Mathias (#1 The Chronicles of the Demon Wolf)

“There have been several breaches in the void,” Stefano speaks during the meeting.

Stefano Michaelangelo de Lucca never looks like he has aged. He looks the same. Wears the same fashion. Talks the same. Everything about him is still the same. As everyone knows him, he’s a wine addict. A title that he takes as an honor because Mira called him that.

He’s still leading the Daemons’ Council but this time he’s not alone. His mate, Adeline Domenico, stands by his side and supports him in everything he does. It took them years for them to reconcile after what she did to Mira.

“What does the void do?” Tanto asks, looking confused.

Ryker grunts. “You never paid attention during class, weren’t you?”

“Fell asleep mostly.”

“The void is the space that keeping all realms from colliding with each other,” Mathias answers as he refuses to waste much time in the meeting. “Do we have any clue about the breacher?”

Stefano shakes his head. “Unfortunately, no. The breaches are happening rapidly. My council is doing everything we could to prevent more breaches.”

“The breachers might as well fall into a time loop,” Tanto intervenes.

From the old history, all realms used to banish supernatural criminals to the time loop where they relive the same crime they did again and again until they died because of madness or exhaustion. Why did they banish those criminals into the time loop when any Council could just execute them? Well, not all supernatural species could be executed easily. Some types of supernatural need a specific type of weapon to kill them completely. And, not all of those weapons are readily made in the world of the living. So, to make it easier, just throw those criminals into the time loop and let the void handles the rest.

The Daemons’ Council is responsible for keeping the void intact to prevent the criminals from escaping the time loop or to prevent other people from misused the time loop. If the void is breached rapidly at a rate that not even Stefano could fix it, this could mean a serious catastrophic problem.

“Do you think one of the criminals escaped?” Sir William of the Vampire coven asks.

“All of the criminals that are still in the time loop have been accounted for,” Stefano replies, but his eyes suggest otherwise.

“For now, we forbid any travel between all the realms unless you are permitted to do so,” Lady Astrid of the Witches and Wizards’ Council says.

“This meeting is over,” Mathias announces.

Despite he’s just a Commander of the 1st Battalion, Mathias holds full power in the Council as the future replacement for his mother. He is the deciding voter and leader of the Council while Ryker takes over their father’s seat. As usual, Tanto isn’t a man who likes to get involved in politic or administration.

As everyone walks to the double mahogany door, Mathias and Stefano remain in the meeting room. Maybe the others didn’t spot the sudden change on the Daemon High Lord’s face earlier, but Mathias is fully aware that Stefano is hiding something regarding the breaches in the void.

“You’re hiding something, Uncle,” Mathias says, watching Stefano pouring a glass of wine.

“You’re just like your mother. Always can see through anyone,” he chuckles before taking a sip of the wine. “It is not the breaches that I am worried about.”

“What do you mean?”

Stefano stands by the ceiling-to-floor window and looks for the courtyard. “The concept of void and time loop is a bit complicated and I could hardly understand the entirety of the concept myself. My father used to speak a lot about it — the time loop, time traveling, changing the past, and all that. But just like Tanto, I hardly focused.”

“You think someone is purposely interrupting the void to change something in the past?”

The Daemon High Lord takes another sip of his wine. “Not changing it. It’s more like reshaping the timeline to the outcomes they desire.”

Mathias readjusts his sitting posture as his attention becomes undivided by what Stefano has spoken of. There are only two people out of all realms in existence that could reshape the timeline to have the outcomes they desire. One is Stefano. Another one is a name that Mathias would rather not mention.

“You’re thinking of the name I’m thinking of,” Stefano says, putting down his wine glass.

The 1st Battalion Commander shakes his head. “It can’t be him. We put him in the strongest time loop ever existed. There’s no way he could have escaped from it.”

“Just because the time loop we put him in is the strongest, it doesn’t mean there’s no flaw.” He takes out a small glass vial containing glittering air and places it on the meeting desk. “I collected this when I investigated his time loop. A trace of his aura. There’s no him in the time loop. Just his aura waiting to dissipate as time goes by.”

Out of sudden, there’s a sudden tremor shaking the entire building. Mathias and Stefano look around to make sure nothing is impending to crush them to death before running out of the meeting room. Enforcers are running out of their living quarters—getting ready for any possible attack incoming to the Council land.

Arielle appears out of nowhere. “We have another breach. The witches aren’t able to keep the portal stabilize.”

All of them run to the basement floor where there is a specific room to open and close portal in and out of the realm. All portals are banned from opening and closing outside the room. This is to ensure nobody misused the portals in and out of the realm as they wish due to the recent breaches.

Black smokes coming out of the portal entry. The witches and wizards do their best to contain the white smoke into a large glass room just in case the smoke is poisonous.

“This breach is stronger than before,” Stefano says, putting his hand into the portal entrance. “Within it, there are dozen more breaches into this realm.”

“Tanto, alert all packs and inform them of the current situation,” Mathias orders. “Ryker, set up a perimeter—3 blocks.”

“Got it,” the two brothers answer.

Mathias turns to Eva. “Secure all the new recruits. Their lives are in our hands now.”

Eva nods. “I will do my best, Commander.”

The 1st Battalion Commander faces the Daemon High Lord and says, “If it is truly him, there’s no guarantee he will return into his time loop. I’ll rip him into ribbons.”

“I have no doubts in your words, son of Mira,” Stefano replies.

Mathias nods twice and glances at Arielle. “Take your best men along. We’re going after him.”

“Mathias, I think it’s best if you—”

“Arielle, just do as I say.” he cuts her off.

Eva and her team guide all the recruits to the pathway that leading to several underground bunkers. Alarms are set off to alert everyone on the Council’s land. Everyone was trained to evacuate within two minutes in the case of an emergency like this. That was why training programs were important especially for the young generations.

Each home built on the Council’s land is equipped with emergency bunker. There are more than twenty-five packs living on the Council’s land. Usually, their pack mansion is the one that equipped with emergency bunker. Each month, all the bunkers would be checked for any faulty or just to resupply foods, medicines, blankets and any emergency items.

“Do not push each other. Watch your steps,” she says, accounting all the recruits. “Watch your steps.”

Chelsea comes out of her living quarters with four other girls, following everyone heading down the hallway. The alarm in the building blares to inform something is happening. Well, she never expects her first day on the Council’s land would be this dramatic. Considering what happened en route earlier, it is fitting to say the Council’s land has everlasting troubles coming for them.

“Do not bring any item with you. Just proceed to the bunker,” a dark-haired woman says as she watches everyone.

Suddenly, Chelsea feels conscious about her own appearance. The dark-haired woman is Eva Blake, Mathias’ second-in-command. Everyone knows about the Southern Werewolves Pack. Chelsea did take notice about everything happening in her own pack and all the people around her but she never showed that she paid attention to any of it. Secretly, she learned about Mathias’ pack and their history.

“Hey girl,” Eva snaps her fingers in front of Chelsea’s face. “Quit daydreaming. Get to the bunker now.”

Another tremor strikes the building once again. The ceiling begins to crack. Eva pushes Chelsea out of the way when the ceiling collapses. Eva bends down preparing to take the impact as she knows she does not have enough time to get out of the way. But, the impact never comes. Instead, there’s a deep growl coming from above her. Mathias, who is in his Lycan form, towers her and takes the impact. He straightens his posture and throws the large debris away.

“Are you okay?” His voice enters her mind link.

Eva nods. “Yeah, I’m okay.” she looks around. “Is everyone okay?”

Several ‘Yes’ come from the crowd before the Enforcers usher everyone hurriedly down the corridor to the bunker. Mathias looks at the ceiling, studying the structure as he knows it will collapse completely soon. Eva uses her telekinesis power to stabilize the ceiling while the recruits on the floor above them are still evacuating.

“How long you could hold it?” he asks her, knowing using her power will physically drain her body.

“Mathias, just go. They need you,” Eva says.

Grunting at her order, Mathias does as she said because she’s right about one thing. He is needed to defend whatever came out from the portal in the basement.

“Keep moving now!” Eva instructs everyone.

Just a second she said that, something forms from the black smoke coming from the basement. Several figures stand a few feet from her. One of them knocks her off from her stance making her magic power distracted from preventing the ceiling from collapsing. With fast reflex, she uses her power and keeps the ceiling intact. The Enforcers lineup, ready to sacrifice their own lives to protect the recruits and herself. Eva takes a good look on the figures. Then she realizes who they are. The burn mark around their neck indicating they are the criminals who were banished to the void and live in the time loop for the rest of their lives. But, seeing them here now means they managed to escape their time loop prison. Also, it means a catastrophic event is about to happen. No one escapes from the time loop without disturbing something that can change the future, the present or the past.

The Enforces make their first attack against the criminals. The criminals, who are Necromancers, form spears from the thin air and throw it to the Enforcers. But, it seems they’re targeting one person.

They’re targeting her.

Eva manages to avoid one spear from going through her body using her telekinesis power but it does not help much as she needs both of her hands to channel the power to prevent the ceiling from collapsing. The Enforcers are no match against Necromancers. Whatever the spear hits, it turns rotten. If it hits one of the Enforcers, herself or the recruits, there is no guarantee they could survive it.

It’s a death touch spell. Just like the tale of King Midas and his golden touch, the same principle applies to death touch.

One more spear heads to her way but someone grabs by the hilt. As long as the blade does not touch the skin, the death touch cannot affect anyone.

But something makes Eva’s stomach churn in both anticipation and confusion.

Sebastian Rhody, the son of Alpha Owen Rhody of the Blackwell Pack, stands before her. What she sees is not just a future Alpha.

She sees him as her mate.