Chapter 9 - The Aftermath
The Blackwood estate was in chaos when Ivy returned.
News of the Order's destruction had spread through the supernatural world like wildfire, and everyone was scrambling to understand what had happened.
"Ivy!" Damian rushed to meet her at the gates. "What the hell did you do?"
"I finished it," she replied, her voice hollow. "The Order is gone."
"Everyone is dead?"
"Everyone who was in the ritual chamber," she confirmed. "The curse spread through their entire network. The survivors are... not a threat anymore."
Damian stared at her, his expression unreadable. "You sacrificed yourself for this."
"I had to," Ivy said. "It was the only way."
"But at what cost?" he pressed. "I can see it in your eyes, Ivy. Something's missing."
She didn't answer.
Because she knew he was right.
The curse had taken something from her—something she couldn't name but could feel the absence of.
A part of her soul.
A piece of her humanity.
"The curse isn't gone," she admitted finally. "It's inside me now. I don't know how to control it."
Damian's face paled. "That's... that's impossible. The ancient curse is a myth. It was supposed to have been destroyed with the original Lycans."
"Apparently not," Ivy replied. "And now it's my problem."
She walked into the estate, feeling the weight of everything she'd done pressing down on her.
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The revenge she'd sought had come at a terrible price.
And she wasn't sure if she'd ever be the same again.
