Chapter 29| Today, We Fight
There was an instant uproar within the meeting room as soon as the words left Alpha Damian's mouth. The Alpha and Luna of the pack stood up and began to panic while I sat there with my mouth hanging up just a little bit in shock. The Texas Gulf Basin was down south, and it was almost next to Alpha Ceasar's pack lands. This was an easy win for them.
'If you believe you can play this game better than me, think again!'
The words ran through my mind over and over.
'This isn't your fault,' Siras says quietly, and I look over at him, still shellshocked, 'Starshine, don't blame yourself. He attacked at random.' He could see the look in my eyes.
'I challenged him, and he responded, Siras.' I tell him, 'Now I have to respond back.' As I begin to stand up, Siras growls out loud and Rese's head snaps over to him. Rese grabs my hand, giving me a confused look.
"Lina, what are you doing?" He asks, and I pulled away from him, making my way through the chaos in the room towards the doors. Siras met me halfway, his hand wrapping around my upper arm and there were several growls that echoed in the room.
'I know you're mad, Starshine, but this is not the way to respond.' He says and I pull away from him, looking at all the Alphas and Lunas who were now staring at me curiously, wondering what I was about to do.
'He's trying to show me something, Siras.' I tell him, the Moon Flames dancing on my fingertips as I looked up at him.
'No,' He says shaking his head, 'He's trying to bait you, Calina. Don't fall into his trap.' My common sense pushed at me, knowing that Siras was right, but my heart pushed right back.
Caesar had hurt and destroyed a pack, and I wanted revenge. Now.
"Everyone, please sit down. I know this is sudden and abrupt, but please calm down!" Alpha Damian said, trying to calm the chaos in the room, "We have to act calmly. We don't know what his plans are, and we have no idea when he will strike again. I understand that this hits home for all of us, but we have to stay focused. He wants us to become disorganized, and we cannot allow him to win because we couldn't work together to fight properly." His words had truth in them, and I looked over at Siras, torn between fighting and waiting.
'Don't let him win.' Siras tells me, and after a moment of hesitation, I go to sit back down in my spot while the other Alphas and Lunas begin to calm down, but they were all worried now. As I sat down, Alpha Damian started to talk again.
"I know that all of us wish to protect our own," Alpha Damian starts out, "and that is why we have decided to move forward and chose the location where we will fight back Alpha Ceasar and his army. This news has set us back a little bit, but we must move forward." Alphas around murmured in agreement and I looked over at the Witches in Warlocks who hadn't said anything since they got in here. They were simply staring around and listening to Alpha Damian.
"Who is this 'we' you speak of, Alpha?" One of the Warlocks asks, and the room goes dead silent. I look him over, seeing that he had red hair and brown eyes.
None of the Witches or Warlocks were the same, but I could tell right away that this was the leader of the group. The aura he gave seemed very dominant to his friends.
"I am sorry," Alpha Damian says, bowing his head a little bit and I raise an eyebrow, "We did not know of your exact arrival, so we have already planned many things out." The Warlock nods in understanding, drumming his sharp fingernails against the wood of his chair. He irked me because he had to almost exact same calmness to him as Siras did. He was too calm.
'Warlocks are seen as ancients or elders, so they have a very high place in supernatural superiority. The one you're looking at, that's one of the seven high priests that rule the witch world. I don't remember what his name is, but he is a big deal to the covens in the supernatural world.' Siras explains to me, and I nod to myself as I stare at him, not even realizing that he had looked over at me during Siras's explanation.
As soon as I realized that he had noticed me, my eyes darted down to the table that I suddenly found to be very interesting.
'Do you just read history books about the supernatural world? Oh, is there a supernatural newspaper?' I asked Siras, looking up at him and when he rolled his eyes, the corners of my lips curled up into a smile, 'No way. There is a newspaper! That's hilarious.' I inwardly laughed, and Siras sighed, looking away from me.
'Only subscribers get it.' He drawls jokingly and my lips curl up into a grin as I look back at Alpha Damian.
"Cades Cove," Alpha Damian announces, "Its an isolated little valley in the Great Smokey Mountains of Tennessee. That is where we are going to fight because we cannot afford to wait for Alpha Ceasar to come to us. So we must go to him."
I glanced over at Rese, and he looked over at me nodding once. We were going to Ceasar. We were going into the place that I hated. But we couldn't let him find the upper hand.
"When will we depart?" The Warlock asks, and Alpha Damian looks him over, almost as if he was sizing him up. But it didn't look like he would win a fight against a powerful warlock.
"We have seventeen packs with their warriors. I believe that we will send out half to scout the valley for any dangers before we send the whole fleet out there. I was thinking two days from now all the eastern packs would head out, and the western packs would wait for a signal to go ahead and join them in Cades Cove." Alpha Damian explained and I looked over at Rese again, and he grabbed my hand, seeing my face go pale.
"What of Miss Calina's army?" The Warlock asked, glancing over at me, and I glanced at him.
"That is for her to decide," Alpha Damian says, also glancing over at me, "It is her army, not a pack's army, therefore we have no control over what she does with them." I nod at Alpha Damian in understanding as he raises an eyebrow. I look over at the Warlock, seeing a distasteful look in his eyes as he stared at me.
"The Canadian packs will split in half, and–" I stopped listening to Siras explain his own army of wolves, and I turned my head to the left, looking out the massive window that Alpha Damian stood in front of. It just overlooked the forest, but that's not what I was looking at.
My heart sank instantly as I heard the sound of marching, and I could feel the low vibrations traveling through the ground. I could also hear the Northern army yelling, and I could hear the wolves running through the forest away from the mansion.
I closed my eyes, feeling my hands shaking as butterflies swarmed in my gut nervously.
'Siras,' I said into the quietness between us, 'I'm going to need a sword and some armor.' I feel confusion radiate down the bond between us, and as I opened my eyes, I found Siras staring at me. The Warlock was also staring at me.
'Yes, I will get you some later, but right–' I cut him off with urgency in my tone.
'No, I need them now, Siras.' I tell him and I watch as he hesitates, looking at me carefully now.
"I believe Miss Calina has something to say." The Warlock suddenly says and I look at him, my heart racing. I stood up and pulling my hand out of Rese's.
That date was going to have to be postponed until next month.
My mouth went dry as I pushed my chair back, looking around the meeting room for something. As soon as my eyes fell on the sword on the wall, I hesitated, looking back at all the Alphas and Lunas now staring at me.
"Your packs are going to need to be ready now, Alphas." I breathe out, running over to the wall, and Alpha Damian says nothing but watches curiously as I pulled the sword right off the wall. It felt heavy in my hand, but I paid no mind to the weight. I had my sword now.
'Starshine,' Siras breathes out, 'Go.' That was all I needed before I bolted for the door, bringing the sword along with me. I didn't even think I realized that I was going to have to fight soon. I don't think my mind was ready for what I was about to see. I remembered Siras telling me about how the supernatural world liked the old things like swords rather than guns, but I had a feeling that Ceasar didn't abide by those same ideals.
As soon as I hit the tree line, I shifted, my bones groaning and cracking as my fur covered my body. As soon as my four paws hit the ground, I let out a roar, sprinting for my army with the sword between my teeth.
As I ran I heard the howls of the wild wolves as they all began to understand what was happening. I looked to my right as my Beta suddenly joined my side, snarling and ready to fight as he ran next to me.
'You are a wolf, Starshine, do not be afraid.' Siras whispered to me as I felt my heart thunder against my chest as I began to panic. I wasn't ready. Siras thought I was ready, but I hadn't actually fought anyone before–especially not an army. 'You have fought the Halflings before, and you have fought a wolf to death before, Calina Dawson. Do not doubt that you aren't ready. All you have to do is go out there and fight.' Siras adds sternly and I snort, curling my lips into a snarl as I got to the field where the army was. I came to a skidding halt at what I saw.
My Beta whined, also watching as the two massive armies collided, but it was obvious that Ceasar had the upper hand.
It was too late to chose battlefields. It was too late to divide armies. Ceasar was here and knocking on our door, ready to fight to the death.
But so were we.
I looked over my shoulder as I heard footsteps and I saw all of the wild wolves lurking in the forest behind me, waiting for a command. I looked back as the Azeon Halflings began to rip through the Witches and Warlocks. Not even Siras's father's army stood a chance to fight them.
I hesitated for just a moment.
Then I took a deep breath and then I released the Roiko call. It echoed against all the trees and bushes and rocks, and as soon as the wolves behind me heard it, they threw their heads back into the sky and they howled back, letting me know that they were ready to fight.
I turned my right and snarled at the wolves on the right, and they lunged forwards happily, racing down the hill into the field below. I watched as they weaved through my army and then they collided with the Azeon Halfling wolves, and I let out a breath as I saw that the Azeon Halflings had no idea how to fight of the wild wolves. The wild wolves had not tactic to fighting, and the Azeon Halflings relied on knowing the enemy's weakness.
They couldn't fight the wild wolves effectively.
The wolves on the left side snarled, waiting for my command, but I didn't look over at them. I watched the battle take place, and I dropped my sword as I saw how much blood was being spilled on the front lines.
Just as I was going to send in the wolves, Siras spoke.
'This is a diversion,' He says breathlessly, and I whine, lifting my front right paw off the ground as suddenly pain shoots through my leg, 'Don't send them all, Calina. Don't go fight them, I know you want to kill them all, but that's not even half the army, Starshine. You're going to have to let them die.' I took a step forward, setting my paw back on the ground despite the pain that still rocketed through it.
My ears twisted back and I whined, watching as Ceasar's army started to push mine back. We were no match for them, but Siras was right. I had to save my army because there were more. If this wasn't even half, then I didn't want to know how massive the rest of Ceasar's army was.
'Siras, I can't leave them.' I breathe out, and I could feel Siras becoming tired as he fought whatever he was fighting.
'You have to, Calina. You have to come to help us, we need you. The Supernatural world needs you.' Siras says and I take a deep breath, feeling my heart burn with rage and anger towards Ceasar. I was playing his game now. I had fallen into his trap.
I looked over at my Beta who waited patiently for me to make a decision.
I looked back at the battlefield, and as I let out a low howl, the Northern Army looked over as the wolves began their retreat back to me. The Azeon Halflings gladly let them retreat as they began to attack the Northern Army again, and I whined watched as my army started to disappear as Ceasar's army bored through them.
'Siras,' I say quietly, 'I'm sending the wolves over to you. My Beta will find you and wait for instructions, ok? I want you to use all of them. They can fight the Azeon Halflings.' I tell him, and he replied a second later, and my heart twisted with sadness at his words.
'What are you doing? Calina, don't you dare block me out! Don't block me out!' Siras roared angrily, his shadows lashing out at me, trying to hold on as I started to form a wall between us. I looked over at My Beta and as I snarled at him, he threw his head back and howled for a moment before he took off to wherever Siras was, leaving me alone.
I knew what I had to do.
'Calina, don't leave me!' Siras roared right before I sealed a wall between us, leaving my mind utterly quiet as I watched the destruction of half of my army take place.
Sacrifice.
I had to sacrifice for the people I loved.
I couldn't afford to lose this fight. I couldn't lose to Ceasar.
'Don't forget, You can become your true self when you need it the most.'
The Moon Goddess's words echoed in my mind, and I growled quietly, turning away from my army and towards the forest. With each step I took toward the forest, my heart ripped a little and my heartstrings groaned with sadness as I could hear the screams of my army behind me. The army that I had to leave behind.
As soon as I was under the safety of the trees, I took off at a run. The green leaves blurred past me as I rain, and the wind howled in my ears. But they were silenced by the roar that began to grow inside my chest as the Moon Kissed began to fully awake once more. The beast opened her eyes and groaned as she began to wake up her ancient companions that still laid dormant.
If I was going to do what I wanted to do, I was going to need everything I had.
As the Moon Kissed began to wake up, The Moon Flames began to swirl around me angrily, blowing trees and bushes out of the ground and ripping them to shreds. The sky began to darken with low rumbles that echoed against mountaintops, and the clouds began to move in.
As the power began to surge through my veins, The Moon Flames grew more and more powerful and angry.
My paws thundered against the ground below me as I ran, and as I looked down at the ground, I saw trails of electricity running alongside me, dancing between my paws, and then I looked up, and a wolfish grin grew on my lips as my eyes darkened and began to reflect The Moon Flames.
I came to a sudden halt at the edge of the same cliff that Siras's father and I had stood at only a few days ago. Below me, I could see the real fight taking place, and this time I wasn't afraid of the size of Ceasar's army. I wasn't afraid to fight anymore.
I looked up as the sky suddenly cracked open with a flash of white, hot lightning that speared into the ground below. Not a second later, thunder began to roll across the darkening clouds and I looked down, seeing the electric currents running through the ground around me, mixing with The Moon Flames that still circled me like a forcefield.
This had to be another ancient power of The Moon Kissed. Lightning and Thunder.
Everything around me began to slow down as I looked down at the battlefield, seeing all the Alphas and Lunas in their wolf form, fighting the best they could. I saw my wild wolves fighting alongside them, but they were losing numbers rapidly and there was still a massive army waiting to fight them.
Ceasar's army was obviously much larger, and a bad feeling began to form in my gut. I couldn't lose. I couldn't.
'My Moon Kissed,' A sweet and angelic voice suddenly whispered and the world around me slowed down even more as I turned my head, seeing the Moon Goddess standing there, looking at me with a gentle smile, 'Hello, My daughter. I see the division in your mind.' She confesses and I whine quietly, sitting down as I wrapped my tail around my right side. Lightning cracked the sky open once again, flashing light against my eyes as I looked at the Moon Goddess.
'I want to win, but I know I'll have to lose someone I love if I do.' I tell her, and she walks up right next to me, sighing as she looked out at the destruction and chaos erupting everywhere.
'This is war, my daughter, and I am afraid that with war comes sacrifice,' She says calmly, 'But I know that you will win. You are the daughter of the Moon, Calina, and that job is reserved for only the strongest soul, just like your opposite, Siras Raveron, The Shadow Kissed. Darkness is his master, and Light is yours. Together, the dark and light shall come together and will show the world something that they have never seen before.'
This war is far from over! So sit back and play some good Game of Thrones music while you read. I hope you enjoyed this chapter!