The Silver Siren

“Soon, you will not be able to even breathe!” he snarled, “And once the siren is weakened by your passing, killing her will be easy.”  

I snarled at him, but he continued, “I will once again reign as the most powerful Alpha the world has ever known.” 

I looked up at him. “So that was the goal? To take over my pack?” I asked, stunned. 

“Not only your pack. Every pack. I will be known as the Alpha King!” he boomed with pride. “Once I have control of your pack, gaining control of the others will be child’s play.” 

“And Allie?” I said, seething.

“Ah, yes, The siren. She was an unexpected bump in the road,” he said, “You see, to my knowledge, I had already crushed every siren in existence.” He slowly circled the room. “It was easy, actually,” he boasted, “once the dark magic took effect, they were powerless, much like you are now. And I did it all right under the noses of the Elders.” He chuckled to himself and continued, “Imagine my surprise when, just a few short weeks ago, I caught the scent of a siren coming from the very pack I was poised to take over.”

“She is no match for you,” I spat out. His laugh was low and deadly.

“She will meet her end soon enough, rescuing her beloved. Then there will be nothing standing in my way, and everything will fall into place,” he said, “It’s a shame you won’t be around to witness the marvel of my genius.”

“You’re deluded! There’s no way the Council will allow this!” I growled, “You’re banished, remember?”

“A minor detail of insignificance,” he said, smugly, “A detail that won’t matter when I have full control over the Council too.”

This guy was seriously deranged. I had no idea where I was, or how big his army was. I could hear lots of other rogues scratching around the place, so it was fair to say it was large. But I knew that if Allie, or anyone else, came looking for me, they would be walking into a battle with almost certain bloodshed. It was too dangerous for Allie and the pup. I know Melissa was close to finishing the potion to locate Lucien, and it was only a matter of time before she found the hideout. 

But if I told them not to come, I would die without the antidote for the wolfsbane. It was an impossible situation, and I needed a plan, which might be a problem right now. The wolfsbane was making me, and Maddox, incredibly weak. I could barely move and the pain from the arrow wounds was agony. I didn’t have the strength to do anything physically. But I could try and reach Allie through mind link. I had to tell her that she must stay at the pack house where it was safe. It seemed to be my only choice right now, but Maddox was weak and still retreating to the back of my mind to conserve energy. 

“Maddox,” I called to him, “Buddy, I need you.” No answer.

“We have to try and warn Allie.”

“I’m not sure I’m strong enough, Reece,” he answered.

“We have to try, ok?” I begged, “Come on, man. We have to try.”

“Ok,” he said, reluctantly.

I closed my eyes and tried to mind link. But I couldn’t get a connection. It took a lot more energy than I thought. 

“Maddox, try again,” I urged him. We tried again and somehow made the connection to Allie, but it was weak.

“Allie,” I said, “Can you hear me?”

“Reece, is that you? What’s happened? Where are you? Are you ok?” she fired off her questions at speed.

“I don’t know where I am,” I told her

“Are you ok? Are you hurt?” she asked. The connection was getting weaker and so was Maddox. I had to hurry.

“Wolfsbane,” I said, “Lucien.”

“I’m coming, Reece. You have to hold on. We’ll find you!” she cried.

“No, it’s a trap,” was all I could say before the connection was broken.

“Sorry, man. I couldn’t hold the link anymore. I can’t heal us,” Maddox said, deflated.

“It’s ok, buddy. I’ll think of something,” I told him. The wolfsbane was slowly poisoning every muscle and making my limbs feel like lead, and the effort of the mind link had given me a monumental headache. I closed my eyes and slumped on the cold floor. Feeling like shit, I tried to conserve what little energy I had left, and so did Maddox.

Allie.

As the doors opened, that foreboding feeling washed over me again. I could feel Reece, and the mate bond, getting weaker. A thousand emotions ran through me. The warriors lined up in formation in front of us. This was it.

“I have some potions to help you all,” Melissa announced over mind link. She took out several vials from her satchel.

“This one keeps everyone’s clothes safe when you shift,” she held up a vial, “No need to undress before you shift. When you shift back to human you will automatically have your clothes back on. And this one will give everyone increased strength and speed for a limited time only. And this one will give you all immunity to silver and wolfsbane, again for a limited time only.” She held each vial up in turn. “They will last no more than 30 minutes.” She opened each of them and said her spells to activate them.

“Thank you,” I said to her. She had tried to think of everything she could to help us. She had been waiting for justice for my parents for a long time and her determination was strong. 

“Warriors,” Brad commanded, “Time to shift.” We all shifted, and our clothes disappeared, just as Melissa said they would. 

“You ready?” I asked Penny.

“I’ve never been more ready for this, Luna,” she said. She hardly ever calls me Luna. I smiled. She was letting me know that she has my back.

The warriors howled to make our presence known, as the stench of rogues filled our nostrils and dozens of rogues spilled out of the open doors towards us. Growls and snarls echoed through the otherwise silent forest as the first line of warriors met the rogues heading their way. 

Melissa was tasked with orbing any injured wolves back to the hospital for quick treatment and was waiting at the back of the warriors ready to help. 

“Kill any rogue that stands in your way until I tell you otherwise,” Brad instructed the warriors. 

It was carnage. The front warriors made short work of the rogues and bodies were flying in every direction, the sound of snapping bones and tearing flesh was deafening. The metallic smell of blood saturated the air. Dozens more rogues came rushing out of the doors as we advanced. The next line of warriors took over, slaying the rogues with stunning speed. 

Brad nuzzled into Penny’s neck in an intimate goodbye before leaving her to join the battle.

“Dark magic, Allie. The dark witch is near,” Melissa said to me.

“Ok, stay close to us,” I told her. 

“Rogues incoming, Luna,” Penny said, as she pounced to intercept a rogue coming straight for me. She expertly dispatched him by wrapping her jaws around his throat and breaking his neck. 

“Thanks, Beta!” I said to her. She howled in response. It was our private joke to call each other by our titles, but I had no time to dwell on it as more rogues filtered through our wall of warriors. The sound of gunfire echoed over the chaos and I knew they were shooting silver bullets. My heart jumped in my chest at every shot I heard. But the warriors were holding their own.

“Let’s get our mate!” Lana said.

“I couldn’t agree more, Lana,” I said as another rogue came at me. I dodged him and sped round to attack before he turned back round. I sunk my teeth into his flank and threw him through the air. He hit the brick wall so hard, the wall shuddered, and clouds of dust puffed out of it. He whimpered and hit the ground.

Melissa’s spell seemed to be working. The warriors were fighting with more strength and speed than I had ever seen, and she hadn’t had to orb anyone to the hospital yet. 

Brad signalled for the warriors to advance and steadily they forced the remaining rogues back towards the doors. Slowly we got closer to breaching the doors and entering the building. But time was ticking by, and every second counted in the race to find Reece. 

The warriors finally breached the doors, killing the last rogue. 

“Good job. Now keep sharp. I have a feeling that these rogues are just the tip of the iceberg,” Brad warned us, “Break into your groups. We don’t have much time left before the immunity spells stop protecting us. Be thorough in your search for the Alpha and alert me and the Luna as soon as you have found him. Kill any rogue that stands in your way.”

The warriors branched off in different directions in their groups, searching for Reece.

“Warriors, if you find the dark witch, do not attack her. Tell me immediately and retreat from her,” Melissa told the warriors. But I had a feeling Melissa would find her first. I had learnt a lot about her over the last month, and I was in total awe of her. She was fiercely loyal and incredibly proud of her powers, seeing them as a blessing. A witch using her powers for evil seriously pissed her off and she was determined to stop her. 

She searched in her satchel again and pulled out a vial filled with cloudy white liquid. She flicked her hand and the potion lit up like a light bulb. She removed the cork.

“Within these walls, dark magic slays. Use this light to show me the way,” she said. The glowing liquid shot out of the vial, floating mid-air before it moved down the corridor to the left, guiding us. Penny and I shifted back to human, our clothes conveniently appearing as we did so. 

“This way,” she said, “Stay together.” We followed the light. This place was huge. I could hear the sounds of battle coming from every direction. It seems Brad was right. There were a lot more rogues inside. 

The light led us down a long, dark pathway which eventually opened up into a small lobby. The lobby split off into two different directions. Suddenly, two rogues came hurtling towards us from one of the pathways. They came out of nowhere and were so fast I didn’t have time to shift into my wolf. Melissa was standing in front of us, and the rogues were heading straight for her. 

“No!” I screamed. Without realising it, I had summoned a force field in my hand and shot it at the rogues, just in time. The force field, just a small one, hit them head on and they powered through the air, landing on top of each other. They weren’t dead, but I had knocked them unconscious with the force field.

“Everyone ok?” I asked. 

“Yes, thank you honey,” Melissa said.

“Maybe I should go in front?” I suggested. Melissa nodded and ushered me in front of her. More rogues awaited us as we followed the light. Penny and I fought them off one by one. The light stopped outside a heavy-set wooden door, and with a small puff of smoke, it disappeared. 

“She’s here,” Melissa said.

I summoned a small ball of energy and sent it towards the door, pushing it open. 

“Penny, stay in the doorway and guard the door,” I told her. She nodded and shifted into her wolf, ready to fight. 

Melissa and I slowly walked inside the dark room, and I heard her rooting around in her satchel. As we stepped further inside, the room lit up with light from sconces on each wall.

“So, it is true. A siren lives,” a low voice echoed the room, “I’ve been waiting for you.”

In the corner of the room stood a small, middle-aged woman, with long black hair. She had perfectly normal, non-descript features and was dressed all in black. She wasn’t what I was expecting, but she had an aura surrounding her that I felt. It was pure evil and made Lana shudder.

“Where is my Alpha?” I demanded. She clicked her tongue.

“Now, now. Where are your manners?” she said, nodding towards Melissa, “Aren’t you going to introduce me to your friends?” 

“Go fuck yourself. Tell me where he is,” I yelled at her. “Now!” She chuckled and remained standing in the corner.

“Sadly, I cannot. He unfortunately must die. And so must you. Pray, tell me, how is it that you are in existence?” she said.