldn't have done it without you Nathan, you saved me once again despite being in pain."

"That's what mates are for. I hope I've completely earned your trust Callum, I'll hate to think that you still doubt me after all this," he said with a nervous laugh making me think back to the time that I told him he had to earn my trust. He has certainly earned all of it.

"I trust you with everything in me Nathan, I always will."

"Good, because I have been aiming at getting the best mate of the year award."

"You certainly deserve it," I say with little laugh, my eyes glittering with unshed tears.

He gave me a pained smile and lifting his hand, traced the outline of my jaw.

"I love you, Callum, more than you can imagine," Nathan murmured and with that, his breathing slowed down as consciousness left his form. Although slow, his breathing was steady and so I just held him in my arms momentarily at lost on what to do.

"I love you too, Nathan, so much," I whispered.

"What happened here?" A voice that sounded very much like Vanessa's asked as they opened the door to the room.

I looked up from my position on the floor and gave her a shrug indicating that'll explain later.

"Is that a hole in Matilda's hea-what, Callum, did you rip out Matilda's heart from her chest," Vanessa asked her tone laced with utter shock.

"Yes," I responded dryly and she looked at me like I was from another planet.

"I guess you didn't need us after all," my mom said her eyes inspecting the room.

"Where's Eliza?" Clara asked and I pointed to the ash in the corner of the room, her mouth forms an 'O' shape and she nods in understanding.

I remembered Nathan that was still laying limp in my arm and gestured for his mother to come.

"Nathan needs help now!" I exclaimed and her eyes widened letting me understand that none of them had spotted him yet, I must have been covering his form due to the current position I was in.

It looked like she mind linked her husband because the next thing I knew, a large grey wolf was in front of me. I helped set Nathan on top of him before he ran out of the room at a much needed speed. Matt followed after him and once I was sure that Nathan was on the road to being treated, I finally gave in to exhaustion.

"What about you, Callum, are you alright?" Veronica asked giving me a concerned look.

"Yeah, I'm- I'm fine," I whisper and just as the words left my lips, my knees gave up and I succumbed to the floor.

'The poison had finally kicked in'

*****

Heya fam, to be honest I stalled writing this chapter because I had no idea what powers to give supernatural beings, at one point I considered telekinesis but later decided against it, telekinesis sounds like something for superheroes or villains not a bunch of supernaturals.

Anyways this chapter was written in less than three hours when I was bursting with inspiration so I genuinely hope you liked it.

If you did, comment your thoughts on it m, k. Don't forget to vote too, it'll legit make my day.

Thanks for reading, love y'all.

PS: This book has like five chapters to go, I'm so excited.