Chapter 521 The corrupted wolf

Nick, upon seeing Sebastian charged at him, sidestepped at the last second, letting Sebastian rush past him, then spun and struck from behind with his claws. Sebastian whipped around, but Nick’s claws were already coming down toward his chest.

For one brief, terrible moment, Sebastian was completely exposed.

Nick’s claws were only inches from tearing into him when another wolf came slamming in from the side.

Matt drove his jaws down onto Nick’s body, hurling him away with enough force to send him rolling across the snow and away from his friend.

“This is for my girl, Zoe!” Matt snarled, tasting the fucker’s blood in his mouth and relishing it.

Nick hit the ground hard, barely managing to lift his head before Sebastian was already on top of him. Sebastian lunged for his neck and sank his fangs deep into the side of it, biting down on a vital spot with enough force to tear through flesh.

Nick’s wolf cried out and tried to push Sebastian away, but this time, Sebastian drove him back against the ground, still biting down.

Nick fought to shove him off, his claws scraping across Sebastian’s chest, but Sebastian bit harder and ripped his head sideways with brutal, violent force.

A chunk of flesh tore away.

Nick let out a dog-like yelp and stumbled back, blood pouring down his neck and quickly staining the ground.

Sebastian stood over him, his mouth stained red, his eyes burning with such fury and all the pain raging inside him that the black streaks on his silver fur spread a little farther. For a moment, the corruption made his wolf cough and lose his focus, giving Nick the chance to move backward and away from him.

Nick slowly climbed back to his feet. He looked at Sebastian.

“You’re really turning rogue. What a pity…” Nick forced out, still moving backward and away as the two wolves advanced on him with murder in their eyes.

For the first time, the excitement drained out of Nick entirely. His plan had been to kill Sebastian in this fight one way or the other, since his men would have had no choice but to bow to him afterward if he’d succeeded, but his fucking Beta had ruined that plan for him yet again. He should have killed the fucker, Matt a long time ago when he had the chance!

Nick took a step backward. Then another, and something registered in him, and he glanced behind him. He realized, too late, that the fight had carried them far from the woods, all the way to a mountain cliff, where he had planned to head earlier to call for backup from his allies.

They were standing right at its edge now. Behind Nick, there was nothing but open air.

Far below, a powerful current of water rushed between jagged rocks before vanishing over the edge of another drop, the distant roar of a waterfall echoing up through the mountain.

Nick looked down for a moment, then turned back to face the two wolves.

Blood covered nearly every inch of him now. His shoulder still bled, his neck was torn wide open, and cuts across his face and side wept steadily.

Sebastian and Matt kept advancing.

Nick knew exactly what they wanted. Neither of them intended to let him walk away alive.

They wanted the satisfaction of being the ones to end him, to feel that closure for themselves, but that was something Nick would never allow them to have.

He glanced between them and let out a bitter laugh.

“You both want to kill me, don’t you?”

Neither answered.

Nick looked back at the drop behind him.

“I’d rather kill myself than give either of you the satisfaction of doing it. Even in death, I won’t give you peace. And if, by some fucking chance, I survive this…” His lips curled into a bloodied snarl. “If that water doesn’t finish me, Sebastian, you’ll pay tenfold for everything you did to me tonight.”

Sebastian’s growl rumbled deep through his chest as he kept closing the distance.

“And Vee…” Nick’s expression softened for just a moment. “I’ll always love Vee. Tell her that for me.”

Sebastian’s eyes flashed with possessive rage, but he knew exactly what the bastard was hoping for, some provocation to make him leap down after him, and Sebastian wasn’t nearly that stupid to go down that cliff with him.

Nick took one final step back.

“Remember that.” He said, and then threw himself over the edge, once he realized neither of them had taken the bait to come forward and go down with him.

Sebastian and Matt rushed forward.

They reached the cliff’s edge just in time to watch Nick’s body disappear down toward the churning water below.

A second later—

SPLASH!

His body struck the surface.

Sebastian stared down into the violent current, watching the water carry the blood away downstream.

Matt stood beside him, scanning the water below. They waited, though neither could say for how long, but Nick never resurfaced.

“Go check the waters for him!” Sebastian ordered his men in the distance, eyes still fixed on the current, unwilling to leave anything to chance with this one, since he’d just realized Nick carried power close enough to his own that dying from drowning alone seemed unlikely, unless his injuries finished the job first.

“I don’t think he could’ve survived that, Seb. The mermaids are already searching for him too, and he went straight into open water.” Matt muttered, but Sebastian didn’t move from where he stood.

“I’m not taking chances. I want his body found.” He said, and then his wolf turned his head aside and coughed again, drawing Matt’s attention to his fur, which now looked as though black ink had been poured over it, spreading further with every passing minute.

“Your heart’s being affected, man.” Matt said, stating the obvious, only now beginning to grasp how deeply his sister’s death had shaken him, enough to bring him to this.

Sebastian had always acted like he didn’t care, kept his distance from Zoe on purpose, if Matt was being honest with himself, mostly to keep her hidden from his enemies. But as a boy, Matt had seen firsthand just how much Sebastian had truly loved and looked after her, underneath all that distance.

“I’m sorry for your loss.” Matt offered quietly, the two of them standing at the cliff’s edge, staring down into the fog-covered water below.

“What loss?” Sebastian said, his voice unnervingly natural, not even sparing Matt a glance. “There’s no loss. She’s dead. That’s simply how life works, it gives, and it takes, and eventually it takes every single one of us. I didn’t lose anything. I was only foolish enough to forget, until now, that everyone leaves eventually, no matter what, and a person should always keep that thought close.” He finally turned to look at Matt. “Next time, don’t attach yourself to anyone. You’ll be better off for it.”

Saying that, he turned and walked off in the direction the other wolves had gone to search for Nick’s body, and Matt stood there, watching him go, unsettled by what he’d just heard.

“You clearly need some help, man.” Matt muttered after him, but whether the wolf heard it or not, he kept walking without looking back. Matt could only hope he’d find his way back to his wife soon, that her presence might be enough to pull him back from wherever he’d just gone.