Bora's Diary - The beauty and the beast
Chapter 27

LEONARDO

“Marga... Marga...” I contort my face in pain and hold Marga in my arms, who has been taken from me...

“No Marga, you can't leave me, damn it, don't leave me here, I can't do without you!” I scream at her lifeless body and feel desperate. I burst into tears and cry... Cry for my soulmate, my great love that I have found after all these years...

I tune out the chaos around me, there is fighting and everything is being destroyed, but what matters to me is Marga... My Marga, oh goddess of the moon, how can I stand it without her? I can feel our bond breaking, I can feel the heartache, the big black hole opening up in my chest.

I am overcome by despair, sadness and anger. The world stands still and all that remains is indescribable... I have lost her... Oh God.

My chest feels like a great fire has been lit inside me, it's burning and all I want is revenge. Revenge on those who did this to her.

Our wolves are weakened, but they fight as if their lives were at stake.

Linda and Bora come up to me and realize what has happened. Like me, Bora bursts into tears and kneels down in front of Marga.

“NO!” she screams loudly and sobs. Her breathing quickens, she hyperventilates and feels the pain. The pain of having lost a friend.

“Get her body to safety,” I say to Linda, who is too shocked by what has happened here. Everyone is beside themselves.

The rage in my chest takes over and as much as I hate to let go of Marga, I have to hold the person responsible for all this accountable. I transform.

I howl with rage, a desperate howl that signals to my pack that I have lost my beloved wife, my heart, my everything.

Furious, I storm out of the room in search of the traitor, but the search proves difficult among the many fighting men. I make my way through the crowd and keep an eye out for Magnus. No one can escape in this turmoil, everyone is fighting everyone else, even the Brightstone wolves are there to help us.

A person darts out of a small side door and if I didn't know any better, it would be him I'm looking for.

I dash out, breaking down the door and chasing after him as fast as my legs will carry me, and when I reach him, I pounce on him, snarling.

Magnus.

He also turns into a wolf and tries to fend off my attacks, but I am superior to him even in this weakened state. I want revenge for what happened to Marga, because of him. Because of him, we lost a loved one who did everything he could to save us. I wonder where she got the dagger, how she came up with this crazy idea. She had risked her own life just to save us... That's how selfless Marga was. A heroine...

I bit hard into Magnus' neck and tore a big chunk of flesh out of him as he cried out and fell to the ground. He rolled in the mud, a thunderstorm broke over us and it poured down in torrents, as if Mother Nature was also mourning Marga.

I circle Magnus dangerously and we both know that he is doomed and that there is no escape for him. Even if death is a blessing for him, I want to make sure that bastard is dead and never hurts anyone again. He has to die, it's inevitable, even if my insides crave revenge and a slow death.

I turn back again as Magnus lies on the ground, also transformed, clutching his neck where I've hurt him badly.

“You traitor... You betrayed your own home, you betrayed your alpha, you betrayed your family and last but not least, you managed to take my mate from me. You alone are responsible for all of this and you will die by my hand this very day,” pain shot through me at my own words as I heard Magnus groan.

“T-That's not what I meant... E-He was blackmailing me! I swear!” he lies, hoping I'll spare him, but none of this is in my senses.

“That sounded different when you attacked us. You were really happy then and now? Now it's over... After three days,” I growl at him as I run towards him, grab him by the neck and extend my claws.

I press my claws into his open wound and tear out his carotid arteries so that the blood now overflows and soaks him.

His breath hitches, his eyes widen and he can't make a sound.

“To hell with you...” I growl softly and make it short and sweet. I snap his neck and with an extra twist, I rip his head from his body as he crashes to the floor.

I look at him for another second, getting even angrier that I killed him so quickly. He should have suffered, should have bled out like a pig. What I had done was almost mercif. Magnus didn't deserve it. I could only pray that he would be taken care of on the other side. God knows how long he had betrayed us. Lorys had never liked Magnus, and rightly so. It was as if Lory's gut had been right. Bloody idiot.

I charged back into the castle, transforming and trying to fend off any attacks, but with the Brightstone we were outnumbered again. Some surrendered, the rest were dead.

It wasn't an hour before the calm returned after the storm and we had won the battle again.

“Lorys turned again and was weakened by it all. I ran to him to support him as he looked in my direction, tears welling up in his own eyes.

“Marga...” he whispered softly as I nodded silently and was embraced by him. A brotherly, sad embrace that gave me a little strength after everything that had just happened.

“I'm so sorry for you Leonardo... I don't know what to say. I wish we had attacked the night you told me,” he whispered softly, feeling guilty for what had happened.

“No, no one could have known what would happen... It was their decision to save us...” I swallowed hard, not wanting to blame Lorys. I couldn't blame him, because there was nothing he could do in his condition. That would have failed that night too and we would probably have lost more men.

It hurts, no question, but I can't change it. My Marga is dead now, my heart grieves for her, but my mind tells me that I have to let her go. It's breaking me, my companion bond is bringing me to the brink of despair.

We search for injured people and take them to the infirmary while the men from the Brightstone pack help us. David is with Lorys and Bora, who hasn't been able to calm down since Marga died. She was crying incessantly and seemed distressed. I heard that Bora hadn't had an easy time with Gabriel, the damn monster, either.

Linda had cleaned Marga's dead body, wrapped her in a beautiful white dress, combed her long red hair and she looked like she was sleeping.... As if she wasn't dead.

Tears welled up in my eyes at the sight and rolled down my cheek.

‘Marga...’ I whisper quietly, hoping to wake her up, but nothing happens.

Her lifeless body is pale and she looks like she's asleep, but she's not. She is dead.

I am forced to face this reality and accept this loss, but could I ever accept it? No...

Linda sits down next to me, puts an arm around me, tries to comfort me.

‘M-My condolences,’ she whispers softly, her eyes watering too.

‘I'm so sorry Leonardo... I should never have let her do that... It's my fault,’ Linda says desperately, but I shake my head.

‘She fought for her pack, for her alpha, for her Luna. I wouldn't have done anything differently in her place,’ I reply quietly and turn back to Marga.

Linda nods silently and looks at her too.

‘She's beautiful, even in this state...’ she whispers softly and bursts into tears. I hug her too and am grateful that I'm not alone, even if there are times when I wish I could just grieve without restraint.

‘We have to bury her, Leonardo...’ Linda whispers softly, trying to wipe the tears from her eyes, but I can't think straight.

I can't imagine how I'm supposed to put Marga's body in the ground... Bury her... Cover her with earth. Just the fear that there might be snakes under the earth and crawling into her coffin scares me. I can't do it... I'm too afraid of what will happen when she's gone. When I can no longer see her beauty when she's in the ground.

I'm alone and now I have no one to share my suffering. I already miss Marga and my wolf is also deeply unhappy. It's hard to describe.

These feelings are indescribable. It's as if a part of me has left me, torn a hole in my heart and left a void.

‘I can't do this,’ I whisper quietly as tears run uncontrollably down my face.

I can't do this... The time between Marga and me was too short. How can I let her go when I didn't really have her?

‘We have to do it, Leonardo... Her spirit must replace peace,’ Linda says and suddenly I'm overcome with guilt and sadness. I was selfish and didn't want to let her go, but Linda is right... She needs to replace peace.

I break down with my feelings and cry for her while Linda hugs and holds me. Linda is the second mum I never had, she took care of everyone and everything. Linda was the best example of strength because she too had lost her husband and child. She knew my pain and was the only person who could understand me.

‘I don't know what to do,’ I admit desperately as she nods and squeezes my hand.

‘We'll take care of everything, Leonardo... You can allow your feelings, that's strength and not weakness, do you hear me?’ she whispers softly as I nod weakly and bury my face in my hands.

I blame myself because I should have been there for her, I should have killed Gabriel that night and not Marga.

I failed.