The Lost Elixir

Chapter Three

"Wait, man—didn't you say it was lost? And that it could be a myth?" Ronan asked, confused.

"Well, it might not really be lost," Jarrah admitted. "We don't know. We were only told of the riddle it takes to find it. If the elixir is still around, we all know that it can only be in one place."

Any sensible person would have shuddered at the thought; and most of them did. Everyone but Nashoba and Jarrah.

"You never tried to go and see if such an elixir existed yourselves?" Nashoba questioned, raising an eyebrow.

Jarrah snorted. "And risk our lives? Crimson Peak is flooded with vampires and the few we sent have never returned, which makes me believe Ambrosius is hiding the elixir in the heart of vampire city. It's a suicide mission that's never been done successfully."

Nevaeh swallowed thickly. She looked over at Nashoba with her eyebrows forced together, worriedly. "What do we do?"

Nashoba looked at her too, his expression grim. "We're dead if we don't try, Vae. You know that."

"Vance, we don't even know if this thing exists," Declan argued. "It sounds like a death trap to me. Who would we even send? We need our best fighters here in case Ambrosius comes while whoever searches for a miracle cure. We need every warrior here, and I don't even know who would be trained enough to go on this—this fool's mission!"

Rayne was about to interject that she already volunteered herself to go, but they continued to talk anyway, and she rolled her eyes, impatiently waiting for them to shut up.

"We don't have a choice! We die if we don't get that elixir, Declan. At least with the king we have a fair shot. And if we send me—"

"No!" Declan protested. "That's a foolish plan. You really think we can be without our alpha in a time like this? What if Ambrosius comes for moonshine if one of his scouts tells him you're gone? We'll be as good as dead!"

"Well, you got any better ideas?" Nashoba shouted, bringing his arms up. "Let's fucking hear it!"

Declan was silent. Nevaeh looked at her husband then; torn between not wanting him to go and doing what was right for their pack. Rayne knew she was purposely not looking at her, because the thought of her risking her life so openly wasn't something she ever wanted to consider.

"You've never wanted to go before," Ezra chimed in, eyeing Jarrah with mistrust. "Why now?"

Jarrah was annoyed with Ezra's constant badger, but didn't buy into it that time. Instead, he set his jaw and glowered up at him.

"Because my people's lives depend on it," Jarrah said, firmly. "And my own life is on the line now. None of you will be able to find the elixir without me, and that's the only way to satisfy the bond. So, one of you needs to decide who's going and we'll leave as soon as possible."

Rayne had enough. "I already said I would go. And we're wasting time arguing about it!" she hissed.

She wasn't eighteen anymore, and being the future alpha, she was entitled to making certain decisions if she wanted to. It wouldn't go over well, but she had to try. Ezra wanted nothing to do with alpha politics, Nevaeh was needed to help the pack, and Nashoba can't leave Moonshine vulnerable.

Which only left one person that was trained better than anyone else in the rest of the pack who was strong enough for the mission. Even if Ronan had outsmarted her a few times during training recently, she was still stronger through her alpha bloodline. It was her duty to go, not anyone else's.

"Absolutely not!" Nevaeh argued, her eyes hard.

Rayne knew she didn't stand a chance against her father's word without her mother's support, so she had to do her best to win them over one parent at a time. She even went as far as taking a step closer to them and ignored Jarrah's huffing behind her.