The Alpha Trio 2: Bond by Blood and Fire
Author
B. E. Harmel
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184K
Chapters
28
Chapter 1
Book 2: Bond by Blood and Fire
AARON
The tide of the game was shiftingāwhat once seemed like a sure win was now slipping away. Morgathisās dark magic was gaining the upper hand, and our control was dwindling. My heart sank as my thoughts immediately went to Jasmine.
Every time I blinked, her image was thereāher unwavering resolve, the spark in her eyes. That spark had always been my anchor, my rock, even when everything else was falling apart. She was my strength.
I couldnāt bear to lose her. Not now. The clamor of the battlefield became a distant hum as my focus narrowed to her.
My gaze found her, gripping the dagger, her strength and determination radiating from her. Jasmine, always a force to be reckoned with, wouldnāt back down until the last glimmer of hope was snuffed out.
But then I saw Morgathis, holding her by the throat, lifting her off the ground, and wrenching the dagger from her grasp. My worst fears were realized. My heart plummeted.
As the dagger pierced Jasmineās abdomen, it felt as if the earth were splitting open beneath me. My world crumbled, and I felt a part of me die with her. I couldnāt breathe; the pain wasnāt just emotionalāit was a physical, burning torment.
She was gone. Every fiber of my being screamed in agony, but no sound came out. She was gone.
I couldnāt wrap my mind around it. Jasmineāmy Jasmine, my queen. Everything around me lost its color; all I could see were her beautiful green eyes.
Without a momentās hesitation, I knew that if there was any chance, I would bring her back. Or I would join her. Because a pack without her was pointless, a life without her was meaningless.
Who was I without her? I only noticed Sebastianās lifeless body later. He had given his life for her, and I wished I could have done the same.
Jasmine was falling, her body crumpling in a way that broke me. She hit the ground, and I felt my soul shatter. The battle, the noise, everything disappeared as I watched her, my heart pounding with fear.
āJasmine!ā I screamed, my voice raw and desperate.
Morgathis finally released me, and I rushed to Jasmineās side. I dropped to my knees next to her, my hands trembling as I touched her cold skin. She was so still, so cold.
My throat constricted, and I found myself unable to breathe, unable to think. I whispered her name over and over, hoping it could somehow bring her back. But she didnāt move. She was gone.
In that moment, the weight of the world came crashing down on me. The pain was unbearableāa darkness that consumed me. Jasmineās lifeless body lay in front of me, and I felt myself shatter.
My heart seemed to stop, frozen in the moment her light went out. I could still feel the warmth of her touch, her voice echoing in my mind like a fading song I was desperate to hold onto.
I kept my gaze on Jasmineās face, remembering how her eyes used to light up when we solved a tough problem together, how she could understand me with just a glance. But she was gone, and the world seemed devoid of color, as if the sun had died with her.
How do I breathe without you?
She had been my rock, my equal, the only one who truly understood me. She was the reason I had fought so hard for our future, to unite our packs against all odds. With her, everything made senseāevery struggle, every sacrifice.
Now, with her gone, the emptiness consumed me, and all I felt was a relentless ache, a void where my heart used to be. I donāt want a world without you in it.
Then Morgathisās voice cut through my despair like a knife. I looked up at her, barely aware of her presence, lost in my grief.
āI could bring her back,ā she said, her voice a cruel tease. āBut it will cost you. Everything. Your packs, your lands, your powerāall of Seraphium.ā
I barely registered her words. None of it mattered. Nothing meant anything if Jasmine wasnāt there with me. I would set the world on fire if it meant I could see her smile again, feel her warmth. Without her, I was already dead.
Yes. Anything. Take it all. What was a world without Jasmine? What was any of it worth without her? The answer was simple.
āYes,ā I replied, my voice steady, unwavering. I was ready to face any consequence, pay any price.
Morgathisās voice reverberated around me, offering a cruel, pitiless solutionāa way to resurrect Jasmine if we surrendered everything. Our packs, our people, our heritageā¦all the land we were sworn to protect.
The price was unimaginable, but it barely fazed me. I didnāt hesitate, because without her, none of it mattered. The kingdom, the power, the responsibilityāit all paled in comparison to Jasmine.
I was ready to forfeit everything if it meant Jasmine could come back. Erikās eyes locked with mine, surprise and conflict dancing in his gaze, but I remained resolute.
This was the only option. There was no existence without her, and I didnāt care if it meant losing everything we possessed.
The battlefield fell into a hushed silence. Morgathis stood tall, a sinister glint in her eyes as she looked down at me and Erik, who were shattered, kneeling beside Jasmineās lifeless body.
She felt a surge of victory, the raw power pulsating through her veins. We were hers nowāall our packs, all our land, every bit of Seraphium that tied us to this realm.
She let the darkness spread, watching as her armies decimated the scattered remnants of our forces. This was her moment.
She smirked, relishing the despair in my eyes, the hollow torment in Erikās. We were defeated, crumbling, and in our shattered silence, she heard the whispered acceptance of her terms.
We had surrendered. Morgathis had triumphed.
But thenāa glimmer, an energy shifting at the periphery of her consciousness. Behind her, from the corner of her eye, she noticed movement.
I turned to look, and I couldnāt believe what I was seeing. Morgathis spun around just in time to see Sebastian stirring, a faint spark of life returning to his battered body.
His eyes opened, and they were ablaze, a determination that dispelled the shadow sheād cast over him.
āImpossible!ā she spat.
She had drained him. I echoed the same word in my mind, having watched his spirit fade. And yet, he was rising, defying the odds, his body rejecting her dark curse.
Somehow, against all odds, Sebastian was coming back. The faintest hint of life pulsed in his skin, and my heart pounded with hope.
In that split second, Morgathisās attention shifted, her triumph morphing into confusion and fury. She spun around, distractedāand then I saw it, a slight movement from Jasmineās side.
The distraction was enough.
In that split second, as Morgathisās attention shifted, I saw her. Jasmineā¦ My heart skipped a beat, not daring to believe it, but the fierce determination in her movement was unmistakable.
Jasmine rose beside me, and I saw Erikās eyes widen. I didnāt trust my judgment enough to feel joy or reliefāI just wanted to understand.
In one swift, fluid motion, Jasmine seized the weapon and, before Morgathis could react, plunged the dagger deep into the sorceressās chest.
Morgathis gasped, her face twisting with shock and rage as the blade penetrated her heart, her dark magic recoiling from the pure energy in the daggerās blade. She stumbled back, her body convulsing as the light of the weapon began to overpower her shadows, unraveling the dark power she had wielded for so long.
The life drained from her eyes as she collapsed, her body disintegrating into ash, scattered by the battlefieldās winds.
My heart soared, a wave of overwhelming relief and disbelief washing over me. Jasmine was alive.
The balance shifted instantly.
The mages and allies, witnessing Morgathisās fall, rallied with renewed vigor, their hope reignited by the sight of her defeat. The darkness that had blanketed the battlefield began to lift, and our armies surged forward, reenergized, fighting back with unstoppable momentum.
Almost all the dark magic died with Morgathis; the power of their witches faded, and some fled.
I took two steps to be beside Jasmine again. She placed a hand on her abdomen, still smeared with blood.
I saw Erik approaching, but Sebastian was struggling to reach us, still weak. He had been dead just a moment ago.
āI need Valerianāthe tutis sanitatem spell,ā Jasmine whispered, and I caught her before she could fall.
That scene with Morgathisāher killing herāhad been a display of strength, but inside, Jasmineās body was collapsing from all the blood she had lost.
āValerian!ā Erik yelled as he took Sebastianās hand and helped him get closer.
A fiery-haired mage from Sebastianās pack approached us, and I carefully placed Jasmine on the ground. She knelt beside us, ready to help.
āTutis sanitatem spell,ā Jasmine murmured, her voice barely a whisper.
The mage moved her fingers in the air, casting the spell. I watched as Jasmine began to heal, bit by bit.
Jasmine was back. Jasmine was back. She was back with me, my mate. My Jasmine. My world.
But even as her injuries started to mend under the spellās influence, her lips moved. A fragile whisper escaped:
āItās not over.ā
A chill ran through my veins.
āTheyāre coming.ā
