Bright Chivaaree
Tension rose in my body as I sat up from my bed gasping for air like I was deprived of it for a long time. Sky ran to my side as she traced her fingers on my back helping me calm my body down which took a while. When I felt that I wasn't as tense as I was before, I searched for my mate, but there were only the two of us.
"Where's Win?" I clutched unto her arms and shook it. "I asked you a question! Where's Win?"
"Bright, calm down."
"Where is he?!"
"We found you in the woods unconscious. We looked for Win all over the woods for the past three hours but we couldn't find him."
"His scent. Can you not smell his scent?"
"We followed his scent but it disappeared when we reached the border they masked it with a different scent."
"Impossible. How did they pass the border without anyone noticing?"
Sky shrugged her shoulders as a means of saying that she didn't know either. I placed my hands on my head as I tightened my grip on my hair. I shut my eyes and recalled that moment in the woods.
Midnight was running behind me and she looked so happy just being outside. And even if Win was a little bit strange at some point - I'm not complaining about all the stares. Then I heard a twig breaking, my ears perked up and I stopped running while on my attack mode. I looked at Win and he was a little far from me but his sniffing something, and I did the same thing.
However, I felt a sudden sting in my neck and I got nervous quite frankly knowing that something bad was coming down. I needed to get near him and keep him close but everything started to get blurry. I shook my head vigorously while puffing air through my nostrils and looked at Win. His eyes showed fear of what was behind this and I tried to run back to him only to be stumbled onto the ground. I can't feel my legs. I mind-linked at him and he tried to run to me but he fell and he was whining.
My eyes were on him when he said that he was dizzy, I looked at where Win was one more time and I saw someone near Win and then everything went black. And now, I woke up in my room without any sign of Win - making both Shadow and I frustrated.
"Why did I pass out?" I looked at her once more and she showed me a dart.
"Wolfsbane, just enough to make you unconscious."
I massaged the bridge of my nose and quickly moved out of the bed while Sky followed me. This can't be happening right now! Shit, Zev got him and I don't know what he's planning to do with Win. I'm going to kill you once I lay my hands on you, you ungrateful piece of trash!
"Call them and meet me at the office," I instructed Sky and she nodded.
I dragged myself into the office while I grabbed my phone and called Aegon. He answered after the third ring. I informed him about what happened, though I knew that he already had an idea since it happened three hours earlier. What was the worst thing to say to Aegon? That I saw Zev before I lost consciousness, or was that him? I wasn't quite sure but I knew that no one else would do such a thing but him - he was leading the rogue attack for weeks now. And when he found an opportunity to grab my mate away from me - he did. Aegon hung up and I quickly scanned the library for the island's map.
About half an hour later, everyone was already in the meeting room while I was still in panic mode. I was pacing back and forth when I smelled Drake's scent - an angry pheromone and he quickly walked over to my side. Drake placed his hands on each side of my shoulder and squeezed it hard whilst his eyes expressed fear and anger.
"What happened, Bright?"
"Wolfsbane," I said defeatedly. "That was too careless of me, I knew that the rogues are just around ready to attack anytime. And yet I was too carefree and now they got Win! Shit!" I cursed once more. Drake let go of my shoulders and slumped on the seat just beside me.
"Focus, Bright," Man said with a sure tone and I nodded. He was right, I needed to calm down in order to think straight. "What do you want us to do?" Man asked as soon as I pacified myself. I laid out the map on the table grabbing all of their attention.
"This is the map of our island. These rogues cannot be that far from where our packhouse is. However, I don't have any idea about which part of the island are they located in or if they are in a group because they're rogues. However, we've seen them work as a pack so it would be possible that they are also living together as a pack. Now, I would ask you to help me locate their hideouts," I explained and they all nodded. "The faster we can locate them, the faster we'll be able to save Win."
"In that case, let me help you with that and I'll take this side of the island," Man pointed to the east and north side of the map. "Boss can take this side of the island," pointing in the opposite direction.
"Let my head Beta and Delta go with you," Drake interrupted and they nodded in agreement. "I'll contact them right away," he said as he mind-linked with his pack members.
"They're coming."
"It's good that we can locate them but I don't understand why they chose only our pack to be attacked since then. It seemed like we're fighting against someone that holds a deep grudge against us," Sky said shifting all of our attention to her.
As much as I want to keep them in the dark, this is the time that they have to know all about Zev if we'll be fighting him. And besides, he doesn't know that I already had my memories back about him and what he did before. I eyed up Aegon and he gave me a nod of approval. Hurriedly, I left the table and they all looked at me as I made my way to my desk.
The drawer opened and my eyes focused on the photo of me, Zev, and Win together. This was taken before all of the ruckuses that he made when he found out about his mate. Even if we were all smiling here, my anger skyrocketed just thinking about him getting revenge for banishing him from the pack. And him taking Win as the collateral for this cowardly action. And me not being able to at least protect Win.
Throwing all of those thoughts aside, for now, I went back to the table where they are seated and everyone fixed their eyes on me. Each one of them showed different expressions on their faces, but the majority of those were worried and confused. I placed the photo on top of the map and they all looked at it.
"FRANK?!/ZEV?!" The moment they laid their eyes on the picture. With much horror, everyone looked like they were just hit by a train real hard. I knew that feeling, I've been there before.
"No! It can't be! Is he back to take revenge for what happened, Bright? I am going to kill him! I am stronger now than I was before," Sky said with gritted teeth and I pulled her for a hug.
"Sky, I know how you are feeling right now but we need to do everything properly this time," I said while gently rubbing the back of her head. "Let's calm down. Okay?"
"Bright, this is dangerous. If he is the leader of the rogues, that means we have been observed by him for a long time. He had kept us under the wraps," Man said and I nodded.
"I knew he was trouble when I first found out about him! And I was right all along! I should have ripped his throat before! Shit! We have been played on the palm of his hands, how were we not able to know him beforehand?" Chase asked with much anger on his voice.
"His eyes are different when he is Frank. He must be wearing some contact lens to hide his green eyes," I answered, and Earn looked at me.
"He masked his scent with something else, that's why you weren't able to sniff his werewolf smell," she said and everyone agreed.
"How are we not able to recognize him even if we are not from the same pack?" Pear then piqued our own curiosity about it.
"Because you were here when that happened and saw everything with your own two eyes. Your Father didn't take lightly what he has done to the pack and asked the Moon Goddess to have your memories of him be washed away," it was Aegon this time and we all looked at him with much more confusion.
"It doesn't matter how I forgot him but Bright, let's not waste more time. If Frank is the leader of the rogues, then we should better get moving now and locate their hideouts," Drake said while he squeezed my shoulder.
"Right. Man and Boss, you can now take two of the fastest and strongest warriors that you have. Drake will take over the opposite side of your location," they nodded. "Thank you."
The three of them quickly left the room and proceeded with the plan. I felt so useless right now just being here in the four corners of the room. I should be the one out there looking for the rogues and not just them.
"I'm going with them," I announced and Aegon blocked me.
"You're staying here, Bright. You cannot control your anger, and being out there may ruin everything. Stick to the plan, Bright. Once they come back after surveying the land, then we will move," he said and I shut my eyes in frustration. "Listen to me for now."
But Aegon was always right, I might just run into the packhouse and kill everyone or kill myself in the process. I sat back down and the girls looked at me with worried expressions. Chase and Fenris moved closer to me and gave me a tap on my back.
My parents and both of my Uncles went downstairs to give the pack members some heads up about what was happening. Leaving the six of us in the meeting room.
"Did you try to mind-link with Win?" Chase asked.
"I almost forgot about that, I will try."
My mind focused solely on Win, and I tried to mind-link with him. But it won't go through like there is some kind of interruption. I can only hear static and some distorted voices but I can't connect with him. I opened my eyes and I shook my head. Shit, he was even able to block the only connection that I have with Win.
"I can't, there's some sort of interruption around him," I said in frustration.
"Interruption? What kind of interruption?" Pear asked.
"I can only hear static and distorted voices. There was a little bit of screaming, but I don't know if it was from Win," I said defeatedly as I sighed.
Earn stood up from her seat and went to the bookshelf trying to find something. Sky was silent and I can smell her anger and worry at the same time. I reached out for her hand and she gazed her lovely eyes at me.
"Sky, just relax. We'll find him. Okay?" Sky looked at me and she nodded. Even if I am enraged right now, I can't let Sky worry for me.
"Here," Earn placed a book in front of me and we all gathered around.
"In the 16th century, there were numerous reports of werewolf attacks – and consequent court trials causing widespread fear. Around 1650, the number of werewolves seemed to have disappeared and it was the same time that the government introduced a torturing device. This was the collar that the humans used to send shocks all over a werewolf's body until he/she cannot shift anymore. This can also block any mind-link between pack members. And even if it doesn't, there was no way we'd be able to mind-link with Win for he might be far away from us, and our mind-link only works when we're near each other or when we're in the packhouse," Earn explained to us and I looked at the image on the book once more.
On cue, there was a sudden judder around my neck and before I could even understand what was happening, a shock happened. "Aaaaaaaahhh," I grunted from the pain that I felt in my body.
It was a strong one that made me fall to the floor on my knees as my muscles tensed. My breathing quickened when the shock came to a stop. Their eyes fell on me with horror and confusion.
"Shit!" I cursed as Chase and Fenris helped me up.
"Zev is using the collar on Win and sending shocks all over his body. This is bad," Pear whined. "And you can feel it, too. You better be more careful Bright, he can use this against you if he finds out," Pear paused from fidgeting and looked at me, worriedly.
"If he wants to take his revenge on you, why would he take Win? They can just attack us right away. Like the first time that they did," she said.
Chase and Fenris looked at me in sync and I nodded.
"Win is a rare male Omega," I said and the girls looked at me in horror once more. "Zev must have planned to just do his revenge on me for banishing him from the pack. He just wanted to take over my position and take control of everything. He must have known about Win being a rare male Omega in the process. And we all know how self-centered he is, he'd do everything to take what he wants."
"I get everything about the pack and taking over your throne. But the one about Win, that doesn't make any sense," Earn retorted. "What are you trying to imply?"
"He can use Win to reproduce because of his rarity. And he wants to keep him for himself."
"He's planning to overthrow you on your throne, and have Win as his Luna to help him reproduce more pups? Then why can't he just fuck a rogue and impregnate her, why does it have to be Win?" Sky asked and her voice resounded with fear this time. Fear for his best friend.
"He hates me. He firmly believed that I asked the Moon Goddess to bond Win to me and to leave him mateless for the rest of his life. It wasn't my fault if he acted so recklessly before that the deity chose to not give him a second chance of finding a mate."
Another shock hit me but this time it was stronger and longer and I can hear someone's rippled voice in my head. My whole body just slumped on the floor and I was breathing heavily. My muscles were weakened and my emotions are high from anger.
"He's torturing him! Fuck that bastard!" I shouted and a fist landed on the floor.
"Bright, I'm here," Sky sat on the floor beside me and ran her fingers on my hair.
I felt so helpless to not be able to help Win. Why did it have to come to these? Why was I so careless even if I knew that Win was in danger? Why did I let this happen? I balled a fist in frustration as waves of pain and anger hit my system.
"Bright? We will save him." Sky squeezed my shoulder.
"We will Sky, we will save him," I placed my hand on top of hers and I squeezed it back.
•••••
Morning broke and we all gathered back to the meeting room. They've just been located.
"So the rogues have three hideouts near our island. The first one is their packhouse with probably less than 100 werewolves with them. It is on the east side," Man pointed to the location on the map.
"I can send my Deltas and Sentinels on that part of the island, Bright. I have more than a 100 with me, that should be good," Drake explained. "Marco can lead them there, he's strong and can take anyone," he added and I nodded in agreement.
"The second one is within a 10-mile radius on the northeast side of our packhouse," I looked at Man and he nodded.
"There are more or less 300 rogues on that part of the island," Boss added and he glanced at Fenris and Chase.
"We can move all our Gammas and Sentinels on that part. Chase and I can lead them there. We have enough warriors to outnumber them," Fenris said and we all agreed.
"The last one is on the farthest part of the island, around 20 to 30 miles. In our wolf-form, we will be able to reach there before sunrise," Man explained.
"Okay, I want all the Betas and Deltas to come with me and Drake on this part of the island," I instructed and Drake nodded.
"Earn, Pear, and Sky will be leading the whole pack into Drake's packhouse and stay there until everything is settled," my eyes were fixed on the girls and the three of them nodded.
"And they don't know that I am helping you out, so your pack should be safe. The rest of my hunters and sentinels can look over the whole pack while we are away."
"Your Uncle Nicholas and I will be the sweeper when we move the others into their packhouse. All the women and children will come with us, and some of our hunters will stay here to patrol the place. I will let Sky go with you," Aegon suggested while looking at me and I shook my head.
"No, this is dangerous. Sky can stay with you guys."
"No, I'm going with you. I am an Alpha. I can fight any werewolves that will come my way. And besides, I want to see you kill Zev."
My eyes turned to Sky and I hesitated because I don't want her to get hurt, she was my little sister. But she looked at me with so much determination in her eyes. I caved in and agreed to let her come with us on the third packhouse.
"When do we attack?" Man asked and I gave him a grin.
"Tomorrow at dawn."
"We will get everyone ready by then."
They all left the room to gather everyone on the training ground. Drake and Uncle Nicholas went back to their packhouse to prepare their warriors and to brief them on the plan.
•••••
Dawn came and everyone was present and that was my cue to enlighten them about what was going to unfold.
"The rogues kidnapped our Luna and he is in trouble right now. So we have decided to give them a surprise attack. I need all of you to be brave and strong to defend our pack and to save our Luna." Everyone nodded and I carried on.
"All the warriors from the Gammas please stand up."
Several werewolves stood up and I was pleased to see that we have a lot of such brave warriors in our pack.
"Your head Gamma, Fenris, and your Beta Chase will lead you to the second location of the island which is 150 miles northeast of our packhouse," I said before turning to my friend. "Fenris and Chase, make sure to follow us on the third location after eliminating all the rogues."
They both nodded. Fenris shifted to Smoke and Chase shifted to Silver. They both howled together then all the Gammas shifted into their werewolf forms and they let out a loud howl as submission. They made their way to the second location with my trust in them.
"All of the women, elders, and pups will go with Earn and Pear, they will lead you to the Silver Moon's packhouse. Alpha Aegon and Luna Maeve will help all of you move there safely together with Alpha Nicholas and Elder Dim. All the Salutary, Elders, and Guardians will also move to the other packhouse. Earn and Pear, please take care of them."
"Don't worry Bright, we will," Pear responded, and Earn gave me a nod.
Earn shifted to Blizzard and Pear shifted to Rain. They both let out a loud howl and everyone shifted into their werewolf forms while the pups that haven't learned how to shift climbed on their parents' back.
"We will be waiting for all of your arrivals," Aegon said and squeezed my shoulder. They shifted into their wolf forms and made their way in the direction of the Silver Moon's packhouse.
"All the warriors from the Betas and Deltas please stand up," I shouted and they all stood up. Great number.
"You will be coming with me to the third location of the island, in our wolf-form, we should be able to reach there before sunrise. This location will have a vast forest around a building that I assume is the main packhouse of the rogues. This may also be the place where they keep our Luna. We will be joined by Sky and Drake as well as Drake's warriors."
Drake in his wolf-form Scar arrived together with his Betas and Gammas also in their wolf forms. I looked at Sky, Man, and Boss and they gave me a nod. Man shifted to Titan, Boss shifted to Torak, and Sky shifted to Ice.
I shifted to Shadow and all the Betas and Deltas of my pack shifted into their werewolf forms. They let out a loud howl as submission to my orders.
Ice, Titan, and Torak led the pack to the third location and we ran as fast as we could under the moonlight. I stayed behind the three of them then Scar, his head Beta, and head Delta stayed at the back of the pack to make sure that no one is left behind.
I howled and everyone howled back and we continued running with a fire burning in our bodies.
This will be the fight of our lifetime.