Talon watches, intrigued, as the werewolves shift into their wolf forms while my father and brothers shift into their Lycans. Talon gestures for me to climb onto his back. I wrap my arms around his neck as he holds my legs. Together with the pack, we run forward for many hours until we meet the coven of vampires awaiting us.
‘Lord Talon, Lady Lylah,’ All the vampires say, bowing as they greet us.
Nadia and Soren approach and stand by our sides as if to guard us. I look over at my father and nod to indicate we’re ready. We head in the direction of the mountain we last saw Lord Atticus. It becomes dark very suddenly before we even approach the mountain. Hundreds of black whisps whip by us and then circle us. They are extremely fast, and I know exactly what they are. ‘Blood Dwellers,’ I mutter under my breath.
‘He’s here!’ Talon shouts, warning everyone.
‘I see you brought the entire coven and even the wolves to watch you pledge your allegiance to me, along with my dinner,’ Lord Atticus says, smiling at me. ‘I must say tasting your blood not only was delicious, but it has increased my agility and power. Imagine how much more powerful I’ll be after I feed off you properly. I could take on the largest city of humans, armies even,’ he smirks.
‘I’ll never pledge my allegiance to you. You have destroyed all these lives! You’re not worthy of being a leader. You’re twisted and evil and deserve to rot in the depths of hell with your demonic dogs. And you will never lay a finger on, Lylah, ever again!’ Talon shouts.
‘That’s a shame, brother, as you leave me no choice but to kill you and take Lylah for myself by force!’ he yells, and the Blood Dwellers attack us.
The vampires and werewolves fight against the Blood Dwellers. There are hundreds of them. Every time a Blood Dweller is defeated, it flickers and reappears in full health again. Vampires and Werewolves are being injured, and some lay dying. My mother is running from one to another, trying to heal as many as possible. Kayla throws vials toward the Blood Dwellers to poison and disorientate them, but it does not affect them.
‘Talon, the Blood Dwellers can’t be killed. They are illusions from Lord Atticus’s mind. Although they become real, he can resummon them each time they are killed. The only way to stop them is by defeating Lord Atticus himself. If we do that, then the Blood Dwellers will disappear forever.’
‘Then you stay here, Lylah. I’ll go for my brother.’
‘No, not on your own! You can’t defeat him on your own. I’m going with you!’
‘I’m sorry, Lylah. I won’t let any harm come to you,’ he says. I look at him, confused, as he nods to some over my shoulder, ‘Keep Lylah safe,’ he says.
Soren wraps his arms around me, pinning my arms down as Talon races towards Lord Atticus. ‘No! Talon!’ I scream.
Talon and Lord Atticus hiss and circle around one another before attacking. They are fighting to the death. They claw, bite, punch, and shred each other with their now elongated sharp claws. I elbow Soren and ram the hilt of my dagger into his thigh, allowing me to break free of his grip. I run toward Talon and Lord Atticus and come to an abrupt halt as I see Talon covered in wounds and lying limp. Lord Atticus pulls him up by the scruff of his shirt, and as he is about to rip Talon’s heart out from his chest. I scream.
A massive ball of light erupts within me, sending everyone flying back, including Lord Atticus. Everyone looks at me in shock and surprise. There is an aura, a powerful glowing light flaring from all around me. I slowly walk toward Lord Atticus and withdraw my dagger, holding the blade to my wrist.
‘Father!’ I shout to him, ‘Don’t kill the vampires, just keep them back,’ I say.
He is confused by what I mean. I slit my wrist and hold my arm up, sending every single vampire, including Lord Atticus, into a blood-lusting craze. As they come towards me, my father, brothers and pack form a line behind me and fight back the blood-crazed vampires.
‘If this is what you want, Lord Atticus, come and get it!’ I say to him.
He hisses and races toward me. As he reaches out to grab me, I hold my hand out, making him freeze like a statue. He stares at me, stunned. Talon struggles to sit up in immense pain and stares at me in awe.
Holding my dagger firmly in my other hand, I step closer to Lord Atticus and stab him in the heart. He cries out in pain, and the Blood Dwellers begin to disappear. I don’t withdraw the knife yet. Instead, I stare Lord Atticus in the eyes, and to his horror, I twist the knife causing unimaginable pain.
‘The pain you feel right now is nothing compared to the pain you caused me when you killed Micah.’
Lord Atticus laughs as blood begins to dribble profusely from his mouth.
‘My only regret,’ he says, choking on his blood, ‘Was not being able to finish him off before your pack arrived,’ he smiles and flings his head back, laughing.
He heaves for air as I push my dagger in deeper. I lean forward and whisper in his ear, ‘Inferno Flamo,’ I say.
Everyone gasps and steps back as he erupts into flames, wailing and screaming until he becomes nothing but a pile of ash at my feet.
I stare at my dagger and breath with a sense of relief and happiness I hadn’t experienced for a very long time. I did it, Micah. I killed Lord Atticus. I hug my dagger close to my heart before hearing Talon struggle for air. I sheath my dagger back in my baldric and run to Talon.
I kneel beside him and see the dozens of wounds, gashes and open flesh.
‘Lylah, you did it,’ he says breathlessly.
‘Shh, don’t move. You’re making the blood loss quicken.’
My mother kneels beside me and nods that she can heal him.
‘Wait! I say as she goes to heal him. ‘Let me do it,’ I say.
I hover my hands over his chest and close my eyes. A ball of light forms above his chest and explodes into millions of tiny particles that sparkle as they slowly land on him. All his wounds begin to heal, not even leaving a mark. Then I realise it has even removed the scar on his chest and arm. I heal the cut on my wrist, removing the vampires from their blood lust craze. The scars on my wrists also fade.
‘What about the scars on your back?’ Talon says.
I smile and shake my head. ‘These scars are part of who I am. These scars tell a story of how strong and courageous I am. These scars show everyone no matter what comes my way. I will never be defeated. These scars are reminders of someone I love and will never be forgotten. So, I will wear it proudly like the armour the scar has become.’
Talon smiles, nods and swiftly pulls me into his chest. We hug, laugh and kiss until Alpha Varan approaches.
‘Lady Lylah,’ he says and gets down on one knee, bowing his head. ‘I want to apologise for how I’ve treated you and for blaming you for Micah’s death. You meant the whole world to Micah, and he loved you wholeheartedly. I should have respected his feelings towards you. I’m so sorry for the hurt I caused you and because of your determination and your love for Micah. You were able to give him the justice he deserves, and now Micah can be at peace, and because of that, you have given my heart peace. You have my utmost honour and respect. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive this old fool?’ he says.
I gaze into his watery eyes and fling my arms around his neck. ‘I forgive you,’ I say.
He begins to cry and hugs me tight.
I hug my mother, father and brothers goodbye.
‘We will visit you each month, okay, sweety,’ my mother says.
‘I would like that,’ I reply.
‘It’s going to suck not having our baby sister around to trick and play pranks on,’ Leo says.
‘Well, you and Theo need to focus on finding your mates to become Alphas anyway, and besides, you’ll always have Amara to prank,’ I smile.
‘That’s true,’ Theo says, ‘Leo and I have already made plans to begin expanding our search for our mates. Maybe with luck, we will find them sooner rather than later.’
I fling my arms around my father one last time. We hug tight, not wanting to let go.
‘I’m going to miss you the most,’ I say to him.
‘I’m going to miss you the most too,’ he says. ‘Now remember what I taught you. If anyone tries to harm you again, what do you do?’
‘Kick them right where it hurts the most and say to them, I am Lady Lylah, daughter of a Lycan, and you’ve just met your worst nightmare!’
‘That’s my girl,’ he smiles.