He eyes it and I see the debate in his eyes. Before he can rethink it he downs the goblet in one go. I link Darius. He is at my side in a flash. The scroll in hand. I can see Markus cringe as the water makes his way into his system. Darius looks at his brother. I don’t expect this look. Sorrow. Sorrow for the brother that he didn’t have.
“In the name of the goddess, I cast you out. I demand that you become your dormant self. You have lost this battle. It is time for you to sleep. In the name of the goddess as the blood of your vessel, I pray that you leave his body.”
Markus growls and turns back to me. “I will have you. Maybe not this time, but it is going to happen.”
A voice inside me rings out. “No, you will not. I will never be yours. There is always light and dark, they can not mix.” I don’t even know where the words come from. That must be the other spirit inside me.
Markus smirks. “We shall see. I got closer this time. I will be closer next time.” Then I see the darkness leave his eyes. He blinks at us. “What the hell just happened?”
He looks at us both. Darius smiles and pats his brother on the shoulder. “Just getting my brother back.”
Markus looks back at me. “Why do I still love you?”
I blush a little. “The goddess said that you will still be attracted to me, but you won’t be obsessed. It was the only way to get you back to normal.”
He nods. “I don’t know if I should be out of these cells. I did some bad things. I almost killed my own brother.”
I smile at his response. “If it makes you feel any better I know there is another mate for you. Not Sasha, another that is coming. The goddess told me.”
He chuckles. “I just think I would rather be alone, but we shall see. I’m just glad to have that part of me dead.”
Darius and I exchange a look. I answered him. “It isn’t dead. It’s just dormant for this lifetime. It will come back. You get to live the rest of your life in peace.”
“So, it’s still inside me?”
“Yes, but harmless. Like in prison with a gag.” Darius points out. As he wraps his arm around me. We are both pretty wet.
“We will explain everything to your mom and dad. You are going to need to give us the name of the witch. But other than that, you should be free to live your life.” I motion towards the cell door, letting him know that he will be out.
He shakes his head. “Under one condition do I leave this cell. I don’t want to be Alpha, I will take any other rank, but I don’t trust myself with full power. I want you to be Alpha Darius.”
Darius pats his shoulder again. “I will leave the choice up to father. If he thinks you are still the best then you will have the job. You trained for this. I don’t really have any training. If he does decide to concede to your request, then you will be my Beta. I still want you by my side.”
It warms my heart to see these two brothers act this way towards each other. They were ready to kill each other not long ago. It’s nice to see that gone. The sweet boy that was once there, can return and they can be who they were before. Both brothers wear a smile now, and that is how it should be.
We leave the cells to explain everything to the Alpha and the Luna. They are thrilled, yet apprehensive. Still Markus is out of the cells by lunch time. We all decided that the events of the night would remain in the family. Markus would not be looked at wrongly. The pack doctor looked over Darius again and confirmed that the tumor was gone. Finally our family can breathe a sigh of relief.
Sasha tried to come back, only this time Markus rejected her. She wasn’t the mate he deserved. We all knew this. What surprised me the most was Connor. He came to me after a few days. He looked dejected.
“Sophia. I’m sorry. I should have never treated you the way that they did. I knew it was wrong. I beg for your forgiveness.” He bowed his head to me and bore his neck. A clear sign of submission.
“What exactly did Darius do?” I smile down at him. I knew he wouldn’t be here without a reason.
“Nothing that you don’t already know about. It was my father. He turned his anger on me. Especially when Sasha was rejected by both mates. Suddenly I was a failure. I saw first hand what you went through. I humbly ask to be allowed to live in the packhouse.”
I nod. “Very well, however if there is even a rumor of you treating another member of this pack the way I was treated, you will be removed from the pack. Are you ready to take that option?” I eyed him critically as I spoke to him. I don’t want him to think he can act like my cousin and everything is just going to be ok.
“Anything Sophia.” I can hear him sniffling. I am sure he is crying. Connor was always a proud boy. Never one to submit or admit defeat. The fact that he is here submitting to me is proof enough that he changed his ways. He always saw me as the low of the low. To submit to me he must be low.
“Alright. You can move in, Connor. You are my cousin.” I give him a smile as he raises his head to me.
“Thank you, Sophia. I will never forget this.” I can see the genuine smile on his face.
Darius wraps his arm around me. “I will make sure of it.” Now that he has been named the next Alpha, there is all kinds of talk around the pack. Some even doubt that I should be Luna. I don’t mind, they can doubt all they want. Darius doesn’t doubt. To him, I am it. That’s all I need in my life.