Page 64 of Chasing Luna
Chapter Fifty-Nine
It’s over. It’s done,I think to myself as the person I’ve come to hate stills for a moment. Her body lifts into the air, and swirls of multi-colored lights emerge from her body.
“What… are you… doing?” she asks, unable to breathe properly. I stay silent until the light dies down inside her. She drops down to the ground. She seethes as she sets her eyes on me, raising her hands and uttering a spell, but getting surprised when nothing comes out of her hands. “What the hell did you do?” she screams in disbelief. Around us, others start to come alive again.
“I took away your powers,” I state simply and sigh. “It’s over,” I say and begin to back away but, like her granddaughter before, she lets out one shrill scream.
“No! You will not win! I’ll kill you!” she cautions me and finds enough strength to stand back up. Gregory is at my side in an instant.
“Isabela, are you alright?” he presses on and I nod.
“Go, I can take her on,” he comments, but I push him away lightly.
“This is my fight, Gregory. This is mine to win. Step aside.”
“But you don’t look—” I shake my head.
“Obey your Queen’s command. Leave, go find your father. The bookcase must be open now.” He steps away instantly and runs.
“Huh, so you do know each other. Have you always been plotting my demise, child?” Althea mocks.
“No. But right now, I’m seriously considering it,” I express and straighten up.
“You’ve got some gall to speak to me that way.” She laughs and cracks a couple of her knuckles. “I was the best warrior in my day. You think you can take on a soldier with years of experience?” she taunts, but I ignore it.
“You don’t have to do this,” I retort. But she only laughs at that.
“Ha! That takes me back to so many years ago.” I scrunch my face in confusion.
“What the hell do you mean?” I query and she just shakes her head in amusement.
“You stupid child. Did you really believe your father was banished?” she says and I freeze. “Your father had the exact same look on his face when he said his last words to me. ‘You don’t have to do this. I’ll leave. Don’t hurt my Isabela.’ He pleaded. But I made sure he would never see you again. Not after hurting my only daughter. You see, child, you’re only half-sisters with Katya and Katarina. My daughter, though I love her, was quite the little whore.”
What the fuck is she talking about now?!
I bristle at the venom laced in her words. “She stole your father from someone else’s pack. Had you, and when that mark of being the chosen one appeared, he stayed to make sure you’d be taken care of.” She scoffs. “But he went back to his pack, made plans to steal you away. To live far away, making sure you’d never know you were an Esperanza in the first place.” She shrugs and smiles, as if remembering a favorite memory. “Because of him, your mother died of a heartbreak. Because of him, I lost my only child!” She wailed and I feel the heavy pounding of my heart beat across my chest. “And so, I killed him. Pushed him over the edge of a cliff, into the sea. You won’t ever find his body. It probably got lost at sea somewhere.” She sneers and I see her start to transform in front of my very eyes.
I wished you never said this, Althea.
“Now,” she half-growls. “It’s time for you to join him.” She snarls and fully turns into a wolf. I quickly evade the lunging wolf and break out into a run.
‘Don’t hesitate in killing her, Isabela,’ Serafina warns. ‘It’s either you or her now.’
I mentally thank her for the reminder.I’m not going to let her get away after that,I reassure my wolf.
Feeling too weak to use my powers, I have no choice but to fight with my bare hands. I feel her gnashing teeth right behind me and I swiftly turn to kick her straight in the muzzle. I jump as she counters with another lunge, and land on her back where I attempt to strangle her. She easily shakes me off and I land on the grass below.
Taking quick action, she claws at my dress, tearing the layers of the cloth apart, but not enough to fully incapacitate me. The silver daggers fly out into the air and I try to catch one but fail. I scramble but the heavy wolf form of my grandmother settles on my back. I hear her snarl once more, but I manage to put enough space between us to knee her in the stomach.
I scurry away from her and run for my silver daggers. I make it in time and grab the beautifully designed hilt. I spin just as I see the wolf lunge toward me, mouth open, ready to rip my head off my body. I slash the vital point in her neck and don’t stop until I reach the other end of her neck.
Blood gushes out immediately, as she turns back into a human. Neck slashed and unable to speak anymore, she watches me with pure hatred in her eyes. “I’ll make sure your body will never be found. I’ll make sure memories of you will be erased from today forward. I’ll make sure no one will ever remember you existed.” She garbles up blood and tries to reach for me, but I kick her bony hand away. “Burn in hell for the sins you’ve acquired,” I spit and watch the light from her eyes dim. A breeze flows through the forest, and I watch as those close to her kneel in despair. “You will not show her any respect,” I command and they look at me with desperation in their eyes. But I ignore them, and command Kenji to have his men take away the body. Securing the daggers in what’s left of my dress, I set off to find Gregory.
I can’t believe this. I can’t…
“Let me see him,” I immediately say once I reach the west wing, where Gregory and his pack gather around him and his father. “Gregory, let me help you.” I lightly press his shoulder, and he steps away instantly. Hovering my hands over the poor man, I let my healing light traverse through his thin body.
Bit by bit, he manages to move. First, his fingers stretch themselves out, then his arms, and his legs. Soon, his relaxed body is laid out in front of his pack. I let Gregory and his men carry him out of the estate, and back to their own mansion.