Chapter 19

Zara"s heart pounds as she and Alexi engage in a fierce battle against Marius, their movements fluid and synchronized as they unleash their supernatural abilities. Marius"s eyes blaze with fury, his fangs bared in a vicious snarl as he meets their attacks with his own dark powers.

Alexi"s psychic force electrifies the atmosphere, his eyes blazing like twin infernos. He pours every shred of power into one last catastrophic strike. Marius staggers from the telekinetic haymaker, an invisible freight train plowing into his chest.

Zara watches in awe as Alexi"s energy undulates through the air, prickling her flesh with goosebumps. Her heart clenches when Marius pounces, his fangs ripping into Alexi"s neck. Crimson sprays as Alexi bellows in anguish.

This can"t be happening!Despair shreds Zara"s very being.

Zara gapes as Alexi"s telekinetic power detonates, an unseen shockwave slamming into Marius. The impact launches him airborne, limbs flailing, before he crashes to the ground in a crumpled heap.

Holy shit, that was intense!Zara"s pulse pounds in her ears, the raw display of his newfound power leaves her breathless. He"s not just strong - he"s a goddamn force of nature.

Alexi collapses to his knees, crimson gushing between his fingers as they clutch the ragged bite. He sways, eyes fluttering, a fallen titan drained of strength.

Please get up.I silently beg, tears pricking my eyes. I can"t do this without you.

Marius crashes to the ground, struggling to rise; his limbs tremble as he tries to regain his footing.

But as Marius stumbles to his knees, Zara"s attention is drawn to Alexi. The vampire"s body sways, his face ashen as the last of his power ebbs away. In a heartbeat, Alexi collapses, his body crumpling to the ground like a marionette with its strings cut; his body still and unresponsive on the cold, hard ground.

Zara"s world narrows to the sight of him lying there, still and unresponsive, and a cold fear grips her heart.

In a flash, she"s at his side, her paws scrabbling against the earth as she rushes to him. She noses at his face, whining low in her throat, frantically searching for any sign of life. His skin is cool to the touch, his chest unmoving, and for a moment, the world seems to tilt on its axis. She whines, a low, mournful sound that echoes in the stillness of the battlefield.

Please, Alexi,she thinks desperately, her mind reaching out to his through their bond. Don"t leave me. Not now, not like this.

But Alexi remains motionless, his eyes closed, his body limp and unresponsive. Zara"s heart clenches, a mixture of fear and anger swirling within her as she realizes she must face Marius alone. She turns, her hackles rising as she positions herself between Alexi"s fallen form and the ancient vampire, her golden eyes blazing with determination.

Marius laughs, a cruel, mocking sound that sends shivers down Zara"s spine. "Foolish wolf," he spits, his voice dripping with disdain. "You think you can protect him? You think you can defeat me?"

Zara growls, her teeth bared in a vicious snarl. She knows the odds are against her, but she refuses to back down.

A sudden swell of power surges through Zara, cutting through the tempest of grief and fury raging inside her. It"s a feeling she"s never known before, an electric thrum that seems to awaken every cell in her body, radiating out from her very essence. This energy, raw and primal, springs from the bottomless well of her love for Alexi and the fathomless ache of losing him.

As she closes her eyes, the whispered words of Elder Thorn echo in her mind, a distant memory of their training sessions and the secrets he revealed about the ancestral power of the guardians.

In that moment, Zara understands the true meaning of her role as a guardian.

With a newfound resolve, Zara embraces her destiny and taps into the full extent of her wolf form. She feels her body and mind undergoing a profound transformation, her muscles rippling with newfound strength, her senses sharpening to an almost painful intensity.

Zara feels the power of her ancestors surging through every fiber of her being as she turns to confront Marius. An unearthly radiance illuminates her lupine eyes, and her midnight pelt seems to shimmer with an aura of ancient magic.

Zara gasped as her body swelled and stretched, muscles rippling beneath fur that shimmered like polished obsidian. She felt herself growing larger by the second, her paws thudding heavily against the ground as she rose to an imposing height.

From nose to tail-tip, Zara estimated she had to be pushing ten or eleven feet in length. She flexed her powerful haunches experimentally, marveling at the coiled strength she felt thrumming through every fiber of her being.

This is unreal,she thought, shaking her enormous head in amazement. I"ve never felt so powerful in my life. Marius won"t know what fucking hit him.

A fierce grin stretched across her muzzle as Zara turned to face her nemesis, hackles rising in anticipation of the battle to come. She was ready to end this, once and for all.

Zara drank in the raw, primal power surging through every cell of her transformed body. Her claws and fangs had become deadly scimitars, honed to razor sharpness - instruments of pure destruction just begging to taste her enemy"s blood.

I bet these beauties could carve through steel like a knife through warm butter,she mused with a feral grin. The thought of sinking them into Marius" treacherous hide sent a dark thrill lancing down her spine.

Her new eyes burned like the heart of a star, searing and all-seeing. Zara could feel the ancient Faeren magic thrumming in her veins like a drumbeat, wild and untamed. It called to some deep, slumbering part of her soul.

Alexi...Their unbreakable bond pulsed between them.

This ends now.

Zara stalked towards Marius, her clawed feet scoring the earth with each purposeful stride. A menacing snarl reverberated deep within her, an ominous promise of retribution. The bastard tottered unsteadily before her, his eyes widening as they met her merciless gaze. Surprise and terror warred across his face.

Not so smug now, are we?Savage satisfaction curled through her at his blatant dismay. He"d gravely underestimated her, and now it was time to make him pay for that fatal mistake.

"What trickery is this?" he hisses, his eyes widening as he takes in her larger state.

Zara, closes the gap between her and Marius with a swift lunge. Her sharp teeth bare in a snarl as she aims for his throat, a deadly strike. She rakes her claws down his body as he staggers under the assault, his dark energy flickering in a futile attempt to defend himself.

The pitiful display only fuels Zara"s rage.

She"s just getting started.

Lips curling back from dagger-like teeth, Zara lunges for his neck with blinding speed, missing by a hair"s breadth as Marius reels back. His shocked expression betrays how badly he underestimated her abilities.

Her eyes blaze with predatory focus, tracking his every twitch. Zara circles him in a blur of obsidian fur and bunched muscle, an apex hunter toying with cornered prey. She revels in Marius" obvious terror, a savage thrill singing through her veins.

That"s right. Not so smug now, are you?

Marius retaliates with a burst of dark energy, the force slamming into Zara"s side and sending her skidding across the ground. She yelps in pain but quickly regains her footing, shaking off the attack with a defiant growl.

She charges again, her claws tearing through the air as she swipes at Marius"s face. He hisses in pain as her razor-sharp talons leave deep gashes across his cheek, dark blood oozing from the wounds.

Marius summons a whirlwind of shadow magic, the inky tendrils lashing out at Zara from all directions. She weaves and dodges, her agility enhanced by the power of her ancestors, but a few of the tendrils manage to wrap around her legs, pulling her off balance.

Zara thinks of Alexi, still lying motionless as she thrashes against the shadowy tendrils ensnaring her legs. His dark magic saps her strength.

No.

Gritting her teeth, Zara reaches deep within herself, drawing on every ounce of her lycan strength and agility. With a ferocious snarl, she rips free from Marius"s dark grip, the shadows dissipating like smoke.

Not wasting a second, Zara lunges for the smug vampire, tackling him to the ground. Her razor-sharp teeth sink into his shoulder as her powerful jaws clamp down like a vice, determined to make him bleed for what he did to Alexi.

Marius roars in agony, his fist slamming into the side of Zara"s head in a desperate attempt to dislodge her. She sees stars for a moment but refuses to let go, her love for Alexi and her determination to protect her pack driving her forward.

I won"t let you win,she thinks fiercely, her teeth sinking deeper into Marius"s flesh. I"ll fight until my last breath to stop you.

In a moment of clarity, Zara sees an opening in Marius"s defenses, a fleeting opportunity to end the conflict once and for all.

Zara"s jaws are already closing around his neck, her bite fueled by all the pent-up rage and anguish he"s inflicted on her and the people she loves. She can practically taste his fear, coppery and tangy on her tongue.

This is for everything you"ve done, every life you"ve destroyed. No more. It ends NOW!

The bastard"s scream chokes off into a gurgle as Zara"s fangs pierce his throat, crunching through cartilage and muscle. His body spasms, limbs flailing uselessly before falling still. Those demonic red eyes stare up at her, the evil light in them flickering out like a snuffed candle.

Good fucking riddance!

She spits out his blood, resisting the urge to keep tearing into his corpse until there"s nothing left. Instead, she lets his lifeless body slump to the ground in a crumpled heap. It"s over. The monster who caused so much suffering is dead by her hand.

As she stands over his defeated form, her chest heaving with the force of her adrenaline and rage, she knows that this is only the beginning.

But even as triumph fills her heart, a single thought pierces through the haze of battle, cold and agonizing.

Alexi.

Zara"s heart hammers in her chest as she barrels toward Alexi"s still form, her wolf paws tearing up dirt and leaves as she goes. Anguish and desperation surge through her veins. Losing Alexi isn"t an option, not after everything they"ve been through. Their bond has to have the strength to bring him back, damn it. It has to.

Zara"s wolf form shifts effortlessly into her human shape, and she lands on shaky legs beside Alexi"s still body. A plaintive whine escapes her parched lips as she drops to her knees, her fingernails digging into the damp earth. Panic tries to suffocate her, but she can"t let it win. Not now. Not when Alexi needs her most. With a shaky exhale, she forces herself to inhale the damp night air, the tang of blood and pine strong in her senses.

Her heart pounds erratically against her ribcage as she reaches for his too-pale hand, lifeless in the moonlight. "C"mon, Alexi. You can"t do this to me now. Not when we finally... shit!" she hisses, choking on the lump forming in her throat.

Tears prick at her eyes, but she won"t let them fall. No, she can"t break down now. She can"t lose him like this.

"Damn you, Alexi," she whispers between clenched teeth, her teeth gritted so hard they might shatter. "You are not fucking dying on me, you hear me?"

Her trembling hands glide over his body, searching for any signs of life, any hint that he"s still in there.

In the suffocating stillness, she grits her teeth, her senses stretched to their limit. Zara"s heart pounds in her ears, drowning out every other sound. No, she won"t believe it.

That"s when she spots it - Alexi"s little finger twitches, ever so slightly. Emboldened, she squeezes his hand. "That"s it," she coaxes, dropping her voice to a soothing whisper. "Come on, Alexi. Come back to me…"

She watches in mounting awe as his eyelashes begin to flutter, like the wings of a damn butterfly in spring. Her throat constricting, her chest swelling, Zara leans in, her nose only inches from his. "Alexi, can you hear me?"

And then, a miracle. His eyes flicker open, the color of stormy skies, hazy but searching. "Zara?" he croaks, his voice hoarse from disuse.

Zara"s heart leaps into her throat as Alexi"s stormy eyes find hers, a spark of recognition flaring to life in their depths.

"Oh, thank the gods," she gasps, relief washing over her in a dizzying wave. "You"re alright, you big idiot. You had me worried sick." Her voice catches on the last word, tears of joy and lingering fear blurring her vision.

Alexi"s lips quirk into a faint, exhausted smile. "I"m okay, love," he murmurs, his voice a rasping whisper. "Just...a little tired." His eyelids flutter, threatening to close once more.

Of course you are,Zara thinks wryly, a watery chuckle bubbling up in her throat. You nearly died on me, you stubborn bastard.

She reaches out to stroke his cheek with a trembling hand, her touch infinitely gentle.

He"s alive,Zara realizes, relief crashing over her in a dizzying wave. He"s still with me.