CHAPTER 354: _ TALKING ACTION

My entire world spun. I found it extremely difficult to breathe, as the scene around me turned blurry. My brain couldn’t figure out what was what, and I felt like I was going to pass out at any moment.

It was a terrible and utterly frightening feeling.

The only comfort in had in that moment was Ximena’s hand softly holding mine.

"Señorita María! Let’s go back to the room! I have to make sure you’re safe. The killer could still be running around the house!"

Her voice shook me out of my daze, and I took a deep, long breath.

"That’s right. You don’t have the time to be scared, María José." I muttered under my breath and suddenly raised my head. With a newfound determination, I said to Ximena, "I have a task for you. It’s quite difficult, but I hope you have the courage to complete it."

"¿Qué... qué es eso?" She asked with watery eyes.

I gently squeezed her hand. "I know you’re scared. I am too. But, we have a lot of powerful wolves in this household. So, we have to be strong too. Do you understand?"

Ximena nodded as she broke down in tears.

I wanted to cry too. Goddess knows I was utterly broken by the news of Luna Ann’s death. I wanted nothing more than to just give up and huddle myself in a corner.

I was tired, frustrated, and mostly, scared.

But I persevered. Because I knew Axel wouldn’t give up easily too. Because I had Xiomara with me. And because the pack needed me.

If that demon Ignacio was still in the house, then it was our job to defeat him and pay him back with death.

I exhaled and said to Ximena, "I need you to gather all the maids and servants and take them out of the house, to the western wing. Tell them the killer could still possibly be in the house, so we need to avoid casualties as much as we can. Can you do that?"

Ximena managed to nod her head. Tears were streaming down her face, and her face was contorted in sorrow.

"Good." I nodded. "Once that is completed, I need you to go towards the borders of our territory. There, you’ll find a witch living in a shack. I need you to tell her that the enemy has appeared, and bring her over as fast as you can."

"Alright. W-what will you do?" Ximena asked with a hiccup.

I was silent for a few seconds, before responding with sheer determination, "I am going to join the hunt for the killer."

Ximena’s eyes widened in shock.

"¡No puedes, por favor! You’re pregnant!"

I offered her a gentle smile and said, "Do not worry about me, querida. I’ll be with Axel, so I’m going to be fine."

Ximena continued crying, but nodded after a while. Then, she hurried in the direction the other maids took.

I stood there for a while, listening to the chaos all around me.

"I’m giving you my power," Xiomara said, and I nodded. My wolf senses kicked in, and I listened far and wide, trying to pick up on the tiniest of sounds.

I weaved around the myriad of screams and noises, and eventually heard something important. It was faint, yet undeniable.

Axel’s painful grunt.

My eyes turned bloodshot immediately.

"Xiomara!" I yelled, and power surged through me instantly. I fought through the immense pain that also washed over me due to the babies I was carrying, and rushed forward like a tide.

Axel’s grunt had come from the area allocated to his cousin, Luis. As I rushed through the different hallways and corridors of the house, I thought back to Axel’s yell.

He had mentioned Luis.

Could it be?

Could it really be?

I fought the tears back as I rushed through the house. I soon arrived at that corner of the unnecessarily large house, and I could immediately tell that something was terribly wrong.

One, the locket around my neck was heating up at a rapid pace. Two, I could hear painful grunts, yells, as well as fearsome growls that shook my entire being.

There was a dreadful battle going on in a half-collapsed room.

"Do you feel that?" Xiomara hissed, and I suddenly felt a wave of sinister energy assault my body. My very being trembled, and I doubled over, vomiting putrid contents from my stomach.

"¡Dios mío!" I gasped, my breath strained and heavy. "What the hell is that?!"

Xiomara’s hateful tone resounded in my head, "That is pure evil! It’s him. It’s Ignacio!"

I gritted my teeth and forced myself to stand. Despite the horror that gnawed at my chest, I pushed my legs towards the room ahead. As I reached the entrance, one of the guards flew across, before crashing heavily into the opposite wall.

His face was mangled, and his bones were sticking out from his flesh. The poor guard was dead.

I almost puked again. I clenched my fists and rushed into the room.

It was just as I had expected. Chaos, mangled flesh and bones, groans of agony, as well as towering beasts that engage in a fearsome wrestle with one another.

In that moment, one of the large wolves in the room rushed forward, slamming into what I assumed was the enemy. Both of them slammed into the outer wall, and it came crashing down.

They fell from a two-storey height to the grass below.

Before I could process anything, the second giant werewolf jumped out after them.

"Was that?"

"Axel and Álvaro? Yes." Xiomara said with fury evident in her voice.

I swallowed hard.

"What? They were fighting? Was that Ignacio’s demonic form?"

"Most likely," Xiomara answered. "There’s no time to waste! We have to help them!"

I nodded and quickly glanced around, searching for any of the guards who were still alive. About four of them were. But they were too wounded to even stand. My heart bled for the dead.

However, I had no time to mourn them, because that foul bastard was still alive.

I walked over to the collapsed wall and glanced down. Two giant werewolves were fighting an even taller creature with bestial horns. And he seemed to be overpowering them, because of the shadows that twisted at his command.

There was no doubt about it. It was Ignacio.

"María José, due to our recent fatigue, you won’t be able to go into a full transformation. Also, I do not know how it’s going to affect the babies, so it’s best not to try."

I nodded my head. "I understand. I’ll fight with whatever power I have left."

Then, I jumped.

I landed on the soft grass with a heavy thud, and yelled at the top of my lungs, "IGNACIO!"