Chapter 22
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Three years ago
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Diana’s eyes struggled to remain close as she watched the retreating figure of her mate. She felt herself getting weaker as the seal of Decanal became weaker. The malevolent part of her wolf threatened to come out to heal her fully but she was using all her strength to prevent the seal from breaking. If that part of Decanal were to be set free, she would succumb to the uncontrollable bloodthirsty part of Decanal once again and she may end up on a killing spree.
Her fur spread out as her wolf’s poison ran through her to combat the burning effect of the silver. Her golden eyes became duller by the moment before turning to a faint orange.
A loud growl reverberated through the forest as her entire body became covered in her fur. She grunted in pain before vomiting dark blood expelling the silver from her body, She could hardly feel the seal anymore. Her eyes had become red, her hands were now bigger claws and her black night fur was turning white starting from the tip of her half-formed snout. Her super hearing picked up footsteps belonging to Howard from afar.
He sniffed the air in his wolf form before running to where Diana was lying still half-conscious from the pain. He didn’t say a word as she gathered her half-wolf, half-human body in his arms. He cursed under his breath at what his Alpha and only friend had cursed. He had refused to participate in the senseless war knowing it wouldn’t end well but Leonard was overconfident he would kill the vampire king easily.
He got to the battlefield to see Leonard already dying from the poison that seeped into his eyes from Decanal’s claws and Diana was gone with the vampire king. He gathered the rest of the pack warriors and started looking for her after sending Leonard home to the pack medic.
The warriors had told him what the Alpha did to Diana and Howard didn’t like it one bit but he had to bring Diana back home before everything escalated. He took another look at her strange form in his arms, She looked like she was sleeping but his heightened sense of hearing could pick up her heartbeat which was becoming faster and faster as she transformed fully into her wolf. The force threw him two feet backward as he stared at the red-eyed Wolf in front of him staring at him with a murderous gleam.
He gulped as the intensity of the power emanating from Decanal washed over him. He was torn between admiring the magnificence of the wolf and saying “Holy fuck!” with his tail in between his legs. The wolf let out a loud growl, and one look at it will tell you that Diana was no longer there, just Decanal.
Before Howard could blink, Decanal already had the throat of a nearby wolf hanging in its mouth. It was a fast kill, so fast Howard could not believe his eyes, he had heard tales of the old Decanal killing without even trying. Howard knew better than to shift into his wolf and fight the dangerous entity in front of him. He could only try and save the idiots trying to fight her.
” Do not fight her! Get some silver chains!” He yelled at the pack warriors who ran back to the plains immediately to get what he asked them to get while some stupid others probably trying to be brave or just plain stupid kept attacking Decanal who kept tearing them apart with ease. Howard shook his head at their stupidity, but at least they served as a distraction.
The few soldiers who wore gloves were already back from the plains while holding a very thick and long silver chain. Howard took a deep breath and arranged them into a clean formation while the idiots were still battling Decanal. Body parts of both wolves and humans were being thrown from every angle but the warriors avoided them as best as they could while trying to follow their Beta’s order.
After his loud order, the silver chains were aimed and thrown at the large wolf, and within minutes they had Decanal wrapped in the chains under their stronghold. The chains didn’t react on its body instead the wolf only snarled.
” what the…!” Howard cussed out seeing a full-blown smirk on the wolf’s face as the wind in the forest became stronger than their hold on the wolf. Decanal let out a loud bark and shook its body throwing everyone holding her at least a few feet away. Her red eyes locked on Howard’s blue one and she marched forward. Howard gulped as the big wolf advanced towards him but he retained his courageous look.
He knew from that smug look on the face of the wolf, she was toying with him. The wolf taunt him to shift by waging her tail gently still with that big smirk plastered on her face. At this point, all other wolves were either running away from the scene or carrying their friends out leaving only their Beta alone with the demon.
Howard took the challenge and shifted into his grey wolf, he looked like a pup compared to Diana. She was large, much larger than him, and also with a conscience. The wolf circled him slowly as if it was trying to rule him up so he could make a huge mistake that would lead to his death immediately. Howard growled loudly before trying to get her by attacking the side of her belly only for his claws to scratch air. The wolf was extremely fast for him and it frustrates him knowing the kind of game the sadistic creature was playing with him.
He crouched down low again before jumping high, Decanal only shifted to the left side before raising her paw and hitting Sky’s( Howard’s wolf) head without scratching him with her claws. The force made him land on a tree branch, he heard a crack on his left hind leg and he growled out in pain. If Decanal wanted, she could have killed him with just a clean swipe of her claws during that blow. But she was playing and toying with his frustration.
His leg didn’t take too long to heal, he stood up again taking a few steps backward. His golden eyes locked on Decanal’s fiery red ones. He snarled dangerously trying to attack but before he could, Decanal beat him to it by jumping so high with a menacing growl he knew she was coming for the killing bite. He closed his eyes and surrendered to the stronger wolf as he awaited his death which never came.
He opened his eyes to see Decanal frozen in mid-air. The familiar red hair of Kiona the witch glints under the moonlight giving it a copper colour. Howard shifted back into his human form immediately.
” You are so early if you were here one minute earlier. The war would have started right before your eyes” Howard muttered sarcastically to the new addition in their midst. If she heard him, she didn’t act like it. She was focused on the taste at hand.
Kiona had her hands raised in mid-air as she controlled the wolf who howled loudly shaking every part of the forest; while chanting the spell in a strange language.
” We meet again, Decanal” The witches smirked ending her spell. Decanal let out a snarl at her old enemy before leaping towards her, she was faster and before Kiona could mutter another spell, she swiped her claws at the witch and got her real good on the arm. The witch let out a scream.
” Dyrr promised to be the one but I couldn’t help it” Decanal laughed and said with a voice that sounded nothing like Diana whenever she was in wolf form. It was as if Diana was locked in the deepest part of the wolf, unable to control or do anything about the actions of the Decanal.
” I ended you the first time, I won’t hesitate to do it again” The Witch moaned out in pain holding her injured arm while muttering a spell to stop the bleeding.
” Like I said, I made a deal with Dyrr. She gets to kill you but that doesn’t mean I can’t make you suffer” With another reverberating growl, Decanal attacked the witch like a feral cat without holding back but she didn’t expect Kiona to have a spell ready for her so immediately she was near enough, Kiona hit the wolf with a strong spell, powerful enough to knock it out cold with electric burning sensation. Still Decanal didn’t shift back into the human form.
Howard who had been hiding while watching the entire fight stepped out and bent beside the unconscious wolf.
” Is she dead?”
” No, but she is going to be soon. I’m only waiting for the Alpha’s command”