Chapter 89
Kassie
POV
My eyes fluttered open and I instantly felt another presence with me. "Mate," we said, as I looked into the worried eyes of Gonzalo.
Who the f**k are you? What the f**k is going on? - I asked the intruder.
Oh pardon me. I'm Mayahuel, your wolf. - The presence said.
My wolf? I asked, dumbfounded.
Yes. I've been trapped in your head for 23 years. Our mates helped me break free. I'm your companion for life now. - She answered calmly.
1- the f**k. Meryl's experiment worked? - I wondered in my head.
Ew no. Selene sent me to you to save you. Meryl was an i***t who thought he could play god. Look, I can explain everything, but perhaps we should help get the situation into control? - She said, and I finally started to look around.
I looked over at Adrien's body on the floor. Elias on top of him protectively.
What the f**k is he doing here? - I thought mostly to myself, but I guess that's no longer a thing because I got an actual answer.
He's getting his wolf. His fate was linked to yours. When I broke free, Selene gifted him one as well. He is OK. They are just being introduced a little more gently than we were. - Mayahuel said, and I could somehow feel the tenderness she felt towards Adrien and somehow, that made me feel better.
OK - I said, taking her at her word because....what the f**k else was I going to do right now? I grabbed the sword on the ground and told Gonzalo to protect him.
I felt something whizz past me and looked back in time to see something hit Gonzalo in the chest. The spell glowed brightly but did nothing. He looked down and his amulet was glowing. He winked at me before shifting and jumping on the spell caster that had accompanied the council. I heard the warlock's screams and was satisfied that he would get the end he deserved at the hands of my mate.
I looked around at the mess in front of me. Helios was fighting 3 council members at once. The others were doing their best against the guards. Karissa was being protected by Braden and Armand. I twirled the blade in my hand, testing the balance. I looked at it closer and smiled. This is one of mine. I turned around and headed for Thomas. He was becoming overwhelmed by the three guards around him. I ran and grabbed the closest one to me and ran my blade through his neck. It comes off in one sweep. I ran my blade through the heart of the second. The third recognized me and ran. Isidro caught him and twisted his neck. He gave me a smile and a nod and we ran in different directions.
There was a sudden thunder in the sky and rain began to pour down on us.
"Gonzalo!" Helios yelled.
"Sorry! Dario wanted to check our new powers!" I heard Gonzalo from the distance.
"How am I supposed to zap anyone now that everything is soaked?" Helios yelled back.
"I said I was sorry. Let Ezequiel have some fun?" I heard him yell back. I snorted at their conversation before I continued with the task ahead.
Guard after guard fell at my hand and it still didn't seem to be enough. Even with the rain, my clothes slowly became saturated in blood. There were too many of them and not enough of us. Everyone was fighting 4 or 5 at a time. They were getting overwhelmed. I helped as many as I could but I was late for a few of our warriors. My anger mounted more as 2 then 3 of them dropped. When Jonah, funny and adorably nerdy Jonah, fell, I saw red. I can feel Mayahuel's strength flowing into me as I continue to take down guard after guard without mercy. My hand occasionally shifted into her claws as I plunged them into the chest cavities of my enemies and removed their hearts.
I looked around once again and found my mother fighting her way to my sister. She's the one behind all of this. She's the one that killed father. We made eye contact and she smiled. She jumped over Iggy and her hand went straight into Armand's chest from behind, who was fighting against another guard. I disposed of the guard and stood in front of my mother as she licked the heart before dropping it and she grabbed and held a shocked Karissa in front of her like a shield. The sky thundered above us as we continued our Mexican standoff. My hand twitched as I considered reaching for my dagger. This needs to end.
"Ah ah, dear. You wouldn't want to hurt her child, would you?" My mother said as she noticed the twitch.
"How can you be so cruel? Did we ever mean anything to you?" Karissa asked.
Mother shrugged, "Honestly? I didn't mind you. You were just there. There were people taking care of you. I've never been the maternal type but your father insisted on having heirs and I think he was fond of you two. It kept him off my back, so it was a small price to pay. Having fulfilled my duty, he left me alone." "Did you ever love anyone?" she asked.
"Well, of course. I'm quite fond of myself. But I'm also sick of this sedentary life. We shouldn't be living in the shadows, tip-toeing around those beasts." She hissed. "They should serve us, like the dogs they are." She finally addressed me again, "You had such promise, Kassie. I groomed you to be a Queen worthy of my crown. Then you started reading and got all of these ideas into your head about peace and equality. I thought it would be just a phase until you fell in love with that human."
I smiled. "That was no human mother. He was an Aztec jaguar warrior. Now he is a werewolf and the moon goddess has gifted him to me as my mate. His name is Gonzalo, and you will never touch him again." I said as I twirled my sword while Mayahuel growled in my head at her comments about our mate. "Every time I think you can't go lower. What a disappointment." She spits.
"Oh, just wait for it. There's more." I said, lifting my hand and allowing Mayahuel to shift my hand partially. "We've marked each other, and I'm a hybrid now mother."
Mother's disgusted look turned to one of hope. "You're the key. I knew it. I knew when I sent you to that man that you would survive the experiments. He said nothing worked, but now I see you just hid it well. You can rule Kassie. You can rule both species. I have paved the way. The council will be on our side."
"No, mother. This isn't Meryl. This was another gift from the moon goddess. You will never make hybrids. You are not a god. You won't even live past today." I growled.
She smiled and her nails extended at Karissa's neck. "We'll see about that, won't we? I have my insurance policy. You just have mutts, and they don't all seem to be doing so well. You should be helping them instead of chatting with old mum" she said. I made eye contact with Karissa and was taken aback by the anger in her eyes. She looked down at Armand and then at the mess behind me. Something stirred in her and her eyes flashed red. I didn't like that look. "I love you Kassie." She mouthed before she stomped on my mother's foot. Surprised, my mother took a step back and Karissa turned and stuck her hand in her chest. They struggled backwards as my mother tried to shake her off and got too close to the edge. Karissa pulled her hand out of our mother's chest, her heart clutched in her hand. My mother grasped at the air while the other hand held on to Karissa's hair. I was running towards them when they toppled over the edge and out of sight. I waited to hear a scream from Karissa but it never came. Anger and grief consumed me. After a full minute of waiting for a miracle to appear over the cliff, nothing came. I snarled and turned around. Mayahuel howled in my head as she felt my pain and I picked up my sword again and took my pain and anger out on my enemy. Guards and elite vampires alike fell at my feet as I removed heads and hearts. After a few minutes, the tide began to turn in our favor and those remaining began to flee.
"NO ONE LEAVES ALIVE. IF THEY CAME TO SEE THE QUEEN DIE, THEY WILL DIE THEMELVES!" I yelled and was surprised at the howls and growls that responded back to me. Kassie POV
Let me forward. No one is leaving here alive. They will all pay, Mayahuel said. 'How?' I asked.
'I can tap into your power and combine it with mine. Just take a step back in your mind.' She said. The conviction and anger in her voice gave me hope for revenge.
I did as she instructed and I felt her presence right beside mine once again. Swiftly, we jumped into one of the cars and I felt our combined power flow outward. It was much like my compel, but different. While my compel simply took over a person's mind if allowed, this barred no objections. It demanded and obtained unrelenting obedience. One by one, every vampire stopped and kneeled before me.
"Kill the remaining council members," I ordered. Gonzalo nodded and, one by one, they all dropped at the hands of my mate.
"Alpha, the guards." I said, leaving the choice up to him.
"They will fill the cells of your Estate until a proper trial can be had." He said, and our warriors began knocking them out. I saw something move to the side and I saw Armand's father slinking off into the forest from where he'd been hiding. I let Mayahuel forward. She deserved this kill. I felt the excruciating yet fleeting pain as my body transformed into a black wolf and she dashed forward. Even with his vampire speed, he was no match for us. All of my powers as a vampire were now enhanced and improved now. Mayahuel jumped and tore his head from his body before her paws even hit the wet dirt. She turned us around to head back when we saw Dario at the tree line waiting for us. I let them have their moment as they rubbed against each other. I was happy to see he was getting his mate too.
We are both his mates. He loves us both equally, just like you love both of them enough to share them with me - she corrected. Dario retreated and let Gonzalo forward. He knelt in front of us as he put his hands into her fur.
"My beautiful, powerful mates," he whispered, making Mayahuel purr and lick his face. "We still have a lot to do. Can you let Kassie forward?" He asked as he kissed her snout.
I felt my body shift again and I was standing in front of Gonzalo naked. He walked a little back and handed me a long tshirt while he put on a pair of shorts. "Do you guys always carry these or are they magical?" I asked.
He laughed. "Hazard of a wolf. Always carry spares in case you have to shift. Let's walk back. There's a lot to discuss about what happens from here."Content bel0ngs to Nôvel(D)r/a/ma.Org.
"I'm still confused as to what happened. Why do I have a wolf?" I asked.
"I think Kara will be the one with the full answers. The rest of us only have theories and partial answers." He said, kissing my temple.
A few hours later, we were all sitting around the living room of the Estate. Adrien was still unconscious, but Elias could feel that he was OK. We left them both to rest in one of the bedrooms and Elias promised to let us know when anything changed. We called around the remaining elders and let them know they were expected to arrive at sunset tomorrow. Decisions would need to be made about what happened tonight. We had also called the European werewolf council to deal with Gavin, who Helios had captured and maimed before he could run away. The Crescent Moon ranked were flying out as we spoke and Theo and Nat would be coming along with them. I learned from Sebastian that while I thought Adrien was mad at me and refused to see me off, he had left earlier and taken a commercial flight to Italy. He saw us brought into the Estate, called Sebastian about where to meet us and he protected Gonzalo and I while he marked me and helped Mayahuel break free. Boy was I in for the apology of my life. But first things first. "I don't want to be Queen. They will not accept me and I don't want the position," I said to the group. I turned to Helios, "Alpha please. Don't send me away from the one place I've felt at home in centuries."
Helios' face turned soft as he smiled. "I'm not kicking out my Beta's mate, but the vampire community cannot be left with a void, so we need to come up with solutions. You are by birthright the next Queen and since we're not letting them take you from us, we have to come up with alternative solutions."
We were half way through the discussion when I felt something tugging in my head.
It's a mind link. It's coming from Elias. Just feel for it and accept it. Like accepting a call. - Mayahuel informed me.
'Hello?' I answered tentatively.
'He's shifting.......he's in pain. Elias' voice came through. I stood up abruptly and everyone looked at me.
"Adrien is shifting." I said and ran out with Gonzalo hot on my heels.
We arrived at the suite and practically burst through the doors. Elias growled at us protectively in front of Adrien and forced himself to relax with a quick apology we didn't even need. I hurried to Adrien's side. He was sprouting hair and half shifted. "Kassie, it hurts." He gasped.
"Elias, hold him. It will help. The mate bond will help the pain," Gonzalo instructed. Elias jumped on the bed and laid down next to Adrien. He looked like he was in pain and feeling as helpless as I felt as we watched Adrien slowly shift for 5 minutes. Finally, in front of us was a tawny but strong wolf with red eyes.
We gave Elias and his new mate a moment together before Gonzalo and I approached carefully. We knelt in front of him and petted his head. "Hi" I said softly. I looked up at Gonzalo. "Can we mind link him?" He nodded, so I looked back down at Adrien's wolf. 'Hello, I'm Kassie. This is Gonzalo.' I said.
'Our snow white and our speedy prince.' Gonzalo snorted at the name but said nothing. 'I know who you are. Our parents. I'm Xōchipilli (Xochip-iyi). I have been watching you and my human spirit since the moon goddess chose me to be his spirit. You can call me Chip'.
Gonzalo ruffled his head again and laughed. 'A fitting god for our son. I have a feeling we will never have another dull moment in our lives! Chip laughed and rolled over on his back. We scratched his belly for a few minutes while Elias watched silently from the side with a smile on his face, his wolf visible in his eyes. If they had been wrapped around Adrien's finger before, he stood no chance now.
"Now Chip, as much as I'd love to get to know you more right now, I'm afraid there's a conversation I need to have with Adrien and then, if you're both up to it, there's a lot of decisions to be made about what we're doing now." I said.
Chip nodded and walked over to Elias. He stood with both of his paws on his shoulders and licked his face before he slowly shifted back. Gonzalo turned around once Adrien was back to sitting naked on the floor. He stood up and started rambling. "OK, before you start, you needed me! You were just too worried about me to let me help! You needed m-oof" he huffed as I grabbed his naked stubborn a*s and hugged him hard.
"Thank you," I whispered and he finally returned the hug.
"Nope, totally not turning around to see my naked son in the arms of my mate because I totally don't need to see that. I also don't need to thank him either, because I am not about to get my arms cut off by his mate." I heard Gonzalo from behind me, making us laugh. Adrien took the pants that Elias handed him and put them on.
"Turn around. You're still a prude, old man." Adrien teased. Gonzalo turned around and gave him a hug.
"Are you up for some political bullshit meeting? You can rest if you need. The first shift is always tiring," he asked worriedly.
"And miss having a say on what happens to all the vampires that shunned us? Over my bubbly butt." He said.
Over the next few hours, we brainstormed and argued over possible solutions until we were all tired. We decided to wait for the rest to arrive before continuing. Maybe they would have some better ideas, because right now, our best solution was not one I was willing to consider.
I ordered food for everyone to be picked up by the staff since this place rarely had anything but vampires. Gonzalo and I made our way up to one of the suites and collapsed on the bed.
"I'm so proud of you" Gonzalo whispered as he brushed his lips against mine.
"Yeah?" I said as I felt Mayahuel purring in my head. "Show me, mate," I said, and loved the way his eyes darkened at my challenge.