Chapter 39: I Love You Forever

Sirius' POV

I freed myself from my captors and launched at the one who had dared to touch Marien. Acrux and the brothers started fighting, too, followed by Max and his men.

I heard Marien and Symphony in distress and saw two evolved men approaching them. I rammed one and hit the second, knocking them away. I ran towards a third and jumped, falling over and crushing him to the ground. I picked him up and threw him towards another guy who was also coming to attack me.

"Are you okay?" I asked the ladies.

They both nodded.

I returned to the fight, growling at one, baring my fangs. I bit his arm, and he slapped me away. Another bit my shoulder from behind, and I muffled my scream, turning and hitting him.

No more men were coming, and I could see that Max's men had shot down the governor's EH. They had used special sedatives on them.

I looked around. I thought I heard some kind of explosion or something, but I saw no effects.

The governor and his men were stunned. Some grabbed their phones and started trying to make calls.

"Okay, gentlemen, now let's negotiate," Max said, approaching them. "I have it all recorded. This could go to the president."

The men suddenly became very tense as they insisted on their calls. It seemed strange to me that their phones weren't working, but in any case, it was a good thing now.

"Sir, there has been a general power outage," one murmured.

"What have you done with the lines?" the governor asked. "Do you have a magnetic shock weapon?"

"Stop changing the subject," Max threatened.

"We must know what happens."

"You're not going anywhere!"

Marien approached, worrying me, so I followed her, staying alert.

"Please..." she asked with sadness impregnated on her face. "Where are the bodies of my parents?"

That scum didn't deserve the tears of a woman as good as her.

"We don't know."

"Don't lie," I growled threateningly. I could tell he was hiding something.

The man sighed heavily.

"The evolved men we sent had to destroy and burn all the bodies so that they could not be recognized, and then police couldn't get too far. I already told you that having evolved people on your side is no use."

Marien was devastated. I couldn't stand seeing her like this. It was time to go home and shelter her in my arms until I saw her smile again.

It was over. We could leave this place and go live somewhere else.

"Symphony," I looked at her, "go now..."

She hesitated a little, but seeing my serious look, she obeyed. Max signaled, and his men approached to handcuff the governor and his companions.

"You can't do this! I am the governor!"

"Not after the president and the people see this," he refuted, referring to the recording.

"Do you think anyone will care?" he mocked.

"Sirius!" Symphony shouted from outside.

I dashed to her call, and everyone followed me. When I got out, I froze. Orion... And an army of evolved men, about a hundred of them.

My blood suddenly cooled when I saw he had found me after all. I was in the right place so he wouldn't have to go into the city to look for me and not find me.

I felt a drop of cold sweat run down my temple, and I glanced at Marien out of the corner of my eye. She was terrified.

It seemed that the stars decided to favor him, not me...

Why? Why not me?

"Long time no see." He kept Symphony trapped with his big arm. She struggled to free herself, but I knew it was useless. I felt anguish at seeing myself abandoned by my ancestors in the sky as they had turned their backs on me, but I was also filled with rage, not willing to accept my fate. "How easy it was to follow this girl," Orion continued and looked to his side. "Altair, you were right. Here he was. He wasn't going to go any further. He had to stay with his human, incapable of leaving her," he mocked. "Sorry for doubting you, but I had to ensure you remained loyal to me."

I started to growl.

"Let her go," I said between clenched teeth.

It didn't matter if my past family among the stars disapproved of my actions. I would never regret saving Marien, nor think it was wrong, so I would fight.

"Oh, God!" the governor shouted. "You brought them here! It's an ambush!"

Orion's men came running, and without even thinking, I wrapped Marien in my arms, receiving shoves. They grabbed the governor while he screamed desperately and took him away.

"You'll pay for this!"

"Shut up, or we'll tear you to pieces right now," Altair replied.

"Well, it's time, Sirius. Surrender, and we won't kill anyone," Orion spoke.

Marien clung to my arm, and I felt her tremble. She was terrified. I could even feel her heartbeat in my arm. It distressed me, but I had to be strong.

"Did the elders order I must die?" I questioned.

"You already carry your mother's disgrace, so you have been denied a second chance."

"If that's true, show me the letter."

"Are you denying your dishonor? What a shame."

I took a deep breath as he nodded to Altair and prepared myself.

His men launched to the attack. I rushed in, full of fury, ready for anything if they dared to touch Marien.

These were as aggressive as me but not as skilled, so I used fangs and claws to attack. I bit, tore, and hit mercilessly. They did the same, so I focused on knocking out as many as possible, hoping my companions could fight them and win.

Unfortunately, Max's men did not have the capacity, as I began to hear screams, and I shivered. However, I didn't stop in the bloody fight. I knocked out another one with one blow and ran towards the governor, who was not far from me, to try to free him from Altair. I charged him, and two men pulled me away. I hit one, but two more appeared and bit me savagely on the arms.

"NO!" Marien shouted.

I turned around at the same time that a shot rang out, and I saw that Altair threw the inert governor to the ground. He aimed the gun at me, but Marien arrived.

"PLEASE, DON'T!" my desperate girl screamed through tears, pushing his arm to deflect the weapon.

I reacted and ran, but he had already hit her too.

A shot...

The world stopped. It stopped like the first time I saw her, but now it wasn't good at all. It was the beginning of the end.

I was left wide-eyed, watching my entire world collapse.

No...

Marien was on the ground, and my heart shattered. The world around me was falling apart. I found myself running towards her after a cry of despair.

I fell on my knees next to her and picked her up.

"Marien!" I shouted. Her eyes were open, but she wasn't blinking. My soul was torn, and I felt like I lacked oxygen. It couldn't be... "No, no, no!" I hugged her tightly.

I broke, and desolation washed over me. I stifled the strong sob that remained in my throat and turned into tears that began to fall in floods down my cheeks.

No. No. This wasn't happening. It wasn't happening. It had to be another nightmare, another one of those damn nightmares!

"That was very easy," Altair said.

I stopped breathing for a couple of seconds when I heard him.

How dared he?!

I gritted my teeth and began to growl like an uncontrolled beast. I no longer had a life without her, so the beast I was holding back had nothing to bind him. I looked up to face that heartless man who was annoyed at me. I set Marien gently on the ground and rushed out to attack.

He met me with a punch, but I hit him back, and my claws did their job on his face. I bit down, tore the flesh from his shoulder, and hit him furiously. At some point, he managed to dodge me and caught my forearm in his claws, tearing my skin.

I no longer felt physical pain because of the adrenaline and fury that flooded my kind when we fought and because nothing could hurt more than having lost her...

I crashed to the ground, and Altair lunged at me, but I dodged, making him crash to the ground as well and swallow dirt. Snarling in a fury, I caught his leg in a wrench before he could get back to his feet, and I broke the joint.

His shouting fueled my anger. I started hitting, blinded. It wasn't me anymore. I was possessed. Altair crawled to get free of me and stand up, even though my claws dug into his skin, making it complicated. He screamed when he couldn't because of his broken joint, and he fell again.

I clamped my forearm around his neck as I continued to growl. My anger was going to be the last thing he heard...

Marien's beautiful smile came to my mind. Her scent, her laugh, how she told me, "I love you," wholly ecstatic and intoxicated by my endless kisses and caresses. Her naughty fingers, tangling in my hair...

I faltered.

I wouldn't return to her to protect her in my arms from the pain. I would never be able to tell her that she was my cocoa sweet. And all because of these men!

No... because of me. For not having left her life when I still could, for having dragged her to this point, for having become infatuated with her. I had killed her.

I stopped grunting and started panting from exhaustion.

"Come on, kill him," I heard Orion murmur. He was expectant.

I finally reacted and let go of Altair, who dropped, also exhausted.

"No..." My look of hatred was directed at Orion. He was the one who started all of this.

"You're not going to confront me, are you?" he mocked.

"I will. Believe me, I will," I growled.

"Will you avenge your human? You're surrounded."

No. It wasn't revenge what I had to do. This was my fault from the beginning since I was curious to know this species and accepted the mission. From there, I condemned that beautiful human.

I wasn't going to get revenge. I would do what I had to do a long time ago: to pay. That's what Orion had come for, to finally make me pay.

"What are you waiting for then? Kill me..."

"It's not that easy. I'm going to make you beg me. I'll make you wish your irresponsible mother would not have had you."

I gritted my teeth. I knew he would enjoy this. Some of his men began to surround me, but I wasn't going to give him the pleasure. I took the knife out of my pants, which I only used once due to lack of habit, and brought it to my neck.

"If you don't kill me now, I'll do it myself," I threatened.

"I'll offer you a deal," he said, smiling satisfied. I growled but let him continue. "If you do what I say, we won't kill your friends. Take a look. Every one of them is surrounded right now." I looked out of the corner of my eye and confirmed it. "You see?" I slowly lowered the knife. It frustrated me, but Max and his men didn't have to pay for my mistake. "No one will come to help you. We have messed up your phones with our magnetic shock weapon. If you don't come with me, we'll do to your friends what we planned to do to you. Including your beloved human."

Hearing that last thing was like a shock of life to my dying interior. I looked at my Marien, who was still lying on the ground. So she... was she alive? I didn't understand.

"That's right," Orion rejoiced. "How weak you have become. I always taught you to act with a cool head, but look at you now. She is alive, maybe unconscious, but alive, and you're so upset that you didn't notice. So... You decide."

I felt like I was breathing again. I couldn't take my eyes off my girl. She was fine. She was alive. This world still made sense.

I dropped the knife.

"I'll go... But don't show up in her life again. Swear it."

Orion nodded.

"Of course. I swear. She doesn't have to stay involved in our business."

I took a deep breath. Knowing she was okay had given me strength, but reality hit me now that I had to leave her.

I went to her, closed her eyes, which I would never see again, and put my forehead to hers, taking her hand. I enjoyed her scent one last time, and now, calmer, I felt her heart's very slow, low beat on her wrist.

I breathed in relief.

"Forgive me..." I whispered. "I failed you. From now on, you'll live in peace. And please don't worry about me. Don't cry for me. I don't deserve it. I'm sorry for hurting you like this. I'm sorry for breaking my promises. Sorry for getting you into all this." Without realizing it, new tears had welled in my eyes, and one fell to her cheek. "Thank you for letting me know so many things. You will always be in my mind until my last breath. Goodbye, my love."

I wanted to kiss her and hug her, tell her that everything would be okay and that I would be back, but the longer it took, the more unbearable the pain became. I took a deep breath and walked away, feeling I was dying again and that my heart was being ripped out and placed next to her.

I wouldn't see her wake up, and I wouldn't be there to comfort her. I couldn't take care of her all her life, and I wouldn't be the one who would love her at night, nor the one who would wake her up with kisses, much less the father of her children.

I only prolonged the same situation by trying to escape from my society and its rules, postponing the imminent outcome. In the end, I was the one who was doomed.

"Good boy," Orion purred.

Two of his men tied my hands and roughly pushed me forward. I heard Symphony sobbing as she was also dragged away, and I sniffed something else. It didn't take long for my captors to realize this.

"No one has told you to come," the one on my left said to Acrux.

I saw the Alpha and Centauri brothers next to him.

"Sirius deserves to be escorted," Acrux responded without hesitation, "He has sacrificed himself for everyone. It is the least we can do in his honor."

"Whatever."

We continue to move forward.

"Thank you," I said, and all three nodded.

I looked over my shoulder and saw Max lifting and carrying my first and only love in his arms and, along with her, my soul.

The distance between us increased with each step. Her life would now continue without me. It was what I deserved. Although knowing it had destroyed the last of my being. She would be on my mind while I died, and even after, I would always love her.