The battlefield was still soaked in blood as the night dragged on, the moon above still stained crimson. Smoke curled from burning trees, and the scent of ash, sweat, and sorrow hung in the air. Warriors limped back toward the stronghold, wounded and weary, but the fight wasn’t over. Not for Eva.
Not after what she just saw.
She stood frozen, her chest heaving as she stared at the place where Georgina had vanished with Sylvester—her mother. Alive. But not really. Not anymore.
“Eva!” Max called, staggering toward her. Blood dripped from a deep gash on his shoulder, and his left eye was bruised and swelling, but he didn’t care. He reached for her, only for a sudden blur to strike from behind.
Georgina.
Her attack was like lightning—fast and brutal. Max was thrown back several feet, crashing against a tree with a sickening thud. He groaned, trying to rise, but Georgina was already between him and Eva.
Her eyes weren’t red now. They were black. Endless.
“Mother?” Eva whispered, her voice cracking.
Georgina’s face twitched, flickering with something almost human. “You still call me that?” she said softly. “After what I’ve become?”
“You died protecting the pack,” Eva whispered, tears sliding down her cheeks. “You were the reason I kept going. You were my heart.”
Georgina smiled faintly, but it wasn’t warm. It was wrong. Twisted. “And now I’ll kill for you. For your survival. For what you’re meant to become. Sylvester showed me. He opened my eyes.”
Eva shook her head, stumbling backward. Her hands were trembling. “No. No, this isn’t you. You’re not like him. You hated vampires. You told me—”
“I told you a lot of things,” Georgina said, stepping closer. “But I’ve seen the truth now. Power is survival. And you, my beautiful daughter, are meant to destroy the world so it can be reborn.”
Behind her, Max groaned again, struggling to get to his feet, blood pouring from the side of his head.
Eva’s breath hitched. She couldn’t move. Her mother—her mother—was about to kill the man she loved. And she couldn’t lift her hand to stop her.
“I won’t fight you,” Eva whispered, her voice hollow. “I can’t.”
Georgina raised her hand, black claws extending from her fingers. “Then you’ll watch. Just like I watched your father die.”
“No!” came a sharp cry.
A silver blade whirled through the air, slicing through the tension.
It landed in the dirt between Georgina and Eva, stopping the former Alpha Queen mid-step.
Tiana stood just behind them, her chest rising with heavy breaths, her eyes burning. “That’s not our mother anymore,” she growled, her voice shaking with fury and heartbreak. “You know it, Eva. That thing is not her.”
Georgina turned slowly toward Tiana, her expression unreadable. “Ah. The other twin. You always had more fire.”
“I still do,” Tiana snapped, pulling another blade from her belt. “Touch her again, and I’ll bury you with it.”
For a heartbeat, no one moved. The silence was thick with grief.
Then Georgina’s smile returned—cold and elegant. “You’re just scared,” she said softly, backing away toward the woods. “Scared because you know Eva was never meant for your world. She was born for his.”
With a gust of wind, Sylvester emerged from the shadows once more, placing a hand on Georgina’s shoulder like a prize he had claimed. His eyes met Eva’s, and the look in them wasn’t victory—it was possession.
“Your heart is breaking,” he said, his voice a dark whisper that carried on the wind. “That’s how it starts.”
Georgina didn’t even glance back. Together, they vanished into the darkness, leaving only silence and smoke behind.
Eva dropped to her knees.
Her hands clutched the dirt, fingers digging in as sobs tore from her chest. She couldn’t hold them in anymore. The ground felt like it was crumbling beneath her.
Tiana rushed to her side, dropping beside her, wrapping her arms tightly around her.
“I’m sorry,” Tiana whispered, holding her as Eva shook in her arms. “I’m so sorry.”
“She’s gone,” Eva choked. “She was here… and she was gone. And I… I couldn’t stop her.”
Dany arrived moments later, supporting Max who was barely able to stand. Max’s face was tight with pain, but his eyes never left Eva. “It’s not your fault,” he said quietly. “They turned her into something else.”
Eva looked up at him, tears streaking her cheeks. “But it’s still her. Somewhere… it’s still her.”
Max knelt in front of her, grimacing at the pain but refusing to stay away. “Then we’ll find her,” he said. “We’ll find her and save what’s left. Or destroy what’s become of her.”
She nodded slowly, her lips trembling.
“They used her,” she whispered. “Just like they used Danielle. Just like they tried to use me.”
Dany’s face was pale, his jaw clenched. “And they’ll keep using everything we love unless we stop them.”
Eva pressed a hand to her belly, feeling her children shift.
“I swore I’d protect them,” she said. “But how do I protect them when the people I love keep getting twisted against me?”
No one answered. There was no easy answer.
They were at war. And war never played fair.
120
