Curse of Ferreus

27 - Retribution

This time, when the Haze descends a choking fog, it's cruel enough to keep my consciousness at the forefront.

The frightening speed with which I wrestle back the upper hand both impresses and terrifies the corner of my mind where I've been shoved to. Alessandro is a threat and my body moves without input— twisting out of Elijah's hold and wrenching the knife from his grip, I throw myself at the alpha, pin him down, and shove the knife up to the hilt into his neck. It's fast and brutal.

I twist and twist, my eyes on fire as I glare down at him. Warm, thick blood drenches my fist.

Screams and shouts echo all around me.

Alessandro stares at me with wide eyes, gurgling on bubbles of blood spraying from his mouth.

I do not have my silver, but I can make him bleed. I can make this injury impossible to heal from—

A blur as Natalia rips me off her fated and shoves me to the ground, shaking with rage and a wild snarl in her throat. I roll away from a punch aimed at my head, twist onto my knees, and haul her into a chokehold. I wrench and twist until something snaps, until her form melts uselessly against mine and her struggles cease.

I don't need silver, after all.

"You bastard!" Alessandro chokes out, his voice a rush of strangled breath. He's ripped the blade from his neck and tossed it aside, and even as blood pours down his throat, he shoves me back and cradles his lifeless mate to his crimson chest.

All around, the clearing is a maelstrom of chaos. Werewolves throw themselves at one another, wolves prowl and snarl and collide in a blur of fangs and claws. I hear my name, desperate and trembling, and see Rowan in the carnage.

He's managed to break free of Lachlan's hold and fights his way towards me, but Duskland are feral and mourning the loss of their luna and they're throwing themselves at their enemies. The alliance is broken, they're on enemy land, and they fight to the death to grapple back some semblance of control.

He cannot reach me. He's pulled into fight after fight, each more gruesome than the last.

Thoughts are burning embers that drift just out of reach, at the whim of a gale tearing clarity to shreds.

I turn my back on him, snatch up the knife, and use it to slit Alessandro's throat.

It's too much blood, too quickly. He cannot heal— not when his mate is dead and his world is falling apart. He chokes on a scream and shudders and collapses to the sodden ground with his luna clutched into a lifeless embrace.

My focus snaps towards the sound of a gut-wrenching scream. Elsie.

She stumbles into a run as I approach, shoving aside Duskland and Crescent Moon alike in a futile effort to escape me.

I follow like a stubborn shadow.

Bodies throw themselves at me— my knife slashes without conscious thought and my focus stays locked on her as I make quick work of the distractions. They fall beneath my fury. The lichtenberg figures crawl a little further— searing my skin.

Right as she breaks the crowds of fighting bodies and darts for the woods, I send the knife flying and it buries between her shoulder blades with a wet thunk and a scream of agony. She drops and pushes herself up on trembling arms. Blood trickles down her back.

Elation rips through me. I'm unstoppable, in the heart of a werewolf feud, and no one can keep me from finishing it all.

As she gasps and struggles to crawl away from me, I take the hilt and rip the blade from her back. Tossing it in lazy circles, I watch as she turns and crawls backwards, keeping me in her sights as she struggles to escape. Tears stream down her cheeks and she's gasping on pleads.