Chapter 22 ~ Devastations
By chance, Marco's and Elena's families were away for a business trip. At first, she felt sad their parents would have been unable to visit a brand-new Marco. Soon the girl realized that it had been better this way. It was a miracle of the goddess that Marco had woken up when their relatives were away...
And, are you wondering why? The answer was simple: devastation.
Since Riccardo had broken the marvellous news, Elena, Rex and Giulia didn't waste any time. Already on the way to Black Devil's, the three friends couldn't wait to hug their brother.
Nobody had uttered a single word when Riccardo didn't join, jabbering bizarre excuses. In truth, Crystal Wolf Alpha's son was terrorized at the idea of a certain encounter...same applied to Elena, for different reasons… obviously.
She hadn't seen or talked to Mirko since the episode where he had almost murdered Riccardo, apparently with just one kick, and for unknown reasons.
Unsure of how to behave in front of him, her whole self was floating in agitation.
A strange mixture of rage, longing and trepidation filled her racing heart, although she had tried to suppress it.
For Marco.
He was her priority and source of joy, not her complicated mate…which was insanely gorgeous...And with a scent beyond comparison…
Anyway.
Long story short, when Elena, Rex and Giulia arrived at Black Devil, they had expected anything but the scene in front of them.
Devastation.
Total and pure, as if an alien power had descended from dark corners of the universe and had decided to destroy, disembowel, pulverize anything along the way.
Fallen trees, cars up-side down, wholes everywhere…and dots of stained blood.
"Oh my-" Giulia's words stuck in her throat and she simply remained with her mouth agape, while her brain was assimilating the view prostrated in front.
"Wow look at this mess. I'd expect Godzilla to come out from the trees and feed on us!" Rex exclaimed with hitched breath.
Elena parted her lips ready to say something, but her mind went to Mirko. Was he ok? What or who had done all that mess? And why? Were they under attack? Images of her dead mate invaded her brain, with his blue eyes wide open staring at nothing.
She caught her breath and sobbed, her heart bouncing uncontrollably.
No no no, it was impossible. He was the invincible Black Alpha, the same legendary man that had survived for a whole year in the Alakasian mountains, totally alone.
When a huge red wolf came out from behind a pile of rubble, Rex swiftly shifted into his wolf, growling at this potential danger.
With his muzzle covered in dripping blood, the red wolf bared his fangs at the group, snarling in a threatening manner. The fur on his neck rose and his demeanour was furious, out of control. Elena gasped when she recognised the wolf. Somehow, it looked familiar...
But when had she seen it?
Her contemplation was interrupted by the best scent in the whole universe. Mirko was near, and a sense of happiness and security had invaded her instantly.
He came from the same direction of the creepy wolf, with a concentrated face as if calculating his next move. Suddenly, he scrunched his eyebrows and sniffed the air. A second later, he snapped his head towards Elena.
Placing a hand on her racing heart, Elena met a pair of stormy eyes. The emotions flooding them were hard to comprehend and Elena averted her eyes onto the ground, blushing.
With an aura of power surrounding him like a second skin, Mirko approached the wolf, taking each step slowly. The red wolf roared and crouched, ready to pounce.
Too focused on the scene, nobody had noticed Gamma Rolando's appearance. He had reached the group of friends, eyeing them for a minute. "No need to worry, folks. All under control." He had to be accustomed to this type of event, as he did not seem troubled at all.
"Follow me now, Marco has just finished few check-ups with the doctors and is eager to meet you."
At the mention of Marco, the red wolf paused for a second and tilted his massive head to the side and stare at them, until his eyes focused on Giulia. It seemed they had softened.
Then, a shocking thought hit Elena in the gut, and her eyes widened.
Crucifero!
No doubt, the wolf was Crucifero. A more brutal and bloodthirsty version.
Unable to understand why he was on a killing rampage when Marco, his precious mate, had woken up, Elena felt anxious. Something must have happened between them…
"Shift back, Beta." Mirko ordered with his scary Alpha's voice.
The wolf snapped his head back at his Alpha and ignored his command.
"I never repeat myself and you know it." He warned him with a threatening growl.
The warning, for unknown reasons, infuriated Crucifero even more, and he dared to growl back, lowering his ears.
Why hadn't her mate shifted into his wolf yet?! In his human form, Mirko could have never resisted an attack by such a berserk beast.
And he was a red wolf; the reds were considered the fiercest of all.
'Come on, shift, you dummy mate!'
Riccardo's accident forgotten, all her resentment was gone in the blink of an eye at the sight of Mirko in danger.
And, what happened next seemed like a slow-motion scene… The wolf pounced on Mirko, Elena jumped forward in the fastest way she had ever done, and Mirko's face changed from hard to frighten at the sight of her. When Elena grabbed Crucifero's tail to prevent a deadly attack on her mate, it was pure instinct.
Too focused on protecting Mirko, she hadn't foreseen that the red wolf would have turned and charged at her. So, she shut her eyes and waited for her end to come. Dying for love, wasn't it romantic? If they had lived in medieval times, the minstrels would have sung her tragic deeds.
But when the collision didn't occur, Elena peered from behind her fingers and gasped at the impossible.
A furious Mirko had lifted a wolf three times his size and was holding him in a mortal embrace, digging his elongated claws into the red fur.
"Crucifero." He hissed, his eyes glistering in rage.
In horror, Elena heard the macabre sound of bones, breaking like twigs.
Who was her mate?? And how could she think he needed her help?
"If you dare touch her, or even breath her same air, I will make your death a living hell."
His words and actions hit Elena in the heart: Mirko had protected her, even at the cost of hurting his Beta/ best friend.
"And I will kill your f*king mate in front of your disgusting face." He added with a distorted and deeper voice.
Then, as if the red wolf had been a small doll, Mirko threw him away. The beast landed with a whine and stood still.
"Take him to the dungeons again." He ordered to some guards without looking at them ~ his gaze was fixed on Elena.
She took a moment to examine his whole appearance. His nostrils were flared, thick veins popped out from his face and neck, eyes pitched black, hairy ears elongated and scary fangs pierced his lips. Any other person would have run away.
In her eyes, he had never been so beautiful…
"Gamma. Escort Giulia and Rex to the Medical Center. I need to exchange few words with Elena."
She gulped, fidgeting with her fingers under his intense stare.
"I won't go without her!" A naked Rex snapped in anger. He had shifted back and was standing with his arms crossed and a challenging look.
"It's ok, Rex. I'll join in a minute" Elena croaked out.
She merely realised when they had left, unable to take her eyes off Mirko.
When he started to walk towards her, she instantly backed away, letting out a gasp. She couldn't help that reaction after seeing her mate in action.
The game of approaching and stepping back continued until her back hit against a wall.
It didn't take long for him to reach her. He halted when their chests touched, and their faces were few inches apart. A part of Elena thought he would mark her, considering his stiff posture and the fact that he was still half-shifted. However, he cupped her face in his big hands very gently, staring at her for a second.
Dark blue versus light green.
Then, he slowly leaned in and finally pressed his lips against hers.
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Read up to chapter 46 on P a t r e o n (to be written altogether)
My name is: ladytrex
Also available on P,atreon exclusive reverse version of Chapter 14 'Fluffin' from Mirko POV ;) and two funny episodes of Rex and Marco in a party, bonus episodes of Elena and Mirko, and much more bonuses! :D
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Have a great weekend everyone!! Love you all!! :*