Chapter: twenty-nine

Ezekiel felt his heart drop to his stomach. “How do you know?”

“He managed to mind-link me just as he was taken, but then it cut out abruptly.”

Angus looked guilty, as if he’d let down a member of his pack. “I tried to get to him—”

“Don’t beat yourself up. It’s a war zone out here.” Ezekiel tried to sound comforting, but the stakes had just gotten higher. “We have to find him.”

The Goddess held out her hands, inviting the men to take them. She knew exactly where the demon had taken their brother. It was the same place where so many other incidents had occurred.

The king, the beta, and the alpha all trusted her.

After being enveloped in a white light, the group found themselves in a different forest. It wasn’t as suffocating as the one they’d just left, much less dense.

As they moved forward, the faint smell of stagnant water hit their noses.

Daemon suddenly realized where they were. “Wait a minute. Are we on my pack lands?”

She didn’t answer him, just kept moving forward. She parted the branches, and the water came into view. Across it, there was a figure on the ground.

She breathed a small sigh of relief. The delta wasn’t harmed, but her relief was short-lived.

“I see you came,” a creepy voice said. Black mist briefly surrounded them before retreating to the far side of the water.

Zagan materialized, his face twisted in a scowl. “So, you thought you could win this? If I’m not mistaken, Rogue King, you lost your mate, and you’re about to lose your brother. How about a trade?”

Ezekiel narrowed his eyes, sizing him up. “What trade could you possibly offer me?”

“Give me your mate, and I’ll give you your brother.”

Ezekiel growled, taking a step forward. “And why would I do that?”

“Because your mate is dead, only alive by the grace of the Goddess. Once she’s gone, then so is your mate. Which means the ritual will be complete.”

~“Zeke, you have to save Aylin.”~

~“No, you idiot. I’m saving you both.”~

~“It’s not logical. Don’t risk the life of your pup.”~

“What’s it going to be, Rogue King?”

The malicious smile on the demon’s face told Ezekiel everything he needed to know about what was coming next. He had no intentions of letting anyone leave.

In reality, there was not going to be a peaceful resolution. And, in all likelihood, someone was going to die.

He wouldn’t let anyone else fight for him; this battle was going to be a fight to the death between two powerful beings.

Before he could make a move, the Goddess stepped past him onto the water. “Have you learned nothing? Did you really think you could kill another one of my descendants?

“I should have killed you a long time ago.”

He immediately saw through her ploy. “Trying to provoke me into attacking, is that it? You must think I’m a fool. What can you do?”

“Oh, it’s not what I’m going to do. It’s what you’ve created.”

Everyone present was confused by her statement. None of them knew exactly what had happened after the demon finished the ritual, and none could have anticipated the outcome.

The Goddess stepped into the middle of the water, raised her arms halfway, then reached down to touch the Rogue Queen. ~“It’s time, Aylin.”~

The same blinding light burst forth from the Goddess.

“What’s happening?” Daemon asked.

“I-I don’t know,” Ezekiel responded, shielding his eyes.

When the light subsided, the Goddess was still standing on the water.

Something was different; her energy radiated power, enough to make the demon weak in the knees while having very little effect on the wolves.

The one who felt the change most was the king; he felt light, complete, like there wasn’t anything in the world he couldn’t do, including kill the higher demon.

The power he felt coursing through his veins was raw, unbridled. Beneath it all was a softness that was familiar to him, the kind that made his heart swell.

Finally seeing the world through her own eyes, Aylin was face-to-face with the demon who had made her life a living hell.

She felt different, empowered, with enough strength to finally take him down for good.

“It can’t be,” the demon stammered.

“Aylin!” Ezekiel called.

Hearing her mate’s voice, Aylin turned her head.

Ezekiel was stunned to see the color of her eyes. They were a mix of her own, the Goddess’s, and the demon’s.

Though he was happy to see his mate, there was something different about her.

“You think you scare me?” Zagan screamed. “I’ll kill him, make no mistake.”

Silently, she raised her hand in Quill’s direction, encasing him in a ball of light. It was then that he raised his head to see the queen protecting him.

“Think of your pup, Aylin!” He was pleading with her to let him go lest the demon make a rash decision.

“No one else will die by your hand!” she declared, her voice still laced with the Goddess’s. “~I~ am going to end you.”

With a black aura surrounding him, the demon stood five yards from the girl. He closed his eyes, and every muscle tensed, making the air around him denser and the aura fiercer.

He then opened his ocean-blue eyes, and they changed to blood red. “You’re no match for me.”

The wolves were all shocked to see how large and dangerous the energy coming from the higher demon was.

They all took a step back and watched it grow exponentially. To their eyes, an enormous black fire was raging, seemingly ready to engulf the forest behind it.

“My power comes from the Devil himself. Not even a Goddess can stop me now!”

Aylin lifted herself up, her body radiating with a force that was all her own. She glanced at the wolf, trapped in the darkness, his eyes begging her to change her course. Maybe he thought it was his last chance to save her.

She gave him a small smile, even as his fear grew. “Use the power given to you,” the Goddess instructed.

Closing her eyes, Aylin took a deep breath, reaching deep within herself for the power that had been thrust upon her.

Her eyes snapped open, and the dormant energy within her surged to the surface. Their energies clashed, each trying to overpower the other.

Everyone watched in stunned silence.

“How’s this even possible?” Angus was shaken by the sudden transformation of his queen.

Ezekiel was speechless. He had no words as he watched his queen change before his eyes. The enormity of the situation hit him hard, and he didn’t know where to start.

He’d always felt the need to protect her, but she was a force to be reckoned with.

In a moment of clarity, Ezekiel realized that it was Aylin who had always been protecting him, not the other way around.

As the light burst from her, Zagan began to falter. Even for a demon, the power radiating from the queen was too much.

He had to think quickly to counter her power. He was so focused on defending himself, he had little energy left to fight back.

As he struggled to hold on, an idea came to him. He focused and sent a burst of fire hurtling towards Aylin at a terrifying speed.

Unable to stand by any longer, Daemon shifted into his wolf form to distract the demon. The king and beta didn’t notice his actions until he leapt into action.

Just as the fire was about to hit her, Aylin saw the black fur of Daemon’s wolf lunging at the demon.

“No!” Aylin screamed.

Following her gaze, the demon turned his head just in time to see the alpha’s jaws closing in on him.

A whimper and a scream echoed through the air.

When the dust settled, Aylin tried to stand, blood dripping from her nose. As she lifted her head, all she could see was the bloodied back of her former mate. He was motionless.

Ezekiel rushed over and cradled her head in his hands. “Aylin, look at me! I need you to focus!”

He wiped the blood from her nose, noticing that she could barely keep her head up. Her body was exhausted, too tired to fight any longer.

Angus rushed over to Quill, who was also unconscious. He didn’t have as many wounds as Daemon, but his breathing was shallow.

Angus listened to his heartbeat. It was slow but steady. “Your Majesty, if Quill doesn’t get medical help, he may not make it.”

The king didn’t hear his beta. Seeing his mate in such a state twisted his stomach into knots.

He didn’t know if the Goddess was still helping her. All he knew was that the blood wouldn’t stop flowing from her nose, and she was weak.

“Help... Quill...,” she managed to whisper.

“I’m not leaving you like this,” he argued, trying to lift her up.

Aylin forced her head up and looked into her mate’s eyes. “He’s still—”

An evil laugh cut through the air. “Foolish wolf,” Zagan sneered. “Thought he could destroy me so easily.”

The king shielded his mate from view and prepared himself for a fight. He clenched his fists, and the two men faced off, veins bulging in their necks.

But the king knew he couldn’t make a move without putting his mate’s life at risk. She was weak, too weak to fight any longer.

“Weak woman thought she could defeat me. What a joke.” The demon laughed.

Ezekiel growled in response, thinking quickly. Running seemed like the only option.

Wolves were dying all around him, and the demon was only growing stronger. But the king knew he wouldn’t be able to move fast enough to get his queen to safety.

“So, what’s it going to be, wolf? Will you hand her over, or will you suffer the same fate as your father, alone in the world, thinking only of the one he loved and then ending his pathetic existence?”

“Enough!” the king roared.

In the midst of the heated exchange, Aylin was still trying to gather her strength to finish what she started. ~“Help me,”~ she pleaded silently. ~“I can’t do this alone.”~

~“You are not alone, dear child,”~ the female voice reassured her. ~“Dig down as deeply as you can, drawing all the energy from within.”~

~“What will happen to me? Am I going to die?”~

~“Have faith in me, sweet girl.”~

With shaky legs, Aylin stood up. She planted her feet firmly on the ground and took a deep breath, drawing in all the energy around her.

The more she focused, the more the healing energy of the Earth enveloped her. Looking up at the moon, Aylin raised her arms, a prayer in her heart.

A sense of calm washed over her as she stared at the clear moon. She finally understood what she needed to do.

She dug down as deep as she could, and every cell in her body ignited with energy.

Before she made her move, Aylin reached out to Ezekiel. “Zeke, I want you to retreat. Take the others and run.”

Confused, he turned to his mate. “What? What are you saying? We’re all getting out of here together.”

In his heart, Ezekiel knew it was a foolish hope, but it was one he wasn’t ready to let go of.

With a thin smile, she took a step forward. “I’m sorry, my love. There was no way that could have happened. It’s my turn to protect you.”

Understanding her meaning, Ezekiel was about to move towards her when a scream caught their attention.

“You can’t defeat me, you weak fools!”

The demon was preparing for another attack.

Aylin gathered her strength, ready to shield her pack. Her gaze met Angus’s. He was helping Quill up.

She gave him a soft smile, and Angus understood her silent message right away.

Seeing no other option, the beta grabbed his king and pulled him away from the unfolding chaos. The king’s objections faded as they retreated.

Aylin gently touched her belly, silently apologizing to the tiny life growing inside her. Despite the guilt, she didn’t regret her choice to protect someone so dear to her.

She felt a wave of dark energy rushing toward her. Aylin stood her ground, extending her arm. The energy halted in its tracks.

“The time has come,” a female voice declared.

Aylin faced her adversary. A surge of white light shot out, sending Zagan sprawling.

When he recovered, he was met with a light so bright, it outshone anything he’d ever seen. The woman was radiating the Goddess’s true power. Every fiber of her being was pulsating with strength.

“This can’t be,” he murmured.

Zagan squinted, trying to see through the blinding light. He saw the Goddess herself, her dress billowing, her golden hair whipping around, and her eyes, sparkling with intensity, seemed to bore into him.

“Your reign ends now!” the Goddess proclaimed.