-Alex-
The blindfold around my eyes was a dark one. I couldn't see anything of any sort around me. Amber's cries were starting to get to my wolf, and it was only a matter of time before he lost the true reality around us and attacked.
"Alex!" her heart-wrenching cry called.
'GO TO MATE!' Xavier howled in my head, the headache becoming worse.
'She isn't in trouble, and you know it!' I snapped back.
'MATE!'
I rolled my eyes and tried my best to block out Amber's cries for help. I couldn't quite get far of reaching out my senses when Xavier was battling me the whole way. I only got a few feet before he howled again, throwing me off.
"If you do not have the control of your wolf, then you do not have your full advantage." Emit said in an even tone as he paced behind me.
"You don't know how hard it is to get him to listen," I growled back.
"And you'd most likely be dead by now since you can't. If he isn't on your side, being a Werewolf means nothing."
I simply growled.
"Perhaps you need more of an incentive," he said, walking away from me. Curious, I stopped what I was doing. Xavier quieted just barely after Amber stopped her fake wailing. I turned my head, trying to detect any sound to give me clues to what was going on. I couldn't move quite far, my ankles and wrists tied together.
I heard a sharp slap, followed by Amber's cry of pain. Only this time, it seemed more real. The leather binding my hands began to strain as I tried to push Xavier back down. I had no clue if that was real or not. Emit had promised to not hurt Amber, but I knew if he did, she wasn't exactly weak.
Xavier, on the other hand, wanted nothing more than blood, no matter what was going on.
"Use the fire that your wolf burns. Instead of letting it out and allowing him to take over, bend it to your will; allow it to be re-directed into strength."
I barely registered his words, the leather finally snapping. My hands turned into claws long enough to tear the binding of my feet, before running toward Emit. Only the stupid side of me kicked in, forgetting to take off the blindfold, as he only stepped to the side, causing me to stumble over uneven ground and fall forward.
I jumped back up to swing at him but missed yet again. Instead, Emit struck by leaning back to grab my arm and put me quickly into a very painful arm-bar.
"If you let your emotions or your wolf get the better of you, it will cloud your mind and leave you vulnerable to your enemy." He instructed, before shoving me to the ground. "You may take off your blindfold now; we'll continue this tomorrow."
Quickly ripping it off, I ran over to Amber and held her tightly in my arms.
"Alex," she squeaked. "Can't breath,"
I loosened my hold on her but didn't say anything.
"You know he never hurt me, right?"
I looked at her, smiling sheepishly. "Yeah, I do. But you're a damned good actor."
"I was telling that to Xavier," She said cheekily. "Seeing as how he was in more distress than I was."
I only shrugged, pulling her inside with me.
It had been four weeks since we arrived up here. Emit had me doing three things this whole trip: eating, sleeping, and training.
One of the major training ideas that he had worked with was using Amber. Of course, she was never harmed, but instead pretend to be so Xavier would become very, very, very pissed off. Emit said if worse came to worse, and whomever this Alpha was actually got her, I would need to take every bit of anger and despair Xavier had, and turn it into the strength of mind, body, and will. I personally thought that Emit was an idiot for all of this. I mean, seriously, who does that to an Alpha Wolf? Was he wishing for a death sentence?
If it wasn't Emit training me in one way or another, it was my older sister. Since we had been up here, I had been able to master shifting with clothing, a helpful ability that left Amber jealous, and something about not seeing my abs? Whatever that was about. Another ability was what born-hunters called 'stealth.'
Stealth was an ability to move extremely fast, without bearing any scent or making any noise. It basically made me like a ninja, without needing the cover of night. Amber became extremely jealous at that point, complaining how she couldn't become the ninja she had always wanted to be. I, on the other hand, found it rather pointless as wolves normally engaged in full fledged combat. Especially Alphas.
Archery was still a small issue, but I was getting better at it. My accuracy had increased ten-fold, but my speed was horrible. Tobias and I were the only ones that actually used guns, leaving us both bored when the rest practiced. And every time it was hand-to-hand combat, it was the two of us against Emit... who still won every round.
After learning to Shift with clothes on, Emit had me start wearing an army-looking body armor that had a bunch of metal and foam pads in it. It came in handy when sparing with him and Tobias (and Ariel on occasion) as it allowed me to slowly build up against taking blows from the wolves.
The days continued on, two weeks soon turning three, then into four. After Adam contacted us through Emit's satellite phone, informing us of nothing happening there, Emit informed him he would be staying for another three.
I only hoped that we were not pushing our luck. With little to no communication from our pack and no word of another attack, I had started to worry, and to think that they knew we had left. They were simply waiting for our return.
~*~
"If you don't put that will of yours into it, you will never be as strong as you need to be!" Emit said roughly, blocking yet another punch, only to kick me in the stomach yet again.
I swung a kick up to his head, but he just ducked it and kicked out my knee, pushing me down to my knees. I was about to get up, but a blow to the head had me down in the dirt again. We were going at it like this for a while in our human forms, me getting a few hits in here and there, but Emit mostly kicking my ass the whole way down.
"You may have mastered your wolf form, but what if you cannot shift? What good will you be if you cannot fight?" Emit had told me earlier.
Since then, we've been going at it non-stop. I was starting to feel the fatigue settle in, but Emit was like a machine. He kept going just as hard as when he had started. Every blow that I had managed to land, only resulted in triple as many against myself. If it were ever a deadly fight, I would have been long gone.
I had finally had him in a position that would have worked, but his foot slid away from me, kicking out my leg. I tried to get on the balls of my feet to spin around but was hit by his elbow to the back of my head, effectively knocking me to the ground once more.
"Emit, I know it's training and all, but do you mind not giving him brain damage? He's barely house trained as it is," Amber teased.
"Feeling the love, Amber," I said with a grunt as I got up, "I'm really feeling the love."
She laughed, walking up to me, "I love you too."
I stood up straight and looked at the sky.
"Besides, Paige says it's dinner time anyway. Enough training." Amber said sternly to her uncle.
Emit only nodded, then looked back at me. "You're doing well, I must admit. Perhaps after all of this is over, you would still train with me?"
"When I feel the need to be re-acquainted with the ground, I'll be sure to call you up."
Emit merely smiled. "I've been trained for eight years and continue to do so. You've been under training for less than two months. Give yourself even two years and I'd have a feeling that you could beat me."
Curious for a moment, I looked back at him as we continued to walk inside. "Have you ever sparred with Adam?"
He nodded, "Many times, my friend, many times. However, never with him in human form."
"Practicing your rogue hunting?"
Another nod. "It helps when they aren't trying to kill you."
I gave a nervous laugh, "That could get nerve-wracking."
"Oh, yes," Ariel said as she approached us. "And it's really bad when you're on the run from some rogues and your heat kicks in."
Amber winced at that. "Yikes. Sounds almost as bad as... yeah."
"Trust me, it's not going to be nearly as bad." The she-wolf assured her. "It was just the two of us, and we had been... under stress. You've not only got Alex, but you've got four highly, and I stress that 'highly' part, trained Werewolves to watch your back. It's all good."
My mate smiled widely, leaning into my side. "Thanks."
Ariel simply shrugged, "Hey, I just speak the truth."
"Mind you the truth sucks sometimes," Tobias said as we all sat down for dinner.
"We can especially speak for that," Paige said, then frowned. "What are we talking about?"
I shook my head in amusement, looking up at her. "You should have taken mom's blonde hair color, that's what."
"Coming from the kid that found out what he was four years later than I did?"
I rolled my eyes. "Oh, you're pulling that card?"
She nodded, "I mean honestly, your wolf didn't tell you?"
"Did yours?" Emit countered casually.
"Yup. Though, it was after I turned fifteen."
"Speaking of our inner wolves," Tobias spoke up, looking at me. "Aside from training, how's the mysterious Xavier been?"
I only shrugged, taking a bite of mashed potatoes to give me a moment to think. "He's been really quiet. I don't know what's up."
'You can stop talking to me like I'm not here, Alex.'
'So nice of you to join us,' I told him dryly, then looked up. "Scratch that, he's up."
'I only sleep when you do.'
'It's weird hearing you when you're not all aggressive and primal.'
My sister narrowed her eyes at me. "Speaking of Xavier, I've got a bone to pick with him."
"What?"
Tobias nodded from next to her. "After everything that's been happening, Sylvia informing us of your night terrors, and a small bunch of other instances, Xavier clearly isn't ordinary. In fact, we think he's a traveler."
Emit's eyes widened, slowly making their way to me. "No way."
"Yes way," Paige growled lowly. "Spit it out, you wolf. I know you can hear me."
Silence filled the room, but only for a moment. A sigh could be heard through the link, before Xavier's voice was heard.
"I guess I've been caught."
"Xavier?" Amber asked, looking at me. My lips hadn't been moving either.
"Bingo."
Another long silence.
'How are you doing that?' I asked him.
"Ah, so you do have a voice of reason? Well, how do I put it...? Oh, yes, I'm different. Unlike the rest of you, I'm not just a pup."
A chorus of growls filled the link, everyone taking offense to be called a pup.
"Get off your high horses. Sure your human side may no longer be that way, but your wolves still are nothing but newborns compared to me."
"All right then, maybe you'd care to fill us in as to what you mean?" Emit spoke up.
"Hmm, as much as I would like to stay in the dark, I think it's time to shed some light. You see, Alex here isn't the first one to have me."
"Have you?" Paige asked. "What the hell does that mean?"
"A wolf within a human is typically a spirit that is able to take form through anamorphosis. That's the old definition. Although no one uses it anymore, it's still there. My name is Xavier Calvik, and I have been through many beings within my existence."
"What's a traveler?" Amber asked, looking as confused as I'd felt.
It was Ariel that spoke. "A traveler is a spirit that never dies with it's human. When each Werewolf is born, the Moon Goddess allows one of her spirits to bond with it. Until the age when they shift, the spirit remains dormant within the Werewolf, growing up along with it. Once shifted, the spirit comes forth and we know that spirit as our inner wolves. When we die, typically we go with our wolf spirit to wherever the afterlife chooses to take us. Travelers, however, don't go with our human spirit. In fact, typically selected by the Moon Goddess, the spirit of the wolf finds a new Werewolf to bond with. Thus, they tend to grow over thousands of years old, depending on what fate lays in store for them. They only reveal themselves and what they are in a time of great need, for their knowledge is... beyond us."
"So, Xavier," Emit said, looking at me. "Do you know when you first came to be?"
"Believe it or not, I do," He said, and I could almost imagine him nodding. "The year 1354, if I'm not mistaken."
Emit gave a low whistle. "It's been a while since I heard of one that's lived on that long."
"Yes, the ones that reach this long are few. I was only able to make it this long due to the fact that I kept myself secret from everyone else. You are all only the third group I have revealed myself to."
"And let me guess," Tobias began, "You were able to do this trick sometime down the road?"
"This 'trick' as you put it is easily acquired by your own wolf as well, Tobias. But none of you know it since you're all still young."
"I'll let you know ahead of time that your wolf is in the doghouse," Amber muttered. I had a hunch Jackie wasn't liking how he kept referring her to a pup.
"Mind you, I don't mean to come off sounding rude, nor am I trying to insult you. Abilities such as this simply become so as we get older. Think of it as puberty for humans. You don't get certain things until you're older."
I had to hold back a laugh as I could practically hear Amber's wolf huff in frustration.
"So why are you coming forth as of now?" Emit asked.
There was a sigh from Xavier. "If you all wouldn't mind, it is a bit of a story behind my reasoning. There has been one wolf that I had faced a long time ago. A very dark and powerful one. His name is Falcon, although an odd name, he has been a traveler for a few hundred years. I don't know where his spirit came from, but it wasn't from the Goddess. I was the only one in my first life to find out what he really was."
"So you personally know him?" Tobias inquired.
"Yes. In my first life, he was my Beta. When we were younger, we'd play together very frequently. Our human counterparts were practically inseparable. It was like having a brother, someone I could always count on. When the time came, we both became very lucky to find our mates around the same time. My younger sister was his mate and mine was an Alpha's daughter of a very small neighboring pack. Lilian was her name."
His voice softened when he spoke her name as if remembering it caused him a terrible pain.
"Her father was more than happy to join our packs when he learned of our bond. With her by my side along with my best friend and his mate, we were all truly happy. Not but six months later my father stepped down as the Alpha and passed the role to me. I, of course, appointed my best friend as my Beta for he had not only been by my side, but he was a strong wolf as well. A leader and a compassionate wolf. Together, we made our pack strong. A pack standard sought by many. But the fates, of course, had a different plan in mind. When leading a strong pack, one must also fear the envious.
A small group of rogues used a terrible thunderstorm we encountered to cover themselves from our patrols. We never knew the reason, but they chose to attack us that night. Only a few of us were injured, but among those few was Falcon's mate, Caroline, my sister. She was pregnant with his pups during the attack, and one of them managed to tear into her back quite badly. As it was the time before modern medicine, we could only patch her up and expect her wolf side to take care of the rest. Yet much to our horror, a great illness swept into her and she never made it to the next moon. Falcon, my best friend, had lost both his mate and his pup."
He let silence fall upon us once again, seeming to gather himself from the grief that had woven into his voice.
"I sent out hundreds of warriors afterward, seething in anger and despair. My sister and I were very close to each other. Always had a smile and was someone that would put a smile on any wolf's face. I took it badly, but I still had my mate to help me. Falcon, however, did not. He was an only child and his parents had died a few years before he became Beta. While my mate and I did our best, along with all of our pack members, we couldn't keep him out of the darkness that had begun to consume him. He would go missing for hours on end, sometimes weeks before I'd know where he was."
"But he was still your Beta," Paige said in disbelief. "He still had a responsibility to the pack."
"That's what we thought had kept him alive. Until strange things started happening around our pack. Terrible plagues, famishes from the nearby towns and farms, and several floods that had us questioning to stay or to leave. We had begun feeling like we were cursed. Lost to despair and desperation, Falcon had begun toying with the arts of the Goddess we knew as Nocturne. Unlike the Moon Goddess, she was the Goddess to Vampires and the dark side of magic."
"Magic?" I asked. "You guys had magic?"
"What else do you think allows us to bind and to shift?"
I paused, never actually questioning what had allowed those things to be possible. "Valid point."
"After we learned the cause behind his disappearances and our strange happenings, he was confronted and banished. For the following year, things returned to normal. Life moved on. I had learned that my own mate became pregnant and I couldn't have been happier. Then, Falcon returned.
His return to our lands was with a huge army of rogues. Despite our strong pack, they outnumbered us at least fifty to one. My mate was kidnapped during one of the battles and I didn't get to her until only a small handful of us were left. By the time I got to my mate, it had been far too late. Falcon had started to spew nonsense about how if I'd been a better Alpha, then his mate wouldn't have died. That I had brought it all upon myself from banishing him."
"But you were just a wolf within your human counterpart, weren't you?" Emit asked.
He grunted in thought. "Things were a little different back then. We were one and the same... there's more division in these times. Anyway, those of us that were left from the attack managed to corner him on a cliff that overlooked an ocean. I remember we had many special occasions there because of the view but had to be careful for the drop was several stories high. Falcon clearly saw the attack coming because he had Lilian there with him. Before I could save my mate, he drove a sword through her heart and cast her off the cliff that we had enjoyed as a pack so long ago.
Afterward, I found myself diving into madness in the same manner that he had, only it was after the man that I had once trusted my life with. The pack that I once was a proud Alpha to had gone from a strong four-hundred to a mere twelve members. By that point, we chose to disband and move on with our own paths, none of the others wanting to remember the loss of all the ones they held dear. I, on the other hand, was still driven by the blood rage to find Falcon and have him answer for his chaotic betrayal. It was a few weeks later that I managed to find Falcon, only to learn that he'd been luring me into yet another trap. Driven by madness, we found ourselves in a brutal conflict, only to end with him in the victory. Of our few lifetimes together, it has always ended this way. Losing my pack and mate time after time again."
After his story had ended, all we could seem to do is sit there, the quiet reprieve letting us process all that he had said. Even I could feel my mate's wolf crying out softly towards him, equally feeling the sorrow he'd endured for so long.
"I became a traveler in hopes of bringing him down for the last time. The Moon Goddess has granted me that much. I want to bury him with my past and move on."
"But why now? Why come forth now?" Tobias asked again, breaking through the somber mood.
"Falcon's power, his madness, has even turned the purest of minds into dark ones when they shift for the first time. When I come to a new life, someone else is sacrificed to bear him. I fear that this new Alpha of rogues we are facing has Falcon as his wolf."
-----------
As some of you re-readers may have realized, there really wasn't a reason to have Falcon as the main antagonist other than to drive a story. I came to notice this when re-writing and figured it was time to give our villain a name, face, and some type of backstory.
Xavier too... since he was always a bit of a weird one. Anyway, thanks again for reading guys, hope to have the next chapter up very soon :)
Cheers!
-Kaedrik