MATED TO THE BEAST ALPHA BROTHERS
Chapter 64: Fighting the beast within

Chapter 64: Fighting the beast within

The sky was a mixture of soft gold and deep blue, the sun barely peeking over the horizon as Haelyn sat by the window, watching the vast field of sunflowers and dandelions sway in the wind. She held Ezra close, his tiny fingers curled around the fabric of her robe as she hummed softly, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Teaching lessons we must learn, that brings us closer to each other..." she sang, her fingers brushing against Ezra’s delicate cheek. His breathing was steady, peaceful, and it soothed something deep within her.

"He’s peaceful."

Haelyn didn’t startle. She had felt the presence before she even heard the voice. Nyx stood by the window, arms crossed, her dark eyes watching the baby with an expression Haelyn couldn’t quite decipher.

She barely turned. A small smile tugged at her lips as she whispered, "For now."

Nyx stepped further into the room, walking toward the second window, settling on the sill. She exhaled deeply, fingers tracing the cold glass absentmindedly.

"Do you think our mother would have wanted me?"

Haelyn’s lullaby died in her throat. The question was raw, cutting through the silence like a blade.

It had been two weeks since Nyx had come to them, escaping Zareth’s clutches after discovering his plan to use her as a sacrifice to gain the power needed to defeat Haelyn. Two weeks since Haelyn had realized that despite the blood ties they shared, Nyx still looked at her as a stranger.

"Devil or demon, we are really no different, you and I."

Nyx scoffed. "That’s not an answer."

Haelyn turned her gaze back to the field. "It’s the only one I have."

Silence stretched between them. Even though the world outside was alive with the rustling of leaves and the distant calls of creatures, the air in the room was thick, suffocating.

Nyx let out a bitter chuckle. "I don’t understand. Why would she abandon a child she loved?"

There was a crack in her voice, one Haelyn hadn’t heard before. When she turned, she saw something she never thought she would..Nyx’s eyes glistening, tears threatening to fall. It was the first time Haelyn had seen her cry. The first time they were close enough to feel each other’s pain.

Haelyn swallowed. "I don’t think she abandoned you."

"Then why.."

"Because nothing we were told was ever the truth," Haelyn interrupted. "Look at me. I grew up believing Arthur was my father, only to find out he wasn’t. Then I was told Cerius was, but even that turned out to be a lie. My whole life has been a string of deception. A cruel game of manipulation. And now, here we are. At war. And the truth..our truth..can only be written in bloodshed."

She glanced down at Ezra, now soundly asleep in her arms. The weight of her words pressed heavily on her chest, but she refused to let it show.

Nyx swallowed hard, her breath unsteady. "So you think she loved neither of us?"

Haelyn hesitated. "I think she tried to protect us in the only ways she knew how."

"By leaving me with a monster?" Nyx’s voice broke. "By letting me become like him?"

Haelyn reached out hesitantly, her fingers brushing against Nyx’s wrist. "You are not him, Nyx. You can still choose who you want to be."

Nyx let out a shaky breath. "I hated you for so long, Haelyn. I blamed you for everything. For her leaving. For Zareth’s rage. For my suffering. But now... now I don’t know what to believe anymore."

Haelyn squeezed her hand. "Then let’s find the truth together."

Nyx’s breath hitched as she finally let the tears fall. They sat there, side by side, two broken daughters of a mother who had tried but failed to protect them.

The door burst open.

Archer stood in the doorway, his breathing uneven. Xander and Ravi flanked him, their expressions grim.

"Artemis is missing."

Haelyn stiffened, her eyes darting from Archer to Nyx. She could feel Archer’s gaze flick between them, wondering what conversation he had just walked in on. But right now, that didn’t matter.

"What?" Haelyn stood, careful not to jostle Ezra. Her mind raced, images from the night before flashing before her eyes. That wolf, the howl that had startled her awake...it had to have been Artemis. That beastly creature she had glimpsed through the window... it was him.

But where had he gone? And why?

Archer ran a hand through his hair, frustration evident in the tense lines of his body. "We don’t know. We’ve been searching, but there’s no trace of him anywhere."

"The last time someone transformed into their ancestral beast and disappeared like this..." Xander hesitated, exchanging a quick look with Ravi. "They didn’t come back the same. If they came back at all."

A chill ran down Haelyn’s spine. She set Ezra down in the crib, brushing a protective hand over his chest before stepping forward. "We need to find him. Now."

Nyx’s voice was calm, but firm. "Are you sure he wants to be found?"

Haelyn turned sharply. "What does that mean?"

Nyx tilted her head, unreadable. "The wolf in him is battling something. And wolves don’t run unless they are either chasing something or escaping it."

Haelyn clenched her fists. "Then we’ll chase him."

Ravi spoke up. "There’s something else. Marius has been gathering the elders. Spreading whispers. He’s turning them against the Wolf King."

Archer cursed under his breath. "Of course he is. That bastard has been waiting for an opportunity. If he succeeds..."

"Then we’ll have more than one war to fight." Haelyn’s voice was quiet, but deadly.

Xander stepped forward. "Do you want us to confront him?"

Haelyn’s jaw tightened. "No. Not yet. Let him think he has the upper hand. The moment he makes his move, we’ll be ready."

Archer nodded. "Then what do we do now?"

Haelyn exhaled, her eyes drifting toward the window, toward the dark forest beyond the fields.

"We find Artemis. Before it’s too late."

Darkness clawed at his mind, tendrils of raw, ancient power twisting through his veins like poison. Artemis’s breaths came in ragged gasps, his limbs shaking from the force of his own battle within. The ancestral beast inside him snarled and writhed, refusing to let him regain control. Every time he tried to shift back into his human form, his body glitched...fur retracting only to explode out again, bones snapping as they struggled to decide between man and monster.

His claws dug into the damp earth, his hulking form trembling. He had run so far, so fast, trying to escape the war raging within him, but it was futile. The beast refused to be tamed.

"Tsk tsk..."

A voice slithered into his ears like silk laced with venom. Artemis’s glowing amber eyes snapped to the shadows. Nemesis.

She stepped forward, graceful and deliberate, avoiding the patches of dappled sunlight that managed to pierce through the thick canopy of trees. Behind her, something loomed—a twisted abomination of flesh and darkness.

It had no eyes, only hollow pits glowing an eerie red. It stood on two legs, its movements disturbingly smooth yet jerky, like a marionette controlled by invisible strings. Neither wolf nor human, but something entirely unnatural. A monster.

A creation of Zareth and Nemesis’s combined power.

Artemis growled, a deep guttural sound that shook his massive frame, but his body wavered again...half-shifting against his will, his form flickering between human and beast. It was agony.

Nemesis smirked. "Let us help you, Artemis."

His snarl deepened. "I don’t need your help."

"Oh, but you do." She tilted her head, her crimson lips curling into something wicked. "You’ve been running all night, haven’t you? Battling with something you can’t even control? That beast inside you... it’s consuming you, isn’t it?"

His chest heaved. "I’ll handle it."

She tsked again, stepping closer. "Why suffer when I can take all that pain away?"

The monster behind her let out a low, guttural hiss, its empty sockets fixed on Artemis like it could see his soul unraveling.

Artemis forced himself to his feet, muscles coiling despite the tremors wracking his body. "I know what you want, Nemesis."

"Oh?" She feigned innocence, her voice dripping with amusement. "And what is that?"

"You want me to give you Ezra." The words felt like bile in his throat.

Nemesis smiled wider, her fangs flashing. "A small price to pay, don’t you think? Give me the child, and I will give you peace. Give me the child, and you will have Haelyn to yourself, without destiny standing in your way."

His heart pounded. His wolf howled in fury inside him, the beast fighting against the temptation, but the dark whispers in his head wove treacherous thoughts. Haelyn. Hers. Theirs. Without fate dictating her path.

But at what cost?

He clenched his fists, his claws digging into his palms. "You think I’d betray her like that?"

Nemesis’s gaze darkened. "Haven’t you already considered it?"

He flinched. She laughed, stepping forward until she was mere inches from him. Her cold fingers trailed over his trembling forearm.

"I can hear your thoughts, Artemis. Your desires. You love her." Her voice was intoxicating, dripping with persuasion. "But fate never chose you, did it? Fate tied her to Archer, no matter how much you fought it. You were always second. Always the shadow."

His breath hitched. He hated how true her words felt.

Nemesis leaned in, whispering in his ear, "Give me the boy... and rewrite your own fate."

His vision swam. His form trembled again, the war within him raging hotter. The beast roared, fighting against the temptation curling around his soul like a viper.

Then, from deep within, something surged...an ember of clarity amid the storm.

"No."

Nemesis’s smile faltered. "What?"

"I said no." His voice was stronger now, his resolve like iron. "I won’t betray her. I won’t become your pawn."

Nemesis’s eyes burned red. The creature beside her let out a hideous shriek. "Then you will suffer."

Pain exploded through him as black tendrils lashed out from the monster, wrapping around his throat, his limbs, constricting him. He choked, his body convulsing as darkness seeped into his skin like poison.

His wolf howled in agony. His mind fractured. But he refused to give in.

With a primal roar, Artemis unleashed everything within him, every ounce of strength he had left. Power erupted from his core, his body shifting violently, bones breaking and rearranging. He was no longer just a man. No longer just a wolf.

He was something else.

A force Nemesis had not anticipated.

The tendrils snapped, his power surging outward in a blinding shockwave. Nemesis recoiled, her monstrous creation staggering back.

Artemis stood tall, eyes burning like molten gold, his form no longer flickering but solid, controlled. His fangs bared. His claws gleamed. And for the first time in his life, he felt truly in command of himself.

Nemesis’s expression twisted into something unreadable. "Interesting..." she murmured, before vanishing into the darkness, the creature following behind her.

Artemis exhaled, chest heaving. The war inside him wasn’t over, but he had won this battle.

For now.

But as he turned his gaze toward the distant horizon, toward Haelyn... he knew the real war was only beginning.