Chapter 37
Nigel Quintin Ulysses
The demon and angel have arrived, and we're huddled to a room called the Great Hall. The other Alphas are also here, being within the united packs. Kieran is looking at me with a worried look, and Marcus looks like he's about to take my hand away and run. I give him a small smile, but Marcus has a way to know what my feelings really are. And right now, I'm scared.
Everyone looks at me expectantly, and I feel my heart beating fast.
And it's not in a good way.
First, I introduce my name to the angel and demon. There are beads of sweat forming on my forehead, trickling down to my cheek. I open my mouth and explain it to them, my voice wavering. I'm really scared. My eyes meet Marcus' and he bites his lower lip, concern and fear evident in his eyes. I would love running away with him, but what I saw in my head concerns all of us, and if I don't tell anyone about this, our lives might be in great dangers. That's the last thing I want to happen to all of us, and especially to Marcus.
"I encountered someone in my dream. I don't know if... it felt real. He was a guy with wings, black and white." The demon looks at me with his dark eyes and a shiver runs down my spine. He looks scary and intimidating. Though this is not the first time I've seen him, but that doesn't mean that it made him less intimidating. "He mentioned about two entities – one angel and one demon, being a hybrid. Leandre told us about you guys being the hybrid, that's why he brought you here immediately."
"What about it? What did he say about us being a hybrid?" The angel asks us and I see fear in his eyes, reflecting mine.
"He said there was – ugh," Abyzou. I don't know why it pops up in my head, but as soon as the name gets out of my mouth, something clicks inside me.
Suddenly I'm at place where I can see everyone, but I can't move any muscle. I'm glued to the ground, and everything around me is dark. Yes, I can still see them. This will only take a while... you need to trust me, Nigel. I calm my breathing, but the more I think about what's happening, the more scared I get. It's not because there's this Abyzou guy talking now to my mate and everyone in the room, but it's because of the fact that I was once a normal teenager who had a passion for basketball and who had a loving girlfriend Julia. And now, suddenly I'm the Guardian of the Mortals. Can you fucking believe it?
When it's all done, I can finally breathe freely and I cough out loud, and Marcus immediately runs to me and hugs me tight. He has this panic look on his face and that's when I break down. Tears run down my cheeks and I hug him back, not wanting to let him go, as if my life depends on it. Marcus plants a kiss on my forehead and it immediately calms me down. He lifts my chin up and kisses me gently on the lips, and it's enough to calm my beating heart.
"Do you want to take a rest?" He asks me, fear still swimming in his beautiful eyes. I nod at him and he helps me stand up. "They're gone. I think they've basically accepted their future and the impending war. And it's all thanks to you. Just let me know if it's unbearable anymore and I'll think of something to resolve it."
"You are no doubt the best mate in the world," I tell him and his face softens.
"Nonsense. I'm lucky to have you." Marcus leans down and kisses me again on the lips, to which I oblige and accept. He nibbles on my lower lip, biting gently and I let out a moan. He pulls out and rests his forehead against mine. "I love you."
Every time he says he loves me, my heart always somersaults. How can I be so lucky to have this werewolf standing in front of me as my mate? How did I get so lucky? And is it weird to say that I love him so fucking much?
"I love you too,"
I bury my face in his chest and his arms wrap around me, pulling me closer. I can never get enough of his scent. He smells really good – I can smell him all day and never get tired of it. He chuckles when he catches me sniffing him and I roll my eyes playfully. The tears have long gone and got dried on my cheeks.
Kieran walks up to me and I smile at him, thankful that I have made good friends here. Almost everyone has already left, and the people around me are only Kieran, Dave, Perry, Cloud, Marcus and the Elder to which I have yet to know the name.
"Are you alright?" Kieran asks me and I nod at him, letting out a sigh. "I made Chanteloupe stay... maybe he has an answer to what's going on with you."
"What's going on with my mate?" Marcus asks, his eyes now reflecting confusion. His eyes meet mine and I take a deep breath. Kieran meets my eyes and I simply nod at him, giving him the go signal. I'm not really sure as to why I suddenly have the capability to smell others like a wolf, but it's still there. The scent, and it's strong. But it's not the type of strong that makes me want to vomit.
"Earlier, before this happened, Nigel was able to smell us," Kieran begins and looks at the Elder expectantly. Cloud shares the same look as Marcus: confused. "And no, it's not because we smell. "He can smell whether someone is already mated and... yeah, you all get it. A werewolf trait."
"Is that true?" Marcus asks me and I nod my head. "Is there a voice inside your head? Like a different person?"
"If you're saying I have a wolf, then no," I tell them, shaking my head. "I can still smell you guys. Mated or not. I'm not really sure why. It's just so sudden. One minute I was with them, and then the next thing there's this scent I couldn't point out. And that's when they told me it's a werewolf thing. But no, I can assure you that there's no voice inside my head. I don't have a wolf."
"It could be because of the fact that you're mated to a werewolf," Chanteloupe, the Elder, says. Right now it seems like it's the most logical explanation. "Or it could be a fact that you're the Guardian of the Mortals, or both. But this is the only case I've heard of this. Just like Dave. I may have to read Book of Werewolves again, but I'm not certain the explanation is there."
"Okay, you do that." Cloud orders. "Make sure you let me know if you found something."
"Yes, Great Alpha." With a nod, Chanteloupe gets out of the room.
Marcus tenses against my touch and his eyes turn blue. Everyone heads outside except for Marcus who seems torn between joining his friends fight and leaving me here.
"Rogues!" Someone shouts and Marcus pushes me gently.
"Nigel, stay here." Marcus cups my face and plants a long kiss on my lips. "It's dangerous outside. I need to go outside and fight. Just stay here and I'll come back for you. Okay?"
Without waiting for me to reply, Marcus turns on his heel, jumps, and lands on his wolf form. This is actually the first time I've seen Marcus transforming into a wolf, and to say I'm not amazed would be a lie. No, he is magnificent and awesome. I'm not at least a bit scared. I've just seen my boyfriend transform into a wolf and I can't help but admire it. The way he landed with grace is perfect.
Marcus glowed when he transformed.
The shouting continues and I can hear the snarls and growls of the werewolves. My heart races and I think of Marcus to calm it down. But it's not working. Somehow the images of him dying in the hands of the rogue keep flashing inside my head. Never have I felt so useless and weak in my life. My mate is out there, fighting for others' lives and I'm here, doing nothing and waiting for here to come back. I know I was ordered to stay out of danger, but I can't just literally do nothing. I can't just stand here. I could help the others evacuate.
Disregarding Marcus' order, I head out of the Great Hall and see Kieran commanding the others to go to the safe room. He sees me standing and runs after me. My eyes frantically search for my boyfriend, but I can't see him neither the battle. Kieran is talking to me, but I can't make out the words. I just need to find Marcus. I know it's dangerous out there, but I want to go where Marcus is.
Kieran tugs on my arm, forcing me to walk. He's still saying to me, but my attention is not on him. It's on the people milling inside the room. He says something about everything is under control and that it's not really a serious threat, but something tells me that there's something wrong here. Kieran pushes me inside and barks to go to the safe room – it's underneath this room and there's a secret passage entrance just to get there. In front of me, leading the way, is Dave and the other Lunas who are trying their best to calm down everyone.
Dave leads us to the basement, the safe room, which takes like five minutes to get there. The place is huge and it has a complete set of the house – kitchen, bathroom, bedrooms, and living room. Almost everyone seems shocked to see the safe room. Even I am shocked. The walls are covered with blank ink, and something ancient is written on the wall. My eyes trail to the Elder, Chanteloupe, and his lips begin to move and what's written on the wall begin to glow.
Everyone seems relaxed but I'm not.
I feel like there's something wrong here. Really. And I can't pinpoint what it is. My eyes scan the people and at the back of my head, a voice speaks to me, telling me that it's a trap. I try to relax my mind and my beating heart, but I can't shrug the feeling off.
Twenty minutes later, the metal door opens and the pack warriors, together with my mate and friends and the other Alphas, come in. They've got wounds, and Marcus' arm is bleeding. I gasp, immediately running towards him. I take his wounded arm and inspect how serious it is. I hear him chuckling and I send him a glare. The metal door closes on its own.
"Everything is alright," Cloud announces to his people, and everyone cheers. "We have managed to fend off the rogues. We have also cleared the place, and everyone can get outside now as we deem it safe already."
Then the feeling is back. I scan the people again, and they are preparing already to get outside. Something catches my eye – I can feel a different aura, and I can sense danger. Before they even reach the other, I stop them and Marcus looks at me with arched brow.
"No one leaves the room," I tell them and Cloud seems taken aback with my words. I scan the people again and there's one guy that catches my attention. His eyes are almost black and I don't know if it's because we're in the underground where the sun doesn't shine through. But the different aura is coming from him. "You..." I begin walking towards him. Marcus calls out my name. Cloud and Marcus share a look. "You're not from he–"
The man's hands wrap around my neck and turns me around. Marcus lets out a deathly growl that will make anyone fear for their lives but the man is not even scared as everyone gasps. The man is not even scared and he just throws a smirk to Marcus. I look up while his hands are still around my neck and my eyes widen. This is not a man anymore. It's... a demon. A demon wolf.
"You seem gifted, little boy," the man breaths, fanning my face and I cringe. "I was only here for Kieran. But there's no point of hiding myself." His eyes turn red and he reveals himself. "I am Diamonas, the demon wolf."
Dark fog swirls around us and Marcus' eyes widen. He's beginning to panic, and this is where I can read him fully – I can see him preparing to risk his life just so he could save me. What's only stopping him is Cloud and Perry, who seem to really understand the situation we are in. One wrong move and this demon could snap my neck and kill me.
"Don't you fucking dare hurt my mate!" Marcus' eyes glow blue again, and this time I can tell that he's really angry. Almost everyone takes a step back, but my friends hold their ground. "Just what do you want?" He snarls.
Diamonas smirks. "You know what I want. Kieran's wolf, or this boy's life. You choose."
Cloud transforms into a wolf form but doesn't attack. Kieran backs off a bit, who seems to consider giving his wolf. Dave wraps his arms around his brother, comforting him. Perry's eyes turn yellow, his nails transforming into pointy ones. His fangs show and he bares it for Diamonas to see. I meet Marcus' eyes and he nods at me. I look down and see that Diamonas' feet are bare, and he's still in his human form, which means that I'm capable of hurting him. He may be a demon wolf, but that doesn't make him immune to surprising attacks. I stomp his foot hard and Diamonas lets go of me, and his red eyes start to blaze. I run as fast as I can to Marcus and once I reach them, Cloud lunges forward and starts attacking the demon wolf. Perry, in his half wolf form, joins his Alpha along with Marcus who has transformed into a wolf again.
Even though Diamonas is only one, the three are having a hard time fighting them. I can see that they are holding back – this place is the safe room, and the people are still here with us, and they look scared. I'm guessing that the only ones who can open the door is my friends or Chanteloupe.
Diamonas gets a hold of Perry, who snarls at him, but Cloud manages to jab him on his side. Diamonas lets go of Perry and turns his attention to the grey Alpha.
"If Isaiah really takes over, then it's not going to be safe here." Kieran says. "I have an instruction from Cloud to never open the door until this is settled. Chanteloupe, let them go one by one. I can feel this isn't going to end well."
The Alpha comes hurtling in the air but lands on his paws gracefully. He lets out a deadly snarl, and slowly preys on Diamonas. Perry swiftly slides on the ground and manages to wound his legs. But Diamonas' attention is on him and his fingers turn into pointed ones and strikes down. Marcus is fast enough to save Perry. While in the process of saving him, Diamonas gets a hold of Marcus and does something that makes him turn into a human. Diamonas hasn't even transformed to a wolf yet he managed to hurt them.
"Marcus!" I shout, panic rising up in my throat.
Diamonas points his pointed fingers at Marcus' throat and his eyes glint evilly. Cloud and Perry stop fighting and Diamonas presses his index finger to Marcus' throat, and he flinches.
"Your Guardian, or Kieran's wolf." Diamonas grits his teeth, clearly pissed.
But no one dares to move.
Call me...
"Fine by me," Diamonas says as he's ready strike Marcus, everything turns into a slow motion.
I see blue particles around me. Call me. Someone flashes right before my eyes – an image of a girl so beautiful. Her hair is black and flowing gently down to her hips, and she has grey horns protruding from her temple. She has a small cute fangs. She's wearing a cyan dress, and she's showing a lot of skins. Call me. She smiles at me and her green eyes twinkle in anticipation. Her hands move freely in the air, making some more of the particles and those particles begin to move in motion, turning into a wolf and other entities such as pixies and angels
Call me...
As Diamonas is seconds away from killing my mate... I call out her name.
"Selene!"
And just like that, the room glows, making everyone stop. Diamonas hurtles to the wall, his back hitting the inked wall and he gasps. Marcus gasps for air and they all look at me. At first I think there's a dirt on my face, but when I see my reflection in the mirror, my eyes widen.
There's a woman standing behind me, and she looks like in astral projection. She's the same girl I saw in my head, but this time I can see how beautiful she really is. She sees me looking at her and winks at me, giggling. She touches my shoulder and I see everything – I see every wolf around the world flashing before my eyes; I see every angel above; I see the pixies; I see the world of Zodiac and how they are having a festivity. I see how the world was remodeled and how the entities were created. From werewolves to vampires. And I see a woman so evil it makes me want to hide in a corner and cry.
I open my mouth, but it's not my voice that comes out. It's from hers.
"I am Selene, the Good Goddess and the creator of all good entities," she says. I point my finger to Diamonas and say: "I'm vanishing you: go away." And just like that, Diamonas turns to dust as he screams for his life.
******
Author's Note: Finally an update! So since my vacation is over, and I've got lots of free time now on my work, I can finally write and edit some stuff there! We've got like, 10-12 chapters left before the story ends, and there will be a lot of revelations. So what do you think of this chapter? Let me know in the comments!
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