Daniel's POV

"So, where's the unlucky guy who got stuck with you, Clarabell?" I taunted Claire who glared at me vehemently.

We were in the witch academy and Claire was going to meet her mate and since Stephen was in Veneton, Claire thought of getting me along with her as I am her friend.

"He's lucky that he has me. Besides, if Stephen wouldn't have been in Veneton, I would have bought him along. You're such an annoying person, Daniel."

"Admit it. You enjoy my company. That's why you bought me here," I wiggled my brows and winked at her as she rolled her eyes.

"I am so done with you, Danny. I'll go see where Jacob is. He's taking too long. And don't you wander around. There are scary witches here who might want to make you their next sacrificial thing," she warned and stomped off without waiting for my reply.

I rolled my eyes at her retreating figure. She's so annoying sometimes.

I kicked the stone on the grass ground as I waited for her return. It has been almost half an hour since she went and there was still no sign of her.

What was she doing? Counting chickens with her mate?

Deciding to go search myself, I turned around when someone crashed onto my chest. I held her waist to prevent her from falling.

I felt sparks shoot through me from the spot where my palms made contact with her skin. My wolf was jumping with a weird kind of joy and was really desperate to speak but I shut him off.

Now wasn't the time to have chats with my bugging wolf when I had a pretty little woman in my arms.

Pretty? Oh, I didn't see her face yet!

All I could see was her bright blonde hair as her head was supposedly lowered.

"Are you alright, miss?" I inquired and found her slowly raising her head to reveal beautiful set of grey eyes staring at me.

She stared at me for quite a while and I took the time to analyse her face. She had pale skin which looked soft alright and then there was her pink lips that looked so kissable then her bright grey eyes which looked full of life.

She cleared her throat before stepping back, "Oh, I'm sorry for bumping into you. I should have looked my way and ofcourse I shouldn't be staring at someone like that. It's just that you're so handsome....uh...I mean you're a gentlemen. By the way, why am I talking so much? I should probably go."

She turned away to go but suddenly stopped and turned her head in my direction, "It was good meeting you, mister," she smiled before continuing on her path.

That's it? I don't even get her name?

I shook my head. Why am I suddenly interested in a complete stranger?

I found a smile tug on my on lips. Indeed, I've gone mad.

~~~

I blinked my eyes several times to confirm whether the woman I was now starting at was really that woman I once met on a sunny day when Claire took me to meet Jacob.

She did have the same face. But her eyes looked hollow, her skin deathly pale, her hair black quitting any sign of those bright blonde hair and....

My eyes widened at the sight of those black horns on top of her head. There was not even a single trace of the woman who I met years ago who had a bubbly attitude and whose eyes shone when she spoke. The woman who peeked my interest within a single encounter.

This woman in front of me was entirely different. This woman had given up herself on the path of darkness and there was no going back now which for some reason brought a dull ache in my heart.

Back in the past, I didn't know she was my mate because I had shut my wolf off whenever he brought her up but now...

But now that I know that she's my mate, it pains my heart to look at her in so much pain.

All my senses knew the possibility of who this woman could be but I didn't want to agree.

"Mate? No No No! This can't be possible. She doesn't deserve you, Danny. You're so good and her... Oh, god, No! Why Ginivieve?" Claire whispered but all I could see was my mate screaming in pain.

Ginivieve

That was her name. My mate's name.

My mate suddenly stopped screaming when she--I suppose--didn't feel Claire's magic hurting her. Her gazes shifted to me and they widened for a minute before a ghost of smirk appeared on her lips.

"I can stop this if you want, Danny. I know it must be hurting to see your mate this way," Claire said but I didn't miss the disappointment in her voice.

I knew what Ginivieve had made Claire go through. Claire might seem like a strong person who always was brave but there was still that woman in her who cried on the loss of her child which was caused by my mate. To add to her misery, my mate had also snatched away Jacob from her. I knew Claire was waiting for the moment she could avenge for all the things my mate made her go through.

And now that when this moment arrived, she couldn't. Why? Because Ginivieve was my mate. I couldn't snatch this opportunity from her for my own causes.

My mate must have been a good person in the past but now she had made many suffer.

And now, in this moment, I knew I had to make a decision. A decision which would change many lives.

I glanced at my mate who had a smirk etched on her face, "He will save me. Right, Daniel? I am his mate. He can't give me up. Now, you're the one who's going to die Claire."

That made me look at her. She would continue with her antics even if I save her?

I inhaled a deep breath making the decision which would surely cause me a heartbreak but I can't think about myself anymore.

"No. Don't stop, Claire." I stated firmly.

She looked up at me as if I have lost my mind.

"Kill her," I confirmed my words before turning my back towards them, "I'll be waiting outside in the ground."

"No! You can't do this, Daniel! I am your mate, you moron! Ahhh!"

I closed my eyes trying to block her screams off as Claire gave her a painful death. My wolf was howling in agony of losing his mate but I stood my ground with my decision.

I have done the right thing.

With that thought in my head, I exited the dungeon heading towards the battle ground.

Evan's POV

Blood.

Blood was everywhere my sight went. Bodies of the hybrids splattered around, decorating the ground.

I felt my blood rushing with thrill. Killing. That was something I enjoyed a lot. The trill that was provided by the intense death of my enemies was something I would savour for a lifetime.

A hybrid launched itself on me but before it could strike it's attack, I lurched my hand forward into his chest grabbing onto the juicy organ that gave him life and pluck it out of him before inserting my fangs into the warm still beating morsal as fresh blood burst into my mouth. I throw the heart which is now void of any blood on the floor. The hybrid's limp body falls on the ground with a thunk as a satisfied smirk makes it's way on my lips.

"Great Kill, Evan. Afterall, I wasn't wrong. You do have the darkness in you." I turned my head in the direction of the not so unfamiliar feminine voice.

"Do you know how powerful this darkness can make me?" Diana, the werewolf queen, asked folding her arms across her chest.

"Stop hallucinating, Diana. Why would you need my darkness? It's not like you're a black witch or are you?" I gave her a questioning look.

She smirked, "Oh, stop pretending. You and I both know the answer."

I knew from the moment she didn't turn to her wolf form in the party that there was something amiss about her being a werewolf. She was made the queen as she was the most powerful alpha's daughter but if so then why didn't she ever show her wolf form? Knowing Diana, she wouldn't leave a single opportunity to boast herself. Then why wouldn't she show her powerful wolf to others? These questions had bugged me since a long time and so I discussed this with Daniel. He told me that she wasn't a werewolf since he mixed wolvesbane in her drink which should have a fatal effect on normal werewolves except royals. When Diana drank the drink, she was normal as any other.

Then the question was whether she was a royal. But it was impossible since Mine, Daniel's and Lisa's bloodline are the only left royals. So after a lot of research, we found out that she was a witch and a black one at that which wasn't quite surprising. She must have cloaked her real identity with black magic.

"Why do you want to end the royal bloodlines?" I asked the question which I kind of knew the answer.

All the black witches had a grudge for royals since we were the one to set the rules of burning or executing the one who chose the dark path.

"Since you're really going to die soon, I'll take this question as your last wish," I rolled my eyes at her stupidness. What makes her think she can kill me? Nontheless, I stayed quiet wanting to listen her side of story.

"We were nine sisters including me who chose the dark path. We were witches since birth but you see, white magic is not as powerful as black magic except few who are blessed with powerful white magic like your cousin, Claire. When you can increase your magic as much as you want by sacrifices then why to stick along with the same amount of magic forever? So, we all planned and killed our parents which I don't regret at all. Do you know black magic can become more powerful with the blood of your own? So, after killing our parents, we were after each others lives. In order to save our lives, we all parted and soon I heard about all of them being caught and executed by the royals, one by one. Even though, I was behind their lives but the royals didn't have permission to kill them. I could have been more powerful if I killed them and not the royals." She scowled.

Okay, for a moment there, I actually thought she was upset on her siblings death but indeed I was wrong.

"So, to take revenge for taking my opportunity of being more powerful, I thought and came up with a perfect plan to take revenge. That begin with killing of the Vampire and Werewolf Kings and Queens of that time. Something rang in your head, Evan?" She smirked.

I stared at her wide eyed.

I had always thought that my parents were killed by vampire hunters who were werewolves. And Daniel's were killed by Hunters who were vampires.

This was new. She...she was the one who killed our parents. She was the one who took our parents away.

This woman is more than what I thought. I could feel rage bubbling inside me. I could feel the black smoke resurfacing and swivelling around me.

How dare she kill my parents and feel so proud of it!

In one quick movement, I was in front of her strangling her neck by my bare hands.

Instead of choking, she looked calm as ever and even managed to smile which irked me to no extent.

"Motus." She said and I had to release her neck involuntarily.

"Now this is the darkness I need for myself, Evan," Diana looked so proud of herself which made me want nothing more than to end her pathetic life.

I tried stepping ahead but it was like I couldn't move. Like someone is restraining me from stepping ahead.

"What did you do, Diana?!" I burst out angrily as tried my best to move ahead.

If she thinks she can defeat me, she's in for a big surprise. I can use my power of darkness--which is much more stronger than her powers--and kill her right this moment.

But I'm trying to control. To keep that darkness in check so that I don't lose myself in it again just like I did a month ago before Elina bought me out of that daze.

Elina.

The mention of her name made me take a look in her direction. My beautiful angel was standing at the place where I had left her and was intently staring at the war taking place while she had a frown on her pretty face.

I am glad she did oblige to my request of not interfering in the fight. Afterall, I couldn't bare it if something happened to her.

"Isn't she your mate, Evan? Beautiful little thing, right?" Diana's screechy voice broke my attention and I  had to unwillingly turn my head away from Elina and look at the woman who killed my parents, "What do you think will happen to you if she gets hurt in this fight or perhaps dies?" She smirked yet again and now it was getting really annoying.

But the moment her words sinked in, I felt dread filling in me.

If even a single hair on Elina's skin gets hurt, this woman in front of me will have the most brutal death in the history.

"You wouldn't dare," I say through gritted teeth.

I started feeling those sensations again. The sensations which reminded me of the amount of darkness I possessed. I know I'm loosing it again but I don't care anymore.

All I want is Elina safe and away from any danger.

"Look at you. This is what I want. All this darkness. Now I know what I have to do to get it all out of you," she said raising her palm as an object which represented a dagger appeared and before I knew it, the dagger was moving in full speed in Elina's direction.

My mate seemed oblivious to the fact but as soon as she noticed the huge dagger moving towards her, her eyes widened and she seemed too shocked to even move.

My heartbeat was decreasing by every passing second as I tried my best to move but I was paralysed to the spot. By the time I set myself free from Diana's magic, it would be too late and the dagger would already make its way through her heart.

No!

The thought itself made me quiver.

Just as I thought the dagger was going to pass through her heart and I was going to face the biggest misery of my life, Daniel pushed Elina to the ground resulting the dagger to pass through his heart.

He stood frozen to the spot with wide eyes before falling to the ground.

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Next chapter will be updated on Monday or Wednesday:)