Chapter Two Hundred and Fifty Five
Axel lived on in my dreams but waking up to the painful reminder always left me in tears. There was this hole Axel had left behind, one that I feared even time couldn’t heal.
first
I didn’t know exactly why I was paying the sorceress a visit, but I knew I needed to right my wrongs. This place was exactly how it had been when I and Nick arrived here for the very time. I knew I shouldn’t be here and yet… yet here I was. I pushed aside the tendrils, which came together to form a curtain.
The sorceress sat as still as a statue on the moss–covered altar.
“Welcome back, Queen.” She said, turning to me. I stared into those ancient–looking eyes that seemed to know everything.
“You know why I am here,” I said to her.
“Yes, I do, but I am afraid I cannot help you.”
“Please…”
“You seek to fight fate, to fight nature itself. You cannot revive one that is already dead.”
“You can’t or… you won’t?”
“I can’t give life, Queen.”
“But there is something you can do, isn’t there? I will pay handsomely for your services.” I said to her, I had carried along the Cursed Weapon and why I knew fully well that it wasn’t mine to trade, I was willing to go through with it
“I don’t need anything from you; you’ve given enough,” she said, rising to her feet. “Who is he to you? she asked, curiosity clear in her eyes.
“A… friend.” I answered.
She shook her head slowly. “He is more than that. You want to have them both, but you can only have one.”
“This is not about me or what I want.”
“Then it’s about the Alpha King; you seek to please him, desperate for his forgiveness, and
believe raising back his dead second in command would do that.”
you
“Can you? Can you bring Axel back to life?”
“Of course not. I could bring him back, but he wouldn’t be alive; he would be the creature you dread a demon.”
–
“I don’t care…”
“No. You’ve rushed into things before and you regretted it, I won’t let you make the very same
Chapter Two Hundred and Filly Five
mistake. If he awakes as a demon, he might not be the same man you knew; he might end up becoming your worst… nightmare.” She said, but I knew Axel. He was a good person, he always will be.
“I guess there is a price for that?”
“A price? No, there is no price, but an exchange. You cannot upset fate without giving something in return.”
“And what would I have to give?” I asked her.
She was silent for a moment too long, and finally she spoke up. “Your life.”
“My life?” I repeated.
“Yes. Now you see, it’s too much a sacrifice to make,” she said, turning away like this conversation had been concluded.
I remembered Thane’s words; he had said he wished I died and Axel lived.
“Wait.” I called, and she paused.
“Do it. I am willing to give my life in exchange.”
“There is too much at risk; you would lose your life, and if he ends up a morister, it would be a wasted sacrifice.”
And I don’t care.”
“I don’t want you to die without a course; it’s not worth it. But I’ll give you a span of two dawns to make your decision, and if you choose to go through with this after this time, then I will be waiting.”
I nodded. “Thank you.”
I had already made my decision and that’s all I couldn’t think about when I returned to the Pack. I couldn’t be able to revive all those Thane had lost because of me, but at least I could. bring back Axel; maybe things could go back to how they were before I came into the picture. Maybe Thane would move on, and maybe–just maybe he would forgive me.
I wish I could tell my mother one final goodbye, but maybe it was better this way. She would be happy; Gabriel would be by her side. I stopped by Thane’s office. How I wish I could go to him; how I wish I could kiss him one more time, but I couldn’t. So I could only stare at him.
from afar.
