Chapter 200

[Ella’s POV]

I felt like I was floating on a cloud.

At first, it seemed like I was being torn to pieces. The pain that resonated within me—it was like a fire had been set to burn beneath my skin. Every nerve was spiraling and coiling beyond control.

I almost begged them both to stop. But then, miraculously, the pain had eased. The intense burning sensation had been replaced with a cooling wave that trickled throughout my body.

Liam and Arthur had both drawn my blood; so I would have initially expected to feel lightheaded. However, every part of me felt heavy. It was as if my bones had been replaced with lead and I was being pulled down.

My eyes became difficult to keep open and all I wanted to do was sleep. My exhaustion had reached an all-time high. I remember falling into Arthur’s arms and allowing everything to go dark.

I wasn’t sure what time it was or even how much time had passed. I was jolted awake by the sudden pounding of my heart in my chest.

“Ella...Ella, can you hear us?”

I heard someone calling my name but the noise sounded so far away. My vision was still terribly blurring while I struggled to find my focus.

“I can’t...focus...”

“It’s alright, sweetheart, take your time.”

A few minutes went by before I was able to make out the two—significantly large—figures crowding around me. My eyes widened in shock.

“L-Liam?” I turned my head to give his brother the same stunned evaluation. “Arthur?!”

The two graced me with a genuine heartfelt smile that filled me with pride and joy. They noticed me pressing a hand to my chest.

“That’s the connection you’re feeling,” Arthur said.

“We feel it too,” Liam noted.

My eyes bounced between the two of them. “You both look different.”

Liam and Arthur not only appeared bigger, but their features were sharper and more defined. Their eyes possessed a silver glimmer within them whenever the light hit them.

As their smiles deepened, I noticed that even their teeth remained somewhat sharp. Liam lowered himself to kneel at my side.

“So do you,” he said softly.

Arthur kindly handed me a mirror and I nearly gasped when I saw my own reflection. I couldn’t believe the image that was staring back at me. My lips looked fuller and my cheekbones were well-defined. There was a dark tinge around my eyes while my irises held the same silver glimmer that Liam and Arthur’s eyes had.

No one would ever doubt our connection.

“How do you feel?”

I placed the mirror down and finally started to acknowledge the energy that was simmering in my bones. It made me want to head towards the woods and run wild. But I was quickly reminded of the real task at hand.

Cecilia.

A vicious growl erupted from my throat. “I feel like I want to tear someone in half.”

Arthur gave me a devious smile. “That’s our girl,” he hummed.

“I’ve already reached out to Bonnie and Olivia,” Liam informed me. “They’ve been instructed to tell the teachers that none of us will be in class today.”

I tried to stand up and almost tumbled to the ground. Good God.

They both eased me back to my feet and helped me get ready to face Cecilia. Hopefully for the last time.

...

It was Arthur’s idea to draw Cecilia out. And to no one’s real surprise, the woman answered back to Arthur’s message almost instantly.

She sent him the address in which she wanted to meet.

“I think that’s the same building I was brought to yesterday,” I said.

Neither Arthur nor Liam were thrilled at the crumbling state of the place when we arrived. But unlike last time, there were a significant number of men patrolling the area. Arthur got out of the car and made his presence known first.

Most of the men stepped aside and allowed him through; however, when it came to me and Liam, we were stopped at the door. Arthur snarled under his breath, filling the air with a commanding tone that stirred the air.

“Let them pass or I will tear your throat out.”

Without so much as an arguing word, the men moved. Indeed, Arthur had inherited my ability to compel.

I was quick to spot Cecilia standing in the center of the large, main room. She looked anxious and eager to see her son.

When she spotted Arthur, her eyes lit up with pure excitement.

“I knew that little bitch would come through,” she cackled. “Oh, my son. How do you feel? Is it not the most exhilarating sensation you’ve ever experienced?”

Arthur peered down at his mother and smirked. “How’s about you ask my other counterparts?”

Her brows pulled together in confusion.

Liam and I stepped out of the shadows to reveal our similarly altered features. Cecilia’s expression of shock quickly melted into a bitter resentment.

“Did you honestly think that I was only going to bond with Arthur?” I asked her wistfully.

“No! That’s impossible!” she shouted angrily. “Only one Alpha is meant to inherit the Moon Wolf’s power.”

Liam moved closer. “That may be so...But not if the Moon Wolf in question possesses two mates.”

Cecilia’s face burned red with rage. “I will not accept this! There can only be one Enigma!!”

“The deal was that I was to bond with Arthur. Now that I have, you are to leave me and my family alone.”

“Now that Arthur’s an Enigma, do you really think that I would have someone like you sticking around?” she sneered.

“Arthur has no intention of staying with you or the Winslow family,” I said.

Liam and Arthur turned to leave, but out of the corner of my eye, I saw something flashing. I turned my head to see Cecilia charging straight at me with a large blade in her hand.

A brief flicker of fear raced through me but was swiftly calmed when Liam quickly swung me around to shield me from the danger. Arthur took a drastically different approach and completely shifted.

His wolf, much larger than he was before, dove at Cecilia and knocked her to the ground. The blade had scattered off somewhere unknown. He bared his teeth to her and growled. He raised his front claw back, readying to shred her to pieces.

“Arthur, stop.”

“Ella, what are you doing?” Liam asked.

“...The right thing.”

I hope.

Arthur’s whole body froze. I gradually approached him while Cecilia struggled to get free from under him. He managed to put a good portion of his weight in his front paws, making it impossible for her to move.

I peered down at the woman, who’s managed to cause me so much pain.

“Let me make something clear to you. Arthur doesn't deserve to live with the guilt of killing his own mother. My kind has been slaughtered for generations, merely because of a fear that we’re all evil beings set on destroying your world.”

I lowered myself to glower over her.

“Well, I’ll tell you that I have no interest in destroying your world...Just you. But if I did that, then I would be no better than the monsters you’ve portrayed us to be.”

“If you’re going to kill me then just do it!” she bit out.

Suddenly, I was struck with that glorious hidden feeling. That same powerful surge of demanding emotion caused the very air to grow thick.

“Make no mistake, Cecilia. The only reason that you’re going to walk out of this building alive is because I’m letting you.”

Arthur moved away, allowing me a chance to snatch the woman by her collar.

“You’re going to leave this area and never return unless Arthur himself reaches out to you. Understand?”

Her eyes glazed over. “...Yes.”

In that single word, I felt the anger and weight lift from my shoulders. Arthur had shifted back and the three of us left that awful building without so much as a single glance back.

“Well done, sweetheart,” Arthur commended. “You’re proving to be a stronger wolf than anyone I know.”

Liam chuckled, “Ella is so much more than that.”

I playfully rolled my eyes. Whether I was human, wolf, or perhaps something more...I was still just me.