The beginning of...

Isabella's Point Of View

I awaken in a strange room. The decor looked eerily familiar, it was a small and simple room, with pink and white paintings on the wall. My eyes reached the little fireplace, that's when I discovered where I was.

'This is my room!' I thought to myself.

This is my room when I was a little girl, at the Black Rose coven. What the hell was I doing here?

I look at the door which was pushed open, allowing in Diego. It was Diego but was a bit different from what I had in my memory of him. For example his white frost hair was gone and replaced with a brown color he had as a kid and he wasn't putting on his usual dark clothes like I had remembered of him, he was wearing bright colors.

"What the hell Isabella Rosa Santacruz? Are you fucking kidding me right now? Everyone is waiting for you downstairs and you are lying in bed…" he uttered. I quickly got out of bed, stepping closer to him.

"What happened to your hair?" I ask, attempting to touch his hair, he moves out of reach holding my hand.

"Are you sure you are feeling alright?" He asks me with concern laced all over his face.

"Come on Rosa, of all times to get completely high out of your mind you chose today."

"What's happening today?" I ask completely not following whatever is going on.

"Are you being serious? Today is your magic linking ceremony?" He responded.

"What the fuck is going on?" I query him. What kind of world did I awaken into? This all felt crazy. I couldn't understand what was happening here. My memory all felt wobbly.

"All you need to know is if you aren't downstairs in exactly five minutes time Aunt Amelia will have both of our asses whipped. You know how bad her temper is." Diego divulged.

"Mom….?" I said. What type of dream was this?

"Yes, your mom as well as every Santacruz woman. They have the worst temper, which you no doubt also inherited." Diego shuddered. "Now let's go…"

"...My mother is here?" I say out loud.

"Yes… Where else would she be? She as well as the entire Black Rose coven is waiting for you downstairs to witness Aunt Amelia pass down our family's ancestral magic to the next coven regent." Diego stated, looking at his wrist.

"Your linking ceremony started five minutes ago." He informed me.

"They are all alive?" I ask again. All I could hear was that they were all safe.

"Yes of course they are… Did you hit your head or something? You keep acting so weird." Diego said, sounding worried.

I pull him into a tight hug. I was glad. Everything was fine, my family was safe, the Black Rose coven was alive.

"What the hell Rosa? Are you really okay?" He asked me to pull away. He stared at me like I had gone crazy.

"Nothing. Let's go down to them." I said to him.

"Right." He nods, leading the way downstairs.

It was all just like I had remembered, everything was like it was from when I was little. Diego led me to the ceremonial hall, which was used to hold huge banquets and magical ceremonies.

Everyone gathered in the ballroom was busy dancing or having a conversation with one another.

Just close to the high table, I could see a group of people chattering. Among the group I could see the back view of a blond woman. My eyes crumbled softly, instantly I recognized who she was. I quickly walked to the female, turning her around. My eyes meet a set of blue eyes identical to mine. It was my mom.

"Mom…" my voice broke. She was here standing right in front of me, alive. I have missed her face so much.

"Isabella--" she said, her gaze meeting mine with a mixture of confusion and surprise at my sudden reaction. I pulled her in for a very tight hug, burying my face in her neck. She tried to push me off her but I remained unmoved, holding her still.

"I've missed you so much Mom." I whisper in her ears. I could feel her easing up. Her soft hands brushed my hair gently.

"I've always been right here waiting for you Isabella. Thank the goddess that you are here, your linking ceremony is about to begin." My mother said, her eyes studying me closely.

'No! Something doesn't feel right… This is wrong!' I scream at myself mentally.

It felt as though there was something that I was forgetting. A huge part of me was missing, but I just couldn't put my finger on it.

"There's something wrong!" I tell my mother, pulling away from her embrace.

"You shouldn't be here… I shouldn't be here… This shouldn't be happening!" I try to explain but she just looks at me like I had lost my mind. What was going on here? Had I indeed lost my mind?

"Isabella, are you okay? Today is your special day and there's a lot of guests watching. Your father would be upset if he saw you like this." She muttered.

"Dad?" I repeated after her.

"Yes Isabella. Your father, he wouldn't be happy hearing you speak like a witch who has lost her mind…" my mother suddenly began grinning, her eyes fixed on something behind me.

"Aaah, you speak of him and he appears." My mother said looking at someone standing behind me.

I turned around to find my father. His gray eyes were in slits as he grinned from one ear to another. I rushed into his arms, finding comfort in his warm embrace. It felt so hypnotizing.

"If it isn't our coven soon to be head witch." He beamed. He looked just the same as I remembered. His chin was filled with some gray stubbles, his brown long hair was straightened and held behind him.

"Dad--!" I cried into his chest. I had missed the sound of his voice so much. I didn't want to leave this moment, I only wanted this feeling to last a lifetime.

"Are you okay child?" He asks me, his tone laced with worry and concern for my sudden outburst. I pulled away from him, staring at his face.

"Yes. I am now." I reply with a smile. I was finally home, where I belonged.

"Let's go and join our family, this is where you belong, Isabella." He said, leading me to a table where they all sat. Aunt Maggie, Diego, Mom and everyone else. They all smiled at me warmly, calling me to join them.

"Okay, let's go." I answer, joining them at the table.

This was where I belonged, home with my family.

"YES ISABELLA… KEEP ON DREAMING… YOU ARE HOME NOW---"

I stepped into the last Elder's room, driving a silver blade through his heart while he was still asleep.

His eyes widen as he stares at the face of Isabella the Luna of the Blood Moon pack in surprise. He was so confused and not able to understand why I was doing this to him.

"Poor old wolf! Don't be so confused, your sacrifice is for the greater cause." I say to him slowly. I plunged the knife deeper into his heart, an evil smirk on my lips. With a weak sigh, he drew in his last breath, giving me all the more power that I needed.

I entered the next guest room where an Alpha was. He was Alpha Dorian, I remembered this wolf. Before he could even say a word, I stabbed his heart covering his mouth from calling for any form of help. Warm blood spilled on the ground.

I grinned widely as I felt my magic grow even stronger from the chaos that I was creating.

I spent the hours after gaining full control of Isabella's body by killing the Elder wolves and any powerful Alpha. I was channeling their powers to mine, to gain more strength for the Darkness I planned on unleashing.

I had succeeded in latching a piece of my soul into Isabella during the Blood Moon.

I could feel the magic of the pendant that held me captive for thousands of years calling to me like a magnet. It was close by, hidden in one of these guest rooms. My prison, I needed to get the pendant back, so I can get my complete powers.

I walked through the quiet hallways, opening a door to find Diego Santacruz, laying on the bed, he was still asleep. There it was, the pendant, it was on the neck of the wizard.

I walked up over to his bed, careful not to wake the wizard up. I was going to make his death a quick one. He was also a Santacruz witch and he held enormous magic. I wanted it!

I raised my dagger high up, about to strike straight into his heart when the doors were pushed open.

It was Dimitri and Gabe.

I quickly abandoned my blade.

"Isabelle-- What's going on?" Dimitri inquires, stirring awake Diego. They all stared at me with furrowed eyebrows, waiting for some sort of explanation.

"What's happening Isabelle?" Diego questioned me again.

"There was something out there, a monster. It moved really fast. I couldn't see exactly what it was. The monster killed the Elders." I lie convincingly.

"So why did you come here? Why didn't you call for help instead?" The lycan Alpha asks, his trained eyes monitoring me closely, he was suspicious of my story.

"I came to check if Diego was safe." I lie, looking him in the eye.

He walks over to me, his deep hazel eyes examining me closely. His cold hands pushed through my blond hair, cleaning a stain of crimson blood from the side of my neck. It belonged to the Alpha I had just killed.

"You aren't Isabelle." He stated, dead sure that I was an imposter and not his mate.

"Who the fuck are you and tell me what you want with my mate?" He growls figuring it all out.

"Clever, clever Lycan…" I commend him. "Why don't you take a guess… Who could I be?" I questioned him. He knew the answer to his question, the look in his eyes told me that.

"Namek!" Diego voiced surprise but the Lycan knew that already.

"Let her go!" He ordered.

"Why would I let her go when there's still a lot to be done… Think about all the glorious chaos I could create with your little witch." I grinned, my eyes glowing a bright green.

I attacked him fiercely with the blade in my hand, quickly snatching the pendant away from Diego's neck. I summoned up a storm of wind in the room, vanishing away with it.

I had what I needed now. Now this world will burn and be plunged into my Darkness

Dimitri's Point Of View

That wasn't my mate! She was possessed by the Dark one. I needed to get her back, no matter the cost!

"How did this happen? I thought Isabelle managed to trap the Dark One in the prison world?" Iris asks, devastated. Everyone was all gathered at the pack's war room where we usually had meetings.

I stood at the other end of the table, I wasn't speaking, I was completely lost in thoughts of my own. I hated seeing my mate like that.

"The Dark one must have latched on to her soul before she escaped from the prison world." Dixie answered, and she was right.

As I thought, Namek managed to split a fragment of her soul to possess Isabella dormantly during the blood moon. But she wasn't completely whole yet. She still needed time to gain more power and control over Isabella's body. We can't let that happen, we needed to stop her.

"So there's no way to sever the Dark one from Luna?" Alexa asked, gaining a fearsome growl from me.

"The Dark one is like a parasite, there is a way to separate the parasite from the host without killing it." Celeste points out. "Something like an exorcism."

The doors were pushed open letting in the dark wizard, Diego.

"We can sever Namek from Isabelle with an exorcism spell and using this Jade totem stone. It is used to give power to trapped souls." He reveals a green stone. This had the power to help lost souls find their way. If we wanted to succeed in severing the Dark one from Isabella this was going to be our best shot.

"Let's do it!" I say, We didn't have any more time to waste.

"With the boundary spell around the pack we know that she couldn't have left the pack. She is still around Alpha." Celeste informed, she was right. Isabella was still within the pack.

My wolf Luca could feel our mate's presence but we couldn't connect to her, it was as though she was lost in her own mind.

"Celeste perform a location spell! Everyone else spread out and find your Luna. Anyone who sees her should notify me first." I ordered and my entire pack bowed in response to his commands, all of them proceeding to complete the task.

Alphas from the other packs still around walked into the war room. Anger was a clear look on all their faces.

"Supreme Alpha, we need to discuss about what happened." Alpha Valerian spoke. Whatever they had to say could wait, I didn't have time for all this.

"Valerian, I don't have time for this. I need to rescue my mate." I grit, walking away but stop on my tracks at his next choice of words.

"About that, we shouldn't be trying to rescue her." Valerian uttered, looking to the other Alphas for support.

"No Supreme Alpha Dimitri, that woman is no longer your mate. She is completely overtaken by darkness, she can't be saved." Another Alpha said. My hand clenched tight into a ball of fists. I could feel Luca fight for control.

"Mate or demon, she has done too much damage." Alpha Valerian muttered, my bloodshot eyes narrowed on him, causing him to shake where he stood.

"So what do you suppose that I do then?" I asked, my anger rising. I would be careful about my next choice of words if I were him.

"You should act like the Supreme Alpha King and lead the hunt to her to kill this demon." Valerian spoke, causing me to vibrate in anger.

"She murdered all the Elders and several Alphas. According to our customs she needs to be killed." Valerian said bluntly, earning nods from the other Alphas.

So they wanted me to hunt down and kill my own mate?

'Why don't I rip out their hearts instead!' my wolf, Luca, growled from within me, he wanted control but I couldn't give him the joy of killing this bastard.

In a swift move I ripped out the bloody heart of Valerian where he stood, his body dropped limp in a puddle of his blood. I quickly tore apart the limbs and organs of every other Alpha that dared to speak bad against my mate. They all fell to the ground dead in a heartbeat. I wasn't going to take insubordination from my subjects.

I was covered in blood as the other Alpha's stared at me in horror.

"I'm the Supreme Alpha! And she belongs to me! No one dares touch her! Anyone who dares to attack my mate, I promise that your life will be reduced to an everlasting moment of agony." I roared thunderously, causing the other Alphas to quiver before me.

"So does anyone have any other opinions they would like to share?!" I ask, searching everyone's face.

"No Supreme Alpha." They all chorused, exchanging side glances.

"Very well. I have a mate that needs me." I stormed out of the war room to go and find my mate. I had a sickening feeling at the pit of my stomach telling me something bad was coming my way… I remembered the visions Isabella told me about last night, could this be it coming to life?

My mind thought but I wouldn't listen, I couldn't, not while my little witch was in grave danger. I needed to get to her urgently.

I stormed off towards the packs cemetery. I could still feel her through the mate bond we shared, it was still very faint but it pulled me to the graveyard. Isabella was definitely there.

"I'm coming with you." Diego said, suddenly joining me. He knew I could still feel her. I wanted to be the first to get to Isabella, so that no one else would get hurt in the crossfire. I knew I could reach her if I had a chance.

I stared at him for a moment, I didn't quite fully trust the wizard yet, but from his tone he wasn't giving me another option and after all Isabella was his cousin. I will need his help containing her.

"Okay. Don't slow me down." I tell him and he responds with a nod.

We both headed for the cemetery. The pack's cemetery was quiet and idle. We ran through the graveyard, passing several memorial tombstones.

Something was wrong here. I could have sworn I have gone past this tomb before, but now we were back to the same path.

"Haven't we gone through this path before?" I questioned Diego, who stared around like he was thinking the same thing too. I was right. We have been running through the same place over and over again, like an endless circle.

"Yes! This is an illusion spell. The cemetery has been spelled by Namek to slow us down. Everything is caught in an endless loop, she is trying to buy herself some time." Diego said, turning to look at me.

"Enough time for what?" I asked.

"Enough time to open up a portal to the prison dimension." Diego answered. This was what she was after all along. In order to unleash her Darkness she needs to be whole. She needed the pieces of her still trapped in the prison world.

"We have to hurry." I said to him, Diego nodded, whispering a spell. He made some gestures with his fingers.

"Her spell is neutralized. Follow me." Diego said, leading the way in the cemetery. I followed him.

We finally found her. She was standing next to an altar with the pendant in her tight clutch and blood dripping from her hand. Isabella's eyes opened, flaring bright emerald green. She grinned at both of us wildly.

"You are too late. You can't stop the darkness that is coming." She asserted.

"Isabelle I know you are still in there. You need to fight this." I spoke to her as I approached slowly.

"Isabelle can't hear you right now. I am in complete control of her body." Namek says, her eyes focused on me.

"I won't let you hurt her." I grit out as I approached her.

"I know, that's what makes this a lot of fun. You would never hurt your little mate, but you should be more worried about yourself…" Namek smirked.

"Va so yes ma ni… Vey ze elí zey e lí zey..." She chanted, causing the ground to vibrate as Namek drew open a portal to the prison world. A dark vortex appeared behind her and a giant creature formed and created out of darkness emerged from the portal, standing in between me and my mate.

With a loud shriek the creature of darkness sliced at my chest with sharp claws but missed.

I let out a powerful growl before I lunged at the creature, ripping and severing it head off. Namek seethed in anger as she released several more monsters from the dark portal.

I didn't have time to battle these outworldly creatures, every time I wasted battling with them, Isabella's soul was slowly purged away. I needed to get to my mate immediately. Only she has the power to stop this.

Lance and Gabe arrived as well as other pack warriors and Alphas. They all immediately attacked the swarm of monsters brought by the Dark one.

"Alpha don't worry, We will take care of them. Go to Luna." Lance assured as he and the pack fought fiercely against the creatures.

I nodded my eyes trailing back to my mate. Behind her I could see Alpha Hessimir approaching Isabella in gigantic wolf form. I could sense his thoughts, he wanted to harm my mate.

I growl rushing towards Alpha Hessimir. Before he could land his claws on Isabella, I ripped off his fucking head from his body.

"I knew you would protect me." Namek says to me with a grin. I hated seeing my Isabella this way, I needed to get the Darkness out of her.

"Isabella, you need to fight this, come back to me." I tried connecting to her but I just couldn't. There was a huge wall standing in between her and me. I couldn't reach her.

"Isabelle doesn't want to come back to you." Namek responded, she let out a loud gasp as her eyes flared brighter. I could see it, Isabelle was fighting her.

"Dimitri, We need to perform the spell now. Namek is gaining her complete powers from the prison world." Diego spoke urgently.

Celeste, Dixie, Alexa and some witches gathered in a circle around Isabella, creating a protective barrier to contain her. They were trying to exorcise the darkness in her with the Jade stone. Diego created a magical shield around Isabella as he chanted with the Jade stone glowing in his hand.

"Incervica le mer ra demonica…" he chanted repeatedly. All the other witches chanted after him, their chants growing louder as Iris and Lance gathered. The monsters were all killed.

Soon all their chants stopped and the Jade stone stopped glowing. It became dark and lost all magical energy it had.

"What happened? Did it work?" Iris panted worriedly, taking the words right out of my lips.

Diego hesitated for a second with his eyes still closed. His blue eyes flew wide open as it met the witches before drifting back at me.

"We are too late." That was all Diego could mouth with a look of fear in his eyes. Just immediately, the protective barrier shattered and broke into sharp crystal pieces.

"You are too late! I have all the power now. I'm staying right here living in her." Namek let out a loud cackle, as a strong wave of magic radiated off Isabelle, destroying everything in its path. The force sent all the witches and pack flying but I stood my ground, remaining fixed to my position. I was determined not to give up on her, I'm not giving up on my mate! She had a deeply rooted smile etched on her face, her eyes reflecting a powerful shade of green.

"I'm not going anywhere. She is mine." Namek avowed. Her lips released a sharp scream that caused a roar in the sky, and the earth to quake.

Blood fell from the sky like rain and the sky was completely overcome by darkness. The darkness swallowed everything in its path, plunging the earth in complete darkness. Namek had already fused with her magic from the prison world.

I could feel the intense magic that the dark one possessed. It crackled and filled the air around, charging it with a dark and irresistible force.

My eyes remained fixed on Isabella, green veins ran and criss crossed all over her skin. The Darkness in her was taking over her entirely.

I needed to try and help her.

"Isabella, you need to fight this. You are stronger than this Darkness." I speak. I could notice a sign of struggle, Isabella was still in there she could hear me.

"It's too late, she doesn't want to come back." Namek grits furiously at me.

"Isabella! I know you hear me, no matter what happens don't give up, you can fight this." I encourage her, trying to reach out to Isabella's mind through our mate bond.

I could feel Isabelle through our mate bond, her heartbeat was still beating slowly, I needed to reach out to the little piece of her still there.

The witches all gathered round trying to subdue her with magic chanting but were tossed away, their magic were no match for Namek's. The only chance at stopping the Dark one was Isabella.

"Isabella, you have to wake up! Remember who you are, remember me." I groaned.

"Enough!" Namek hissed.

She lunged at me, attacking me with a wicked smile. I couldn't hurt her as long as she was in my mate and Namek knew that so she took advantage of it.

I kept blocking and defending every one of her attacks. I gripped her hands, turning her body on mine. Her back pressed against me.

"Isabella, you need to wake up!" I demanded, holding her still to me.

She pulled away from my grasp and immediately pulled out an enchanted silver dagger striking into my chest.

Her silver dagger pierced into my heart as I let out a painful gasp. Namek grinned, pushing it deeper into my chest.

I placed my hands on her face, stroking her cheek. "I love you." I smile.

I stared into her eyes, watching as the bright green in her eyes flicker and slowly faded to a pair of electric blue eyes. A tear fell from her eyes. She was back, my mate came back to me.

"Dimitri---" she breathed in shock, her eyes were glassy. She held on tight to me as I fell to the ground, in her arms.

I knew it.

This was the end of it all.

.

.

.

****Author's note****

I feel so many emotions right now! I'm really crying as I write this. This might be the hardest thing I've ever done in my life as an author. It really hurts to do this but it must happen.

See you all in the next and final chapter-- The end-- till then take care of yourself. This chapter Soundtrack is a must listen, it speaks a lot about this chapter, so please look it up and listen.

Chapter Soundtrack: Look after you - The fray