Marabella POVI ran, my paws hitting the soft earth of the forest. It was a little reckless to be leaving the city, considering everything that was happening, but I couldn’t bring myself to turn around.Running in wolf form was my new favorite thing to do; it was exhilarating.The wind was like a caress through my fur. The power in my legs was addictive, and I was so damn fast.I was smaller than the other wolves, but I didn’t care. My eyes were purple, not red, too.My coat was a lush gray with light and dark streaks of the shade.And through my wolf, I felt immense power.The spell had worked.I was a true luna now—a true mix of races. My wolf, human, and witch parts were blending seamlessly.It made me grin, my tongue lolling out of my snout as I ran.Jayden and Brax ran with me, keeping up. They were faster than I while I got used to running as a wolf, but I was still fast—faster than I had ever been anyway.I ran around trees, the smell of moss and pine pulling in with every brea
Marabella POV Tabitha sniffled a second before blood started leaking from her nose. Fuck.“No! Mom!” Cain yelled at her, trying to yank his hand free. Tabby squeezed it harder, refusing to let him go. Her eyes met his, then dragged to mine.They were glowing pale yellow. Not the vibrant gold they were meant to be.I shook my head at her. “Don’t. Not if this is the price,” I said, tears stinging in my eyes.She didn’t let either of us go.The wind and fire still roared.The pain still existed.The spell still continued.And my magic is still combined with the other half of itself.Until Tabby finally stopped chanting.The beast collapsed, silent.Adrenna collapsed, and then Tabby.Cain caught her as I rushed over to her. He pulled her hair off her damp face, while I tore a piece of hem from my shirt and dabbed at the blood under her nose.I held her hand in mine, tears streaking down my cheeks at the look on her face.She was so pale, her lips too.The wind and night were still. Sile
Marabella POV I stood in the courtyard, the torches re-lit in a circle.The beast was on one side of the circle, still knocked out. Adrenna was on the other side, chained, her dress dirty, her hair tangled.She looked tired but not angry. Her eyes were wary as they moved over the beast.I turned to Tabby, who was in the circle with me, and to Cain too.“You two don’t have to do this. It’s one thing for me to go against the witches; you don’t have to.”Tabby shook her head, leaning heavily on her cane.“Yes, I do, child. The realm has spoken, and they are pretending to be deaf. We all know they are just scared. And they should be. The realm is turning on them, or it would never have let you see their magic or even fight it. Now we play our part as we are meant to,” she said wistfully.Cain helped her to her spot in the triangle we were creating.“And you think we will be able to do this? Siphon out the curse from the beast and the magic from Adrenna?” I asked.Tabby nodded. “Yes.”Her
Marabella POVI wasn’t going to let them hurt us.I stepped away from the Alphas and stood shorter, smaller, and cursed.When the witches’ magic fell from their eyes and mouths that finally opened, the pack tensed. My Alphas roared, starting to shift, but I didn’t move.I narrowed my eyes on them, on their magic.My magic swirled with my shadows and poured out of me.My magic slammed up against theirs, mine purple with shadows only I could see mixed in against their gold.It was beautiful and terrifying.The connection of magic was like a blast; it echoed through the realm, a wave of energy rebounding over all of us.It blew me back, but my Alphas were right there behind me, holding me up as I fought against the witches’ magic that tried to take me out.They were fucking strong, stronger than I had expected, but I fought every ounce of magic they had with every piece of my own. My shadows and magic together were strong too, and they were having a blast.My magic was eating away at the
Marabella POV“No,” I argued, walking past my wolves.The witches glared, but I didn’t care. They couldn’t say no. We were asking for permission to help us save the realm.Their precious balance should mean more to them; it meant more to me.The sky cracked with lightning, and the ground shook as the witches’ anger became palpable.Well, I was angry too.“We have made our decision. The beast and Adrenna will be put to death,” the echo spoke for the witches, and my hands clenched at my sides. That decision was bullshit.“And how does that play a part in the balance? That’s your job. To keep the balance?”“How does turning them human play a part?” they countered.“Because the magic in Adrenna can help us defeat the vampires. Without that, we don’t have the numbers. So many of us will die in this war, and for what? To teach two people who fell in love against your wishes a lesson?” I challenged them.It wasn’t a smart move, but it was all I could do. I had to change their minds. If I cou
Marabella POVI smiled up at him, then turned to Beenie. “And you are here eavesdropping in the halls because?”She shrugged. “The witches are full of shit. They made me feel so sick that I vomited all over my dress. I went to get changed, and now I am heading back to repeat the process until they leave.”I thought she was joking, but she was not smiling.“That’s awful,” I said, screwing my face up.“You’re telling me. So, are we heading downstairs to pretend like we don’t know what the witches are going to say? Anyone with any sense of aura can see the hostility they have for you,” Beenie said, nodding downstairs. Her face was bored, as if she couldn’t be bothered with any of it.“So it’s my fault the pack isn’t getting the help they need?”“Don’t play victim; it’s gross, and you’re stronger than that. Even the witches know it. That’s why they don’t like you. Anything with power that could outshine them disappears pretty quickly around here. Which is why they can’t fucking stand me e