I warned you
1036 Words
Mia's POV
"I was the one who marked you."
My world tilted.
Her words were like poison to my bloodstream.
Aria started awake beside me, her sword drawn before she could completely comprehend who stood at the cave mouth.
I could not move or breathe.
The flames of the Seer's fire flickered as if they detected a shift in the air.
"No," Aria grumbled as she stood.
"That is not feasible.
The mark originated from…”
"From the Order," Carmella said with a cruel smirk.
"Yes,and I was the one who gave it out."
She held up her gloved hand and carefully pulled aside the leather.
Her skin bore a resemblance to the emblem on my collarbone,curved thorns wrapped around a crescent moon.
My heartbeat sounded like thunder in my ears.
"You were working with them," I said, my gaze shifting from her to Xander, who stood behind her like an ice statue.
His jaw was stiffened, his eyes met mine, but he did not speak nor did he refute it.
Darius stood to Xander's right, silent but proud, his crimson robes reflecting the flicker of firelight.
I could sense his desire from here,power poured from him like venom, and his wolf prowled just beneath his skin.
Carmella's voice brought my focus back to her.
"Do you think this is some sacred legacy? "A noble destiny?" She laughed cruelly.
"You are merely the final piece of a weapon we couldn't complete previously, the final Silent Mate. "I am not your weapon,"
I signed angrily. She tilted her head, mockingly.
"Are you? So, why did the Moonstone bond with you? Why does the Thorned Moon symbol light up when you're afraid? You are the key, Mia. "You were born for this.”
Behind her, the Seer moved closer to the flames.
"I warned you," she spoke in a quiet, distant tone.
"Two Alphas. One wrapped in terror,and another shrouded in greed, the she-wolf was clothed as another woman's spirit." Her gaze fixed on Carmella.
"You wear betrayal like perfume, Carmella of the Crimson Moon." Carmella's smile faded, but only for a second.
Then her hand twitched, and Xander stepped nearer. That stung more than I could have expected.
He hadn't said anything yet. Did he agree with her? Even though my knees almost gave out, I managed to stand. I was forced to.
I felt a pulse,not of terror, but of something more profound when I touched the Moonstone pendant at my throat.
As though reminding me of who I was, it felt warm against my flesh.
"I refuse to accompany you back," I said to Xander.
At last, he totally entered the light.
Emotion was tense in his face.
"Mia.” His voice was low as he said, "You have no idea what's involved."
Aria moved in front of us.
"She has a deeper understanding than you did."
I thought they would fight when Xander's eyes met hers.
But, the air changed, when Darius held out a hand.
The Seer gasped. "No, not here. Not on the sacred grounds.”
It was too late, though. A circle of runes erupted beneath their feet, ancient patterns burning into the rock in a fiery red and violet. Carmella entered it and ran a blade over her own hand.
When it struck the symbols, blood sizzled.
The Seer shrieked. "They are initiating the Claiming Rite!" “What is that?” Aria demanded, holding the blade in her palm.
“A ritual meant to bind the Silent Mate's power permanently, into servitude," she murmured.
"If they finish it, Mia's voice will never return. "Her soul will be sealed." I fell back, groping for the mark on my collarbone, which burned like hot iron.
The room started to spin. The fire erupted outward, like if struck by a hurricane, knocking Aria and me to the ground.
Carmella grinned through the torrent of wind and glowing symbols, her hair wild and her eyes full of evil triumph. "It's too late!" she exclaimed. "She's already marked!”
Xander gave me a glance.
Something inside him cracked.as he stepped out of the circle.
"Stop!" he exclaimed to Darius.
"She was never meant to be a pawn!"
But Darius refused to listen. He closed his eyes and started to chant.
“No.." Xander turned, his eyes blazing with silver light. "I won't let you take her."
He lunged for Darius, but it was too late.
The rune circle emitted a magical shockwave, sending both of them flying back.
I screamed silently as the mark on my collarbone erupted in light, the pain blinding. My knees hit the ground.
My breath tore from my lungs in soundless agony.
I couldn’t hear anything but the sound of my own heartbeat, screaming for release.
But then, everything stopped.
The magic evaporated and the cave went dark.
Carmella was gone.
Darius was unconscious.
Xander was slumped against the wall, bleeding from his mouth, and I...I was still standing.
But the Moonstone had cracked.
The sigil on my skin had vanished.
And something inside me had woken.
The Seer stared at me, pale and trembling. “You... you burned the bond from your own flesh.”
I could still feel the echo of the magic inside me.
It was Unleashed.
Aria ran to me, holding my shoulders. “Mia, are you okay?”
I nodded shakily but I wasn’t okay.
I was changed and behind us, the cave ceiling groaned.
The stone began to crack.
Runes lit up across the walls in crimson.
Aria’s eyes widened. “They didn’t just come to claim you... they opened something.”
The Seer gasped. “The Vault! the prison of the First Silent Mate. They are trying to resurrect him.”
From the darkness behind the cave wall, something growled.
It was Ancient but not fully alive.
It was not dead, either.
Xander stirred on the floor, lifting his head, his voice hoarse. “Mia... get out of here.”
A long crack split the stone altar at the back of the cave.
From within, a hand burst through, black as night, fingers clawed, marked with the same sigil that had vanished from my skin.
Aria pulled me back as the Seer screamed:
- Writer
