Aries

Sorry for the late update!

It was not the silence of anxiety or the stillness of unknown that gripper the clearing this time. It was the silence of fear.

Fear, an unreasonable emotion everyone gave into at least once in their life. Fear of death, fear of loss, fear of defeat, fear of unknown. Fear kept us going somehow, even when our logic recognised no hope. Strived to keep us alive. Fear existed only for one purpose; to show who survived and lived despite its efforts to weigh us down. It ruled all of us with a vengeance that even power could not. But it was the same fear that sucked the life out and fed the demons that resided within us. That destroyed us by drowning in a sea of despair unless we knew how to swim.

Had Aurelia been next to me alive, she would have gone about how the brain responds to it and the chemical nature behind fear. When she had been alive, I had rolled my eyes at her. Now, I would give anything to hear her say in the language of science.

Cathara took a step forward, her body completely relaxed. For someone who was locked in a dungeon for two thousand years, the omicron was pretty calm.

“This is the West Pack?” she asked, glancing at Skye. Then she set her gaze on the stunned Alpha pair. “I expected better.”

Ethan growled and Harper held his hand as if to calm him down. How could she rationalise his mind when hers itself was addled by anger?

“And,” Beta Cain drawled. “Who are you?”

Cathara ignored him. “Miguel, you once told me you visited West Pack. Does this ring a bell to you?”

Grinning at the beta was seething, Miguel pouted. “Nope.”

Skye leered at Harper and Ethan. “Things change with time, Cathara. Ups and downs. Perhaps, we came when the pack is tumbling to its deepest downfall. Our ill-luck.”

Harper snarled at the little girl. “Watch your mouth!”

Grinning, the star slowly but steadily released her confined aura. As her dominance began to peak Cathara’s, true fear was etched on Harper’s face.

“What are you?” Ethan breathed.

Her perfect teeth were on display. “Your nightmare.”

His eyes widened and I could see the struggle he had with him wolf. His survival instinct begged him to submit while his blood pushed him to be dominant.

“Bitch!” Beta Cain spat, as he clenched his fists. “What -”

Before he could finish, Skye began to morph. Her features melted to that of a female of twenty-year-old. Her six-year-old form was shredded like an invisible gown. She had hair as black as raven and eyes as deep as an endless abyss. Maturity was a layer her face had and her toned body announced how well versed she was with fighting. Even a fool could say what a formidable enemy she would be to an Alpha.

“You were saying something?” she asked the Beta. When Cain did not answer her, she turned to me. “Call me Alioth.”

My eyes widened. She was accepting who she was? From the three days I spent with her, she hated bringing her past up. And she had said that unless the time was right, she would never claim who she was.

From my peripheral view, I saw Rhaze looking at the three newcomers with a strange glint in her eyes. While Mike was gaping at them, Reece just rose an eyebrow. The former Alpha female glanced at them and then focused her vision on her mate. For a genetic engineer, Livvia did not harbour a single expression. Morphing was something she loved to study. She had more than twenty papers about that. My friends who were behind the three were equally worse as Mike.

Harper gasped. “Alioth? What-”

Alioth rolled her eyes. “Did I speak to you?”

For the first time, Harper shook her head wordlessly. She seemed to be transfixed on Alioth.

“Good,” the star said. She turned to her friends and grinned. “Shall we create havoc?”

Miguel nodded enthusiastically but Cathara shook her head. “Go ahead. I will join you both later.”

The Phoenix shifter grabbed Dan by his neck and snapped it as if it was a mere twig and not a life. The death of the wolf brought the Alpha pair from the stupor Alioth had put them into.

“Attack!” Ethan commanded.

The shifters of the pack advanced on my friends upon the command. Yet, Miguel and Alioth brushed them off like dust. Cathara killed only when necessary as she walked towards me.

She raised her head and saw my sister, who was being restrained. The omicron did something and the next second, Rhaze was next to me. Rhaze muttered something, which my ears blocked. The pain that coursed through me before they came, rushed through me again with a force that I knew I could not handle.

My demise was confirmed.

“What is happening?” Rhaze yelled as she held my head on her lap. She checked my failing pulse and my falling breath rate.

“Her banishment is killing her,” Cathara said softly, as though a war was not going around us.

Rhaze took in a sharp breath. “What can I do?”

The vampire smiled sadly. “Nothing. You can’t do anything. But I can do something.”

My vision blurred. I began seeing in double. Whatever I wanted to say, failed in my mouth. My vocal cords refused to cooperate with me.

“Do what?” Reece asked. How she came next to us with her mate still tied to that pole, I did not know.

“Give my life essence,” the omicron said.

“What?” Rhaze snapped. “What do you mean?”

“As much as you are willing, you have the rank of a delta even though you are destined for things greater than this. I held the rank of an omicron in Southern Coven during my time. I can still call upon it now, even if my claim is weak. But that will suffice to save Lyra.”

Reece frowned. “I can’t understand.”

Cathara sighed. “Banishing a leader without a mistake on their name can kill them. The Moon will not allow them to live the humiliation. He will take the wronged souls and give them a place in his court. He is claiming her soul because of a match he is ashamed of giving her.”

Rhaze caressed my face. “So... is it like you are going to exchange the place with her?”

My legs were lead and the roaring pain was ruling my body in ways I would never understand. The Heat I went through was nothing compared to what I was feeling. Slowly, I lost the ability to feel my fingers and toes. The numbness was climbing my limbs.

“Not take her place,” the vampire chuckled softly. “I dare will not compare myself with Lyra and say that I am worthy of taking a place next to Kamaria. I will plead with all I have just so Lyra will have a chance to live. A chance Luna might give her.”

Reece held my cold hands. Even though I could not feel the warmth or the pressure of her hand, I knew she was holding it. “Why plead for another chance to her? Why? As much as she did not deserve to die because of it, why?”

The vampire took my other hand. This time I was able to feel her coldness seeping through my skin. “Because the mate bond she has with Ethan is wrong. It is not even a bond, to begin with. I don’t know what happened, but I can feel Luna’s regret for this bond. Something must have happened for me to feel this way towards a bond. This bond was not meant to be. A mistake happened. And I intend to give her a chance.”

The noise around us was nothing more than a soft rumble in my ears. Yet a blaring sound pierced my ears. It was like someone had stuck a bell near my ears. Unable to control my hands, I gritted my teeth. This was definitely the worst way to die.

“Is that possible?” Rhaze asked. Her voice did overpower the ringing sound that my ears caught.

“Yes,” Cathara said. “You survived the rejection yourself. Your sister can too.”

My sister must have accepted because the chillness that my left palm felt travelled through my arm. As the coldness raced up my veins, a gasp left my body. The pain receded and gave way to the ice that claimed me.

“Impossible,” the omicron muttered.

“What is impossible?” Reece fired.

“I-I thought she was dying because she was being banished,” the vampire whispered. “She was dying, but she was also shifting.”

“What?” Rhaze screeched. “She is not a shifter!”

“Are you sure, darling?” she asked. “I can feel it in her veins. She was going to shift when she was dying. The shift could have either killed her or saved her. But prolonging it to another day is better than having her shift now.”

The pain and the burn my nerve ending delivered to my brain reeled in. The pressure that constructed my lungs slowly released the organ that I needed to breathe.

Gently, Rhaze lifted me up from her lap and made me sit.

It was only then I saw the extent of damage Alioth and Miguel were capable of. The clearing was painted in red as if an offering was made. Yet, Alioth’s white dress had just a stain or two, while the elite shifter had shredded his shirt and had his muscled torso in view for everyone.

Despite them fighting like Hounds of Luna, shifters kept coming. Beta Cain and the Alpha pair did fight them, but they were thrown aside quite easily.

Beside them, Cheryl had gone to save her twin and Andy was being held by Brent.

“Bastards!” Cathara muttered. “Those two aren’t even killing anyone. They are just stalling. Worried that they would be thrown in the Dungeon again for killing as soon as they are released.”

Rhaze blinked next to me. “They are not fighting their potential?”

The vampire snorted. “They have the power to destroy civilisations. Alioth especially. Her pinnacle power is Cataclysm. They are just toying with the warriors of the West pack.”

“Not our pack,” Reece growled lowly. “They belong to Harper’s pack.”

“Harper’s pack?” Cathara asked. “Not a Noble or High Alpha’s pack?”

Reece sneered. “Harper comes from a pack which has merely four hundred shifters.”

Cathara nodded and looked at my sister. The vampire’s face was a blank mask. But her purple eyes flashed silver for a second before it resumed its unusual shade of purple. Rhaze nodded and gripped my arm.

Livvia came towards us with a huge gash on her left shoulder. “Leave now. Ethan and Harper are out for your blood, Ly. Leave now!”

“Leave?” Reece scowled as she took a step forward. “Very rich, Livvia. You betrayed us! You-”

“Stop,” she pleaded, as she fell on her knees. “I did everything I can to-”

“You did not do anything,” Reece said as she advanced. “You did nothing when Lyra was chained in the dungeons and did nothing when Beta Carter died!”

“Enough!” Cathara’s voice rang out, shutting the trainer’s mate. “Livvia was threatened. Harper threatened to have her child harmed. Despite that, she went ahead convincing Harper that Ethan having Lyra by his side is not a good idea. It is because of her, Ethan did not bed her!”

It was like a slap to our faces. As much as conceiving was difficult for a werewolf, Livvia had a child. Her son whom she had with a human. He was a sickly child and was merely three years old.

“He-he used Raoul?” Reece whispered as she fell next to her friend.

Livvia nodded. “I h-had to do everything to make sure he was safe and-”

Reece hugged her and whispered something in her ears.

Then she stood up and nodded at us. “Leave. We will take care.”

“Leave?” Rhaze frowned. “We are all leaving together.”

Livvia shook her head. “You and Lyra are leaving. We are all staying back. We protect our own, Delta Rhaze. Take Lyra and go!”

As Rhaze tries to take another step forward, Reece came near me and got on one of her knees. “I Reece Cane, Mate of Michael Knight, pledge myself to my Alpha, Lyra Throne, thereby cutting my ties with Alpha Ethan Verir and Alpha Harper Moore. May Amaris hear and bless us!”

My eyes widened at the words. What was Reece doing? Pledging to me while her Alpha was fighting! What was she trying to do?

Not stopping herself there, she morphed her left hand to a paw. Using a claw, she cut across her right palm and allowed the blood to fall down. When her skin healed itself, she took my weak hand and cut it. It burned just for a second before the pain vanished. The second my blood touched hers, the animistic part that woke in me gleamed in pride. I wanted to show to my disgraced mate how loyal they were to me, but my logic won over pride. The longer we stayed, the more danger we were putting ourselves in.

Gulping, I whispered in a shaky voice not because I wanted to, but if I didn’t do it, Reece could potentially die. “I, Lyra Throne, accept you, Reece Cane in my pack.”

“Beta Rhaze,” Reece said after she got up. “Take care of our Alpha.”

“Beta?” My sister asked.

“I know you will pledge yourself to Lyra,” Reece said. “When you do, you will be a Beta. Not a Delta. You will not be put in a rank lower than you deserve.”

“Then, you are Gamma,” my sister said. “Anyone who pledges to you will be pledged to Lyra invariably.”

Livvia nodded. “We will have a pack for you, Lyra when you return. Have faith in us.”

I nodded at my friends. How much more would they sacrifice for me? At this thought, a tear slipped from my right eye.

“Go,” Reece urged as she room stepped towards her mate. “Go and heal. I will take care of Evelyn Throne. I will never forget who my Alpha is.”

As Rhaze began to pull me, Cathara stopped and raised her hands. At her action, everyone stopped except for Alioth, Miguel, Rhaze and I.

Alioth’s eyes turned darker. “Abandon the self-sacrificing thoughts, vampire! We will not let you be here.”

Cathara shook her head. “You four are leaving. Alioth, you have to meet your fiance. He is looking for you, you have said that. Go to him and tell him what might have happened to Luna. And tell him about the dungeon. As for Miguel, you know what to do.”

The Phoenix shifter gritted his teeth but he nodded.

“I will hold the pack as much as I can,” the omicron said. “Leave.”

“After us,” Rhaze spat. “Ethan and Harper will chain you and torture you.”

Cathara gave me a sad smile and patted my head. “Stay safe, child.”

I wanted to scream, beg her to not go, but Alioth had made up her mind. She took me from my sister’s embrace and hoisted me up like a baby, while Miguel held Rhaze’s hands to steady her.

Without another word, they began to race out. When we crossed the pack borders, a weird tingle ran through me. Leaving my pack behind was not something I had planned.

After another half hour travel, I heard a sharp pitched scream. Seeing the punished tears in Alioth and Miguel’s eyes, I knew Cathara had done everything she could to get us here. Get us time. She had not even hesitated to give her life for us.

Tears fell down my face. She was like a mother to me those three days. The days when I so wanted to bury my existence. Though I knew her for only three days, I felt as though I had known her for years together. She did not deserve this. She did not deserve to die.

Rhaze forced us to a halt. “Wait.”

“What is it?” Alioth asked in an irritated tone.

Rhaze got on her knees and pledged. “I Rhaze Throne, daughter of Beta Carter Black and Evelyn Throne, pledge myself to my Alpha, Lyra Throne, thereby cutting my ties with Alpha Ethan Verir and Alpha Harper Moore. May Amaris hear and bless us!”

Without a second thought, I took the dagger from her hand and cut my palm. Giving the dagger to her, she did the same. When our blood mixed, pride flared in me.

“I, Lyra Throne, accept you, Rhaze Throne in my pack. I name you Beta!”

It was only then I realised what Reece had initiated. While banishment alone could kill us, being a rogue was another story.

I was no longer a rogue who would count her days until she lost her sanity. I was an Alpha with only her Beta by her side. With no pack, and no land.

I opened my eyes and my sister gasped. Miguel blinked while Alioth gave me a smirk.

They knew what I was thinking, planning. Even if I had only two people in my pack, I was still their Alpha. And I will make sure that they would be proud to call me their Alpha.

What do you think will Lyra do?

Any thoughts on Cathara, Reece and Livvia?

I cannot be sure when the next update would be.

Until then,

~Quill