Zephyr●
What I did was necessary. It wasn't what I wanted, but I had to calm him down.
I left him in what I thought were capable hands, but instead, they were having their lovers quarrel and left him unattended.
Looking down at the tiny omega in my arms, I released a breath, tucking a few of those white strands behind his ear. I knew that I shouldn't have left him alone, but I did.
I fiddled with his necklace, twisting and turning the stone in my hands until I eased him up to remove it.
Dipping into my pocket, I pulled out another necklace, but this one was smaller and contained a small black stone. This was what I left him to retrieve. As long as he wore this, he would be unable to use any form of ability that he possesses. The stone rendered all magic capabilities he had within him absolutely useless, this would be torture for him and Cassius.
"They'll understand." Eros voiced, and I hooked the necklace around his neck, watching as his white hair started to slowly turn black. When all white strands were now jet-black, I cradled him in my arms.
This will all be over soon, I just need to keep him and the babies safe.
I laid him on his side, and he instantly curled into a ball.
Walking out of his room, I locked the door and went in search of Rhys.
"Zephyr they'll understand. It's for their own good. I don't enjoy this just as much as you don't, there is no need for you to be giving me the cold shoulder."
I ignored Eros and continued to walk.
I wasn't upset at the fact that he insisted that we keep Mizuki under lock and key. I was upset because he kept things from me, and I thought we were closer than that.
He could've stopped all of this a long time ago. He is the reason why this is happening. He could've ended it when he had the chance.
For as long as I've known my wolf, he's always had a deeper connection with Cassius, which I thought was just because they were mates, and it came naturally, but I was wrong.
When I found Rhys and his mate, they were sitting down, Mylo on the other side of the room as always, and Rhys on the next.
Standing in the middle of the room, I crossed my arms as I waited for one of them to speak.
"I am very sorry, this is all my fault. I opened the door and led us outside." Mylo spoke first, and I glanced at him. His eyes were cast low with quilt, and his lips pushed out in a small pout.
Rolling my eyes, I looked back at his mate, waiting for him to say something. He looked at me and shrugged.
"I gave him the necklace," I said, and he raised his eyebrows, looking at me.
"What necklace?"
"Mizuki will no longer be able to shift or control any form of time. Oridian will fall back into sync with Earth very soon. This is not a solution, just what we can do that doesn't involve me locking him up in this place to keep him safe." I explained, and Mylo's lips pulled in a thin line.
"Whatever those injections were, get Keegan to find them as soon as possible."
Rhys nodded, and I released a ragged breath, leaving them both.
I wasn't surprised when Rhys followed me out, I was surprised he left his mate behind.
"Are you okay?" He asked me, concern slightly filling his voice.
"I am." I replied as I continued to walk.
"Why do you ask?"
"I know, what happened with my brother and what happened with you, what you did-" I stopped walking, and he did the same.
"What I did?" I asked, looking him in the eye, and he matched my energy, challenging me with his eyes.
"Yes, what you did. I'm very sure you don't want him finding out the real reason half of Oridian is bad." He said.
"Is that a threat, Rhys?"
"Yes." He said, and I rolled my eyes and continued to walk. He was joking. For his sake, it must've been a joke.
"I need to visit Keegan before Mizuki wakes up."
"Let's do that then." Rhys said and disappeared. I think he did that more than he actually walked. I've known him for a long time, and I've never seen him take more than ten steps at a time.
He's lucky that he was born with the ability for some unknown reason.
I teleported to Thanatos to the throne room, to be exact.
In the centre of the room, Keegan stood, with his arms folded staring at Rhys, who sat in the stone throne.
"You need to get some more seats in this place. Where will you guys sit?" he asked, looking at us.
"I'll stand, thank you." Keegan said, turning to face me. "I'm assuming this is what you came to ask about." He lifted a syringe with a yellowish liquid inside, and I looked from it to him.
Smart man.
"It's a plant, along with some other things. This was used to keep him calm so they could see what was going to be the outcome of his pregnancy. They made him inhale a mixture of this and another so he could be there and in the club at the same time." He explained.
"Do you know what those testings were for?" I asked him, and he scrunched his face up and then shook his head.
"No, but I did hear the man say something about something unusual. There are 4 different essences? Or was it 3? I didn't quite get that."
3 essences? I'm sure it was another word, but he couldn't remember. It could mean he was going to have more than one pup. It was not unnatural for an omega to have more than one, It was strange when they had one.
"Okay, you said the man? Who is that?" I asked him.
"I'll let you get him."
"Lovely, let's do this swiftly. She's going to be on to you soon." I said.
"Right, and we don't want that now, do we?" Rhys asked as he passed Keegan , his voice dropping a few octaves and looking into his eyes.
Keegan met his eyes, and Rhys's eyes flickered between them until they dropped down, then back up again, but he quickly looked away.
I said nothing and returned back to Oridian to check if Mizuki was awake and alright. I hope he hadn't seen his hair yet. I want to be there for that. I was excited, but at the same time, the quilt was edged somewhere in that excitement.
Unlocking his door, I saw that he was still fast asleep. He wasn't snuggled up in the bed, but now he was sprawled out almost resembling a star fish.
I should wake him. He hasn't eaten. Wondering on the matter for a moment, I then decided that it was best that I woke him and made sure he ate something before we had more problems than we could manage.
Walking over to the bed, I sat on the edge, the matters dipping slightly under my weight.
I stared down at the omega, looking at the way his eyelashes were so long, and now that they were black, I could see the full length. Maybe it was the black hair that was bringing out so many features I've never taken notice of before. His lips look rosier than they did before.
"Now you know very well that it's not because of his hair colour." Eros said in a matter of factly tone.
Ignoring him again, I placed my hand on Mizuki's shoulders and started to shake him gently. He swatted my hand away and rolled over, facing away from me.
I shook him again, and this time, he let out a loud groan, peeking over his shoulder with half closed eyes. A deep frown along with puffy red cheeks were the first things I noticed.
He squinted his eyes at me and rolled back to face me, plopping himself up on his elbows.
"You should eat." I said, and he shook his head.
"I'm not hungry." With that, he lazily dropped back down so his head hit the pillow and closed his eyes again.
Getting up from the bed, I lifted him in my arms and placed him on his feet. To my utmost surprise, his legs wobbled, and he fell face first back on the bed with his legs dangling off the bed.
"Get up." I said, pulling him, and he groaned even louder.
"Fine."
He sluggishly stood on his feet in front of me, his hair darted in all directions, and his eyes were red.
"Let's go."
Mizuki followed me out the door and through the hallway as we made our way to the dining area.
Once we got there, Rhys and Mylo were also there. They were sitting on opposite sides of each other. They are lucky I decided that there should be more chairs at the table. I walked over to the chair beside Mylo, pulling it out, allowing the small omega to slide into it, and pushed it forward.
I took a seat next to Rhys and fixed my gaze on him.
No one has said anything yet, and I was thankful, but at the same time, I wanted someone to tell him. I didn't want to be the one to do that.
I nudged Rhys from underneath the table, and he snapped his gaze over to me, and I tilted my head towards Mizuki, hoping he would understand what I wanted him to do.
I needed him to make one of his sarcastic comments to ease the tension in the room. It was quiet, too quiet.
Rhys rolled his eyes, and I faced Mizuki once again, waiting for him to start talking.
Mizuki eyes were dead set on the table in front of him, hunching over slightly, looking like he would fall asleep any moment now.
"So, Food." Rhys said, and I glared at him, to which he shrugged.
I had to do this myself.
"Mizuki, your necklace, I took it." I said, and he looked straight ahead to look me in the eyes. Feeling around his neck in search of said item, he grabbed the one I placed there.
"But it's right here-" he raised the amulet and looked down, then back up at me with confused eyes.
"What's this?" He asked curiously.
"It's meant to take your powers away and your ability to shift temporarily." I explained, and he frowned, but I hoped he'd notice what I said temporarily.
"Why?"
"For your safety-"
"My safety? What about Cassius? He has to shift every once in a while, and Trapping him isn't fair, so what kind of safety is that if we are not allowed to do anything?" He asked, his voice going up.
"You are allowed to do whatever you want, but using your powers or shifting puts you at great risks that I am not willing to take." I said calmly, and the irritation and a bit of anger rose within him.
"That is not fair. You should've asked me - "
"It was the right thing to do. It was either that or I keep you here until the situation is handled."
"I am not keeping this on, I will not do that to Cassius or me."
"It can not be removed." I told him, and his face faltered.
It can, but he didn't need to know that.
"So I'm stuck like this? Forever?"
"Not forever, just until-" Mylo tried, and Mizuki glared at him. Mylo kept quiet, and Mizuki's eyes came back to me this time. They were almost glowing. It wasn't as vibrant as before when he had access to his wolf fully.
"You cannot do this, Don't you think I can be useful? Taking this away from me is only rendering me useless. I'll be a sitting duck."
"You keep it on until I say when, and that is final." I said firmly and removed myself from the table, walking out of the room just in time to see Lara and two other women.
"Make sure he eats." I told her, and she nodded.
I left the Palace, and I needed some fresh air. I know what I was doing was good for him, and I wish he would have seen that. Elarian was smart, and from what Eros told me, she had a big plan, but I needed to think three steps ahead of her in order to keep my family safe.
My next step was to find the witch she was looking for. I put Rhea on the job, but I needed to do some extra digging myself, and I knew the perfect place to start.
I shifted, shaking my body as a way of relieving my muscles. I haven't shifted since Eros had the altercation with Cassius and another time after that.
Putting distance between me and the Palace, I ran through the woods, taking left and right that I knew by heart from the time I used to spend travelling back and forth.
Before entering the territory, you could smell the difference from where I was coming from.
When Koa left, I switched. I didn't have Eros or anybody else to keep me sane, so I switched to a different part of Oridian and a different state of mind.
A couple days after he left I got into a really bad and irrelevant fight with another alpha wolf on what they had claimed to be their territory and he died which made me the alpha wolf of that little village.
They were the mistreated people who deemed themselves too bad for the good side of Oridian, the less fortunate, and people who thought they didn't fit in on the other side. So they moved further down into Oridian, forming their own pack, building houses, and formed a bond together.
I had just lost a mate, a person who is said to be the other half of your soul, and I had lost my wolf too, so I was ticking yes on a lot of their boxes.
Being the King was just and still is a title. Any alpha who thought they were alpha enough could challenge me for that position, but I made this place, and they live here, so they kept to themselves.
Crossing into the territory, I spotted pups playing, and when they saw me, their eyes widened, and they ran up to me.
"Alpha, you're here two days in a row." A small girl with curly short hair said, looking up at me with wide eyes.
"Right, suspicious." Her brother said and eyed me skeptically.
I let out a wolfy laugh and used my snout to nudge Avery by the back so she could walk in front of me while Arlo waddled beside me.
I loved them. They were always getting into trouble and going out into the woods where their father couldn't find them.
"Arlo! Avery!" As soon as the twins heard their father, they ran towards the sound, and at the same time, a man ran in our direction where his kids were running towards him.
"Dad!" they beamed and jumped on him.
I shifted and stood in front of the three, watching as the man smiled in relief as he held his kids tight in his arms.
"Thanks for coming here before they wandered off." Aaron said and gave me a smile, I nodded in return and continued to watch them.
Aaron lost his mate after his omega gave birth to the twins, and since then, he's been their only parent for the past 3 years.
Avery and Arlo were great kids too big for their own good, but still great.
"He's back again." Arlo said, looking up at me with a frown on his lips. Rolling my eyes, I walked past them, patting Aaron on the back as we walked together. Arlo walked beside me with his arms folded in front of him.
Once we were in the pack, people started to turn their heads towards me, some bowing slightly, mainly the omegas and betas the Alphas of the pack nodded as I passed them to my house.
Yes, my house. I used to live here. This is what Rhys meant by the things I did. I left the Palace, the throne, and Rhys behind for some time to stay here and on the contrary to what people believed about this side which they classed as the dark side or the black market of Oridian. It was beautiful and full of life, and the people helped me a lot.
Without them and this place, I would've never gone back, and I stopped doing things that I used to do.
Aaron was a good friend and the loyalest one I've made in this place. He knew about every single move I made and was about to make.
Walking up the house, I twisted the knob and pushed the door open, holding the door to let him and the kids in, and I closed it afterwards.
"run along." I said to Avery and Arlo, and Avery immediately left, going up the staircase, but Arlo only stood looking up at me with firm eyes.
Raising a brow, I looked down at him, mimicking his stance, and he didn't budge.
"Go" I said, and he squinted his eyes before slowly turning to go in the direction his sister did. Once he was at the top of the stairs, he stopped to look at me for a moment, then walked away.
"I gave it to him. He was mad, of course. I still don't think he's seen his hair yet." I said, walking into the living room and taking a seat, and Aaron did the same.
"He'll get used to it. It's not going to be forever. We have a lead on the witch." He said, and I perked up at the mention of the witch.
"Go on." I said, and he started to tell me what he found out.
"Her name is still unknown to us, but from what I've heard, she's been around Oridian lately. She's been near the Palace, to be exact." My eyebrows dipped, and I looked at him for a moment then looked away.
Why would she be near the Palace? For Mizuki?
"I don't think so." Eros pitched in, and I leaned back in my seat as I started to think of all the reasons she would go there.
"Do you know when?" I asked Aaron, and he shook his head.
I knew there was someone who was ratting me out to Elarian, but that was under control, so I don't see why she would go there. It couldn't have been under Elarian's influence because she is also searching for her.
Did she want us to find her? Or did she want to see Mizuki?
"Maybe she wanted us to know she would come to us?" Eros said, and I nodded. It made sense.
"I think Mizuki is right. I did leave him powerless and defenceless. I can't carry him here. He's still capable of defending himself if anything were to happen. I made sure of that from the moment I met him." I said to no one in particular.
"Right and now he's freaking out over the colour of his hair." Rhys said as he appeared in the middle of the room.
Of course, he knew I was here.
"Aaron."
"Rhys." Aaron greeted, and Rhys flashed him a smile. "How's the kids?" He asked Aaron.
"They are okay, upstairs." He said, and Rhys nodded.
"The hair." I said, and Rhys turned back to me and nodded.
"Yeah, Mylo mentioned it, and he ran towards a mirror and started to freak out. The kitchen woman and Mylo are there trying to convince him he looks good with the black hair while he's having a panic attack." Rhys explained, crossing the room to sit beside me, extended his legs on the coffee table.
He did look good with the black hair. There should be no convincing.
"He'll be fine." Aaron said as if reminding me, and I nodded slowly.
"Yeah sure, but will you be fine? I'm sure you're in for a long time of silence treatment. You'll probably have to start sleeping on your own now.'' Rhys teased me, and I glared at him.
He was right.
"Something you're used to, right?" Aaron asked, and Rhys snapped his head towards the Beta male.
"And you're not?" Rhys wiped the smirk off Aaron's face, and he turned away from Rhys.
Okay...
"We just have to tread lightly from now on until she makes her next move." Aaron said.
Avery came running into the room as soon as her father finished talking. She ran straight into her father's arms, hiding her face in his chest.
Startled, he slowly rubbed her back and asked her what was wrong.
Before she answered what was wrong, she walked into the room calmly as ever with his hands behind his back.
"What did you do?" Aaron asked him, and Arlo shrugged.
"H-he scared me and tried to lock me in the closet." Avery said as she pushed her face deeper into Aaron's chest.
Rhys and I looked at Arlo, and he kept his eyes on his sister with a glare.
"Did you really?" Rhys asked, and Arlo nodded shamelessly. Rhys held out a hand towards him, "high five." Arlo smiled, going in for the high five.
"Don't encourage it, Arlo, what you did was bad. Apologize." His father said, and Arlo shook his head stubbornly.
"She deserved it."
"What did she do?" I asked, and he turned to me with a glare, I had a feeling the kid didn't like me.
"Oh what gave that away?" Eros asked sarcastically.
"She pushed me." He said, and Rhys started to laugh beside me.
"You talk too much!" Avery suddenly shouted at her brother, and Arlo leaped at her, pulling her by the dress. I grabbed a hold of him as he twisted and turned in my arms, trying to get out. In Aaron's arms, Avery was doing the same thing while Rhys was dying.
"Mizuki needs to have two pups so they can be like them." Rhys muttered, still laughing at the twins.
I placed Arlo back on his feet.
"You pushed him?" Aaron asked, and Avery shook her head, telling him no. Arlo jumped again, this time attaching himself to Avery and Aaron let her go so they could roll on the ground.
I looked from them to him, and he looked so done with their antics.
Avery and Arlo rolled on the floor, I think they were fighting, but I wasn't sure.
Rhys was so engrossed in their little fight that he was practically at the edge of his seat, and I shook my head.
"Okay we're leaving." Aaron announced, dipping down to pick up Arlo, who was tangled up with his sister. He kicked and tossed as his father placed him around his shoulders and reached for Avery next.
"See you guys." He said and headed for the door.
"I love them." Rhys said as he watched them leave the house.
"Yeah, they're something." I said.
"You going home?"
I shrugged, rocking my legs, I wanted to, but why would I go back when I knew he was still not over what I did.
"You should." Rhys said, standing up. My eyes moved up to him.
"I think I'll stay for today, maybe tomorrow." I told him.
"Alright. See you." he said, leaving the room without a reply.
I sat there silently thinking of why the witch would be around the palace. I wondered if she visited the inside of the palace. Was there anyone strange that visited while I was out?
I had to ask Oz, or not he was kind of on my list of people who knew a lot and could be working for Elarian. I've known him for a long time, though, so I didn't think it was him.
I still need to check and see if anyone was there.
Mizuki was out in the woods, too, the day I left. Why?
I couldn't ask him until he was speaking to me, so that meant Oz was the only one I could ask right now.
I didn't want to go back just yet, but I had to. There was something inside me that was telling me that this was the right path for me to look at.
Maybe she wanted us to actually find her, and this is her way of doing that.
Rhea was a good shot since she dabbled in prophecies and so on, but I felt like I was near. I teleported back to the Palace to a place where I knew Mizuki wouldn't be and went in search of Oz.
When I found him, he was bent over a pot of flowers with a watering can in hand.
Not paying much attention to the plant, I stalked over him, and he jumped when he heard the heavy footsteps.
"Sir, you scared me." He said, placing a hand over his chest. He sat the watering can beside the flower and gave me his full attention. "Is there something I can help you with?"
"Yes, did you notice any strange people visiting the Palace lately?" I asked, and he pursed his lips.
"N-no I don't think so."
"Think harder."
He looked at me suspiciously before taking a moment to think about what I asked him.
"There was someone here, after sir Mizuki's ball or a couple of days after I'm not too sure."
"Who?" I asked.
"A guy named Pedro, he works in town. Sells rare artefacts and jewellery, even books, too."
I nodded and walked out of the room, leaving Oz to get back to his plants and making my way to the shop.
I knew exactly which shop he was referring to. It was the same one I found Mizuki in when he was going into heat.
I teleported to the shop but when I was there no one else was. The shop was completely empty, things were missing, and the furniture was upside down.
I walked around to the counter and spotted another door. Trying to open the door, I found that it was locked.
Using my shoulder to force the door open, it took about two swings until the door flew open, and if I thought the mess was inside the shop, I was wrong.
There were papers scattered everywhere, broken glass, and shattered plant pots. Walking over the mess, I scanned the room.
There was still no one, only papers.
I bent down taking up one of the papers. It was a piece of a map. Taking up another one, it was blank but still looked like someone wrote on it.
Kicking the papers around in search of a pencil, I stopped when I found a small piece and picked it up, placed the paper down on the table, and shaded all over the paper.
When I could make out the writing on the paper, I dropped the pencil back and walked out of the room.
At the very centre of the paper, there was sloppy handwriting that said...
Remember our deal Eros...
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