Chapter 337: _ Greater Than Hate
I was seething with rage. My claws throbbed with the desire to maim Ignacio, leaving him as nothing but a puddle of flesh and blood. However, he had trapped me like some sort of frozen lake eagerly waiting for spring. His eyes when he declared I was no match for him were pure delight. He took pleasure in my suffering. In Maria José’s suffering. And I hated him for it.
Heck, I despised him. I felt there was no word to quantify the rage I was feeling. But I was stuck, powerless. I could only watch as the love of my life begged him to leave me alone.
How humiliating... I cursed my weakness. I cursed my inability to protect her.
Lucía stepped forward at that moment, her eyes flashing with determination. Ignacio seemed amused, like our attempts were nothing but entertainment to satiate his warped desires. However, when Lucía mentioned the power of a thousand ancients, his smile faltered.
It was brief, but I noticed it.
He wasn’t omnipotent after all. Even a demonic bastard like Ignacio had his limits!
"And where did you acquire such power?" Ignacio asked, his eyes flashing with a mix of wariness and excitement. That annoying smirk didn’t leave his lips, and it pissed me off greatly.
"From the bowels of hell, where you shall be returning!" Lucía snapped. A spherical item had appeared in her hand at some point in time, swirling with stardust that seemed like the night sky. She slammed the orb against the floor, and it erupted in a whirlwind of wails and dark blue mist.
From the spot I stood frozen, I could see hollowed faces in the mist that permeated the room. Their eye sockets were empty as their incessant wails were directed at Ignacio.
He grinned. That stupidly annoying grin that I couldn’t wait to wipe off his face. And he gave a mocking bow, before saying, "Maria José, mi amor. I’ll be back for you."
And just like that, he vanished. Before our very eyes, he was gone with the wind.
The spell that had me stuck in mid-air vanished along with him, and I fell to the ground with a thud. I winced, not out of pain, but frustration that the bastard got away. The thought that he was still out there, somewhere, and could pop out anytime to harm Maria José.
I hated it. I hated myself. But most importantly, I hated Ignacio.
And in that moment, I swore to myself that I was going to murder him in cold blood. For every time he touched my wife, I was going to take a part of his body.
But, all that seething could wait for later. I spun around instantly, rushing to hold Maria José.
"Are you okay?"
"Are you okay?"
We asked simultaneously. Maria José broke into a sob. Seeing her cry made my heart break. I pressed her head to my chest and muttered, "I’m sorry. I’m sorry for being so useless."
"Why are you apologizing?" She hiccuped. "It’s my fault. I should’ve seen it! I should’ve noticed something was off. I was too blind. Axel..." Her lips trembled.
"Hey, hey, it’s okay. You didn’t do anything wrong, my love. That bastard fooled us all. I welcomed him too, remember?" I tried to console her, but she wouldn’t stop crying.
It pained my heart. That bastard had scarred my wife forever. Why did it have to be her? Love, he said. He said he LOVED her. He LOVED her.
The thought made me retch.
Heaven’s sake, I had never wanted anything this much in my entire life. Hell, I would sell my soul to the devil just to see that bastard on his knees and paying for all he’s done.
Beside us, Lucía was crouched on the floor as she gathered the remnants of the shattered orb.
"Wasted attack." She grumbled. "That power was the only thing strong enough to harm someone of that level."
She rose to her feet and turned to look at us. For a moment, her usually stern expression softened. Perhaps she saw two lovers struggling against the torrent of fate, or the sight of us reminded her of her past.
But, she stopped talking and let us have our moment. I held Maria José close and pressed kisses to her head. It was the only thing I could do to comfort her right now.
I glanced at Lucía and whispered, "I’m sorry, could we do this another time?"
Lucía was silent for a moment. She nodded, then said with a sigh, "Sure, no problem. When you’re ready, I’ll be in the guesthouse."
I muttered a thank you as she left. When she was out, I gently led Maria José to the bed. She was tired, I could feel it. However, when I tried to set her down, she visibly tensed up and clutched my shirt tighter.
"I’m not leaving," I whispered into her ear. She nodded and finally climbed into the bed. I settled beside her and held her tightly in my arms. I was never going to let her go again.
Damn it! How could I be such a fool?
I had subconsciously scratched off Mateo’s face because I believed the bastard wouldn’t dare use that body, since we had already once discovered him. But he played me. He played all of us.
For months, he had been so close to Maria. She had spilled her secrets to him, and she had laughed with him. She confided in him. My wife was never going to trust again, and it broke my heart.
Ignacio. I muttered that name, my blood vessels throbbing with hate. Oh, Ignacio. He had signed his death contract. No.
Goddess help me, even death wouldn’t spare him from my wrath. I would chase him across all planes of existence. I would make him suffer eternally for what he put my wife through.
"Axel," Maria José whimpered.
"Si, mi amor?"
She sniffled, "Will we ever be free? Of him, of this cruel fate?"
I sighed to myself, my hand caressing her swollen belly. "Maria José, I swear to you that I will put an end to Ignacio’s reign of terror. I swear to you that I will make him bow before your feet and beg for forgiveness, before condemning him to the deepest recesses of hell. I promise you, Maria José, that I will rid us of this curse. We’ll see this through, together. I swear it.
"
She sniffled once more, then nodded.
"Thank you. I love you." She said softly, before falling into a deep slumber.
"I love you too," I whispered.
Perhaps the only thing greater than my hate for Ignacio was my love for Maria José.