Page 26 of The Hunt: Emerald

The fire is everawhere!

“MIRRRRAAAA!”I pant, staggerin’ as I limp dazed down the burnin’ halls o’ me ancestral keep, searchin’ fer me mate.“MIRA!”

“AHHHH HELP ME! HELP MEEEE!” I use me power tu smite the flames off a mother in me pack an’ her pup, goin’ t’rough the hall smitin’ as many o’ the fires as I can, though it causes wateva is in me system tu speed up, runnin’ it’s deadly course in me.

“MIRA! CALL TU ME!”I blink t’rough the smoke, shakin’ me ’ead in disbelief at the fire lickin’ at the bones o’ me dead brethren. Me ears prickle at the sound o’ the screams o’ me pack… mefamily… echoin’ like ghosts across the stone.

An’ standin’ ova the balcony, smilin’ wickedly as if t’is travesty is thegreatest joy he’s eva witnessed is me twin brother… Me second in command … but it was decided t’at I would inherit the pack instead. Garven showed me approval an’ no remorse… so why… why?

“Garven! Wat ’ave yu done?!”I growl, tryin’ tu stay on me feet, but I can feel sum odd, unknown substance coursin’ t’rough me veins.

“Oh? Did yu wake up? Shite, I t’ought I placed enough Banes root in yer beer tu keep yu knocked out until mornin’.”He turns, lookin’ at me wit’ ’ell in ’is eyes.

“Til mornin’?”I shake me ’ead, barely able tu comprehend the Banes root, the only plant t’at can run an Alpha wit’ power mad an’ drive ’em tu death eventually. How could ’e get it? No, why would ’e? Wat is t’is about?“WHY?! WAT… WAT IS THE MEANIN’ O’ T’IS?! AN’ WHERE IS MIRA?!”I roar, tryin’ tu keep meself up, but the poison is warpin’ me mind an’ drainin’ me energy.

“Why?! Why yu ask? Because yu STOLE from me! Yu stole me kingdom righ’ from under me nose! Yu t’ink yer sumt’in’ because yu inherited some power from the Deity Balor t’at I dinna! Yu t’ink yer better because the Source chose yu ova me tu be blessed wit’ Lycan abilities! They t’ink yer better t’an me jus’ because yer the first Alpha who can transform intu t’at feckin’ Lycan form in our pack! I’ll neva stand by an’ let sumone take wat was meant tu be mine!”he roars, eye glowin’wit’ inferiority … the bastard.

“So all o’ this destruction because yu could’na control yer inferiority! The death o’ our people! The destruction o’ our land! The dismantlin’ o’ wat our ancestors built! Yu could ’ave ruled beside me! Yu could ’ave told me! Yu could ’ave done anyt’in’! Anyt’in’ but t’is!”I seethe, knees goin’ weak because the Banes root is tryin’ tu make its way up tu me heart, but I steady me breath because I know once it reaches it, I’m as good as dead.

“FECK T’IS LAND AN’ ITS PEOPLE! ALL YU CARE ABOUT IS POWER! I’LL BURN IT ALL DOWN! I’LL NEVA LET T’IS LAND KNOW PEACE AS LONG AS I’M ALIVE! AN’ AS FER MIRA…”he smiles wickedly an’ me anger flares.

“WHERE IS SHE?!”I know… no… I can feel I need tu keep calm so the poison won’t flow t’rough me an’ end me faster but… I canna stand by an’ watch.

“I WILL NEVA TELL!”Wit’ wat wee strength I ’ave left, I conjure up the fire in me veins an’ smash me paw intu the ground, smitin’ all the flames near an’ t’at wen the true death an’ destruction o’ our people is revealed. Hundreds burned… broken, battered, cryin’, an’ me ’eart aches… I shake me ’ead in disbelief…

It was all a lie! ’e smiled in me face, pretendin’ tu be happy wen I was chosen ova him. ’e congratulated me, rooted fer me, an’ it was all lies… the feckin’ coward! I stand in the blood o’ me people an’ while regulatin’ me ’eart rate… even t’ough I’m panicked at not findin’ Mira.

“WHERE IS SHE?!”I roar an’ Garven’s laughter rings hatred in me heart an’ sparks the fire in me veins.

“Well, tu find ’er, yu’ll have tu catch me first, BROTHER!”’e challenges, an’ I lunge fer ’im, but stop wen is see me mate Mira use ’er power tu materialize in front o’ me. I sigh an’ relief spreads t’rough me.

“Mira! Where were you?”I run ova tu ’er pullin’ ’er intu me arms, but she does’na say anyt’in’. And

But out o’ the corner o’ me eyes, I see Garven leap towards ’er wit’ a dagger. I use me fire rope tu bind ’im when pain… unimaginable pain floods me. Me power fizzles, out an’ I see Mira step back wit’ blood on ’er ’and an’ I feel a dagger in me stomach. Suddenly, Mira goes ova tu Garven an’ ’elps him up.

“Mira… wh…”

“Good job, baby,”Garven groans as ’e grasps ’er around the waist an’ I watch in disbelief as ’e pulls ’er intu a deep kiss t’at rocks me.

“Sorry fer takin’ so long baby, I was busy getting’ t’is,” Mira smirks an’ pulls out me crown and I watch him take it from ’er, laughin’manically.

“WAT THE ’ELL ARE YU DUIN’, MIRA?!”I lunge forward, but me ’eart beats as if it’s breakin’. I see why wen Mira moves ’er ’air tu the side, an’ watch dumbstruck wen Garven licks me mark on ’er neck an’ I see him bite an’ bond wit’ her. I roar at the pain of our mark breakin’ an’ their forced bond formin’.“MIRA! WHY?!”

“Wat me Queen does is o’ no concern tu yu, BROTHER,”he growls, placin’ me crown on ’is head. Me ’eart thumps, causin’ the Banes root tu shoot tu me ’eart, almost bringin’ me tu me knees, but I ’old steady, grittin’ me teeth so ’ard they crack.

“I’m goin’ tu feckin’ kill yu!”I growl, blood spillin’ from me mouth as Garven smirks,

“You were never meant tu rule, brother. Yu were only meant tu bleed, an’ I will not stop until I see everat’in’ yu desire taken from yu as yu ’ave taken from me!”’e grasps ’is neck befer he takes some o’ t’at damned root from his pocket, places it on ’is knife, an’ cuts me rope, droppin’ an’ disappearin’, sendin’ a painful roar from me intu the air, leavin’ me tu choke on ash, on flames, onfailure.

“HEY! I SAID LET ME THE FECK GO!” I jump awake with a gasp, my body slick wit’ sweat, the air around me pulsin’ like a battlefield. The room is dark, silent, ’eart beatin’. I clutch it, feelin’ the Banes root I’d barely kept at bay since the betrayal. Fer the past three years I’ve bitterly woken up alone, but t’is time…she’s ’ere.

Emerald

The cave is surprisingly warm with the flames and sparkles still dancing along the walls that once felt so cold and bleak when I was here alone… I blink counting his breaths for what feels like the millionth time but I cannot be too careful if I’m going to make my escape.I need to make sure he’s truly sleeping.

This beast might appear to be a man, but I cannot forget the aura he wields in that beastly form he possesses. I go to stand and leave when I pause heart racing when his hand grasps mine. I go to conjure my power to fight him but I stop when I hear a whimper…

“Mira…” I hear pitifully come from his lips and my heart tinges at the name…Mira? I turn thinking he’s talking about me. His eyes are closed but his usually calm and playfully smug face is turned up in a grimace… an expression I’m all too familiar with… pain. “M-Mira…” He gasps before I hear a deep growl and whimper and to my shock I see sadness on this beast face. “M-Mira… wh-why?”

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