The heavy weight that was sitting on her chest was thrown to the side. The jaws that had been descending towards her torn away. Sucking in a gulp of air Aislinn tried to shake the cobwebs from her eyes trying to focus on what was going on around her. Slowly the sounds of shouting and fighting began to filter into her muddled brain.
"Princess!"
Her head turned up at that word, the one that she had thought she had imagined. Her vision cleared and she found herself staring up into a pair of dark anxious eyes, hovering just above her face.
"Princess?" She watched as his lips moved around the word. Forming it over and over, growls and screams ringing in the background. "Are you okay? Princess! We need to move! Are you okay? Alpha!" The voice continued to shout, his eyes searching her face desperately. Turning her head from his worried and concerned features she looked around her, the dozens of council wolves that had hunted and attacked them were now locked in a fierce fight. She stared as wolves she didn't recognize fought the council protectors, tearing into flesh and fur. Blood and screams erupting. Watching them her mind began to restart and her eyes jumped from the figures locked in battle, to the others gathered around them, searching for some sign of Ciera and Kio. More shouting began to filter in to her, it still sounded as if it was coming from far away though, echoing from deep within a tunnel. Insubstantial and not quite real.
The face hovering in front of her was still screaming for her attention but Aislinn didn't care about him. She didn't care about the wolves that lay torn apart on the ground, spilling blood that was slowly seeping into the nearly frozen ground, or the smell of death now hanging in the air. All she cared about was finding the two, her two. The two she had sworn to protect. The two that she had led into these horrid woods to die.
She slapped at the hand tugging on her cheek, trying to turn her face up. Refusing to turn her attention from her search, her eyes continued to desperately move across the bodies standing and lying around her. Her struggle was hampered by the legs that started blocking her field of view, gathering around her they circled and obstructed her vision. She felt as her panic and anxiety spiked, adrenaline sweeping along her muscles, chasing away the fatigue and pain that had been pulling at her. Coiling her muscles she pushed off the ground with all her might. Thrusting her hips and shoulders up, she twisted her body and threw whoever had been sitting on top of her off and to the side. Using the momentum she rolled to her front, bending her legs and pushing to her knees. With her toes and fingers she dug into the freezing dirt, sending the little energy she had left to her legs she pushed off. Diving between the bodies that were caging her in, she beat the screaming agony in her muscles down and forced her legs to move faster. An arm reached out for her as she lunged around a body, ducking under it her heart stopped as suddenly she heard her name. Freezing in mid stride, she spun.
Without a thought her hands were reaching into the deep pockets of her black cargos and coming back with two of the silver daggers she had stashed.
It wasn't hard to find the man who had spoken, like all the other Alpha's she had had the displeasure of meeting, his presence alone commanded attention. Strength and dominance radiated from him, his stature imposing and in itself dominating and claiming the space. Aislinn's jaw clenched as two of the wolves moved to his side, in one's hold was Ciera. Pressed tightly to his chest, a bruise flowering on her cheek, her hair wild and disheveled and her face tear stained. The other holding a furious Kio, a large hand holding the scruff of his neck, none too gently, as the pup bit and scratched.
"Release them." She bit out, her eyes narrowing to slits. Turning back to the Alpha who was looking at her with bright awe and astonishment clear on his face.
"Princess-"
"Don't." Aislinn barked cutting him off. Flinching when the hand holding Ciera tightened in response to her tone.
Incredibly the Alpha's eyes opened even wider. "So it's true. It's you."
Aislinn took that as her opportunity to do her own scrutinizing. Her eyes wandering over the wolves now standing clustered around her, corpses of council wolves laying between them. All of them slaughtered and the spilled blood rapidly cooling in the night air, the head of the one who had been beating her was laying ripped from its body at the Alpha's feet. Her grip tightened around the blades in her hands, her grey eyes coming to rest on the newest man who was holding her friends captive and the one who it seemed, had also just happened to save her from a certain death.
[Flashback – Aislinn 4 yrs old – 2 years before the coup and overthrow of the Royal Blood Line]
"Are you ready bootsie?"
Aislinn nodded, grinning up at her grandfather as she climbed into his lap. Looking up into his kind face she felt safe and cherished. His silver hair sat in a messy crown on his head, curling around his ears and along his collar. Since it was longer then her father's, and in Aislinn's childhood mind prettier than her mother's, meant she loved playing with it. Giggling she would weave sparkly barrettes, ponytails and hairbands into it. Her mummy laughing and giving her pointers as they both teased her grandpa about his good-natured grumbling. His grey eyes, mirror reflections of her own and of her father's, looking at her the whole time like she was the sole light of his world.
"What should we learn about today?" He asked as he wrapped his arms around her and tucking her further into the safely of his embrace, the fire crackling in the background. It was another of her favorite times, when it was just her and her granddad and no one was allowed to disturb them. Not even her mummy or daddy. They would sit together, sometimes if it was nice out they would go into the woods, other times, like now, they would simply stay in his office. A fire warming the air while he would teach her about their pack and history. Shrugging her little shoulders she looked up at him with complete faith and trust. Knowing that he would know what she needed to learn, what she would need to know to one day be as great a leader as he was. "How about we learn about the packs?" He suggested gently, his finger tapping the tip of her nose and making her giggle as she nodded her head eagerly.
"Do you remember how many packs there are?" He started by asking. Settling more comfortably into the big leather chair that sat before the fire. His slipper covered feet lifting to rest on the matching ottoman, crossing at the ankles.
Her forehead creased in concentration as she searched her memory for the answer, trying to recall their previous lessons. Slowly she nodded, holding up her fingers for him to see.
Grinning at her, her granddad nodded his head, pride in his eyes. "That's right, there are nine packs. Now can you remember all their names?"
It took her a few more minutes this time, but he waited patiently for her, not rushing her as she searched her memory for the names they had already learnt about. "Well there's our pack, right grandpa? Argentum Sanguinis." He nodded, smiling in encouragement. "And there is Pack Hiems and Bellator. They fight for us and protect us. And there's ... umm, Pack Silva and Pack Lux, and Pack Solani." Her forehead creased again her fingers counting the ones she had already named. "Tenebris?" She said tentatively repeating the name more confidently when the King nodded at her. "And Pack Sen-semper. I can't remember the last one." She finally admitted.
"That's okay Bootsie." He said kindly, kissing the top of her head. "You did good remembering all those names, they're tough. The ninth pack, is Pack Oblitus."
"Oblitus?" She said unsurely and looking to him for conformation. The word strange on her tongue.
"That's right. Pack Oblitus; the lost ones."
"Why are they lost? Can they not find their ways home?" She asked. Concern filling her as she imagined the pack of wolves lost and all alone in the woods, scared and cold. Like the time she had run away from her guards and had been lost for a whole night all by herself. Her daddy had finally found her the next morning, curled into a ball against the base of a tree trunk crying. His large gentle hands had scooped her up and pulled her tight into his chest. It had been one of the only times she had ever seen her father cry.
"No not like that my dear. Hmm where do I start? Pack Oblitus, infracti viribus, do you know what that means?" He asked.
When she shook her head, whipping her hair around, he laughed gently, "Well it means 'unbroken strength'."
He watched her as she grappled with the words, trying to understand them. "So they're really strong?" She finally asked. He smiled nodding his head, but it was sadness that filled his eyes at her words making her frown. Her tiny hands reaching out for his cheeks, her eyebrows pulling together at the different tone in his voice when he spoke this time. "The strongest."
"What's wrong grandpa?" She asked looking at him with concern and fear, her voice shaking slightly. Not liking that he wasn't happy anymore.
"Nothing my dear. Nothing you need to worry about." He said pulling her hands from his face and cupping her chin tenderly. "All you need to know is that whatever else Rainer Fide might be, he will never break. You can and will always be able to trust the shadow of the night. Okay Bootsie?" Aislinn didn't understand what her grandfather was saying but she knew that it was important to him. Important that she believed his words and that she remembered them. So she nodded her head, promising herself that she would, and that one day she would figure out what they meant.
"That's my girl." He said lovingly, patting her cheek and smiling down at her. She grinned back, happy that she had been able to take away the shadow of pain and sadness from his eyes. "He may be lost but he will always remember and when the moon needs them, the shadow will rise." Even more confused than before Aislinn simply nodded again. Throwing her arms around his neck, she planted a kiss on his cheek before whispering in his ear.
"I promise to remember grandpa."
[End of Flashback – Present time – The woods with Aislinn and the new Alpha]
Aislinn kept looking at him, her feelings of unhappiness intensifying. Taking a moment she considered the weapons she still had at her disposal. Picturing the daggers in her hands flying through the air, landing and embedding to the hilt into the two wolves standing at his sides. Fighting a path through the others in order to get her, Ciera and Kio, free and away from them. Even if she managed to escape them now, they would not be that easily deterred and would most likely immediately start to hunt them down themselves. They wouldn't have any better chances outrunning these wolves then they had the council. And that wasn't even considering the council protectors themselves, who would have already sent out more patrols to try and capture them again.
Reluctantly she scrapped the rash plan. Her hands relaxing the tight grip she had on the silver hilts of the two daggers. The wolves around her relaxing in response. Rolling her shoulders, she pushed the pain that was throbbing from her side, leg, and hip to the back of her mind. Ignoring the blood that was still dripping from her various cuts and wounds and focused her attention on the Alpha who now stood in her way.
"He said you would come." She finally said, her voice cold and emotionless. Her eyes flicking to Ciera when she tried to speak, silencing her friends question before it could even be uttered.
"I'm surprised he still remembered me." The Alpha said. In a voice almost as cold and hard as her own.
"Well, you are the lost." She replied sarcastically.
The man grinned at that, and the change was momentous. His whole demeanor and bearing shifting. Those around him reflecting it to become less threatening. The hands that held Ciera and Kio loosening. "I prefer Rainer Fide, but what is a name anyway, right Princess?"
"You can call me Aislinn." She said.
"Princess Ais-"
"Just Aislinn." She snapped, interrupting him.
"Just like your father." He said his eyes travelling her over, taking stock. Whatever he found seemed to satisfy him because this time when he smiled it reached his eyes and made them dance with amusement and satisfaction.
"What do you want, shadow of the night?" She spit out, ignoring the flare of pain in her chest at the mention of her father.
His spine stiffened, his face hardening as he captured her gaze. "We serve the moon." He said bluntly, those gathered around him bowing their heads in submission to the words. To her.
Aislinn scoffed, rolling her eyes. "I know of your legends Fide. I also know your oaths, but I am neither your moon, nor your Princess. Let my friends go and then you can go return to whatever hole you've hidden yourselves away in for the past 200 years. I have no need for you."
His face darkened even further at her words. His eyes flashing black as he rose to his full and truly impressive height. She felt the change as his wolf pushed forward. If Aislinn hadn't believed her grandfather's words that Pack Oblitus wasn't like the others she would encounter, she would have in that moment.
Unlike Alpha Maleco and Pack Tenebris, who wore a touch of feral wildness as if it was a disguise or studied air. As if they had slowly lost their domestication and took on this otherness, Pack Oblitus had in comparison never been domesticated in the first place. They hadn't become feral after years of living in the wild and losing their touch with civility, they had never known the sophistication of civilization or the world beyond the wilderness of the woods. They were at their core wild and free.
In their world, they were known by many names, including 'the originals'. Pack Oblitus was made up of some of the oldest werewolves that had ever lived, outside of the Royal bloodline themselves of course. And with the destruction of her family and the murder of her grandfather, Rainer Fide was now in fact the oldest werewolf in existence.
Rainer had been one of the first turned by King Alassadro himself at the very beginnings of their origins, and had fought at the king's side as his first warrior. Together they had carved a bloody path through their history, hunting down their own kind and culling out the worst of their natures. When the Royals had retreated from sight with the passing of the Queen, Pack Oblitus had followed suit and disappeared from both worlds. Refusing to adapt to modern society or integrate with humans and ignoring the changes of their own they had disappeared into legend.
The other packs had often referred to them as a 'backwards cult of nut jobs', snubbing their refusal to evolve and adapt to the new world. Pack Oblitus, undeterred by the shunning or pressure, and had remained steadfast in their oaths. Pledging to wait in the shadows until they were needed once more. They considered themselves the 'unbroken'. Refusing to be swayed, or to give up the old ways. Never acknowledging the power or authority of the council or the other Alpha's, instead insisting upon holding the original oaths to the King and his bloodline alone.
"No need?" Rainer asked looking at her with his still darkened eyes.
Holding his stare she refused to display any sign of weakness. Forcing her body to remain upright and steady even as it screamed in protest; wanting nothing more than to collapse into a limp heap at his feet. "No need." She confirmed.
"You called." He countered, "And the bruises on your neck would disagree with your words."
Aislinn balled her hands into fists, refusing to let them raise to her neck at his words. Instead jutting her chin forward she kept her face blank. "I did not call the shadows of the night, and I have no need for you now. I thank you for your service but release you from any more."
"We are bound to the moon, to serve only the blood of the one. We have been waiting for you Princess."
Aislinn felt as a wave of pain and exhaustion hit her. Her ribs protesting as she took a deep breath, gritting her teeth as dizziness made her head spin. Exasperation at the entire situation rose as she stared at him, at his calm and unwavering face. She could feel the open awe and wonder his wolves were staring at her with. Looking helplessly at Ciera, Aislinn snorted and threw her hands in the air when the girl just nodded and smiled at her encouragingly. "Fine whatever." She huffed, another dizzy spell hitting her and making her feel nauseous. "Do whatever you want, I don't care anymore. Come. Go. Whatever." She swayed lightly her eyes closing as she fought her body for control.
"She isn't healing." Came Fide's concerned voice, but it sounded far off now. As if she was back down that deep dark tunnel. Through slitted eyes Aislinn watched as the ground began to rapidly approach. Knowing it was going to hurt but unable to get her arms to cooperate with her commands she readied herself for the brutal impact.
She let out a gasp of surprise when instead of the cold frozen ground she had expected, she felt as two strong arms met her failing body. One went under her knees and the other around her shoulders lifting her up and against a broad chest that rumbled against her side as a voice spoke. "Why isn't she healing?"
Aislinn stayed silent, afraid that if she opened her mouth or eyes she would vomit.
"She lost her wolf." Ciera's voice came from beside her. Aislinn flinched as cool thin fingers ran through her hair, pulling away as they hit a deep gash on the back of her head that was gushing blood. "Shit!" she heard Ciera curse, her fingers probing the cut and making Aislinn wince. Bile rising and burning her throat as she squeezed her eyes against the sharp pain. "It's really deep. She probably has a concussion. We need to keep her awake and get her back to Doc."
"Who are you?" The chest rumbled again.
"Ciera. And who the hell are you?" Aislinn would have laughed if she wasn't so tired, she could easily imagine Ciera's fists on her hips, her eyes snapping with indignant rage at the audacity of someone questioning her.
"Rainer Fide, Alpha of Pack Oblitus." Came the slightly surprised sounding response.
"Oh, okay then. Well gotta say I'm relieved you're a good guy and not another power crazed psycho trying to add her to one of your demented collections."
"I do not understand what you mean."
"Yeah I get that a lot. Never mind, come on hulk we gotta get her back."
"Back? No we will take her to my pack. We must keep her safe."
"Whatcha talking bout willis? Haven't you heard nothing?" Ciera asked, her voice rising up a notch and getting more animated as it did. "You think you can keep her safe? Do you know who you are holding right now? Look I like your intentions and everything, but you're kinda the new kid on the block here, so I'll give you a few tips. One: no one, and I do mean NO ONE can keep that girl safe. Trust me I've tried, her guardian has tried, the whole damn pack has tried, even her mate has tried-"
"She has a mate?"
"Wow you really don't know a thing do you? Yup she has a mate and he is going to be royally pissed off to see her almost dead again. Although of course he'd be madder if she had actually gone and gotten herself offed, so I guess that's a silver lining here. I mean I'm still probably dead but well you know, what can you do?" Ciera rambled, her voice growing melodramatically morbid and depressed by the end.
"Ciera will you stop with the whole dying thing, Kaiden isn't going to kill you." Aislinn managed to murmur around her dry and cracked lips.
"Yeah right! Like I believe you! Ha! And you better hope YOU do actually end up dying out here because I swear I'm going to kill you! You almost died! Again! Don't think I've forgotten about that either, your little unconscious routine isn't going to make me forget! I can't freaking believe I almost let you get yourself killed! Kady is most definitely going to kill me this time. KILL as in I am dead. Dead. Dead! DEAD! And it's all your fault! I'm dying because you couldn't think of a better plan then 'keep running'. Ugh!"
"Ciera." Aislinn snapped, forcing her eyes to open and the bile back down. Lifting her head off the chest it was resting upon. "Look at me." Waiting until she did and hating how weak she felt and probably looked at the moment she tried to make her voice strong. "I'm okay, alright? I'm fine and neither of us is going to die."
Ciera looked at her for a beat before her gaze flicked to the man who was holding her. At the moment he was looking between them with a strange and confused expression on his face. Neither girl paid it any heed, unconcerned and used to the looks they received whenever they were together. "Are you sure? Cuz hulk here is looking at me kinda funny." Ciera stage whispered at her, arching one of her eyebrows dramatically.
"I'm sure Ciera. Whatever else he might do, I know that 'hulk' here won't hurt us."
"My name isn't hulk, Princess." Hulk said.
"Yeah and mine isn't Princess, you'll get used to it." Aislinn snapped not turning to look at him. "So you okay?" She asked Ciera, searching her face and frowning at the darkening bruise on her cheek.
Nodding slowly, she broke out into a wide grin. "The plan worked! We didn't die ... Again! Woot woot! Go us!"
"You are so weird." Aislinn said. Her head falling back against Hulk's chest.
"No I'm not." Ciera said, freezing in the middle of the weird happy dance she was doing, her arms in the air as she stuck her tongue out at her.
Aislinn just rolled her eyes, lifting a hand she patted the chest that was under her cheek twice. "Onward Hulk, my mate awaits ever most patiently."
Ciera, overhearing her words let out a snort and bark of laughter.
"My name is not Hulk. It is Rainer, Princess."
"Oh sure it is Hulk. Whatever you say." Ciera said with a wave of her hand, dismissing his frown and starting to walk.
The Oblitus wolves closed ranks around them. Their Alpha at the center carrying Aislinn's bruised and broken form, Ciera with Kio in her arms at her side.