Page 119 of Fated to the Rogue

“Thank you for protecting her, Dad,” I told him from the bottom of my heart.

“Thank me later! We still have this fucker to kill!”Ebert growled, turning his attention back to the enemy who was marching toward us. “Dusk managed to weaken him significantly, but I can’t get near him. He’s much stronger than me. I doubt he’ll let you come any closer to him.”He made a brief pause, and there was a sudden change in the atmosphere. “I can be a distraction. When he comes for me, finish him!”

“Wait, Dad!”

“Do it, Zephyr!” he roared. “I’ve lived to fight many battles. I did what I had to do. If it ends for me now, so be it. You still have your own legacy to write.”

“What… What about your legacy?” I struggled to acknowledge his words.

“Youare my legacy, son!” Those were his last words before he started running. “Come on, we don’t have much time!”

I had to shake my head to organize my thoughts. I wasn’t willing to lose any more lives, and I knew Dawn wasn’t too fond of the idea either. Ebert went for the huge beast’s neck, but it was obvious he wouldn’t make it. The Fallen opened his jaws, ready to catch my father mid-air. But before he could, my she-wolf headbutted the enemy on his side, causing him to miss his target by a good few inches. Instead of closing his mouth around the brown wolf’s stomach, the soulless beast caught his hind leg.

My heart throbbed as an agonized howl cut through the early morning. Blood rained over me when Ebert’s right leg was pulled apart from his body with the Fallen’s sheer force. Then, there was only silence. I couldn’t tell if my father was dead or alive with the amount of blood he was losing and the pain he must have experienced, but I wasn’t even allowed time to grieve.

For a millisecond, the Fallen leader and Dawn exchanged glances. I saw the horror in his eyes when he realized that we were back to our feet. In a desperate attempt to end the prophecy and save his own life, he tried to finish Dusk before we could stop him. But it was too late.

Every fiber of my she-wolf’s body begged her to lay down and rest, but she knew her priorities. Her paws thundered against the ground as she used her superior speed to jump at the enemy, digging her claws into his back to help steady herself. In a quick movement, she closed her jaws around the Fallen’s jugular. Although weak, she gathered all the strength she had left to sink her teeth as deep as she could into the opponent’s flesh.

I heard the bastard gasp for air as his windpipe was punctured, and he started drowning in his own blood. Thanks to the wounds opened by Dusk, which were still bleeding, the enemy had already lost too much blood. In a matter of seconds, he dropped to the floor, knocking Dawn down as well. Yet no matter what happened, she didn’t let go.

“It can’t be…” I heard the original Fallen’s hoarse voice one last time as his eyes widened in horror, right before they shut. Forever.

Dawn stayed on the floor, lying in her own blood as she tried to catch her breath. However, she soon remembered the state her mate and my father were in. Dusk was right in front of us, but when she searched for Ebert, we were both relieved to see that Bellona was already there, helping him. Now, we had to save our mate.

With shaky legs, my caramel blonde she-wolf slowly stood up and stumbled in Dusk’s direction. He was barely breathing. His wounds didn’t seem to be healing, especially the one on his waist. His body was too weak to fix his injuries.

“Hey, Tina, it’s gonna be okay,” I whispered as tears rolled down my face. I promised my sunrise I’d never let her get hurt, but I was about to watch her light fade forever. I was breathing heavily in my panic. “Dawn, we have to take their pain!”

My she-wolf lied beside her mate, touching her muzzle to his. She closed her eyes to hum her classic melody, but nothing seemed to be happening. Then, I felt Dawn’s horror.

“What? What’s wrong?!” I demanded.

“I can’t…I can’t take their pain,” she whispered in disbelief.

Anger. Sadness. The whirlwind of emotions made it hard for me to understand why her stupid power wasn’t working, but then it dawned on me. We couldn’t take their pain because they weren’t in any pain anymore. They couldn’t possibly be in pain, because they were ready to die.

“Shit! Do something, Dawn! Do anything!” I yelled, just to take my frustration out on her. Because deep down, I knew there was nothing to be done.

Or at least, I thought so.

“Wait…I remember…” Dawn said, but I had no idea what she was talking about. “I remember now! I remember what theGoddess told me when we were unconscious!” Her voice was somehow filled with joy, and a light smile crossed her face. “We can heal him, Zephyr!” What?

Without hesitation, my she-wolf touched Dusk’s wound with one of her paws, resting her chin on his neck. Just her presence seemed to be enough to cease his bleeding. Then, she lifted her head up to the sky. Instead of humming her usual song, she howled it, louder than ever. A terrible wave of pain hit me, but from the corner of Dawn’s eye, I noticed something astonishing. Dusk’s wounds were closing.

“What are you doing?!” I asked in awe.

“Healing him. Just like the Darkbringer’s bite can take life, our song can restore it.”

The more we helped Dusk heal, the worse we felt. I had finally discovered the last of Dawn’s abilities, but this one seemed to come at a cost. I could feel my she-wolf’s consciousness slipping away as she used every last drop of her energy, but neither of us cared. We were willing to sacrifice our lives if it meant our mate got to live another day.

And once again, we fell into the darkness.

40 | Ever

Adim light shone in the distance, the only source of illumination in a realm of darkness. I didn’t know why, but I found it beautiful - like the last blaze of hope flickering in a world of misery. Little by little, the glow grew brighter, slowly subduing the darkness and taking over. Eventually, all I could see was white, so clear and radiant that it seemed as if I was staring at a burning sun. I blinked a few times, trying to adjust my vision.

As soon as I woke up, I was greeted by a throbbing headache. A grunt escaped my lips as I dizzily looked around in an attempt to understand where I was. It was cold. There were white walls around me, and the smell of antiseptic filled my nostrils. It took me some time, but I was struck by a vague familiarity. This had to be a room in the pack hospital. Was I still alive?

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