Chapter 64

Nyx finally stopped attacking when the screams stopped. When there was no heartbeat. When the light faded from those evil purple eyes that she would remember for the rest of her life.

The eyes she would see every time in her wolf’s and Shadow’s eyes.

Everyone stood as still as she did, taking in the destruction. Was this the end? Could she finally have the life she had hoped for with her mate by her side?

Nyx retreated and allowed her to shift back. Her body was sore and bruised, and she could still feel the effects of almost being hit by the lightning. She limped over to Shadow, put her arms as far around him as she could, and closed her eyes. They were okay. They had done it.

When she let go, Shadow shifted, and the man she loved took his place. Zeke engulfed her in his embrace, lifting her off her feet before he crashed his lips into hers. He could feel his relief and his hope. They were free. They could be themselves.

Zeke finally put her down, and they looked back at the damage they had done. The wind stopped howling and blowing through her hair. The sky started to clear, and the flashes of lightning stopped. And then the sun shone through the clouds, its light touching everything as if it was washing away the darkness.

In the light, she could see that they had destroyed the front of the Administration building, the driveway, and the car park. The doors hung off the hinges from the effects of the lightning, and there were huge holes in the asphalt. Smoke rose from everything that Mr Hansson’s attacks had touched.

The beasts whined, and she turned to look at them. The smoke was rising from them, too. The creatures that had lost their lives burst into flames until they were nothing but ash, and their ashes started to rise and disappear. She had been terrified of them, but she could see they were Hansson’s victims, too. And in the end, they had been her monsters.

“Thank you,” she whispered to them.

They whined again, and a couple of them wagged their hairless tails.

But their fate was the same. They were reduced to ash one by one, but she didn’t sense any despair from them, only relief. She had no idea how long they had lived trapped in that dark forest, but now they were free, too. She watched the ashes rise and disappear in the gentle breeze.

Would all of them disappear like this? Was this freedom for everyone, not just their campus but for others around the world?

Zeke tightened his arm around her shoulders and kissed the top of her head before they turned back to the others.

Mr Patrick looked shell-shocked as he stood looking at the wreck before him. Her father approached her, holding his shirt out to her so she could cover herself. In all the madness, being naked in front of everyone had been the last thing on her mind.

Once she had her father’s shirt on, she hugged him and sobbed in his chest.

“You did it, girl. Don’t start crying now,” her father said.

“No, we did it. It took all of us,” she sniffed as she released him.

“No, Ava. It took you,” Mr Patrick said. “If you hadn’t come here and met your fated mate, Zeke would have gone off and become Alpha, and I would have been stuck here for the rest of my life. It was you we needed to make this happen.”

“But it still took all of us,” she said, looking back at Alpha Diego.

He was still standing over Hansson’s body, and she could feel his grief. Andrei had told her that Hansson had imprisoned the people they loved, and now, with Hansson gone... She had taken their only hope to have them free. She couldn’t imagine the pain he felt now. She wished it hadn’t gone down like that, but her hands had been tied. They couldn’t have waited.

She sensed the others approaching before she saw them and wondered if Nyx had decided to stick around now. The vampires reached them first and stopped to look at the damage. Prince Gideon had lost his blazer and tie, and there was blood down his chin and ripped shirt. He looked every bit the dangerous prince that he was.

“Is it over, brother?” he asked Zeke.

“It’s over.”

Gideon came forward and shook Zeke’s hand before turning to her and kissing her.

“I knew from the moment you helped my young ones that you would change this place,” he said with a smile. “I’ve told you this before, but anything you need, at any time, we’re all at your service.”

She smiled at him. She doubted she would ever need anything from him now that Mr Hansson was gone, but it was nice to know someone would have her back if she did.

Derek and Myles reached them next. Zeke released her to embrace his packmates and check on their injuries, and then she was surprised when Derek embraced her, too. She sensed no fear even though Nyx was now more dangerous than the day she had first appeared. Myles joined in the hug, and she knew they had finally completely accepted her. They had accepted Nyx. Something settled in her chest as she held the two of them.

‘I thought we were going to die,’ Myles said in her mind. ‘Thank you, Luna.’

‘I’m an Alpha!’ Nyx said indignantly.

She chuckled as she released them. That was a fight for another day.

And then, behind them, she saw Jared. He looked terrible. He had cuts and bruises everywhere and was supporting his arm, but he was alive. She knew Zeke wouldn’t like it, but she ran to him and tried not to jolt his arm as she embraced him.

“You did it, Little Red,” Jared whispered.

“We did it.”

She released him to look at the other students and staff as they came up the driveway. Some were carried between their friends, others limping on their own. Mr Hansson must have forgotten that he’d forced them all to train as warriors, to battle as if they were fighting for their lives each time. She felt a sense of pride that they had held their own.

And then, amid the students, she saw something she hadn’t expected.

Iulia was walking up to them, and beside her was Andrei.

Diego must have seen them at the same time because he rushed past her to meet them. He embraced Andrei the way a lover would and then put his forehead against the vampire’s. Their eyes were closed, but she could feel their love, even from this distance. Iulia joined them, completing their circle.

She looked away to give them privacy, but her heart lightened when she realised she hadn’t cost them everything.

“Miss Morgan.”

She turned to face the dean. He was completely naked, like all the wolves. Her eyes widened, and she looked only at his eyes.

“Thank you,” the dean said.

She was surprised when he held out his hand. She took it and nodded, and then the dean lowered his gaze as if he finally admitted to himself that Nyx was an Alpha, too.

“Let’s not do that,” she said to him. “I don’t like it.”

“Of course, Miss Morgan,” Dean Russell said before he let go of her hand and walked towards the Administration building.

The other staff members shook her hand after him before they went to talk to Zeke.

She took a deep breath and looked around. They were all free. It was finished.

“Hansson was right, you know.”

Mr Patrick appeared next to her.

“There are other things out there that could hurt you. But I know you can take care of yourself.”

She didn't want to think about what Hansson had said.

“What will happen now? There’s no Head of Council.”

“There’s always someone else ready to take that spot,” Mr Patrick said. “But let’s worry about us here first. We lost some people.”

Her heart filled with pain. They would have to tell Dexter’s parents and all the other parents that their children were gone.

“We’ll be okay, Ava. We’ve done it. We’ve freed everyone from their binds. All our lives will be different now.”

Yes, but their freedom had come at a great cost.