Steven’s POV
“No, don’t… don’t do this… You can’t die, you hear me? You can’t leave me like this, I can’t lose you too, Williams!” I bellowed, my throat dry from emotion as I stood there and watched him fall at my feet, his body limp, his blood soaking into the earth around him. My hands trembled, my entire body shaking with the force of my emotions, but no matter how I struggled to get myself to move, I was paralyzed, trapped by Ivan’s magic.
Liam laughed, the sound cruel and unkind, full of only amusement at my suffering. He tilted his head to one side, watching me like some predator savoring the moment before the kill. “Oops,” he said mockingly. “Oh well, too bad he died and not you. But I suppose it doesn’t matter, really. You’re still going to die, right here, right now, in front of everyone.”
No! Liam, I implore you!” Freya cried out in desperation, her voice breaking as she strained against the chains binding her wrists. Her face ran with tears, body shaking with horror and despair. “Don’t do it! Don’t kill my brother, please!
But Liam laughed alone. It was a slow, wicked laugh, heavy with sadistic joy. “Oh, this is getting better and better,” he jeered, his dark eyes agleam with excitement. “But don’t you worry, sweetheart. You won’t be lonely for long. Right after I’m done with him, you’ll be going with him.”
“By the gods, I’ll kill you,” Roy growled in his teeth, muscles cording in the iron restraints. His eyes blazed with uncontrolled rage, gasping in harsh pants. “Touch your hands to my Alpha, and I’ll tear your head from your body and feed it to the hounds!”
Liam grinned, clearly amused. “Oh? You’ll behead me, then?” He laughed once more, his head shaking. “Even chained, you still have the audacity to threaten me, Roy?”
“Remove those chains and let me show you what I can do,” Roy snarled, his voice icy and lethal. His entire body was coiled with tension, ready to strike the moment he was given a chance.
Liam pretended to sigh dramatically, twirling his sword around in his palm. “Your dedication is genuinely so sweet, Roy. Seriously. But don’t worry, I’ll grant you your wish. I’ll remove these shackles soon enough-once I’m finished with your precious Alpha. Then you can be together with him in death.” His smile widened as he pressed the blade of his sword against my throat. “It’s been a long game, Steven Blackwood. But today. everything comes to a close.”
I could sense the chill of the metal bite into my flesh, hard and unyielding. I could not move, could not fight. This was it. This was how it was going to end.
But before Liam had a chance to make his play, his body stiffened, his motions suspended. His eyes protruded from his head. “What-what in tarnation is occurring? Why do I not move? Ivan! What’s this?!?” he thundered, his hysterical voice growing greater.
“Oh no,” said a voice, familiar but smooth and confident. “It’s not Ivan’s doing. This is all me.”
A woman stepped out of the shadows, into the dim light with an air of quiet authority. The priestess of the Moon Goddess.
“Priestess,” I breathed out, my heart pounding in my chest.
She smiled at me, a small, warm smile with a teasing glint in her eyes. “You’ve been very rude and troublesome to me, Alpha. But did you actually think I was going to stand by and watch you die?”
“Damn you, Priestess!” Liam cursed, still struggling against the unseen force that held him pinned. “You have no right to interfere here! Get out before I-
Oh, please,” she cut him off with a smile. “Let’s get real here, Liam. You wouldn’t survive five seconds with me even if you weren’t paralyzed.” She turned to Ivan, her eyes darkening. “And you-so you’re the legendary Ivan, the so-called ‘most powerful’ wizard. You really believe that, don’t you? That you’re the most powerful creature in the world?” She let out a soft laugh, shaking her head. “How pathetic.
You’re nothing but a pathetic little man, desperately looking for some kind of confirmation.”
Ivan’s face twisted with fury. “You’ll discover how little I can do,” he roared, charging at her as dark energy began to condense around him. The two collided, magic clashing with magic in an explosion of energy, sending out shockwaves along the ground that we were standing on.
Before anyone could react, a bloodcurdling shriek echoed from the forest, followed by the rapid sound of footsteps. One of Liam’s wolves came sprinting toward him, his face pale with terror.
“What’s going on?!” Liam barked, his panic growing.
“We’re under attack!” the wolf panted, his eyes darting wildly.
“Attacked?! By who?!”
“P-excuse me,” the wolf stammered. “But they are commanded by a woman… They call her Luna.”
My breath caught in my throat. My heart pounded. Maya.
Liam’s face darkened. “Call all the wolves in sight! Slaughter her men and bring her to me-I want her alive,” he roared, his voice thick with fury.
The wolf bowed and then ran off, lost amidst the chaos.
Liam turned to me, a sneering smile spreading across his face. “Your wife is here,” he taunted, his voice thick with venom. But then his smile faltered, his face twisting in a deeper rage. “I will kill her.”
I clenched my teeth. “And how do you plan on doing that?” I asked, my voice cold. “We’re both stuck.”
Liam’s anger at last boiled over. “Ivan! Release me! Now!” he bellowed, his fear escalating.
James struggled with his bonds as well, pleading with Maya. “Maya! Maya, hear me!” he bellowed, and she stumbled, her weeping face looking into his.
“Release me,” James pleaded.
Maya shook her head, her trembling hands. “I… I can’t.”.
James’s face tensed. “Maya, will you simply stand there and watch me killed?”
Liam growled warningly. “If you even consider letting him go, Maya, I’ll promise you on my honor, I’ll make your killing the worst of all.”
James’s eyes blazed with fury. “He can’t hurt you, Maya! He’s placed under a curse-he can’t even move!”
Maya’s fists were balled, her emotions warring inside her. “Why should I?” she spat, her tone bitter. “You dumped me. You told me I wasn’t your sister anymore.”
James exhaled sharply. “Because you killed the only woman I’ve ever loved,” he said, his voice breaking. “You killed her.” He paused, his fists balled. “I’ve lived my entire life doing what you and Father told me to do. I never once complained. When Father was killed, you wanted vengeance, and I stood with you, supporting you.” His eyes became dark.
“But here you are… standing alongside the very man who murdered him.”
Maya winced. “That’s a lie! Steven killed our father!”
James shook his head. “Think, Maya. Did you ever stop for a minute and wonder why Father confessed to being the Demon Wolf before Steven slew him?”
There was silence.
Liam grinned suddenly. “Enough talk,” he said suavely. “It’s time to tie up loose ends.”
Ivan mouthed a spell under his breath, releasing Liam.
Liam assaulted Maya, holding her by the throat. “I said what would happen if you disobeyed me,” he snarled before putting his hand inside her chest.
“No! No, no, no!” James screamed as Maya’s lifeless form slumped onto the ground.
Liam wiped his fingers clean of the blood and turned back to me, a cold, empty smile on his lips. “Now,” he spoke low and taunting, “I’m going to go find your beautiful wife. and you get to sit there and watch me murder her.”
“No! Don’t harm Luna!” I roared, struggling with every remaining ounce of strength within me.
But I was still frozen, still immobile.
And Liam was sauntering off with a grin.