My gut churned ominously. I instantly activated my black witch power to stop Noreen from causing destruction.
With my interference, her crystal ball turned blue again. Rufus grabbed this opportunity to attack her.
With Rufus’ and my joint efforts, we gradually overwhelmed her, forcing her to repeatedly retreat. However, she didn’t display the same anxiety as before.
She waved her sleeve and released a more powerful magic into the crystal ball, turning it red again.
I refused to back down and used all my power to stop her.
She turned the crystal ball while defending herself against Rufus’ attack. She shot me a meaningful look and said, “You should stop using your power now.”
I couldn’t figure out what Noreen was trying to do. My intuition warned me that something was wrong, so I instinctively weakened the power in my hands.
But at this moment, Noreen revealed a flaw, and a crack appeared in the reinforced protective barrier.
Rufus seized this opportunity to tear it apart, and then turned back to his human form and took her down.
I didn’t have time to consider it and immediately used more of my power to help Rufus.
Just when I thought that everything had gone well, Rufus coughed out a mouthful of blood and lost consciousness.
Sylvia’s POV
“Rufus! What’s wrong?”
I sprinted to Rufus and pulled him up as quickly as I could, but he was already unconscious. Blood came out of the corners of his mouth while he grimaced in pain.
Flustered and outraged, I raised my head at Noreen and demanded, “What did you do to him?!”
Noreen blinked innocently. “I didn’t do anything.”
“Liar! It’s you! Otherwise, how could Rufus end up like this?” I roared, and once again, my emotions were on the verge of getting the best of me.
After noticing that Rufus’ breathing became increasingly shallow, I was so anxious that I almost wanted to kill Noreen.
“I’ve warned you before to stop using your power, but you didn’t listen to me. That’s why Rufus became like this,” Noreen explained coldly. Her vile face was adorned with a smug grin of triumph.
Upon hearing what she said, an idea popped into my head. With trembling hands, I quickly undid the button on Rufus’ shirt and ripped open his collar, only to find that the black thorns had spread into his nape. The sharp tips had even stretched to his neck, as if they were going to wrap around it at any moment.
The mere sight of it sent shivers down my spine. I was beyond shock. “How could this be? Every day, I secretly inspect the thorns on Rufus’ back. They just reached the lower part of his shoulder blade yesterday. How could they suddenly grow so fast like this?”
“The thorn curse on the back of Rufus is caused by your power of black witch and his love for you only serves to strengthen the curse. It’s fine when your black witch bloodline was suppressed by the lycan bloodline before. But now that you’ve gradually unleashed the power of the black witch, it will only accelerate the growth of those thorns.” While talking, Noreen came around to the side where Rufus and I were standing and squatted down. She looked at the thorns and clicked her tongue. “Rufus does love you so much, but it’s your fault why he is in so much pain right now. Nothing would have turned out this way if you had compromised and left him sooner.”
“Shut up!” I glared at her with red eyes and growled, “Do you think this has nothing to do with you? If it weren’t for you, the thorns wouldn’t have suddenly grown out of control. No wonder you asked me to release all my power from the very beginning. You wanted me to kill Rufus!”
“Why do you refuse to kill Rufus? Love can only make people fall into decadence. You have such strong power, and you shouldn’t be confined to the imperial palace. Worse, you’ve been living a painful life for the sake of a werewolf. Is it worth it?” Noreen smiled, reached out her hand, and touched my face. “Why are you crying? The black witches are always strong and powerful. You shouldn’t cry for love. It’s not worth it.”
I shoved her hand away as hard as I could. I withdrew all my power, not wanting to talk to her for another second.
But Rufus still showed no signs of consciousness.
I forced myself to calm down and racked my brain to think of a way.
“There must be a way. Calm down, Sylvia,” I murmured to myself.
“What a pity! It must hurt a lot to watch the one you love die in your arms.”
“I said shut up!” My shrill roar finally rendered Noreen silent. As I watched Rufus’ breath grow weaker and weaker, I lost all composure and began to tremble violently.
Now I had no choice but to find a doctor. With advanced technology nowadays, I think they would be able to save Rufus.
Before I could even scoop Rufus up to see a doctor, Noreen quickly stopped me.
“Where are you going?”
“It’s none of your business!”
“Well, it’s useless for you to ask anyone for help. As long as your black witch bloodline exists, Rufus will definitely die. It’s only a matter of time.”
Reminded by Noreen, I suddenly remembered something. My dominant lycan bloodline had suppressed my black witch bloodline in the past, which was why the black thorns were slow to expand. What if I let the lycan bloodline burst out of me again? Could it make the thorns recoil back?
Sylvia’s POV
I recalled when Leonard taught me how to summon the lycan power. Then, I slowly mobilized the strength to awaken that power.
The coldness that I was feeling gradually turned into warmth. I felt like a fire had lit up within me.
The familiar feeling overwhelmed me again as I closed my eyes and concentrated on the looming power in my body.
When the burning fire reached its peak, I quickly pulled out the force from the depths of my body and let it burst out.
It didn’t take long before the lycan power suppressed my black witch power. As expected, the black thorns on Rufus’ nape shrank when I did that.
My eyes lit up in joy as I continued to mobilize the lycan power, hoping that my black witch power could be completely suppressed. It’d be better if it never bursts out again.
However, the black thorns only shank back less than one inch and remained unmoved.
I became so anxious that I tried my best to maintain the maximum lycan power I had in my body, but no matter what I did, the thorns wouldn’t shrink back again.
“I’m so jealous of you two. Your love has no boundaries,” Noreen sarcastically said.
I ignored her and lowered my head to feel Rufus’ breath. Fortunately, his breathing was already stable.
“It’s useless, Sylvia. Rufus is dying!” Noreen exclaimed, mercilessly breaking into the notion that I was trying so hard to bury in the back of my mind.
Pressing my lips into a thin line, I held Rufus tighter and wiped the sweat off his forehead.
More Kickass Werewolf Reads
Dive into our collection of free werewolf romance novels—where fierce Alphas, daring heroines, and heart-stopping twists await. Every story burns with forbidden desire, loyalty, and destiny. Don’t wait—here’s a world where love bites hard and nothing is stronger than the call of the mate.
Leave a Reply