My Long Lost Mate - Chapter 153

Now that we knew what the black witches were doing, no village would fall victim to their outrageous plan again. The other lands have also started to strengthen their defense, so it would be hard for the black witches to proceed with their current plan.

But knowing their persistence, they would surely come up with another plan to provide more power to their side for when the ‘day’ arrives. We don’t know when the ‘day’ will arrive, but we do know that we need to step up our game.

The Great War occurred over a century ago, and the black witches must have gone through many changes since then—changes that will lead them to greater power. Although these changes affect not only black witches but also other dark creatures, they have the greatest changes as they only live for one purpose.

Why do you think they survived for over a century when they were on the verge of extinction? Quite the rhetorical question, no?

They remained quiet by living in the dark for years, but for all that time, they had one goal in mind: vengeance. They wanted to take back the victory we—supposedly—took from them, wanted us to kneel under their feet, wanted us to be at their mercy.

A big dream, indeed.

As we knew that they would eventually make a comeback, we stayed cautious and watchful of them for the first few decades. Any sighting of a black witch will result in a stake burning, and this tradition continues to this day—though not as vigorously.

Perhaps because it had been so long since they last appeared, people began to forget about them and became more preoccupied with their own lives. This could be one of the things that allowed this disaster to happen.

I let down my guard for once, and these worms began to squirm back into the world. How infuriating.

“Do you think she’ll be okay?” Andrew, who waited alongside me, asked. It was unusual to see the pack’s jokester being concerned about someone.

“She will,” I nodded, watching the fire standing tall in front of me. “She is our Luna. Of course, she’ll be okay. I trust her.”

Though I did say that, I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t worried about her. The sight of the fire growing taller and fiercer the moment she stepped inside the sigil was enough to make me worried about what would happen inside. To make matters worse, I couldn’t see her from where I was. I hadn’t seen her for ten minutes.

Why is she taking so long? Did something happen inside?

I tried to get as close to the fire as I could, but all I could hear was the fire burning. It’s almost as if the sigil was sound-proof.

Maybe she’s just waiting for the fire to start? According to the previous event, the fire didn’t immediately ignite when she used her blood. It took a few minutes for us to feel the heat of the fire.

Deciding to assure myself as such, I stepped back and took a seat on the ground. Now that I had the time to rest, I could finally feel the fatigue rushing in. Is it the poison? I’m not usually this frail. Based on previous experiences—I could fight for as long as two days, and it’s not even a day yet.

Andrew followed suit and sat beside me, sighing as he waited for the time to go home.

“I think I’m dying,” I said, making him turn his face towards me in an instant. He looked at me with a funny face, thinking that I’d just made a silly joke to lighten the mood.

“You’re not the best jokester,” he sighed again, playing with the snow on the ground. He took a handful of snow and rolled it into a ball, scanning the area for where—who—to throw it to. He didn’t glance at me.

I watched him throw the snowball at Jack, who had just come back from burying the little girl. Jack glared at him and quickly made a bigger snowball, throwing it back to Andrew as if he was planning to send him straight to hell with that one hit.

“I’m not joking,” I said, and he froze. “I got poisoned by the snakes in the church, and now the poison is spreading even faster after our fight just now. I could feel it.”

A moment passed with no reaction, so I looked over at Andrew, only to see him staring at me with wide eyes, the snow melting in his hands. Jack soon joined us two.

“Are you being serious right now?” He asked, still couldn’t believe the ‘joke’ I’d just spouted. It does sound like a joke. “You mean our fight with the snakes just now?”

“The very same one,” I nodded. “Did you get bitten?” Both men shook their heads no, and I assumed those damned snakes knew I already had this poison in me. Or the black witch knew.

“Then what should we do? Are you really going to die? Is there no cure? What about Ronald? Have you looked for him?”

With Andrew’s train of questions, Jack seemed to grasp what was going on. He fell to his knees to listen more closely, throwing the snow in his hands.

“Ronald won’t be able to cure this,” I smiled wryly, taking pity on this situation. “The only cure is somewhere in Larion.”

“And where the hell is that?” asked Andrew, while Jack appeared to have heard about the place.

“Land of Magic,” he answered Andrew’s question, and I nodded. “I’ve been there before,” he said, and Andrew looked at him strangely, as if to ask, ‘Why would you go there?’

Not liking Andrew’s doubtful expression, he added, “Maggie’s yearly trip.”

Right. One of Jack’s jobs was to accompany Maggie on her trips to collect her magic ingredients, so it was only natural that he knew about Larion. I think he’d mentioned it once or twice in his report, but I paid it no mind as it has nothing to do with our jobs. I didn’t expect I’d be going there.

“What do you think about the place?” I asked Jack, wanting to confirm how dangerous of a place it was.

“It smells funny,” he said after taking some time to think about it, only giving the answer I didn’t particularly care about. Seeing that I was still waiting for more answers, he started to re-think his answer. “A strange place? I once saw a… crocodile with wings there.”

“You mean dragons?”

“Dragons,” he confirmed. He glared at Andrew before he could mock him, but Andrew was quicker to taunt him. “Stupid ass—” a snowball smacked Andrew right in the face.

I had no idea dragons existed. I assumed they were just myths, but given that werewolves and vampires also existed, it didn’t come as a surprise. There are far too many wonders in the world.

After successfully closing Andrew’s mouth, Jack inquired, “What will happen if we don’t find the cure?”

“Then I’ll die within a week,” I said, noticing how they both flinched at the answer. “…which will not happen because we will find the cure. We can’t let Andrew become the Supreme Alpha, can we?”

Andrew gasped.

“Not that I want you to die, but are you perhaps underestimating my ability? Wait until I—”

“Of course, we can’t,” Jack cut him off, being firm and resolute with his answer. “We will surely find the cure,” he nodded reassuringly at me, ignoring Andrew’s complaint. He swore he’d bring me the antidote even if it meant crossing every ocean there is.

“How dependable,” I chuckled. “Now I don’t need to worry about dying,” I said, and though Andrew didn’t like the reason behind it, he said nothing.

Just as we finished our conversation, a strong wintry wind blew over and swept through our bare chests, making even a werewolf shiver at the cold. With the wind that came, the statue-like villagers began moving, slowly falling to the ground.

The warriors behind me who noticed the movement immediately yelled and rejoiced in success. It’s time to go home.

“She did it!”

“Our Luna did it!!”

“My mate did it.”

I stood up right away, as did the two men, waiting for Violet to come out of the fire. I stretched my arms and prepared to pull her into a big hug, a smile already decorating my face. I knew she could do it. I always knew.

The flames moved with the wind and went out when another strong wind came, filling our vision with smoke for a brief moment. After one cough or two, we could clearly see that the sigil was no longer there. The fire had successfully erased the sigil, while my mate had successfully saved the villagers.

She truly is our Luna.

I immediately ran towards the circle, wanting to show my gratitude for the hero who saved the day. When the smoke dissipated and I could finally see my surroundings more clearly, the smile I had on my face fell.

There, I saw six people lying on the ground, with one being my mate.