Chapter 59: One Chance

ELAINE

The towering walls that encased the pack in this grim place seemed larger than ever as I stood, quietly surveying the desolate landscape.

This could have been my home. The place where my mother was raised.

To some, it might have seemed like an unreachable dream, but for me, it held a deeper meaning.

After healing and hashing things out with Connor, I took a moment to myself to process everything that had transpired over the past few weeks.

So much had shifted since the night Connor and I were punished by the Goddess. We discovered not only our true identities, but also who ~I~ was.

All the problems, challenges, risks, learning about my family, my real purpose here, and the sole reason I was standing alone in front of the lycans’ gates.

It took a lot of persuasion and a promise to Connor for him to let me come. He was insistent on not letting me go alone, but given his condition, there was no other option.

He was weak, still healing from the injuries he sustained in the fight, especially the one on his neck that continued to bleed.

My brothers also tried to reason with me, to make me see things from a different perspective, but had I ever been normal?

Nothing about my life was normal. I was unique in every sense of the word.

Then Connor’s mother appeared, someone I had barely interacted with since Sorin’s death. She spoke up for me.

She was understanding. She silenced my brothers with the ease only a mother possesses. I knew there was another motive behind her assistance.

“Kill Enora for your mother,” she said before I left. We had never discussed my mother, but maybe one day I would ask her, since they were once close friends.

I stood gazing at the gates, and a voice echoed through the barren woods. I didn’t need to ask who it was, as I recognized the voice.

Ashina inside me growled, eager to tear this jerk apart, but not before killing Enora first.

“I see you survived…,” he sneered in disgust, which only made me smile.

“Glad I entertain you,” I chuckled. “It would be terrible if I wasn’t here to amuse you.”

Something landed behind me. Slowly, I glanced over my shoulder and saw Darian with a smile, the same one he showed me back in the castle, one I trusted for the wrong reasons.

“Your courage is admirable,” he said, looking around us. Was he searching for everyone else? “I admire you coming…alone.”

“Likewise, ~cousin~,” I smirked. Darian scoffed, yet mustered the courage to step closer until we were face-to-face.

“The queen would like to invite you in,” he said and brushed past me. I nodded my head and followed.

The entire pack of lycans stood on the sides as we both walked over to a platform that wasn’t there before. Their eyes were devoid of any emotion.

I surveyed the place. At least eighty lycans stood guard around us. Ten were in the mansion, glaring at me, and four more stood by their queen’s side.

I couldn’t help the smile that formed on my lips once Enora saw me. She, on the other hand, looked anything but pleased.

“Happy to know you were expecting me,” I smiled. “The welcome party is fabulous.”

Her eyes turned pitch black, but she didn’t make a move. Instead, it was Darian who turned and raised a hand.

I stopped, curious to know what he was going to say now.

“You are here for a fight, are you now?” ~Interesting~, I thought and glanced at Enora, who seemed bored, but I knew deep down she wanted to harm me if not kill me.

“Well, of course, how could I not? There’s something I want, and since my ~ex-lover~ couldn’t take it, I’ve come to claim what has been mine all along.”

I could feel the tension in the air. Each lycan was good at hiding their emotions, but you could still see the slightest twitch in their fingers or their eyes.

Clearing my throat, I turned to Enora, who until now was trying her best to ignore my presence. It wasn’t working so well.

It was clear how much she despised my presence here, even though she’d asked me to stay just so I could save this place.

There was a pang in my chest as I let my eyes wander around the houses, the ground, the weary faces of the lycans. Some even looked drained.

“I will negotiate what I want,” I announced to everyone, “under a few conditions, and that includes your surrender.”

Her lip twitched, and that made me continue.

“Seeing the pack suffer like this is just…cruel. I don’t know whether to feel disappointment or pity for you as a queen.

“Someone who convinces herself she’s good for these lands, when all she’s doing is destroying everything, is absurd.”

“You know nothing!” Enora snapped. Her facade shattered as she gripped her seat tightly. “You don’t know how long we have been suffering.”

“Because of you!” I cut her off. “All this, it’s your fault!”

A snarl slipped from her mouth as she stood from her seat.

“What makes you think you’ll do better? You don’t know how things work here, what they need to survive.”

I laughed, then looked straight into her eyes.

“I might not know, but everyone starts from somewhere, don’t they?

“Also, let’s not lie to ourselves. This place needs a change, and since you’re not willing to give your blood, then you leave me with no other choice but to do it myself.”

“Kill me, you mean?” she arched a brow.

“Yes,” I smirked and reached for Darian’s neck.

In a moment of surprise, he stumbled, giving me the chance to grab his neck. My nails dug into his flesh. The tearing of it gave me the satisfaction I needed.

He tried to reach for something on his waist, but my legs were quicker, and I knocked him onto the ground.

Now I was kneeling over him, my knee pressing into his stomach while my hand lay firm on his neck.

I tightened my grip, and he choked. His hands, now more like claws, scraped against my arms, but my gear protected me.

I pushed down harder until a small crack appeared in the wooden platform and his head sunk completely. Swiftly, I moved my other hand to cover his mouth.

His eyes widened in fear. I released him, and he screamed and thrashed until his body finally went still.

No one around me dared to move. I pulled away with a sickening sound and stood up. Enora was gasping from her seat, her hands clenched at her sides, her body shaking.

I hadn’t killed him, but the pressure I’d applied with my hands would certainly weaken him.

“You,” Enora whispered, her voice filled with disbelief.

I wiped my hand on a small handkerchief I’d pulled from my pants. She was staring at Darian, then at me.

“He’s not dead. But,” I said, looking at her from under my lashes, “I promise you his death will be slower and more painful, since he owes me something.

“Right now, he’s under a small dose of silver, but it’s nothing for you to worry about.”

She snarled, and that’s when her guard moved. I tossed the handkerchief aside and crossed my arms over my chest, my booted foot resting on Darian’s chest.

They all half-shifted. With a glare, they stopped, looking nervous.

They all paled and, with their tails between their legs, backed away. I watched in delight as Enora looked around her, too stunned to even say a word.

“I challenge the queen to a fight to the death.” Gasps echoed from our spectators, including Enora, who looked terrified. “A challenge that no one can refuse.”

“You can’t do that!” she yelled, clearly agitated by my words.

“I can, and everyone here, including you, knows you can’t back down unless you want to be the shame of the pack.

“Once a challenge has been issued, we go for it, and only one can survive. You know the rules.”

She clenched her jaw. She knew I was right. I had issued a challenge in front of her entire pack, which meant she had to accept it or face ridicule, which would also free her pack from her rule.

If she said no or declined, then the entire pack would be free from her orders and rules.

And knowing how much she valued her pride and ego, the last thing she would do would be to humiliate herself in front of everyone.

“Scared?” I asked as she snapped her head. She was looking at her warriors. “No one can intervene—if they don’t want to die, of course.

“They might as well remember that mercy is not something I have in my blood.”

Huffing, she shifted and jumped onto the platform. I felt Ashina and the other inside me push forward, but I held them back.

This wasn’t the time. Not when I wanted to win this by myself without shifting.

“I hope you’re ready to die today,” I smirked. She bared her long canines and moved to attack.

Doing the same, I attacked her.

***

We’d been fighting for half an hour, and I had barely managed a broken wrist, a few scratches, and a wound on her back, while Enora had bitten down on my rib, tearing a chunk away, and wounded my stomach.

I gasped, the pain intensifying with every breath I took. The wound on my ribs was distracting me.

Every muscle screamed from the pain burning through my chest. The ache was even making me dizzy.

~“Shift!”~ she ordered. ~“Fight with your lycan. Show us who you really are.”~

“Oh,” I chuckled, “you don’t want that. I can tear you into pieces, just like how I killed Sorin. You must have heard, right? He was unrecognizable.”

She shifted back. With a bloody smile, she inclined her head.

“For that, I am grateful. I couldn’t kill him with his people around me, but you did me a favor, and I appreciate it.”

“No, you meant you were too much of a ~coward~ to have killed him with your own hands. You feared him so much that you preferred having me deal with him and getting my hands dirty, right?”

She didn’t smile. To that, I pulled a dagger and threw it straight into her chest.

Eyes wide, she stumbled a step and quickly reached for the dagger, throwing it to the side, bloody. Her wound was healing, but I didn’t fret. Instead, I calmly pulled a long blade and attacked.

I expected her to shift, but she attacked straight on, grabbing the blade with her bare hands. It was as if she didn’t feel pain at all.

With a swift move, I turned and tried to stab her, but she grasped the blade, her hand bleeding.

“You think your little toys can kill me? I am a lycan, Elaine, stronger than any other being!” she growled and shifted.

I tried to back away from her, but her other hand found my arm and twisted it.

Planting my feet, I reached for a smaller dagger behind me and stabbed her multiple times, her chest, her shoulders, and her stomach.

She snarled, freeing me, and I found my opening. Letting go of the blade, I crouched while her hands reached for my neck.

Using the same hand, I grasped the handle and stabbed her right in her heart.

Enora stilled. I expected her to stumble forward. How wrong I was. She seized my neck instead and slammed me to the ground.

I snarled, clutching her arms. With her free hand, she pulled the blade as if nothing had happened. Something like a smile played on her half-shifted face. She looked evil.

“My dear Elaine, can’t you see? Nothing as ordinary as this can harm me.”

I growled, locking my legs around her neck.

This time, she stumbled in confusion. I didn’t let that distract me. Gathering all my strength, I wrapped myself around her, pulling her closer to my face.

“Yes, but they do the trick,” I smirked.

Enora snarled, her face shifting completely. I tried reaching for my other weapon when she suddenly lifted me and slammed me down, hard.

I yelled as my back slammed against the platform, splinters piercing my skin.

Lifting me once again, she slammed me repeatedly, making my weapon belt loosen up and fall to the ground. I cursed. Now I had nothing on me except the blade she still held.

Leaning back again, I found my chance and pulled my weight until her face got buried in my stomach.

“Pay attention,” I whispered sharply, reaching for her head. She twisted violently, knocking the wind out of me before I could finish her off.

I released her, gasping for breath. Blood trickled down my chin as I coughed.

Each breath was a fiery torment, my body straining to stay conscious. I rolled onto my side, squeezing my eyes shut against the pain in my chest.

I blinked, trying to clear my vision, which had blurred. I had a moment to take in my surroundings before I felt her claws wrap around my ankle.

Enora yanked me toward her with such force that I felt my ankle give a sickening pop. I twisted and used my free leg to kick her in the face.

She let out a furious growl but didn’t release me. I kicked again, hearing the satisfying crunch of her bones.

Enora screamed in pain, her grip on my ankle loosening. I pulled my leg free and began to crawl away.

Inside my head, Ashina was growling, eager to come out and finish Enora off as we had done with Sorin.

But I couldn’t let her, not when I lost control of my mind whenever she took over. I was afraid of what I might do if I shifted and gave her complete control.

As I reached for my weapon belt, I felt a tug that sent my face crashing into the ground.

My vision went black for a moment before I turned and saw Enora dragging me toward her again, her face smeared with blood.

“Let go!” I demanded. She ignored me. That’s when I noticed it.

Her eyes were completely black. There was no white left, and she looked like a different creature.

Something inside me froze, recognizing something familiar. Then I remembered her words from before.

~“Our lycans are the same, passed on to the next queen.”~

My heart pounded as I frantically searched for something to hold her off.

I had to decide whether to end this in my human form or let Ashina and whatever was inside me take control and kill her. But was that what I really wanted?

I closed my eyes as she continued to pull me toward her. My arms stretched out, searching for something, anything, and then I felt the cold hilt of a dagger.

My eyes snapped open, and I reached for it with my left hand. I hadn’t been mistaken. It was a dagger, the small one I had used to stab her in the chest.

Taking a deep breath, I let her pull me until she was hovering over me. Her mouth was drooling, and it smelled like rotten fish.

I gagged but forced myself to stay focused. This was my only chance.

~“I will rule forever,”~ she sent through our mind link. ~“Neither you nor anyone else will ever take what’s mine.”~

My head pounded. Ashina was doing everything she could to break free. She wanted blood as much as I did.

With a snarl and bared teeth, she leaned in to bite my neck. That’s when I struck, plunging the dagger into her neck.

For a moment, I thought I had missed, that I’d aimed too low. But then Enora staggered, her arms going weak.

In a burst of adrenaline, I wrapped my legs around her shoulders and pulled her over, flipping her in midair.

She landed on her back with a loud thud that echoed through the pack, sending birds scattering from the trees.

I quickly rolled over, straddling her. My claws were out, reaching for her neck, but I stopped.

Enora had shifted back. Her blue eyes stared into mine, sending a shiver down my spine.

They were so clear that I could see the gray clouds overhead reflected in them.

“No…,” she gasped. Without a second thought, I grabbed her head and twisted, snapping her neck with a chilling finality.

Out of breath, I let go and heard her head hit the ground with a dull thud. I expected an outcry, anger, but all I heard was silence.

I didn’t look down. I just reached for the blade and pulled it out, my eyes focused on the trees ahead. Their branches swayed as a cold breeze swept through us.

I stood slowly, my gaze still fixed on the barren woods, as another gust of wind blew through. It felt as if something was slowly changing, something that hadn’t been there before.

As carefully as I could, I stepped away, still clutching the blade, and made my way over to where Darian was.

He was semi-conscious, his eyes raking over me. A faint smile played at the corners of his lips, then he coughed, and blood poured from his mouth.

I stopped in front of him. The guards had propped him up against a wooden bench, his arms resting in his lap and his head lolling uncomfortably from side to side.

“You did it,” he gasped. “You finally killed her.”

He closed his eyes as he coughed. Foam mixed with blood slid down his chin and soaked his clothes. I watched silently as his eyelids fluttered.

“Now kill me,” he whispered. “Free the pack. Free your people.”

I tightened my grip on the hilt and looked away.

“This is the last thing you have to do, Elaine, and you know it.” He coughed and doubled over, clutching his chest.

Earlier, when I had attacked him, I had made him swallow some silver pills that were slowly poisoning his lungs. It was a slow death, but it was the least painful option I could offer him.

“I’m sorry I betrayed you,” he blurted out, catching me off guard. “It was the only way I could make you hate me. I don’t deserve to live.”

“What are you talking about?” I asked, my hand trembling around the hilt.

“Legend says that once we bathed the land, the Goddess blessed us to live with the blood of those with greed in their hearts, cleansing them, then our glory will return.

“All these years, you were the key, Elaine. This has always been your destiny. The time just wasn’t right.”

I frowned, confused.

“I know you might think I’m lying, but I’m not. Your mother wrote in her diary about how she knew about this. How she escaped knowing that giving birth to a girl would save her home.

“How much will her sacrifice cost? Everything you’ve done was a test the Moon Goddess knew.”

He coughed. “The Moon Goddess knew that for us to be saved, their only queen would have to rid the land of what destroyed it…”

“I want, I crave,” I murmured, my brow furrowing. “But she never said a word about this.”

“And she won’t,” he replied, a smile playing on his lips. “This was your test to face, your penance for all we’ve done.

“This…” He gestured clumsily. “It’s yours, Elaine. The pack will recognize you as their rightful queen…”

His hand dropped to his side, his eyes, the color of deep forest, losing their spark.

Overwhelmed, I pounded the ground, letting out a scream that came from the very core of me.

“NO, NO, NO!” I cried out, collapsing to my knees. In desperation, I grabbed his shirt, shaking him. “WAKE UP! I COMMAND YOU TO WAKE UP! You can’t die like this!”

Everyone watched as I frantically tried to bring him back. He couldn’t just leave me in the dark again.

After a while, I gave up. My weapon slipped from my grasp as I let his body slump to the side.

I angrily wiped away my tears, his blood staining my face. I lowered my gaze to the pool of blood surrounding me.

It was a dark, sinister red, as if tainted.

I squinted at the ground in confusion, then looked up to where the forest met the mansion.

Pulling myself together, I stood up. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the forest, a barren landscape of dead trees and mud-covered leaves.

I looked down, then back up. I bent down to pick up my weapon, then grabbed Darian by the arm, dragging him behind me.

With each step, something inside me shifted. It wasn’t frightening. Instead, it felt like a warm welcome, as if this land had been waiting for me all along.

When I reached the forest’s edge, I let go of Darian. I went back and dragged Enora until I dropped her next to her grandson.

Crouching beside Darian, I grabbed his hair and, using my weapon, cut his throat.

Blood sprayed over me as I sliced through his flesh. I could feel the droplets splattering against my face.

Once I’d made a deep enough cut for the blood to flow, I moved on to his wrists, then his stomach.

Swallowing hard, I turned to Enora. My hand gripping her hair, I hesitated.

I still had so many unanswered questions. The only possible source of answers was my mother’s diary, which I’d barely read.

A sudden rustling sound made me look up, my brow furrowing. I scanned the area. The forest was empty, but it felt like someone was watching me.

Ignoring it, I refocused on Enora and got to work. It took a lot of effort to sever her head from her neck.

Dropping my weapon, I turned towards the forest and took a step forward, Enora’s head clutched in my hands as I ventured deeper until I reached a clearing.

A trail of blood marked my path. Sighing with exhaustion, I grabbed a branch and stuck it into the ground.

Making sure it was secure, I impaled Enora’s head on the branch, facing the opposite direction.

“I won,” I whispered, standing alone in the clearing. “I won this battle. Not just against you, but against myself, ~Enora~.”

“Under different circumstances, I might have called you grandmother, but there was no future for us. My future was meant to be mine alone, as the last of your bloodline.

“This is where I truly belong, ~my home~.”

I smiled and spun on my heels. Feeling my heart finally at peace, I walked back to the mansion without a backward glance.