Alpha's Regret: The Seventh Time was Forever

Chapter 778: Chapter 778 - Her destiny was written by her own hands

Marsha’s voice was sorrowful, heavy with the weight of ancient knowledge and bitter truth, as she responded, ’This is beyond me, Sera. Take her to the shaman.’

Seraphine stood up instantly from the floor in the woods, her legs steady despite the trembling in her heart, pure urgency flooding every vein, and ordered Kael, her voice sharp with command that left no room for delay.

”Bring her. Fast.”

Kael stood up with Jasmine in his arms and began to run after Seraphine, his feet pounding against the earth, his breath coming in short, ragged gasps of desperation.

She mindlinked Oriana to meet her at the hospital with Callum, Doctor Finn, and all the best doctors at the Grimroot pack, her thoughts racing faster than her feet could carry her, every second a precious race against time.

The pack was ready for war when they arrived, with the two Gammas, Augustine and Vladimir, in charge. With all the leaders gone, Oriana would take care of keeping black magic out of the pack, and the middle-aged warriors would lead the young warriors, their experience a shield against the chaos that threatened to swallow them all.

But nobody was ready to see Jasmine’s bloody form. The sight sent a collective wave of shock and grief through everyone who saw her.

Esperanza was already running toward them, her small legs pumping, her face pale with fear that made her eyes too wide, but Seraphine mindlinked her mother, her voice desperate and breaking.

’Mom, please get the kids away.’

Before Espe could reach Kael, Madison carried her, even as she wiggled in her arms, her small fists pounding against her grandmother’s chest in pure, frantic need.

”Grandma, I want to see Aunt Jasmine.”

”Relax, Aunt Jasmine is hurt. Let your mother take care of her.”

Esperanza went still, her body going limp, her eyes wide with a horror she was too young to understand.

She had seen the man attacking her aunt before she ran to call for help, but how could she know it would be this bad? How could she know that her hero, the woman who had saved her, would be the one paying the price? The realization left a cold emptiness in her small chest.

Quinn ran up to Seraphine, the fear in her eyes unhidden, her voice trembling with the need to do something, anything.

”What’s going on?”

”There’s a war out there, Quinn.” Seraphine’s voice was heavy, weighted with the burden of command and the fear she could not show. ”Stay at the pack.”

”But I’ve been training.” Quinn’s voice was desperate, pleading, every word filled with the desire to prove herself. ”Doesn’t anyone need my help?”

The warriors who had been training with the ammunitions all ran to Seraphine, their faces set, their eyes burning with determination that matched the fire in Quinn’s.

”Queen Sera, aren’t we needed?”

Seraphine paused as Kael went ahead with Oriana, his footsteps fading into the distance, each one heavy with the weight of Jasmine in his arms. They had expected the attack but never expected Jasmine to be the one taking the hit, never expected the sacrifice that would be demanded of them, and the knowledge left a bitter ache in Seraphine’s chest.

Before Seraphine could speak, Liah appeared beside her, her presence steady and calm, a quiet strength that Seraphine leaned on without words.

”Go ahead, Sera. I’ll take it from here.”

Seraphine nodded with gratitude, her heart swelling with love for the woman who had become her sister.

She had healed the other warriors, so how could she let Jasmine die? Ever since she arrived at the pack, no one had died from sickness or injury.

Whatever began too much for science, she’d handled even when she was weak, even when her own body screamed for rest. The thought of failing now was unbearable.

For as long as she was there, she wasn’t going to let anyone die unless it was of old age. The vow settled hard and unbreakable in her soul.

”I guess you shall all be needed.” Liah addressed the warriors, her voice carrying the weight of authority and quiet resolve. ”You know the enemies. Shoot them in human form, and if they shift, lay low and retreat.”

That was how they planned everything during the battle training. Corvine had sounded the war alarm and instructed them to wait while he checked on things, but with Jasmine’s state, Liah knew that somebody had to take the decision, and the responsibility settled firmly on her shoulders.

She was Luna, and where the Alpha wasn’t present, everything else became her call. The knowledge filled her with a fierce, steady courage.

”Quinn, I shall stand with you and tell you who and whose powers to drain.” Her voice was firm, brooking no argument, pure trust in Quinn’s strength. ”If the energy is too much, send it to any warrior you see weak.”

Quinn nodded, her jaw set, her eyes burning with a determination that hadn’t been there before, a quiet fire finally finding its purpose.

Liah bowed slightly in reverence to Vladimir, her voice respectful and full of shared duty.

”Alpha Vlad, we leave the pack in your hands.”

”And we shall protect it with the last of our breath,” Vladimir said seriously, his voice carrying the weight of a vow that left no room for doubt.

Liah turned to the tutors, her gaze sweeping over them with quiet urgency.

”If any threat comes near, take the pups to the underground safe cave.”

At the emergency ward, Seraphine was barking orders here and there, her voice sharp with command, since she could not use her powers. They managed to stop the bleeding but could not get a pulse, Jasmine’s heart silent, her body still, and the silence of it tore at everyone present.

Oriana’s expression was far away, her eyes distant, her voice heavy with ancient sorrow that made the air itself feel colder.

”Stop wasting time, Sera. Her destiny was written by her own hands.”

Seraphine frowned, her brow furrowing with confusion and rising dread. ”How?”

”The moon goddess says she chose her fate with her words, and her soul is already at the crossroads.” Oriana paused, her voice soft with the weight of that knowledge. ”Unless someone can talk her out of it.”

Seraphine was confused, and so was Kael, his face pale, his eyes wide with desperation that bordered on panic.

”What are you saying?” His voice cracked, broke under the force of his fear. ”How can we talk her out of it?”

He wanted so much to avenge her, to make those who had hurt her pay, and yet, he could not leave her side, could not bear the thought of her slipping away while he was somewhere else, fighting a war that suddenly felt meaningless without her in it.

Oriana looked saddened, her eyes filled with something that looked almost like pity, the kind that came from seeing too many choices made in pain.

”Sera, you and Kael are both needed on the field. So what would you choose?”

Seraphine had seen things, had witnessed miracles and horrors beyond imagination, but not once had she felt this helpless, this small, this utterly powerless. The weight of it pressed down until she could barely breathe.

However, Marsha was there for her, her voice steady and sure, a lifeline in the storm.

’We have the power to freeze her for a day. We can do so and go help the warriors on the field. The rest can be handled after our return.’

A sigh of relief escaped Seraphine, her shoulders dropping, the tension bleeding out of her in a rush of fragile hope. ’How?’

’Your blood,’ Marsha answered, her voice simple, certain.

Seraphine reached for a surgical knife and pierced her finger, the pain sharp but welcome, a distraction from the ache in her chest.

As soon as a drop fell on Jasmine’s injury, a protective form like an ice casket began to form over her, encasing her body in a frozen shell that preserved her, that kept her from slipping away. The sight of it filled the room with a quiet, stunned awe.

Everyone was stunned, their eyes wide with wonder, but they were too depressed to be excited at the new discovery, too grief stricken to celebrate. The cost of it still hung heavy in the air.

”Kael, let’s go help on the field.”

Kael did not refuse. He wanted so much to be in two places at the same time, and Seraphine had made it possible by freezing Jasmine’s condition so it wouldn’t get worse. The gift of that time was everything.

By the time they reached the thickets of the woods, the sounds of bullets dominated the air, just as exchanges of powers and sorcery, the air thick with magic and death.

This was no ordinary war. The knowledge settled cold and heavy in every heart that faced it.