The Beast And The Blessed by Ashley Breanne
Chapter 97
Killian’s P.O.V.
My world stopped spinning momentarily as I felt her body collapse on top of mine, shielding me from the inevitable blow that would end my life. I expected it to be cold and dark as I entered the veil, but there was a sudden heat instead.
I opened my eyes and watched a large blue flame leave Natalie’s body, rolling off her like a wave. There was a loud collection of hissing and screams as the vampires stumbled to the ground, trying to extinguish the flames, but it was useless.
I felt the warmth and the heat, but it didn’t hurt me. The flames that would end the lives of so many were almost comforting and calming to me.
Joselin had seen Natalie saving me in her vision months ago, but so many things had happened since then. There was no certainty of it coming to fruition. I had been encouraging Natalie to study and practice her magic. Still, she had only had a couple weeks between getting her powers and using them in battle.
So, I fought. I fought tooth and nail, prepared to fight to my death to save my people and my mate. I knew I was going down, and I made it my mission to take down as many of them as possible.
Natalie shouldn’t have had to see it. I hated that she did.
I had hoped she would be strong enough to save herself, but I hadn’t expected her to save me… to save everyone.
It took several minutes until the screaming stopped, and the field went silent.
I could only see the blue. The blue of her flames. The blue of the sky above me. The poison was pumping through my veins rapidly, and I struggled to pull in my next breath.
“Your Majesty, we need to tend to the king!” A soft voice hesitantly whispered. Natalie was lifted from my body an inch before she scrambled to cover me again, holding me tighter than before.
Her fear pulsed through our bond as her face remained tucked into my chest, shielding me protectively.
I needed to get up. I needed to make sure she was safe. It was only a few dozen bites and cuts. I had experienced worse. If I hadn’t been outnumbered and held down, I could have easily taken a hundred more bites before letting their poisonous f*uc*king saliva beat me.
I was positive I had a broken rib or two, but I had given better than I got. Undoubtedly, I had taken down a minimum of a hundred. I had been ready to slaughter them all to keep them from my mate.
The world began spinning around me again, and my head felt ready to explode from the movement as I tried to sit myself up too quickly. We weren’t safe yet. This wasn’t over.
The last thing I needed was my Healers running to the front line and risking their lives for mine when their kind was already on the edge of extinction, and I did not need them. But at least one of the doctors was already here by the sound of it.
I also didn’t know what our situation looked like. How many were left? Was my mate still exposed to further danger?
My arm lifted and let it fall over Natalie’s back as I forced myself to sit up again. She tried to pull away, staring at me with wide, water-filled eyes. My vision was blurry as I let out a groan of pain but pushed myself up further.
Where were my men when the vampires were swarming me? Were they injured…dead? They had a powerful force against us, but we should have easily matched them in number.
I clenched my teeth together as I forced myself to look around, terrified I would see my people dead around me. It was the outcome of war. Death. But I had never seen so much of it so fast.
The sun hadn’t reached the sky’s center, yet thousands of bodies were strewn across the ground, burned beyond recognition. All eyes were on us, and as I looked over the familiar faces, I met my mother’s eyes. She stood in chains with the remaining standing council members watching her closely. I had no doubt they had injected my mother to limit her powers, and the other traitorous witches sat on their knees to the side, waiting to pay for their crimes.
“My apologies, your majesty.” The voice came again, and I ignored them as I felt a slight pressure on my neck. I knew it was the antidote to help me heal from the vampire venom. The entire pack would need it, and we brought a few trucks of it just in case. The Healer pulled the needle out quickly before whispering softly. “May I examine your wounds?”
“No,” I ordered, looking down at my mate. I was healing slowly but surely, and I didn’t need to take any more of her time than I already had when others in my pack could be more seriously injured. “Tend to the others.”
“Looks like you didn’t even need us!” Charlie exclaimed as she stepped forward and held out a hand to me. I raised an eyebrow at her before getting to my feet and pulling Natalie up. I towered over both women in my Lycan form, and Charlie’s forced smile faltered as I clasped my hand on her shoulder and turned her as I looked her over for injury.
As I dropped my arm, Charlie reached up and touched Natalie’s, who was staring blankly out at the field of corpses.
“Hey, that was incredible! I had no idea you could do something like that.” Charlie stated, but Natalie seemed stunned.
“I didn’t know I could.” Natalie looked back to my chest, dropping her blood- covered hands as she stared at them. I grabbed both of her hands in mine and stared at her until she looked up at me.
My mate.
She went from being harmless, never having k*illed a day in her life, to ending thousands of lives.
“There was a light and a voice….”
One by one, the Lycans, wolves, and witches dropped to their knees, dipping their heads in submission. As she noticed, she fell silent.
A small stream of dark, thick blood trickled from her nose, but she didn’t notice. I couldn’t tell if she was scared of what she experienced and did or if she was in awe.
My chest puffed out in pride, but I knew it wasn’t for me. I had k*illed dozens and almost died in the process. She had slain hundreds without trying.
She was their queen. My queen.
“Have you seen my mother?” Natalie muttered to me as she grabbed my furry forearm, her eyes locked on the man from the night before. He was in his fur, and his head was down, but there was no denying it was him. I hadn’t liked how he looked at her when we were trying to sleep. After hearing him call her Aurora, I knew he was mistaken, but I still didn’t like it.
I had been ready to rip his throat out right then and there, but something in my gut told me to let him live for now. Watching him hold my mate’s attention made my fur bristle with agitation.
“She is probably in the back with Joselin getting treated,” Charlie said, a growl lacing her words as she looked at our mother with all the hurt she had felt since discovering her betrayal.
“She needs to go to The Sanctum,” Natalie muttered, her glare still on the man. He looked up, not fazed by her nudity as it was normal for our kind, and met her stare. “You will take her.”
He dipped his head before giving her face one long, last look before sprinting back toward the Healers.
Now was no time to ask her how she knew him, so I bit my tongue.
“You are a fool if you think mating one of them will do anything but destroy you! They are monsters!” My mother yelled, and I masked my anger as I faced her. She looked emaciated but stood tall, like a queen, even though she was restrained.
“I pray that you find peace and can be reborn with a cleansed soul, but I know you have been corrupted by too much darkness to ever make it to the Goddess,” Natalie whispered before looking to Charlie as my mother began screaming about the devils we will spawn and spitting curses about our future children.
Charlie swallowed audibly before nodding, and I took a deep breath before stepping around my mate.
I had thought about this moment hundreds of times but never imagined it would be like this. Never before had I needed to brave her glare of disgust when I approached her to send her to the afterlife.
“You look just like your father.” Her insult was quickly followed by her spitting toward me, the ball of salvia falling short.
I may share in his D.N.A., but I have always taken pride in not following in his footsteps and in not making the same mistakes that he did. While we looked alike, I was a leader, not a ruler. I was a loving mate, not a rapist.
I would never be like my father, and I would never be like her, either. Natalie was slowly fixing the parts of me that were causing me to fail my people. She was making me a better man.
‘We stand as witnessed today for the execution of Lillian Amery.” My roar was met by a loud yell of agreement from my pack. I held the glare of my mother as I spoke to her and her alone. “You do not deserve a trial after what you did. You’re a traitor to your people and your family.”
She laughed mockingly as she looked up at the sky with a sad smile. “No, Killian, your father k*illed my family long ago. It only seemed fair for me to k*ll his too.”
“Goodbye, mother.” I snarled. The nails on my claw sliced easily through her neck. I kept my face blank as Charlie let out a choked gasp behind me.