Free Web NovelChapter 75: Shitty werewolves
WILLA
"What?" I choked out, the word barely escaping my tight throat.
No! It couldn’t possibly be asking me to do that!
I looked at the boys one after the other. My head reeled. My pulse hammered like I was running a marathon.
Despite the cold, biting wind whipping through the forest, my body still managed to produce sweat. It beaded on my forehead, trickled down the back of my neck, and soaked every hidden spot no one could see.
I forced down a hard swallow, shaking my head violently.
"I... can’t," I whispered, voice cracking.
They had done nothing wrong to me. They had risked everything to come rescue me.
So why the hell would I do that to them?
I had been hoping to kill myself — not the other way around. freёweɓnovel.com
This was exactly why I needed to stay away from them. If I had managed to jump, none of this would be happening. No matter how selfish my decision was, it felt like the only solution.
I stumbled away from the boys, desperate to put as much distance between us as possible. But Lance wouldn’t let me.
He yanked me backward with surprising strength. His hand clamped tight around my wrist again. I yanked hard, trying to pull free, but he wouldn’t budge.
"Leave me alone!" I cried out in a broken voice.
"Why would I do that?" he glowered. "So you can kill yourself?"
I shook my head, lips trembling as I fought back the fresh wave of tears burning in my eyes. "Please, Lance..."
"You’re coming with us," he stated simply, voice firm. "It’s high time we take you to a brain doctor. I don’t believe your father is competent enough to understand what’s going on in your head. The Elyse I know..."
His arm locked tight around my waist, pulling me flush against him. He leaned in close, his hot breath fanning across my neck. "Will never consider suicide."
"Y...you don’t even know me," I said.
Lance narrowed his eyes until they hardened, the fiery anger blazing bright in them. "I know you well enough to understand that your love for my cousin would never let you consider that."
Verah.
I had forgotten her in all of this. My best friend. The one who would do anything for me. Oh God... how would she feel when she found out?
Would it break her? Would she spiral into the same kind of grief Mary was drowning in right now?
But... her feelings didn’t matter. My presence in her life would only ruin her too.
Lance pulled back slightly, studying my face with intense, searching concern. "What are you thinking?"
I sniffed back the tears, unable to meet his eyes.
I couldn’t bring myself to tell him the real reason I needed him and the boys to leave.
He would think me mad. Desperate. He wouldn’t understand — just like he was misunderstanding me now.
"Kill them," the voice repeated in my head, this time with chilling finality. "Or I am going to do it myself and let you watch as each of them draws their last breath... then I shall move to your best friend in the academy..."
"No!"
I twisted violently in Lance’s arms and shoved him as hard as I could. The force sent him stumbling backward. He lost his balance and fell onto the rocky ground with a grunt.
"Do it!" the voice snarled.
"I won’t," I hissed through clenched teeth, clutching my head as fresh pain spiked through my skull.
"Show me that power that makes you so special, Willa," it urged in a seductive voice.
"I have no powers!" I snapped.
"Oh, you do, my sweet child," it chuckled darkly. "You have the power no mortal has ever possessed. Not even some immortals. A child blessed by two powerful goddesses and the gods. The power I seek lies within you."
I didn’t understand any of its words. The more it spoke, the more tangled my thoughts became. Everything in my head felt knotted together, made worse by the irritating, invasive voice.
"Are you alright?" Lance asked, concern thick in his tone.
"I want to see it now!" the voice roared inside my skull.
I fell to my knees. Every bit of resistance I had was violently stripped away. I clawed desperately at the rocky ground, fighting with everything I had left.
Nyra stirred restlessly inside me, flickering as she tried to reach out but every time she did, the voice drowned her out.
I panted heavily, staring down at the cold stone. "I just have to kill them," I muttered under my breath. "I only need to kill them. Then everything will be fine."
"Elyse...?" Lance murmured, his footsteps crunching closer over the rocks.
"Don’t come closer!" I clenched my teeth so hard my jaw ached.
"Still trying to resist me?" the voice taunted.
I gasped as something sharp and icy shot through me, then snapped like an elastic band pulled too tight. Pain exploded inside my skull. I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to push the voice back, but it only grew stronger, more vicious.
"Come on, Elyse," Lance continued, voice gentle but insistent. "We need to leave."
"Please... go without me," I begged.
"What the hell are you saying?" he snapped. "We’re going to talk about this back at the academy. We’re leaving now!"
My head snapped up with a suddenness that should have given me whiplash. "I said go without me!" I thundered, the words tearing from my throat like a beast’s roar.
Lance’s eyes widened in shock. He stumbled back three steps, index finger pointed at me. "Y... your eyes, Elyse!"
The other boys who had been focused on Dash now turned toward us. Horror painted their faces. They went completely still, bodies shaking as if they had seen a ghost.
"Kill them now!" the voice commanded.
I rose to my feet, striding toward Lance with a purpose that didn’t feel entirely my own.
"When I tell you to do something, next time you obey without complaining."
He tried to run, but I jumped right in front of him, blocking his path with a speed I had never possessed before. I had never been this fast. Never had this kind of werewolf strength until now.
I clutched the front of his jacket and drew him closer, my grip iron-tight. "But it’s too late."
My first thought was to snap his neck. It would be easier. Cleaner. Less struggling. But Lance beat me to it.
He ripped my hand off his jacket, fastened his own around my wrist, and spun me around so fast the world blurred. He locked his arm around my head, his grip hard and choking.
"Get hold of yourself," he snarled, voice strained with effort.
I wheezed, struggling against him.
"What are you doing?" one of the boys shouted. "Are you trying to kill her?"
"No!" Lance yelled back. "Something is terribly wrong with her!"
So he knew. Smart.
"Her mind seems corrupted by the forest," Lance continued, breathing hard as he held me. "The only thing we can do is knock her out of it."
"Nice try," I sneered, the voice inside me laughing.
"Use your strength, Willa," the voice encouraged, "You killed one of mine with only a scream."
I did?
"Do it now!
I couldn’t control myself. My lips parted, and I let out an ear-splitting scream. A sudden, violent burst of energy exploded from my mouth like a shockwave.
Lance released me instantly, flying backward as if hit by a hurricane. The other boys were thrown back too, screaming as they crashed into trees and rocks.
"What the hell?!" one of them shouted.
"How can she do that?!"
"She’s a werewolf, not a witch!"
I didn’t care what species I was. Human. Werewolf. Witch... I didn’t even know who my parents were.
"Lovely," the voice cooed, dripping with satisfaction. "Ah, yes. Superb. I love this!"
It really must.
Something sharp pierced my hand. I stared down at it. The black sigil had returned, glowing darkly against my skin. It didn’t hurt anymore. Instead, I felt power — raw, intoxicating strength flooding my veins.
The brighter it burned, the stronger I became.
I felt alive. I felt wonderful. Seen. Powerful.
My eyes narrowed on the boys.
Lance pushed himself up from the ground. I stalked toward him slowly but with intent. He slipped a hand into his pocket and pulled out a blade with a golden handle, unsheathing it with a sharp metallic ring.
"A dagger," I chuckled, shaking my head.
I thrust my hand forward, palm facing outward. I didn’t even know what I was doing, only that it felt right.
"I know that isn’t you," Lance said, stepping backward as I closed in.
"How would you know who I am?" I answered, my voice laced with mocking sweetness.
"No matter how annoying I was to you, you’d never hurt me."
"Stop giving yourself that much credit, sweetheart," I purred.
I passed by one of the boys sprawled on the ground and kicked his leg hard. "Weakling," I hissed, then spat on him.
My eyes stayed locked on Lance. He was afraid. I could practically taste his fear in the air.
A dark thrill rushed through me at the sight.
He pressed his back against a tree, clutching his chest. Sweat dribbled down his face, and his eyes darted around, desperately avoiding mine.
My smile widened. "You shitty werewolves are the reason Lycans have such a bad name. A real Lycan would never cower. They would fight until their last breath."
"You think so?" a voice said behind me.
