ｃｈａｐｔｅｒ 17
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ʙᴇʜɪɴᴅ ᴍʏ ꜱᴍɪʟᴇ ɪꜱ ᴀ ʙʀᴏᴋᴇɴ ʜᴇᴀʀᴛ, ʙᴇʜɪɴᴅ ᴍʏ ʟᴀᴜɢʜ ɪ'ᴍ ꜰᴀʟʟɪɴɢ ᴀᴘᴀʀᴛ. ʙᴇʜɪɴᴅ ᴍʏ ᴇʏᴇꜱ ᴀʀᴇ ᴛᴇᴀʀꜱ ᴀᴛ ɴɪɢʜᴛ, ʙᴇʜɪɴᴅ ᴍʏ ʙᴏᴅʏ ɪꜱ ᴀ ꜱᴏᴜʟ ᴛʀʏɪɴɢ ᴛᴏ ꜰɪɢʜᴛ.
...Lucas
We continue to trudge through the woods, Jackson scowling at all the creatures we pass including tiny little squirrels and rabbits and especially the frogs and insects. For a werewolf, he seemed to not like the wild a lot. We had also decided to be straightforward with the Oracle so we could get the answers we need as soon as possible.
And while discussing the oncoming battle, I informed Jackson that I had contacted the other ten Alphas to see which would aid us and who would choose to stay out of the war. At least four of them had responded back saying they would be joining me and Jackson and the others respectfully told me they wouldn't be able to help out. We would be having a war council meeting soon, as Jackson and I had also discussed.
On top of that, we conceded that six Alphas and their troops would be more than enough for this battle. The extra backup would be necessary to protect the packs surrounding Caine's territory in case he and his men decided to retaliate. It was shocking how many men a Rogue prince could have. There seemed to be an endless amount of rogues in this world.
Anyways, it had already been a day and almost a half more since we had left my pack. We had stopped and hunted at night with warriors standing guard and taking shifts so they wouldn't tire out. We were steadily nearing the Oracle and a curtain of uneasiness and caution had fallen upon our group. No one but Jackson and I knew what to expect of this seer and the others were slightly fearful because seers were known to be unpredictable. Literally everything in our supernatural world was volatile.
'Now that things are going... decently,' Jake begins in my mind as he paces back and forward, rage swirling in his large wolf eyes. 'There's something I should probably tell you.' His ominous tone makes me want to stop and just focus on what he has to say.
'What?' I inquire as my moody wolf sighs. I leap over a thick log and across a wide stream before reconnecting with Jake. He stays quiet a few seconds, building up the suspense and the odd feeling that started creeping up in my mind.
'Mate kissed someone else today. I felt it though the bond.' Jake growls before dropping his head and his usually wagging tail. 'She hates us.' I can barely contain the growl and the anger wanting to escape me. This was all my fault.
'How come I didn't feel it?' I grit out, glowering. I would enjoy torturing Caine once I get my claws on him. He better not have marked or mated with my mate before the upcoming war. One kiss should be more than enough for a bloodsucker like him, even though that kiss shouldn't have even happened.
'You were so busy with everything, I blocked my bond with you and cut off the pain before you could feel it.' Jake puffs, slightly peeved. He had taken the full force of the pain of my mate's... interaction... with whoever it was she kissed for me. Maybe she never felt the same things I felt about her.
'Thanks Jake.' I acknowledge his dedication to being the one constant in my life and my lifelong friend and he sends me a wolfish grin. He would never leave me like Melanie seems to have.
'I can't wait to rip off Alessandra's head so we can be with mate in peace.' I frown at my wolf's words, knowing it wouldn't be that easy. There's still that prophecy about Melanie that we have to deal with. And we still have to understand that so we can prepare for whatever it will bring. Jake whines with sorrow as I relay my thoughts to him before he agrees that our mate's safety with the looming threat of the prophecy still comes before our need to have her with us.
We stop at the foot of a large mountain, too steep to climb in human form, and too big to go around. Remembering what I had been told of the Oracle's location, I come to the realization that we had arrived at the doorstep to her home. A border made of different sized rocks creates a boundary around the mountain, which just adds to my recognition of the place, despite coming here years before.
"We're here," Jackson confirms, swiveling around to look at the warriors awaiting orders behind us. "As soon as we step past this borderline, you'll notice how we transport from this mountain to unfamiliar terrain within the Oracle's land. Be careful where you step."
He looks at me to continue what we had begun. "Come after Jackson and I go through. Four of you at a time. Credence and Elliot, join us." The two warriors I had called out, stepped forward and stood next to Jackson and I as we turned around to face the mountain once more. With a deep breath, I take a step forward, and together, we all take another forward, past the rock border.
The air is swiped away from my lungs as the ground beneath me disappears. With my eyesight failing to help me, I snap them shut, relying on my other senses to aid me now. I hear Credence distinctly yelping out on one side of me while Jackson groans "shit, why did I have to come back here" over and over again.
"F#CK- SH$IT- BITCH!" Elliot gasps, from beside Jackson. I let a chuckle escape me at their reactions as I manage to collect myself from letting out my own feedback at this indescribable feeling. This drop always elicits such reception from its victims. No one in their right mind would enjoy it.
Maybe this was why I tried to refrain from having to meet this Oracle. Or maybe it was her friskiness. I couldn't remember or care less at the moment as we all fell to the ground with resounding thuds and pain shoots through our bodies. The Oracle's powers kept us from flattening like pancakes otherwise we wouldn't be alive right now.
"Son of a-" Elliot begins before he opens his eyes and stops abruptly at the sight of a young woman watching us descend into her domain curiously. He scrambles to get up and recomposes himself, and the rest of us follow suit.
"I suggest you move before your companions flatten you, loves." She points out in an airy voice and we all snap back to reality at the sounds of warriors expressing their discontent with the drop getting louder as they near us. We move to the side just in time as they all land, complaining about their one-of-a-kind experiences. After all, not many visit this special Oracle.
The said seer beckons us to follow her with one look over her shoulder as she strides toward a manor in the near distance. I take one quick glance around, seeing as I had already seen everything once before. The descent here, however, is something I could never get used to and I doubt Jackson has ever gotten used to it too, seeing as how he was screaming a few moments ago.
The sky is still a bizarre, blinding white colour with blue clouds floating about. Unusual, I know. Everything about this place is unusual compared to its parallel dimension, Earth. Rolling hills covered with brilliant pink grass are scattered around the landscape. The trees look fluffy like cotton candy, except they're a pale red rather than pink or blue, the typical colours of cotton candy. The path we're currently following to the normal-looking manor is a winding yellow brick road like in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
More warriors land in heaps in the clearing behind us with loud thumps and even louder groaning. There was nothing but an unknown force to help people who entered this dimension break their fall. As you fell from Earth, you would slow down a considerable amount before you landed in the Oracle's personal dimension. Although it was still slightly painful when you hit the ground, even more so because it felt like you were hurtling down rather than plunging unhurriedly.
Soon, all the warriors are accounted for and we have arrived at the Oracle's home. She spins around to address us. "I can see you all are tired from your journey. I'll fix dinner in a bit and if Lucas could help me, it would get put together much sooner." Everyone looks at me, silently pleading with me to 'help' the seer with dinner so they could eat as soon as possible. Sighing, I nod and she carries on, "I'm Vivienne, by the way." She winks at us before entering her house. I roll my eyes at her antics. Apparently, she didn't get enough male attention in her empty domain.
We all soundlessly trail after her, the new visitors admiring her home as Jackson and I immediately go to the living room. From there, Jackson convinces me to go help with dinner so we could get our answers sooner and leave quicker.
*~*~*~*~*
"This is really good," Elliot grins, complimenting Vivienne's food. She waves it off as nothing as her violet eyes continue to analyze me as they had been since we put dinner together. It was as if she could see right through me and I wouldn't doubt that being a possibility.
"Penny for your thoughts, love?" She raises an eyebrow at me from my side, placing a hand on top of mine resting beside my plate. Jackson stills, his spoon suspended in front of his mouth. His eyes catch Vivienne's advance and darken before he closes them to control his wolf. His sister's mate was being moved in on and the desire to help his sister had obviously overcome him.
Biting back the desire to roughly pull my hand away, I reply in a gruff voice, "We came for answers, not to flirt." I direct my gaze to Elliot who keenly avoids it, knowing what kind of thoughts were going through my head.
Vivienne's eyes flash before she pulls her hand away. "Oh. Of course." She beams a fake smile at us to cover up her embarrassment. "It's just that not many clean-cut men come by here and you were my first in a long time. I enjoyed our time together."
Her hand lodges itself on my leg, slowly crawling up. I grit my teeth as I shove a spoonful of salad into my mouth. That one-night stand meant nothing to me and obviously meant a lot to this seer. She also didn't seem to want it to only be just a one-night stand. Jackson scoffs beside me, realizing the underlying meaning to her words, as do the rest of the men, gazing at me with big eyes.
Well played, Vivienne.
I clear my throat before dropping my spoon onto my plate with a loud clank. Everyone freezes, cautiously watching me now. My steely glare halts Vivienne's actions from underneath the table for a second. "If you're done feeling me up under the table, I would like to know the answers to my questions, Vivienne." Wide eyes turn onto the Oracle who turns an ugly shade of red as she stands up abruptly.
Now, we're even.
"Fine. This way." She hisses, leading me back to the living room. I glance back at Jackson who, thankfully, gets up to join us. I know I was being rude and standoffish with Vivienne but the last time I had been here, I had made a mistake and now I seemed to be paying for it.
I had gotten extremely wasted one night after obtaining the responses to the questions I had then. One thing lead to another and I ended up on her bed with her writhing in pleasure beneath me. When I woke up during the night, I realized I had made a huge mistake, giving in to Vivienne's desires like that. I had grabbed the pearl that she was supposed to give to me to transport me back to Earth and left her, but not before I saw her broken expression as she woke to me ditching her.
She had allegedly forgiven me for leaving her that night over the time that had passed since that mistake but it was obvious she wanted another night with me. A night that I would never grant her with again, especially now that I had a mate.
When she realizes Jackson would be joining us, her mood deflates and a feeling of peace settles itself within me. Now she can't make any more advances without humiliating herself publicly again. We all take a seat and I don't spare a single moment before interrogating her, "I'm assuming you know about everything that's going on." She nods stiffly. "Well then, when is this war supposed to happen?"
"By the end of the month. There's no set date however." Vivienne replies bitterly. "And watch your mate, love. You don't know her as well as you think." Her words hit me like a freight train. Seeing as I had been the one pushing her away and harming her, never getting to actually know my mate, I obviously wouldn't know her well. Although I still knew Melanie enough to say she wasn't a bad person.
Or did I?
"What do you know about the prophecy relating to her then?" I push further, watching the Oracle's expression darken as she silently fumes about my mate. I refrain from laughing because I could guess she was thinking that I would spend another night with her if I hadn't found Melanie.
"I can't say since you would try to alter the events that would occur in order for it to be fulfilled. Just know, that you can't stand in your mate's way. She needs to be the one to make her decision without any influences and she's the only one that can ultimately end your war." The seer mumbles.
"Is there anything else we should know?" I ask, hoping I haven't forgotten to ask about anything else. Jackson had been quietly listening the whole time instead of speaking and getting his questions answered too.
"Be wary for your witch will return to you soon. And the war will commence when you feel intense pain through your mate bond. If you start the war too early, you risk her death. If you wage war any later, you risk your death." She hesitates before scowling deeply, "This pain that you will feel, depending on the way it happens, will help her make her decision. That's all." I hold back from narrowing my eyes at the Oracle suspiciously and just nod before getting up and muttering a "thanks." Jackson follows my lead and we return to the awaiting warriors.
As Vivienne distributes the pearls we would use to exit this dimension, I realize a huge weight had been lifted off of my chest but another bigger one had replaced it.
What pain would my mate have to feel before I could start this war and get her back?
Two updates in a week? Even I'm shocked loool
I had time to spare and I decided not to waste it and grant you guys with another update.
Also, if you haven't noticed, I changed the people in the cast list.
If you found anything confusing about this chapter, feel free to ask. I had to compile it all into one chapter and I had to get rid of a few parts so it's not too long.