The Chosen One

To thank everyone who helped with this book would take forever, so just know that I love you all. I am always humbled with your sage advice. To the readers and fans that have patiently waited for the last chapter, I won't keep you in the dark any longer. With my sincere hope for an enjoyable read, the series finale of The Chosen One.

Recap from the end of Chapter 9

The wife of Kevin Dvorska pulled hard on the trigger and shut her eyes as the concussion echoed off the walls around them. She wasn't prepared for the recoil of the .50 caliber handgun, and it flew out of her hands. In a protective movement, she grabbed her aching wrist as her ears continued to ring.

Nadia laughed as the depleted uranium round sailed harmlessly past her. With a quick burst of speed, she darted over to the pregnant woman. She knew the petite human was no match for her, and she grabbed Laura's throat and lifted her off the floor. Nadia began laughing again as she watched the woman struggle against the powerful hold.

While holding the struggling bride in one hand and the katana in the other, she deliberately strode toward the crippled SEAL. "Since you're so worried about your sweet husband, why don't you join him?"

It was easy for Nadia, given her superior strength, to throw Laura against the cave wall near Kevin. She smiled as she watched the woman's head bounce off the stone. When she saw that Laura was knocked unconscious, her smile turned to a pout, and she looked down at the worried male. "Well that didn't work out the way I planned. I really wanted her to watch as I took your life. Now that would have been the kind of fun I was looking for. Oh well, I don't want to wait any longer. Say goodbye, Chosen One. The prize is mine."

Moaning in pain and with great effort, Kevin reached over and touched his wife's face. "I'm so sorry, Laura. I love you."

Even though Nadia was saying something rude about the love Kevin and Laura shared, he couldn't hear it, as his memory flashed to an image of Atsuko standing in his living room. The small Asian was looking at his medallion.

**********

After Kevin released the older man's hand, he turned to look at Atsuko as she fumbled with her folder full of papers and photos. "Um -- can you really read all those symbols on that scroll?"

"Hai."

Kevin reached into his shirt and pulled the Lycanthrope Medallion out into plain sight. He heard the other council members moan in awe as they stared at the ancient artifact. Then he heard the cowboy wanna-be whistle in a low tone of amazement. "I was wondering if you could tell me what it says around the outside, some of the same symbols are on that scroll."

The petite woman bowed and reached out for the medallion. Placing one finger on the bottom and working her way around, she followed the symbols. "At the -- no, within the light he will -- um -- rule. A human will be -- um -- born again." She placed the medallion back in his hands and bowed as she backed away.

**********

Kevin's image flashed back to the first night in Predjama when he met the old woman sitting in Crook's Creek Pub. Astonished by the revelation, Kevin leaned forward. "So she wins? That can't be possible."

The old woman continued to study the palm. "It is unclear, my lord. I see only what I see, nothing more."

Kevin was about to pull his hand away when Vesna twitched slightly. If he hadn't known better, he would have suspected that electric shocks were flowing through her. He looked down as the pressure of her grip increased. He tried to pull his hand free, but found that the grip was too tight. He glanced up at her with surprise, as the force grew greater.

Kristine gently shook her in an attempt to bring her around from the attack. The trembling did not subside and the blank stare focused on Kevin became extremely unnerving. In fact, the stare seemed to cut right through him. Her voice took on a spine-chilling monotone, "Embrace the light; the time is soon, for the boy who rules the moon. He has but to ask, for his saving grace. The deed be done, he sets the pace."

**********

"...And I'll make sure to say goodbye upstairs for you." Nadia readied her katana as she watched Kevin.

The severely injured werewolf and Navy SEAL picked the medallion up off the floor and held it tight. He shut eyes and softly spoke to the only one who could save them. "Please God, help us."

Suddenly a bright, white light shot out of the ruby and quickly engulfed the entire cave. Kevin screamed out in agony as if his body were being torn apart. He could feel the intense heat coming from the ruby, but he couldn't let go as it burned into his palm. He was about to pass out from the extreme pain, but Nadia's equally loud screams kept him conscious.

Kevin felt his body stop shaking, and though his eyes were squinted shut, he sensed that the light was diminishing and he felt a strong wind sweep into the cave. He could feel it tugging at his body as he fought to remain on his side. When he dared to open his eyes, his first instinct was to check his wife. He placed two fingers against her neck and found a strong pulse, but she was still unconscious.

Turning to locate his enemy, he saw a large, black cyclone of dust and debris in the center of the cave. As he kept looking at it, visions of different human faces appeared within it. Expressions of agony tore at them as they drifted in and out of the spinning cyclone. Then he saw a number of wolf heads repeat the process and from somewhere in the center of the storm, he heard Nadia screaming out in pain.

Suddenly, the large white feather moved out of the storm as if it were trying to get away from something.. He could see that it acted like it had a life force of its own; then a small flash of white hot flames shot out of the storm and destroyed it in one quick blast.

He suddenly felt a twinge in his hand and looked down at his palm. The imprint of the Lycanthrope Medallion was now seared into the center of his hand. He quickly checked his body and discovered the injuries he had sustained in the fight were now gone.

Kevin turned to watch as the whirlwind died out, revealing a beautiful woman with stunning brown eyes and jet-black hair. It was the same image as the photos he had seen of the biochemist who created the Pandora virus, only now she wore a shimmering white gown that was embroidered with gold detail.

He stood slowly and looked at the startled woman. As the clues came rushing back to him, he glared at the stricken female. "Now I understand the clues. Humans being born again, triumph is within the light. It looks like, God, wants us to settle this as humans, Nadia."

The once mighty angel, Nadia, saw the look of hatred in his eyes and then noticed her katana on the ground just in front of her. She swiftly moved to retrieve it, but without her powers, she wasn't fast enough. Just as she reached the handle, Kevin's foot stomped on the blade.

The image of Nadia throwing his soul mate against the wall fueled his anger. "Let's make this a fair fight this time." When he saw her right fist swing up, he grabbed her wrist and squeezed. Then her left arm shot out, but she wasn't fast enough as he grabbed it and turned both wrists outward. In pain, she arched her back and screamed. His body quivered slightly from the growing anger. "My turn to play rough -- Bitch."

Kevin's right foot came up and slammed hard into her midsection. His eyes narrowed as she hit the wall behind her and moaned. He stood his ground as he watched her recover and collect herself.

Nadia brushed her stomach trying to show the man in front of her she was uninjured. "You fool; I don't need my sword to defeat a mere human. I have been alive for centuries and my skills will out match yours."

The now-human female circled to his left and the trained Navy SEAL countered her movements. Kevin kept his powerful arms at his side, taunting her with his defenseless stance.

He recognized the over confident look in her eyes.

"That's what I was looking for. Come get some."

Suddenly she moved forward and began throwing a series of punches at his body. His training kicked in and Kevin began blocking each strike.

Nadia began combining hard kicks to his lower body and legs and her fists flew toward his head. She quickly became angry at the lack of damage she was inflicting and tried a front kick to his midsection. Her eyes showed shock when her enemy grabbed her leg before she could connect.

Just as he grabbed her leg, his eyes tightened. With renewed strength, he spun her around and then released her as she neared the wall. He smiled as he watched the defenseless woman slam head first into the rough wall. Kevin stepped back a few feet and watched as she rose with slow movements. "Stings a bit when you hit the walls doesn't it?"

He watched her regroup and move toward him with determination in her eyes. Just as she got close, her fist swung at his head. Kevin's arm shot up and blocked it, but before she could react, his own powerful fist blasted out and smashed into her exposed ribs. As she doubled over slightly, Kevin recovered and backhanded her across the side of her face. "How's your fun level now, Nadia? You said you wanted to have some fun, so let's have some fun!"

Kevin's spinning back kick sent her sailing across the room. As she crashed to the cave floor, Kevin looked over at his wife. She was still out and he suddenly worried about the infant still growing inside her. His anger was now turning to a heated rage as he closed the distance between himself and Nadia.

He grabbed a handful of hair and pulled her to her feet. "There are a few people you should NEVER piss off, Nadia!" His loud angry voice echoed off the cave walls. "Never!" His backhand caused blood to shot out of her mouth. "Ever!" Another powerful blow crashed into her temple. "Piss off a Navy SEAL!"

Kevin spun her around and trapped her shoulder blade between his muscular right arm, as his other arm wrapped around her throat. As the adrenaline rushed through his body he began to shake uncontrollably. With a quick jerk, he felt her shoulder snap out of the socket.

Nadia's screams of pain went unanswered as he spun her around in the air and then flung her across the room. He waited for her to get up and continue the fight, but then noticed she was trying to head for the cave's only exit. This enflamed his rage as he darted after her.

Just before she reached the exit, Kevin grabbed a handful of her black hair and yanked hard. As her feet went out from under her, she crashed to the ground. When she yelled out, Kevin's hand encircled her throat. Fueled by a consuming hatred, he squeezed hard and lifted her off the ground.

As her feet left the cave floor, she struggled to kick at his body and her hands tried to pry his grip from her neck. "Do you remember having my wife like this?" Kevin ran forward as fast as he could and slammed her writhing body into the jagged wall.

As he held her there, he leaned in close to her face. "How dare you touch someone as pure as my wife!" Kevin placed his open palm on her dislocated shoulder and pushed in hard; her screams of agony driving him further into raging madness. He growled at her with an inhuman tone and then slammed his forehead into the bridge of her nose.

He allowed the battered woman to slump against the wall, as he turned to look once again at his wife lying across the cave from him. He spun around to face his foe and saw her holding her bloody nose with one hand. Her other arm, now useless, hung next to her body at an unusual angle.

Nadia looked at the seething man in front of her and tried to reason with him. "Please, mercy. I'm human again; the rules..."

Kevin scowled at her. "Only God can grant mercy, and thanks to your bullshit, I no longer have my own special ability. The rules don't apply to me anymore, you fucking bitch!"

Kevin raced forward, grabbed the front of her dirty gown, and hauled her up to a standing position. "You could have left well enough alone, but noooo, you just had to have the medallion." With one hand still holding the top of her gown, he reached down with his other hand and grabbed her by the inside of her thigh.

He could feel the rage turn to an uncontrollable fury as he lifted her up into the air above his head. Using all the anger built up inside his soul, he quickly went down to one knee and slammed her lower back onto the top of his bent leg. He laughed an evil laugh as her body bent in half backward.

With distain, he shoved the crying female off his leg and tried hard to control his breathing. Something deep inside him began to feel remorse for the now broken angel. With deep breaths, his wrath began to fade.

As he looked down at the woman who was trying to crawl away with only one good arm, he felt his heartbeat start to return to normal. "There are a hundred reasons why I should kill you right now, but I can only think of one to let you live. I'm a United States Navy SEAL; I don't kill for vengeance or personal gain. Be thankful, you God damn whore, that I remembered that."

Kevin turned away from the beaten female and moved quickly to his wife's side. He pulled one eyelid back and looked to see if there was any response to the light inside the cave. When her pupil reacted, he knew there was no brain damage. He checked her pulse again and breathed a sigh of relief that it was still strong.

He leaned down and kissed her cheek but as he did, he heard the sound of metal scarping along the stone floor. He waited until he thought she was close enough and then spun around. He saw Nadia above him, holding the katana in her left hand.

Kevin dodged the attack, and as the blade sailed by, he grabbed her wrist roughly and turned the blade inward. "I gave you a chance to live, Bitch. You should have taken it. The prize is mine." Kevin thrust the sharp blade into her abdomen. When it was almost all the way through her body, he pulled the katana upward and sliced her diaphragm in half.

Kevin knew that without the ability to breathe, she had mere minutes to live. He held the hilt of the razor sharp sword and shoved her body off the blade. Her body crumpled to the floor spurting blood everywhere. Fury flashed inside of him once again as he leapt next to her. He couldn't hold back the blood lust that consumed his entire being.

Now on his hands and knees, he hovered over his fallen enemy. "You know when I told you I lost my gift, and we had to fight as humans?" Kevin saw a small tear run down her bruised cheek. "I lied."

Suddenly, the form of an uncontrolled werewolf stood over her, his golden eyes narrowing and hatred filling his heart. The large brown beast began to shake as his powerful jaws opened slowly, thick drool dripping down onto her face. In the blink of an eye, the massive head shot down and clamped its sharp teeth into the tender human flesh of her throat.

He could feel her twitch as she fought for life. Then with all the anger fueling his actions, he clamped his jaws shut and shook his head back and forth. As he growled, the beast jerked his head up and Nadia's head rolled away from her body.

The beast growled again into the cave air and then looked down at the convulsing body that lay before him. The fury broke through the dam and consumed him as he began slashing at the lifeless human form. He roared loudly as the soft meat was torn away, his sharp teeth adding to the destructive actions, shredding the bloody carcass.

Lost to the human world, the rage drove the massive beast to the brink of insanity. It was this consuming hatred, which caused his senses not to react to the man and woman standing at the entrance to the cave, watching the carnage.

Adam lowered his own Desert Eagle, as he breathed a sigh of relief at finding his friend alive. "I think she's pretty much dead, Kev. Change back and let's look you over, little buddy."

The rampaging werewolf's head shot up, and a low growl emanated from deep in its throat. Both large paws and deadly talons were resting on the shredded body beneath it. Suddenly, one massive paw lashed out and swung at them as it continued to hover over its victim.

Adam and Kristine both jerked their heads back in surprise as they watched Kevin's actions. The Navy SEAL Commander didn't know what would happen if his friend ever lost control of his temper, but he concluded it would look something like this. "Kevin, calm down, little buddy. Remember me, your friend, Adam?"

When the large beast slowly moved toward them and continued to growl, Adam instinctively brought his Eagle up and pointed the muzzle at the angry wolf. "Don't do this, Kevin. God damn it control yourself, SEAL!" Adam's words had little effect as the wolf paused and released a menacing roar.

Kristine looked at her husband as he took aim at the wolf. "Adam, you can't be serious? That's Kevin, for Christ sake!"

"Damn it, Kristine! I may not have a fucking choice in the matter!" Adam quickly pulled the hammer back on the weapon.

Without thinking, Kristine jumped in between her husband and the rage driven beast. "You're not killing our friend!"

"That's not Kevin anymore! Get out of the God damn way, Kristine!" Kristine moved out of the way, but as she did, she moved into the cave and off to the side.

The monster watched as the female of the two moved off to one side. He snapped his head over to see the male place one of his feet behind him. He held something in his hands, but he had no idea what it was. Turning his head again, he monitored the moving female and noticed she had her hands out to the side. They were saying something, but he couldn't understand the language.

Kristine kept her eyes locked onto the wolf as she came to a stop. "I know you're still in there, Kevin. You have to calm down, sweetie. Come on now, where's that big doggie I like to play with?"

She smiled as the beast moved closer, but out of the corner of her eye, she saw her husband take aim on the world's most efficient killing machine. "That's it, Kevin. Calm down and come to me, honey. I know you would never hurt me, Kevin."

She was still smiling when the beast lashed out with its right front set of claws. Moving quickly, she thrust her hips back and scowled at the wolf. Acting swiftly, she smashed her fist into the top of his muzzle as hard as she could. "Why you cocky little bastard!" She saw the massive head drop down and then held her other hand out to her husband. "Hold your fire, SEAL!"

Kristine watched as the wolf tried to shake its massive head as if to clear its vision. "How dare you take a swipe at me! You better start remembering just who you're dealing with, Kevin, or I'll add a black eye to that busted nose!"

The large beast stumbled and then crashed to the ground as Kevin regained control of the large beast and changed to his human form. Now on his hands and knees, he was breathing hard and blood poured from his broken nose. He lifted his head and tried to smile at the stunned woman. "Can I please stop now? After all, it's supposed to be my wedding day."

Kristine watched as her friend slumped to the ground. She knelt down, lifted his upper body onto her lap, and brushed his matted hair out of his face. When she heard a moan from the other side of the cave, she jerked her head up and looked at the pregnant woman against the wall. "Adam, go help, Laura and make sure she's alright."

Kevin looked up into the warm eyes of his dear friend. "I'm sorry, Kristine, I tried my hardest to get control of him again." The Navy SEAL moaned as he touched his face. "I think you broke my nose. I guess I deserved that."

Kristine kissed his forehead and chuckled. "If it's any consolation, I -- know -- I broke my hand; you thick headed werewolf."

Kevin laughed, just for a moment, then his werewolf senses picked up an approaching human. He didn't know if it was friend or foe as he struggled to raise himself up on one hand. "Adam -- ugh -- someone's -- coming."