Page 5 of Her Eternal Mate

“That I could be his child? I agree. But that’s not the contested truth here. It’s common knowledge. My father was an eager traveler at a young age, and when he was traveling the world, he fell in love with a Serbian vampire. I am their child. And I have come to claim what’s rightfully mine,” Griswold said.

“Even if that is true, you cannot just come here and ask for something that’s not yours. Your father did terrible things in the name of his business. I will say it again. The sins of the father are not for the child to bear. You can still repent. You can go back. Stop this madness. Let us live in peace, and we shall leave you alone,” I only said this because I wanted to make sure that I had explored all avenues before ending his life. Perhaps he’d be able to see some sense and understand that this was for his betterment. Perhaps he'd even stop fighting.

“Repent? Sins? Go back? You must be one hell of a crazy wolf to think that I’d back away from this fight!” Griswold yelled and came charging at me. But because he had only one eye remaining, his perception of depth was all fucked up, and instead of crashing into me, he crashed into the cave entrance.

“Suit yourself,” I said and shifted into my wolf form. I had grown weary of fighting him and seeing him get back up. In its own way, this was very courageous and admirable of him, but for my pack, my commune, and my town, it was very jarring. I needed to kill him quickly so that this battle would end.

Using my agility, I climbed up the cliff side. Instead of climbing after me, Griswold soared through the air, reaching to me with his extended arms. I made it past the cliff’s edge just in time to avoid his snare.

Back on the battlefield, I could see that the werewolves outnumbered the vampires. The vampires who had survived were fleeing into the back of the forest.

“Don’t run, you fools!” Griswold yelled. “Fight till your last breath!”

It was as if he was controlling them with his mind. The moment he uttered those words, the vampires lost their impulse to run away and instead gathered around Griswold.

As if to reciprocate them to show that we lacked none of the teamwork and unity that they possessed, all the wolves quickly came and gathered around me, growling at the vampires from afar.

“It was folly for you to think that this was my true strength,” Griswold said. “This is my true strength.” Then he raised his fists in the air and screeched like a bat. It was as if the reinforcements were waiting for this signal because, at that exact moment, another fresh horde of vampires came from above, below, and the sides, joining the fight.

Our numbers were now once again fewer than the vampires.

“Where will you run now, little wolves?” Griswold laughed. “The time of the wolves has now come to an end. Now comes the era of the vampires.”

The vampires began hooting, shouting, and hollering upon this, many of them raising their guns in the air and shooting airborne bullets, thinking that they’d already won.

And then, out of nowhere, a pack of werewolves tore through the forest and howled as they came behind me and gathered with the rest of the group.

It was a sight that moved me deeply. They were the women and children of the pack who had come to join their fellow men in the battle for Fiddler’s Green. Suddenly, this raised the stakes even higher than before. Now, it was a question of their lives as well as the lives of the townspeople.

I shifted back into my human form, not wanting this to escalate any further.

“Griswold, we both have the forces, the numbers, and the will to wage a perpetual war against each other. But why do we have to waste so much blood? Why not duke it out like men? You and me? The winner keeps the land. The one who loses leaves the others alone.”

“What do you say?” Griswold yelled as he raised his arms and asked his vampires. They all shouted in affirmation. “Very well, then, Wilhelm Grimm. Your wish is fulfilled.”

A circle formed around the both of us, half of it comprised the wolves, and the other half was made up of vampires. At the center of the circle, I stood with Griswold staring down at me.

Will, don’t do this. There’s something very unnatural about this vampire. He seems to be invincible,Alexis called out to me.

He’s not invincible, Lexie. I took his eye out. He bleeds like the rest of them. If he bleeds, I can kill him, I assured her.

But she was right. There was something unnatural about Griswold. Maybe, he had worked with Blair, and the two of them had come up with some form of a serum that had granted Griswold so much strength. I intended to find out.

“Tell me something, Griswold,” I said, walking in circles. “How long have you been conspiring with Blair?”

The shock was clear in his one remaining eye. It was as if I had caught him red-handed.

“You may be a vampire, but you are not a natural one by any definition. I should know I am not a natural werewolf. I was poisoned for decades with different substances. I can now recognize someone who has been altered by chemicals. And from the way you have fought, it’s clear that you have had some help,” I said.

“You are very astute, but that wisdom is not going to save you,” Griswold said. “Uncle Blair gave me the strength I needed to come to fight you. And it’s thanks to him that I shall crush you like a little bug.”

“Blair could not help your father. He can’t help you either,” I said, once again shifting into my wolf form and charging at Griswold. Now that I knew his secret, I knew his weakness, and I would utilize it well.

Chapter 3

Alexis

I could already see that there was no end to this battle if the two of them kept at it. It was like an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object. Regardless of whether Will was the unstoppable force or the immovable object, I could see that he had tapped into his latent rage and strength and was not going to give up, even if it meant his demise.

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