Bitten by the Alpha: The Finale

ANTHONY

Rage.

Blackness consumed me, like a shadow that devoured everything in its path. And now, as I stood here in the aftermath of what I had done, the guilt and pain were almost too much to bear.

It was like a hurricane threatening to break free from the confines of my body.

I tried to control it, to hold it back, but it was too strong.

The anger and the frustration boiled over, and I was consumed by the darkness. I howled in pain, and the forest around me trembled in response.

When did I transform?

Was I always an animal?

Kill them.

Kill them all.

Destroy the race.

Rip. Burn. Feed. Kill.

My senses were heightened, and every sound, every movement, amplified.

I could smell her blood on my hands. It only fueled my fury further.

I was alone, and the weight of what I had done was crushing.

There was no returning from here.

“I can help you.”

Kill him. Kill the one who speaks this.

I wheeled around, ready to pounce and attack.

A slinky, gray wolf appeared from behind the bushes, his face wary.

“Who are you?” I asked.

“Marcel. I belong to the rogues.”

“I could kill you for coming here, to my territory, unannounced,” I snarled, moving toward him.

“Yet, you’re waiting to hear what I have to say.”

“Speak.”

“I know a way for you to get revenge on Jaxon and Quinn.”

“I don’t want revenge.”

He scoffed. “They’re the reason your mate is dead at your own hands. They’re the reason why the wolves have suffered so much in the first place. Don’t tell me you are noble, Alpha Anthony.”

I could not deny the truth in his words. I wasn’t noble. I was furious.

In the heat of that moment, I wanted to burn the Shadow Moon Pack to cinders.

“Carry on.”

“There is a spirit,” he whispered, his eyes suddenly reverential. “He is not strong enough to work alone. If you let him, he will show you the way.”

He stepped forward and extended a strange, round object toward me. It looked like a prophecy orb, except the globe contained a ball of red fire.

“What is this?” I roared. “Are you a witch?”

“I am my master’s messenger,” he replied blandly. “He says that if you let him share your body, he will help you kill the entire Shadow Moon Pack. All you need to do is open your mouth and let him flow into you.”

“Tell him I don’t want that!”

“What else do you have left to lose?”

That stopped me in my tracks.

I looked at him.

The burning in my heart intensified.

I opened my mouth.

SKY

It was as if all the worries and stresses of my life had melted away, and all that was left was the warmth of Harper’s body next to mine.

“I’m so glad you’re here, Sky,” Harper said softly, her fingers tracing patterns on the back of my hand. “I love spending time with you.”

We were sitting by the lake in the heart of the forest.

I smiled, feeling my heart swell with affection for the beautiful woman beside me. “I love being with you too, Harper. You make everything better.”

Harper turned to face me, her eyes locked on mine.

“Sky, I want you to know that you can always count on me. No matter what happens, I’ll always be here for you.”

Tears stung my eyes as I leaned in to kiss her, feeling the softness of her lips against mine.

In that moment, I knew that no one would ever understand or love me the way Harper did. And I wanted to cherish her forever.

We broke apart, both of us breathing heavily, and I looked into Harper’s eyes, a sense of vulnerability washing over me.

“Harper, I...I don’t know what I would do without you. You mean everything to me.”

I didn’t know what I expected to see in that moment, but there was something else, barring love, in those eyes. Something that looked a lot like a secret.

Swallowing, I pulled her close to me.

She winced slightly, still weak from her last tryst with Jaxon.

I ran my hands over her bandages, my eyes stinging. “The things you have done for this pack, Harper. I just…I want you to stay.”

Because that was the only thing on my mind, night and day.

Harper’s soul. I knew part of it was on another plane, even if I didn’t quite understand what that meant for both of us.

All I knew was that I wanted her with me. Here. In the now.

HARPER

I looked at Sky’s innocent face beside me, mesmerized by the love in those eyes.

“Sky.” I sighed. “There’s a huge part of me that wants to stay. Trust me on this. But I… It’s as if I am split into two. I don’t want this. I hate it as much as you do.”

A hint of stubbornness came over her. “You could stay. You don’t have to… I don’t know what you don’t have to, but I want you here.”

Sky was such a young thing, so tender, so…present.

She could not understand what it meant to have my soul split into two halves. It was like being stuck in a place that wasn’t home.

And she did her best to make it feel like it was. With Selena’s blessings, she succeeded too. She made the world feel light and easy.

But it still wasn’t home.

Before I could find anything to say, she stood up, her eyes watering.

“I need some time to myself. I just can’t shake the feeling you’re about to do something stupid, and you won’t tell me,” she suddenly said. Turning, she ran into the woods toward the mansion.

I sighed. I would normally follow her, but today, I didn’t want to.

Instead, I walked deeper into the forest’s heart, where I’d be sure to find Isabella and Theodore praying in Luna’s shrine.

Sure enough, they were both sitting there, deep in a conversation with each other. They smiled when they saw me approach.

“Hey,” I sighed and sat down beside them.

“How are you feeling?” Isabella asked.

“I—torn,” I replied. “Really, really torn.”

Theodore nodded. “I’m not surprised. You’re struggling to remain here. This world isn’t enough to hold your spirit in place, Harper.”

Isabella chimed in. “Not when your heart is clearly in another place. A mere living being’s love is not enough, not once you have ascended to Astria.”

I sighed. That summed up what I was feeling.

“Sky… She means the world to me. I love her so much. But it’s like there’s an ocean between the two of us, and I can’t seem to get that through to her. I can’t make her understand that I’m not here anymore.”

Theodore and Isabella shared a worried glance.

“Harper, you will have to make a choice. And it must be soon. Selena will welcome you with open arms if and when you decide to choose to ascend. If you take this life—it will always be a half one.”

They were right.

But leaving the earth meant losing Sky, even though part of me was certain I’d be near her in spirit. I’d never be too far, not with the love we shared.

How would I ever make her see that?

But home was calling me.

And I really wanted to go.