Rejected by the Alpha, Claimed by his Brother-Chapter 358: _ Fighting The Darkness

~Axel’s Point Of View~

Right before my eyes, my beloved María José was turning into something different, something sinister. And it was all my fault. Because I was too weak to protect her. I was too weak to take down the enemy. And now, my wife was slowly unraveling.

Goodness, she moved like a calamity. Frozen in her magic, I watched María José dismantle Luis like he was something weak, something fragile. Knowing just how much he had terrorized us with those sinister powers of his, I couldn’t help but wonder what kind of power was flowing through María José.

Her eyes had changed into something unrecognizable. The darkness was slowly consuming her. I couldn’t let that happen. But I was stuck.

Why are you so weak?! You good for nothing! You cannot do anything!

I cursed myself.

Hugo’s strained voice boomed with fear in my head, "We have to help her, Axel! Esto no puede seguir así! "

I know that, good gods, I know that! But what can I do... I wanted to clench my fists, but I couldn’t move a single muscle. All I could do was watch my wife slowly descend into the abyss.

How could I fail when it mattered the most??

Pain gnawed at my heart. I loathed myself.

Stupid! Stupid!

"Cálmate, Axel! Do not give in to despair. We have to break free from this."

How?! I’m still frozen, dammit!

"Look around you." Hugo’s unusually calm voice resounded in my head. "Lucia and Álvaro cannot do so much as move their eyes. But you can. ¿Entiendes? She did not restrain you as much as the others!"

My eyes strained to move to the side. Indeed, Álvaro and Lucia were completely stilled, their pupils dilated. Hugo was right! I could still fight!

"It’s up to us now. You have my full power at your disposal, Axel. Make use of it! Break free and save our wife!"

Damn right!

I gritted my teeth, straining my arms as much as I could. A yell came from the depths of my soul, but no sound escaped my lips. It was difficult. It was extremely difficult, and it felt like my entire body would explode if I strained myself any further.

But I did not care about that. All I saw was my wife, and her silent call for help.

And so I heeded her call.

A faint ’crack’ reached my ears, and I suddenly stumbled forward, before crashing to the ground. Despite how impossible it had seemed, I had broken free from the spell. My veins bulged under my arms, and I could see numerous tears along my muscles. But I didn’t care about all that. Because María José was about to kill Luis.

I couldn’t allow her to be a murderer. So I rushed forward with all the strength left in me, and I held her tightly.

"It’s alright now, mi amor. Come back to me." I whispered in her ear, and I felt her shudder in my arms.

María José turned to look at me. Her eyes which had turned oily black slowly returned to normal.

"Axel?" She muttered, confusion laced in her tone. "How did you—"

"That doesn’t matter." I shook my head and pressed her face to my chest. "I love you, María José. My life would be nothing without you, mi vida. So, I selfishly need you to return to me, because I couldn’t survive otherwise."

I felt something moist against my chest, followed by quiet sobs. María José clung her arms to me as she sobbed without pause. As she did, I felt the encroaching darkness recede like a tide.

"It’s okay. Let it all out." I whispered, holding her like tomorrow didn’t exist.

My eyes shifted to Luis who was trying to crawl away like a disgusting worm. I couldn’t be bothered to be worried about him. All I cared about was my wife’s safety.

Álvaro didn’t share the same idea, however, as he rushed forward with a furious growl and sent a kick straight to Luis’s face.

A painful yell tore through the garden, and my little brother barked, "Look at you now! Powerless! Broken! This is your true nature! How dare you kill my mother?! How dare you, Luis?! You will suffer for all that you have done!"

Mother... The echo of her warmth spread through my chest and I winced slightly. I did not have time to properly mourn her. But I was going to do so later. We all were.

Lucia arrived beside me. I gave her a brief nod, then signaled for her to retrieve the body of the dead maid. I couldn’t allow María José to keep seeing that. She had seen enough deaths.

Lucia offered me a comforting smile, then walked ahead.

"Looks like we did it." Hugo’s relieved voice said with a sigh.

I chuckled lightly.

Looks like we did...

I glanced down at my wife. Her face was still tightly pressed to my chest, and her swollen belly was quite visible.

"My love, are you okay?" I asked.

María José raised her gaze. She seemed like she was about to nod, but instead, her face contorted into a grimace. Then, she let out a painful yell.

Panic surged through my heart.

"Cariño, what’s wrong? What’s the problem?" I asked frantically as I held her hands, trying to check if she was bleeding from anywhere.

But then, she said with a strained gasp, "Axel... the babies... they’re coming!"

WHAT?!

My breath ceased for a moment, then my brain quickly went into overclock.

"Lucia!" I yelled at the top of my voice. "Get the maids! María José is going into labor, ¡ándale!"

Lucia seemed surprised, but only for a split moment. She dashed out of the garden in search of the maids. Álvaro let out a grunt and held Luis down.

As for me, I helped my wife lie on the soft grass.

"You’re going to be fine," I said with a hitched breath. "The maids are coming. You’re going to be fine."

"I should be saying that to you. You’re sweating way more than me!" María José groaned loudly.

I laughed. Dammit, I laughed.

"¿De veras?" I wiped my forehead with my left hand and said, "Well then, we’re both going to be fine."

María’s lips cracked into a strained smile. She nodded, heaving heavily as she tried to fight back the pain.

At that moment, I couldn’t help but admire how strong my wife was.