I was a devil.Never before in my life had I felt those words to be truer than in this moment. This very second as I stood above the bodies of several enemies as they bled out around me. Nothing but rage and pain consumed me inside, feeling absolutely no remorse as I had ripped them to shreds.From one person to the next, I had methodically ended each of them, an incredible speed in my movement as if I were maneuvering purely by muscle memory alone. Not that I had really needed to act so quickly. Because the entire time I had attacked, they had just stood there completely still, awaiting their turn. Like lambs to the slaughter, unable to move even an inch… just as I had told them to. Only a flash of fear in their eyes betrayed them as I stole their last moments.Now, I breathed heavily, still shaking from the ordeal… still completely in human form, yet feeling as if I’d had no control over myself…. Nor had I wanted it.No… I might have moved without being fully aware of my actions… bu
I wasn’t sure how long had passed, but I did eventually awaken to the sound of violent coughing near me.…A noise that instantly reminded me of my current situation.“Wakey, wakey,” Clarissa said nearby.And I groaned, rolling onto my side as the pain returned.My entire body was aching, completely stiff along every joint and bone. I would have given anything for even the tiniest bit of pain relief medication.“Come on, Rheyna,” she nagged. “You can’t stay in bed forever.”…However, the more I did slowly wake up, the more I took in.I could vaguely hear her shuffling around nearby, coughing every few steps she took. Clearly feeling a bit better despite her limp earlier. And not just that either. I could also smell… something. Food, of some sort.…Was she cooking?At that, I mustered all my energy to pull myself upright, hissing from the pain that shot through me. And, sure enough, there she was.Like a little cave goblin waddling around a fire. It seemed she actually was making someth
“Seven times?!” I gasped. “H-how…? How is this possible? And why can’t I….” I could see the faintest traces of memories, but they were all nonsensical, just painful flashes of random images rather than providing any sort of insight. Yet the more I tried to dive deeper to look, the more it pushed back at me. “Come on, Rheyna! Look!” Clarissa demanded, pointing at my marks. “Doesn’t this look familiar? Don’t you remember?!” “I-I… I don’t know… I don’t think so. I just….” “GODDAMMIT!” she yelled, a fury in her eyes that made me flinch. Though it only flashed for merely a second. Just a second before her gaze then slowly fell to the floor, a look of defeat washing over her. “…God-fucking-dammit. Why now?” It was the first time I’d seen her look so upset. Not angry anymore, just… sadness. An emptiness as she accepted that I wasn’t able to tell her what she needed to hear. A change from her normal bratty attitude. “Clarissa… There’s no point in wasting time if this really is all true,”
“What?!” I yelled, feeling as if my legs were going to give out from under me. “What did you just say?”“…You killed him,” she repeated, stating it in a matter-of-fact way. “Why are you so surprised? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you look so queasy about killing someone before.”Was this some kind of sick joke? How could I not be surprised to hear that? I owed so much to Kieran that even the thought of ever physically hurting him seemed unthinkable.“…Rheyna… the way you’re acting…,” she started, looking confused again. “It’s almost like… well, it’s just… you don’t have feelings for him, do you?”Instantly, I became flustered feeling put on the spot. This conversation had taken such a turn that I didn’t know how to react.“Well, I… I-I mean…,” I stuttered. “He did so much to help me….”And Clarissa’s face paled even more, clearly not expecting that answer. “…I thought you were just joking. I never expected you of all people to fall for him, let alone give a shit about the mate bond. Rh
“Clarissa!” I screamed, pushing past Zac to run inside.He was still too confused to move, struggling to understand the situation. Only, I did know the situation. I knew that something had to be so very wrong.“Clarissa!” I yelled again, scanning through the rooms.And, finally, her voice called back.“Rae!” she cried.The kitchen.I bolted to her location and found Clarissa on the ground, shaking as she stared up at a man holding a knife.…A man I knew as Noah Kennedy.“Who is that!” she screamed. “How did he get in here? H-he shouldn’t be here. He could have killed me!”Noah simply appeared stunned by the whole situation and slowly looked down at the knife in his hand. A kitchen knife that he was using to cut an apple.“This is wrong,” she whispered to herself. “No one is ever at Zac’s house. How is there someone here? It’s supposed to be completely private.”“Woah, calm down,” I said. “Nothing is going on. You’re fine. This is Noah.”The way she had moved around in Zac’s house, it
“Another scouting party will most likely be deployed into the city tomorrow night,” Clarissa said, a few days later. After sending the letter, she had told me that we just needed to wait. Apparently, someone would be in touch from the Hidden Moon soon but, for the time being, we were going to be playing defensively. Lying low and acting from the shadows. This hadn’t stopped Clarissa from sending me on one or two missions already though. Just smaller groups of wolves that had wandered into Lockdale from the Silent Forest pack, trying to find us. Barely worth our attention or fight but still something that needed to be taken care of. …And I’d done it without question. With Zac’s help to clean up, of course. It was almost as if the two of us were back working together again, only, this time, it wasn’t under my father’s direction. Nevertheless, it was a role I slipped into naturally, doing what needed to be done. In my spare time, I had also been practising my ability, just as Myra h
“Rae!” Clarissa yelled, throwing open my bedroom door. Immediately, I sat up alert, only the light of the moon streaming in from my window to illuminate the space. It was dim, but still enough for me to see her incredibly panicked expression. “What’s wrong? What’s happened?” I asked, already pushing off my blankets. But her words quickly made me pause, if only for a second. “…It’s Kieran,” she said. “They’ve found him.” …Right. I guess it was about that time. I’d known it was going to happen eventually. “…Where?” I asked, keeping my tone neutral. “He wandered across the border, coming close enough for our patrols to pick him up and subdue him. He’s in the dungeon waiting for you now.” “Okay… leave it to me,” I said, standing up to throw a jumper on. “Wait… what are you going to do?” she asked. “We didn’t finish talking about your plans for after he was caught.” I looked over at her, a reserved expression of my own to face her. It was clear just how weak she was becoming even
I couldn’t get back to sleep after that dream. No… that memory. That haunting, painful memory. The image of Kieran’s eyes filled with so much hatred still weighed on me. Everything from the way he spat my name, to the way he looked at me… it was as if he despised me more than anything else. And I could understand why, given what I’d put him through. But just like the memory of those burning hazel eyes, another detail had lingered with me as well. The rejection. The searing pain of having my soul torn in half, a hole forming inside that threatened to make me lose my sanity. Why had I told Clarissa that the pain wasn’t so bad over time? I couldn’t imagine that feeling ever granting any respite. Yet this was a process I apparently started to initiate first in every timeline. Rejecting him immediately before doing much else. I willingly put myself through that pain… and I’d promised to do so again in this one. ‘…Whatever it takes.’ That was the rule I’d said in the memory, and so