“Can you really not control your appetite?” I asked, my eyes narrowing on them. “Or is this cannibalism just a form of greed?”
They were too angry to speak with me anymore. They merely growled and yelled at me to let them free.
Well, if you won’t answer the questions, perhaps we’ll have to attempt to find out by ourselves…
Victoria
It took five minutes for the reality to sink in. Yuraya was gone, and she was not coming back.
I handed Bastien an old blanket I found on the deck, which he fashioned to cover himself, then helped him to his feet.
Bastien swallowed hard. “Well,” he said. “We can’t just leave her here.”
“What do you suggest we do?” I asked.
Bastien looked at Cecil. The old man didn’t look like he had any ideas.
“Should we slip her body into the ocean?” I asked.
Bastien bit his lip. I guessed from his hesitation that this was not done in werewolf tradition; it must be important to families to give their departed a proper funeral ceremony.
I shuddered to think about what would happen once the rest of the Mortclaws found out. As if they didn’t already have enough reason to hate me, now I had gone and murdered the woman they had picked out as Bastien’s betrothed since his birth. I still didn’t understand how Yuraya knew that Bastien was to be her betrothed. From what I understood, it was supposed to be the groom who broke the news to the bride. Maybe Sendira had deemed that particular tradition as breakable, in order to put more pressure on her son. Whatever the case, it was irrelevant now.
Silently, Bastien bent down and scooped her body up from the deck, leaving a trail of blood behind him. He raised her over the edge of the ship and dropped her into the waves.
“We have no choice,” he said hoarsely.
We stood and stared at the area where Yuraya had sunk, our nerves still recovering.
Then Cecil asked nervously, “So what now?”
My mind turned to Mona and Brock, waiting for me in The Woodlands. I hated to think how long I had kept them hanging around already. I really needed to get back to them.
But getting back to them meant returning to the Mortclaws.
We still weren’t sure why Yuraya had returned to the ship without them, but I could only guess that she had not managed to tell them yet about Bastien and me. Which meant that our trip back to The Woodlands should in theory be safer than we’d thought it would be only less than an hour ago. I wasn’t sure if the Mortclaws could sense when one of their kind had passed away, the same way they could sense location. I hadn’t felt anything, though I had only been influenced by a small amount of the elixir.
“We should return,” Bastien said firmly after another pause. His expression was ashen, but resigned. “We can’t keep running away forever. We have to return to the witches, and we have to solve this problem once and for all.”
We didn’t talk much on the journey back to The Woodlands. I grew tenser with each hour that passed until finally the familiar outline of the Woodlands came into view in the distance.
We left the ship and arrived on the land, gazing around cautiously.
“I think we should head straight to Blackhall Mountain,” I said. “That’s where I left Mona and Brock. They said that they would hang around and wait for me there.”
Bastien nodded. “We need to return Cecil too.”
And so we set off through The Woodlands, each of us running at supernatural speed. Cecil appeared tired, but even at his old age his speed was nothing to scoff at—at least, compared to a human’s.
The closer we got to Blackhall Mountain, disconcertingly, the more I sensed the Mortclaws’ presence. Bastien seemed to sense them too. His gray eyes shone with anxiety. All of us feared the worst as we forged onward until we arrived in the clearing outside the Blackhalls’ lair.
I was expecting to see a bloody massacre, and while the ground appeared to be stained with blood, there were no fallen Blackhalls that I could see. Just the Mortclaws, all lined up in a row on the edge of the forest, Mona and Brock in front of them.
I gasped in relief. “Oh, thank God.” They had gotten the Mortclaws under control already. I couldn’t have imagined a more relieving sight than the monsters frozen on the ground as we made our way toward them. Maybe, finally, luck was on our side.
On hearing our approach, Mona and Brock turned around. Their eyes widened as they spotted us.
“You did it!” Mona exclaimed, looking quite disbelieving. “You found him!”
“Yes,” I said, my eyes falling once again on the Mortclaws. “And… look what you did…”
“Bastien!” Sendira shrilled out. She was slumped against the base of a tree. “Son, you must help free us!”
Bastien’s gaze moved fleetingly to his mother, and then to his father, who called out a similar plea. But then his focus returned to the bloodstained ground behind us. His face went pale. “What happened here?” he asked in a hushed tone, as though he feared the answer.
Mona’s expression saddened. “We found the Mortclaws attacking Blackhall Mountain. We managed to arrive toward the beginning of the attack, and prevented excessive damage, but some werewolves lost their lives. I’m sorry, Bastien.”
Oh, no.
“The Blackhalls were supposed to have evacuated!” Bastien looked wounded. “They must have decided to stay and defend our territory… Who died?”
“I don’t know,” Mona said, shrugging, “but they headed back into the mountain.”
Bastien immediately turned on his heel and rushed toward the mountain, Cecil on his heels, while I remained with Mona and Brock.
“How long have you been keeping them here like this?” I asked.
“Several hours,” Mona replied. “I’ve kind of lost track.”
“What happened with you?” Brock asked, eyeing me, his brows raised.
I looked nervously at the Mortclaws. I didn’t want to talk to Mona and Brock about everything that had happened within the wolves’ earshot, so the witches would have to wait.
“Release us!” Sendira roared out.
Training my eyes on her, I moved toward her and stopped a few feet away. Blood still stained the corners of her mouth.
Given that she was now my mother-in-law, it felt almost wrong, disrespectful to be looming over her as I was, but I couldn’t help but remind her, “This is all your own doing, Sendira. If you insist on terrorizing other wolves and eating their flesh, you cannot be allowed to continue roaming The Woodlands freely. This is the price you pay for not controlling your appetite.”
Sendira snarled.
I wouldn’t tell her yet that Bastien and I had married. I would leave it to Bastien to break that particular piece of news to her.
I waited awkwardly with Mona and Brock until Bastien returned to us from the mountain.
He now looked grief-stricken.
“What happened?” I asked.
“They’ve already held a funeral for the dead,” he croaked. “Four lives were lost.”
I hugged him tight, hoping to instill in him some comfort.
Sendira really did not like that.
“How dare you touch my son!”
Bastien’s grief bled into anger as his eyes rose to his parents and other family members. Leaving my side, he stalked toward them and glared.
I was surprised when he immediately came out with, “As you have just claimed four of my family, so I have claimed one of yours. Yuraya is dead. I killed her.”
Gasps swept along the line of werewolves. I spotted a woman who looked like Yuraya, her mouth agape.
There was no regret in Bastien’s eyes. He almost seemed to enjoy relaying the news. It seemed that he had finally snapped.
He reached back to grab me. I had approached him as he’d been addressing his family.
“Victoria is my mate now,” he announced, “and if I hear one word of insult or protest against her, I will be sure to persuade these witches to lock you back
up in the dungeon from whence you came for the rest of your miserable lives.”
Bastien’s chest was heaving as he turned his back on his stunned family, and looked firmly at Mona. “Please take us somewhere we can talk in private, without these cannibals.”
Bastien
The grief of losing four members of my tribe caused my emotions to erupt. The Blackhall tribe had suffered enough with the recent loss of my foster family and then the worry of my and Cecil’s abrupt disappearance. The last thing they needed was more upheaval.
At the sight of those Mortclaws frozen by the witches’ spell, I couldn’t stop myself from telling them exactly how I felt, be they my blood relatives or not.
Mona transported us to the other side of the woods that bordered the Blackhalls’ clearing.
Now, once and for all, we had to find a solution for dealing with these monsters. A permanent solution. Although I had threatened to have the Mortclaws imprisoned again, somehow, that didn’t feel like a proper resolution to me. What if some self-interested party like Brucella saw some reason to release them again in the future and found a way to do it? I didn’t want such atrocities to ever be repeated again in The Woodlands.
It seemed that Mona shared my thoughts. “I’ve been trying to settle this matter for good,” she said. She retrieved a vial of greenish-brown liquid from her bag and showed it to me. This was the first time I had ever laid eyes on it—this vial of elixir, the cause of all of my family’s problems. I wondered what my life would be like if the black witches had never entered The Woodlands. If the Mortclaws had remained as regular werewolves, albeit a stronger breed. Sendira would’ve still been a tough nut to crack, but it would’ve been nothing like this.
As I took the vial from Mona and stared at it, I felt so tempted to drop it, watch it smash into pieces.
If Victoria had not consumed some of it, and let it alter her being, I might have even taken the risk and done it; if it was only my life and the rest of my family’s lives at stake. If I’d really thought that it could solve this problem, I would’ve let the vial slip.
“So what are your ideas?” I asked the witches.
“I don’t have anything solid,” Mona said, rubbing her forehead. “But Brock came up with the idea that I try to alter the potion in my spell room. I would need to return to The Shade for that, however. I doubt that Brock's and my spell will be strong enough to keep these powerful beasts incapacitated while I’m in another dimension. Brock’s only a half-warlock, after all. If I leave, they will go free again and cause God knows how much more disruption until I return.”
“What if you brewed up a spell while you’re here in The Woodlands?” Victoria suggested. “You could tell Brock what equipment or ingredients you think you need, and we could go back, fetch them and bring them here for you.”
Mona sighed, then looked to her son. “I’m not sure what exactly is going to be required… so you’re going to find yourselves bringing back an awful lot.”
Victoria
As horrid as it was to return and discover that several of Bastien’s tribe members had been murdered, finding the Mortclaws under the control of Mona couldn’t help but fill me with optimism—optimism that I had not felt for a long time. After all of Bastien’s and my troubles, maybe things were finally turning around. Maybe we had almost reached the elusive light at the end of the tunnel.
I hadn’t gotten over murdering Yuraya. The thought that I had claimed another person’s life was traumatizing. It didn’t matter how evil she was or what she had been trying to do, I had still shed blood. It would probably take weeks for the act to fully sink in.
But for now, I allowed my mind to wander to a happier place. Bastien and I had been through hell and back. As we returned to The Shade with Brock, I allowed the excitement to bubble up within me. I could see my parents and family again. That was, in fact, the main reason I’d wanted Bastien and I to accompany Brock back to The Shade, because we weren’t exactly of any use to Brock in his mother’s spell room. We had no idea about ingredients or equipment. I’d just wanted to get a ride back with him—however brief—to check in on life back on our beautiful island.
So much must have happened since I left. We wouldn’t have much time to catch up, since I doubted it would take Brock long to gather up everything he needed. Bastien and I would have to make the best use of the time we had.
As Brock manifested us outside The Shade, we were forced to yell for someone to let us in because Brock didn’t have special permission to enter.
Ibrahim came to our rescue swiftly and, after an identity check, settled us all down on the forest ground.
“What has been going on with you?” he asked.
Brock was already vanishing himself to his mother’s spell room—I had told him that I wanted to go with Bastien to see my parents and that once he was done gathering everything he needed he could collect us. “Everything’s going okay,” I said confidently. Perhaps a little too confidently. “But we don’t have time to talk now. We’ve only dropped back here so that Brock can pick up some of his mom’s equipment, and then we need to head back to The Woodlands. I’m sorry, but I promise we’ll update everyone as soon as we can.”
I caught Bastien’s hand and we left Ibrahim frowning after us. I led him to the Residences, to my parents’ treehouse. My heart was racing as we ascended in the elevator. It felt like an age since I had last seen my mom and dad.
Arriving on the veranda, I peered through the kitchen window—nobody was visible—before knocking on the door.
I had to knock a second time before footsteps sounded. It was my father who came to the door. His hair looked mussed and he wore pajamas. I’d probably just woken him up. But his eyes soon sharpened. “Vicky!” he gasped, relief rolling over his expression. He scooped me up in a hug before turning to face Bastien.
He didn’t know that there was anything different about me yet.
As he let go of me, my mother came hurrying to the door. “Vicky!” she exclaimed. I threw myself into her arms. She held me tight and showered kisses down on my face.
“Mom,” I managed, my throat feeling constricted.
“You found Bastien!” she said.
My parents turned their attention to the wolf. He bowed his head respectfully. Then they ushered us inside.
We took a seat on a sofa in the sitting area, while my mother asked if either of us was hungry or thirsty. We accepted something to drink but there was no time to eat.
“We have to return to The Woodlands,” I said. “Mona is still there.”
I proceeded to explain to them what had happened since I’d last seen them—everything except my marriage to Bastien.
They stared at me, dumbstruck. “‘You drank more from that vial?” my father clarified.
“Yes, but look at me. I’m okay.” I lifted myself in the air before them, demonstrating my power.
“Oh, my,” my mother said faintly.
I figured it would take a long time for them to get used to this… And I hadn’t even told them yet about the marriage.
I glanced at Bastien, and it was as though he had read my thoughts. He looked quite nervous all of a sudden—something I found quite endearing. I smiled, taking his hand in mine before looking from my father to my mother. “I’ve actually become a Mortclaw in more ways than one,” I began, tentatively.
They frowned at me, and I almost felt bad for hitting them with this along with everything else I had just revealed. They already looked close to breaking down after learning that I had morphed into this strange, new creature.
“What are you saying?” my mother dared ask.
I had no ring to show them. Instead my fingers twined with Bastien’s before I brought his hand to rest on my lap.
A wide grin settled in on my face. “Bastien and I are officially a couple… More than just a couple. We’re married.”
“What?” both of my parents asked at once, staring at the two of us, disbelieving.
At this, Ba
stien cleared his throat and spoke for the first time. “I hope you will excuse me for taking the liberty of asking your daughter to be mine, even in your absence. But I love your daughter. And I promise that I will take care of her.”
“You… you had a wedding?” my mother asked incredulously. “In The Woodlands?”
“No,” I said. “We had a small ceremony on the boat as we were traveling back to The Woodlands from The Dunes. Cecil was there to witness it.”
They both fell silent.
They looked not only sore, but also shocked that I’d gone forward with something like this without even a word to them. But what word could I have possibly gotten to them? When Bastien had proposed to me back on the ship, I couldn’t help but accept. Everything about that moment had felt right. The last thing I’d wanted to do was stretch it out. At that point we’d still had no idea whether we’d even make it back to The Woodlands safely. Not to mention what was going to happen to us next. For all I knew, we could’ve been ripped apart again within a matter of hours.
They were being so quiet all of a sudden, I wondered whether they might even be thinking that marrying Bastien so soon was a mistake.
I wanted to stay longer to talk through everything with them, but Brock arrived too soon, carrying a huge bulging backpack over his shoulders. We had to leave.
Bastien and I rose, and so did my parents. But before we could leave, my mother moved over to Bastien and took one of his hands in hers, before she looked him deep in the eye.
Then she turned to me, and to my relief, she finally smiled.
“I think you made a good choice, Vicky,” she said softly. “And when you get back, we will give you both a proper wedding. Shade-style.”
Bastien
Going to see Victoria’s parents was more nerve-racking than I’d thought it would be. I felt vulnerable all of a sudden as they eyed me. I was the man who was taking their daughter away from them, whom they were expected to trust to keep her happy and safe for the rest of her life. Victoria’s father especially had been sizing me up. And I would’ve done the same if I’d had a daughter as precious as Victoria.
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