Raven then portaled everyone home so they could rest. Zara asked Atara to come to the Elemental Realm so they could spend more time together and Atara agreed. They ate with Tobias who brewed some tea to help rejuvenate their magic. Atara and Tobias got to know one another, and they all shared stories from their childhood. Zara hated that most of Atara’s stories were of training. A few were about the Beta, Marcus. He was the only wolf who was kind to her sister. Her mind drifted off and wondered if the other wolves would have treated Atara different if Cyrus was not the Alpha. How different would things be if Marcus had killed Cyrus long ago and he was the current Alpha.
“Sis? You okay?” Atara pulled Zara out of her daze.
“Yeah, drifted off to la-la land.”
“My Luna, do not you think we should rest?” Tobias asked.
“Yeah, sure, ‘rest’” Atara fired back as she air-quoted with her fingers.
“Hey. I was insinuating what you were. Such a dirty mind.” Tobias said while chuckling.
“Suuuurrre.” Atara said with a smile.
They all laughed. It felt good to laugh.
Zara drifted off. This time, it was plotting. Her mind tried to think of the perfect way to have Cyrus fear them more on the battlefield. She first thought of the idea right before they started the exercise that morning. It came to her again and sprouted into something more. It kept going until she had all the details plotted out. Then she noticed Atara and Tobias trying to get her attention. “Zara! Earth to Zara!” Atara was snapping her fingers in front of Zara’s face. Her devilish grin spread wider than ever across her face. “Oh Goddess. This is not good. This one is worse than the one from this morning!” Atara said. “Oh, you have no idea, my dear sister.” Tobias’ face broke into that smirk that she loved so much. Now she could wipe that smirk off his face with a kiss if she wanted to but held herself back because Atara was with them. She knew he was using their mate bond to get a reading of what she was thinking. He winked at her to let her know that he was thinking the same thing she was. “Do I want to know what you are plotting right now?” Zara’s smile turned into a full smile. “Oh, you are just going to love what I have planned.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Cyrus:
Cyrus had not left his bed since the night on the terrace. He had relived the death of the forming king that he had murdered to take his place. Cyrus felt and saw his own self fighting King Krimm in Krimm’s perspective, felt the fear that Cyrus rose in him as he was being choked to death, and even Krimm’s thoughts. The mere thought of that night sent him to an anxious state that had his heart beating wildly inside his chest.
Did the Sorcerer curse me?
He started to feel strong enough to get out of bed. He swung his feet over the side of the bed and lowered them to hit the ground. Once he stood up, he felt warmth in his chest and then it felt like his lungs were in a vice grip. He coughed and noticed smoke coming out of his mouth. What the hell?
Pain erupted throughout his body. Cyrus looked at himself and noticed that the smokey gray colored magic was pulsing around his body. His back hit the bed and he curled up into a ball. There was a deafening scream that radiated throughout the room. He realized the screaming was coming from his own mouth. Then everything went black.
Cyrus opened his eyes and he was running after the Sorcerer, who was dragging a man and woman out of a house, kicking them behind the knees, forcing them to kneel as his younger self and a fourteen year old Atara looked on. He realized that this was the moment he’d devised a plan to keep Atara in line, to kill the boy that she had growing feelings for from the village. She had sneaked out often to come visit this boy and Cyrus was opposed to it because he was human.
He felt magic wash over him and he was forced to his knees. The Sorcerer took a dagger out, grabbed a small patch of the man and woman’s hair to expose their throat, and sliced open their necks. The boy was overcome with fear and grief as he watched his parent’s drop to the ground, gargling on their own blood as they reached for him. The boy could not move for he was under the Sorcerer’s spell. He heard the house engulfed with flames behind him with a whoosh and felt the heat on his back. The Sorcerer spelled the house to burn to scare Atara and show her that Cyrus had friends that could also kill her if she continued to be disrespectful and non-compliant with his rules.
Cyrus then felt the boy’s hair being yanked to expose his own throat. He watched Atara’s expression, she was horrified. I do not regret you, Atara. If I had a chance to go back in time and do something different, I would have still sought you out to get to know you. I would have still taken you to that waterfall and shared my first kiss with you. I wish I could tell her these things. I wish I could tell you that nothing would have kept me from our friendship or the feelings I have for you. The boy thought to himself.
Cyrus felt the boy’s fear as his own. His heart was beating so loud he could hear it ramming against his chest. The metal of the dagger met his neck. The boy tried to scream, but the magic was not allowing him to make any sound. Goodbye, Atara. Goddess, please watch over her. Please find her the one who will help her kill him someday. Goddess, please tell her that I will always care for her. Cyrus felt the metal cut open his throat then. The blood poured through the wound and the magic released him. He fell to the ground as he held his throat. The boy reached out to Atara and she ran to him. “If you move another inch, I will make you suffer the same fate” Cyrus snarled at her. Atara stopped and stared in his direction. Tears welled up and he knew she was conflicted. However, Atara stayed where she was and watched. Watched as the blood left the boy’s body. Cyrus felt his body grow cold and his sight faded to black.
He woke up on his bed, shuddering. He was so cold. He ran his fingers across his neck then drew his hand back. Red blood was visible on his fingers then it began to fade. The thundering of his heart as it hammered against his chest was deafening as he tried to calm himself.
Am I having nightmares or is this reality? What is this curse and how do I make it stop?!
Chapter Thirty: Atara
Zara said she would contact the Coven and the pack to discuss what she had planned. Atara was not sure if it was a good thing that her sister was being so mischievous. On one hand, it was showing how good she would be at strategizing against an enemy. On the other hand, it showed that she was devious and loved the idea that she was connected to immensely powerful people. She is going to make an amazing Queen. Atara thought to herself.
Atara walked back to the Wolf Realm. Tobias had mentioned going with her and cloaking her since they were all sure that Cyrus had figured out that she was with Zara and knew who she really was by now. She told him not to worry and spend time with Zara. After Zara’s abduction, she knew her sister would panic until Atara sent her a message by magic that she was home safe. She did not expect Tobias to be the same, but he was repeatedly asking to help her home. At least she knew her sister was mated to a good man.
As she walked back, she thought about things. Her life before she’d traveled to the Midwest Pack. Her life had been turned upside down. At least, that is what she was used to and did not know that fate had better plan for her. She did not mind training every day. It made her feel lethal, as if she could conquer the world. Cyrus was demeaning, but she had gained his respect over the years. At least, a small amount of respect. He never told her that he was proud of her, that he loved her, or that he loved that she was his daughter. He was not a nurturing man.
Atara never thought she needed a nurturing parent while she was growing up. Cyrus was strict and demanded perfection. From the outside looking in, it was terrible. Only Marcus had shown her affection. However, she was wondering, was it really a bad thing? She was a fierce warrior now because of him. Before she came to the Midwest pack, she had climbed the ranks in one day. Then during Zara’s training exercise, she handled herself well. Even against Zara! Who is now the most powerful supernatural in existence. She had three different types of magicks after all. Then
again, who would she be today if she had been raised by Xander and Sophia?
When she crossed into the Wolf Realm, she pushed out her magic so she could feel if there was anyone following her as she walked. Something Zara had taught her before she left to give her peace of mind. At first, Atara felt nothing but some woodland critters. She felt like she was in a spiraling hole when someone stepped into her magical trap. Not just one someone; three someone’s. Their magical signature was not registering either. There is no way these people are humans. Their energy read supernatural, but nothing else. Zara had told her that she would be able to tell what kind of supernatural had walked into her magical perimeter. She sniffed the air but could not smell any scent that did not belong. Wait. That man did not have a scent!
She instinctively ducked and it was a good thing she did. A Hunter swiped across where she had just been standing with a sword. That would have beheaded her. She spun around on one foot while kicking out her other to trip him. As she spun, two others charged at her. She called her magic when she got onto her feet, which felt more instinctive than she thought it would and threw a wall of energy at them to knock them back. The first Hunter began to swing his sword masterfully, she was barely avoiding each swing. I got to think fast, or I will lose this one. I cannot fight three master swordsman Hunters. Her wolf growled. We will see about that.
Her wolf took over to enhance her fighting. Atara flicked her wrist and threw the first Hunter backwards, toward a rock formation. He did not move after hitting the back of his head on one of the rocks. It took her a minute to realize what he was wearing. Black cargo pants like the human military wore and a tight black shirt. Just like Zara, he had multiple knives strapped to him as well as a belt that held his sword. His skin and hair were dark. The other two had brown hair, but one was tanner than the other. The tanner one threw daggers at her and she manipulated her magic to create a shield which the daggers collided against. She grabbed a dagger and threw it back, aiming for the tanner one’s heart. Instead of hitting its target, the Hunter caught it. Well that did not work. The Hunter lifted his hand and the two remaining daggers flew to his hands. Ugh. Show off. He went to throw the daggers again as the other one charged at her. Atara threw her arms outward and then down. Her magic created the box that Zara had used in the training exercise and encased the tanner one inside. Now I see why Zara used this.
The last one threw a right hook and she leaned to the left. Then she brought her right knee up and connected with his stomach. He must not have expected that because he let out an oomph. He used his left arm to throw her to the side, but her left arm blocked it. She swung an uppercut with her right hand, and it connected. His head snapped back but then he threw a hook with his left hand. That she did not expect. It hit the side of her jaw and her magic flared. It threw the Hunter back. When he got back on his feet, he went invisible. Ugh! They know how to make themselves invisible!
She pictured her tornado that she used in the training. Her magic responded immediately and threw the third Hunter into the vortex. He reached out of it to attempt to grab her, but it was useless. She channeled her magic to lift him up as he circled within the vortex and then made it dissipate. The Hunter fell one hundred feet and landed hard. She heard quite a few bones crack and he screamed out in pain. She picked up one of his daggers than was on the ground. She could feel the Hunter’s magic on the dagger but ignored it and drove it through his heart. The Hunter’s magic was no longer on the dagger.
Atara noticed that the Hunter that she knocked out was getting up. She flicked her wrist and sent the dagger along with it. It went through that Hunter’s heart as well. Two down, one to go.
She then walked over to the Hunter within her magical box. Her obsidian black magic flared around it and sparked each time the Hunter threw himself against it. His brown hair was darker than most brown's she has come across, his eyes were like honey. He was bulky like Xander, but his power was quite different. He still had no scent, which Atara found weird.
“What are you?” The Hunter asked.
“More like what are you? How do you not have a scent?”
“You answer first.” She asked her magic to lessen the air within the box, not knowing if it would answer her. The Hunter began choking, so she knew it responded. “You do not get to ask any question. Who the hell sent you?” The Hunter stared at her but did not make a notion to answer her. She then asked her magic to slowly close in on him. “It’ll keep going until you have no room left. Answer and I will make it stop.” She made the air go back to normal within the box and allowed it to slowly close in.
“Cyrus. He contracted us to kidnap your sister and to kill you when she escaped.”
“What was his reason?”
“It was his first strike against you to see how powerful you two were, especially your sister. Then she escaped and killed one of our top men. Easily. So, he sent us to kill you so she would be distraught, making it easier to move in and take out the Midwest pack.”
“Did he tell you anything else?”
“No. We are not henchmen. We are mercenaries.”
She thought about it for a minute. “I want you to go back to him. Tell him what happened here today. Also, tell him we are coming for him. His reign will end at the next full moon.”
She dropped the box but used a spell to bind all his power that Roxy taught them before they left. He took off at a run in the direction of the castle.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Atara sent Zara a magical message to let her know that she was fine, but she needed to talk to her tomorrow. She wanted Zara to still spend time with Tobias due to not knowing what will happen at this battle. She talked to Xander and Sofia about what had happened. Sophia noticed that she still had a wound even though Atara had no recollection when any of the Hunters managed to slice her. It was on her side and Sophia smelled it to ensure that it was not contaminated with silver. Once she was through, she sent Atara to get a shower and rest.
Next day, she talked to Zara about what happened. Zara kept glancing at her elbow, she did not know why. She looked at it and nothing was there that she could see, but she also did not inspect it too much. She knew nothing was there. Zara was content with sending a message along with Cyrus.
“Good. Get him riled up. Maybe he will make the mistake of coming here by himself.”
“I wonder why he hasn’t”
“What do you mean?”
“I have been gone for weeks. He would have known that I would have died with the pack bond. Then he sends Hunters after us? Why?”
“Who knows how that monster thinks.”
“I guess.”
“I just hope he is writhing with mental misery from that curse we concocted.”
Atara nodded in agreement. It made no sense why Cyrus was waiting for the full moon to engage in battle. Why would he wait until the prophecy would be in full swing? If he just engaged in war now, before the prophecy, would that not increase the chance of him winning since the prophecy stated that it would be their twenty-fifth moon. Meaning, the full moon of their twenty-fifth birthday. Atara checked with Raven after she got her memories back. This year, the full moon was the day their birthday fell on.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Cyrus:
Cyrus was laying in his bed. The visions of his past that have haunted him have left him fearful to leave his chambers. If he left and was consumed by a vision, he feared that he would appear vulnerable to his subjects. What is to keep an underling of mine from squeezing the life out of me? What is to keep the Sorcerer from finding another king? He laid there in bed sealed off from the rest of the Kingdom Pack. Here he was safe except for the occasional panic attack which consumed him.
He attempted to control his breathing, to try and control his own nerves. Breath in 1, 2, 3, 4. Hold it 1, 2, 3, 4. Breath out 1, 2, 3, 4. He kept repeating this so he would not be subject to his own nerves. He looked up at the ceiling to find a point to center himself. 1, 2, 3, 4. Focusing on the ceiling an
d blocking out the rest of the world. 1, 2, 3, 4. An orb of gray colored smoke formed out of nowhere above the bed and began to grow in mass. 1, 2, 3, 4. The gray orb grew to consume the room and it blocked out all the light. He abandoned the effort to count his breaths as he descended into a ragged panic attack. Cyrus was once again no longer in control of his body let alone his breathing.
He saw nothing but blackness and he felt fear. He felt the fear of losing the twins: Atara and Zara. This was the fear and love of a mother over her children. He must be seeing through the eyes of Danni. A picture came into focus as he observed they were around a campfire. Atara and Zara were there. A man burst into the clearing.
“They found us!” The man said.
Cyrus felt as if he was in freefall. Pins and needles poked and prodded as they crawled up his spine. An overwhelming feeling of nausea consumed him and yet, Danni managed to push it down. She looked over at her daughters and hugged them. He felt her emotions surge as she knew this would be the last, she would ever see her daughters. The magic coursed through Danni’s body as she cast a barrier of protection that would be the bane of Cyrus’s existence for years.
So that is how she did it.
Danni’s eyes watched as the girls ran into the woods and vanished from sight. Her eyes stung and welled up and tears ran down her cheeks. Cyrus tried his best to harness his hatred and take over these thoughts. To make her see how he felt and to make her stop feeling how she felt, but to no avail. The tears kept coming, nonetheless.
The sound of breaking sticks broke the moment and loss turned back to fear as Cyrus’s men came into the clearing. Some of his men were shifted in wolf form and others remained in human form. The wolves circled the outside of the clearing snarling and blocking any form of escape and the human’s seized them. Danni jerked but the man who grabbed her had an iron grip. Bryce and Michael were in the same predicament. Each trying to fight and none breaking loose. The three were shouting at the men and the men were shouting back, but all the shouting immediately stopped. They looked up and saw Cyrus and the Sorcerer glaring down at them.
Wolf Unleashed (Hybrid Prophecies Book 1) Page 19