The Alpha's Keeper

VIII: Death

“What are we doing today?” Joshua asked as he tried to distract himself from his heating desire. He looked at Edith heatedly, but she only glanced back sweetly as she got ready to leave.

“I must find a flower in the forest. I need it for a ritual,” she said with a smile.

He smiled as he thought to himself helplessly, Forget, being flirty as long as she was happy. There would be more chance later.

“May I suggest we look for that flower naked?” He still suggested, despite his initial thought not to do it.

She widened her eyes and looking at him apprehensively. As her cheeks turned red, she said with forced annoyance, “Of course not... Perverted wolf ...!”

Joshua smiled and wanted to continue teasing her. He wanted to get closer to her slowly. He knew that he need to be patient, since unlike him, Edith was not feeling the strong mating bond.

However, before he could do his plan, Edith’s eyes went completely black, and her body opened her hands as her eyes rose to the sky.

He attempted to get close to her, but just trying to touch her caused dark energy to blow him away.

Panting looked at her, panting. “Edith! Edith! Talk to me!” He was calling her name to no avail as she was not even responding.

Edith stared into the darkness and snorted in frustration when she at that moment felt a stabbing pain in her abdomen.

When she let out her painful scream, it was intertwined with the screams of two other women who all saw through the same vision.

They all felt like a part of her soul was being torn away, and they fought so that this would not be the case.

However, there was nothing they could do. They were all trying hard to prevent the pain from intensifying. Still, the pain became intense at that moment, and a woman separated from Edith as if her spirit were being torn from within her body.

When she saw her, she looked at how someone said goodbye to her, and her spirit vanished in front of them.

At that moment, she returned to normal, and her body fell to her knees on the ground. She looked up to see Joshua, who was terrified, looking at her with fear.

He was still looking at her worriedly as he offered her a hand to stand her up, and she took it and looked at her house and hurriedly rushed inside.

She, with difficulty she began to remove a large chest from a room. Her efforts were great to move it, but when Joshua saw her, he took it with ease, and she looking at him when she said, “Put it on the table!”

Joshua obeyed when looking at the chest. It did not have a lock. It did not seem to be able to open in any way when Edith taking a knife, pricked her finger to throw her own blood on her chest, and it would open automatically.

Inside the chest, there was nothing. Joshua could not glimpse anything when Edith reached out confidently and withdrew a black-edged dagger that seemed adorned with precious jewels.

After seeing it, she said, “I must go for a second. Don’t let anything touch my body!”

Joshua nodded, and in that instant, Edith thrust the dagger through himself.

“Edith!” Joshua opened his eyes in fear to see how the blood flowed from the girl’s body, and his terror was palpable.

Don’t worry! I am alright. Guard my body!” She insisted once more.

Nevertheless, the image of her was terrible. His wolf was clawing within him to get out and take care of Edith.

However, in the last days, he had learned to trust her, and with all the difficulty that that image carried, he decided to wait.

In a dark space like nothingness itself, Edith opened her eyes. Seeing herself in that place, she sighed.

Edith was walking calmly when a guttural and ancient voice spoke.

“You came too fast… aren’t you reckless?”

Edith looked in all directions to find the origin of the voice. On a throne above nothingness itself, a woman looked at her with indifference.

Seeing her, Edith kneeled in one knee and then replied respectfully, “Apologies, but that is not the case…” she cleared her throat before she spoke carefully, “My body is well protected… I… I came—”

“I know what you are coming for! Who do you think you were talking to?” she interrupted her when she changed the arm of the throne. Just as the being did that, she suddenly became a man.

The man’s facial features were unclear as to if there was a mist covering his face. However, his stature and build were clearly male. He was wearing all black, and there was a sense of sadness surrounding him.

Edith took a deep breath and then looked at him anxiously before asking, “What is happening?”

The man got up, and when he got up now, it was a woman who descended from the throne until she reached Edith and said, “One of you was killed!”

Edith looked at her in the eyes and without believing what the man said. She replied cautiously, “I thought that was not possible. You are—!”

“I know! I am Death itself. But someone decided to challenge me!” Death interrupted in that instant. His tone was booming with unhinged anger.

If Edith was not one of his subjects, she would have already suffered the blow of the magical powers coming from him.

Another voice sounded as another woman walked towards them, “How can someone challenge you?”

The woman who looked like she had waist-length red hair and her face showed an uncontrollable malevolence when she saw Edith, she said with a weird smile.

“You weren’t the one who perished. What a pity!”

Edith pursed her lips together, but before she could answer, Death said.

“I don’t know who did it. This is unheard of. Someone is attacking me directly!”

The two witches looked at each other and, for a second, shared a confused face when another woman arrived, the third witch.

She with yellow hair and a smiling look when she sees Edith. She smiled and said, “I’m glad you’re fine!”

Edith shared the sentiment. Upon seeing her, she realized who was missing.

She could not help but mutter, “So it was….”

“Carol!” Death said, “My strongest servant ... they attacked where it would hurt!”

The air around Death increased that it was even affecting them. Goosebumps appeared on Edith’s skin. It was the first time she had seen Death this unhappy. Which means the situation was even more serious than what was already mentioned.

“You must understand what this means… Carol is not dead. Her existence which belonged to me was taken away. Someone found a way to skip my law!” He continued speaking unhappily.

The three witches felt a chill down her back, and at that moment, Death said, “Whoever dares to go against my mandate, will pay for it.“ Her declaration was imminent, and the three witches kneeling lowered their heads when Death adds, “But the truth is that you are in danger. You shouldn’t be able to die, but what this creature that attacked Carol did is beyond Death!”

The red-haired witch raised her face, and angrily, she said, “Let me go for that creature. With your power, I will avenge Carol, and her death will be yours!” 

Death looked at her with a smile, but her body transformed into a woman and her expression calmed down when she said, “Rushing is a mistake! It will come to us, but first, we must know what we are up against!”

It was the best choice, thus Edith nodded respectfully in agreement.

“For now, your bond with me should be more powerful,” Death continued, “You will not die. Remember, to experience death, it has to bring love, fear or hate!”