The next day, the sky was gloomy. Heavy rain pounded on the rooftop of the giant cabin we were staying in. According to Atlas, we only needed to see one more person before heading back to New York. After New York, we planned to head back to Europe again.

I lay in a small armchair facing the large open window. My legs dangled out on one side of the armchair while I rested my head on the other side. On my stomach was a bowl of cherries. I ate the cherries while staring out the window.

Distantly, I could hear Silas, Lazarus, Atlas, and another male vampire talking. It was comical to be in a situation like this. All these years, I hoped to find some immortal to break this curse of mine, and here I was—smacked in the middle of not just one but four vampires. Yet I wasn't making a move.

I know my time is running out, and I should work harder to break the curse. But how could I do that with Atlas by my side? The guy was everywhere, and I couldn't run away from him. I had no choice but to be around him.

When I first met him, I could easily say that I could use him to break this curse. However, I couldn't help but feel wrong about this. How do I get over this gut feeling to save myself from death?

I could hear them conversing in the next room. With a flick of my finger, a beamed of white light slithered over to the trash can. It wrapped itself around the bin and then lifted it into the air. I beckoned it with my powers to move closer to me. I threw the cherry seed into the bin as soon as it fell down to my side.

In the middle of minding my own business, something crashed through the glass window. The loud commotion jerked me up into a sitting position. A big, black furry ball fell in the middle of the sitting area in front of me. It moved and lifted its head.

A werewolf!

It growled and got onto its paws. I took a few steps back. He took a jumping stance before jumping into the air. Lifting my hands, I used my powers to grab the nearest table and threw it at him. It collided with his body, and he flew back out the window.

More black, furry balls crashed through the windows. One glance outside, and from what I could see, Atlas's men were fighting off a pack of wolves. Four wolves stalked towards me. I waved my hands into the air, and a flash of white elongated into a sword. It solidified, and I lifted into the air. One jumped towards me, and I slashed it across its body. It fell and died instantly.

Distantly, I heard wolves howling. More were coming.

Two more jumped at me. I conjured up another sword in my right hand, but my speed of conjuring wasn't fast enough. Its large body fell on top of me and I fell on the glass coffee table.

Suddenly, something rammed into the wolf, and it flew off me. Atlas towered over me. His murderous and cold expression remained on the wolves in front of us. Silas, Lazarus, and the unknown vampire began killing the wolves.

When we made it outside to the front yard, it was a bloodbath. Bodies of wolves and vampires all over the place. Atlas grabbed me by the arm and pulled me back.

"You need to head back inside and wait."

"Wait? No way. I'm fighting."

"This is not the time to showcase bravado, Ophelia. I need you safe."

I glared up at him before yanking my elbow out of his grip.

"You don't get to tell me what to do. You aren't my husband."

"But I'm your fucking lover. So, I get a say in this."

"Lover? We haven't even fucked yet. You don't get to tell me what to do."

He grabbed me again. Apparently, not happy with my response. Yanking me close, his nose pressed up against my nose.

"Is that what I have to do to get you to listen to me, Ophelia? I've seen every inch of your body. I sucked and licked your pussy to the point where you screamed my name. A man who gets that kind of privilege has got to be more than just-"A wolf lunged at us and stopped Atlas mid-sentence. He grabbed it and snapped its neck. Another one attacked him from behind. I pushed him away to stab him right through the heart with my sword.

"I'm not waiting," I said with finality.

He growled at my disobedience before relenting.

"Don't you dare get hurt, Ophelia. I'll kill you myself if you even so much as get a scratch on you."

"Wow, I think you might be in love with me," I replied sarcastically back before running away from him. I heard him call my name, but I didn't turn back to see.

We fought endlessly. My sword sliced and pierced many souls. It flew and swiped through the air. During my time with the Elders, they have taught me to kill. Every second counted. One wrong move could mean death. I've been cut, bled, and beaten until I understood and could protect myself.

I saw Silas fighting off three wolves. One was going to attack him from behind. I lifted my sword up and threw it. It flew straight at the wolf's back. It collapsed just as Silas turned to see the body drop.

It was long and tiring. I couldn't see what was beyond twenty yards from me. It was a bloodied battlefield. I finished off one wolf and turned around to look for my next target when I was attacked. A werewolf fell on top of me. He snarled with heavy saliva dripping from his canines. His mouth snapped down for my neck, but I lifted my sword and my blade caught him between his teeth. Swiping it to one side, it slit his head in half. Blood gushed all over me.

One werewolf bit my ankle and dragged me for a good fifteen yards. I used my sword to dig into the ground to stop him from dragging me further. Turning around, I used my other sword to pierce his backside. He collapsed to the ground. Pain shot through my ankle and radiated all over my legs. I felt almost paralyzed by the feeling.

Getting up, I looked around. It looked like we were winning. Rain drenched my entire body. Blood dripped down my chin and neck. I tried looking for Atlas, but couldn't find him. Instead, I saw another pack of wolves emerge from the edge of the woods. More were coming and I don't know how much longer I could handle. I used up most of my energy and power. I could feel my energy dissipating.

There weren't many of us left. Only ten vampires against over thirty werewolves. This was an army of wolves. They weren't here to attack us randomly. They came here with an intention.

I watched the vampires fight and died. Our numbers shriveled to only four of us and I knew that if I did nothing, everyone was going to die.

My swords disappeared. I closed my eyes and focused on my internal energy. The internal energy derives from our lifeline. Using it will amount to releasing a ticking time bomb. I could kill myself by losing control, but I had no choice. There was no way Atlas, and they were going to win this battle.

I could feel it shimmering. Breaking and boiling over. I don't have much time. I needed to act now.

Releasing the hold in my internal energy, my eyes flew open. My eyes blazed red. My body levitated into the sky. The sky rumbled with thunder and lightning. Rain drenched the ground and washed away the blood. The energy in body stunned the wolves. They couldn't move. They curled up in pain.

Atlas, Silas, and Lazarus were momentarily stunned at my power. When they saw what I had done to the wolves, they moved fast in killing. Zipping through the bodies and killing every last one of them. The internal energy burned fast. It lit up every vein in my body. It felt like fire licking every inch. It threatened to burst and reigning it proved harder than ever.

I could feel the battle coming to an end, but I couldn't stop the internal battle inside my body. Sweat beaded down my forehead and I felt like a hot furnace.

"Ophelia!" I heard Atlas call out to me. Panic in his voice. A small part of me thought I would never hear that kind of voice. One that sounded like he cared for me.

"She looks horrible. If she continues-"

"Ophelia, stop!" Atlas shouted. "Control it."

I locked my jaws and focused on pulling in the power. It felt like a tug of war. No matter how hard I pulled, it seemed to want to go the other direction. I screamed in pain as fire licked through my body, but I was able to stop it. I felt the power falling back under my control, but I felt tired. My whole body went limp and I felt gravity pull me down to the ground fast.

I landed in a pair of arms.

"Ophelia!" I felt a hand on my cheek trying to shake me awake.

I opened my eyes slightly to look. It was Atlas. He held me in his arms. Suddenly, I felt something break inside of me. It crawled up my throat fast, and I doubled over as I coughed out blood.

"You're burning up." Atlas felt my face and wiped away my bloodied mouth. I pushed his hand away, but he returned to touching me a second later.

"I'm fine." I pushed his hand away again. He touched my neck when I moved his hand away from my face.

"You're not. What's wrong with you? What's happening? Tell me what I need to do."

He couldn't do anything. The release of internal energy had recoiled and hurt my internal organs. Normally, it shouldn't, but in my special case, I couldn't use it without killing myself. I could feel myself slipping away and it worried me. I pushed Atlas away with my palms on his chest. He fell backwards, and I took the opportunity to crawl away, but I fell onto the cold, wet grass. Atlas was by my side in second.

"Stop pushing me away."

"Let's get her inside-"Lazarus started, but was interrupted.

"Why is she disappearing?" Silas asked.

I tried to hold on to whatever I could to stay awake, but nothing could stop the incoming wave of exhaustion. I fell into Atlas's arms. His voice grew more distant. It felt like I was sinking lower and lower into the ocean. Everything around me drowned, and before I knew it, oblivion greeted me.