Chapter 79
Reuben
“Yes, she is Rathbone. The same Rathbone family that has been wiped from the realm eleven years ago!” he explained. I looked at him in surprise as he continued, “She is the Rathbone that is the reason behind these mysterious incidents in the realm, even our royal family has fallen into danger thanks to her. I’m sure you’ve realized by now that the attacker is after her, and this destruction won’t stop until he claims her. Every claim Elder Frank made has turned out to be true. This woman is bad luck, on top of that a very dangerous shadow is lurking after her, willing to wipe out every obstacle in its way to get to her. She will become the reason for both your and the Kingdom’s demise,” he took a step closer, locking eyes with me. “Now it’s time for you to make a decision, Reuben. If protecting the world means getting this woman out of your life, then that’s what you must do,” he stated, waiting for my answer.
I slowly lifted my head, touched
my forehead, and closed my eyes. Uncle looked at me, holding his breath. Suddenly, I received a mind-link from Bix. “Reuben, Willow and the children have not returned yet,” he said urgently. My eyes snapped open as he added, “Ella has something to tell you. I am linking her with you. Hear her out.”
I frowned at the sudden mention of Ella but listened to her first. “Reuben, I think Willow is in danger!”
“What do you mean?!” I mind-linked back with a growl.
“The other day I encountered a man at a restaurant who caught Willow’s scent on me. He started inquiring about her. Sensing something was strange about him and his aura, I lied that I did not know Willow. I then tried to get away from him, however, the whole restaurant caught fire! I escaped but was unconscious for two days. I think… that man is the one who is behind these mysterious attacks and he has found Willow…”
The mind-link abruptly ended before she could say more, and my mind went blank. The image of the man’s shadow that I had seen in the footage immediately crossed my mind. Suddenly, I felt a third person’s touch on my mate’s mark on Willow’s neck, and my whole body felt as if I was thrown into a pit of acid.
“Willow…” I murmured her name under my breath and immediately turned on
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my heels to leave.
“REUBEN!” Uncle yelled. “Are you going to save that woman? Are you choosing her over the world?! Is this your answer?” he demanded.
I stopped in my tracks and turned to look at him. “Uncle, don’t tell me you think I am some kind of hero who is willing to sacrifice their love to save the world,” I raised my hand, which started to glow as I gathered my internal powers that were in my blood. “Of course, I am not the villain who burns the world either,” I stated as an energy gathered behind me, stunning uncle.
“What the hell are you doing?!” his eyes widened as he watched my aura darkening with the power I had been summoning.
“I’m Neither hero nor villain…,” I locked eyes with him as I declared, “I am a monster that only awakens for her.”
“Reuben, don’t! Stop for a minute to think about this,” he growled, wanting to get closer to me but the shining energy stopped him. “Are you thinking of using our royal family powers to save that woman?! Don’t you know you can only use it once in your whole life and you it on that woman. You should only use it when your life is in danger!! ” he barked, looking at me in disbelief.
should not n’t
“That’s exactly what I’m doing, uncle. I’m fighting for my life, that life is only possible with her…” I began as Willow’s screams calling my name reached my ears.
Willow
Hot tears rolled down my cheeks as I felt him close to entering inside me. Pressed under another man on the verge of ruin, only he came to my mind. His touch, his smile and his love… “REUBEN…” I whispered his name, deciding to end myself after this ruining was over. That was until I felt Dex making a connection with Ceri.
I opened my eyes, feeling Reuben’s presence through our bond, and immediately shifted into my wolf form. With a surge of adrenaline, I ripped off a large section of the man’s hand, causing him to move away from me and raced towards Wyatt and Lori at full speed in my wolf form.
“Ughh…” he growled slowly at the sight of his blo ody hand, then lightly glanced at me running away. “It turned out you like it messy and blo ody the same as me,” his chilling voice entered my ears, carrying a double meaning that sent a shiver down my spine. Though I couldn’t see his expression, I could feel the smirk behind his
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words.
That’s when a sudden surge of fire ignited around me as I raced towards my unconscious children a few meters away. My eyes widened at how the fire appeared and from where. One thing I knew for certain was the fire was real and my children could die in it too. They lay pitifully on the ground, vulnerable to the encroaching flames. With each step, I pushed myself to the brink, feeling as if my bones might shatter with the strain.
Then, a looming shadow fell over me from behind and panic gripped my heart. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw the man right behind me, his hand outstretched to grab me once again. Despite my desperate sprint, he seemed to close the distance effortlessly which was impossible for a normal werewolf.
Stretching my hand to grab my unconscious children in my arms, I tightly closed my eyes as I had no where to go and I got caught again, “Reuben…” I whispered his name under my breath, holding onto his memory in my heart as my only solace in the face of being taken by another man.
Just as the man’s hand touched me, I felt the unmistakable presence of Reuben’s hand and his powerful aura surrounding me, even though I couldn’t see him. In the next moment, the man was thrown away from me as if struck by lightning, and I was pulled into an unknown darkness.
The shock of it all left me breathless, my heart ceasing to beat in my chest. Stuck between life and death, my mind stopped functioning. My eyes grew heavy as a tear rolled down from the corner of my eye. Was this the end for me?
Just as I was about to succumb to the darkness, I felt Reuben’s presence behind me. “Willow…” His voice whispered into my ears, suddenly I was pulled back from the brink, from darkness into the light. Gasping for breath, I found myself in an unknown place, cradled in Reuben’s arms.
“Willow…” Reuben’s face came into focus, his expression filled with worry as he repeated my name. He was covered in blood, but his eyes held a deep concern as he looked at me. Was I dreaming? How could Reuben be here, when just moments ago that man…
My vision blurred and darkness encroached once more as I fainted in his arms.
Dark
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Thrown away by the unexpectedly powerful energy surrounding Willow, I found myself crashing into hundreds of trees, my body tearing apart and every vein feeling as though it was being sliced open, causing blood to drip from my wounds. Eventually, my body landed heavily on the ground.
“What was that?” I asked myself, raising my hand to bring it in front of my eyes. I stared at the badly burnt, torn, and bleeding hand, still feeling the remnants of the sacred energy that had ripped my Rose away.
“A Royal divine power?” Surprise flashed in my eyes. Every wolf born in the royal family was blessed with a different divine power. I recalled this divine energy emitting from my Rose’s mate mark. That could only mean that…
“So he is one of the royals…” The corner of my lips rose into a furious yet amused smile. My Rose had been marked by a royal wolf. My large claws dug into the ground as my skin began to heal itself. Standing up on my half-bleeding legs, I stared at the torn piece of handkerchief tied around my hand. “You should not have escaped from me again, Rose. Especially with another man. I honestly thought of forgiving you, but now… it is going to be really messy and blo ody just like you like.”
I shifted my gaze from the handkerchief to the place that she had disappeared from. “had I heard her calling the name… Reuben?”
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