I took more steps closer until I was boldly standing in front of him. "Now, give me that moonstone."

A dry chuckle escaped John's throat. "You think I'm going to just give it to you?" he questioned dubiously, accompanying it with another humourless laugh. "Just like that?"

Before I could reply, a deep familiar feminine voice answered instead. "No. You will be giving it to me."

Just then, before any of us could react, a black blur swept in between John and I so fast that I jumped back at the sudden motion. But then my eyes widened and a horrified gasp unintentionally escaped my throat when it thrust itself right into the chest of the man I once called father.

The black blur - that I now noticed was a thick hand - buried itself further in his chest, and I watched, unable to move, as blood began to splatter out of the wound the shadow-hand had created.

John gasped and fell to his knees. His whole body trembled as he choked and coughed out blood.

"Well, if it is not my favourite werewolf." Reina's dark aura immediately swept throughout my whole being and I nearly shivered at the deadly feel of it. Spinning around, I watched her materialize from the shadows and gracefully approach in her usual form.

"R-Reina." John gasped out her name, prompting more darkish red blood to spill down his chin and onto his clothes. "Y-You w-whore."

The Night Witch chuckled and licked her lips, smirking down at the bloodied figure struggling for breath. "Nice to see you too, dog," she greeted with a sly grin. "But unfortunately, I have to kill you now because you are of no use to me anymore, and would be a hindrance to my plans."

Swiftly, she raised her left hand and made a fierce ripping motion with it. "See you in the afterlife, darling."

Almost immediately, the hand still embedded in his chest squeezed in further until a sickening squishy noise echoed right before it effortlessly tore his heart out.

My own heart thudded wildly within my ribcage as I watched his eyes cloud over and his body fall limp to the ground after he breathed his final breath.

Dead.

The man who'd made I and my mother's life a living hell laid lifeless on the ground. Automatically, I waited to feel something, anything that would give me a semblance of satisfaction over his death. But I felt nothing.

No joy. No peace. No feeling of superiority. Just emptiness.

And that fact made me even angrier.

Not bothering to think logically, I turned to glare heatedly at the witch who'd just murdered the person I was meant to kill.

This was the second time that night that she had come without me sensing her beforehand. I'd initially assumed it was because I had been deeply engrossed in the mind-blowing intercourse I indirectly had with Albus. But then I simply concluded that she had a knack for sneaking up on people when I saw her shadow-encased form positioned gloriously by the tree my mother's corpse was hanging from.

What the hell is she even doing here?

"Well? What are you waiting for then?" Reina motioned to the dead werewolf on the forest floor. "Take the moonstone and hand it over to me."

I was about to do just that, minus the handing over, and destroy it before her eyes. However, Kane held my hand when I attempted to retrieve it from John's and simply glared at Reina.

The witch appeared to roll her eyes at his reaction and with a flick of her wrist, the same bloodied shadow-hand that had murdered John dropped the heart and grabbed the moonstone before placing it carefully in Reina's palm.

"Why thank you, darling." She snickered and closed her fingers around the crystal. In an instant, it vanished.

"What are you doing here?" Kane's large body nearly brooded over me as he stepped up close from behind and I sensed him clench his teeth in annoyance. "You told us to get you the moonstone and now you choose to-"

"Oh hush up, Kane." Reina spared him a glance with a devious glint in her black eyes. "You cannot blame me, darling. I just thought it time to intervene."

I heard a low growl bubble from his chest. "Then why bother telling us to-?"

"I was doing just fine on my own," I interrupted him, forcing my gaze not to waver from the witch's own while I continued to glare at her. "I wanted to be the one to kill him."

Reina just shrugged a lean, bare shoulder. "That act would have been your end, darling. I was merely doing you a favour."

"A favour you sent us to complete for you."

"To which you were doomed to fail," Reina cut me off and took a threatening step towards me. "Tell me, sweet mortal, how had you planned to murder that immortal dog if I had not stepped in?"

I opened my mouth to answer, but then I wasn't exactly surprised when nothing came out.

Of course, I had no idea how in the world I was going to end my mother's tormentor's life. I knew it would be impossible. However, since I had been blinded by sorrow and anger, that most crucial detail hadn't yet occurred to me.

And as much as I hated to admit it, if it weren't for the witch's intervention, my attempt at killing him would've been downright suicidal.

"Fine," I gritted out. "I didn't know what I was doing, but if you knew he'd be immortal and that I would've had no idea how to end his life then why the hell did you make us come all this way without a warning or even how to kill him?!"

Reina's black brows rose. "First of all, I would remind you to mind your tongue, darling. Second, only an immortal can kill a fellow immortal. And third, I repeat, I did you a bloody favour."

"No." It took all my self-will to take a step closer to her figure and avoid contact with the disgusting shadows that still clung and snaked around her naked body. "You didn't do me any favour. You only deceived us for your own twisted gain and to prove that you can't be trusted."

Reina grinned, her white teeth contrasting with her charcoal complexion. "Even though those are part of the reason, in all honesty, I actually wanted you to know the truth about this bastard and your mother from his own mouth before I killed him."

My eyes narrowed. "Don't try to justify yourself."

"Oh no. My reasons are purely selfish, mind you, and also none of your business." She cocked her head. "But if you must know, I need you to have a sound mind for what I have in store for the both of you. And now that your family is dead, well, I can have your undivided attention."

"Like hell you can," I spat.

Instead of being offended, the Night Witch merely grinned again and diverted her gaze from me to Kane. "She is your responsibility now, whether you like it or not. You can thank me later."

At the sound of distant, depressed howling, she addressed Kane again. "The pack has probably felt the loss of their Alpha and are currently searching for the rightful heir to that position of authority, so you better prepare yourself. Since you are, of course, the first son of Albus and are back again, your connection to them is inevitable."

"I am not the rightful heir," he hissed.

"No use denying it, darling." Reina twirled a finger in her swirling black hair before placing it between her teeth and gently nibbling on it as she assessed Kane's nudity with interest. "They are coming for you, so you better make a good impression on your new pack."

"The last thing I need is your not needed advice," Kane sneered before grabbing my arm. "Leave us now and place your interests elsewhere. We have nothing for you here."

"You might not now, but will soon," Reina confirmed with a mysterious smirk etched at one corner of her lips, right after she momentarily darted her gaze towards the flatness of my belly.

"You will see me again, darlings, I will make sure of that."

As soon as the Night Witch merged with the darkness of the night once more, I let go of the breath I was holding and slowly turned to Kane, who watched me with an unreadable expression. "What now?"

I had no family. My mother, the only one who'd apparently cared for me - loved me even - was dead. And as much as she didn't deserve it, there were no more tears left to shed for her unjustly demise, so I coiled the remaining loss and pain I felt deep inside and squared my shoulders.

It was time to move on.

For years, I had murdered every potential mate to avoid increasing the number of weaknesses I had. That was the main reason why I didn't want to bond with my wolf; she was a weakness I wasn't ready to embrace, because I knew that it would be difficult to get rid of our mates once we were one. And now that she was gone, I wouldn't have to worry about murdering anyone anymore.

Willingly, I studied Kane while I awaited an answer. He was the first werewolf that I had no real desire to vanquish. I didn't know why, but the fact that my whole essence and reasons for killing those I had fallen into accordance with Reina's plans made questioning my feelings useless.

The Night Witch was indeed a sly, heartless bitch.

After a minute, Kane's jaw clenched before he finally spoke up, "You have my mark, so you are my responsibility." He looked as if he'd rather be dead than have this conversation. "You do not have a wolf anymore so you would not feel our connection like I do, but I would be damned if I let you betray Albus and I the way Alba did."

I looked into his grey eyes as he said this and pictured the murderous wolf within, waiting for me to make the wrong move before it would make my life a living hell. The fact that Kane and Albus could never kill me nor inflict any kind of physical pain because of our bond didn't mean that there weren't other ways to make me suffer.

I understood that. And since he and I didn't harbour any emotional feelings for each other, living with him would be much more tolerable. I would have no weakness, just like I always wanted.

I didn't pull my gaze away as I answered truthfully, "I won't betray you, Kane."

He returned my gaze sternly for a moment before nodding and was about to morph into his wolf form when he paused and eyed something behind me.

"Do you want us to take her body down and bury-?"

"No." I shook my head and refused to look back, my chest suddenly growing heavy. "Leave it there."

His eyes narrowed whilst he studied my face carefully, searching for any signs of doubt. "Are you sure?"

I didn't reply immediately. Not that I couldn't, but I just didn't feel like explaining to him why I didn't want to have anything to do with my mother's corpse anymore.

"The insects and crows would do a better job at finishing it than we would." Without another word, I waited for Kane to finish transforming before I carefully hoisted myself on his back and let him lead the way back to my home.

A home where I'd be sure to get rid of anything that belonged to my past memories and fill it instead with a new purpose, a new life, and a new generation with no weaknesses or affection to slow me down again.

My right hand unconsciously let go of Albus' fur to slowly glide across my stomach.

No more weaknesses.

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