Everyone say happy birthday NobeelatMomodu cause that's the only reason y'all are getting a second update ;)

I was thankful that Thane kept his distance the rest of the day, no doubt still angered by our fight the previous night.

What did he expect? How else was I supposed to respond to an ultimatum about something as sensitive as mating? He just said it so casually, We will be mated in three days' time, like I had no choice in the matter.

The very memory of it made me angry enough to feel the Darkness bubbling inside of me, threatening to spill over like a pot of boiling water.

Maybe I was just a ticking time bomb. One wrong move, and I would explode, destroying everything in my wake.

No, no, I tell myself as I crawl into bed alone. I am not the Darkness inside of me. The book was wrong. The Moon Goddess had made a mistake, thinking the black magic was a reflection of myself.

When I awake, I'm surprised that Thane is asleep next to me. He must have came while I was sleeping, as was the case with most nights, as he typically stayed up late working.

"Good morning, mate," He says, his eyes fluttering open. "Change your mind about the Marking yet?"

"Change your mind about releasing Greyson?" I ask sweetly, and he rolls his eyes.

He sighs as he tucks my hair behind my ears. "Only bad things will happen if he is released, Onyx, I promise you that."

I shrug. We'll see about that, mate.

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Thane's promise not to let me out of his sight after my kidnapping was short-lived, as expected. He spent most of the day hidden away in his office, which was fine with me.

I spent part of the day with Greyson in the prison, to keep up appearances. It would have been suspicious if I hadn't visited him like I did every day, and I wanted to keep the illusion that everything was normal.

I went to the field of flowers, which this time, Thane ordered Leo and Jason to accompany me, which was to be expected after the last time I was left alone.

They paced, bored as I calmly continued reading the book about Gifts. I finished the section on the biological aspects of Gifts, and learned that some had a hereditary component, such as healers and Seers would typically have other healers and Seers in their bloodline.

I worried that my Gift would be hereditary, that someday, my children would struggle with the Darkness, obliterating everything in their path.

But most of the Gifts would skip generations, ensuring that no two wolves, with some exceptions, would have the same powers at the same time.

I wondered who in my lineage had been afflicted with the Darkness, and if they let it consume them, or if they chose "growth" as the Seer said. Whatever the hell that meant.

After dinner, I excused myself to bed early, claiming I felt exhausted. Nobody batted an eye, not that they really ever seemed to notice or care if I was around or not.

I put on black clothing, and snuck out of the Pack House, hoping that Thane wouldn't come to bed until late, as he usually did. The longer it took him to notice I was gone, the better.

Quietly and sneakily, I walked to the prison, avoiding anyone walking near my path. It felt like my senses had been reborn, and I felt optimistic about Greyson's escape.

When I reached the prison, there was a guard at the door.

"Onyx?" He said in surprise. I recognized him from some of my visits. "Thane didn't mention you were visiting the rogue tonight."

I give him an apologetic smile, draining the life from the grass underneath me, and before he realized what was going on, I used my magic to knock him unconscious. Something I had practiced on myself earlier in the day.

Syphoning energy from all of the nearby grass and trees, I walked inside of the prison, feeling the magic burning through me like electricity. I felt alive.

It had been a long time since I took that much life, but I knew I would need all of my strength to break Grey's chains, especially when considering they were made of silver and lined with wolfsbane to make sure he couldn't use his Gift. A smart move on Thane's part, because the escape would have been much easier if Grey could turn invisible.

I run into the jail, knocking out another guard who I came across, apologizing as I did so.

Grey was standing, pacing nervously in his cell when I got there. I could tell he hadn't slept the night before, too restless about his impending escape.

I use part of the energy to completely shatter the bars, and I was surprised how effortless it was. I was more powerful than I, or anyone for that matter, gave me credit for. I merely hadn't tapped into that strength before.

Doing the same to his chains, I grab Grey by the wrist. "We need to hurry," I say as he nods. "It won't be long until Thane notices I'm gone, or someone finds the guard I knocked out outside."

We sprint out of the jail, and I can tell that the wolfsbane and silver has weakened him, he's not nearly as fast as he once was.

We're almost to the edge of the territory, and I made sure we didn't exit through a heavily guarded area.
So imagine my surprise when I see a figure leaning casually against a tree, a white ball of magic formed in his palm, so similarly to how he looked the day we met, when I saw him in the forest.

Come here often? He had said.

Thane.

"You know," He says lazily, meeting my horrified eyes. "I keep cameras in all of the cells. Cameras with a microphone, might I add."

"No," I whisper, stepping in front of Grey. "Don't do this, Thane," I warn.

His grin is cruel, sadistic. "Don't do what? Don't let you release my prisoner? How dare I," He says sarcastically, tossing the ball of magic into his other hand, which he catches effortlessly.

I drain the life from a tree, replenishing my Black Magic. I form a ball of my own, holding it out in front of me.

"I don't want to knock you out but I will," I say, unable to stop my voice from trembling slightly.

My words make Thane's grin widen. "You have no idea how to wield the magic you possess, little one," He snarls, and I flinch at the harshness in his tone. "You may have Dark Forces on your side, but you lack experience."

I don't give him the chance to attack first.

I throw the photon ball at him, which he deflects, throwing his own at me, but I duck, shoving Greyson out of the way, who crumpled to the ground, too much wolfsbane in him to stand upright.

Draining the life from the grass beneath his feet, I use the energy to create tendrils of black smoke that wrap around his feet. White mist surrounds his hands, and he forms them into shards, sending it into my magic, breaking it easily.

He forms more balls, throwing them at me one after another, and I can only dodge so many until one hits me in the stomach, and I can feel nearly all of my ribs break.

Not even in my training with Ares had I withstood such a brutal injury, and I fall to my knees, unable to catch my breath as I feel his magical mist enter my body through my mouth and nose, paralyzing me.

I'm helpless as he leans over Greyson, grabbing him roughly by the tattered shirt. "Please," I beg through gasps. "Don't do this, Thane. I'll let you Mark me, anything you want. Just don't do this."

His face is blank as he shoves his hand through Grey's chest, twisting as he grabs his heart, and throws it to the side, as Ares had done to Brenna.

I scream.

"You know why you can't control your magic, Onyx?" He asks coldly as he lets Grey's lifeless, limp body crumple to the floor. "You fight the Darkness instead of using it."

And that's when I explode.

Darkness shatters whatever magic he put in me to paralyze me. Every tree, every plant within a five mile radius dies instantly, and black magic crackles around me like a fire that cannot be put out. It swirls around my arms, around my legs, even seeping out of my eyes, just to relieve my body from the raw power I now possessed.

I threw all of it at my mate.

Thane flies through the air, crumpling in an awkward pile after hitting a tree, breaking it in half.

I float to him instantly, the Darkness carrying me. Thane is unconscious.

"You destroyed the last of the light in my life," I say numbly to his sleeping, oblivious body.

I go to Greyson. Bloody, broken Greyson. The Last of the Light. The Beginning.

I close his eyelids gently, saying a prayer as I do so, hoping he is at peace with his mate and child. No tears fall from my eyes. The Darkness won't allow it.

Greyson was the Beginning.

The Beginning of the Darkness.

I followed the North Star.

WE'RE AT THE TURNING POINT GUYS!!!! Big tings coming ;)

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