Chapter 220
Nicholas’s POV
I wrapped my massive arms around Irina’s shaking body. I pulled her flush against my chest. She was so small. She was so incredibly fragile. Yet, she held the entire universe inside her soul.
I buried my face in the crook of her neck. I inhaled a deep, shuddering breath. Wild orchids. Fresh rain. The unique, intoxicating scent of my mate. It filled my strong lungs. It pushed out the sickening smell of gunpowder and copper blood that hung over the clearing.
Minutes ago, I was completely gone. The dark abyss had swallowed me. The rogue’s jagged claws had ripped my chest open. My heavy heart had stopped beating. I had tasted the metallic tang of my own death. The freezing void had welcomed my soul.
But she fought for me. She brought me back.
My chest vibrated with a steady, powerful heartbeat. Boom. Boom. Boom. Every single beat was a divine gift. Every breath of the cold winter air was an absolute miracle. The sacred mate bond hummed in my veins. It burned bright and hot. It violently chased away the lingering, icy shadows of death.
Irina shifted against me. She pulled back slowly. Her small hands rested flat against my bare, hot skin. Her dirty fingers trembled violently.
She stared at my broad chest. Her beautiful hazel eyes were wide. They were full of pure, unadulterated shock. She looked at the smooth, flawless muscle where a gaping, fatal wound used to be. The shredded flesh was completely gone. The blood was just a memory.
"How?" she whispered.
Her voice broke aggressively. It was a tiny, fragile sound in the quiet forest.
"How... how could this be?" she stuttered.
She shook her head. Her messy, tangled hair whipped around her pale face. She looked down at her own trembling hands. They were covered in mud and my dried blood. A fresh wave of tears welled up in her eyes.
"I don’t understand," she pleaded. Her voice shook with thick emotion. "I don’t have any magic. I am just a weak human. I couldn’t even shift to protect you. How did this happen?"
A deep, rumbling vibration started in my chest. I couldn’t hold it back. I chuckled lightly. It was a breathless, euphoric sound. It was the pure, overwhelming joy of a man who had just conquered the grave.
I lifted my large hands. I gently framed her dirty, tear-stained face. My heavy thumbs brushed over her high cheekbones.
"You are so much more than you think, little bird," I murmured.
I looked deep into her beautiful, tear-filled eyes. I needed her to see the absolute truth. I needed her to understand the immense, terrifying power she held inside her.
"It seems you are the one the Moon Goddess spoke of," I told her. My voice was a steady, comforting hum. "The ancient prophecy. The one destined to save the packs from the darkness. It is you, Irina."
Irina stared at me. Her pink lips parted in absolute shock. She forgot how to breathe.
"Your white wolf," I continued. I stroked her soft skin. I pictured the magnificent, glowing creature in my mind. The raw, divine power radiating from her pristine fur. "She is a miracle. She reached directly into the void. She grabbed my fading soul. She saved me, Irina. She saved us."
The shock finally melted. A fresh, heavy wave of tears pooled in her eyes. They spilled over her dark lashes and tracked rapidly down her cold cheeks.
"Me?" she choked out.
"Yes. You." I smiled. My chest physically ached with an overwhelming, consuming love. "My fierce, beautiful mate."
I moved my thumbs. I carefully wiped the fresh tears from her cheeks. I smeared the dirt on her pale skin, but I didn’t care. She was the most gorgeous creature in the entire universe. She was my queen.
"No more crying," I ordered softly. I leaned forward and pressed a long, reverent kiss directly to her forehead. "The nightmare is over."
I let go of her delicate face. I planted my bare, bloody hands on the frozen ground. I pushed myself up.
The shift in my physical body was immediate. It was absolutely staggering.
I stood to my full height. I expected a harsh wave of dizziness. I expected the brutal phantom pain of my shattered ribs. I felt absolutely none of it.
Instead, a massive surge of pure, raw energy violently erupted through my veins. It was wild. It was electric. My heavy muscles bunched and expanded. They felt thicker, harder, completely indestructible. My senses sharpened to a terrifying, razor-edge degree. I could hear a pinecone drop a mile away. I could smell the pathetic fear sweating out of the surviving rogues hiding deep in the mountains.
I wasn’t just healed. I was reborn.
The divine magic of her white wolf had permanently fused with my royal blood. I possessed a staggering, limitless strength. I felt ten times more powerful than before. The freezing winter wind hit my bare chest, but I didn’t feel the chill. My internal Alpha fire burned like a blazing sun. I flexed my large hands. The heavy joints cracked with lethal force.
I looked down. Irina sat in the slush, looking up at me with wide, adoring eyes.
I extended my hand.
She placed her small palm perfectly into mine. I pulled her up with zero effort. I wrapped a heavy, protective arm tightly around her waist. I pulled her flush against my side. She fit perfectly against me. She was my anchor.
I turned my head. I looked out at the silent clearing.
It was a complete bloodbath. The torn bodies of rogues and my brave warriors littered the white snow. The heavy stench of death hung thickly in the air.
My surviving men were still entirely paralyzed on their knees. Roman. Andrei. The elite royal guards. They stared at me. Their mouths hung open. They looked at me like I was a literal god stepping out of a myth. They had felt my death through the pack bond. The agonizing severing of the link had crushed them. They had mourned their King.
Now, they watched me stand.
I squared my broad shoulders. I let my true Alpha aura violently explode outward. It crashed over the bloody clearing like a massive tidal wave. It didn’t push my men down into the mud. It actively ignited them. It poured pure liquid fire directly into their exhausted bones. The severed pack link aggressively snapped back into place.
Roman’s head snapped up. His eyes widened. The suffocating despair instantly vanished from his bloody face.
"Stand," I growled.
The single word boomed aggressively through the trees. It violently shook the snow from the high pine branches. It echoed fiercely off the jagged mountain cliffs.
Every single warrior scrambled to their feet. They snapped to rigid attention. Their heavy spines straightened. The pure exhaustion melted away. Their eyes burned with a renewed, violent fury. They tasted the ultimate victory in the air. They felt my absolute, terrifying power thrumming through the link.
The Kossarov rogues had made a fatal mistake. They had touched my beautiful mate. They had forced her to cry. They had dragged me into the dark.
My blood boiled with a primal, savage need for absolute vengeance. The games were over. There would be no mercy.
I pulled Irina tighter against my side. I held her proudly. I made sure every single warrior saw her. I made sure they understood that she was their divine savior.
I raised my free hand. I pointed directly toward the dark, jagged mountains.
"I, the Alpha King, and Luna Irina command you!" I roared. My voice was pure thunder. It ripped violently through the night sky. The golden power sparked fiercely in my green eyes. "Launch an attack on the rogue camp! Wipe out all the rogues!"