CHAPTER 73: CHAPTER SEVENTY-THREE: DAMIEN’S STORY XIII: YOUR SON IS POSSESSED!

Damien ran his eyes over the boy who looked very much younger than him. "You’re a werewolf?" he asked in disbelief, his eyes going larger than saucers. He had learnt about werewolves during their history lessons and was quite fascinated with them. They were creatures much like vampires with leaping, sprinting and vanishing abilities but they didn’t drink blood. They only needed the barest minimum that would last for years just to stop themselves from drying up. Instead of blood, they fed on the flesh of other animals for survival.

Severin and his brother hadn’t had a single drop of blood ever since they were cast out of their former homes and so, they were on the verge of drying up.

They were captured as slaves and sent to work for a vampire lord who was crueler than the devil himself. He was a duke who lived far away from Zerathane in an empire where humans were more than vampires and the vampires were in charge.

Severin and Lucian were tortured from such a very young age and made to do disgusting, sexual and traumatizing activities as they grew. The dark lord would make them sleep with different women and even men when before they could think for themselves. When they finally realized what was being done to them, twenty-eight years of their lives had already passed. It was at that moment, they decided enough was enough. The two brothers had escaped after almost three decades of living with the duke since birth.

Even that had been no easy task. They had risked their lives and the possibility of receiving harsher torture just for a faint chance of escape. Luckily, they were able to.

That explained why when Mira saw him, he was thin and scrawny looking. He and Lucian were eventually given blood by the guards who led them but Severin had only taken a little amount while Lucian had gulped down jug after jug of it.

"How are you a werewolf?" Damien asked innocently.

"That’s not important." Severin replied, shutting him up.

Mira got up from her seat and walked towards him.

"Tell me where I can find him."

"You must not go to him now." Severin said simply.

"Why?"

The boy looked at her like she was a dumb little kid asking why she couldn’t have whiskey. "He is possessed by a dangerous, bloodthirsty witch. Right now, he sees you as food and not his mother."

Mira stared at the boy in awe. For a child so young, he was quite mature for his age. She wondered what painful experience would have forced such a young lad to grow beyond his mates.

"So...so we’ll never find brother?" Damien croaked out from behind. His little blue jacket was torn off from the shoulder and he used the little fabric left to clean his eyes.

Mira turned to look at her son who had burst into tears once again. "Tell me where he is." she demanded sterner than last time. In that few seconds of seeing her baby cry for his brother, she made up her mind.

She had always been a woman who lived for her kids. If they were no more or lost their sparks, what was the point of being a mother?

’If I die, I die as long as my children don’t suffer.’

Severin tilted his head to the sobbing mouse that had his arm over his eyes. A slight tinge of jealousy hit him before disappearing as quickly as it had come. Was this idiot just going to sit and watch such a loving mother kill herself? For a goner? He shook his head at the thought. Vampires...ugh... They sounded like monsters but loved too much and too deep. A mighty vampire could turn rogue if his lover died. And it wasn’t even a myth. It had actually happened!

"You’re on a suicide mission lady." he started, diverting his gaze from Damien. "But if you’re so eager to find out, then so be it."

Severin crouched to the ground and transformed to his wolf form. The mother and son looked in awe as his transformation completed in just a matter of seconds. It would never not surprise her how there still exist, an actual, living wolf in that era. According to what her grandpa told her, there was a specie war between the early werewolves and vampires on who was superior. That war had ended with the vampires taking victory and over half of the werewolf population vanquished. Rumors arose during that time that the remaining wolves were still in hiding, mating and multiplying in number.

Because of that, the great king who had defeated the dragons, summoned the power of a very powerful material and sent its power all over the earth. So potent was the magic that the next day, dead bodies of great, behemoths were scattered all through the lands and beyond. That day was a day of great joy. The king of that time was held in high esteem as the one who slayed dragons and wolves during his time.

It sounded dumb to use that as an excuse for wiping out an entire race but people still believed in that version of the story. Mira however knew there was something else behind the whole thing.

Once his transformation was complete, Severin towered over them mightily like an alpha god. He swung his hairy tail and slapped it on the ground. A holographic image shot into the air and through it, they saw Cassian running on all fours on a mountain.

Mira clasped her hands over her mouth. That was her boy...her soft, whinny boy. She forced back her tears, covering Damien’s eyes with her palms. She couldn’t let him see that. It’ll break his small heart beyond repair.

"Your son is in an odd location that doesn’t belong to this time. To get to him, you’ll need a power strong enough to break the barrier between realms."

Severin paused midway as he stared at her intently. Was she really considering it?

"The only power strong enough to do that is the relic safeguarding your kingdom."

Mira’s face broke out in a frown. The ancient relic forged from the extinct dragons? What even was that?

"What...what relic are you talking about?" she asked, genuinely ignorant.

Severin sighed heavily, looking at her like she was a very stupid person. She was the Queen and didn’t know the very thing that had kept her kingdom safe for years? Really?!

"Even if you knew about it, you wouldn’t be able to summon it’s power."

"Why is that?"

"Only the one the relic chose to be its bearer has the authority to draw out its power. That person is the king, your husband."

A solemn wave washed over her countenance. How was she going to tell her husband that their child had turned to a possessed beast? And ask him to give up a relic that held the kingdom together?

Mira bit the insides of her mouth, feeling hopelessness and doubt stab her all over. But being the desperate mother that she was, nothing was impossible.

"If we get the relic, how will we know which realm to enter?"

"You’ll need a belonging of the one you seek. The relic will take care of the rest after presenting the material before it."

Mira nodded slowly, taking notes of what she was being told. She opened her mouth to speak again when Damien’s voice cut through hers.

"Papa!" he screamed out, rushing to the furiously galloping horse.

"Damien!" Alexandria cried out, jumping down from the horse and sweeping him off the floor. He grabbed his head and took a big whiff of his dark hair. His eyes then flew to the side where his wife stood quietly. It was already morning and the sun was already up in the sky. Cool, dark shades cast along the pathway of the forest, making it look like it was late in the afternoon.

"My love..." he said with a longing voice, rushing to her and pulling her into his arms. Mira buried her head in his shoulders and his large palms gripped her cheeks. He placed numerous kisses on her head, petting her and comforting her all at once. But she only wept louder and Damien joined in too.

Ezra and the other men stood a few steps away from them, watching the family reunite again.

Relief, sweet relief flooded his being as he breathed in her peaceful scent. He turned to Ezra and gave Damien to him.

"Take him back to the palace." Ezra immediately obeyed and cradled the boy in his arm before going to the horse and riding off.

Once they were gone, Mira turned to her husband.

"Darling—" But before she could continue, Alexandria pulled her into another tight hug.

"You don’t know how worried I was. It was all a trap my love and I had been too blind that I put you through so much." Alex gripped the back of her head and showered kisses on the middle.

At that moment, all her fears and worries temporarily vanished. She moved her hands over his neck and pulled him closer. Despite how dirty her clothes were, Alex couldn’t care less. She was here...with him...and that was all that mattered...